Court turns away ex-State Dept. lawyer, FBI agents

The Supreme Court Monday left intact the District of Columbia Bar Association's disciplinary action against Abraham Sofaer, the only lawyer ever cited for violating "revolving door" rules by working in private practice on the same matter he handled for the government.

Sofaer, a former top State Department legal adviser, had challenged the sanction he received for briefly representing Libya in a lawsuit over the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, after he left his government job, the Associated Press reported.

The Supreme Court also let stand a ruling against agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who had sued to gain full rights to serve in the military reserves. FBI agents object to a bureau policy that allows them to serve only in the "standby reserves," which are called up only when there is a shortage of volunteers in the "ready reserves."

Lower courts had rejected the agents' claims that the FBI policy violated the 1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

In a third case, the high court left intact a ruling that makes it more difficult for landowners to get compensated when government regulation prevents them from developing their land.

The decision turned away a Florida dispute over the availability of compensation when property owners show regulation deprived them of all economically viable use of their land. A federal appeals court said such a showing is not enough, ruling that landowners also must prove "reasonable" expectations of developing the property. Lloyd Good was granted the necessary state and county approval to fill or excavate 13 acres on Lower Sugar Loaf Key in Monroe County, Fla., and had filed with the Army Corps of Engineers for permission. But the Florida Land and Water Adjudication Commission ordered the county to review the project under more stringent standards. Two species living on the land were added to the endangered species list, prompting the Army Corps to reject the application. Good sued in the Court of Federal Claims, which ruled for the government, as did the appeals court.