February 1, 2012
-- February 3, 2012
FEDERAL COURTS
"Equal Justice Under Law" Should Be More Than Just Words
Stephen Wyse, Member of Bar for the U. S. Supreme Court,
Huffington Post
02-02-12 --
Tammy Sutherland believed that a state law that declared 911
calls confidential if they didn't result in criminal charges
meant what it said. So she believed the law would prevent a
recorded call from years earlier about her husband shooting
a family computer was private and further believed that a
federal law that prevented disclosure of her driving records
would permit her to hold her husband's political opponents
accountable for violating these privacy protections. In
addition, that a "Senior" judge would answer the challenge
as to whether he maintained the Article III jurisdiction to
hear her case. On January 23rd the Supreme Court of the
United States (SCOTUS) refused to hear an appeal from a
decision of the 8th Circuit in her case, Sutherland v.
Massa.
. . .
In Sutherland, the
lower court decided that the records in question were not of
an "intimate" enough nature to earn a constitutional right
to privacy. This act of inaction is just the latest example
of de facto Avoidance Doctrine that has emerged in the
Supreme Court. Under this doctrine the highest court in the
land continues to permit lower courts to ignore
congressionally enacted statutes and even on-point Supreme
Court precedents. The result is a disjointed system of
federal law that undermines basic American legal principles
and equal justice for everyone.
Roommate site does not violate housing laws
Thomson Reuters News & Insight
02-02-12 --
A roommate-matching website that allows users to hunt for
living partners based on gender and sexual orientation does
not violate fair-housing laws that ban discrimination, a
federal appeals court ruled on Thursday.
. . . Fair Housing
Councils in California sued Roommates.com LLC in 2003,
accusing the company of violating federal and state laws
that prohibit discrimination in the sale or rental of a
residence. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
refused to apply the laws to roommate relationships.
. . . While the
federal law was designed to prevent landlords from
discriminating against tenants, the court found no
indication Congress intended to regulate relationships
inside the home.
. . . "Taking on a
roommate means giving him full access to the space where we
are most vulnerable," Chief Judge Alex Kozinski wrote for
the three-judge panel. To prevent people from choosing
roommates with compatible lifestyles would be "a serious
invasion of privacy, autonomy and security," the panel
ruled.
Rights group sues U.S. for 'targeted killing' memos
Thomson Reuters News & Insight
02-02-12 --
The U.S. Justice Department should be required to disclose
the legal justification for strikes that have killed U.S.
citizens abroad, a lawsuit by the
American Civil Liberties Union said.
. . . The lawsuit,
filed in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, comes after
the dual U.S.-Yemeni citizen Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a
drone strike in September last year.
. . . Awlaki was a
suspected al-Qaeda militant. U.S. officials confirmed that a
second American, Samir Khan, was also killed in the drone
attack. Khan had served as editor of Inspire, a glossy
English-language magazine used by Al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula as a propaganda and recruitment vehicle.
. . . Reuters
reported last year that American militants like al-Awlaki
are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of
senior U.S. government officials, which then informs the
president of its decisions.
Female veteran sues U.S. over denial of full
benefits
The Pasadena woman, a 12-year
Army veteran who served in Iraq, says she was denied full
benefits because she is married to a woman. The suit targets
the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.
By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times
02-02-12 --
A Pasadena woman who served 12 years in theU.S. Army,
including tours of duty in Iraq, filed suit Wednesday
against the Department of Veterans Affairs for denying her
full disability benefits because she is married to a woman.
. . . The lawsuit
filed in federal court in Los Angeles by Tracey
Cooper-Harris seeks a ruling that the 1996 Defense of
Marriage Act unconstitutionally discriminates against
legally married same-sex couples.
. . . Cooper-Harris,
who earned the rank of sergeant and more than 20 medals
during her Army service, was honorably discharged in 2003
and married her spouse, Maggie, during the six-month period
in 2008 when same-sex marriage was legal in California. The
veteran who trained and provided care for military service
animals, such as explosives-sniffing dogs, has suffered from
post-traumatic stress disordersince returning to civilian
life and was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis in 2010.
ARIZONA
Judge: Psychologist believes Tucson shooting rampage suspect
still incompetent to stand trial
By Associated Press | Washington Post
02-02-12 --
A psychologist believes that the suspect in the Tucson
shooting rampage that left then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
wounded has an improved mental state but remains incompetent
to stand trial, a federal judge said in a court filing
Thursday.
. . . U.S. District
Court Judge Larry Burns scheduled a hearing for Monday in
San Diego to determine whether Jared Lee Loughner should
remain at a federal prison facility in Springfield, Mo.,
where officials have been forcibly medicating him.
CALIFORNIA
Who owns your Twitter account? #Itmaynotbeyou
Sheri Qualters, The National Law Journal
02-02-12 --
Who owns a Twitter account — the person who used it or the
company for which he worked at the time? That question has
yet to be resolved, but a federal magistrate judge has
allowed several claims by PhoneDog LLC against a former
independent contractor over a Twitter account to move
forward.
. . .
On Jan. 30, Chief
U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James of the Northern
District of California Chief
denied Noah Kravitz's motion to dismiss two of
PhoneDog's amended claims against him stemming from his
continued use of a Twitter account he tweeted from while
working for PhoneDog.
. . .
PhoneDog, an online
company that reviews mobile products and services, hired
Kravitz as a product reviewer and video blogger in April
2006. Kravitz's job was to create written and video content
for dissemination to PhoneDog users through Twitter and
other media formats. Kravitz was an independent contractor,
according to the company's lawyer, John Kirke, of Oakland,
Calif.-based Donahue Gallaher Woods. Kravitz's lawyer, Cary
Kletter of the San Mateo, Calif.-based Kletter Law Firm,
claims that at certain times Kravitz was an employee, and at
other he was a contract employee.
. . .
Kravitz maintained a
Twitter account for the company, @PhoneDog Noah, which grew
to 17,000 Twitter followers.
Honda loses Civic hybrid Small Claims Court lawsuit
By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times
02-01-12 --
The owner of a Honda Civic hybrid won an unusual Small
Claims Court lawsuit against American Honda Motor Co.
. . . Los Angeles
County Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan ruled
that the giant automaker mislead Civic owner Heather Peters
when it claimed that the hybrid could achieve as much as 50
miles per gallon.
. . . Peters said the
Torrance Small Claims Court commissioner awarded her $9,867
in damages, very close to the maximum $10,000 allowed in
Small Claims Court that the Los Angeles resident was
seeking.
. . . “It is a
victory for Civic Hybrid owners and consumers everywhere,”
Peters said. “Sometimes big justice comes in small
packages.”
. . . Her award was
far greater than the damages Peters would have collected if
she had signed on to a class-action lawsuit settlement that
would end larger litigation that makes many of the same
claims against Honda.
Sane defendants may be denied self-representation,
court rules
The California Supreme Court
unanimously decides that a person could be sane enough to be
tried but too mentally ill to act as his own lawyer.
By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times
01-31-12 --
Criminal defendants who are sane enough to be tried for a
crime may nevertheless be too mentally ill to act as their
own lawyers, the California Supreme Court decided
unanimously Monday.
. . . In rejecting an
appeal from a man denied the right to represent himself, the
state high court said judges may insist that defendants be
represented if they suffer from "a severe mental illness to
the point where [they] cannot carry out the basic tasks"
needed to mount a defense.
. . . But Justice
Ming W. Chin, writing for the court, warned judges to apply
the standard cautiously. Self-representation should not be
denied simply because attorneys on both sides would ensure a
more efficient or fairer proceeding, he said.
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut man can seek payment from 19-year-old child's
real father, judge rules
Associated Press | Fox News
02-02-12 --
Over the years, Eric Fischer had grown suspicious of whether
he was really the father of his youngest daughter. So he
secretly got a sample of the girl's hair, grabbed one from
his own head and sent them to a lab for DNA testing.
. . . Sure enough, he
was right. The girl was the product of an affair between
Fischer's wife, Pamela Tournier, and her business partner,
Richard Zollino.
