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Case of American jailed in Cuba back in US court
Headline News |
2014/09/23 21:32
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An attorney for a Maryland man who has spent over four years jailed in Cuba argued before a federal appeals court that his client should be allowed to sue the U.S. government over his imprisonment.
An attorney for Alan Gross, who was a government subcontractor when he was detained in Cuba in 2009, appeared Friday before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
A lower court judge dismissed Gross' lawsuit against the government in 2013, but Gross' lawyers appealed.
Gross was arrested while setting up Internet in Cuba as part of a project for the government's U.S. Agency for International Development. Cuba considers USAID's programs illegal attempts by the U.S. to undermine its government and Gross was given a 15-year prison sentence. |
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Ala court upholds generic drug decision
Headline News |
2014/08/19 22:03
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The Alabama Supreme Court is standing by a decision that business sees as a defeat.
The court on Friday issued an opinion that mostly parallels its ruling last year in a generic drug case.
A divided court says the original decision isn't as broad as some are claiming. But a majority stuck by a 2013 decision saying a brand-name drugmaker can be held responsible by someone who took a generic medication made by a different company.
The Business Council of Alabama says it's disappointed. So is Wyeth, the drug manufacturer sued by Danny and Vicki Weeks over the man's use of a generic form of the brand-name medicine Reglan.
The Weeks filed suit in federal court, and a judge asked the Supreme Court to clarify state law. |
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Court: Silence can be used against suspects
Headline News |
2014/08/19 22:02
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The California Supreme Court has ruled that the silence of suspects can be used against them.
Wading into a legally tangled vehicular manslaughter case, a sharply divided high court on Thursday effectively reinstated the felony conviction of a man accused in a 2007 San Francisco Bay Area crash that left an 8-year-old girl dead and her sister and mother injured.
Richard Tom was sentenced to seven years in prison for manslaughter after authorities said he was speeding and slammed into another vehicle at a Redwood City intersection.
Prosecutors repeatedly told jurors during the trial that Tom's failure to ask about the victims immediately after the crash but before police read him his so-called Miranda rights showed his guilt.
Legal analysts said the ruling could affect future cases, allowing prosecutors to exploit a suspect's refusal to talk before invoking 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination. |
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Court hearing gay marriage arguments from 4 states
Headline News |
2014/08/06 16:59
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A federal appeals court was set to hear arguments Wednesday in six gay marriage fights from four states — Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee - in the biggest such session on the issue so far.
Three judges of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati will consider arguments that pit states' rights and traditional, conservative values against what plaintiffs' attorneys say is a fundamental right to marry under the U.S. Constitution. Large demonstrations are expected outside the courthouse by both opponents and supporters.
Michigan's and Kentucky's cases stem from rulings striking down each state's gay marriage bans. Ohio's case deals only with the state's recognition of out-of-state gay marriages, while Tennessee's is narrowly focused on the rights of three same-sex couples.
Attorneys on both sides in the Michigan and Ohio cases will go first and get a half-hour each to make their cases. Kentucky and Tennessee will follow, with 15 minutes for each side from both states.
A handful of people were at the courthouse Wednesday before it opened to reserve a seat in an overflow room for the hearing, including Frank Colasonti Jr., 61, of Birmingham, Michigan, who said he camped outside the building overnight.
Colasonti said he and his partner of 26 years married this year in Michigan, before a court order halted marriages pending the state's appeal. |
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Brown appoints legal affairs aide to appeals court
Headline News |
2014/07/29 21:13
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Gov. Jerry Brown has named a senior aide to become an associate justice on the Sacramento-based Third District Court of Appeal.
Brown announced the appointment of Jonathan Renner on Friday.
The 44-year-old Democrat from Sacramento has been Brown's legal affairs secretary since 2011.
He was senior assistant attorney general at the California Department of Justice from 2009 to 2010, when Brown was the state's attorney general. Renner previously held other high-ranking positions within the attorney general's office.
The appointment requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. It includes the current attorney general, Kamala Harris, and Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye ("TAWNY canTILL SOCK-a-OO-ay").
If confirmed, Renner will begin his term Jan. 5. He would fill the vacancy created when Cantil-Sakauye moved to the California Supreme Court. |
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Court kills New Jersey bid to block ocean blasting
Headline News |
2014/07/16 17:52
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A federal appeals court on Monday cleared the path for seismic testing off the coast of New Jersey that will blast the floor of the Atlantic Ocean with loud noises as part of a climate change research project.
The 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected New Jersey's request to block the testing off Long Beach Island, which aims to use acoustic research to examine sediment dating back tens of millions of years. The barrier island stretches along the central New Jersey coast for about 18 miles.
Environmentalists, fishing groups and some elected officials oppose the work, saying it could harm or kill marine life including dolphins, turtles and whales. But the groups planning the research say they will do everything possible to minimize disruptions to marine life, including stopping the project when animals are seen nearby.
"Needless to say, we are extremely disappointed with this ruling and the fact that the federal government is pushing it at this time of year," said Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, which had sought a court order to block the testing. |
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