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There's an uproar at UNC-Chapel Hill's law school over the selection of former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to give the commencement speech at the school May 10.

A petition being circulated among faculty and staff decries the choice, reports Eric Ferreri. You can read about the controversy here.

Mukasey served in the George W. Bush administration from 2007 until earlier this year.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge still isn't happy with how the U.S. Department of Justice is handling his "Hometown Heroes" bill.

Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat, authored the bill so the survivors of first responders and law enforcement officers who die from heart attacks or strokes in the line of duty can receive survivor benefits. President Bush signed it into law in 2003, but the program has had anything but an easy start.

First, the Justice Department took more than two years to develop final rules for the program, forcing families to wait for benefits. Etheridge agitated for the agency to speed its process, Barb Barrett reports.

Now, Etheridge says he isn't happy with a re-write of the rules.

This afternoon, Etheridge will send U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey a letter saying the new proposed regulations could reduce the number of public safety officers who are eligible for the program.
Etheridge said he fears the changes could make survivors of officers who die during voluntary training programs — as opposed to mandatory programs — ineligible for benefits.

He also worries about new paperwork requirements for survivors.

"It was not the intent of Congress to have bereaved families jump through hoops to get a benefit they deserve," Etheridge wrote.

Etheridge said he was surprised to see the rule changes proposed this summer after thinking they already had been finalized for good.

Michael Mukasey said he will look into the James Johnson case.

The U.S. attorney general said he would respond to U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield's letter that asked for a federal investigation of whether Johnson's constitutional rights have been violated, Titan Barksdale reports.

Mukasey made the comment Thursday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, a spokesman for Butterfield said.

In December, Butterfield sent the letter to Mukasey saying Johnson's right to a speedy trial has been denied, and he needs to intervene to "restore public confidence in the criminal justice system."

Johnson was jailed for three years for the murder of Brittany Willis. Johnson, 21, was freed in December pending a review of his case, and the murder, rape and kidnapping charges against him were dropped because of a lack of evidence. Johnson is now charged with accessory after the fact to murder.

The accessory charge against Johnson is based on his statement that he cleaned his own fingerprints from Willis' SUV. After killing Willis, his friend Kenneth Meeks drove her SUV to Johnson's house to pick him up.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat, wrote a letter to new Attorney General Michael Mukasey today asking him to continue recent progress on a federal law offering benefits to some deceased emergency response workers.

Etheridge is the lead sponsor of the Hometown Heroes act, which gives financial benefits to survivors of firefighters, law enforcement agents and emergency responders who die of heart attack or stroke related to their service, reports Barb Barrett.

Although the law passed with overwhelming support from Congress and President Bush, it has taken years for the Department of Justice to write regulations and begin implementing the benefits.

Etheridge wrote that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales made progress in the past two months, and that Etheridge hopes Mukasey will make Hometown Heroes a priority.

Jones asked for a full review of the federal criminal case against Ignacio Ramos and José Alonso Compean, who are serving prison time in the shooting of a suspected drug smuggler, Barb Barrett reports.

In a letter today, Jones wrote that the recent arrest of the suspect, Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, raises doubts about his testimony against the two agents.

More After the Jump

Jim Neal says he would not vote to confirm Michael Mukasey as attorney general.

The Chapel Hill investment banker said he would not support the Bush nominee because of his reluctance to characterize the technique known as waterboarding as torture. 

"I believe if we tacitly acknowledge torture as an option for interrogation techniques, we only magnify the likelihood that members of our armed services will be subject to torture," he told Dome.

Neal said that the United States needs to "restore its image in the world community."

Previously: State Sen. Kay Hagan, Neal's opponent in the Democratic primary, said she was not sure if she would vote to confirm Mukasey or not.

State Sen. Kay Hagan said she does not know whether she would vote to approve Michael Mukasey for attorney general.

The Greensboro Democrat told Dome that she has "not had the privilege" of hearing his testimony before Congress on torture and the Bush administration's policies. However, she did say that she thinks he is "a reputable individual that has great credentials."

"I don't have a vote in this right now, so I'm going to let the sitting senator decide that," she said.

She said she does not agree with Mukasey's reluctance to characterize the practice known as waterboarding — in which terrorism suspects are made to feel they are drowning — as torture.

"Waterboarding seems like torture in my book," she said.

Hagan is running against Chapel Hill investment banker Jim Neal for the Democratic nomination to face U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008.