. . . Now, five years
later, the State Supreme Court has ruled that Fischer can
proceed with a lawsuit demanding that the girl's biological
father pay him $190,000 -- half the cost of raising her.
. . . She's now a
young woman of 19.
. . . High-level
court rulings allowing cuckolded men to seek such
reimbursement are rare, though DNA tests are increasingly
accessible to suspicious fathers. And when those suspicions
are correct, the idea of repayment raises complicated
questions about what's best for the child caught in the
middle.
FLORIDA
Attorney: Man adopts girlfriend to preserve trust assets
By Douglas Stanglin, USA TODAY
02-03-12 --
An attorney for the wealthy Floridian who legally adopted
his adult girlfriend says the move is not illegal and was
made "with the intention to preserve and grow the assets of
the Trust for his two minor children, even should he
personally be unable to continue his historical role in
achieving these goals."
. . . As On Deadline
noted
in a posting on Thursday, John Goodman, 48, is
being sued by the parents of Scott Wilson, 23, who was
killed in a traffic accident last February, according to The
Palm Beach Post.
. . . The newspaper,
quoting a sheriff's report, says Goodman ran a stop sign and
hit Wilson's car in Wellington, Fla.
. . . Wilson's
parents have sued Goodman. The trial is set for March 27.
. . . The newspaper
says Goodman also faces a criminal trial on March 6 on
charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and leaving
the scene of a crash. He could face up to 30 years in
prison.
GEORGIA
Judge: Obama eligible to be Georgia candidate
By Bill Rankin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
02-03-12 --
A state administrative law judge on Friday found that
President Barack Obama is eligible to be a candidate in the
upcoming Georgia primaries.
. . . In a 10-page
order, Judge Michael Malihi turned down a challenge filed by
members of the so-called "birther" movement.
. . . Obama was born
in the U.S., Malihi said. "Therefore ... he became a citizen
at birth and is a natural born citizen."
. . . Malihi's
finding goes to the Georgia Secretary of State's Office,
which will make the final determination.
MICHIGAN
Inkster judge says she was denied files to aid her defense
By Joe Rossiter, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
02-03-12 --
Inkster Chief Judge Sylvia James, who is accused of
professional and financial misconduct, testified Thursday
that when she was suspended from the bench last year, she
was ordered to leave immediately, preventing her from
gathering important documents that might have proved useful
to her legal defense.
. . . James was
placed on administrative leave by the Michigan Supreme Court
on April 13. She said that despite repeated requests to be
allowed back into the court to collect her belongings, she
wasn't able to return until three months later.
. . . "And when
allowed back in were you given free rein to get your
belongings together?" her defense attorney Phil Thomas
asked.
. . . "I was allowed
one hour," James replied.
MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi Supreme Court takes Barbour pardons case
The Associated Press | Clarion Ledger
02-01-12 --
The Mississippi Supreme Court has decided to take up the
legal challenge to former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's
end-of-term pardons.
. . . The Supreme
Court scheduled a hearing for Feb. 9. The Supreme Court's
ruling late Wednesday means a lower court hearing on the
matter won't happen Friday.
Justices may eye pardons
Attorney for former inmates
hopes to halt nullification effort
Written by Jessica Bakeman, The Clarion-Ledger
01-30-12 --
Attorneys on both sides of the battle over former Gov. Haley
Barbour's pardons are criticizing each other for distracting
from the central constitutional issue with unimportant,
unsubstantiated claims.
. . . Tom Fortner,
the attorney for four of the five pardoned criminals who
worked as trusties at the Governor's Mansion, filed a
petition Monday asking the Mississippi Supreme Court to give
immediate consideration to the case, through which the
attorney general's office aims to overturn most of the 203
pardons Barbour granted during his two terms. A hearing is
scheduled before Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie
Green at 1 p.m. Friday.
. . . Fortner hopes
to stop Green from moving forward because he said it's not
constitutional for a judge to review a governor's pardon
power. If Green overturned the former trusties' pardons
Friday, they could land back in prison.
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NEW
YORK
Queens judge steps down from wrenching custody battle amid
accusations by boy's mother
TV commentator says son is
suicidal and judge is to blame
By Thomas Zambito / New York Daily News
02-03-12 --
A Queens judge has decided to back out of a wrenching
custody battle involving a 10-year-old boy whose TV
commentator mom accused the judge of putting suicidal
thoughts in the boy's head.
. . . Queens Supreme
Court Justice Sidney Strauss announced Friday that he will
hand off the case involving Fordham University Law professor
Annemarie McAvoy to another judge.
. . . Strauss didn't
address the nasty allegations lobbed by McAvoy, which caused
the case to be moved to a Brooklyn judge for an emergency
hearing two weeks ago.
. . . “I think Judge
Strauss has acted in a very wise way throughout a very
difficult process,” said Justice Jeremy Weinstein, the
administrative judge for the civil division of Queens
Supreme Court. “He wants the case to be done. This matter
has dragged on for many months, and that does nobody any
good.”
Cop Gets Probation For Planting Drugs After Begging
Judge
Written by Associated Press | NewsOne
02-03-12 --
A former New York City police detective who was convicted of
planting drugs on two people has been sentenced to probation
after asking a judge not to send him to jail.
. . . The former
detective, Jason Arbeeny, a 14-year police veteran, told
Justice Gustin Reichbach of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn
that he could not look at himself in the mirror anymore. He
then said to the judge, “Please, sir, I’m begging you, don’t
send me to jail.” He also apologized to the victims.
State Panel Adopts 'Zubulake' in Faulting Handling
of E-Mails
Brendan Pierson, New York Law Journal
02-01-12 --
TV broadcasting company EchoStar Satellite failed in its
duty to preserve relevant e-mails leading up to a $2.5
billion contract dispute with a Cablevision Inc. subsidiary,
a unanimous state appeals panel ruled in imposing a sanction
of adverse inference at trial.
. . . The Jan. 31
decision of the Appellate Division, First Department, in
Voom HD Holdings v. EchoStar Satellite LLC,
600292/08, written by Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels (See
Profile), was the first by a New York state
appellate court to apply the standard for spoliation of
electronic evidence set forth by Southern District Judge
Shira Scheindlin (See
Profile) in 2003 in
Zubulake v. UBS Warburg LLC, 220 FRD 212.
. . . The Zubulake
standard holds that "once a party reasonably anticipates
litigation, it must suspend its routine document
retention/destruction policy and put in place a 'litigation
hold' to ensure the preservation of relevant documents."
NORTH
CAROLINA
Electing judges still works for N.C.
By Scott W. Gaylord Editorial, The News & Observer
02-01-12 --
As the U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged, "[n]ot only do
state court judges possess the power to 'make' common law,
but they have the immense power to shape the States'
constitutions as well" through their judicial decisions.
Since 1868, North Carolinians have elected the members of
their judiciary, making our judges directly accountable to
the people for these "political" decisions.
. . . The North
Carolina Bar Association and other groups now seek to
replace our system of elections with an appointment-based
system, known in legal circles as the Missouri Plan. Under
the NCBA's proposal, instead of having open and contested
elections to select our judges, a judicial nominating
commission would provide the governor with two nominees to
fill vacancies that occur on the bench. The governor would
be required to appoint one of the nominees, even if she
disapproved of both of them. After several years on the
bench, the appointed judge would run, uncontested, in a
retention election.
PENNSYLVANIA
Wife charged with perjury in ex-judge's Delco molestation
trial
By David O'Reilly, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
02-03-12 --
The wife of a former Delaware County judge has been
criminally charged with lying to conceal his molestations of
a young girl.
. . . Susan Liberace,
42, of Havertown, gave false testimony before a 2010 grand
jury and at the 2011 trial of her husband, District Judge
Gerald C. Liberace, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney
General's Office.
. . . She was
arraigned Thursday before a Montgomery County district judge
and released on $15,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary
hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
. . . Gerald
Liberace, now 70, was arrested in 2010 after a young woman
told authorities he had fondled her in 2004 when she was 12.
