A federal judge who has accused the Securities and Exchange Commission of negotiating weak settlements in Wall Street cases on Thursday accused the agency of misleading a federal appeals court. U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff said the SEC also withheld from him important information that he needed to do his job. Read full article > >

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Federal judge accuses SEC of misleading court

A US federal judge rules that Texan financier Allen Stanford is mentally fit to stand trial for allegedly operating a $7bn (£4.5bn) Ponzi scheme.

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Allen Stanford fit to stand trial

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday that it will challenge a federal judge’s rejection of the agency’s $285 million fraud settlement with Citigroup. The agency is asking an appeals court to overturn the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff in Manhattan. In rejecting the deal, Rakoff argued that the penalty amounted to mere pocket change for Citigroup and that he had no basis to assess whether it was appropriate because the firm neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing. Read full article > >

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SEC to appeal federal judge’s rejection of Citigroup deal

A federal judge Tuesday rejected a request to hold the Food and Drug Administration in contempt of court over its policy on the emergency contraceptive Plan B but said he would consider reviewing the government’s refusal to make it easier for girls and women to get the drug. U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman in Brooklyn agreed with the government that the request to hold the FDA in contempt was “moot” because the agency had reviewed a petition by family planning groups to make Plan B available without a prescription and had concluded Monday that there was insufficient evidence to do so. Read full article > >

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Judge dismisses legal challenge to Plan B, may review FDA decision

Updated at 3 p.m. AT&T and T-Mobile on Monday asked a federal judge to postpone an antitrust lawsuit as the companies were assessing “whether and how” to proceed with their $39 billion mega-merger. The announcement signals that the deal as originally conceived is all but dead. The two companies could still seek ways to retool the terms to address the concerns of regulators. Read full article > >

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AT&T, Justice agree to postpone case as companies scramble to salvage deal

A federal judge on Monday agreed to put on hold the Justice Department’s challenge to the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA.

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Judge Grants Delay in Challenge to AT&T Merger

CHICAGO — With years behind bars at stake, disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Wednesday gets a final shot at trying to persuade a federal judge to show him mercy. Blagojevich was expected to address Judge James Zagel on what’s shaped up as the climactic second day of his sentencing hearing. Shortly after he speaks, Judge James Zagel is expected to announce just how long the 54-year-old will spend in prison for 18 corruption counts that include his attempt to auction off President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. Read full article > >

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With last word before sentencing, ousted Illinois Gov. Blagojevich to ask judge for mercy

A federal judge blocked the federal government Monday from requiring tobacco companies to begin putting graphic new warning labels on cigarette packages, cartons and advertisements beginning next year. In a 29-page decision , U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon granted a request from five tobacco companies to issue a preliminary injunction barring implementation of the Food and Drug Administration’s new mandate. Read full article > >

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Graphic cigarette warning labels blocked by judge

Federal judge stays Nashville curfew.

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Occupy Movement Wins in Court

In a lacerating decision that accused Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of willfully ignoring the racial imbalance in the department, a federal judge ruled that a court-appointed authority would be installed to ensure that more minority candidates are hired.

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Monitor Must Oversee N.Y. Fire Dept. Hiring, Judge Rules

On the same day that a federal judge upheld most provisions of a strict immigration-enforcement law in Alabama, frightened Hispanics began moving out of Albertville in the northern part of the state.

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After Ruling, Hispanics Flee an Alabama Town

The Obama administration is escalating its crackdown on tough immigration laws, with lawyers reviewing four new state statutes to determine whether the federal government will take the extraordinary step of challenging the measures in court. Justice Department attorneys have sued Arizona and Alabama , where a federal judge on Wednesday allowed key parts of that state’s immigration law to take effect but blocked other provisions. Federal lawyers are talking to Utah officials about a third possible lawsuit and are considering legal challenges in Georgia, Indiana and South Carolina, according to court documents and government officials. Read full article > >

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Obama administration widens challenges to state immigration laws

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A federal judge refused Wednesday to block key parts of a closely watched Alabama law that is considered the strictest state effort to clamp down on illegal immigration, including a measure that requires immigration checks of public school students. U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn wrote in a 115-page opinion finding some parts of the law that conflict with federal statutes, but others that don’t. Left standing at least temporarily are several key elements that help make the Alabama law stricter than similar laws passed in Arizona, Utah, Indiana and Georgia. Other federal judges already have blocked all or parts of those. Read full article > >

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Federal judge upholds key parts of Alabama immigration law seen as toughest in nation

CHICAGO — A federal judge indefinitely delayed on Monday the sentencing for ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on multiple corruption convictions, including attempted extortion for trying to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat in exchange for campaign donations or a high-paying job. Read full article > >

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Judge delays sentencing for ex-Ill. Gov Blagojevich indefinitely, denies post-trial motions

Consider this bit of braggadocio about the advances of gay rights: More than two-thirds of Americans say they would vote for their party’s “well-qualified gay candidate for president.” The first openly gay male federal judge was just confirmed by an overwhelming majority in the Senate, and President Obama has nominated four other gay candidates for the bench. Read full article > >

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Same-sex marriage cases wind their way to Supreme Court as political climate changes