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Court turns away appeal over commandments display
Court Feed News |
2011/10/04 17:46
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the appeal of an Ohio judge wanting to display a poster of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom.
The display has been covered with a drape since a federal judge ordered Richland County Common Pleas Judge James DeWeese to remove it in October 2009. DeWeese also had posted a label above it bearing the word "Censored."
DeWeese that he is disappointed but knew his effort to get the Supreme Court to hear the case was a long shot, the Mansfield News Journal reported.
"I will probably eventually take the display down," he told the newspaper.
DeWeese hung the poster in his Mansfield courtroom in 2006 after the U.S. Supreme Court let stand lower-court rulings that another Ten Commandment poster he hung in 2000 violated separation between church and state.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation sued, and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled the display endorsed religious views and was unconstitutional. |
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Court refuses to hear Maryland gun case
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/10/04 13:47
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The Supreme Court won't hear a Maryland man's argument that the Second Amendment allows him to carry a gun outside of his home for self-defense.
The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Charles F. Williams Jr., who was arrested in 2007 for having his legally-purchased handgun outside his home without a state permit.
The high court has ruled there is a right to keep a gun in the home for protection. But gun advocates say people also have the constitutional right to carry their guns outside the house for self-protection.
Maryland courts say if the Supreme Court agrees with that theory "it will need to say so more plainly." The high court refused the opportunity on Monday. |
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Fannie Mae ignored misconduct
Headline News |
2011/10/04 12:46
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Mortgage giant Fannie Mae knew about allegations of improper foreclosure practices by law firms in 2003 but did not act to stop them, a government watchdog says.
Similar allegations are the subject of a probe by state attorneys general into how lenders and law firms ignored proper procedures to handle a crush of foreclosure paperwork.
An unnamed shareholder warned Fannie Mae of alleged foreclosure abuses in 2003, the inspector general for the agency that regulates Fannie says in a report being released Tuesday.
Fannie Mae responded by hiring a law firm to investigate the claims in 2005. The law firm reported in 2006 that it had found foreclosure attorneys in Florida "routinely filing false pleadings and affidavits."
Fannie officials said they told a government official about the law firm's findings in 2006. That unnamed official, who now works for Fannie's regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said he couldn't recall the conversation, the report says.
Fannie began using a network of attorneys in 1997 to help handle foreclosures, evictions and bankruptcies. In 2008, the network grew to 140 law firms. And the number of foreclosures in Fannie's portfolio reached historic highs. Foreclosures more than doubled from 2007 to 2008. They grew 50% in 2009. |
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Court won't hear appeal from software reseller
Court Feed News |
2011/10/03 15:40
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The Supreme Court won't reopen a decision blocking an online merchant from selling unopened secondhand software.
The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Timothy S. Vernor, who wanted to sell unopened software made by Autodesk Inc., on eBay.
The Supreme Court has ruled that copyright holders can't prevent a buyer from reselling or renting a product after an initial sale. That principle, called the first sale doctrine, allows used book and music stores to operate.
But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the original purchasers of Autodesk were licensees, not owners of the software. The judges said that means the first-sale doctrine didn't apply and Vernor could not resell the software. |
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Court turns away lawsuit over Obama eligibility
Legal Career News |
2011/10/03 13:40
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The Supreme Court has turned away another challenge to President Barack Obama's eligibility to be president.
The high court on Monday refused without comment to hear a challenge brought by conservative activist Alan Keyes and other members of the American Independent Party. They contend Obama wasn't eligible to be president because he was not born in the U.S., and thus not a citizen. U.S. courts, and the Supreme Court, have previously thrown out similar suits.
Keyes wanted the certification of Obama's victory halted in California until there was documented proof by a state official that he was eligible to be president. The Supreme Court of California threw out the lawsuit. |
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Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP Announces Class Action
Class Action News |
2011/10/03 09:40
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Notice is hereby given that Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased the American Depositary Shares of SinoTech Energy Limited (“SinoTech” or the “Company”) pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s Registration Statement and Prospectus (collectively, the “Registration Statement”) issued in connection with the Company’s initial public offering commencing November 3, 2010, including purchasers of SinoTech ADSs between November 3, 2010 and August 16, 2011, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
A copy of the Complaint is available from the court or from Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP. Please contact us by phone to discuss this action or to obtain a copy of the Complaint at 310-201-9150 or Toll Free at 888-773-9224, by email at shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at http://www.glancylaw.com.
SinoTech provides Enhanced Oil Recovery (“EOR”) services to major oil and gas fields in the People's Republic of China. The Complaint alleges that the Company’s Registration Statement issued in connection with the IPO was materially misleading and misrepresented the nature, size and scope of the Company’s business. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that SinoTech and certain of its executive officers and/or directors, among others, misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company’s sole import agent, who accounted for more than $100 million worth of oil drilling equipment orders, is an empty shell company with no sign of operations; (2) the Company’s only chemical supplier is also an empty shell company, with little or no revenues; (3) the Company’s largest subcontracting customer, which provides the vast majority of SinoTech’s revenues, has unverifiable operations with minimal revenues; (4) the financial statements SinoTech issued in the United States were inconsistent with similar filings the Company made in China; (5) the Company engaged in undisclosed related-party transactions in violation of GAAP; (6) as such, the Company’s financial results were not prepared in accordance with GAAP; (7) the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls; and (8), as a result of the above, the Company's financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On August 16, 2011, following the disclosures of these allegations in a research report published by Alfredlittle.com, the NASDAQ halted the trading of SinoTech shares and announced that trading would remain halted until the Company “fully satisfied NASDAQ’s request for additional information.” To date, trading of SinoTech has not resumed.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP, a law firm with significant experience in prosecuting class actions, and substantial expertise in actions involving corporate fraud.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may move the Court, no later than October 18, 2011, to serve as lead plaintiff; however, you must meet certain legal requirements. To be a member of the class you need not take action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent class member. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Michael Goldberg, Esquire, of Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP, 1801 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 311, Los Angeles, California 90067, by telephone at 310-201-9150 or Toll Free at 888-773-9224, by e-mail to shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at http://www.glancylaw.com. |
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