Justice Department

The U.S. Justice Department is challenging a ruling that an abortion opponent's letter saying someone might place an explosive under a Wichita doctor's car is constitutionally protected speech.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division filed a brief notice Thursday, saying it will appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals a federal judge's summary decision that Angel Dillard's letter was not a "true threat" under the law.

The Justice Department sued Dillard in 2011 under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

The Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog agency opposes a move by Hawker Beechcraft to pay eight senior executives more than $5.3 million in bonuses.

In a court filing yesterday, U.S. Trustee Tracy Hope Davis argued that Hawker Beechcraft hasn’t shown that its proposed bonus plan isn’t a disguised retention plan. Bonus plans are allowed, but must do more than simply reward managers for staying during a bankruptcy reorganization. Hawker Beechcraft calls it an incentive award and says its plans are consistent with its commitment to strongly emerge from bankruptcy.