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Attorney

What happens if Trump can’t secure a bond for his $464 million civil fraud judgment?

Donald Trump has boasted that his assets include the “Mona Lisas” of real estate, but the former president risks losing some of those properties and unraveling his personal finances if he can’t satisfy the judgment in his $464 million civil fraud case by next week .

New York Attorney General Letitia James could ask the court to freeze Trump’s bank accounts, begin collecting rent from the tenants of his buildings, subpoena the former president for his personal financial information including tax returns, and request that the New York City Sheriff auction his trophy properties within months, according to several experts in the judgment collection industry who spoke with ABC News.

In a filing this week, Trump’s lawyers told the court that securing a bond for the full judgment was a “practical impossibility” after more than 30 insurance companies declined to accept Trump’s cash and properties as collateral.

“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James said in an exclusive interview with ABC News last month.

PHOTO: New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press briefing, Feb. 16, 2024, in New York.

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press briefing, Feb.

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Attorney

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s securities fraud charges could be dropped under deal, according to report

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Lawyers in Ken Paxton’s felony securities fraud case are in talks about a deal to drop the charges facing the Republican attorney general if he performs community service and pays restitution, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Paxton could also have to take advanced legal education courses under a “draft agreement” that would allow him to skirt next month’s trial, the Statesman reported.

Paxton, who has been under indictment on two first-degree fraud charges and a third-degree charge since 2015, was scheduled for a final pretrial hearing on Tuesday ahead of an April 15 trial in Houston. He is accused of soliciting investors in a McKinney technology company more than a decade ago without disclosing that the firm was paying him to promote its stock. He is also charged with steering clients to a friend’s investment advising business without registering with the state securities board.

The case has been delayed by a number of disputes between Paxton’s attorneys and the special prosecutors handling the case, including over how much the prosecutors should be paid. The sides have also sparred

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Attorney

New York attorney general disputes Trump’s claim that he can’t secure $464 million to post bonds

A lawyer for New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday disputed former President Donald Trump’s claim that he can’t secure more than $460 million needed to post bond and appeal the civil fraud ruling against him, writing in a filing that the court should deny Trump’s “extraordinary request” to appeal without posting the full amount.

On Monday, Trump’s lawyers told the court handling the appeal that it was a “practical impossibility” that he and other defendants could obtain the bond by March 25.

In his response on Wednesday, Dennis Fan, a senior assistant solicitor general for the state, called Trump’s filing “procedurally improper” and said the court should ignore it. He wrote that Trump’s issues should have been raised in an earlier filing, and could have been, since “their efforts to obtain that bond began before their stay motion was filed and indeed before judgment was even entered.”

In February, a New York judge ordered Trump and his co-defendants to pay more than $450 million in penalties and interest for a decade-long fraud scheme, one of the largest corporate sanctions in New York history. Trump must secure a bond for the full amount of the judgment, which continues to

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Attorney

Georgia DA plans to press ahead in effort to put Trump on trial before election



CNN
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Fani Willis, the embattled Fulton County District Attorney, plans to press ahead with her goal of putting Donald Trump on trial before the November election, and intends to ask the judge presiding over the Georgia criminal case to schedule a trial date as soon as this summer , according to three people familiar with her thinking.

It’s a bold move considering the hurdles Willis faces in getting the case back on track after a two-month detour revealed embarrassing details of her personal life, damaging her credibility in the eyes of Judge Scott McAfee and leaving her politically vulnerable ahead of her own reelection bid in November.

Willis narrowly avoided being disqualified over her romantic relationship with lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade, who resigned last Friday following a blistering rebuke from McAfee, publicly questioning both Wade and Willis’s decision-making. On Wednesday McAfee granted requests from Trump and his co-defendants to seek an appeal, meaning the threat of disqualification still hangs over Willis.

Georgia Republicans continue to investigate allegations that Willis benefited financially from her relationship with Wade. A state Senate committee could use its subpoena power to uncover new information and plans to meet several more times to hear from

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Attorney

GOP state attorneys push back on Biden’s proposed diversity rules for apprenticeship programs

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Biden administration plan to promote diversity and equity in workplace apprenticeship programs is facing pushback from Republican attorneys general in two dozen states who assert it amounts to race-based discrimination.

The US Department of Labor contends its proposed rewrite of the National Apprenticeship System rules — the first since 2008 — would modernize and diversify on-the-job-training programs while improving their quality and protecting new workers.

But the proposed rule change has become the latest example of political divisions over perceived fairness and opportunity in educational institutions and workplaces. While President Joe Biden and many Democratic-led states seek to require greater consideration of diversity, equity and inclusion, many Republican elected officials are seeking to eliminate such initiatives.

AP correspondent Donna Warder reports that Republican attorneys general in some two dozen states say a Biden administration’s plan to promote diversity for some jobs amounts to race-based discrimination.

“We should not let race-obsessed ideology interfere with an important and successful apprenticeship program,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement on behalf of 24 states that submitted comments opposing the proposal by a Monday deadline.

The proposal drew a variety of other objections, including from

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Attorney

Attorney Cathy O’Donnell selected for Disciplinary Board of Pa. Supreme Court

KINGSTON — Attorney Cathy O’Donnell, of O’Donnell Law Offices, recently was selected to join the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania along with York resident, Joshua F. Wilson.

O’Donnell is a longtime practicing attorney in Pennsylvania. She focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, Orphans’ Court, and elder law and serves as the firm’s business manager.

