|
|
|
Fujimori Returns to Peru to Face Trial
Legal World News |
2007/09/22 16:36
|
Former President Alberto Fujimori returned to Peru on Saturday to face charges of corruption and sanctioning death-squad killings, a grim homecoming for the strongman who fled the country seven years ago as his government collapsed in scandal. The plane carrying the 69-year-old former ruler landed in a heavy mist at Lima's Las Palmas air force base, a day after Chile's Supreme Court authorized his extradition. He was then flown by helicopter to a police base, where he is to be held until a permanent facility is prepared for his detention. Some 700 supporters who gathered outside the police air terminal across town to greet him were frustated when his plane was diverted to the air base. "We have come to welcome Fujimori, to tell him that we are with him and will accompany him wherever he goes so that he feels he has the support of his people," his daughter Keiko Fujimori, who was elected to Congress in 2006, told The Associated Press. Fujimori's extradition from Chile has provoked reactions ranging from elation to indignation. Some Peruvians believe he should be tried for his controversial crackdown on the bloody Shining Path insurgency and alleged corruption during his 1990-2000 presidency. But Fujimori maintains a following in Peru. A recent poll showed that 23 percent of Peruvians want to see him back in politics and some worry his return could provoke turmoil in a country emerging from decades of political and economic chaos. "There will be a sector of the country that will identify with him, and he will play a destabilizing opposition role," said congressman Javier Valle Riestra, a leader of President Alan Garcia's Aprista party. Fujimori was widely admired for ushering in economic stability and defeating the Shining Path rebel movement during his 1990-2000 government, but his presidency increasingly came under fire as it drifted toward authoritarianism and evidence surfaced of corruption. He was flying to Peru under police custody Saturday, a day after the Chilean Supreme Court ordered his extradition on human rights and corruption charges. Fujimori's followers and foes alike were stunned in November 2005, when he landed in a small plane in Chile and revealed his ambition to run for president in the 2006 elections, even though Peru's Congress had banned him from seeking public office until 2011. He was promptly arrested. Fujimori had earned a reputation as a cool-headed strategist in handling multiple crises as president. But he may have miscalculated when he decided to leave his safe refuge in Japan, where he enjoyed immunity from extradition because of his Japanese nationality, inherited from his migrant parents. |
|
|
|
|
|
MIT student arrested at Logan airport for fake bomb
Criminal Law Updates |
2007/09/22 16:35
|
A dopey MIT student's art stunt bombed big-time yesterday when she was arrested at gunpoint after wearing a phony bomb into an airport terminal. Star Simpson was sporting a computer circuit board with flashing lights and wires - all, apparently, in the name of art - as she prepared to walk back inside a terminal at Boston's Logan Airport. Simpson, who was carrying Play-Doh in her hands, ended up with submachine guns in her face after the boneheaded stunt. "She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," State Police Maj. Scott Pare said. The supposedly smart MIT student wore a wired black sweatshirt with the phrases "Socket to me" and "Course VI" written on the back. "I'm shocked and appalled that somebody would wear this type of device to an airport," Pare said. Simpson pleaded not guilty to disturbing the peace. The 19-year-old sophomore from Hawaii first aroused suspicions when she approached an airport worker inside the terminal while wearing the bomblike device. When she walked outside, she was pounced on by police. "She was immediately told to stop, to raise her hands and not to make any movement, so we could observe all her movements to see if she was trying to trip any type of device," Pare said. "Had she not followed the protocol, we might have used deadly force." Simpson told police she was at the airport to pick up someone flying in from Oakland. "She did seem a bit upset that she was in custody," Pare said. "However, she was rational, and she did answer all questions as required." It was the second stunt in recent months to shake Boston into high alert for fear of a terrorist attack. In January, bomb squads were set into action when dozens of battery-powered devices that turned out to be ads for the Cartoon Network were found around the city. |
|
|
|
|
|
Houston Family Sues Over Crib Death
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/09/22 16:34
