Lawyers

• President Obama Commutes Sentences Of Eight Crack Cocaine Offenders Signifying Reshaping Of Drug Policy (Video)

  President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of eight people convicted of drug crimes who have each serve long prison times, the White House said on Thursday, CNN reported. The president "provided relief to people convicted of crack cocaine offenses under laws calling for strict mandatory sentences. The eight offenders have each served more than 15 years in prison, which the White House said amounted to 'unduly harsh sentences issued under and outdated sentencing regime."

• Johnson & Johnson: Healthcare Manufacturer Agrees To Pay $2.2 Billion In Fraud Settlement (Video)

  Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries will pay more than $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil investigations over allegations that they "marketed three drugs for users that were never approved,"

• North Carolina Voting Law: DOJ's Eric Holder Sues State & Says New 'Restrictive' Voting Laws 'Defy Common Sense' (Video)

  The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a law suit North Carolina for alleged racial discrimination over new voting laws, The Associated Press reported. Calling the laws "restrictive," Attorney General Eric Holder argued that the state took "extremely aggressive steps to curtail the voting rights of African-Americans. This is an intentional step to break a system that was working and it defies common sense," he said at a press conference on Monday.

• Marijuana Law: U.S. Justice Department Will Let Pot Legalization Go Into Effect in Washington and Colorado (Video)

  The United States Justice Department will not challenge laws in the two states, Colorado and Washington, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana.

• Holder Drug Sentencing: Attorney General Outlines New Justice Department Reforms for Prisoners (Video)

  U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that the Justice Department will avoid charging certain low-level and nonviolent drug offenders with crimes that carry mandatory minimums. The policy shift will enable certain defendants who do have ties to large scale gangs or cartels, to avoid "draconian mandatory minimum sentences."

• Eric Holder Snowden: U.S. Assures Russia No Death Penalty Sought for Exiled American (Video)

  In an effort to extradite Edward Snowden back to the United States, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder assured Russia that the U.S. would try him in a civilian court, and would not seek the death penalty against him. Russian President's Vladimir Putin 's spokesman again ruled out hopes for Holder to get Snowden extradited.

• Eric Holder: Attorney General Signed Off On Search Warrant For Reporter James Rosen, Labeled a 'Co-Conspirator' (Video)

  Attorney General Eric Holder personally signed off on the warrant, allowing the Justice Department to search Fox News reporter James Rosen's personal email. The warrant Holder approved named Rosen as a "co-conspirator" in a leak investigation, warning that the Justice Department was potentially criminalizing journalists from doing their job, which is news gathering.

• AP Allegations: U.S. Justice Department Defends Seizure of News Agency's Phone Records Subpoenas (Video)

  The Justice Department on Tuesday defended its decision to subpoena phone records from Associated Press bureaus and reporters, saying the requests were limited and necessary to investigate a leak of classified information regarding a severe threat to national security,

• 89 Charged in Medicare Fraud: Attorney General Eric Holder Announces Arrests Involving Scams Worth $223 Million in False Billings

  US. cities on Tuesday with Medicare fraud schemes that the government said totaled $223 million in false billings. More than 400 law enforcement officers including FBI agents made arrests of 89 suspects who posed as physicians and scammed the $590 billion healthcare program with phony or unnecessary bills. About one in four defendants was a doctor, a nurse, a physical therapist or some other medical professional.

• Justice Department Opens Criminal Inquiry Into IRS Audits

  Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday that he recused himself from a case involving a Department of Justice decision to subpoena phone records from Associated Press. Holder also said that the Justice Department has ordered a criminal investigation into the IRS' targeting of different conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.