He denied the allegations. In January 2011, a Montgomery
County jury found him guilty of corrupting a minor and
endangering the welfare of a minor, and sentenced him to six
to 12 months in prison.
Judge's order could force Pittsburgh protesters to
move
By Matt Stroud, Thomson Reuters
02-02-12 --
A Pennsylvania judge on Thursday issued an order that could
force the anti-Wall Street protesters in Pittsburgh to leave
the Mellon Square property they have inhabited since
October.
. . . The order by
Allegheny County Judge Christine Ward gives protesters three
days to clear out once BNY Mellon, which owns the park,
files a $10,000 bond with the court.
. . . "There is no
zoning, constitutional, statutory or common law ground that
permits a group of people to take over someone else's
private property as taken over BNY Mellon's property here,
and effectively prevent the owner from closing its
property," the judge's order read.
Orie wants jurors sequestered in trial
By Bobby Kerlik, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
02-01-12 --
State Sen. Jane Orie asked an Allegheny County judge to
sequester the jury in her upcoming retrial, fearing jurors
may hear about a grand jury investigation of her sister,
state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin.
. . . The senator's
attorney, William Costopoulos, filed the request Monday,
citing a Tribune-Review story from last month that said
Melvin received a letter informing her she is the target of
a county grand jury investigation.
. . . "The aforesaid
leak of the alleged target letter to Justice Orie Melvin
will be revisited by the media during the upcoming trial,"
Costopoulos wrote. He accused the District Attorney's Office
of leaking the information and wrote that "there are
compelling reasons" to sequester jurors.
WASHINGTON
Murder suspect accused in lawyer stabbings allegedly
assaults corrections officer
By Diana Hefley, Herald Writer
02-03-12 --
Just a few hours after prosecutors ratcheted up the murder
charge against Joshua Monson, the alleged lawyer stabber
reportedly assaulted a Snohomish County corrections officer.
. . . Monson already
is accused of assaulting a handful of corrections officers
at the jail during his year in custody. He's also accused of
attacking three of his attorneys with smuggled pencils and
one lawyer's own pen. He could face an additional charge in
connection with Thursday's assault.
. . . The latest
attack reportedly occurred while meeting with his attorney
at the jail. He was allowed to have one of his hands free to
sign some paperwork. That's when he allegedly punched a
corrections sergeant in the face, Snohomish County sheriff's
Chief Kevin Prentiss said.
. . . The sergeant
wasn't seriously injured.
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January 28, 2012
-- January 31, 2012
FEDERAL COURTS
Frito-Lay chips not "all natural": lawsuit
By Jessica Dye, Thomson Reuters
01-30-12 --
A New York man sued Frito-Lay on Monday, claiming the
company misleads consumers with the claim its popular
Tostitos and SunChips products are made with "all-natural
ingredients."
. . . In the proposed
class-action lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court,
plaintiff Chris Shake said the snacks actually contain corn
and oils made from genetically engineered plants.
. . . Shake said he
shelled out an additional 10 cents per ounce of chips to buy
the allegedly "all-natural" Tostitos and SunChips instead of
a product such as Doritos, which makes no such claim.
. . . Independent
testing conducted on samples of Frito-Lay products labeled
"all natural" uncovered the presence of ingredients -
including corn and vegetable oils - made from genetically
modified plants, the lawsuit said.
Court to weigh restitution for child porn victim
By Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press | Statesman
01-30-12 --
A federal appeals court in New Orleans has agreed to rehear
two cases in which a victim of child pornography sought
restitution from men who viewed sexually explicit
photographs of her on the Internet.
. . . The victim in
both cases, who is identified only as a woman named "Amy,"
was a young child when her uncle sexually abused her and
widely circulated images of the abuse, according to court
records.
. . . Last March, a
three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled Amy is entitled to receive restitution from Doyle
Randall Paroline, an east Texas man who pleaded guilty to
possessing child pornography.
. . . A month later,
a different 5th Circuit panel overturned a judge's ruling
that New Orleans resident Michael Wright owed Amy more than
$500,000 in restitution for viewing photos of her. Wright
pleaded guilty to child pornography possession in June 2009.
ALABAMA
Judge no more: Warner banned from Alabama bench
Written by Brian Lyman, Montgomery Advertiser
01-27-12 --
Former Montgomery County family court Judge Patricia Warner
and the Judicial Inquiry Commission filed an agreement
Friday that forbids Warner from ever serving as a judge in
Alabama again.
. . . Warner has
lived in North Dakota since abruptly retiring from the bench
last June, days before an ethics complaint containing 74
separate charges was filed against her.
. . . Under the terms
of the agreement, the Alabama Court of Judiciary found that
Warner created "the appearance of impropriety" in a child
custody case, in violation of Canon 2 of the state Canons of
Judicial Ethics.
. . . The remaining
73 charges against Warner -- including accusations of
mishandled cases and entering orders without hearings or
evidence to support them -- were dismissed.
CALIFORNIA
Judge rules covered police badge serious violation
Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer
01-31-12 --
An Oakland police officer who covered his nameplate at an
Occupy Oakland protest in November, and the lieutenant who
failed to report him, committed serious violations of
court-approved conduct standards for the city's police
force, a federal judge has ruled.
. . . A video of the
Nov. 2 demonstration showed Officer John Hargraves with tape
over his name. Lt. Clifford Wong approached Hargraves and
removed the tape but did not report the incident to the
internal affairs office, and said later he considered it a
minor violation. ***** On Friday, U.S. District Judge
Thelton Henderson said Hargraves and Wong had engaged in
"the most serious level of misconduct" classified by a 2003
court settlement.
Judge blocks cut to healthcare for poor Californians
Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times
01-30-12 --
California’s budget is once again getting tied up in the
federal court system.
. . . U.S. District
Court Judge Christina Snyder said Monday she will
temporarily block a 10% cut in Medi-Cal payments to doctors,
dentists and other healthcare providers.
. . .
In a 25-page order, the Los Angeles-based judge
said she recognized the state’s budget problems but that the
cuts raised the risk of “irreparable harm in the absence of
an injunction.”
. . . Advocacy groups
have warned that reducing spending on Medi-Cal would make it
more difficult for poor people to get healthcare. James T.
Hay, president of the California Medical Assn., one of the
organizations that sued the state to block the cut, called
the judge’s decision encouraging.
California's chief justice loses round over Judicial
Council power
Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times
01-30-12 --
The state’s top judge lost a political battle Monday when
the state Assembly voted to shift key budget decisions from
the state Judicial Council that she heads to local trial
courts, some of which have complained about the panel’s
handling of money.
. . . The
legislation, which next goes to the Senate for
consideration, was vigorously opposed by California Supreme
Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who is also the
chairwoman of the Judicial Council. The council said the
bill is an "inappropriate intrusion into the fundamental
governance of the judicial branch."
. . . But AB 1208
was supported by a dissident group known as the Alliance of
California Judges, which said too much power has been
centralized with the statewide court bureaucracy to the
detriment of local court operations.
LA to allow press, public into child abuse cases
Associated Press | San Francisco Chronicle
01-30-12 --
The presiding judge of Los Angeles' juvenile courts says he
will allow better access for the press and public on
hearings for child abuse and foster care cases.
. . . The Los Angeles
Times (
http://lat.ms/AihIEd) reports Judge Michael Nash
says the news media is presumed to have a legitimate
interest that allows them into hearings.
CONNECTICUT
Judge Sentences Komisarjevsky To Death
Moments Earlier, Killer Told
Court He Has To Learn To Forgive Himself
By Alaine Griffin, The Hartford Courant
01-27-12 --
On the day he was sentenced to execution for the slayings of
a mother and her two daughters, Joshua Komisarjevsky kept
his finger pointed at his accomplice and insisted he never
meant for anyone to die during the July 2007 deadly home
invasion in Cheshire.
. . . Dr. William
PetitJr., the lone survivor of the crime, who worked hard
last year to convince state legislators not to repeal the
death penalty, wasn't listening.
