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Texas Gov. Perry ordered to be in court Halloween
Attorney News |
2014/10/20 12:25
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Indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry will make his first court appearance on Halloween as his defense team tries to quash the two felony counts of abuse of power against him on both constitutional and technical grounds.
The Republican was on a state economic mission to Europe and was granted permission to skip a pretrial hearing Monday in Austin, where state District Judge Bert Richardson set the next court date.
"Because this affects the case, the judge has ruled that he, like other defendants, needs to appear in court," special prosecutor Michael McCrum said of Perry after the hearing. The governor, meanwhile, is set to address the Royal United Services Institute in London on Tuesday.
During the upcoming court appearance, Perry's attorneys will argue that McCrum was never properly sworn in, and also that he should produce transcripts of secret grand jury testimony for the judge to review. McCrum joked with reporters that the governor's legal team is throwing the kitchen sink at him. |
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Supreme Court rejects appeal over Justice memo
Topics in Legal News |
2014/10/20 12:24
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The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a civil liberties group that wants to make public an internal Justice Department memo that allows the FBI to informally obtain phone records.
The justices on Tuesday let stand an appeals court ruling that said the Justice Department could refuse to release the 2010 memo under an exception to the Freedom of Information Act.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation argued that the public has a right to see how the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel authorized the FBI to access phone call records from telephone companies for terrorism investigations.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the memo was part of the government's internal deliberations and therefore exempt from disclosure. |
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French court extends adoption rights to lesbians
Court News |
2014/09/29 16:13
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France's highest court has ruled that married lesbians are allowed to adopt their partner's child born through in vitro fertilization or other medically assisted reproduction.
The Cour de Cassation's ruling is a consequence of the legalization of gay marriage in France last year.
France allows assisted reproduction only for heterosexual couples who have been together at least two years. The restriction has sent many gay couples abroad — many of them going to neighboring Belgium or Spain to have access to fertility treatment.
Upon return to France, French law recognized only the birth mother as the legal parent.
The court ruled Tuesday that married lesbians may adopt children born by their partners through assisted reproduction performed outside of France.
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Accused White House intruder to appear in court
Headline Legal News |
2014/09/29 16:10
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Following an embarrassing security breach at the White House, one of the most closely protected buildings in the world, the Secret Service is said to be considering establishing new checkpoints to screen tourists in public areas near the presidential mansion.
Meanwhile, the man accused of scaling a security fence and getting into the president's home carrying a knife is scheduled to have his initial appearance Monday in federal court.Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, of Copperas Cove, Texas, is facing charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon.
The Army says Gonzalez served from 1997 until his discharge in 2003, and again from 2005 to December 2012, when he retired due to disability.The Secret Service tightened its guard outside the White House after Friday's security breach. Gonzalez is accused of scaling the White House perimeter fence, sprinting across the lawn and entering the building before agents could stop him.
President Barack Obama and his family were away at the time. Obama says he still has confidence in the troubled agency's ability to protect him and his family.Secret Service Director Julia Pierson has ordered increased surveillance and more officer patrols, and has begun an investigation into what went wrong. |
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