LEGAL NEWSLINE

Attorney General Raúl Labrador has announced that Manuel Paul Apalatequi, 33, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child by Production of Sexually Exploitative Material, a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child by Possession of Sexually Exploitative Material, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird discussed the office’s cold case unit’s partnership with local law enforcement to investigate Iowa’s more than 400 unsolved murders.

Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement after the Union County Circuit Court denied a motion by TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, to dismiss Griffin’s lawsuit against the social media platform.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the application process for the 2024 Alabama Safe Schools Initiative Awards.

Justin Campolieta has joined the Firm as a partner in the Tax Practice. He will be based in New York.

Global law firm Reed Smith announced today that Josephine Chang has joined as counsel in its Financial Industry Group, based in the firm’s New York office.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed newly passed legislation that aims to reform the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which business groups have long criticized as a vehicle for rampant lawsuit abuse that offers little in the way of worker protections.

Mayer Brown announced today that Andrew Olmem, a co-leader of its Financial Services, Regulatory & Enforcement practice, was named managing partner of the firm’s Washington DC office, effective June 1.

Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office played a key role last week in a major nationwide enforcement action against licensed medical professionals allegedly involved in fraudulent health care schemes.

An indictment was unsealed last week in Boston charging Christy Parker, 26; Alexander Smalls, 25; Cory Primo, 42; Avvani Jeffers, 22; Tre’sean Reid, 21; and Tyreik Reid, 20, with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and other related charges.

On July 5, 2024, several opinions were filed in various legal cases across civil and criminal matters. Below are the highlights of these decisions:

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul issued a statement today regarding two Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions: Evers v. Marklein and Priorities v. WEC.

Earlier this week, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved only 50% of the electric rate increase requested by Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M), reducing the hike by more than $16 million following intervening testimony from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Last fall, the company filed a request for a $34 million rate increase or 9.9% hike for residential customers. Additionally, I&M sought to increase the residential customer monthly service charge by 59% and the small commercial customer monthly service charge by nearly 90%. The company also sought...

An Alaska woman pleaded guilty on Wednesday to evading taxes on income she earned from the business she operated.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has filed an emergency application with the United States Supreme Court to halt the SAVE student loan repayment plan. "The Supreme Court already ruled in another case that the Biden administration doesn’t have the authority to waive hundreds of billions of student loan repayments," said Attorney General Wilson. "But President Biden is trying to go around that and do it anyway. This is classic grandstanding by the President of the United States. It would mean all taxpayers will be saddled with paying off billions of dollars of these...

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced today that a Providence man has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve two consecutive life sentences at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) for the murder of 38-year-old Jorge Garcia at Roque’s Café in Providence in 2021.

The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has initiated an investigation into the death of a civilian following an encounter with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in Queens on July 4, 2024.

Michelle N. Comeau was sworn in as Judge of the District Court of the First Circuit before colleagues, special guests, family, and friends, many of whom watched remotely. Acting Chief Justice Sabrina S. McKenna presided over the July 3 ceremony, which was livestreamed on the Judiciary’s YouTube channel.

On July 5, 2024, Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Elias delivered remarks at the 22nd session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy under the auspices of UN Trade and Development. Elias emphasized the importance of international engagement in advancing enforcement practices, noting that while individual nations enforce their own laws independently, they often respond to similar trends in technology and economic structures.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the California Department of Justice (DOJ), pursuant to Assembly Bill 1506 (AB 1506), is investigating and will independently review an officer-involved shooting (OIS) that occurred on July 4, 2024, in Hemet, California. The incident, which resulted in the death of one individual, took place around 1:30 a.m. and involved the Hemet Police Department.