|
A Houston-area couple sued a crib-maker after their daughter died while sleeping in one of their products, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday. "She was just precious, my princess," said Tami Arceneaux. Arceneaux never imagined putting her 7-month-old daughter, Royale, to bed in her Simplicity crib would put her little life in danger, but now the family is filing a lawsuit against the company for her death in February. Her lawyer said the crib did not come with instructions. The family wrote Simplicity and had a manual mailed, but when it arrived, the lawyer said there was a major problem. "There's no mention anywhere on this page telling consumers installing the drop rail that there is a top and bottom," attorney Mark Weycer said. "I feel like we followed the instructions to the best of our ability," said Arceneaux. Without knowing it, the Arceneauxs put the drop rail on upside-down and because of that, they said a hinge broke. That allowed a gap between the mattress and the rail. That gap is where they said Royale suffocated to death with her head against the mattress. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more than one million cribs made by Simplicity, also using the Graco logo, because the drop rail can become detached. "If you are a parent who has this type of crib, check immediately to see if it's one being recalled. If it is, don't put your child in that crib tonight," said Patty Davis of the CPSC. Other parents around the Houston area, such as Tammy Ellison of Nassau Bay, said she felt lucky nothing happened to her little boy. Nine-month-old Dylan has been sleeping in his Simplicity crib since he came home from the hospital. "It's scary. My crib's put together right, but I don't feel it's safe for him," said Ellison. Dylan will be sleeping in his playpen until the company sends her a repair kit. She said that could take four to six weeks. The recall may be too late for little Royale, but her mother said it's still a blessing. "Royale is gone. I can't bring her back. I wish I could. It helps me sleep at night now that this is recalled, to help other families," said Arceneaux. CPSC said at least three babies have died in Simplicity cribs from the defect, and seven more had been dangerously trapped. There were more than a dozen different models being recalled. The recalled Simplicity crib models include: Aspen 3 in 1, Aspen 4 in 1, Nursery-in-a-Box, Crib N Changer Combo, Chelsea and Pooh 4 in 1. The recall also involves the following Simplicity cribs that used the Graco logo: Aspen 3 in 1, Ultra 3 in 1, Ultra 4 in1, Ultra 5 in 1, Whitney and the Trio. The recalled cribs have one of the following model numbers, which can be found on the envelope attached to the mattress support and on the label attached to the headboard: 4600, 4605, 4705, 5000, 8000, 8324, 8800, 8740, 8910, 8994, 8050, 8750, 8760, and 8996. The cribs, which were made in China, were sold in department stores, children?s stores and mass merchandisers nationwide from January 1998 through May 2007 for between $100 and $300. |
|
|
|
|
|
Witness tells of carnage in Baghdad shooting
Legal World News |
2007/09/22 16:33
|
An Iraqi traffic policeman told Sunday how Blackwater security guards caused carnage when they opened fire on civilians in Baghdad, as a senior officer probing the shooting insisted it was unprovoked. One week after the gunbattle that killed 10 civilians and enraged Iraq's government, police and interior ministry officials were still gathering witness accounts and hunting video footage perhaps taken by amateurs on mobile phones. Blackwater insists the US convoy it was escorting came under attack by insurgents before its guards opened fire but the Iraqi government was incensed by the incident and said it would revoke the security company's licence. Traffic officer Ali Khalaf, who was on duty on Sunday last week in Al-Yarmukh, in the mainly Sunni Mansour area of west Baghdad, told AFP he had witnessed the entire incident. "The American convoy arrived... and as usual I stopped the traffic to allow them to pass," Khalaf said. As they often do, guards from the US firm -- the largest private security operators in Iraq -- hurled water bottles at cars to stop traffic as they drove through. "Then without reason, they opened fire. Four shots, in the air, aiming just above the cars," Khalaf said. "But one of the bullets struck a man in his car. I went to his aid but he was already dead, his body was slumped on the dashboard. "His wife was then killed before my eyes by a bullet that hit her in the head." Khalaf said he ran to take shelter inside his little hut as the gunfire continued. The car with the dead couple "continued to move, with its doors open and the