District Court Rules Against Plaintiffs in Matter Where BLG Filed Amicus Brief

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed a case brought by Congressman Henry Waxman and others against then Secretary of HHS Tommy Thompson. CV-04-3467 (C.D. Cal.). Plaintiffs had sued in an attempt to compel the Department to produce documents relating to the intentional underestimation of the potential costs of the 2003 Medicare Bill. BLG filed an Amicus brief in support of Plaintiffs on behalf of the Democratic House Leadership.

The court held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the case under Raines v. Byrd and dismissed the matter.

Stan Quoted in NY Times Article re: Delay PAC Fine

Specialists in federal election law said that while the election commission fines were large, they were not extraordinary.

“It’s certainly substantial, but it is not out of line with what the F.E.C. has been imposing recently,” said Stan Brand, a former Democratic Congressional aide who specializes in ethics law. “The fines have been getting heftier and heftier.”

Link

DC Circuit Rules for POGO, Remands

Today, the United States Court of Apeals for the DC Circuit reversed the district court's decision in United States v. POGO. See Opinion. In 2004, the district court granted summary judgment for the government. In November of last year, Andrew argued the appeal on behalf of POGO. In reversing the Court held that the genuine factual disputes in this matter can only be resolved by a jury and it remanded for further proceedings. Importantly, the Court endorsed fully POGO's argument that 28 U.S.C. section 209 requires "an intentional, direct link between the outside compensation and the employee's government service." Opinion at 7.

Link