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Supreme Court says Georgia man should get hearing
Lawyer Blog News |
2009/08/17 17:10
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The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a new hearing for death row inmate Troy Davis, whose supporters say is innocent and should be spared from execution for killing a police officer 20 years ago.
Davis has spent 18 years on death row for the 1989 slaying of Savannah, Ga., police officer Mark MacPhail. Davis' attorneys insist that he is innocent and deserves a new trial because several witnesses at his trial have recanted their testimony. The high court ordered a federal judge in Georgia to determine whether there is evidence "that could not have been obtained at the time of trial (that) clearly establishes petitioner's innocence." Defense lawyers had appealed to the Supreme Court after a federal court denied a new trial request in April. "The substantial risk of putting an innocent man to death clearly provides an adequate justification for holding an evidentiary hearing," said Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the court. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer concurred with Stevens. MacPhail was slain 20 years ago while working off-duty as a security guard at a bus station. He had rushed to help a homeless man who had been pistol-whipped at a nearby parking lot, and was shot twice when he approached Davis and two other men. Witnesses identified Davis as the shooter at his 1991 trial. |
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Texas judge ended day as death row appeal waited
Legal Career News |
2009/08/17 17:09
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As lawyers frantically tried to file the last-minute appeal that could have halted the execution of a death row inmate, the Texas judge who oversaw the only court who could hear it was preparing to shut the doors for the day.
"We close at 5," Judge Sharon Keller told a court staffer Sept. 25, 2007. The appeal was never heard, and four hours later, convicted killer Michael Wayne Richard was executed. Now it's Keller who will be before a judge, facing charges that could end her career in a special trial that begins Monday in San Antonio. Denying the rights of a condemned man is among five judicial misconduct charges that Keller, the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is up against. Nicknamed "Sharon Killer" among critics for a tough-on-crime reputation crafted over the years, Keller is the highest-ranking judge in Texas to be put on trial by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. The judge overseeing the trial will submit a report to the commission, which could dismiss the charges, issue a censure or suggest Keller be removed from the bench. Keller, a Republican who has served on the court since 1994, has not spoken publicly since being charged in February. Her attorney, Chip Babcock, said the widely repeated narrative of what happened the day Richard was executed isn't accurate. |
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Broncos' Marshall found not guilty in battery case
Lawyer Blog News |
2009/08/16 17:19
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A jury in Atlanta found Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall not guilty of misdemeanor battery against his former girlfriend, announcing its verdict Friday after about an hour of deliberations.
Marshall had faced two counts of simple battery stemming from a March 4, 2008, argument with then-girlfriend Rasheedah Watley at the Atlanta condominium the couple shared. Marshall said after the verdict in Fulton County State Court that he had some butterflies in his stomach when deliberations began, but was confident in the work of his lawyers. "I'm just happy now that legally and emotionally we can move past this," he said, adding that he appreciated the support of teammates and fans. He said he planned to celebrate Friday night by watching his teammates in an offseason game against the San Francisco 49ers. His lawyer Harvey Steinberg expressed gratitude to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for waiting for the verdict before deciding whether to take any league action. Marshall was suspended for last year's season opener after a series of domestic disputes, and Goodell had said a conviction in the Atlanta case could have led to a second suspension. Before the verdict was announced, the judge cautioned that no outbursts would be tolerated and asked anyone who might not be able to comply to leave the courtroom. Watley, who was sitting with her family, got up and left. Her family was visibly disappointed at the verdict but declined comment. |
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Accused nude doorbell ringer pleads not guilty
Lawyer Blog News |
2009/08/15 17:18
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A man suspected of appearing nude at homes and ringing doorbells is being held on $60,000 bail after pleading not guilty to a series of charges.
Peter Allen Steele, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 250 pounds, entered his not guilty pleas Tuesday after being charged with seven counts, including driving under the influence, evading a peace officer, indecent exposure and entering a house without permission.Authorities say the 38-year-old Steele led San Mateo County sheriff's deputies on a car chase on July 11 that ended with him streaking into a home and then into woods near Redwood City. Deputies say it took a Taser and two shots from a bean bag gun to bring him down. |
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Swiss court says Haitian money can be given as aid
Legal World News |
2009/08/14 17:12
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A Swiss court has backed the government's plan to give aid agencies 7 million Swiss francs ($6 million) seized from bank accounts linked to Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.
In a ruling published Friday, the Federal Criminal Tribunal rejected an appeal by the Duvalier family, which wants to reclaim the money. It can now appeal the case to Switzerland's highest court. The government says the Duvalier family has failed to prove that the money stashed in Swiss accounts is of legitimate origin. Many in Haiti consider that money stolen from public funds before Duvalier was ousted in 1986. Duvalier, who is believed to be living in exile in France, has always denied that. The court said the Duvalier family had diverted public funds into Swiss accounts through a Liechtenstein foundation that amounted to a "criminal organization." The accounts in Switzerland have been blocked since 2002. Switzerland has traditionally been a favorite location for dictators' money because of its banking secrecy rules. But reforms over the past two decades have made it harder to hide money in Switzerland and the country has returned hundreds of millions of francs (dollars) to countries in Africa, the Philippines and elsewhere. |
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Federal court OKs suit alleging illegal J&J sales
Court Feed News |
2009/08/13 17:11
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A federal appeals court has revived a multibillion-dollar Medicare fraud case brought by whistle-blowers alleging Johnson & Johnson paid doctors kickbacks to wrongly prescribe an expensive drug.
Two former salespeople for the health care giant allege J&J illegally marketed its blockbuster anemia drug Procrit. They claim the company got doctors to prescribe it for unapproved uses and sometimes at high doses that could be dangerous. Federal regulators have since put restrictions on which patients can get the drug and how much they can take, hurting Procrit sales. A federal appeals court in Boston has revived the case and sent it back to the District Court in Boston. Johnson & Johnson officials say they will comment later today. |
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