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Colombia court reinstates conviction in Galan hit
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/09/01 10:26
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The Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the murder conviction of a former justice minister for masterminding the 1989 assassination of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan, a courageous foe of drug cartels.
The court also reinstated the 24-year prison sentence a lower court imposed in 2007 on Alberto Santofimio, who was widely considered the "political godfather" of the late cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar.
Hitmen employed by Escobar killed Galan, and a key witness in Santofimio's trial said he saw the defendant urge Escobar to order the murder.
"Kill him, Pablo," testified John Jairo Velasquez, or "Popeye," who was Escobar's chief henchman at the time and has confessed to organizing the assassination.
Santofimio, a senator who had been justice minister in the 1970s, was at the time a rival of Galan for the Liberal Party's presidential nomination.
The Aug. 18, 1989, assassination badly traumatized a nation already reeling from a terror campaign by Escobar's henchmen, who killed hundreds of judges, journalists and police. Escobar also targeted civilians with car bombs, even blowing up an airplane in midflight.
The drug kingpin was trying to pressure Colombia's leaders not to extradite drug lords to the United States. Nonetheless, Galan, the presidential frontrunner when he was killed, promised to battle the narcos with extradition. |
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Court voids Australia's refugee deal with Malaysia
Legal World News |
2011/08/31 15:39
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Australia's highest court Wednesday voided a transfer of asylum seekers to Malaysia, ruling the government's attempt to stem an influx of boat people from poor, war-torn countries could not assure their legal rights would be protected.
The High Court ruled 6-1 to make permanent an injunction that has prevented Australia from transferring 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in return for Malaysia sending 4,000 registered refugees for resettlement. The ruling cannot be appealed, but the government said it was considering its options.
Government lawyers had argued in court that Australia could lawfully declare Malaysia a safe third country to process refugee claims even though it had no domestic or international legal obligations to protect refugees.
The court said in a statement that Malaysia has not signed the U.N. Convention on Refugees and the deal with Australia did not legally bind Malaysia to recognize the status of refugees under its domestic law. It said any suitable third country must have obligations under international or domestic law to protect asylum seekers and refugees. |
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A Court Cannot Exclude Evidence Because It Is Self-Serving
Headline News |
2011/08/31 15:38
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In Reed v. City of Evansville, _ N.E.2d _ (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), Cause No. 82A05-1012-PL-768, Evansville sought to have some of the evidence the Reeds submitted in opposition to the City's motion for summary judgment because it was "self-serving." Today, the Court of Appeals clearly stated that parties should not make this same objection in the future.
The Reeds filed a claim against Evansville and Evansville moved for summary judgment, arguing that the notice was not timely under the Tort Claims Act. The trial court granted that motion and the Reeds appealed.
On appeal, the Court held that the trial court erred when granting summary judgment to the City, because there were genuine issues of material fact. The court then addressed the City's cross-appeal, which challenged the trial court's denial of the City's motion to strike some of the Reeds' evidence. The City moved to strike some of that evidence because it was "self-serving." The Court had none of it.
http://www.indianalawupdate.com |
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2 law firms in Louisiana and Mississippi to merge
Law Firm News |
2011/08/31 13:38
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A New Orleans-based law firm is expanding into Mississippi as it merges with a firm based in Jackson.
The New Orleans firm is Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre L.L.P.
It is combining with Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A., a firm that includes former Mississippi Gov. William Winter.
The firms say in a news release Tuesday that the merger should be complete by Jan. 1, and the combined firm will have 375 attorneys.
It will go by the current name of the New Orleans firm, Jones Walker.
After the merger is complete, Jones Walker will have 15 offices in Louisiana, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Texas and the District of Columbia. |
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Gibson settlement with ex to be discussed in court
Court Feed News |
2011/08/31 11:34
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A judge is scheduled to discuss financial details of a settlement between Mel Gibson and his ex-girlfriend in a long-running custody dispute over their young daughter.
Both the Oscar winner and Russian musician Oksana Grigorieva are expected to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday where final issues of their agreement will be handled.
Court officials say Superior Court Judge Peter Lichtman will handle financial issues in open court, but details about the former couple's custody arrangements will be closed to the public.
The actor-director and his ex-girlfriend have been fighting for more than a year, and her allegations of domestic abuse prompted a criminal case against Gibson. He pleaded no contest to domestic battery earlier this year without acknowledging any wrongdoing. |
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Shareholder Class Action Filed Against WebMD Health Corp.
Class Action News |
2011/08/30 16:15
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The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of the securities of WebMD Health Corp., who purchased or otherwise acquired WebMD securities between February 23, 2011 and July 15, 2011, inclusive (the "Class Period"). If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the Complaint or join this class action online at http://www.ktmc.com/cases/webmd/.
Members of the class may, not later than October 3, 2011, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Any member of the purported class may move the court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing 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 Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (Darren J. Check, Esq. or David M. Promisloff, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@ktmc.com. For additional information about this lawsuit, or to join the class action online, please visit http://www.ktmc.com/cases/webmd/. |
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