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US appeals court overturns release of detainee
Legal Career News |
2011/06/10 12:36
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A Yemeni detainee ordered to be freed from Guantanamo Bay has to stay now that a U.S. appeals court has overturned his release.
The U.S Court of Appeals in Washington says circumstantial evidence of terrorist ties can be enough to keep a prisoner like Hussain Salem Mohammad Almerfedi at the U.S. naval prison in Cuba.
Almerfedi was captured in Iran after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and eventually transferred to U.S. authorities through Afghanistan. Government attorneys argue he was staying at an al-Qaida-affiliated guesthouse, based on the testimony of another Guantanamo detainee. Almerfedi denied it, and a lower court judge found the testimony against him unreliable and ordered him released.
But the appeals court said the judge erred in finding the testimony unreliable and found it was likely Almerfedi was part of al-Qaida. |
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Banks lose battle to delay cap on invisible fee
Business Law Info |
2011/06/09 16:04
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Merchants trumped bankers in a battle for billions Wednesday as the Senate voted to let the Federal Reserve slash fees that stores pay financial institutions when customers pay with debit cards.
Whether consumers will see any of that money remains to be seen.
The Fed will now issue its final rules on debit fees, called interchange fees, on July 21. It has recommended cutting the average 44 cents that banks and credit unions charge for each debit card transaction to no more than 12 cents, although the final plan could change slightly.
The fee is now typically 1 to 2 percent of each purchase. It produces $16 billion in annual revenue for banks, credit unions and the credit card companies that operate the huge payment networks, the Fed estimates.
Merchants say lower fees should let them lower prices. Banks warn that they'll have to recoup the lost revenue through other charges that likely will come directly from consumers' pockets, such as higher checking account fees. |
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Court says telephone companies must give access
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/06/09 15:53
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The Supreme Court says large telephone companies have to provide their competitors discounted access to their network.
The high court on Thursday unanimously ruled for Talk America, Inc. in its battle to make AT&T give it cost-based rates for using its entrance facilities into its network.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled incumbent telephone companies cannot be required to provide access to entrance facilities at a regulated rate for its competitors.
AT&T was trying to charge competitive rates for using its facility to get access to AT&T lines. Talk America argues that AT&T is required under the 1996 Telecommunication Act to provide discounted access to its entrance facilities.
The high court overturned the appeals court ruling. |
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Court: Using car to flee can be considered violent
Court Feed News |
2011/06/09 14:54
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The Supreme Court says fleeing police custody in a vehicle can be considered a violent felony.
The high court made its ruling on Thursday in the case of Marcus Sykes.
Sykes was convicted of being a felon in possession of a handgun in 2008. Officials said he was subject to a sentencing enhancement because of two previous felony convictions, one of which was fleeing the police in a car in Indiana.
Sykes argued his fleeing conviction shouldn't be considered violent and two federal appeals courts, the 7th Circuit in Chicago and the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, have ruled in opposite ways.
The high court said in a 6-3 judgment that Sykes' flight from police can be considered a violent felony. |
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Ohioan is among 1st jurors at old, new courthouses
Legal Career News |
2011/06/09 11:52
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An Ohio woman called to jury duty on the first day at a new county courthouse this week also was on the first jury at the old court building when it opened in 1973. Jury commissioner Gretchen Roberts in Columbus says 64-year-old Mary Evans beat odds that are "pretty astronomical." Registered voters are randomly picked by computer for jury service on given dates. Evans, of suburban Grove City, tells The Columbus Dispatch that it was "kind of cool" that she inaugurated both Franklin County Common Pleas Courthouses. She says each struck her as an impressive reflection of its time. Evans was seated Monday on a jury for a domestic violence case when the new, $105 million courthouse opened. In 1973, she served on juries for rape and theft cases. |
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Spanish court upholds ban on face-covering veils
Legal World News |
2011/06/09 10:52
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A Spanish court has upheld a ban by a city on face-covering Islamic veils worn in municipal buildings. In 2010, the city of Lleida became the first Spanish one to impose such a ban. But the Catalan regional Superior Justice Tribunal suspended it following an appeal by a Muslim association that claimed it violated basic rights. The court ruled Wednesday that the northeastern city was within its rights to ban the clothing in municipal buildings for security and identification purposes. It also backed Lleida's argument that the veils are discriminatory. Other Spanish towns have taken similar steps but their burqa bans have yet to take effect. Lleida's one is largely symbolic since only about 3 percent of Lleida's population is Muslim and very few wear face-covering garments. |
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