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Lawmakers urge high court to side with gun owners
Breaking Legal News |
2008/02/09 14:38
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Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who might start a run for Texas governor next year, has mustered support from a majority of Senate and House members to help persuade the Supreme Court to strike down the District of Columbia's gun laws. Hutchison said Thursday she is filing a friend-of-the-court brief in a challenge to the laws. Fifty-five senators and 250 House members have signed the brief to be filed Thursday by her and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. Hutchison has long opposed the district's ban on handguns and requirement that rifles and shotguns be registered, stored unloaded and either locked or disassembled. She has sponsored legislation several times to overturn the district's laws. Her 2004 bill passed the House, but not the Senate. The district's law forced her to dismantle and return to Texas her .357 Magnum she brought with her when she moved from Austin. "In Texas, of course, the right to keep and bear arms is well-settled. In fact, when in Texas you talk about gun control, they mean using two hands," Hutchison quipped in a speech organized by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. A federal appeals court ruled in March that the district's ban is an unconstitutional infringement on an individual's right to keep and bear arms. The district appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, arguing the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms only in the context of an organized militia. Hutchison argues it is an individual right. The court is expected to hear arguments next month. "All of the congressional legislative history is assuming that the Second Amendment, which is in the Bill of Rights, is an individual right and for a city or state to thwart this by taking a person's right in their home to have a loaded gun, just seemed to be a perfect opportunity for the Supreme Court to affirm this individual right that Congress has acknowledged throughout its history," Hutchison said. Tester said the writers of the Constitution did not intend for laws to be applied to some people and not others or to be applied some times and not others. "We cannot restrict the right to bear arms just like we can't restrict the right to practice religion or the right of a free and independent press," Tester said. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the congressional delegate for Washington, D.C., said Hutchison's brief is an attempt to get done in the courts what she couldn't get done in Congress. Norton and others have filed friend-of-the court briefs in support of the law. Norton said the rules have been supported by all four mayors the district has had since it got home rule and has not been opposed by any City Council members. "This is entirely a home rule, self-government matter. That is not anybody's business but our own," Norton said. Hutchison said she's willing to accept some restrictions on the Second Amendment, in the same way the right to free speech does not allow a person to yell "Fire!" in a crowded movie house. She said she hopes the case will similarly set a standard for how far the district can go in restricting guns without infringing on a person's right to defend themselves in their home. ___ |
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Sprint Nextel hit with class action
Class Action |
2008/02/08 08:59
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Sprint Nextel Corp. has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the No. 3 mobile phone carrier is defrauding wireless consumers. The lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.
“Defendants have misled and deceived consumers by extending consumers’ contracts for up to two years without providing adequate notice or obtaining in the 23-page complaint. "We're still reviewing the complaint, so we can't comment on the specific claims it contains," said a Sprint Nextel spokesman. "We take great care to ensure that our customers understand the terms of their contracts for service with our company."
On a related front, Alltel Corp. continues to be bogged down in a long-running, wireless consumer class-action lawsuit in Arkansas federal court.
The plaintiffs assert, among other things, that Alltel fails to disclose applicable fees and charges, billing and sales practices and service limitations.
Alltel, acquired last year by private equity firms TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners in a $27.5 billion deal, is currently fighting to prevent the case from returning to state court. Alltel said the suit belongs in federal court because of a 1993 law that preempts state regulation of wireless rates while reserving to states jurisdiction of “other terms and conditions” of wireless service.
