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Feds urge court to let prison medicate Loughner
Legal Career News |
2011/07/07 11:53
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Federal prosecutors say an appeals court should let prison officials forcibly give anti-psychotic medication to the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage.
The prosecutors say in court documents filed late Tuesday that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal should lift its order that temporarily bars prison officials from involuntarily medicating Jared Lee Loughner.
Loughner had been forcibly medicated between June 21 and July 1 at a federal facility in Missouri after prison officials determined his outbursts there posed a danger. His lawyers have objected.
Loughner pleaded not guilty to 49 charges in the Jan. 8 shooting that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Loughner has been at the facility since late May after a judge ruled him mentally unfit to stand trial. |
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Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorneys - Pettler & Miller LLP
Law Firm News |
2011/07/07 10:34
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The emphasis of our practice is in the area of probate and trust law. This includes advice, document drafting as well as any required or appropriate litigation. We handle Estate Planning, Probate, Trust Administration, Conservatorships, Guardianships and Probate/Trust and related Litigation.
We also are pleased to have the assistance of Family Law Mediator Dianne C. Freeman in regard to family law issues which are pertinent to Estate Planning, Probate and Trust matters.

We represent individuals, private professional fiduciaries as well as banks and trust companies.

We provide the personalized service of a small firm with the ability to custom draft documents combined with representation in court proceedings and litigation. The two complement each other to give us invaluable insight for our clients in both areas of endeavor.

Our firm is firmly entrenched in the community, having been in this area in some form since 1935. We believe in supporting the court system and the community. Our firm members are active in various legal, community and charitable organizations.
Pettler & Miller LLP
3465 Torrance Blvd., Suite D
Torrance, CA 90503
Tel: (310) 543-1616
Fax: (310) 543-5019
http://www.pettlermillerlaw.com |
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In Strauss-Kahn case, DA weighs limited options
Criminal Law Updates |
2011/07/06 15:40
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At first, prosecutors said their sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn was growing more formidable by the day. Six weeks later, they said his accuser's history of lying raised major red flags, but they weren't dropping the case, at least for now. With the former International Monetary Fund leader freed from house arrest because the case has weakened, prosecutors aren't saying what their next move may be. Some legal experts say prosecutors will all but have to abandon the case because of the damage to the accuser's overall credibility, even if they believe Strauss-Kahn attacked the woman, a housekeeper at a New York City hotel where he was staying. Still, at least one former high-level prosecutor thinks the case isn't doomed. For now, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. is saying only that prosecutors will keep investigating "until we have uncovered all relevant facts." "Sometimes the road to get to the truth has twists and turns in it, which are not always apparent at the outset," he said in a statement Sunday. "What is important is not a win or a loss, but rather to ensure the criminal justice system balances the rights of all those who come before it." Prosecutors have a number of options, including going ahead with the current charges or reducing them. They could try to negotiate a plea deal, though it's unclear whether Strauss-Kahn would entertain one. He has asserted his innocence, and the doubts raised about the woman's trustworthiness would likely improve his chances at a trial. While prosecutors haven't questioned her account of the alleged attack itself, they say she's been untruthful about a number of other things, including what she did right afterward. That could make potential jurors reluctant to take her word over Strauss-Kahn's. |
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Orange County judge to restrict Costa Mesa layoffs
Court Feed News |
2011/07/06 15:39
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An Orange County judge said Tuesday that she will issue a court order to restrict Costa Mesa from laying off nearly half of the city's workforce and outsourcing jobs.
Superior Court Judge Tam Nomoto Schumann said she would grant the Orange County Employees Association's request for a preliminary injunction. But the city has until Friday to file objections before she issues her ruling.
The union filed suit in May, arguing that the city's plan to outsource municipal jobs violates state law and the union contract.
In March, the Costa Mesa City Council majority voted to outsource jobs to mostly private companies in a drastic move to plug a $15 million budget hole.
Soon afterward, 213 of 450 employees got layoff notices that would take effect in September.
Union spokeswoman Jennifer Muir said the court order would protect employees' jobs until the case against the city goes to trial.
Schumann said the city must follow proper procedures when laying off workers, but she didn't explain what those procedures are.
Assistant City Attorney Harold Potter contends the city has been following procedures while pursuing austerity measures.
The judge's ruling won't stop the city from exploring outsourcing options, he said. |
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Ballard Spahr says Stewart new chair of national law firm
Law Firm News |
2011/07/06 13:42
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Law firm Ballard Spahr LLP says that Mark Stewart, who helped the firm open six new offices, has been named its chair.
The law firm — its headquarters are in Philadelphia — said Stewart became chair on Friday, succeeding Arthur Makadon who took the position in 2002. He is returning to active practice with the firm.
Stewart joined the firm as a summer associate in 1981.
Ballard Spahr has more than 475 lawyers in 13 offices across the U.S. and offers litigatition, business and finance, real estate, intellectual propery and public finance services. |
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No manslaughter convictions in ground zero fire
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/07/06 13:40
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A toxin-cleanup director and a company were acquitted Wednesday of manslaughter in an August 2007 blaze that killed two firefighters at a condemned tower at ground zero, although the firm was convicted of a misdemeanor.
The John Galt Corp. was found guilty of second-degree reckless endangerment, the only conviction in the criminal case filed over the fire at the former Deutsche Bank building. The judge acquitted worker Mitchel Alvo of all charges. Jurors had acquitted two other construction-company supervisors of all charges last week.
"I'm really mystified," said Galt attorney David Wikstrom. He said he couldn't understand how the company could be convicted of a crime when the workers were acquitted. He said he would move to overturn the verdict.
Alvo's fiancee wept tears of joy as they left the courthouse. "Now I've just got to get on with my life and start making a living again," Alvo said.
The district attorney's office said it was preparing a statement.
The fire killed firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph P. Graffagnino and revealed poor regulation of the damaged building, which was being dismantled in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Alvo, 59; asbestos cleanup foreman Salvatore DePaola, 56; and site safety manager Jeffrey Melofchik, 49, were the only people criminally charged in the fire. Galt, which employed Alvo and DePaola, was the only company charged. |
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