Big banks and over-committed mortgage-holders have been under the foreclosure microscope for a long time. Foreclosure lawyers are next up for scrutiny; according to an article from The New York Times, an increasing number of judges are accusing lawyers of processing inaccurate and even fabricated documents in foreclosure actions when representing banks. Are these accusations accurate, and if so, what is the source of the problem? 

The fate of hundreds of federal lawsuits stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has been settled. The cases will go in front of a single judge in New Orleans. The issue of how to handle these suits is a contentious one and some are wondering if it's possible to hold a fair trial. Judge Carl J. Barbier has owned some oil industry bonds, meanwhile New Orleans residents are extremely angry about the spill. National legal correspondent for The New York Times, John Schwartz reports from New Orleans.

BP’s legal woes are mounting as oil continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico. Attorney General Eric Holder announced yesterday that federal authorities will open both civil and criminal inquiries into the Gulf Oil spill.

• Privaty Takeout: John Schwartz, legal correspondent for The New York Times, says a debate is brewing over balancing privacy and security for airline travelers, following an alleged terror attempt on Christmas Day.
• Sports Takeout: Ibrahim Abdul-Matin says Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach is fighting to coach in this weekend's Alamo Bowl after being accused of treating one of his players badly after the young man suffered a concussion.
• Listener Response: We close this week at the dawn of 2010.  Takeaway listeners called and wrote in with New Year's resolutions to ring in the new decade.

The rate of federal prosecutions is at an all-time high, showing an increase of nine percent since last year. According to a new study by Syracuse University's TRAC project, this increase is primarily related to an increase in arrests of immigration violators. We talk with John Schwartz of The New York Times and Valeria Fernández of the Feet in 2 Worlds Program about the increase, and what it signifies for the Obama administration's stance towards immigration reform.

Read John Schwartz's article in The New York Times.

President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday. His pick is a New York Puerto Rican who is generally considered left-leaning. But once a judge is actually on the court, there's no way of knowing how they will rule. FDR hated Felix Frankfurter's love of judicial restraint. And David Souter, whose seat Sonia Sotomayor is nominated to fill, surprised George H.W. Bush, the president who nominated him, by becoming one of the more liberal justices. Joining us to discuss how Supreme Court justices develop their view is Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman, who once clerked for Justice Souter, and John Schwartz, the legal correspondent for The New York Times.

In case you missed it, here's President Obama officially nominating Judge Sotomayor:

Advocates for gay marriage in California hoped the State Supreme Court would overturn last November’s ballot initiative that took away the right to same-sex marriage, but their hopes were dashed yesterday when the court upheld Proposition 8, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The Takeaway is joined by John Schwartz, the legal correspondent for The New York Times to discuss the repercussions of this ruling.

When New York Times National Legal Correspondent John Schwartz was called for jury duty, he Googled the defendant's name because it sounded familiar. When he realized his error, he also realized he wasn't alone. The use of BlackBerrys and iPhones by jurors serving on legal cases is wreaking havoc on trials around the country. The Takeaway talks to John Schwartz about whether trials need to change or whether technology will change trials.

An alleged follower of al Qaeda may soon face terrorism-related charges in U.S. federal court. The move would eliminate the possibility of a military tribunal for the man who is the only designated enemy combatant to be held in the continental United States. Moving the trial into federal court offers the defendant legal options available in civilian criminal court, like the right to challenge the evidence against him. For what this means for future terrorism trials, we are joined by John Schwartz, National Legal Correspondent for the New York Times, who is following this story.

Read The New York Times article U.S. Will Give Qaeda Suspect a Civilian Trial

In 2003, the Columbia space shuttle disintegrated in the skies above Texas. All seven astronauts were lost. A 400-page NASA report released yesterday investigates the equipment failures during the final moments aboard the shuttle. New York Times science journalist John Schwartz joins The Takeaway to discuss.

For more John Schwartz, read his article in today's New York Times. He also has an article covering the future of NASA.