meaningful consent to a contract extension when consumers made small changes to their telephone service, such as adding extra minutes or purchasing a new telephone; when they responded to solicitations by defendants for additional products and services; and when the consumer received ‘courtesy discounts’,” stated plaintiffs |
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US Congress backs stimulus for troubled economy
Politics |
2008/02/08 08:19
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The US Congress has overwhelmingly approved a giant economic stimulus plan sought by the White House amid mounting fears that the world's biggest economy could be sliding into a recession. Senate and House of Representative lawmakers approved the economic aid package in separate votes, clearing the way for it to be signed into law by President George W. Bush. "The president will sign it next week," White House spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman told AFP. She said an exact date had not yet been announced. Bush has hailed the package amid a worsening housing market downturn and a dramatic slowdown in American economic growth. The stressed economy lost jobs last month for the first time in over four years and a Wall Street credit crunch, triggered in part by rising home foreclosures, has roiled global financial markets in recent months. "This plan is robust, broad-based, timely, and it will be effective. This bill will help to stimulate consumer spending and accelerate needed business investment," Bush said in a statement released Thursday by the White House. The plan is valued at around 150 billion dollars and crammed with temporary tax rebates and business incentives. Tens of millions of Americans are likely to receive tax rebate checks in their mailboxes in coming months after Bush gives the stimulus his official blessing. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also welcomed congressional approval of the package, saying it would inject money into a stressed economy. "This package of payments to individuals and incentives for businesses to invest will support our economy as we weather the housing downturn," the Treasury secretary said. Democratic and Republican senators had sparred over different incentives after the House of Representatives passed an initial version of the plan last Tuesday. The Democratic-controlled Senate approved an amended version of the House measure Thursday which senators changed to include tax rebates for low-income retirees and military veterans. House lawmakers met in an evening session to quickly approve the final amended package. The plan calls for tax rebate checks of up to 600 dollars for individual taxpayers and up to 1,200 dollars for couples, plus additional cash for dependent children. It also expands financing opportunities in the housing market by allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two mortgage finance companies, to purchase or guarantee mortgages larger than 417,000 dollars up to 729,750 dollars. Lawmakers said it will not benefit wealthy Americans, as tax relief begins to phase out for individuals earning 75,000 dollars and for married couples with a combined income above 150,000 dollars. It will, however, provide "unprecedented" help to some 35 million families who work but make too little to pay taxes, they said. People who earned at least 3,000 dollars in 2007 are eligible for 300 dollars per individual or 600 dollars per couple, lawmakers said. Democrats and lawmakers from Bush's Republican Party applauded the plan. "Today's agreement is a victory for a better, more effective economic stimulus. Economists agree that consumer spending, fueled by tax rebates, can boost America's economy," said Democratic Senator Max Baucus. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said:"This is not a victory for Republicans or Democrats. This is a victory for the American people." It's unclear, however, how much of a boost the vast package will give the troubled economy. Some economists have voiced doubt about whether the plan will deliver a needed shot-in-the-arm to growth. Its success will depend in part upon whether Americans spend their rebate checks and boost consumer spending or stuff them in bank accounts. Political concern about the economy has increased amid worries the country is on the cusp of a recession. The Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates since September in a bid to fire up economic momentum, which slowed significantly to a 0.6 percent annualized crawl during the fourth quarter of last year. Paulson said the government could start mailing out tax rebates to those eligible to receive them by early May. |
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Court Orders French Trader to Be Jailed
International |
2008/02/08 07:05
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A French trader was ordered to be jailed Friday while investigations continue into the billions in losses he allegedly caused at Societe Generale bank. A probe into the case broadened as well, with police taking into custody a brokerage employee who reportedly had been in contact with Jerome Kerviel, the 31-year-old futures trader. Prosecutors sought to jail Kerviel to keep him from contacting accomplices, if he had any, and from jeopardizing what promises to be a long and complex investigation. Judges allowed Kerviel to go free last month after his lawyer argued he did not pose a flight risk. It was unclear if Kerveil had been taken into custody Friday. News that police had arrested a second person, an employee at a brokerage arm of Societe Generale, again raised questions about whether Kerviel acted alone. Societe Generale, one of France's biggest banks, has said Kerviel did not appear to have accomplices when he made massive unauthorized bets on European futures markets that the bank said cost it more than $7 billion to unwind. The daily newspaper Le Monde reported Friday, however, that the bank has turned over new evidence, including a message sent to Kerviel through the bank's computer system by the broker now in custody. The message, sent Nov. 30, read: "You have done nothing illegal in terms of the law," the newspaper reported. The employee from brokerage Newedge, a 50-50 joint venture between Societe Generale and bank Calyon, was taken into custody Thursday and was still being held Friday, according to a judiciary official who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the case. Societe Generale spokeswoman Joelle Rosello confirmed the employee was in custody. "We are cooperating closely with police," she said. Le Monde said Kerviel passed some trades through the brokerage, and that police suspect that the brokerage employee was aware of Kerviel's activities. It said the brokerage was searched Thursday. Societe Generale announced Jan. 24 that it lost 4.82 billion euros ($7.09 billion) cleaning up Kerviel's unauthorized transactions. It said Kerviel overstepped his authority and bet 50 billion euros ($73 billion) -- more than the market value of the entire bank -- on futures in European equity markets. It also said he did not appear to have profited personally from the trades. Since the scandal become public, Societe Generale has faced speculation that it could be bought out or broken up, and about how Kerviel's activities went unnoticed or ignored. Investigating judges have filed preliminary charges against Kerviel for forgery, breach of trust and unauthorized computer activity. |
