Tag: Eric Holder

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday that he will soon "clarify" his agency's position on medical marijuana. He didn't say when such clarification would come.

More than a year ago, the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture began an unprecedented joint journey into possible agricultural sector antitrust violations. The series of five public workshops ended in December 2010 but no findings have yet been released.

The ACLU sent a letter this week to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding the Obama administration keep its word not to prosecute people for using medical marijuana in compliance with state and local laws.

Under pressure from gay rights groups, Atlanta-based international law firm King & Spaulding announced it was pulling out of a deal struck with Republican leaders to defend the Defense of Marriage Act on behalf of the House of Representatives. Paul Clement, the high-powered attorney who spearheaded the arrangement for the firm, has resigned and announced he will now take up the case as a member of conservative-politics-associated firm Bancroft PLLC.

Could Colorado State employees who work in the regulatory end of the medical marijuana business be prosecuted for their role in what the federal government increasingly seems to view as an illegal enterprise? According to Department of Justice attorneys in Washington State, it is not outside the realm of possibility.

Speaker of the House John Boehner has contracted high-profile conservative attorney Paul Clement to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on behalf of House of Representatives. Boehner has agreed to pay Clement initially up to $500,000 to defend the law, although analysts say that figure is sure to rise. Colorado Springs Christian right organization Focus on the Family celebrated the arrangement, touting Clement's resume as one of the nation's top attorneys.

When federal agents led a raid on medical marijuana businesses in Montana last week, questions were raised as to whether these businesses were raided because they were suspected of selling out of the proverbial back door to people without medical marijuana permits--or whether they were raided simply for being medical marijuana businesses.

As people in Montana and beyond struggle to come to grips with a massive federal raid of Montana medical marijuana businesses, the question that comes up is: Were these businesses violating state law that allows medical marijuana, or were they raided because they are in violation of federal law, which prohibits the use and possession of marijuana.

Colorado Congressman Jared Polis joined with more than a hundred members of Congress to re-introduce the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would repeal the ban on same-sex marriage put in place by the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. Polis urged members of Congress to support New York Rep. Jarred Nadler's legislation as a matter of fairness and states' rights.

In response to the Obama Administration’s conclusion that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage (Act) is unconstitutional, Congressman Jared Polis released the following statement.