bodies inside -- like a phantom vehicle." "The Americans fired at everything that moved, with a machine gun and even with a grenade launcher. There was panic. Everyone tried to flee. Vehicles tried to make U-turns to escape." According to Khalaf, people then left their cars and tried to flee for cover, some being struck down as they ran. A car was hit by two grenades and burst into fire, engulfing its occupants in flames. "There were dead bodies and wounded people everywhere, the road was full of blood. A bus was also hit and several of its occupants were wounded," said the traffic officer. Two small black helicopters that always accompany Blackwater on security missions swooped down and sprayed the scene with machine gun fire, Khalaf added. On Wednesday, the Iraqi and US governments announced they had set up a joint commission to investigate the shootings as well as to examine the broader question of rules governing foreign security companies operating in Iraq. Despite opposition from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Blackwater, which escorts US embassy personnel, was back on the streets of Baghdad on Friday after being grounded for four days. According to a senior policeman involved in the investigations, other witnesses are equally adamant that Blackwater opened fire without provocation. "The Americans say that the convoy first came under small arms fire. That is totally false," the officer told AFP, asking not to be named because he is not entitled to speak to the media. "None of the witnesses we have interviewed speak of an attack," he said. "There is at least one video, shot by police using a digital camera just moments after the shooting, which shows the victims," said the police officer. "This video is in our hands and we are examining it." He did not rule out the possible existence of other videos taken at the moment of the shooting, including with mobile phones, given the number of people present at the time. "The Blackwater guards opened fire on motorists without reason, they were never a target of a single shot or any attack," the officer said. |
|
|
|
|
|
WSU student pleads not guilty to sorority attack
Court Feed News |
2007/09/22 10:45
|
A Washington State University student accused of attacking a woman in a sorority pleaded not guilty to rape and burglary charges. Twenty-three-year-old Kyle Schott of Renton had been charged with first-degree rape, but the charge was reduced to second-degree. Whitman County Superior Court documents say Schott and another man broke into the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority September 13th and attacked a woman as she slept. Prosecutors say Schott watched while Christopher Reid performed sex acts on the woman. The two fled when she awoke. They are also accused of breaking into two other WSU sororities the same night. Reid pleaded not guilty Wednesday to burglary and rape charges. The 25-year-old Los Angeles man performs in porno films under the name Jack Venice. |
|
|
|
|
|
Defense lawyer in deadly Metrolink crash is dismissed
Court Feed News |
2007/09/22 09:41
|
A judge dismissed one of the lawyers for the man accused of triggering a deadly Metrolink disaster nearly three years ago, citing the defense's insistence that it was not ready to go to trial. "The public is interested in knowing, hundreds of people want to know," Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William R. Pounders said of the January 2005 train accident near Glendale, in which 11 people died. "I've reached the end of my rope."
The Los Angeles County district attorney is seeking the death penalty against Juan Manuel Alvarez, who allegedly left his vehicle on the railroad tracks, where a commuter train crashed into it. The train derailed, causing a second crash with an oncoming train.
Alvarez allegedly has contended he was trying to commit suicide and didn't mean to hurt anyone. Witnesses reportedly said he poured gasoline on the vehicle, suggesting he was trying to ensure that it would catch fire or explode.
Pounders said lawyer Norman Kallen was already committed to two other death penalty defenses and could not devote enough time to the Alvarez case. The judge told defense lawyers that he didn't think it would be fair to "sit and wait until you're ready."
Neither side asked for the change, and Pounders noted that Alvarez had not expressed dissatisfaction with Kallen. The judge told the remaining defense lawyer, Michael R. Belter, to press ahead. A second lawyer will be appointed to help Belter.
Belter declined to say whether his client would plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Previous defense lawyers suggested that such a plea might by justified.
|
|
|
|
|
Recent Lawyer News Updates |
|
|