Dissenting Judge Elrod
DALLAS (Legal Newsline) - A Texas law firm lost its fight to block an Internal Revenue Service summons seeking the names of clients who sought tax advice after one of them was caught hiding money offshore.
In a curt order that was opposed by nearly half of the court’s 17 judges, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Taylor Lohmeyer Law Firm’s request for an en banc hearing before the full court. The Dec. 14 order drew a strong dissent by Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, who said the court should have taken up the case to “clarify the boundaries of attorney-client privilege in this precarious area.”
By Dave Solomon - Granite State News Collaborative
• Dec 27, 2020
Credit Dan Tuohy/NHPR
A long list of changes to the way New Hampshire police are recruited, trained, supervised and held accountable is about to move from the recommendation stage to implementation, with potentially far-reaching consequences for law enforcement and the public at large.
The Commission on Law Enforcement Accountability, Community and Transparency has been quietly at work since June. Although its meetings over the summer were public, they received little attention amid the noise of a national election, a public health crisis and a struggling economy.
That’s about to change with the new year, as legislation to implement the commission’s findings begins to work its way through the State House and the reality of what is being proposed becomes more apparent to the many stakeholders.
(Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Two lawsuits filed in the past week allege that Massachusetts correction officials are endangering prisoners and staff during the pandemic, refusing to take steps that would tamp down infections and protect communities outside the prison walls.
Both suits say the current outbreaks in correctional facilities could have been avoided if more prisoners were released. In the past six weeks over 1,000 prisoners have been confirmed infected, over two thirds of the total infections to date. Five incarcerated people have died in the past month, reads the preliminary injunction filed Wednesday by Prisoners Legal Services of Massachusetts (PLSMA). All the measures DOC has put in place to control the spread of infection, such as lockdowns, mask use, and disinfection, have failed.
Virginia is the only state in the country that does not guarantee a right to appeal, allowing circuit court judges to make decisions with little oversight or scrutiny. Critics have been calling for reform ever since the Court of Appeals was first created in 1985. The Supreme Court of Virginia recommended an appeal of right as a long term goal in 2018. Now, Gov. Ralph Northam says he wants lawmakers to add four judges and support staff to ensure the court can hear more appeals cases in a timely manner under an increasing workload. The Supreme Court barely takes any cases, so the circuit courts are effectively the court of last resort, said Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36), who will be working in the Senate Judiciary Committee on the issue. That gives circuit court judges a tremendous amount of power because their decisions are rarely reviewed.
Credit Emily Corwin / NHPR
Attorneys say the state s largest jail is keeping them in the dark on how it is managing COVID-19 risk and potential cases among its inmates and staff.
Attorney Robin Melone, president of the New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, says inmates at Valley Street Jail in Manchester are reporting a “flu outbreak” that has put some in quarantine. Inmates are describing symptoms that include chills, cough and fever.
Melone says they know of no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the jail, but administrators there are offering few details to the public on COVID-19 testing and safety protocol.