|
|
|
Not guilty plea entered for teen in NJ webcam case
Criminal Law Updates |
2011/05/21 16:38
|
A former Rutgers student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's same-sex encounter pleaded not guilty Monday to 15 charges including bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and evidence tampering.
It was the first court appearance for 19-year-old Dharun Ravi, the main suspect in the crimes allegedly committed against Tyler Clementi, a fellow Rutgers freshman who killed himself days after the alleged spying. His death sparked a nationwide conversation about bullying against young gays.
Ravi, of Plainsboro, was silent throughout the court appearance, which lasted less than 10 minutes. Clementi's parents and brother sat in the back of the courtroom for the brief hearing.
Ravi wore a dark suit and appeared to bite his lower lip as a chorus of cameras clicked his photo.
Lawyer Steven Altman entered a not guilty plea for Ravi and waived having the indictment against him read in court.
Authorities say the case began in early August, when Ravi learned who he'd be rooming with in his first year at Rutgers. |
|
|
|
|
|
Head of Delaware Business Court Joining Law Firm
Legal Career News |
2011/05/21 15:39
|
The head of Delaware's Court of Chancery, a key venue for matters of corporate law, is taking a job with a California-based law firm.
Chancellor William Chandler III will join Palo Alto-based Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on June 18. He had announced in April that he was retiring from the bench. In a statement released by the firm Thursday, Chandler said Wilson Sonsini has an outstanding legal practice and one of the most enviable client bases in the nation.
Chandler has served on the chancery court since 1989 and was appointed to the top post of chancellor in 1997.
He has presided over many high-profile cases, involving companies such as Walt Disney Co., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp., News Corp., eBay Inc., Citigroup Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dow Chemical Co. |
|
|
|
|
|
Appeals court reverses Countrywide suit dismissal
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/05/20 15:36
|
An appeals court has overturned the dismissal of a class-action lawsuit brought by investors against mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp. The move by a panel of the California 2nd District Court of Appeal reverses the decision by a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles last year. That court threw out the complaint on grounds that a state court had no jurisdiction to hear the case, citing the U.S. Securities Act. In the ruling issued Wednesday, the appeals court disagreed, concluding such a complaint could be heard in state court. The decision allows the case to proceed. The investors claim Countrywide had false or misleading statements in documentation for the mortgage-backed securities that they bought from the lender between 2005 and 2007. |
|
|
|
|
|
Ore. court rules medical pot users can have guns
Legal Career News |
2011/05/20 13:35
|
The Oregon Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that a retired school bus driver can have her medical marijuana and a concealed handgun, too. The ruling upheld previous decisions by the Oregon Court of Appeals and circuit court that determined a federal law barring criminals and drug addicts from buying firearms does not excuse sheriffs from issuing concealed weapons permits to people who hold medical marijuana cards and otherwise qualify. "We hold that the Federal Gun Control Act does not pre-empt the state's concealed handgun licensing statute and, therefore, the sheriffs must issue (or renew) the requested licenses," Chief Justice Paul De Muniz wrote in the ruling issued in Salem. Cynthia Willis, one of four plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling. "I feel like a big girl now," Willis said. "I feel like a real human being now, not just a source of revenue to the county." Leland Berger, the attorney representing Willis and other medical marijuana patients in the state, said the ruling was important in the continuing national debate over making marijuana legal to treat medical conditions. "I am hopeful we will end cannabis prohibition the same way we ended alcohol prohibition, which was by refusing to enforce federal laws within the state," Berger said. |
|
|
|
|
|
Ex-UK minister jailed over expenses claims
Legal World News |
2011/05/20 12:36
|
A London court sentenced a former government minister to 16 months in prison on Friday over the largest bogus claim exposed in Britain's lawmaker expenses scandal. Elliot Morley pleaded guilty last month to two charges of false accounting over bills worth 32,000 pounds (nearly $52,000). The 58-year-old former Labour Party politician claimed for mortgage payments on a loan that had already been paid off. Justice John Saunders told Southwark Crown Court that Morley was guilty of "blatant dishonesty" and had "thrown away his good name and character." In his verdict, Saunders said he was satisfied that "the excessive claims were made deliberately and are not explicable even in part by oversight." The sentencing follows the 2009 disclosure of previously secret expense files that revealed how politicians had billed the public for items including swank second homes and pornographic movies. Morley is the first former minister to be jailed for fiddling his expenses; three other former lawmakers received terms ranging from 12 to 18 months. The case ended a political career spanning nearly 20 years. Morley, an environment minister in Tony Blair's government, chose not to run again for Parliament last year. |
|
|
|
|
|
W.Va. court orders hearing over newspaper sources
Court Feed News |
2011/05/20 11:37
|
West Virginia's Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a newspaper in a dispute over confidential sources, but the decision will soon be eclipsed by a new state law barring disclosure of such sources in most cases.
The justices unanimously concluded earlier this month that Cabell County Circuit Judge Jane Hustead erred when she ordered the Lincoln Journal to reveal sources from a series of articles on Lincoln County's 2008 primary.
The Journal had reported on allegations that the publisher of a rival newspaper had funneled money through other individuals to a slate of candidates. Two of those contributors sued, alleging the series of articles were false and had defamed them.
The Supreme Court's May 2 ruling faulted Hustead for not following a standard set by a decision it issued in 1989. That standard says a reporter can't be compelled to reveal confidential sources "except upon a clear and specific showing that the information is highly material and relevant, necessary or critical to the maintenance of the claim, and not obtainable from other available sources."
Voiding Hustead's order, the justices required her to hold a hearing based on the 1989 standard. But while the Lincoln Journal's appeal was pending, the Legislature passed a law that replaces that standard. |
|
|
|
|
Recent Lawyer News Updates |
|
|