Active in community service, O’Donnell has served on several boards throughout her career, including current positions as the chair of the Luzerne County Community College Board and the Luzerne County Bar Charitable Foundation Board.

O’Donnell is the assistant secretary of the Friedman Jewish Community Center Board and serves as a board member of the North Branch Land Trust, Junior Leadership Northeast, and Luzerne County Dress for Success.

As a Disciplinary Board member, O’Donnell and other appointees review conduct and assure compliance by all attorneys to the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct while assisting the Supreme Court in the licensing and discipline of attorneys throughout the Commonwealth.

Its mission is to protect the public, maintain high standards of integrity in the legal profession and safeguard the reputation of the courts of Pennsylvania.

Disciplinary Board members, which include 10 lawyers

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Attorney

Attorney withdraws motion to reduce suspect’s bond for NYE Uptown shooting

There’s new evidence in a mass shooting that happened on New Year’s Eve in Uptown Charlotte.

In a court hearing Friday, 19-year-old Daevion Crawford’s attorney learned the district attorney had received new evidence from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. That evidence was recently given to Crawford’s defense attorney.

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Crawford’s attorney had filed a motion on Feb. 29 asking for a lower bond. But because he wanted time to review the new evidence, the attorney withdrew his motion on Friday.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Crawford shot into a busy crowd at Romare Bearden Park just after 11:30 pm on New Year’s Eve. Five innocent victims were shot below their knees and were expected to recover, police said.

After the New Year's Eve chaos in Uptown Charlotte, several parents are facing charges for their children's alleged actions.After the New Year's Eve chaos in Uptown Charlotte, several parents are facing charges for their children's alleged actions.

After the New Year’s Eve chaos in Uptown Charlotte, several parents are facing charges for their children’s alleged actions.

What we know about the victims shot in Uptown on New Year's EveWhat we know about the victims shot in Uptown on New Year's Eve

What we know about

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Attorney

Milton City Attorney Andrade seeks sanctions against Mayor Heather Lindsay

A city council majority that has consistently supported him in an ongoing feud with Mayor Heather Lindsay gave Milton City Attorney and state Rep. Alex Andrade the go ahead Thursday to explore sanctions against him for possible crimes and what Andrade has labeled “harmful, aggressive and erratic conduct.”

In a memorandum compiled at the request of Councilman Jeff Snow, Lindsay’s most vocal critic, Andrade alleged the mayor had perjured himself by making false statements in a sworn document while filing a bar complaint against him.

The document turned into the city cites 12 specific instances within Lindsay’s bar complaint that Andrade calls out as lies.

Lindsay’s bar complaint stated Andrade “was obstructive and misleading in his communications during Milton’s efforts to hire [a] city ​​manager in July 2023.”

Among the claims made that Andrade cited as dishonest was one that he’d violated city policy to launch an investigation into the actions of since terminated City Clerk Dawn Molinero.

District 2 State Representative Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola

Another statement pointed out by Andrade as an example of perjured testimony was Lindsay’s assertion he was “careful to share only select emails with a member of the press” following former City Manager Scott Collins’ decision to withdraw from consideration from the

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Attorney

With Around 110K Outstanding Democratic Vote-By-Mail Ballots in Cook County, Race for State’s Attorney Remains Close | Chicago News

Eileen O'Neill Burke and Clayton Harris III are running for the Democratic nomination in the race for Cook County state's attorney. (Photos provided)Eileen O’Neill Burke and Clayton Harris III are running for the Democratic nomination in the race for Cook County state’s attorney. (Photos provided)

There are about 110,000 outstanding Democratic vote-by-mail ballots in Chicago and suburban Cook County, according to latest numbers from election officials, as the Democratic race between retired judge Eileen O’Neill Burke and former prosecutor Clayton Harris for Cook County state’s attorney remains too close to call.

O’Neill Burke continues to hold a slight 51-49% edge over Harris, with about 8,000 votes separating them, according to the latest unofficial vote totals from the Associated Press at 5:24 pm Thursday, with 86% of votes counted.

There are about 77,000 outstanding Democratic vote-by-mail ballots in Chicago, according to city election data from Thursday evening. Not all ballots are expected to be returned, city officials said, adding that they typically see between 80-85% of all vote-by-mail ballots submitted.

There are also about 25,000 vote-by-mail ballots received in Chicago since Election Day that have yet to be counted, but will start being counted Friday, according to Max Bever, director of public information at the Chicago Board of Elections.

In suburban Cook County, there are 33,000 outstanding Democratic vote-by-mail ballots, Edmund Michalowski, deputy

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Attorney

Ohio Supreme Court suspends Dayton attorney for second time

• MORE DAYTON NEWS: Village leadership turmoil continues with manager firing | Historic Dayton Arcade partnership growing

The court found that because of Stenson’s prior discipline, refusal to admit wrongdoing and attempts to blame his clients, “an actual suspension from the practice of law is necessary to protect the public,” the decision stated.

The Cincinnati Bar Association filed a complaint in 2022 with the Board of Professional Conduct against Stenson that alleged he mishandled his client’s mother’s estate in Hamilton County Probate Court.

Stenson reportedly missed multiple filing deadlines and extensions, leading him to withdraw from the case. His client hired a different attorney to complete the estate work, which was finalized nearly two years after the estate was opened.

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The bar association’s complaint was amended in 2023 when a missed deadline reportedly cost another client the right to sue for injuries she suffered in a fall at a Macy’s store in August 2020.

The client met with Stenson in October 2020 about her personal injury case. In September 2011, she rejected a $2,500 offer to settle her claim.

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