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Ala. tried to close home where twisters killed 7
Court Feed News |
2011/05/27 16:47
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The government sued last fall to close an assisted living facility where nine elderly, disabled people lived in two double-wide mobile homes parked in a valley miles from the nearest town. Yet the facility was still open April 27, when a tornado smacked the mobile homes and killed four residents along with the owner, his daughter-in-law and 7-year-old granddaughter.
The state filed suit because Shoal Creek Valley Assisted Living didn't have a license — the fact that it was illegally operating in mobile homes wasn't even mentioned in the complaint. But months passed, winter turned to spring, and the place remained open. Then came the day tornadoes killed more than 200 people across Alabama.
One of those tornadoes, an EF-4 with winds as strong as 180 mph, wiped out the homes in a direct hit, leaving only twisted metal, splintered wood and seven bodies scattered across a horse pasture. That nondescript plot of land about 45 miles northeast of Birmingham was the site of the South's largest cluster of deaths on that epic day of misery.
While other cities and counties suffered more total fatalities in the twisters last month, state emergency management officials across the Southeast said they know of no other single location where more people died in the April outbreak. However, the destruction was so total in some places that it's impossible to determine exactly where some people died, and other victims remain hospitalized.
No one will ever know if the seven people who died in the assisted living center would have survived in a more substantial structure, but 71 patients escaped without injury when another tornado struck the brick-and-masonry La Rocca Nursing Home in Tuscaloosa about 90 minutes before Shoal Creek Valley's trailers were demolished. |
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Deliberations Tuesday in co-op lawyer trial
Court Feed News |
2011/05/27 16:47
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Deliberations will resume Tuesday in the felony theft trial of an attorney accused of stealing from a Central Texas electric cooperative.
Jurors in Kendall County failed to reach a verdict Thursday in the trial of Walter Demond, who did work for the Pedernales Electric Cooperative. The trial is in recess for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
The former partner at Clark, Thomas & Winters is charged with theft, money laundering and misapplication of fiduciary property. The Austin American-Statesman reports the case involves $700,000 in Pedernales funds, alleged inflated legal bills and money reaching relatives of co-op executives.
Former co-op general manager Bennie Fuelberg was sentenced to 300 days in jail and ordered to repay $126,000 after being convicted of theft of co-op funds, money laundering and misappropriation of fiduciary property. |
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Man who bought Ohio St memorabilia is charged
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/05/27 09:45
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A tattoo parlor owner who bought Ohio State football memorabilia was charged Friday in federal court with drug trafficking and money laundering, though his attorney said there's no connection with the scandal unfolding over the sale of the items.
Edward Rife will plead guilty to the charges and cooperate with authorities, documents filed in U.S. District Court indicated. The charges and Rife's plea agreement don't mention the sale of the memorabilia.
Rife, 31, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 200 pounds of marijuana, and one count of money laundering, the documents showed. He could face a prison sentence of 20 years although would likely receive much less under federal sentencing rules.
The money laundering charge alleges Rife paid $21,500 for a 2005 Nissan Infinity QX56 with money earned through the alleged drug transactions, according to the documents filed Friday.
Five players, including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, have been suspended for the first five games this fall for accepting improper benefits from Rife totaling between $12,000 and $15,000.
Coach Jim Tressel is also suspended and is still being investigated for knowing of his players' involvement with Rife and not reporting it to the NCAA or his superiors for more than nine months.
Rife's lawyer said Friday his client is taking responsibility for past mistakes. |
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Goodwin Liu withdraws judicial nomination
Legal Career News |
2011/05/26 15:48
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Appeals court judicial nominee Goodwin Liu says that although several Western states have a "desperate need for judges," he's dropping the fight.
Liu tells President Barack Obama he is withdrawing his nomination after Senate Republicans blocked a vote on his confirmation last week.
Liu is a liberal, 40-year-old Berkeley law professor who Obama nominated to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year.
In a letter to Obama Wednesday, Liu said there is little prospect of a Senate vote on his nomination. He said the 9th Circuit, including California and several other Western states, has a "desperate need for judges." The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter.
His nomination cheered liberal interest groups, but aroused strong opposition from Republicans who objected to his record and opposition to Republican Supreme Court nominees. |
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CAS postpones appeals hearing in Contador case
Court Feed News |
2011/05/26 15:46
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The Court of Arbitration for Sport postponed its hearing in Alberto Contador's doping case on Thursday, meaning the cyclist could compete in the Tour de France before the court issues a ruling. The CAS postponed the June 6-8 hearing, and the case could drag on beyond the start of this year's Tour. CAS said it agreed to put off the hearing to give "all parties concerned reasonable time to prepare for such hearing and to guarantee the participation in person of witnesses and experts." CAS said new hearing dates will be set as soon as possible. "We are not ready yet with replacement dates," the court said in a statement. CAS did not specify who sought the postponement. The court is scheduled to hear appeals filed by the International Cycling Union and World Anti-Doping Agency. They are challenging the Spanish cycling federation's decision to clear the three-time Tour de France champion after he blamed his positive test for clenbuterol at last year's race on eating contaminated beef. CAS had previously said it aimed to issue a verdict by the end of June, which would allow Contador to defend his Tour title if exonerated. The Tour runs from July 2-24. |
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Court: Pre-trial motions don't count in deadline
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/05/26 15:46
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The Supreme Court says the time used to deal with pretrial motions cannot be used to automatically extend the required deadline for a suspect's speedy trial. The high court on Thursday refused to grant the government's request to reinstate Jason Louis Tinklenberg's conviction of gun possession by a felon and possession of material used to manufacture methamphetamine. The Speedy Trial Act says a defendant's trial should begin within 70 days of his indictment or his initial appearance before a judicial officer. The high court ruled that the time used to dispense with pretrial motions cannot be counted toward the Speedy Trial deadline, upholding the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to throw out Tinklenberg's conviction. The appeals court had said that pretrial motions count as an exception when they cause actual delays. But "the filing of a pretrial motion falls within this provision irrespective of whether it actually causes, or is expected to cause, delay in starting a trial," Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the opinion for the court. He was joined by Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas joined the decision only in part. |
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