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Ohio man found guilty in septic tank body case
Criminal Law |
2012/06/11 08:54
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A jury has convicted a man of aggravated murder and other charges in the death of his estranged wife, who was found strangled in a septic tank in southeast Ohio last year.
Hocking County jurors in Logan deliberated for about four hours before returning a verdict Tuesday in the trial of 27-year-old William Inman II. He could face the death penalty when he's sentenced.
His parents also are charged. They are being tried separately in the slaying of his 25-year-old wife, Summer.
Authorities say she was abducted in Logan, strangled with a zip tie and dumped in an underground septic tank behind a church in March of last year.
Inman's parents have pleaded not guilty. They'll be tried later this year.
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Court rules for news groups in execution case
Breaking Legal News |
2012/06/09 23:48
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A federal appeals court ruled Friday that witnesses should have full viewing access to Idaho's upcoming execution, siding with The Associated Press and 16 other news organizations.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision a day after hearing arguments in a lawsuit from the news groups seeking to change Idaho's protocol, saying it's unconstitutionally restrictive.
The case aims to strike down a portion of Idaho's regulations that prevent witnesses — including reporters acting as representatives of the public — from watching executions until after catheters have been inserted into the veins of death row inmates.
The lawsuit comes as lethal injections have drawn greater scrutiny, from whether the drugs are effective to whether the execution personnel are properly trained.
It's unclear how the ruling will affect the scheduled execution next week of Idaho death row inmate Richard Leavitt, who will be put to death by lethal injection. Leavitt was convicted of the 1984 murder of a Blackfoot woman.
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NY court limits disclosure in old communist probe
Court Watch |
2012/06/08 23:48
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New York's top court on Tuesday ordered the release of more names and records to a writer whose parents were targeted by anti-communist investigators in the New York City school system 57 years ago.
The Court of Appeals, however, is still excluding informants who were promised confidentiality. The seven judges unanimously said history may at some point overtake those promises and more completely peel back the veil of secrecy from that chapter in America's Red Scare.
"The story of the Anti-Communist Investigations, like any other that is a significant part of our past, should be told as fully and as accurately as possible, and historians are better equipped to do so when they can work from uncensored records," Judge Robert Smith wrote. "Perhaps there will be a time when the promise made ... is so ancient that its enforcement would be pointless, but that time is not yet."
Lisa Harbatkin's parents were among more than 1,100 teachers investigated from the 1930s to the 1960s. She has seen interview transcripts with names and personal information blacked out and is seeking complete documents under New York's Freedom of Information Law.
City officials opposed complete disclosure for privacy reasons, offering redacted documents unless those in question or their legal heirs agreed to disclosure. As an alternative, they offered Harbatkin complete accounts if she agreed not to publish the names, a condition she rejected.
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Powerbroker tied to Nevada Sen. Reid goes to court
Breaking Legal News |
2012/06/07 23:47
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A former developer and lobbyist with long ties to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Nevada's political elite turned himself in to federal authorities Thursday after being indicted on criminal charges involving federal campaign contributions.
Harvey Whittemore planned to plead not guilty later in the day before a federal magistrate in Reno, his lawyer, John Arrascada, told The Associated Press.
Whittemore, 55, was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on four counts related to campaign contributions made in 2007 to an unnamed elected federal official.
Once a kingpin in state political circles, Whittemore made campaign contributions to numerous politicians including Republican Sen. Dean Heller and Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley. But records show only Reid received donations of more than $100,000 on a single day in 2007.
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Court denies dismissal of 8 WikiLeaks charges
Criminal Law |
2012/06/06 23:48
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A military judge is refusing to dismiss eight of the 22 counts against an Army private charged in a massive leak of government secrets.
Col. Denise Lind made the ruling Friday during a pretrial hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning at Fort Meade, Md.
She rejected defense arguments that the government used unconstitutionally vague language in charging Manning with unauthorized possession and disclosure of classified information.
Lind is considering another defense motion seeking dismissal of two counts alleging Manning exceeded his authority to access a Defense Department computer system.
She said Manning's trial, currently set for September, will likely start in November or January due to procedural issues.
Manning is charged with aiding the enemy and other offenses on accusations he caused thousands of classified documents to be published on the WikiLeaks website.
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High court protects Secret Service agents
Breaking Legal News |
2012/06/04 09:29
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The Supreme Court ruled Monday that two Secret Service agents are shielded from a lawsuit filed by a man they arrested after a confrontation with then-Vice President Dick Cheney.
The 8-0 decision comes in a case that began with the arrest of Steven Howards following a chance encounter with Cheney at a shopping center in Colorado in 2006. Howards claimed he was arrested because he expressed his anti-war views.
The agents and the Obama administration asked the court for broad protection against claims of retaliatory arrests. The justices did not grant that wish.
But Justice Clarence Thomas said in his opinion for the court that the agents could not be sued in this instance because of uncertainty about the state of the law concerning such arrests.
The decision reversed a ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver to allow Howards' lawsuit to go forward.
Howards, of Golden, Colo., was detained by Cheney's security detail after he told Cheney of his opposition to the war in Iraq. Howards also touched Cheney on the shoulder, then denied doing so under questioning. The appeals court said the inconsistency gave the agents reason to arrest Howards. |
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Ind. taxpayers lose high court fight over refunds
Breaking Legal News |
2012/06/04 09:28
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The Supreme Court has turned down homeowners in Indianapolis who sought tax refunds when the city changed its plan for paying for a new sewer line.
In a 6-3 ruling Monday, the court upheld the city's decision to refuse to refund taxes that some homeowners paid up front while it forgave the remaining taxes for people who paid on an installment plan.
Those who paid in full complained that the disparate treatment violated the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause.
But Justice Stephen Breyer said in his majority opinion that Indianapolis acted properly in changing the payment system because it wanted to reduce the administrative headaches of debt collection.
In dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts said the court was wrong to endorse such a gross disparity in tax treatment.
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Class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it. In the United States federal courts, class actions are governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule. Since 1938, many states have adopted rules similar to the FRCP. However, some states like California have civil procedure systems which deviate significantly from the federal rules; the California Codes provide for four separate types of class actions. As a result, there are two separate treatises devoted solely to the complex topic of California class actions. Some states, such as Virginia, do not provide for any class actions, while others, such as New York, limit the types of claims that may be brought as class actions. They can construct your law firm a brand new website, lawyer website templates and help you redesign your existing law firm site to secure your place in the internet. |
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