. . . He walked out
of the courtroom followed by family members and friends
before Komisarjevsky stood to address the court.
FLORIDA
Judge: Abused boy looks like concentration camp victim
Abused, starved and naked, a
9-year-old boy was rescued by neighbors when he was found on
the streets. A Miami judge Monday demanded to know how it
happened.
By Carol Marbin Miller & David Ovalle, The Miami Herald
01-30-12 --
Joseph Lee studied a color snapshot of his 9-year-old nephew
Monday as a Miami child-welfare judge glanced at Lee.
. . .
The judge was looking
for signs that Lee was as disturbed by the photo as she was.
But Lee simply stared at the picture.
. . . “I’m looking
for words,” Lee said. “I was not aware of any of this.”
. . .
The photo, which was
not released publicly, depicted a little boy who had become
so emaciated that his bones protruded from his skin, and his
eyes bulged from their sockets, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge
Cindy Lederman said. She likened him to a concentration camp
survivor.
. . . The boy was
discovered by police wandering his North Miami Beach
neighborhood Saturday — beaten, naked and starving. His
parents, 34-year-old Marsee Strong and 40-year-old Edward
Bailey, remain at the Miami-Dade County Jail on charges of
aggravated child abuse and neglect. On Monday afternoon,
they were still jailed and had yet to post $65,000 bail.
. . . The boy and
four of his siblings were placed in the custody of Lee, a
maternal uncle who was ordered by the judge not to allow the
boy’s parents any contact with him. Lee also agreed to adopt
the children if their parents are unable to regain custody.
The boy also has an 18-year-old sister who is pregnant.
GEORGIA
'Birthers' crowd Georgia courtroom
Obama and his lawyer skip
hearing on ballot eligibility 'at your own peril,' says
Secretary of State Brian Kemp
By Mark Niesse, Daily Report On-Line Staff Reporter
01-27-12 --
President Barack Obama and his attorney skipped a Thursday
hearing challenging his eligibility to appear on Georgia's
Democratic primary ballot, leaving his opponents to make
uncontested claims that he isn't a "natural born citizen" as
required by the Constitution and that he faked his birth
certificate.
. . .
The judge overseeing
the case, Georgia Office of State Administrative Hearings
Deputy Chief Judge Michael M. Malihi, didn't rule Thursday
on whether Obama's name should appear on the March 6 primary
ballot. Nor did Malihi say how soon he will make a
recommendation on the case to Secretary of State Brian Kemp,
a Republican.
. . .
Obama's Atlanta
lawyer, Michael K. Jablonski, told Kemp in a letter on
Wednesday that he wouldn't attend the hearing.
IOWA
Judge approves ‘fire sale’ of seized llamas
Associated Press | Galesburg Register-Mail
01-31-12 --
Federal bankruptcy officials in Iowa were bailed out of the
llama business Monday, two weeks after they unwittingly got
into it. .
. . In a highly
unusual proceeding, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Kilburg
approved the “fire sale” of 18 llamas seized Jan. 16 from
Ryan Patrick Scott, a self-proclaimed priest who accumulated
a litany of financial problems and aliases as he bounced
from Wisconsin to North Dakota to Illinois to Iowa in the
last two decades. .
. . The herd was
immediately auctioned off for $7,500, and will go to the
Iowa llama farmers who have been caring for them under
federal supervision. .
. . Authorities took
control of the animals after Scott filed for bankruptcy in
Iowa, where he led a religious community housed in a former
county mental health institution in Independence. His group,
which consists of a handful of followers and is disavowed by
the Catholic Church, raised llamas and sold wool on the side
before abandoning the property.
KANSAS
Two Kansas judges contributed to anti-abortion PAC
Dave Helling, The Kansas City Star
01-30-12 --
Campaign finance records show that at least two sitting
Sedgwick County, Kan., judges have made contributions to the
state's leading anti-abortion political action committee —
after hearing cases involving abortion-related issues.
. . . Judges Eric
Yost and Jeffrey Goering each gave $100 to the Kansans for
Life PAC in 2011, according to the group's finance
disclosure statement. In January 2011, Goering issued a
temporary order prohibiting a Wichita doctor from using her
office for abortions because her landlord believed it would
create a nuisance.
. . . And in the mid
2000s, Yost was involved in the long-running legal dispute
between former Kansas attorney general Phill Kline and
George Tiller, an abortion provider who was shot to death in
2009.
. . . Neither judge’s
donation is considered improper under current Kansas laws
and regulations.
MICHIGAN
Suspended Inkster judge insists charges political
By Doug Guthrie, The Detroit News
01-31-12 --
Facing her second week of testimony, suspended 22nd District
Judge Sylvia James said Monday that political revenge is why
she is appearing before the state Judicial Tenure Commission
on allegations she violated ethics and misspent public
funds.
. . . "War had been
declared on me and my court," James testified. She claims
the dispute began in 2006, when she opposed a bid by Inkster
Mayor Hilliard Hampton to amend the city charter so he could
take control of city operations. James wrote public letters
against the proposal, which voters defeated.
. . . James allegedly
spent court funds on travel, flowers, catering, landscaping,
a parade float, bonus pay for court staffers, Inkster High
School junior varsity cheerleader uniforms, and
contributions to social and charitable groups.
Hit man tries to clear teen of murders
Associated Press | CBS News
01-30-12 --
A Detroit hit man in prison for eight murders said he's
willing to publicly take responsibility for four more to
help clear a young man who claims he's innocent of the
slayings and confessed at age 14 only to satisfy police.
. . . Vincent
Smothers' testimony would be the most crucial evidence yet
to try to persuade a judge to throw out Davontae Sanford's
guilty plea and free him from a nearly 40-year prison
sentence. In an interview with The Associated Press,
Smothers declared: "He's not guilty. He didn't do it."
. . . Smothers said
he never used a 14-year-old accomplice - blind in one eye
and learning disabled - to carry out his paid hits, mostly
victims tied to Detroit's drug trade. Ironically, there's no
dispute that Smothers confessed to the so-called Runyon
Street slayings when he was captured in 2008, but
prosecutors have never charged him and never explained why.
. . . "I understand
what prison life is like; it's miserable. To be here and be
innocent: I don't know what it's like," Smothers said of
Sanford, who is now 19. "He's a kid, and I hate for him to
do the kind of time they're giving him."
. . . Told about the
AP interview, Sanford's attorney said she soon would ask a
judge to bring Smothers to court.
Justice frustrated over emergency-manager case
By Ed White Associated Press | Chicago Tribune
01-30-12 --
After more than five months, a Michigan Supreme Court
justice is growing impatient over the court's failure to
declare whether it will review the state's controversial
emergency-manager law.
. . .
Justice Stephen
Markman, a Republican, said the public deserves a decision
about a law that gives managers extraordinary power to alter
union contracts, sell assets and cut spending in poor school
districts and local governments. A manager soon could be
sent to Detroit if a review teams finds a financial
emergency there.
. . .
Opponents filed a
lawsuit last year to stop the law. In August, Republican
Gov. Rick Snyder took the rare step of asking the Supreme
Court to leapfrog Ingham County court and quickly settle the
matter. The court said it "remains under consideration."
Expelled EMU counseling student wins OK to sue after
refusal to advise gays, lesbians
By David Ashenfelter, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
01-27-12 --
An Eastern Michigan University student who was expelled from
a counseling program because she refused to counsel gays and
lesbians about their lifestyles won a key victory today in
the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.
. . .
A three-member panel
of the court said Julea Ward can argue her religious
discrimination suit against the university before a federal
court jury in Detroit.
. . .
“Ward’s free speech
claim deserves to go to a jury,” Judge Jeffrey Sutton said
in an opinion joined by Julia Gibbons and John Adams. Adams
is a federal district judge from northern Ohio who was
sitting by designation on the appeals court.
MISSISSIPPI
Attorney general: Getting pardoned Mississippi murderers
difficult
By the CNN Wire Staff
01-31-12 --
Getting the convicted murderers pardoned by outgoing
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour back in prison is like "being
on a manhunt with one arm tied behind my back," the state's
attorney general said.
