Posts Tagged ‘Peter Nickles’
Pershing Park Case: Read The Document Nickles Didn’t Want You To See
In the past few weeks, the Office of the Attorney General has waged a curious battle against plaintiffs in the Pershing Park case.
Attorney General Peter Nickles & Co. fought over whether plaintiffs could depose a government witness. They lost that battle and the deposition provided devastating evidence of more discovery abuses.
The losing fight over the depo has yet to put a dent in Nickles’ M.O. The AG has not backed down from further stonewalling in the cases. In a curious move, the OAG argued in federal court filings that plaintiffs should return 211 pages of documents claiming that they were “mistakenly produced.” The OAG contended that these documents were attorney-client work product.
Last night, Legal Times reported that U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled against Nickles on the matter.
So what are these mystery docs?
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Fenty Embraces “Signing Statement” Tactic
LL and other local observers have gotten plenty of mileage out of comparing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s executive-power-aggregating habits to those of President George W. Bush.
Let the comparisons continue!
Early in October, the D.C. Council passed the fiscal 2010 city budget, after months of wrangling over how best to deal with a late-breaking drop in city revenue. The process had not exactly been a model of interbranch cooperation, with the council jawing about Fenty’s methods of closing the $660 million budget gap and Hizzoner threatening a veto over school-governance matters.
But even with the final vote, the bickering hasn’t ceased. On Oct. 15, Attorney General Peter J. Nickles dispatched a 13-page memo [PDF] to Fenty, who in turn sent it to Gray. The document lays out no fewer than 16 provisions included in the budget legislation that Nickles and his lawyers found to be objectionable—including six measures, he announced, that the executive branch should ignore completely due to “problems, including separation-of-powers and other Home Rule Act violations, that prevent lawful implementation.”
OAG Calls. It Wants Its Emails Back.
Today, I wrote up a piece about how Office of Attorney General lawyers were/are furious with fire department brass. What’s the reason for their anger? A shoddy investigation into the Georgetown Library fire that has become the subject of a massive lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court. The shoddy investigation means a lot of problems with basics like discovery and evidence requests by plaintiffs attorneys.
In my item (linked above, please read it!), I quote from two OAG lawyers’ e-mails to the fire department. The two attorneys call out the department for their potentially damaging stonewalling on the discovery, and question whether fire investigators followed basic national standards when they worked the Georgetown library case.
In my calls to the OAG prior to publishing the piece (linked above, please read it!), I got nowhere. Nothing much beyond no comment, it’s pending litigation, the usual.
A few hours after my item ran (linked above, please read it!), OAG’s Kimberly Matthews called to say she really, really wanted to see those e-mails. Could I please send them to her?
OAG E-Mails Show Frustration With Fire Department; Did Investigators Botch The Georgetown Library Case?
First the Pershing Park case. The Office of the Attorney General may have had serious trouble with another high profile lawsuit—the Georgetown Library fire case. In April 2007, a three-alarm fire gutted Georgetown’s public library. Two hundred firefighters along with roughly two dozen trucks battled the blaze. That huge effort may not have translated into a thorough investigation into the fire’s cause. Chief Dennis Rubin and Co.’s sloppy detective work may cost the city big time.
In a lawsuit stemming from the fire, a contractor has challenged the department’s conclusions that heat guns caused the blaze. The contractor saw enough holes in the fire department’s investigation to sue the District. Whether heat guns caused the blaze or not, the lawsuit is making one thing clear: the OAG is having difficulties furnishing evidence and discovery materials.
And OAG lawyers are furious at fire department personnel.
If there ever was a fire that called out for a serious investigation, it would be the twin fires that gutted the library and Eastern Market. The Eastern Market fire continues to be a subject of debate. Apparently, according to e-mails obtained by City Desk, the Georgetown Library fire investigation was far from competent.
At one point, an OAG attorney calls into question whether fire investigators followed national standards, and whether those investigators should be punished.
Pershing Park Case: New Discovery Abuse Shocker
After some last minute stonewalling by the Office of the Attorney General, Pershing Park plaintiffs were finally allowed to depose a District employee concerning the vast discovery abuses in this mess of a case. Backed up by a court order, the employee was deposed on October 23. According to a filing submitted in U.S. District Court yesterday, the deposition exposed new discovery abuses.
What are those new abuses?
During discovery over the cases, District employees culled e-mails related to Pershing Park. There were so many e-mails found that they needed a flatbed dolly to transport the documents. Those thousands of pages were carted to the office of the D.C. Police Department’s general counsel.
Years later, the documents have not yet been turned over to plaintiffs attorneys. Even after the U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan slammed the city for its discovery failings this past summer. Even after AG Peter Nickles promised a thorough case review and document dump.
How do the lawyers know this? The District’s own witness—Kimberly Thorpe—told them in last week’s deposition.
Read More “Pershing Park Case: New Discovery Abuse Shocker” »
The Definition Of BS?
“The mayor had nothing to do with the contract.”—Peter Nickles on Kojo concerning questions related to the parks contracts to Fenty’s frat brothers. Then why is there a hearing going on? Maybe Nickles needs to read LL’s latest column.
And this from Nickles: “I think Mary Cheh is great….Mary Cheh is a great councilmember.”
Pershing Park Case: OAG Reverts Back To Stonewalling
At this point in the whole Pershing Park court mess, AG Peter Nickles is supposed to just play nice and hope the two big cases settle. Nickles offered up his problematic mea culpa and promised that settlements would be forthcoming. It appears his sweet talk has an expiration date.
