The jury found the defendants guilty on March 30 of all 14 charges in a December 2005 indictment, following a 20-day trial and a day of deliberations. The Honorable Henry T. Wingate, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, presided over the trial.

The jury convicted Minor, 61, of conspiring with Teel and Whitfield; six counts of honest services mail fraud; one count of honest services wire fraud; two counts of bribing and employee of state agency that received federal funds; and one count of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute, for the use of the employees and resources of his law firm, Minor & Associates, to accomplish and further a pattern of racketeering activity that included bribery of Whitfield and wire fraud in connection with the payoff of a loan to Whitfield. Teel, 56, was convicted of conspiring with Minor in a bribery scheme; two counts of using the mails to deprive the citizens of Mississippi of the intangible right to his honest services; and one count of federal program bribery. Whitfield, 44, was found guilty of conspiring with Minor in a bribery scheme; four counts of honest services mail fraud; one count of using the wires in a scheme to deprive the citizens of Mississippi to the intangible right to his honest services; and one count of federal program bribery.

"The jury's conviction of attorney Paul Minor and former Judges Walter Teel and John Whitfield sends an important message – we will not tolerate the bribery of judges to influence matters before the court," said Assistant Attorney General Fisher. "The American people expect and demand a system of justice that is free of corruption. We will prosecute those who attempt to buy or sell positions of high public trust for their own financial benefit."

The jury heard evidence that, in November 1998, Minor guaranteed a $25,000 line of credit for Teel at a Biloxi bank while Teel was a candidate for a judgeship in chancery court of Harrison County. The line of credit purported to be for campaign expenses. After Teel was elected, Minor, in an effort to conceal the fact that he was paying off the loan himself, used cash and an intermediary to disguise the true source of the loan payments. Thereafter, then-Judge Teel was assigned to a civil case in chancery court in which Minor's firm represented a local bank in a bad faith declination of coverage suit against the bank's insurance provider. The case was to be tried without a jury. In 2001, as the case proceeded, Teel made favorable rulings for Minor's client on issues of discovery and summary judgment.

Around that time, then-Judge Teel and two other chancery court judges became the subject of a state criminal investigation for misappropriation of funds. Among the efforts Minor made to assist the judges under investigation was a meeting Minor arranged between the judges and the then-Attorney General of Mississippi. Minor provided transportation to the meeting via his private jet and also hired a public relations firm to assist the judges. After Teel was indicted on state charges, Minor paid a portion of the legal expenses for Teel's defense. Teel was ultimately acquitted. Within weeks of the meeting with the Attorney General, Teel presided over a settlement conference in the lawsuit between Minor and the attorneys for the bank's insurance provider. During the negotiation, Teel made statements to the parties indicating his belief in the strength of the plaintiff's case and insinuated that, were the defendants to push the case to trial, Teel would be inclined to award punitive damages to the plaintiff. The insurance provider promptly agreed to settle the case for $1.5 million dollars. None of the attorneys representing the insurance provider were made aware of the financial relationship between Teel and Minor.

The jury also heard evidence that, in November 1998, Minor guaranteed a $40,000 loan for Whitfield at a Biloxi bank while Whitfield was a candidate for re-election to the Circuit Court of Harrison County. The loan purported to be for campaign expenses. After Whitfield was elected, Minor guaranteed an additional loan for then-Judge Whitfield for $100,000, purportedly for the down payment on a house. Minor, in an effort to conceal the fact that he was actually paying off the loans himself, used cash and an intermediary to disguise the true source of the loan payments.

Whitfield was later assigned to a personal injury case in circuit court in which Minor's firm represented an oil rig worker injured as a result of his employer's alleged negligence. Whitfield presided over the trial and found in favor of Minor's firm's client. He awarded damages in the amount of $3.75 million dollars, an award he later reduced by approximately $100,000. Minor continued to disguise the fact that he was making payments on the Whitfield loans and ultimately paid them off through the use of an intermediary.

Minor, Teel and Whitfield each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charges; 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the federal program bribery charges; and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the honest services mail/wire fraud charges. Minor also faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the RICO charge. Sentencing is scheduled for June 14, 2007.

The verdict is the result of the second trial in this matter. The previous trial, conducted in the summer of 2005, involved similar allegations against Minor, Teel, Whitfield, and Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz. The jury acquitted Diaz of all charges, acquitted Minor on the charges related to Diaz, but was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining charges.

The case was prosecuted jointly by the U.S. Department of Justice, Public Integrity Section, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi. The case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ruth R. Morgan and David H. Fulcher; and Trial Attorney Natashia Tidwell of the Public Integrity Section, headed by Chief William M. Welch, II. Senior Deputy Chief Peter J. Ainsworth of the Public Integrity Section participated in the investigation and indictment of this matter. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The south-western state is the 12th in the United States to endorse the use of marijuana for medical uses. New Mexico's state legislature is the fourth in the country to enact such a measure.

