News on Legal Newsline

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, has been charged by a criminal complaint in the Southern District of Florida with firearms charges related to an incident at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on September 15.

The Justice Department has selected 17 federally recognized Tribes to participate in the continued expansion of the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP). This program provides Tribal governments with means to access, enter, and exchange data with national crime information systems, including those maintained by the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division. The announcement follows Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s visits to Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota, where he met with numerous Tribal and federal law enforcement officials...

Siouxland Surgery Center LLP, doing business as Dunes Surgical Hospital (Dunes), United Surgical Partners International Inc. (USPI), and USP Siouxland Inc. have agreed to pay approximately $12.76 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations relating to improper financial relationships between Dunes and two physician groups. Dunes is a surgical hospital located in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota. Since July 1, 2014, USPI has maintained partial ownership of Dunes through USP Siouxland, a wholly owned subsidiary of USPI. Dunes and USPI disclosed the arrangements at issue to...

Notices of comment have been issued by the Supreme Court in the following matters:

Six of eight contested provisions in the ballot language for a proposed state constitutional amendment to alter the drawing of legislative and congressional districts can remain as is, while two must be revised, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 16, 2024) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain a federal legal block on California’s Advanced Clean Fleets regulation. The regulation seeks to impose an electric-truck mandate on fleet owners, operators, and manufacturers, including trucking companies that drive one truck for as little as one day per year in California.

Following a 26-day trial, a jury in Kansas convicted Kaaba Majeed, 50, Yunus Rassoul, 39, James Staton, 62, Randolph Rodney Hadley, 49, Daniel Aubrey Jenkins, 43, and Dana Peach, 60, of conspiracy to commit forced labor. The jury additionally convicted Kaaba Majeed of five counts of forced labor. Two other co-defendants, Etenia Kinard, 48, and Jacelyn Greenwell, 45, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit forced labor.

The Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement agreement with COBB Tuning Products to resolve claims related to the manufacture and sale of automotive emission defeat devices in violation of the Clean Air Act. The settlement requires COBB to pay a civil penalty of just over $2.9 million, based on the company’s limited ability to pay, and to cease the manufacture and sale of defeat devices.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that the Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit (VAMPF) has arrested Malla M. Hart, 55, of Boiling Springs, S.C., on multiple charges including one count of Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult, one count of Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent valued at $10,000 or more, and two counts of Forgery valued at less than $10,000. Hart was booked into the Spartanburg Detention Center on September 13, 2024.

Attorney General Liz Murrill’s Office secured a conviction in East Carroll Parish on September 13 for a man charged with attempted second-degree murder.

On Friday, Sept. 13, two Puerto Rican men were sentenced for their destruction, removal, and filling of protected wetlands in Puerto Rico in violation of the Clean Water Act.

Attorney General Michelle Henry has announced the launch of an online portal designed to streamline the process for companies and other entities reporting data breaches that impact more than 500 Pennsylvania residents. This requirement is mandated under Pennsylvania law, effective September 26, 2024.

Brandon James Willridge, a 41-year-old resident of Jennings, Louisiana, has been sentenced to 84 months in prison for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The Vermont Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Rules for Electronic Filing will convene on September 20, 2024, at 9:00 am. The agenda includes several key items.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a notice of appeal to continue an Office of the Attorney General (OAG) lawsuit challenging a Bexar County program that mailed thousands of unsolicited voter registration applications to unverified recipients.

Today, the U.S. District Court of Arizona declined to assume jurisdiction over the State of Arizona’s criminal prosecution of Mr. Meadows under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1442 and 1455. The matter will be remanded back to the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County. In today's ruling, the Honorable Judge John J. Tuchi stated:

Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Claire E. Coleman have filed a petition with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) for state review of Iberdrola's proposed acquisition of all remaining shares of Avangrid. Iberdrola, a Spain-based multinational conglomerate, currently owns 81.6 percent of United Illuminating, Southern Gas, and Connecticut Natural Gas, as well as utilities in Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. The acquisition would result in Avangrid becoming a fully private entity.

Danielle Ivy Dechert, 27, pleaded guilty in the 33rd Judicial District Court of Blanco County, Texas, on August 30, 2024, to Injury to a Child – Recklessly Causing Death/Serious Bodily Injury and was sentenced to 40 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Lisa Marie Tramski, 57, of Burtchville, was sentenced to one year of probation by Judge Daniel A. Damman in the 31st Circuit Court in St. Clair County after paying $51,600.75 in restitution, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Tramski pled guilty in July to one count of embezzlement of $50,000 or more but less than $100,000 for embezzling funds from an elderly woman after becoming her court-appointed guardian.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the YWCA Kalamazoo hosted a roundtable discussion today to mark the first anniversary of the Address Confidentiality Program (ACP). The program aims to protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or those who fear that disclosing their physical address will increase their risk of harm.