. . . Highlighting
the difficulty is the case of Joseph Ozment, whom
authorities finally located Monday in Wyoming, said Jim
Hood, the attorney general.
. . . "We can't treat
him as an escapee. He has a document that says he's a free
man as of now," said Hood. "All we have is a civil document
we served him with. That is the most we can do. If he
doesn't show up in court, we will move to hold him in
contempt. That's the difficult part of this process."
. . . Ozment's
whereabouts had been unknown since his mother picked him up
on January 8 after his release.
. . . Ozment is one
of four convicted murderers Barbour pardoned this month. The
others are: David Gatlin, Charles Hooker and Anthony McCray.
MONTANA
22 more charges filed against Butte justice of the peace
By George Plaven of The Montana Standard, The Billings
Gazette
01-30-12 --
A Butte justice of the peace accused of "doctor shopping"
for methadone prescriptions in 2010 now faces 34 felony drug
charges over two counties.
. . . State
prosecutors filed 12 counts of fraudulently obtaining
dangerous drugs against Bob Lee Friday in Anaconda-Deer
Lodge County, and filed 22 more Monday in Jefferson County.
. . . The 14-page
case affidavit details multiple incidents involving Lee, who
allegedly filled 35 prescriptions for methadone in 2010
while alternating between doctors in Whitehall, Anaconda and
Butte.
. . . Lee, who is in
his late 60s, is not in jail, and instead has a notice to
make his initial appearance in Anaconda district court at 9
a.m. Feb. 8 before Judge Ray Dayton.
. . . It is not yet
known whether both sets of charges will be consolidated into
a single case.
NEW
JERSEY
N.J. senator: State Supreme Court nominee's confirmation
chances 'jeopardized' by legal issues
By Christopher Baxter/Statehouse Bureau The Star-Ledger
01-31-12 --
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Monday
that Gov. Chris Christie’s nomination of Phillip Kwon to the
state Supreme Court was endangered in the wake of a report
that federal authorities had reached a $159,629 civil
settlement with a wine and liquor store run by his family.
. . . "It certainly
jeopardizes the nomination," State Sen. Nicholas Scutari
(D-Union) said. "When you have such a large pool of people
to select from, you shouldn’t have people on (the court)
with questionable issues."
. . . The case,
disclosed in the Sunday Star-Ledger, alleged that on 222
occasions from April 2010 to February 2011, cash deposits of
slightly less than $10,000 were illegally placed into the
bank account of KCP Wines & Liquor Corp., which is owned by
Kwon’s mother and has employed his wife. The deposits
totaled more than $2 million, according to court documents.
Liquor store run by Supreme Court nominee's family
settles with U.S. authorities over $2M in deposits
By Christopher Baxter/Statehouse Bureau The Star-Ledger
01-29-12 --
A wine and liquor store run by the family of state Supreme
Court nominee Phillip Kwon forfeited nearly $160,000 to
federal authorities last month to settle civil charges that
more than $2 million was deposited into the business’s bank
account illegally, court records show.
. . . The case, filed
in June in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New
York, alleged that on 222 occasions from April 2010 to
February 2011, cash deposits of slightly less than $10,000
were placed in the business’s checking account to avoid
government scrutiny.
. . . Under federal
law, banks are required to report cash transactions in
excess of $10,000 to help law-enforcement officials track
large sums of money that may be tied to criminal activity.
NORTH
CAROLINA
Marcus Robinson's lawyer argues statistics show blacks kept
off juries in Racial Justice Act hearing
By Paul Woolverton, The Fayetteville Observer Staff Writer
01-31-12 --
Statistics show that North Carolina prosecutors illegally
excluded black jurors from capital murder trials, said a
defense lawyer for Marcus Reymond Robinson in the state's
first Racial Justice Act evidentiary hearing.
. . . Lawyer James E.
Ferguson II backed his claim Monday with testimony from a
university researcher who analyzed more than 170 capital
murder trials in the state.
. . . Ferguson and
three other lawyers are attempting to persuade Cumberland
County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Greg Weeks to
convert Robinson's death sentence to life without parole, on
the premise that racism was a factor in jury selection
during the 1994 trial.
. . . Robinson, who
is black, killed a white teenager, Erik Tornblom, in a
robbery in 1991.
. . . "Race has been
a persistent and significant factor in the use of peremptory
strikes in North Carolina," Ferguson said in opening
statements, referring to how lawyers dismiss potential
jurors.
PENNSYLVANIA
New fire-expert analysis allowed in father's 1990 arson
conviction
By Emilie Lounsberry, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
01-28-12 --
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that a man who contends
that he was wrongfully convicted of setting a 1989 fire that
killed his daughter may have a prominent fire expert examine
any remaining physical evidence to determine whether the
fire was accidental.
. . . The ruling by a
three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third
Circuit came in the case of Han Tak Lee, 76, who is serving
a life sentence. His lawyers argued that he was convicted by
junk science and that research since his 1990 trial has
debunked many of what were once considered ironclad
indicators of arson.
VERMONT
Supreme Court orders new trial for man convicted of sexual
assault on a child
From Burlington Free Press staff, wire reports
01-27-12 --
The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that a Somali Bantu
immigrant convicted of sexual assault on a child deserves a
new trial because a juror might have been influenced by
information about Somali culture he found on the Internet.
. . . The case, the
five justices ruled in a unanimous opinion, raises serious
questions about jury conduct in an age when information is
obtainable so easily online.
. . . Justices noted
"the increasing problem of jurors consulting the internet
for outside information that this case all too clearly
illustrates," read a passage of the opinion, written by
Associate Justice Denise Johnson.
WISCONSIN
The Badgering State: Wis. Battles over Worker’s
Rights and Skirmishes in the Supreme Court
By Stephanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal
01-27-12 --
If you believe Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David T.
Prosser Jr., he just wanted to get out a press release. It
was June 13, and the justice wanted to announce a decision
involving Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial 2011 budget bill
eliminating most government employee collective bargaining
rights.
. . . What followed
was a donnybrook among the justices. Before it was over,
Prosser stood accused of putting fellow Justice Ann Walsh
Bradley in a choke hold. Bradley was accused of putting her
fist in Prosser’s face. And the Dane County Sheriff’s Office
was placed in the uncomfortable position of having to
investigate.
. . . In a year
filled with political volatility, including a hostile public
standoff in the state legislature over the labor rights of
the state’s public employees, perhaps the worst evidence of
dysfunction in the Badger State proved to be allegations of
bad tempers and fisticuffs in the state’s highest courts.
|
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January 25, 2012
-- January 27, 2012
FEDERAL COURT NOMINEES
Obama, senators at odds over picks
ABA vetting shows White House
wants Pryor for 11th Circuit, Cohen for district court;
senators want opposite
By R. Robin McDonald, Daily Report Staff Reporter
01-26-11 --
The White House and Georgia's U.S. senators may agree that
Atlanta lawyers Jill A. Pryor and Mark H. Cohen should be
federal judges—but they apparently differ on which lawyer
should fill an opening at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals and which one should serve on Atlanta's U.S.
District Court.
. . .
Republican Sens.
Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson on Tuesday sent a letter
to the White House saying they would support Cohen, a
partner at Troutman Sanders, for the 11th Circuit vacancy,
and back Pryor, a Bondurant Mixson & Elmore partner, for a
vacant post on the district court.
. . .
In an eight-line
letter to the White House counsel, the senators also
resurrected the name of a third candidate, U.S. Magistrate
Judge Linda T. Walker, whose nomination for another district
court vacancy was returned to the White House in December at
the apparent request of the president's staff.
. . .
The letter, on
Isakson's stationery but signed by both senators, notified
White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler that the senators would
return "blue slips" to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
on Cohen for the 11th Circuit and Pryor and Walker for the
district court. A blue slip is the Senate's traditional
indication that a nominee has received the approval of his
or her home state senator.
FEDERAL COURTS
Hating on the Ninth Circuit: Funny But a Little Depressing
By Joe Palazzolo, WSJ "Law Blog."
