accountability

  • New York Bar Exam Pass Rate Highest Since 2013

    New York has joined the growing number of states reporting a higher pass rate on the July 2024 bar exam, with 69% of examinees successfully passing the attorney licensing exam. This figure marks New York’s highest overall pass rate since 2013, showing a 3 percentage point increase from 2023’s 66%, according to the New York…

  • How a US Judge Injected Culture Wars Into Boeing 737 MAX Plea Deal

    A Texas federal judge with a history of supporting conservative causes has introduced uncertainty into Boeing’s agreement to plead guilty over two fatal 737 MAX crashes. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor seized on a single sentence in the deal regarding the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) diversity policy. Last week, O’Connor unexpectedly asked the parties…

  • Judge Approves UFC Fighters’ $375 million Wage Settlement

    A federal judge in Las Vegas has preliminarily approved a class action settlement requiring the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to pay $375 million to fighters who claim they received inadequate compensation for their bouts over the years. U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware II’s decision represents a “monumental achievement” that will provide significant relief to hundreds…

  • Prosecutors Say Alaska Judge’s Misconduct Warrants Vacating Man’s Conviction

    Federal prosecutors in Alaska have moved to vacate Johnny-Lee Preston Burk’s assault conviction, citing undisclosed personal relationships involving the presiding judge and a prosecutor. This motion, filed on Tuesday, marks a significant development as it represents the first time prosecutors have sought to overturn a conviction in one of the 44 cases linked to now-former…

  • Sanitation Firm Settles EEOC Sex Bias Claims for $3.1 Million

    A Georgia sanitation company will pay $3.1 million to settle an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit alleging that it refused to hire women as truck drivers. Managers allegedly referred to female applicants as “prissy girls” who were “taking a job away from a man.” U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee in Atlanta approved the settlement…

  • Michigan Judge Rejects Republican Bid to Block Overseas Voters

    A Michigan judge rejected a Republican Party effort to block some Americans living overseas from voting in the battleground state. Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a lawsuit arguing that Michigan’s election laws improperly allowed U.S. citizens living abroad—who had never resided in Michigan but had relatives who had—to vote there. In…

  • Carrier Reaches $730M Settlement Over Fire Protection Unit PFAS Claims

    Carrier Global has finalized a $730 million settlement with its fire protection unit Kidde-Fenwal and claimants who sued the bankrupt subsidiary over toxic “forever chemicals” found in its firefighting foam products. In a court filing on Friday in Delaware, Kidde-Fenwal announced plans to use the settlement to develop a Chapter 11 plan that will pay…

  • Elon Musk’s $1M Election Giveaway Tests Limits of Election Law

    Elon Musk offers a $1 million giveaway to voters who sign his free-speech and gun-rights petition, entering a gray area of election law. Legal experts disagree on whether the billionaire supporter of Donald Trump violates prohibitions against paying people to register to vote. Musk, CEO of Tesla (TSLA.O), promises to award $1 million each day…

  • Biden Cancels $4.5B in Public Workers’ Student Loans

    President Joe Biden has canceled another $4.5 billion in student debt for over 60,000 borrowers, raising the total number of public service workers who have received student loan forgiveness to more than 1 million. This cancellation marks Biden’s latest effort to fulfill his 2020 campaign promise to provide debt relief to millions of Americans before…

  • Los Angeles Lawyer for Rodney King to Plead Guilty to Tax Evasion

    A lawyer who represented Rodney King after Los Angeles police officers beat him in 1991 has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges for failing to pay over $2.4 million in taxes. Milton Grimes will plead guilty to one count of tax evasion, resolving allegations that he did not pay taxes for nearly a…