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Supreme Court stays execution of Mississippi man
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/10/31 14:45
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| The US Supreme Court late Tuesday halted the execution of a Mississippi prisoner just moments before he was set to die, officials from the state Department of Corrections said. Executions have been effectively placed on hold across the United States until the Supreme Court rules on whether lethal injections -- used in virtually all US executions -- are "cruel and unusual" punishment, as banned under the US constitution. Earl Wesley Berry was set to be executed at 6 pm (2300 GMT Tuesday), but the procedure was halted when the Mississippi Department of Corrections received the ruling from the Supreme Court ordering a stay of execution at 5:41 pm (2241 GMT). "Now that the United States Supreme Court has deemed the method of execution needs to be reviewed, the state (of Mississippi) will await the final order of the court," read a Department of Corrections statement. "The agency will work within any newly established guidelines to ensure that executions are carried out in a constitutional manner." The Supreme Court did not give reasons for the stay or say who voted for or against it, but an earlier Court statement said that two of the court's conservative justices, Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito, opposed staying the execution. Five votes of the seven top US justices must approve a stay of execution for it to be enacted. Berry was on death row for killing a woman in 1987. |
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Judge Extends Microsoft Timeframe
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/10/31 10:47
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| federal judge in Washington, D.C., has extended the timeframe for considering several states' arguments for five additional years of oversight of Microsoft Corp.'s competitive practices, and the software maker's arguments against that extension. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly also extended parts of the consent decree — part of the 2002 antitrust settlement, which is set to expire Nov. 12 — to no later than Jan. 31, 2008, to allow time to consider the arguments made by both sides. Two separate groups of states filed motions last week asking Kollar-Kotelly to monitor Microsoft through 2012. In one court filing, the states of New York, Maryland, Louisiana and Florida said they were concerned that the oversight may not have "enough traction to enhance long-term competition" among makers of computer operating systems. Kollar-Kotelly gave Microsoft until Nov. 6 to oppose the motions, a week longer than the original deadline. The judge gave the U.S. government a Nov. 9 deadline to submit an amicus brief, and said the states must file additional responses by Nov. 16. She also canceled a status hearing that was slated for Nov. 6. The antitrust settlement reached among Microsoft, the federal government and 17 states barred the software maker from certain anticompetitive behaviors and sought to keep it from using its operating system monopoly to quash competition in other types of software. |
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Penn Hills woman pleads guilty in Duquesne shooting
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/10/31 08:51
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| A former Duquesne University student pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that she helped her armed friends get into a school dance the night five basketball players were shot and wounded. Brittany Jones, 20, was sentenced Tuesday to two years of probation. A judge also ordered Jones to stay off the university's campus and away from anyone with a gun. Jones' attorney, James Ecker, said his client could have been sentenced to years in prison if she had not reached a plea agreement. "She's very happy, she's continuing going to church and she has a job," Ecker told The Associated Press. "She's very happy and her family's very happy." Jones was the last of four defendants to plead guilty in the September 2006 shooting in which basketball players Sam Ashaolu, Shawn James, Kojo Mensah, Aaron Jackson and Stuard Baldonado were injured. The gunman, William B. Holmes III, 19, was sentenced Friday to up to 40 years in prison. Another shooter, Derek Lee, 19, was sentenced Oct. 23 to up to 14 years in prison. The two shots fired by Lee did not hit anyone, authorities said. Jones was a member of the group that sponsored the dance, and invited a group of friends, among them Holmes and Lee, to the on-campus party. She knew some of the men were armed and asked a doorman if people attending the dance were being frisked, which they were not, authorities said. Another girl, Erica Sager, 19, who knew the two gunmen, flirted with the basketball players, sparking the fight between the two groups. Sager had pleaded no contest to a riot charge and was sentenced to probation. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Lawrence O'Toole on Tuesday harshly criticized Jones for inviting the gunmen to the party. Jones burst into tears and apologized for her actions after O'Toole sarcastically told her she could have also chosen to hang out with gangsters Bonnie and Clyde if they were available. Three of the players who were shot, James, Mensah and Jackson, have recovered and are expected to start this season. Ashaolu, who still has shrapnel lodged in his head, is back in school, but does not expect to return to the team until next season. Baldonado has been suspended due to several arrests this year. It is unlikely he will to return to the university. In April, he sued Duquesne University, alleging it failed to provide adequate security at the dance. |
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Hexcel Pays US $15M for Defective Bullet-Proof Vests
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/10/30 19:03
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Hexcel Corporation of Stamford, Conn., has agreed to pay the United States $15 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act in connection with its role in the manufacture and sale of defective Zylon bullet-proof vests to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, the Justice Department announced today. As part of the agreement with the government, the manufacturer has pledged their cooperation in the government’s on-going investigation of other participants involved in the fraudulent conduct.
