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Justices could talk health care cases on Nov. 10
Court Watch |
2011/10/26 09:43
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The Supreme Court could decide as early as Nov. 10 whether to hear a challenge to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul this term.
Federal appeals court rulings on health care from Atlanta, Cincinnati and Richmond are on the agenda for the justices' private conference on Nov. 10.
If they agree then to hear any or all of those cases, the decision would be announced that day or when the court meets in public session the following Monday. Such a timetable would allow the court to hear arguments over the health care law in late March and would give the justices three months to craft their opinions.
The central issue is whether the requirement for individuals to buy insurance or pay a penalty is constitutional. |
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Judge deciding if convicted killer gets DNA tests
Court Watch |
2011/10/24 07:32
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A Texas death row inmate is trying to convince the courts to force prosecutors to turn over knives, clothing and other evidence for DNA testing that his attorneys say could prove his innocence.
But prosecutors say the request from 49-year-old Henry Watkins Skinner is an empty tactic to delay his execution next month.
Both sides will lay out their arguments Monday before a federal magistrate judge in Amarillo. The hearing comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Skinner could ask for the untested evidence but left unresolved whether prosecutors had to surrender the items.
Skinner was convicted for the 1993 deaths of his girlfriend, Twila Busby, and her two adult sons, Elwin "Scooter" Caler and Randy Busby. They were killed on New Year's Eve at their home.
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Artists sue auction houses over royalties law
Court Watch |
2011/10/21 09:27
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Famed New York painter Chuck Close and other artists are suing Sotheby's, Christie's and eBay, contending the auctioneers willfully violated a California law requiring royalty payments on sales of their works.
The three federal suits filed Tuesday seek class-action status to represent many other artists and demand unspecified royalties and damages — which could total hundreds of thousands of dollars given current art prices.
The suits were filed on behalf of Close — best known for his enormous photorealistic paintings — along with Los Angeles artist Laddie John Dill, and the estate of late sculptor Robert Graham. Graham's works include the ceremonial gate for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that was commissioned for the 1984 Olympics and features nude statues modeled on some of the athletes.
A foundation of late California painter Sam Francis also is named as a plaintiff in the suits against Christie's and eBay Inc.
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Court orders new trial for convicted Cass County killer
Court Watch |
2011/10/20 09:27
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The 6th District Court of Appeals in Texarkana has ordered a new trial for a Cass County man convicted of killing his wife.
The Texarkana Gazette reports that the court on Wednesday granted 50-year-old David Len Moulton's request for a new trial.
Moulton was convicted and sentenced to 60 years in prison in 2010 of the 2004 death of Rebecca Moulton. Her body was found in a pond on the couple's property in Atlanta, Texas. A cause of death could not be determined.
The appeals court agreed with arguments by defense attorney Jason Horton that the jury was given an improper instruction. The instruction said jurors could convict Moulton if they determined he asphyxiated his wife by unknown means.
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US House group files motion in gay marriage suit
Court Watch |
2011/10/16 09:54
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Gays and lesbians are not entitled to the same heightened legal protection and scrutiny against discrimination as racial minorities and women in part because they are far from politically powerless and have ample ability to influence lawmakers, lawyers for a U.S. House of Representatives group said in a federal court filing.
The filing Friday in San Francisco's U.S. District Court comes in a lesbian federal employee's lawsuit that claims the government wrongly denied health insurance coverage to her same-sex spouse. Karen Golinski says the law under which her spouse was denied benefits — the Defense of Marriage Act — violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.
But attorneys representing the House's Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group counter that DOMA is subject to a lower level of court scrutiny because gays and lesbians don't meet the legal criteria for groups who receive heightened protection from discrimination. Under that lower standard, DOMA is constitutional, they argue.
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Court blocks Ala. from checking student status
Court Watch |
2011/10/15 09:55
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Armando Cardenas says he has thought about leaving Alabama because of the possibility of being arrested as an illegal immigrant and the hostility he feels from residents.
But now that a federal appeals court has sided with the Obama administration and dealt a blow to the state's toughest-in-the-nation immigration law, Cardenas said he will stay for at least a while longer.
"It's not easy to leave everything you have worked so hard for," Cardenas said after the appeals court blocked public schools from checking the immigration status of students.
The decision from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also said police can't charge immigrants who are unable to prove their citizenship, but it let some parts of the law stand, giving supporters a partial victory. The decision was only temporary and a final ruling isn't expected for months, after judges can review more arguments.
Unlike in other states where immigration crackdowns have been challenged in the courts, Alabama's law was left largely in effect for about three weeks, long enough to frighten Hispanics and drive them away from the state. Construction businesses said Hispanic workers had quit showing up for jobs and schools reported that Latino students stopped coming to classes. |
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Defense lawyer will not help Edwards at trial
Court Watch |
2011/10/11 09:41
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A key member of the legal team defending John Edwards against campaign finance charges will not represent the former Democratic presidential candidate at his upcoming trial following questions about a potential conflict of interest.
A motion filed by federal prosecutors says Raleigh defense lawyer Wade Smith will withdraw. The move comes after prosecutors questioned whether Smith had a conflict of interest due to a 2009 conversation with a financial advisor for Bunny Mellon, a wealthy socialite who provided the bulk of nearly $1 million used to support Edwards' pregnant mistress, Rielle Hunter, as he ran for president in 2007.
According to the government, Smith told Mellon's advisor that Edwards knew the money was intended to help him. That appears to conflict with statements by Edwards that he knew nothing of the payments.
Edwards is charged with six felony and misdemeanor counts related to campaign finance violations. He has pleaded not guilty. A trial is scheduled to begin in January.
Smith is among the most well-known defense lawyers in North Carolina, with a list of previous clients that includes members of the Duke University lacrosse team cleared of charges they gang-raped a stripper. |
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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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