The Florida attorney general's office is investigating possible misconduct by a large law firm that files foreclosures for banks, according to a posting on its Web site.

The Web site said the office is looking at whether Florida Default Law Group, based in Tampa, was involved in "fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases." Mortgage documents that are used to prove a bank has a right to foreclose "have later been shown to be legally inadequate and/or insufficient," the Web site said.

A spokeswoman for Florida Default declined to comment. Ryan Wiggins, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill McCollum, said the investigation began last fall.

The civil probe comes as some judges and federal prosecutors in Florida are paying close attention to how banks—and so-called foreclosure-mill law firms that work for banks—are attempting to take control of homes from borrowers in default. Judges across the country have chastised banks and their attorneys for attempting to seize properties they can't prove they own.

Last month, a Florida judge said that a mortgage document filed by a bank in a foreclosure case was part of an "intentional effort to mislead" the court.

When President George W. Bush and his lawyers were insisting the commander in chief had the sole power to run the new "war on terror," Judge Diane Wood sharply criticized that view.

Wood, now on President Obama's list as a possible Supreme Court nominee, wrote in a 2003 Chicago law review article that "in a democracy, those responsible for national security must do more than say ‘trust us, we know best.' " Secret prisons and secret evidence do not comport with the rule of law, she said.

When the Bush administration argued that a Chinese Muslim could be held indefinitely as a Guantanamo Bay prisoner because he had gone to Afghanistan and may have "associated" with the Taliban, Judge Merrick Garland disagreed.

Garland, also on Obama's short list for the Supreme Court, wrote two years ago for the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington that "Lewis Carroll notwithstanding, the fact that the government has ‘said it thrice' does not make the allegation true." There was no evidence that the Uighurs were "enemy combatants," he said.

Each South Hampton Roads city has a cadre of attorneys on staff to deal with the many legal disputes that come with running a large city.

Sometimes, a case comes along that poses a potential conflict of interest, requires expertise that can't be found in-house, or just takes too much time.

In those scenarios, officials look outside the city attorney's office to hire a private law firm. That gets expensive.

Saddled with long and costly legal battles, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach have paid nearly $9 million to private law firms over the past five years - more than twice the combined amount spent by Norfolk, Portsmouth and Suffolk.

"When we go through and see how much we have spent on outside counsel, I think we can do better," said Chesapeake Councilwoman Patricia Willis, who is a lawyer.

City Attorney Ronald Hallman said Chesapeake is a "growing city and has faced a host of unique legal matters" including opposition to a planned North Carolina landfill, the Battlefield Golf Club fly ash case, and a challenge to a police test by the U.S. Justice Department. All of these cases required specific expertise and lots of time, which equals large bills.

Enid Public Schools will be represented by the law firm Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold in a suit filed by the father of a boy who said school officials failed to prevent assaults and harassment against his son.

John Kevin Bradshaw, of Yukon, has named Enid Public Schools, school officials and coaches in the lawsuit seeking more than $40,000 in damages.

Amber Graham Fitzgerald, director of school and community relations, said Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold will represent the district in the lawsuit and those named in the suit who were acting in an official capacity for the district.

“While I cannot comment specifically on this situation, generally EPS employees have the opportunity to be represented by the district’s attorney for claims made while they are fulfilling du-ties in an official school capacity,” she said. “Representation is not provided when a claim is made against them as an individual.”

She said the district does had liability insurance, which addresses this type of situation.

She said school officials could not comment on pending litigation.

A judge sentenced Richard Heene to 90 days in jail, including 60 days of work release that will let him pursue work as a construction contractor while doing his time. The judge also imposed conditions on Heene's probation that forbid him from profiting from the balloon spectacle in any way for four years.

Heene choked back tears as he said he was sorry, especially to the rescue workers who chased down false reports that his 6-year-old son had floated away in a balloon. He said: "I do want to reiterate that I'm very, very sorry."

Richard and Mayumi Heene pleaded guilty to charges that they carried out the balloon stunt in October to promote a reality TV show. Mayumi Heene's sentencing is under way.