01-26-11 --
Abolish it, says Newt Gingrich.
Break it into pieces, says Rick Santorum.
The U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit, aka the “poster child for rogue
courts” (Santorum’s words), has played the role of political
pinata in the race for the
Republican presidential nomination. Gingrich has pointed to
rulings by Ninth Circuit judges as inspiration for another
proposal: That Congress subpoena judges to appear before it
to defend controversial opinions.
. . . Conventional
wisdom says picking on the federal courts is a win-win,
since judges are forbidden from endorsing candidates, or
maligning them. Maybe so. We asked Ninth Circuit judges to
respond to the proposals, anyway.
. . . Chief Judge
Alex Kozinski, a Reagan appointee, was nonchalant. “I don’t
pay particular attention to campaign rhetoric,” he told Law
Blog.
. . . When asked
whether the court-bashing had judges buzzing, he said: “No
more than usual. It’s more of a topic of amusement.”
In online child exploitation case, judge issues rare
not guilty verdict
Mike Scarcella, The National Law Journal
01-25-11 --
A Canadian man named Ivan Nitschke, charged in an undercover
online sex crime sting in Washington, turned down a plea
deal that would have kept him behind bars for nearly four
years.
. . .Nitschke
maintained he was innocent, even taking the stand this week
in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to
proclaim he had no intent to engage in any unlawful conduct
with a minor.
. . . By the end of
the bench trial, which lasted several days, U.S. District
Judge James Boasberg said the prosecution, in his eyes,
wasn't a close call.
. . . Boasberg on
Jan. 24 found Nitschke not guilty and ordered his release
from custody. Nitschke had been jailed since his arrest last
March in Washington.
. . . "The evidence
in this case at the conclusion of his testimony clearly
dictates one result here, and one result only, and that is
not guilty," Boasberg said.
The Red Shoe Diaries, Law Blog Version
By Ashby Jones, WSJ.com's "Law Blog."
01-25-11 --
You know the old knee-slapper: Last night, I went to the
fights and a hockey game broke out! (Cue rim shot).
. . . Well, yesterday
this reporter went to a meeting of impeccably well-dressed
fashion A-listers, and a Second Circuit argument broke out!
. . . Really and
truly, it was quite a scene Tuesday afternoon down at 500
Pearl Street in lower Manhattan, where a three- judge panel
heard arguments over a trademark battle between two makers
of red-soled shoes: Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint
Laurent.
. . . (Both
Louboutin himself and famed designer Diane Von
Furstenberg were in Da House. We can also attest
that there were more than a few French speakers and
red-soled shoes sprinkled throughout the audience as well.
Click
here for my story in Tuesday’s WSJ.)
. . . In any event,
the legal issues involved in the case really boil down to
two: whether the trademark given to Louboutin on his red
soles in 2008 is valid and, if so, whether a line of all-red
shoe made by YSL infringed the trademark.
Prosecutors Claim Federal Judge Bias in Lawyer’s
Racketeering Case, Ask 3rd Circuit for New Judge
By Martha Neil, ABA Journal
01-25-11 --
Prosecutors are seeking the recusal of the federal judge
assigned to hear a criminal racketeering case against a
prominent New Jersey defense attorney, contending that U.S.
District Judge William Martini is biased against the
government.
. . . Among other
issues, they have contended that Martini erred by severing
witness murder conspiracy charges against former state and
federal prosecutor Paul Bergrin from the rest of the
criminal enterprise racketeering case. A jury
deadlocked when that portion of the case was
tried last year, resulting in a mistrial.
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ALABAMA
Ex-HealthSouth Chief Scrushy’s Prison Term Cut to 70 Months
By Sophia Pearson, Bloomberg
01-26-11 --
HealthSouth Corp. founder Richard Scrushy may be freed this
year after being resentenced to 70 months in prison for
making a campaign contribution to Alabama’s former governor
in exchange for a seat on a state hospital board.
. . . U.S. District
Judge Mark Fuller resentenced Scrushy, 59, today in
Montgomery, Alabama, his lawyer, Arthur Leach, said. His
original prison term was six years and 10 months. Before
today, Scrushy’s projected release date was June 2013,
according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
. . . “This basically
is getting him home 12 months early,” Leach said today in a
phone interview. “It allows him to get on with his life,
find a job and support his family.”
CALIFORNIA
Judge strikes down standards for revoking paroles
The Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News
01-27-11 --
A Sacramento federal judge has struck down California's
voter-approved standards for revoking paroles.
. . .
U.S. District Judge
Lawrence Karlton ruled Tuesday that all Proposition 9
provisions for parole revocation are invalid.
. . .
Proposition 9 was
passed by a 54 percent of California voters in November
2008.
. . .
Among other things,
the proposition didn't guarantee parolees a right to present
evidence at hearings when they were accused of violating
terms of their release.
Train crash victims take bid to exceed limit on
damages out of court
Amanda Bronstad, The National Law Journal
01-25-11 --
Lawyers for victims of a 2008 commuter train crash that
killed 24 people in Los Angeles are pushing for the
engineer's employer to set up a compensation fund not unlike
the one BP PLC established following the Deepwater Horizon
oil spill.
. . .
Mark Hiepler of
Hiepler & Hiepler in Oxnard, Calif., who represents 17
victims, said that a $200 million settlement reached in June
won't cover all of the medical costs for the victims, about
100 of whom suffered severe injuries. He estimated that
Veolia Transportation Inc., the private employer of the
engineer who steered the Metrolink train head-on into a
freight locomotive should provide at least $64 million in
additional compensation.
. . .
The Amtrak
Accountability Act of 1997 limits recoveries from train
disasters to $200 million.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Man Sues Supreme Court Marshal For Right to Hold Sign on
Court Grounds
Posted by Zoe Tillman, BLT, The Blog of the Legal Times
01-24-11 --
A Maryland man is suing U.S. Supreme Court Marshal Pamela
Talkin, claiming that the rules barring protesters from
displaying signs on the high court's grounds are
unconstitutional.
. . . Harold Hodge
Jr., according to the
complaint (PDF) filed yesterday in U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia, was arrested on Jan. 28,
2011 after he walked up the court's steps wearing a sign
around his neck that read: "The U.S. Gov. Allows Police To
Illegally Murder And Brutalize African Americans And
Hispanic People."
. . . Hodge was
arrested by Supreme Court police and charged with violating
a federal law that prohibits the display of flags, banners
or other signs on the grounds of the high court. He agreed
to stay away from the court and its grounds in exchange for
having the charge dismissed on Sept. 14 by the U.S.
attorney’s office.
FLORIDA
Epileptic Driver in Fatal Crash Gets Nine-Year Sentence for
Violating Probation by Driving
By Mark Hansen, ABA Journal
01-26-11 --
An epileptic Florida man who admitted driving after his
driver's license was revoked for causing a crash that killed
a woman has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
. . . Emilio
Santacruz was sentenced Wednesday in Tampa for violating the
terms of his probation by getting a new driver's license
after his old license had been revoked, the
Tampa Bay Times reports.
. . . Santacruz, who
has epilepsy, had been driving against his doctor's order in
2002 when he suffered a seizure and crashed his car into a
real estate office, killing a woman who worked inside.
GEORGIA
No ruling in ‘birther' challenge
By Bill Rankin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
01-26-11 --
After hearing evidence with neither President Barack Obama
nor his lawyers in attendance, a state administrative law
judge on Thursday did not issue a ruling as to whether Obama
can be allowed on the state ballot in November.
. . . Lawyers for
area residents mounting "birther" challenges told Deputy
Chief Judge Michael Malihi that Obama should be found in
contempt of court for not appearing when under subpoena to
do so. But Malihi did not indicate he would recommend that
and cut off one lawyer when he criticized Obama for not
attending the hearing.
. . . "It shows not
just a contempt for this court, but contempt for the
judicial branch," lawyer Van Irion told Malihi.
. . . "I'm not
interested in commentary on that, counselor," Malihi quickly
replied.
