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Court grants Routier limited DNA testing
Court Feed News |
2008/06/18 12:07
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Darlie Routier, the Rowlett mother sent to death row after the 1996 stabbing deaths of her two young sons, has been granted a chance to prove her innocence through DNA testing. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday ruled that Routier should be allowed to conduct DNA testing on blood stains, flakes of dried blood and hairs found at the crime scene. Routier's previously appeals to the court had been denied, but state law allows for post-conviction DNA testing in some cases. Routier has maintained that she is innocent of the murders. Routier was accused in the slayings of the young boys, Damon and Devon, but was only tried and convicted in the death of Damon. She has maintained that an intruder at the family's home killed them. |
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German court rules fear or letters is no excuse
Legal World News |
2008/06/18 12:06
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A German court has ruled against a woman who claimed a phobia of official letters in her appeal of authorities' decision to cut off child support benefits. The court in western Rhineland-Palatinate state said Wednesday that the woman was sent a letter in May 2007 asking that she supply evidence to support continued payments for her daughter. After she failed to respond, she was notified in July 2007 that the money was being cut off and given a month to appeal. Only in September did she reply and supply the requested documents, telling authorities — who threw out her appeal because it was too late — that she had a phobia of official correspondence. The woman, who was not identified by the court, said "she had already suffered many financial disadvantages" as a result of leaving mail lying around or throwing it out, a court statement said. It added that she sought to justify her actions by saying that "she was and still is petrified of the contents of official letters." She said she had long considered seeking psychological treatment, but had been too ashamed to follow through. The court rejected the woman's case, saying it was a long-term problem, she would have had plenty of time to seek help from her daughter or others. |
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Appeals court refuses to stop gay weddings
Lawyer Blog News |
2008/06/18 11:05
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An appeals court has rejected a conservative group's latest effort to stop gay marriages in California before the November election. The Liberty Council had asked a state appeals court to block same-sex weddings until voters could decide the issue on the November ballot. The three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal refused the request in a brief ruling issued Tuesday as gay marriages began in full swing around the state. Earlier the appeals court had ruled against allowing gay marriages but the state Supreme Court overturned that decision last month. In its latest ruling the appeals court says the high court has made it clear that same-sex marriage should be allowed. |
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Woman pleads not guilty in Internet suicide case
Lawyer Blog News |
2008/06/17 16:18
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A Missouri woman pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles federal court Monday to charges in an Internet hoax blamed for a 13-year-old girl's suicide. Lori Drew, 49, stood quietly beside her attorney Monday. She pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress. She is free on $20,000 bond. The proceeding lasted only a few minutes. Drew and her lawyer declined to comment to reporters waiting outside the courtroom. Drew, of suburban St. Louis, Mo., is accused of helping to create a MySpace account that appeared to belong to a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. The boy did not exist. Drew's daughter had been a friend of 13-year-old neighbor Megan Meier and the fake account was used to send cruel messages to the girl, including one stating the world would be better off without her. Megan hanged herself in 2006. Drew has denied creating the account or sending messages to Meier. The charges were filed in California where MySpace is based. MySpace is a subsidiary of Beverly Hills-based Fox Interactive Media Inc., which is owned by News Corp. Drew's case was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge George Wu and her trial scheduled for July 29. A status conference was scheduled for June 26. U.S. attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said Drew would be allowed to return home pending trial. Each of the four counts against Drew carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. |
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Ex-Broadcom chief pleads not guilty
Court Feed News |
2008/06/17 13:18
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Billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III pleaded not guilty Monday to federal criminal charges that he distributed drugs and that he led an accounting and securities fraud scheme while he headed Irvine, Calif.-based Broadcom Corp.
Nicholas, 48, left the courthouse shortly after 2 p.m., climbing into an awaiting Toyota Sienna van, declining to comment to a pack of news crews and photographers.
''Not guilty,'' Nicholas said in response to questions about the two cases. William J. Ruehle, 66, Broadcom's former chief financial officer, also pleaded not guilty in the securities case and left the building without making a comment. A trial date for both cases was set for July 29. |
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New trial for official in Abramoff scandal
Headline News |
2008/06/17 13:16
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The first Bush administration official convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal is entitled to a new trial, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. David Safavian, the former chief of staff for the General Services Administration, was convicted of lying to investigators about his relationship with Abramoff, the disgraced lobbyist who has admitted bribing government officials. Safavian was sentenced to 18 months in prison but the sentence was put on hold while the appeal played out. "David Safavian has been destroyed by this," attorney Barbara Van Gelder, who defended Safavian at trial, said Tuesday. "He has been debarred. He's been unemployable and he's been seen as a villain. This is vindication." His conviction was based on statements he made to Senate investigators, GSA ethics officials and the agency's inspector general. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out the charges related to ethics officials and the inspector general and ordered a new trial on the other charges. The court unanimously agreed that when Safavian asked whether he could ethically travel to Scotland for a golf trip with Abramoff, he was not required to tell ethics officials that he'd been providing Abramoff information about government-owned properties. |
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