The United States alleges that Hexcel wove Zylon fiber supplied by Toyobo Corporation into ballistic fabric used in bullet-proof vests sold by Second Chance Body Armor; DHB Inc. and its subsidiaries, Point Blank Body Armor and Protective Apparel Corp. of America; Armor Holdings and its subsidiaries, American Body Armor and Safariland; and Gator Hawk Armor. These vests were purchased by the United States directly and by various state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, who were reimbursed with federal funds.
The United States alleged that Hexcel knew the Zylon manufactured by Toyobo was defective and degraded quickly when exposed to heat, light, and humidity. Additionally, the government alleged the company knew Toyobo provided Hexcel with “Red Thread” Zylon, which was weaker than standard Zylon.
“These defective vests were worn by federal officers, who side by side with the Department of Justice, enforce the laws of this nation, and by state, local and tribal officers, who are on the streets every day, contributing to a safer America,” said Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and Acting Attorney General. “We will never tolerate fraud that places our first responders at risk.”
In July 2005, the Justice Department filed a complaint against Second Chance Body Armor and the Toyobo Company, seeking to recover damages relating to the sale of defective Zylon bulletproof vests to the United States. In June of this year, the government filed a lawsuit against Toyobo Co. Ltd. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Toyobo America Inc., for their roles in the manufacture and sale of defective Zylon bullet-proof vests to U.S., state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies. |
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AT&T to Pay Divestitures to Justice Department
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/10/30 18:52
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The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement requiring AT&T Inc. (AT&T) to divest assets to address competition concerns in seven markets in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Texas, including rights to the “Cellular One” brand in order to proceed with its $2.8 billion acquisition of Dobson Communications Corporation (Dobson). The Department said that in certain areas the transaction, as originally proposed, would have resulted in higher prices, lower quality, and diminished investment in network improvements, and would have substantially lessened competition to the detriment of consumers of mobile wireless telecommunications services.
The Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil lawsuit today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction. At the same time, the Department filed a proposed consent decree that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Department’s competitive concerns and the lawsuit.
“The required divestitures will preserve competition for residents in rural areas in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Texas and ensure that these consumers continue to enjoy the benefits of competition, such as lower prices, and higher quality,” said Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Antitrust Division.
The transaction is also subject to review by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Department has coordinated with the FCC throughout its investigation.
The divestitures are required to assure continued competition in markets where the merger would otherwise result in a significant loss of competition. In three rural service areas (RSAs) in Kentucky and Oklahoma, AT&T and Dobson each hold one of the two cellular licenses and are the most significant competitors. In two RSAs in Missouri and Texas, AT&T has a minority equity interest in, and important control rights over, the primary wireless competitor to Dobson. According to the complaint, the proposed transaction would substantially reduce competition for mobile wireless telecommunications services in these five markets where the businesses wholly or partially owned by Dobson and AT&T collectively serve more than 60 percent of subscribers. The proposed divestitures remedy the competitive problem caused by the otherwise overlapping ownership.
Similarly, the divestiture of the Cellular One brand and associated rights will ensure continued competition in two markets in Pennsylvania and Texas where a Cellular One licensee is the primary wireless competitor to AT&T. Without the divestiture, AT&T would have had the incentive and ability to harm competition by limiting and eliminating the Cellular One licensee’s ability to use the brand effectively.
AT&T is the largest mobile wireless telecommunications services provider in the United States, measured by subscribers, offering service to more than 63 million subscribers in 50 states. In 2006, AT&T earned revenues of approximately $37.5 billion in revenues from its mobile wireless telecommunication services. Dobson is the ninth largest mobile wireless telecommunications services provider to approximately 1.7 million subscribers in the United States, offering service in 17 states. In 2006, Dobson earned approximately $1.3 billion in revenues. Dobson also owns Cellular One Properties LLC, which licenses the Cellular One brand and promotes the Cellular One service market and related trademarks, service marks and designs. |
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Judge Refuses To Block Moment Of Silence, For Now
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/10/29 18:54
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An atheist who's challenging a new state law that mandates a moment of silence in Illinois schools before the start of each school day has lost his first battle but,is still waging his war. The latest on the story from WBBM's Regine Schlesinger.
Atheist Rob Sherman and his daughter Dawn, 14, went before U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman asking the judge to bar Buffalo Grove high school from implementing the new law tomorrow. Judge Gettleman denied the motion but, held out the possibility he might still issue a statewide injunction at some future point.
Sherman argues the law is intended to inject religion in the public schools even though it's worded as a time for prayer or reflection. He says his daughter is being robbed of valuable time.
While denying the injunction Judge Gettleman indicated he has serious reservations about the law. The next hearing is scheduled for November 14th. |
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