New York Paralegal Blog

Remember that famous moment in the old TV show Dallas? A whole season went by after Bobby Ewing, one of the main characters, dramatically died. Fans mourned, plotlines shifted, and everyone accepted he was gone. Then, BAM! He appears in a shower, perfectly fine, and we're told the entire previous season was just a dream. People were shocked, confused, and a little bit annoyed. It was a classic "undo" button for a storyline. Fast forward to today, and a similar kind of head-scratching is happening around the Jeffrey Epstein files. For years, there's been huge public interest and promises from government officials, like Attorney General Pam Bondi, that a "client list" or other bombshell information related to Epstein's crimes would be revealed. People were led to believe there were significant files "sitting on desks" that would finally expose powerful people involved. But now, the Justice Department has made a very clear statement: t...

In response to Freedom of Information Act requests, the Bureau has released its investigative files on the late entertainer Michael Jackson, who died earlier this year. The records total 333 pages, divided into seven files. They detail the FBI’s investigation of a man who threatened to kill Jackson, as well as various forms of assistance to California authorities in two cases involving allegations that Jackson had abused children. It should be emphasized that none of these allegations were ever proven in court.

(USDOJ) WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice today announced the filing of a lawsuit against the County of Muskegon, Mich., alleging discrimination against a former employee by subjecting her to a hostile work environment. The Department's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, alleges that the county violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when, among other things, it failed to respond with adequate remedial measures to her complaints of multiple instances of sexual harassment, and to similar complaints made by other employees. More...

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in Chicago to block the proposed acquisition by JBS S.A., currently the third-largest U.S. beef packer, of National Beef Packing Company LLC, the fourth-largest U.S. beef packer. The Department said that the proposed deal would combine two of the top four U.S. beef packers resulting in lower prices paid to cattle suppliers and higher beef prices for consumers. The Attorneys General of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming are joining the Department’s lawsuit. JBS, headquartered in Brazil, is in the process of acquiring Smithfield Beef Group Inc. from Smithfield Foods Inc. The Department is not challenging JBS’s acquisition of Smithfield Beef Group Inc. In 2007, JBS purchased Colorado-based Swift Foods Company. Beef packers purchase annually $30 billion in fed cattle from feedlots, slaughter them, and pr...

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced today the filing of a lawsuit against the State of Vermont and Vermont Secretary of State Deborah L. Markowitz, alleging violations of the Uniformed Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). UOCAVA is designed to ensure that uniformed military members and overseas citizens may effectively participate in federal elections. Vermont and the Secretary are responsible for collecting and reporting the number of military voters and overseas citizens who are sent ballots, return them and have them successfully cast in each federal general election. Vermont has failed to fulfill this important obligation ever since it became law in the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vt., seeks a declaration that Vermont has previously violated the law, and seeks an injunction against any future noncompliance. "Accurate and complete information about whether our uniformed service members and over...