It's unclear when the state's high court will rule.

But the federal court's Chief Judge Tena Campbell said Gardner failed to prove he could not get a "fair and impartial hearing" before Utah's Board of Pardons and Parole.

A two-day hearing before the board is set to begin on Thursday.

In court papers filed in U.S. District Court late Tuesday, attorney Andrew Parnes argued that the board's process was tainted because lawyers that represent the board work for the Utah attorney general's office — the same entity that sought Gardner's death warrant. Those state attorneys will also argue against the board commuting Gardner's death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Jon Atzen has joined the Los Angeles/Downtown office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm's Corporate practice group and member of the Emerging Companies practice.  Atzen most recently was a partner at DLA Piper in Los Angeles.  

Atzen has devoted virtually his entire career to working with leading entrepreneurs and innovators, as well as emerging and established companies, primarily in the southern California region.  He focuses his corporate practice on representing emerging growth and established companies, and venture capital and private equity funds, in such technology sectors as life sciences, semiconductors, wireless communications, internet, software and clean/alternative energy technologies.

"Jon has an impressive emerging growth company background, which includes private practice and corporate counsel for both a tech company and a venture capital firm.  His practice dovetails well with our existing emerging growth/venture capital practices throughout California, while broadening our existing corporate practice capabilities in Los Angeles," said Guy N. Halgren, chairman of the firm. 

In addition to private practice, Atzen previously held the positions of Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. 

"I am excited about joining Sheppard Mullin, a top-notch full service firm with a strong corporate practice in Los Angeles and throughout the state," Atzen commented.  "I am impressed with firm management's dedication to growing the Corporate practice group, and excited to be part of a partnership that values teamwork and fosters collegiality."  

In addition to his venture capital and private equity practice, Atzen provides corporate and strategic counsel to publicly-traded companies with respect to securities offerings including initial public offerings, secondary offerings, PIPEs and spin-offs, and reporting and compliance matters under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  He also has significant experience in public and private company mergers and acquisitions.

Atzen received a J.D. from Loyola Law School Los Angeles in 1990 and a B.A. from University of California at Santa Barbara in 1987. 

Sheppard Mullin has 200 attorneys based in its Los Angeles offices.  The firm's Corporate practice group includes 100 attorneys firmwide. 

In April, Kevin Rooney joined the firm's Silicon Valley office as a partner in the Corporate practice group.  Rooney most recently practiced at Hayden Bergman & Rooney in San Francisco, as a name partner.  Previously, Rooney was an attorney with Wilson Sonsini in Palo Alto and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineburg in Toronto.  

About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Sheppard Mullin is a full service AmLaw 100 firm with 550 attorneys in 11 offices located in the United States and Asia.  Since 1927, companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions.  In the U.S., the firm's clients include more than half of the Fortune 100.  For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com. 

Peter Erlinder pleaded not guilty to the charges in court last Friday and asked to be granted bail so he could return home for medical treatment.

The U.S. lawyer is accused of violating Rwanda's laws against minimizing the genocide in which hundreds of thousands of Rwandans, the vast majority of them ethnic Tutsis, were massacred by extremist Hutus in 100 days. Erlinder doesn't deny massive violence happened but contends it's inaccurate to blame just one side.

"The medical report which Erlinder presented to court only shows that he was hospitalized twice but it does not convince court that his hospitalization was a result of detention," said Judge Maurice Mbishibishi

He said Erlinder will remain in detention for 30 days and can appeal the bail decision in five days time. His lawyers said they are going to appeal it immediately in Rwanda's High Court.

Across the ideological spectrum, Kagan's confirmation is a ripe opportunity for groups to push their agendas, mobilize their supporters and raise money. The organizations are pumping up the volume in the debate, knowing that their influence is measured largely by the intensity of their support or opposition.

"Ensure Elena Kagan gets a fair hearing," blares a headline on the website of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "The future of women's access to abortion hangs in the balance," the group tells visitors to the site, asking them to urge senators to inquire about Kagan's stance on the Roe v. Wade decision that established abortion rights.

While they're at it, visitors are asked to give their names, mailing and e-mail addresses — and their cell phone numbers, which NARAL says it will use to send "urgent" text messages.

When he tried to sell the GPS to its owner, an argument ensued, and a bystander called police. He has been taken into custody by judicial marshals.

Peno was being held on $25,000 bail and is to be arraigned Thursday on charge of burglary, larceny and breach of peace. A court clerk says Peno is not yet represented by a lawyer.

He says other insurers that Appleton had policies with between 1978 and 1986 have reached confidential settlements for their portion of the cleanup, which is expected to cost $600 million or more.

Appleton's corporate predecessor dumped chemical pollutants known as PCBs into the river for years as a byproduct of carbonless paper production.

A 15-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in a Seattle bus tunnel beating of another girl that was captured on surveillance video.

The Seattle girl who entered her plea Tuesday had been charged with first-degree robbery in the Jan. 28 attack. However, the King County prosecutor's office says there wasn't enough evidence to prove that count.

Friends and relatives of six people arrested in the attack say the 15-year-old defendant and the now-16-year-old victim had a long-standing dispute. Two other juveniles have pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault. Three adults await trial on robbery counts.

The widely viewed video showed uniformed security guards doing nothing to stop the beating. The attack prompted changes in bus tunnel security, including allowing security guards to intervene in tunnel fights rather than merely "observe and report."