The law allows marijuana use by patients suffering from several conditions, such as HIV and Aids, cancer, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, according to a news release from Richardson's office.

California began allowing similar use of marijuana in 1996. In 1978, New Mexico began allowing very limited use of marijuana, or its active ingredient, THC, to help control cancer patients' nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, but only when other nausea-control drugs failed.

The law creates a panel of eight expert physicians and other health care workers to supervise the program. Qualified patients must be under a doctor's care and supervision, the news release said.

"I would like to thank the governor for... giving me another shot at life," said Essie DeBone, who suffers from advanced complications from HIV and Aids.

Meanwhile, comments made by Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) regarding Gonzales' inconsistent explanations of his involvement in the firings did not resound with confidence in the attorney general. McConnell did not express his own backing of Gonzales, but said President Bush has confidence in Gonzales "at the moment."

"The military commission system is transparent all right – transparently corrupt," Terry Hicks said, exuberant about the leniency of his son's sentence but still furious about the treatment the 31-year-old Muslim convert has endured for five years.

David Hicks will serve a nine-month sentence in a prison in his hometown of Adelaide after admitting last week that he aided al-Qaida in a plea deal at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

The deal prevents him from talking to the media for 12 months or pursuing his allegations of abuse while in US custody.

Legal observers and opposition lawmakers have joined Terry Hicks in saying the deal is tailored to remove potential political embarrassment for Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who will seek his fifth three-year term as national leader at elections due later this year.

Al-Nashiri has already been convicted and sentenced to death after a trial in absentia in Yemen, the site of the USS Cole attack. He is one of the 14 "high value" detainees moved from secret overseas CIA prisons.

An Alabama company and its owner have been indicted on charges of illegally exporting sensitive military technology overseas, fraud involving aircraft parts, and submitting false documents to the government, Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Alice H. Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

The five-count indictment, issued in the Northern District of Alabama, charges Axion Corporation, a defense contracting firm based in Huntsville, Ala., and its owner, Alexander Nooredin Latifi, 59, a resident of Huntsville.

"Keeping sensitive U.S. military technology from falling into the wrong hands is a top priority for the Justice Department," said Assistant Attorney General Wainstein. "This indictment and other recent illegal export prosecutions should serve as a warning to companies seeking to enhance their profits at the expense of America's national security." "No defense contractor can export an item on the United States Munitions List, to another country, without first obtaining a license from the Department of State. Critical technology, such as the bifilar weight assembly, will be protected through criminal law enforcement where violations are found," said Alice H. Martin, United States Attorney Northern District of Alabama.

According to the indictment, in September 2003 and continuing thereafter, Axion Corporation and Latifi knowingly and willfully exported defense articles, specifically technical drawings of the bifilar weight assembly for the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, to overseas manufacturers without first obtaining a required license and authorization from the State Department. By law, U.S. companies must obtain a State Department license or authorization before exporting defense articles.

The indictment also alleges that, on or about February 19, 2004, Axion Corporation and Latifi made a fraudulent representation to the U.S. Army concerning an aircraft part in connection with a military contract. Specifically, the defendants represented to the U.S. Army that certain parts were provided by Tungsten Products of Madison, Alabama, when that company was not the supplier.

Further, on or about January 2004, Axion Corporation and Latifi knowingly submitted a false document to the government in connection with a military contract involving a tank part. Specifically, the defendants submitted "First Article Test Reports" which falsely stated that Industrial Fabrications Co., Inc., had conducted testing, when the defendants knew that the test reports were false and the testing had not taken place before a specific date.

Counts four and five of the indictment seek forfeiture of any assets and property derived from the offenses alleged in the indictment, including real property at 317 Nick Fitchard Road, NW Huntsville, Alabama, where Axion Corporation is located, as well as $659,280 and all interest and proceeds derived therefrom.

The maximum penalty for exporting defense articles without a license is ten years imprisonment, a fine of $1,000,000 or both, and a term of supervised release of three years. The maximum penalty for fraud is fifteen years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $500,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of three years. The maximum penalty for filing false documents is five years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both, and a term of three years supervised release. This investigation was conducted by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); Army Criminal Investigation Division; the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David H. Estes, Angela Redmond Debro, and James D. Ingram from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama, as well as Trial Attorney Mariclaire Rourke from the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

Vincent Warren, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, criticized the plea as an "to silence criticism and keep the facts of their torture and abuse of detainees from the public." Hicks is the first Guantanamo detainee to be tried under the new Military Commissions Act. Hicks' conviction is also the first by the tribunal.