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Court hearing 'Fatal Vision' appeal after 40 years
Criminal Law |
2010/03/23 07:02
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A former Army doctor convicted in the 1970 slayings of his pregnant wife and two daughters is asking a Virginia-based federal appeals court for a new trial. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond will hear arguments in 66-year-old Jeffrey MacDonald's case Tuesday. MacDonald is serving three life terms. He has always maintained that four drug-crazed hippies were responsible for the deaths of his family in their Fort Bragg, N.C., home. The slayings shocked a nation still reeling from the Charles Manson murders and spawned the book and TV miniseries "Fatal Vision." MacDonald claims he has new evidence, including DNA tests and sworn statements by two people who are now dead, supporting his claim of innocence. |
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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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