Court Appoints Lawyer for Bernard Kilpatrick
Headline Legal News
It's the ongoing public corruption investigation that's led to charges against numerous city officials, including former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. It now appears his father could soon be at federal court, as well.
"The case looks like it's at a point where decisions have to be made both by the prosecutors and by Mr. Kilpatrick," said Peter Henning, a former federal prosecutor.
This time that Mr. Kilpatrick is Bernard Kilpatrick, the father of the disgraced former mayor.
Kwame Kilpatrick is already facing charges related to raiding the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, but now his father has asked for a federal defender - a sure sign he's in trouble, too.
"A target letter is often viewed as an invitation to someone to make contact with the government and explore the possibility of resolving the case," Henning said.
He said it's not clear what the charges would be against the elder Kilpatrick, who is long suspected of orchestrating pay-to-play deals involving city contracts. However, whatever money he might have made appears to be gone. Bernard Kilpatrick had to sign an affidavit of indigency to qualify for a court appointed attorney.
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USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is adjusting the premium processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers beginning on Oct. 1, 2018 to more effectively adjudicate petitions and maintain effective service to petitioners.
The premium processing fee will increase to $1,410, a 14.92 percent increase (after rounding) from the current fee of $1,225. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, represents the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.
“Because premium processing fees have not been adjusted since 2010, our ability to improve the adjudications and service processes for all petitioners has been hindered as we’ve experienced significantly higher demand for immigration benefits. Ultimately, adjusting the premium processing fee will allow us to continue making necessary investments in staff and technology to administer various immigration benefit requests more effectively and efficiently,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Moore. “USCIS will continue adjudicating all petitions on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable law, policies, and regulations.”
Premium processing is an optional service that is currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of certain employment-based immigration benefit requests if they pay an extra fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base filing fee and any other applicable fees, which cannot be waived.