Last week, plaintiffs lawyers in the Chang case filed an emergency motion to get the OAG to comply with a request to take a deposition. The plaintiffs lawyers wanted to depose a District official “regarding the District’s preservation or lack thereof of electronically stored materials, including e-mails.”
This deposition goes to the heart of the entire court mess. And it may be important since the D.C. Council hasn’t come close to investigating the Pershing Park discovery problems or the missing evidence in the case.
But the OAG decided to prevent such a deposition from taking place. The lawyers write in their motion:
“Two days before the deposition was to go forward, District counsel unilaterally and without cause announced that the deposition was cancelled, suggesting that it continues to believe its litigation strategy of discovery abuse can continue without consequences.”
More on this drama after the jump.
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Pershing Park Case: OAG Finds 2,000 Pages Of Discovery Materials
Seven years on and still more government documents being “found” and turned over to plaintiffs attorneys in the messy Pershing Park case. Today, AG Peter Nickles filed a notice that roughly 2,000 pages of documents had been produced for the plaintiffs. This is not the first of such notices nor will it be the last.
Nickles writes to the court that “these documents were located as part of the District’s sweeps of the OAG Civil Litigation Division.” Also included with the production was a privilege log reflecting documents redacted or withheld.
Read More “Pershing Park Case: OAG Finds 2,000 Pages Of Discovery Materials” »
Nickles: Parks Contracts Are OK After All
Late Friday, Attorney General Peter Nickles released an opinion stating that the D.C. Housing Authority is required to vet its contracts worth $1 million per year or more through the D.C. Council.
That was a nice, if unexpected twist to the disclosure that his boss, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, had sent $82M in parks construction contracts to DCHA in such a way as to elude council oversight. For once, it seemed, Nickles had put the kibosh on a pet Fenty project.
Today, in a one-page memo [PDF], Nickles says that’s actually not true.
NBC-4 Takes On Nickles’ Sexism With Sexist Headline
Leave it to NBC-4 (or if you prefer WRC-TV), operators of the worst local news site, to slap a story with some real news value with a sexist headline. The station follows the Nickles-Cheh story with a piece headlined: “D.C. Catfight!”
First Nickles referred to Cheh as an angry woman. Now, a local news channel throws up another sexist cliche. Wendy Rieger needs to start a protest. Wait, is she still working there?
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Is Peter Nickles’ ‘Angry Woman’ Comment Sexist? Yes.
I know the fight between AG Peter Nickles and Councilmember Mary Cheh is getting a lot of play on City Desk. LL noted it. And our Weekend in Reviewer picked it up as well. I think it needs a third look. WaPo wrote on Sunday:
“It’s almost becoming a lawless administration,” said council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3). “They seem to have no limits or restraint on what they are willing to do.”
Attorney General Peter Nickles, who often speaks on behalf of the administration, said Cheh “has no idea what she’s talking about.” “For her to make comments like that, it’s stupid,” he said. “She’s an angry woman.”
What struck me was Nickles’ blatant sexism (which DCist picked up on). Nickles’ comment that “she’s an angry woman” feels like he’s channeling Mad Men. It’s made all the more ironic considering that Nickles had played the race and gender card over the very topic he and Cheh are fighting about: Ximena Hartsock.
Read More “Is Peter Nickles’ ‘Angry Woman’ Comment Sexist? Yes.” »
Fenty’s DCHA Contracts: Some Questions
You have questions about the $82 million dollars in parks-and-rec spending that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is sending to the D.C. Housing Authority? LL has (some) answers!
What are these projects?
According to data furnished by the D.C. Council, they are 12 projects to renovate 12 parks or recreation facilities. One, to build a $1.3 million ballpark at Emery Rec Center, was awarded in January. The rest—concerning 7th and N park ($800,000), Bald Eagle Rec Center ($5.3M), Barry Farm Rec Center ($15M), Chevy Chase Playground ($1.3M), Fort Stanton Rec Center ($12M), Guy Mason Rec Center ($3M), Justice Park ($12M), Kenilworth Rec Center ($12M), Park View ballfield ($1.2M), Rosedale Rec Center ($16M), and a new park in LeDroit Park ($1.7M)—were awarded last month.
Trinidad Checkpoints Still Illegal
Today, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia refused to hear the District’s appeal on the legality of D.C. police checkpoints. On July 10, a unanimous three-judge panel of that court ruled that the police checkpoints—which started in Trinidad—were unconstitutional.
The District’s only recourse at this point is to take its case to the Supreme Court.
AG Peter Nickles tells City Desk: “I’m disappointed. We’ll look at our options including a Supreme Court request….The D.C. Circuit has spoken and we’ll take it from there.”
Our Morning Roundup: What’s On Your Agenda?
Dee Does the District believes last week’s protest will have no effect on Rhee’s hold on DCPS:
“The City Council uses only rhetoric to denounce the pairs’ actions; remember when Vincent Gray caved and restored the school funding he originally cut? The Washington Teachers Union has been utterly useless in the struggle between 825 and teachers’ rights; George Parker continues to cancel meetings and overall, has not been proactive in addressing the layoffs. With the Mayor’s reelection looming within a year, there are no candidates that pose a serious threat to him. And while the protests and sit-ins are a start, I seriously doubt Chancellor Rhee or Mayor….o until someone with a better vision and a stronger hand comes along, I think Chancellor Rhee is here to stay, despite what you think of her.”
