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Miss. high court takes ex-gov pardons case
Court Feed News |
2012/02/02 21:00
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The Mississippi Supreme Court said Wednesday it will take up the legal challenge to the pardons ex-Gov. Haley Barbour gave out in his last days in office.
State Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat, wants to invalidate dozens of the 198 pardons that Barbour, a Republican, handed out before his second four-year term ended Jan. 10. Ten of the people were still incarcerated when they received reprieves.
Only about two dozen of the people pardoned followed the Mississippi Constitution's requirement to publish a notice about their reprieves in their local newspapers for 30 days, said Hood, who wants the others invalidated. Barbour has said the pardons are valid and that he gave them because he's a Christian and believes in second chances.
Most of the people who could lose their pardons already served their sentences and have been out of prison for years. Some of them were convicted of comparatively minor crimes as far back as the 1960s and 1970s and have never been in trouble again.
Five of the pardoned are being held on a temporary restraining order issued by Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green. The Supreme Court extended that order until it can rule on the matter. It set a hearing for Feb. 9 and said it would try to rule quickly. |
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Judge rules against explorers in treasure dispute
Court Feed News |
2012/02/01 13:26
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A federal judge has ruled against a deep-sea exploration company in a dispute with Spain over 17 tons of silver coins recovered from a sunken 19th century Spanish galleon.
Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc., which found the treasure off the Portuguese coast in 2007, had requested a stay after a federal court in Atlanta ruled last year the explorers must give the treasure back to the Spanish government.
In an order Tuesday, a U.S. circuit court judge denied the company's motion for a stay.
In court documents, the exploration firm said it wanted to stay the proceedings until the U.S. Supreme Court could consider the case.
Odyssey had said in court filings that such a denial might mean Spain will keep the treasure forever. Spain's position is that it is not subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts, Odyssey said. |
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Iowa mom pleads not guilty in newborn twins' death
Court Feed News |
2012/01/30 21:02
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A Huxley woman accused of killing her newborn twin daughters and hiding their bodies in the trunk of her car has pleaded not guilty.
Jackie Burkle is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. She is being held on $1 million bond.
Her attorney entered a written plea of not guilty on her behalf Monday morning in Story County District Court in Nevada.
Police found the infants' bodies in the trunk of Burkle's car on Jan. 7 after receiving a call to check on her.
Court records show Burkle appeared pregnant at work at a Huxley convenience store Jan. 5. She no longer looked pregnant two days later, prompting a co-worker to call police.
Police have not released a cause of death or why Burkle gave birth at home. |
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Court denies new trial in Wis. mill worker death
Court Feed News |
2012/01/27 12:02
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A Wisconsin appeals court on Thursday denied the request for a new trial made by a man convicted in the grisly 1992 killing of a Green Bay paper mill worker.
Rey Moore, 65, was one of six men convicted of killing their co-worker Tom Monfils. His body was found in a pulp vat at the then-James River Corp. plant in Green Bay with a weight tied around his neck.
Moore's attorney, Byron Lichstein, of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, argued that the conviction should be overturned because of questionable testimony by prison inmate James Gilliam.
He had testified in 1995 that Moore told him he participated in a group beating of Monfils at the mill. But Gilliam later recanted and said Moore told him he actually tried to prevent the beating.
That change in Gilliam's testimony was not allowed at the trial. Lichstein argued that Moore deserved a new trial because that testimony would exonerate him. |
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Defamation suit filed against pen-named Utah mayor
Court Feed News |
2012/01/26 18:54
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A Utah mayor who wrote news stories under a false identify is being sued for defamation.
In court papers, Chris Hogan alleges an article by West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder falsely claimed he was accused of extortion and fired from UTOPIA, a fiber-optic network formed by 16 Utah cities.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City seeks a trial, compensation for lost wages and punitive damages.
Among the lawsuit's 14 defendants is Deseret Digital Media, which published Winder's stories under the alias Richard Burwash.
The company's CEO Clark Gilbert has said company officials "deeply regret" the mayor misrepresented himself.
Winder promoted his city and even quoted himself in stories he wrote.
Winder said on Thursday he disputes Hogan's claims and will defend the lawsuit. |
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More charges filed in Los Angeles arsons case
Court Feed News |
2012/01/25 16:19
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A German man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to additional charges accusing him of setting nearly 50 fires, mostly to parked cars, which terrorized parts of Los Angeles over the New Year's weekend.
Deputy Public Defender Gustavo Sztraicher entered the plea in Superior Court on behalf of Harry Burkhart, who spoke only to identify himself and acknowledge that he understood the legal process.
Bail was set at $7.5 million, and Burkhart was scheduled to return to court March 1.
Outside court, Sztraicher had no comment.
Earlier in the day, the criminal complaint against Burkhart was amended to include a total of 100 arson-related counts involving 49 fires in Hollywood, West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. If convicted, the 24-year-old faces more than 80 years in state prison.
The rash of fires left residents on edge between Dec. 30 and Jan. 2 as parked cars were torched during the night. Some of the fires spread to carports and nearby buildings, including a former home of Doors singer Jim Morrison, and rousted people from their beds. Another one of the blazes was at the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex, a popular tourist destination bordered by the Walk of Fame. |
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