LEGAL NEWSLINE

MADISON, Wis. – This summer, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety (OSS) is offering regional trainings to Wisconsin schools on the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and Standard Reunification Method (SRM) to improve crisis response readiness. The procedures taught in this training support standardized, practical, action-based responses to school incidents.

Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer delivered remarks at the Justice Department’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 9, 2024.

ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr announced that Denorris Hutchinson, 36, of East Point, has been convicted and sentenced to prison for trafficking two females, ages 15 and 17, in Fulton County. The 17-year-old, who had been reported missing from Kansas City, Missouri, was recovered from a hotel in Fulton County as part of a multi-agency operation conducted in 2020.

America First Legal (AFL) has released an educational document detailing the implications of the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Trump v. United States on the ongoing criminal prosecution of President Trump in New York. This document is part of AFL’s series aimed at highlighting perceived errors in District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump.

The Justice Department today announced the seizure of two domain names and the search of 968 social media accounts used by Russian actors to create an AI-enhanced social media bot farm that spread disinformation in the United States and abroad. The social media bot farm used elements of AI to create fictitious social media profiles, often purporting to belong to individuals in the United States, which the operators then used to promote messages supporting Russian government objectives, according to affidavits unsealed today.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco delivered remarks at the Justice Department's celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 9, 2024.

Saleem Hakim was sentenced today to four years in prison following his conviction in January on charges of tax evasion and failing to file tax returns.

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) will host a Best Practices Workshop focused on creating and implementing backlog reduction plans. Effective backlog reduction plans are essential for managing the increasing volume of requests. The workshop will feature panelists from various agencies discussing their respective backlog reduction efforts.

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is sharing consumer protection reminders and raising awareness about the availability of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services following Change Healthcare’s February data breach. In April, Nessel joined other attorneys general in sending a letter to UnitedHealth Group, Inc.—the nation’s largest health insurer and the parent company of Change Healthcare—urging the corporation to take more meaningful action to better protect providers, pharmacies, and patients harmed by the recent breach.

An Indiana man was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for sending a communication that included death threats to an election worker in Michigan shortly after the November 2020 election.

Attorney General Aaron M. Frey has issued consumer protection reminders and highlighted the availability of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services following a data breach at Change Healthcare in February. In April, Frey joined other attorneys general in urging UnitedHealth Group, Inc., the parent company of Change Healthcare, to take stronger measures to protect those affected by the breach.

Nikolay Goltsev, 38, of Montreal, and Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, 53, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit export control violations for their roles in a global procurement scheme on behalf of sanctioned Russian companies, including Russian military companies. Some of the electronic components shipped by the defendants were later found in seized Russian weapons platforms and signals intelligence equipment in Ukraine.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued a consumer alert to inform residents about free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services available in the wake of the Change Healthcare data breach. In February, Change Healthcare, which operates the nation’s largest electronic healthcare payment system, experienced a cyberattack that exposed the personal information of millions of patients, including many New Yorkers.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has joined a coalition of 26 states in filing a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging the Hillsborough County Transit Authority’s no-religious-speech advertising policy. The coalition contends that this policy infringes on the First Amendment rights of Young Israel of Tampa, a Jewish synagogue, which sought to advertise on public transportation in Tampa, Florida.

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin announced today that five individuals were arrested in Bradley County on charges related to illegal gambling. The arrests followed a joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Special Investigations Division, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, and the Warren Police Department.

July 9, 2024 (DENVER) — Attorney General Phil Weiser announced today the distribution of $17.4 million to 42 schools, governmental entities, and non-profit organizations to combat the youth vaping crisis. These funds come from the attorney general’s multimillion-dollar settlement with e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs, Inc., and will support programs focused on education, prevention, and treatment of youth vaping, which may include mental and behavioral health services.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following its victory in disbanding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “Homeland Intelligence Experts Group,” America First Legal (AFL) has released the sixth tranche of the group’s internal meeting notes, obtained through litigation. This is part of #DeepStateDiaries, a series of releases including newly obtained documents.

Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill and State Court Administrator Amy Quinlan hosted an award luncheon to honor the contributions of Judicial Branch employees and teams. This year's awards, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic, were organized by the newly formed Judicial Branch Employee Action Committee, which includes staff from all areas and departments within the Judicial Branch. The committee received over 100 nominations across six award categories.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Wilson “Woody” Phillips. The agreement bans Phillips from serving as a fiduciary of any not-for-profit in New York for ten years and mandates training before he can return to such positions. In February, a jury found Phillips liable for violating his duties in managing the NRA's financial affairs, resulting in $2 million in damages. A second trial phase, scheduled to begin on July 15, was set to determine whether Phillips should be...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) have announced a third consecutive decline in statewide drug-related deaths. This information was detailed in the Florida Medical Examiners Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons 2023 Interim Report, which revealed decreases in total drug-related deaths, opioid-caused deaths, and deaths caused by fentanyl during the first six months of 2023. This announcement follows a nationwide report indicating that Florida leads the country in fentanyl seizures.