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CA Supreme Court turns down stem cell research case
Legal Career News |
2007/05/18 17:10
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| The California Supreme Court denied review of a lower court ruling Wednesday, effectively allowing the continuation of a state-sponsored program for stem cell research operated by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. A California state appeals court upheld the validity of the program in February, writing that it "suffers from no constitutional or other legal infirmity." Commenting on the Supreme Court's action, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said: Today's action by the California Supreme Court is a victory for our state because potentially life-saving science can continue without a shadow of legal doubt. This decision reaffirms voters' will to keep California on the forefront of embryonic stem cell research. California's leadership gives the best promise of finding a cure for deadly and debilitating diseases.
The research program, known as Proposition 71, was approved in a 2004 state referendum by a 59 percent margin. The lawsuit against the program was brought by the California Family Bioethics Council and two anti-tax organizations - the People's Advocate and the National Tax Limitation Foundation. The trial court determined that the stem cell program was being administered with sufficient state control and did not violate ballot initiative or conflicts of interest rules. |
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Men Accused of Killings Plead Not Guilty
Court Feed News |
2007/05/18 15:27
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| Two men accused of killing a couple and their three young sons and setting their home on fire pleaded not guilty Thursday to new charges in a 49-count indictment. Mark Serrano, 29, and Charles Gilleo Jr., 31, each pleaded not guilty in separate arraignments for the deaths of Manuel Morey, Tina Morey and their three young sons , ages 13, 10 and 6. Gilleo and Serrano now face 24 counts of first-degree murder, 11 counts of second-degree murder, two counts of arson, six counts of robbery, two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery, three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy to commit perjury. The men were first indicted Feb. 9 on 20 counts of first-degree murder. Firefighters discovered the bodies inside the family's rented home after it was reported on fire Jan. 19.
Authorities have said Serrano and Gilleo were partners with Manuel Morey in a small drug dealing operation. Police said Serrano and Gilleo went to the family's home to attempt to steal illegal drugs, and during the robbery Tony Morey and his wife were shot and the three boys were stabbed. Attorneys for Serrano and Gilleo could not be reached late Thursday. The new murder charges include five counts of intentional murder and six counts of felony murder causing someone's death while committing another felony. Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. The first-degree murder charges are punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole. Both men are being held without bail. |
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Former Wilton Mayor Pleads Guilty To Drug Charge
Criminal Law Updates |
2007/05/18 14:27
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The former mayor of the eastern Iowa town of Wilton has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to deliver marijuana. Dick Summy was charged last September with distributing and manufacturing about 100 marijuana plants. He entered his plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Davenport, but the judge said he'll take a few days to decide whether to accept the plea. At issue is a law that prohibits someone from being prosecuted for the same crime twice.
The prosecutor is concerned that because Summy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, he could not be tried for conspiracy to manufacture. Summy's attorney said Summy believes he conspired to distribute marijuana but did not conspire to manufacture the drug.
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Pittsfield man guilty of murdering wife
Criminal Law Updates |
2007/05/18 13:28
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A Pittsfield man who stabbed his wife 58 times has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of first-degree murder. Seymour Townsend, 37, was convicted Thursday by a Berkshire Superior Court jury after 4½ hours of deliberations over two days. Townsend repeatedly stabbed Michelle Padgett Townsend, 27, in his Pittsfield apartment in the early hours of March 3, 2006, authorities said.
In a victim impact statement from Padgett Townsend’s mother, Donna Rinaldi, read by District Attorney David Capeless, the victim was described as a giving, loving woman who loved her four daughters. Townsend was the father of the youngest.
"There’s not a second that goes by that I don’t long for her," Rinaldi said. "She was my daughter, and she didn’t deserve to die like this, and I don’t deserve to live through my life like this.
Padgett Townsend’s sister, Brenda LeClair, said she remains bitter.
"Every day, I ask myself, ’Why didn’t he just walk away?’" she said. "I can never forgive him for this."
Padgett Townsend’s body was discovered three days after the stabbing covered in a white sheet and lying face down in the living room.
Pittsfield police and city firefighters had broken into the apartment after a Department of Social Services caseworker contacted them, worried because Padgett Townsend had missed a scheduled visit with her children that morning.
The state had removed the children from Padgett Townsend’s care. The couple was separated.
Townsend was apprehended in New York City three weeks after the slaying.
Defense attorney John Kaufman did not dispute that Townsend had killed his wife, but he claimed Townsend had "snapped" during an argument and was guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Townsend’s wife attacked him with a kitchen knife, and he killed her in the "heat of passion," Kaufman claimed in court. Voluntary manslaughter carries a 20-year sentence.
But the prosecution argued that the slaying was premeditated and done with extreme atrocity or cruelty. Padgett Townsend had likely been near death when her husband inflicted the last 11 stab wounds, Capeless said. |
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US seeks extradition of Muslim imprisoned in UK
Legal World News |
2007/05/18 10:29
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Lawyers for the US government argued for the extradition of Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri in a hearing before a London court Thursday. Al-Masri is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Britain for urging his followers to kill Jews and other non-Muslims and using "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior" to stir up racial hatred. Hamza faces US charges of attempting to establish terrorist training camps both in Oregon and in Afghanistan. The hearing, initially scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed to give Hamza time to recover from an operation. The US called for Hamza's extradition last year, but hearings were delayed pending his appeal of his current conviction in the UK courts. The appeals were dismissed in November. Hamza's lawyers say the extradition warrant should be dismissed because it was issued on evidence obtained by torture. |
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Attorney firing list longer than acknowledged
Headline News |
2007/05/17 15:11
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| The US Department of Justice (DOJ) considered replacing at least 26 of 93 US Attorneys between February 2005 and December 2006, a much higher number than previously acknowledged by officials, according to a report in Thursday's Washington Post. Documents not publicly disclosed indicate that Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, compiled at least three separate lists of US attorneys that were considered for removal. In a related development in the US Attorney firings scandal, Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), top members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Gonzales Wednesday demanding he respond to a May 2 subpoena issued for all of White House political adviser Karl Rove's e-mails "in the possession, custody or control of the Department of Justice." The letter rebuked Gonzales for failing to comply with the subpoena before the return date, as well as his failure to provide "in writing the specific reasons for not producing any responsible documents, including any objections to the subpoenas or privileged claimed by the." Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Hertling responded with a letter to Leahy, saying that the DOJ's Office of Information and Privacy had conducted e-mail searches in the Offices of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, and included several emails located during the search. |
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