Will Hustler Magazine Pay $19.6M, $250K or Zip for
Running Nude Photos of Slain Woman Without OK?
By Martha Neil, ABA Journal
01-26-11 --
After a professional wrestler made headlines by
killing his wife, his son and himself in 2007, a
magazine known for its hard-core pornography published,
without permission, nude photos from decades earlier that it
obtained of Chris Benoit's wife, Nancy.
. . . A federal jury
in Georgia last year awarded $19.6 million in punitive
damages in the case, as well as $125,000 in compensatory
damages. The trial judge almost immediately cut the judgment
to $250,000, however, citing the state's cap on punitive
damages, as the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at the
time.
ILLINOIS
Wrongfully imprisoned Chicago man wins $25 million in
damages
Federal jury award comes
after arrest at 13 and 16 years in prison
By Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune reporter
01-24-11 --
Thaddeus Jimenez was just 13 when he was arrested for the
1993 murder of an older teenager on Chicago's Northwest
Side, but after serving more than 16 years in prison, he was
exonerated and released from prison in May 2009.
. . . On Tuesday, a
federal jury awarded Jimenez $25 million in damages,
believed to be one of the biggest verdicts of its kind in
Chicago.
. . . If the verdict
holds up on appeal, the city of Chicago would be on the hook
for the $25 million, said attorney Jon Loevy.
. . . Loevy said
police detectives pressured witnesses to say Jimenez was the
killer when he wasn't. Not long after he was charged in the
slaying, the real killer confessed to the crime on
audiotape, Loevy said, but when that evidence was brought to
the attention of prosecutors at the time, they sided with
the police.
LOUISIANA
Top La. Court Censures Jurist for Contacting Another Judge
to Help Niece Get Protective Order
By Martha Neil, ABA Journal
01-25-11 --
The Louisiana Supreme Court has censured a state-court judge
for using the power and prestige of his office to help a
niece get a protective order, from another judge, against
alleged abuse by the niece's estranged husband, reports the
Shreveport Times.
. . . Although DeSoto
District Judge Robert Burgess said he acted as an uncle,
rather than as a judge, in contacting Ouachita officials for
information and assistance in getting the protective order,
"we do not believe a judge can ‘step out’ of his judicial
function so easily,” the court said.
MICHIGAN
Judge wrote checks for drug court conference although
Inkster lacked sentencing program
By Melanie D. Scott, Detroit Free Press
01-27-11 --
Inkster Chief Judge Sylvia James testified Thursday that she
signed checks made out to herself and court employees for
thousands of dollars for travel expenses to attend drug
court conferences in California and Boston.
. . . But Michigan
Judicial Tenure Commission associate examiner Margaret
Rynier quickly pointed out that the 22nd District Court,
which James has presided over since 1989, does not have a
drug court program.
. . . "Did you write
a check to yourself on April 2, 2009, for $2,740.82 to
attend the National Association of Drug Court Professionals
Conference?" Rynier asked.
. . . "Yes," James
replied.
. . . "Did the 22nd
District Court have a drug court program as of the time you
authorized these expenditures?" Rynier asked.
. . . "No," James
replied.
Suspended Inkster judge confronted with hundreds of
checks from court fund
By Doug Guthrie, The Detroit News
01-25-11 --
Inkster's suspended 22nd District Judge Sylvia James grew
weary Wednesday as she was confronted on the witness stand
with questions about hundreds of checks — introduced one at
a time — that authorities say show she misused funds from an
alternative sentencing program.
. . . Testifying at a
hearing of the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, James
admitted taking control of the court's community service
program account in 2005 after a dispute with the city over
paying the court's bills. The program collects fees from
convicts who perform community service in lieu of jail time.
. . . James was
suspended in April by the Michigan Supreme Court, and an
audit resulted in ethics charges in October that claim she
tapped the fund for travel, landscaping, catering, flowers,
untaxed bonus pay for court workers and new uniforms for
Inkster High School cheerleaders.
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NEVADA
US judge denies bid for court order to block NV horse
roundups; tells critics ‘Go to Congress’
By Associated Press, Washington Post (blog)
01-27-11 --
A federal judge in Nevada who handed horse protection
advocates a rare victory last fall has rejected their latest
request to block government roundups of free-roaming
mustangs in the West, saying they’ll have to go to Congress
if they think the animals are being treated inhumanely and
need more protection.
. . . U.S. District
Judge Howard McKibben granted a temporary restraining order
on Aug. 30 that cut short by a day a roundup near the
Nevada-Utah line after he determined a helicopter flew too
close to a horse in violation of the law.
. . .But he said
during a hearing in Reno Thursday that he was denying a new
injunction request from the Texas-based Free Wild Horse
Federation partly because the Bureau of Land Management has
made some positive changes since then. He also said he can’t
issue injunctions based on speculation about future abuses.
NEW
MEXICO
Former inmate wins $22 million over 'forgotten' solitary
confinement
By Bill Mears, CNN
01-25-11 --
A New Mexico man held in solitary confinement in a county
prison for nearly two years without ever being prosecuted
has won a $22 million jury award for violation of his
constitutional rights, officials said.
. . . It is one of
the largest federal civil rights settlements in history
involving an inmate. Stephen Slevin alleged he was
essentially forgotten while in custody.
. . . "This has never
been about the money," Slevin said in a halting voice
outside the federal courthouse in Santa Fe, just after the
jury's decision.
. . . He suffers from
post-traumatic stress from what he called physical and
mental mistreatment by corrections officials in Dona Ana
County, in the southern part of the state.
NORTH
CAROLINA
Former Death Row Inmate Charged with Threatening Judge Who
Once Prosecuted Him
By Mark Hansen, ABA Journal
01-26-11 --
A man who spent 21 years on Ohio's death row before his
conviction was overturned in 2008 has been charged with
leaving a threatening telephone message for the judge who
prosecuted the death penalty case against him.
. . . Ken Richey, 47,
is accused of calling the Putnam County, Ohio, courthouse on
New Year's Eve to warn Judge Randall Basinger, a former
county prosecutor, that he was in Ohio and was coming to get
him, the
Associated Press reports.
Killer says NC death row not so bad (link to letter)
Diane Turbyfill, Gaston Gazette
01-23-11 --
Danny Robbie Hembree Jr. wrote a letter to The Gazette in
which he challenged Gaston County residents to put him to
death.
. . . The 50-year-old
Gaston County man is on death row at Central Prison in
Raleigh for suffocating 17-year-old Heather Catterton in
2009.
. . . In a letter
received Monday, Hembree asked that the newspaper publish an
editorial that he wrote. In the two-page document, Hembree
says that the warped judicial system will ensure that he
lives for decades even though he’s been sentenced to death.
. . . The appellate
process will keep Hembree alive and well for at least 20
years, he wrote in black ink on the lined notebook paper.
. . . “Is the public
aware that the chances of my lawful murder taking place in
the next 20 years if ever are very slim?” Hembree asked. “Is
the public aware that I am a gentleman of leisure, watching
color TV in the a/c, reading, taking naps at will, eating
three well-balanced meals a day?” /
Read Danny Hembree's letter
PENNSYLVANIA
State justices drop bombshell, hurry to tropics
By Brad Bumsted, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
01-27-11 --
One day after issuing but not explaining a bombshell
decision to invalidate legislative redistricting maps, three
state Supreme Court justices were in San Juan, Puerto Rico
attending the Pennsylvania Bar Association's midyear
meeting.
. . . Chief Justice
Ronald Castille of Philadelphia, Justice Michael Eakin of
Mechanicsburg and Justice Max Baer of Mt. Lebanon are
panelists at the conference that began on Thursday and runs
through Saturday, said Marcy Mallory, a bar association
spokeswoman. The oceanfront Caribe Hilton, a resort the bar
association bills as "one of the most luxurious properties
in Puerto Rico," is hosting the event.
. . . Castille and
Eakin did not return messages seeking comment.
. . . Baer could not
be reached either. "He actually works a lot when he goes to
these," his office spokeswoman said.
