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Strauss-Kahn free after NY court ends sex case
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/08/24 15:39
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Dominique Strauss-Kahn, his wife by his side, walked to a Manhattan courtroom through shouting protesters carrying signs that read: "Put the rapist on trial — not the victim." Just hours later, the French diplomat was a free man — his attempted rape case formally dismissed. The former International Monetary Fund leader can leave the United States after he's handed back his passport — which could happen as soon as Wednesday — but he will return to France to face an uncertain future that includes another investigation into an alleged sexual assault. "I can't wait to get back to my country, but there are some things I have to do first," he said in French outside the posh Tribeca town home where he was kept under house arrest. The New York case was dismissed Tuesday after prosecutors said they no longer trusted the hotel maid who accused him of attacking her in his luxury suite on May 14. Though evidence showed Strauss-Kahn had a sexual encounter with Nafissatou Diallo, prosecutors said the accuser was not credible because of lies she has told, including an earlier false rape claim. But an investigation continues in France into claims by novelist Tristane Banon, who said Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her in 2002. She recently filed a new criminal complaint. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have called her account "imaginary." And in New York, Strauss-Kahn still faces a lawsuit Diallo filed against him. Her attorneys said they would aggressively litigate the civil case — but it could take two years before it gets to trial. |
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NJ court orders changes to witness ID evidence
Court Feed News |
2011/08/24 15:39
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New Jersey's highest court has ordered changes to the way eyewitness identifications are used in court, saying the current system is not reliable enough. The state Supreme Court found that the current process doesn't deter police misconduct and overstates the jury's ability to evaluate identification evidence. Currently, a defendant has the burden of proving there was undue suggestion during the identification process. That will stay the same. But the court on Wednesday ordered a pretrial hearing when a defendant can show some evidence of suggestiveness by police. The court also says juries should hear a better explanation of the potential flaws with eyewitness identifications. The new rules will apply to future cases. |
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Mo. woman pleads guilty in exported vehicle scheme
Court Feed News |
2011/08/24 11:39
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A Missouri woman who prosecutors say played a central role in a scheme to buy more than 300 vehicles with phony titles and improperly export them has pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud.
Patrice Robertson pleaded guilty Tuesday as part of a plea agreement. She ran the vehicle brokerage in Chillicothe, Mo., that improperly bought the vehicles for export.
Earlier this month, a former Omaha car salesman and the owner of a Kansas trucking company were both charged with 11 counts of wire fraud and one conspiracy charge.
Authorities say the three purchased roughly 342 vehicles fraudulently from at least six different dealerships in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio.
The Nebraska State Patrol launched the investigation in 2006 after several Hummers ostensibly to local buyers weren't registered in the state. |
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Administration moves plan to ax hundreds of rules
Law & Politics |
2011/08/23 17:11
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The Obama administration disclosed plans Tuesday to cut or roll back hundreds of federal regulations, including some that will streamline tax forms at the Internal Revenue Service, let railroad companies pass on installing expensive new technology, and speed up the visa process for low-risk visitors to the U.S.
The administration said the regulations will save businesses up to $10 billion over the next five years and spur job growth in the private sector.
The move, announced while President Barack Obama was on vacation in Martha's Vineyard, was the latest White House gesture to reach out to a business community that has often felt alienated from the administration.
The move was criticized by some as too little, too late.
"The administration's findings and determinations, on their own, are a worthy effort at making technical changes to the regulatory process, but the results of this look-back will not have a material impact on the real regulatory burdens facing businesses today," said Bill Kovacs, senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Administration officials said the plans unveiled Tuesday include 500 regulatory reforms, including more than 100 from the Department of Transportation and more than 70 from the Department of Health and Human Services. Once the reforms are fully implemented, the administration estimates businesses will save about $10 billion over five years. |
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Prosecutors: Blagojevich convictions should stand
Legal Career News |
2011/08/23 17:11
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Rod Blagojevich received a fair retrial and his convictions for corruption including trying to sell President Barack Obama's Senate seat should stand, prosecutors said Tuesday in their retort to the ousted Illinois governor's request for another new trial.
The government's 133-page filing in U.S. District Court in Chicago nearly matched a 158-page defense motion last month that alleged a litany of errors at Blagojevich's retrial earlier this year.
"In reality, there was no bias, manipulation, or unfairness on the part of the prosecution, judge or jury," prosecutors said in their response. "The defendant was fairly convicted by a jury of his peers based on overwhelming evidence."
The filing comes just weeks before Blagojevich's sentencing hearing, scheduled to begin Oct. 6. Many legal experts say U.S. District Judge James Zagel is likely to give the 54-year-old Democrat around ten years in prison.
Blagojevich's retrial ended in June with jurors convicting him on 17 of 20 corruption counts, including that he tried to sell or trade the appointment to Obama's vacated Senate seat for a top job or campaign cash.
At the former governor's first trial last year, jurors were deadlocked on all but one count, convicting the twice-elected Blagojevich of making a false statement to the FBI about the extent of his participation in political fundraising.
Among other alleged judicial errors, defense attorneys pointed in their motion to one of the most memorable moments at the retrial — when lead prosecutor Reid Schar opened a blistering cross-examination of Blagojevich. |
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Goldman falls on news that CEO hired top lawyer
Headline News |
2011/08/23 14:54
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Goldman Sachs shares fell sharply Monday following news that its CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, has hired a top Washington defense lawyer.
Blankfein and other top executives at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are facing inquiries from the Justice Department and other agencies on the firm's practices leading up to the financial crisis.
Goldman confirmed a report from Reuters that Blankfein has retained Reid Weingarten from the law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP. Weingarten is known to have represented top corporate executives who have been charged with wrongdoing including former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers.
Weingarten's office didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Goldman Sachs said in a statement: "Blankfein and other individuals who were expected to be interviewed in connection with the Justice Department's inquiry into certain matters raised in the (Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations) report hired counsel at the outset." |
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