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Calif Supreme Court says threats must be serious
Court Feed News |
2011/08/14 16:07
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The California Supreme Court says state laws against threatening a crime victim or witness are valid only if a reasonable listener believes the threats are serious.
The San Francisco Chronicle says last week's unanimous decision means a Riverside County judge must re-examine the conviction of a man who told his jailed wife he would blow away the head of a man who accused them of stealing $250,000.
Eddie Lowery was convicted of threatening a crime victim and he was sentenced to a year in jail.
In its ruling Thursday, the court ruled a threat is not protected by freedom of speech if a reasonable listener concludes the speaker was serious and wasn't merely joking. |
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Miss. judge suspended for misconduct
Court Feed News |
2011/08/12 17:15
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The Mississippi Supreme Court has suspended Alcorn County Justice Court Judge Jimmy McGee for misconduct.
The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance had accused McGee of interfering with a criminal case and making "statements in open court encouraging others to engage in vigilante justice."
The complaint involved a case in another court in which McGee's relative was a crime victim. He allegedly said in open court in 2008 that his relative's case should have been handled "down on the farm" instead of in the justice system.
The Supreme Court ordered a suspension without pay for 270 days, a public reprimand and assessed $100 in court costs. |
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Dougherty siblings to appear in Colorado court
Court Feed News |
2011/08/12 15:14
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A woman caught with her two brothers after a nationwide manhunt told Colorado authorities she "deserved to get shot" after pointing a gun at a police chief at the end of the siblings' run from the law, according to a court document.
Lee Grace Dougherty, 29, Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26, and Ryan Edward Dougherty, 21, are being held in Pueblo County, Colo., on bonds of $1.25 million each. The three made their first court appearance Thursday by video from jail, and none made any statement during the brief hearing.
They face charges of attempted murder of a peace officer and assault on a peace officer. The charges stem from allegations that they shot rounds from an AK-47 at four patrol cars during a chase Wednesday on Interstate 25 in Colorado. The chase ended when troopers deployed spike strips to puncture the tires of the trio's Subaru, and the vehicle rolled and crashed into a guardrail. |
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Pa. judge gets 28 years in 'kids for cash' case
Court Feed News |
2011/08/11 15:50
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A longtime northeastern Pennsylvania judge has been ordered to spend nearly three decades in prison for his role in a massive juvenile justice bribery scandal that prompted the state's high court to toss thousands of convictions.
Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was sentenced Thursday to 28 years in federal prison for taking $1 million in bribes from the builder of a pair of juvenile detention centers in a case that became known as "kids-for-cash."
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed about 4,000 convictions issued by Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008, saying he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles, including the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea.
Ciavarella, 61, was tried and convicted of racketeering charges earlier this year. His attorneys had asked for a "reasonable" sentence in court papers, saying, in effect, that he's already been punished enough.
"The media attention to this matter has exceeded coverage given to many and almost all capital murders, and despite protestation, he will forever be unjustly branded as the `Kids for Cash' judge," their sentencing memo said.
Federal prosecutors accused Ciavarella and a second judge, Michael Conahan, of taking more than $2 million in bribes from the builder of the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care detention centers and extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the facilities' co-owner.
Ciavarella, known for his harsh and autocratic courtroom demeanor, filled the beds of the private lockups with children as young as 10, many of them first-time offenders convicted of petty theft and other minor crimes. |
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Wash. man pleads guilty to defrauding ID investors
Court Feed News |
2011/08/10 13:51
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A Washington man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Idaho to cheating investors out of more than $2 million and using the cash for his own benefit.
Federal prosecutors say 59-year-old Dale Edward Lowell, of Colbert, Wash., pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud Tuesday.
Investigators say Lowell, while living in northern Idaho in 2005, started raised money from investors by telling him he was a savvy options trader. He also told investors he had taken steps to cover losses.
Altogether, prosecutors say Lowell duped 22 investor groups and raised about $2.2 million that he ultimately lost in the market, used for personal expenses or to pay off investors to keep the scheme going. |
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Kansas lawyer gets nearly 4 years for Texas fraud
Court Feed News |
2011/08/10 09:50
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A lawyer from Kansas has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison over a $2.3 million Ponzi scheme in Texas.
A federal judge in Beaumont on Tuesday sentenced 62-year-old Clifford R. Roth of Leawood, Kan. Roth pleaded guilty March 14 to interstate transportation of money taken by fraud. Roth also must repay more than 20 investors.
Investigators say Roth in 2007 began offering an investment opportunity to purchase a bank in Oklahoma and open a branch in Beaumont. Roth instead used the funds to pay his personal expenses and early investors. |
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