Rejecting Zacarias Moussaoui’s arguments, federal appeals court Monday upheld Moussaoui’s conviction and prison term.

Roman Polanski will be returning to the courtroom for an overdue hearing for his criminal case later this week. The case could be resolved quickly, the appeals court has suggested, if Roman’s attorneys agree to sentencing in absentia — without Roman physically in court — or Roman drops his opposition to being extradited to the United States. Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini said Judge Peter Espinoza will hold a hearing for Roman’s case on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports.

Roman is currently under house arrest at his Swiss chalet after he was arrested in late September on a fugitive warrant.

He was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl during a 1977 modeling shoot and was indicted on six felony counts and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. Roman fled to France the day before his sentencing in 1978 after spending 42 days in a California prison for psychiatric evaluation.

The First Penal Transitory Hall of the Peruvian Supreme Court of Justice ratified on Sunday the sentence of 25-year imprisonment against former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimory, for qualified homicide, killing and grave injuries.

The trial was carried by Judge of the Supreme Tribunal Duberli Rodriguez, as well as by judges Julio Biaggi, Elvia Barros, Roberto Barandiaran and Jose Neyra.

According to a statement of the Tribunal, by unanimity the judges ratified that Fujimori (1990-2000) was the "mediate author of the crimes of qualified homicide and grave injuries."

During the trial, the judges also determined that Fujimori has to pay 62,400 soles (22,285 U.S. dollars) to Marcelino Marcos Pablo Meza and Carmen Juana Marinos Figueroa, each, who are direct relatives of the victims.

The NFL players, like football fans everywhere, will be focused on the playoffs this month and the fierce competition for a spot in the Super Bowl. Their lawyers, however, will be keeping an eye on the Supreme Court.

On Jan. 13, the pro football owners will be asking the high court to rule for the first time that the NFL is shielded from antitrust laws because, while its teams compete on the playing field, they function in business as a "single entity."

If the justices were to agree, the ramifications could be significant, not just for football but all pro sports leagues, say experts in sports law. Freed from the antitrust laws, owners could get together to restrict salaries for players and coaches and raise prices for everything from tickets to stocking caps.

"For the NFL, this case is like buying a lottery ticket. If they win, it's a huge victory, with the potential to be incredibly significant," said Gabe Feldman, who teaches sports law at Tulane University. "If not, they don't lose much."

Sports leagues have long confounded antitrust law because they involve both competition and collaboration. The National Football League is made up of 32 independently owned teams that not only compete on the field, but also compete off the field for players, coaches and the loyalty of fans.

A defunct South Florida law firm run by an attorney now charged with operating a huge Ponzi scheme gave more than $6 million in the past year to charities and nonprofit groups.

A federal bankruptcy court filing details contributions by the firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler to more than 100 organizations. Former firm CEO Scott Rothstein has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and other charges stemming from what prosecutors say was a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving legal settlement investments.

The biggest amount was more than $2.5 million to Rothstein's own Rothstein Family Foundation. Big donations also went to Boys and Girls Clubs, arts groups, Jewish organizations and several groups affiliated with professional athletes.

Burns, White & Hickton LLC, Pittsburgh’s tenth-largest law firm, opened two new offices late last month, in Harrisburg, and in Cherry Hill, N.J., bringing its total number of sites to eight.

Burns, White & Hickton, founded in 1987, employs close to 100 lawyers, two-thirds of whom are based in its headquarters on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.

The firm, which focuses on litigation, transportation and transactional law, tripled the number of lawyers in its Philadelphia-area office alone over the past two and a half years.