Senate confirms two Biden nominees, Brown, Yale, Columbia settle a financial-aid lawsuit, no action taken against lawyer in election case, and more ??
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?? US Senate confirms two Biden judicial nominees in Republican-led states
The U.S. Senate confirmed two of President Joe Biden's nominees for trial courts in South Carolina and Indiana, after those states' Republican senators provided crucial support to their nominations.
The Democratic-led Senate voted 80-17 to confirm Jacquelyn Austin to a life-tenured position on the federal bench in South Carolina and 67-32 to approve Cristal Brisco's nomination to serve on the district court in Indiana's Northern District.
Austin, who has served as a federal magistrate judge in Greenville, South Carolina, since 2011, would be the third Black woman to serve as a district court judge in her state and the only one currently on her court.
Brisco, a state court judge in South Bend, Indiana, would be the first Black judge and first woman of color to serve as judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.
Their nominations in November marked the latest instances of the White House increasingly working across the aisle to fill court vacancies in states with Republican senators, who can effectively veto nominees they disapprove of from their states.
?? Brown, Yale, Columbia among latest to settle financial-aid lawsuit
Brown, Yale and Columbia universities have agreed to pay a combined $62 million to resolve a lawsuit that accused them and others of favoring wealthy applicants, pushing total settlements in the case to $118 million.
Lawyers for a proposed class of hundreds of thousands of current and former U.S. college students disclosed the latest settlements, which also include Emory and Duke, in a court filing.
The University of Chicago and Vanderbilt had already reached settlements in the 2022 case, which alleged massive tuition overcharges in violation of U.S. antitrust law.
The plaintiffs claim the schools conspired to restrict aid by violating a pledge not to consider students' finances in making admissions decisions, giving wealthy students an edge. The schools, including those that have reached settlements, have denied wrongdoing.
??? DC court panel takes no action against Minnesota lawyer in election case
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Erick Kaardal, a lawyer who challenged Congress' certification of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory over Donald Trump will not face a complaint from a Washington, D.C., federal court's attorney misconduct committee, documents show.
Kaardal had denied violating any professional rules as part of his work on a December 2020 lawsuit on behalf of voters' groups and individuals in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and other states who sued over the process for certifying the election.
Kaardal, a Minnesota-based litigator who focuses on government relations, said in an email to Reuters on Jan. 23 that the committee had completed its review and not filed any ethics claims.
He said that he had lodged a 'good faith' legal action against then-Vice President Mike Pence and other government defendants and the federal courts have a responsibility to weigh citizens' claims of unlawful government activity.
"I want to make sure that plaintiffs are not chilled from filing good faith claims against the federal government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia," Kaardal said.
?? Senior FDIC attorney pleads guilty to sexually exploiting children - DOJ
Mark Black, 50, a senior attorney with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, has pleaded guilty to one charge of sexually exploiting children, the U.S. Justice Department announced.
Black was a member of two online groups dedicated to finding prepubescent girls and convincing them to livestream themselves engaging in sexually explicit content, the Justice Department announced on Jan. 23.
An FDIC spokesperson said Black was suspended by the agency after learning of the allegations, and none of the activity was related to the FDIC or involved agency resources.
The Justice Department said Black induced a minor to engage in such conduct in 2019 and secretly recorded it. Also in 2019, he and an unnamed co-conspirator also convinced another girl to engage in similar acts on a livestream, which was also secretly recorded and shared.
Black pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography and one count of coercion and enticement. He will be sentenced on April 30, and faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of a life sentence.
?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File, and have a great day!
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