Judge rejects Nickles’ effort to recover fees from lawyer

A federal judge has slapped down D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles’ efforts to recover fees from a plaintiffs’ lawyer who Nickles claimed was exploiting the city’s beleaguered special education system with “frivolous” litigation.

Nickles alleged that lawyer John A. Straus filed a needless due process complaint on behalf of a mentally disabled girl who had already been helped by the schools and asked the court for some $1,750 in attorneys’ fees. U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts tossed Nickles’ complaint this week, rebuking the attorney general for wasting time and money.