Pa. Supreme Court tosses out redrawn legislative
districts
Justices consider legislative
plan 'contrary to law'
By Tom Barnes and Laura Olson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
01-26-11 --
The state Supreme Court did something Wednesday it hasn't
done in the last 40 years: It sent the newly drawn maps of
state House and Senate districts back to a reapportionment
panel for more work so the districts will conform to state
law.
. . . Several
Democratic lawmakers and citizens had filed challenges in
response to the new maps.
. . . "This court
finds that the final 2011 Legislative Reapportionment Plan
is contrary to law," the seven-member court said, in a 4-3
decision. "The plan is remanded to the commission with a
directive to reapportion the commonwealth in a manner
consistent with the court's opinion, which will follow."
Pennsylvania Supreme Court may be affected by Orie
scandal
By Tom Infield, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
01-25-11 --
For close to two years, Western Pennsylvania has been
gripped by the scandalous political saga of the Orie
sisters: Jane, the state senator; Joan, the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court justice; and Janine, the fiercely loyal
sibling.
. . . As the scandal
has unfolded - over Bonusgate-like allegations that Jane and
Janine made state employees do election chores for Joan on
state time - a cynical Pittsburgh public often has seemed as
bemused as outraged. The Ories, a well-known family in the
North Hills, have angrily called it a "vendetta" and a "mob
hit" against them by an ambitious district attorney.
RHODE
ISLAND
Student Faces Town’s Wrath in Protest Against a Prayer
By Abby Goodnough, New York Times
01-26-11 --
She is 16, the daughter of a firefighter and a nurse, a
self-proclaimed nerd who loves Harry Potter and Facebook.
But
Jessica Ahlquist is also an outspoken atheist who
has incensed this heavily Roman Catholic city with a
successful lawsuit to get a prayer removed from the wall of
her high school auditorium, where it has hung for 49 years.
. . .
A federal judge ruled
this month that the prayer’s presence at Cranston High
School West was unconstitutional, concluding that it
violated the principle of government neutrality in religion.
In the weeks since, residents have crowded school board
meetings to demand an appeal, Jessica has received online
threats and the police have escorted her at school, and
Cranston, a dense city of 80,000 just south of Providence,
has throbbed with raw emotion.
. . .
State Representative
Peter G. Palumbo, a Democrat from Cranston, called Jessica
“an evil little thing” on a popular talk radio show. Three
separate florists refused to deliver her roses sent from a
national atheist group. The group, the
Freedom From Religion Foundation, has filed a
complaint with the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights.
TENNESSEE
News That Highly Regarded Tenn. Judge Died Unexpectedly Is
‘Like Having the Courthouse Crumble’
By Martha Neil, ABA Journal
01-27-11 --
A Tennessee court is closed today as a tribute to a highly
regarded judge who died unexpectedly this week.
. . . Hamilton County
General Sessions Judge Bob Moon's wife of 35 years found him
dead early yesterday at home in front of his computer. He
apparently had a heart attack, the Chattanooga
Times-Free Press reports. He was 60 years old.
. . . “You expect to
see him like you would the walls of this building. The idea
of Judge Moon being gone today is like having the courthouse
crumble,” former prosecutor Lee Davis, who is now a private
defense attorney, told the newspaper. The judge was first
appointed to a new Sessions Court seat in 1996, then elected
to the bench for an eight-year term two years later and
again in 2006.
Hawkins Sessions Court judge accused of theft
By Jeff Bobo, timesnews.net
01-24-11 --
Beleaguered Hawkins County Sessions Court Judge James “Jay”
Taylor, already the subject of multiple civil lawsuits and a
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation bribery probe, took
another hit Tuesday with five charges being leveled against
him by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary.
. . . Four of the
five charges pertain to allegations of theft: one theft from
a client/employee; two allegations of theft from the state
in the form of receiving payment for legal services he
didn’t render; and one for theft of donations he accepted
for a “Citizens Heritage Display” including the Ten
Commandments that he planned to have placed in the lobby of
the Hawkins County Justice Center.
. . . The fifth
charge states that Taylor failed to respond to the first
four charges within 30 days when notified Dec. 21, 2011.
TEXAS
Judge Tosses Conviction Of Texas Man Accused Of Sexually
Assaulting Infant
by Joseph Shapiro, NPR (blog)
01-26-11 --
A Texas man whose conviction for sexually assaulting a
6-month-old girl raised questions about the science behind
determining how children die has won a key legal battle. The
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday threw out the
conviction of Ernie Lopez, ruling that the Amarillo man's
original attorneys failed him by not calling potentially
important medical experts as witnesses.
. . . Now the
Amarillo district attorney must decide whether to retry
Lopez, who has been in prison for nine years. Lopez is
serving a 60-year sentence. . . . Last June, reporting by
NPR's investigative unit, working with journalists from PBS
Frontline and ProPublica, found that Lopez
could have been falsely accused and convicted.
Consumer Group: Supreme Court Favors Businesses
by Anna Whitney, Texas Tribune
01-26-11 --
In the last 10 years, the majority of Texas Supreme Court
decisions have favored corporate interests over consumers,
and the panel of judges has repeatedly overstepped its
authority by overturning jury verdicts and interpreting the
law to benefit the rich, according to a scathing report set
to be released today by consumer advocacy group Texas Watch.
. . . “The Texas
Supreme Court has marched in lock-step to consistently and
overwhelmingly reward corporate defendants and the
government at the expense of Texas families,” the report
says.
. . . Texas Watch
says in its study, which reviewed court decisions in more
than 624 cases in the past 10 years, that the trend started
when Gov. Rick Perry began appointing Supreme Court justices
in 2000. The report argues that data from court rulings
shows that Perry’s appointees “corporatized the court.” But
the court, a former justice and conservative groups disagree
with the report's conclusions, arguing that a statistical
analysis doesn't provide enough context.
VIRGINIA
Va. man charged with threatening judges, magistrate
By the Associated Press, Washington Post (blog)
01-27-11 --
State police have arrested a New Kent County man and charged
him with threatening county judges and a magistrate.
. . . Officers
arrested 50-year-old Vincent Rera Thursday morning in
Williamsburg.
. . . State police
said in a release that Rera’s arrest follows a complaint
from the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Department of Judicial
Services. The complaint alleges that Rera stalked and
threatened to kill or injure judges and a magistrate in New
Kent County in December and January. No other details were
given.
Democrats win Va. judicial standoff
By Laura Vozzella, Washington Post (blog)
01-26-11 --
Democrats in the Virginia Senate won a standoff over
judicial appointments Thursday, forcing Republicans to cave
in on two nominees to the bench.
. . . It was the
first demonstration that Democrats, outnumbered this General
Assembly session by historic margins in the House and out of
power in the evenly split Senate, still have some sway in
Richmond.
. . . “They blinked,”
said Sen. John S. Edwards (D-Roanoke) after the House and
Senate voted to reappoint dozens of sitting judges in joint
resolutions that no longer included the names of the two
disputed nominees.
WISCONSIN
Free Work for State Judge Puts Michael Best at Center of
Wisconsin Political Storm
Posted by Tom Huddleston Jr., AmLaw Daily
01-25-11 --
A Democratic state lawmaker is demanding Wisconsin supreme
court justice Michael Gableman's removal from the bench over
Gableman's refusal—despite having received thousands of
dollars in free legal services from
Michael Best & Friedrich—to recuse himself from
cases in which the firm represents clients.
. . . Citing
Gableman's decision to preside over 11 such cases—several of
them still active—state representative
Kelda Helen Roys is circulating a petition
calling on the Legislature to oust him over what she says
are violations of state law and the state Code of Judicial
Conduct,
according to the Wisconsin State Journal. .
. . The move by Roys—which
requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate and Assembly, both
of which are controlled by Republicans—does not appear to
have fazed Gableman. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports
that
he insists he won't recuse himself from three of the
cases in question, including one involving a
controversial new law that limits the power of public unions
in the state.
Eyes
on the Judiciary