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EPA's Relaxed Emissions Rule Struck Down
Politics |
2008/02/08 05:54
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A federal appeals court struck down a Bush administration policy exempting power plants from certain environmental regulations. The court said the policy was unlawful. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit negated a rule known as cap-and-trade. That policy allows power plants that fail to meet emission targets to buy credits from plants that did, rather than having to install their own mercury emissions controls. The rule was to go into effect in 2010. The court struck down the cap-and-trade policy and the Environmental Protection Administration's plan to exempt coal- and oil-fired power plants from regulations requiring strict emissions control technology to block emissions. New Jersey and many other states challenged the policy in federal court. The agency defended the rule, saying it represented the nation's first attempt to control such emissions and would reduce mercury emissions by 70 percent. The three-judge panel agreed with the states that the EPA did not have the authority to exempt the power plants. The court unanimously ruled that EPA's arguments were "not persuasive." Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that accumulates in fish and poses the greatest risk of nerve and brain damage to pregnant women, women of childbearing age and young children. Emissions of mercury total about 48 tons a year, most of it in the form of air pollution that winds up in waterways. The states argued that the cap-and-trade system would endanger children near some power plants that pollute but which also use credits to do it legally. "This means the EPA is going to have to go back and do a real job of regulating all the toxics coming out of these plants," said attorney James S. Pew, who argued on behalf of several environmental organizations that filed documents in the case. Joining New Jersey in the lawsuit were: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. |
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Emergency Request in Spears Court Case
Breaking Legal News |
2008/02/08 05:46
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The court commissioner who placed Britney Spears under conservatorship held a closed-door hearing after reviewing an unspecified emergency request in the case. It was not immediately known who brought Thursday's action, known as an ex-parte motion. Two attorneys for Spears' father James — who has been named as her conservator — were in court along with Spears' court-appointed attorney and an attorney for the conservatorship. A conservatorship is created when a court determines a person can no longer care for his or her own affairs. The hearing came a day after Spears was suddenly released from a psychiatric hospital, drawing objections from her parents. |
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Illinois Court Upholds Free-Speech Right For Ad
Court Watch |
2008/02/08 03:54
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A newspaper advertisement harshly criticizing a competitor for a discount sale might have been distasteful and juvenile but also was constitutionally protected free speech, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
Chicago men’s clothing store Imperial Apparel took competitor Cosmo’s Designer Direct to court after Cosmo’s ran an ad in October 2004 in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Cosmo’s ran the ad to notify customers that it was unhappy that Imperial was touting a new 3-for-1 sale, which Cosmo’s was known for offering.
The wide-ranging ad did not mention Imperial by name, but did refer to “Empire rags center.” It said the competitor had the integrity of the “Iraq information minister” and that the 3-for-1 was an imitation offer that “has the transparency of a hooker’s come on.”
Imperial’s owners responded by suing Cosmo’s and the Sun-Times for running the ad, saying it was defamatory and damaged the company’s reputation.
An appellate court partially agreed with Imperial’s argument.
But the Supreme Court determined that the ad wasn’t defamatory because its statements couldn’t be viewed as facts about Imperial.
“The text is artless, ungrammatical, sophomoric and sometimes nonsensical,” Justice Lloyd Karmeier wrote in the court’s opinion.
“We do not believe, however, that an ordinary reader would perceive it as making objectively verifiable assertions about [Imperial’s] business.”
Imperial lawyer Edward Feldman said Thursday he hadn’t talked with Imperial’s owners about the next step in the case. The company changed its name to Suits 20/20 in recent years in an unrelated business decision, Feldman said.
“We think this was a vicious and intentional libel and that the ad contained facts that are defamatory and not mere opinion,” Feldman said.
Cosmo’s lawyer James Wolf said the company was pleased with the outcome.
“The law is offensive speech does not render it defamatory,” Wolf said.
Wolf and Sun-Times lawyer Damon Dunn agreed that advertisers and newspapers can breathe easier with Thursday’s ruling.
Advertisers could have been scared away from aggressive competition and newspapers could have been forced to screen ads and even letters to the editor for factual accuracy if the ruling had been different, they said.
“We think that this means that we won’t have all these lawyers and judges and juries all looking over our shoulders,” Dunn said.
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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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