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California court ruling could limit drought fighting tools
Court Watch |
2015/04/23 16:06
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In a ruling that Gov. Jerry Brown says puts a "straitjacket" on local governments trying to fight the severe statewide drought, an appeals court has found that an Orange County city's tiered water rates are unconstitutional.
The ruling by the 4th District Court of Appeal on Monday against the city of San Juan Capistrano potentially deals a blow to agencies statewide that have used the pricing structure to encourage water conservation.
"The practical effect of the court's decision is to put a straitjacket on local government at a time when maximum flexibility is needed," Brown said in a statement after Monday's ruling. "My policy is and will continue to be: employ every method possible to ensure water is conserved across California."
The 3-0 ruling upholds a Superior Court judge's decision that found that charging bigger water users incrementally higher rates violates a voter-approved law that prohibits government agencies from charging more than the cost of a service.
It comes shortly after Brown issued drought orders that call for rates that encourage people to save water, including tiered pricing. About two-thirds of water districts in the state use some form of tiered pricing, and the ruling was being closely watched to see how it might apply beyond the appellate court, which is only binding in Orange County.
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High court rejects Wisconsin appeal over tribal night hunts
Court News |
2015/04/23 16:06
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The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Wisconsin officials who want to keep in place a decades-old ruling that bars Chippewa tribes from hunting deer at night.
The justices did not comment on their decision to let stand an appeals court ruling that orders a federal judge to reconsider the ban.
The Chippewa have pushed for years for a night hunt in northern Wisconsin in large swath of the state that the tribes handed over to the federal government in the 19th century. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in 1991 that night hunting was too dangerous.
Last year, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered her to re-open that ruling, noting that that Oregon, Washington, Minnesota and Michigan allow tribal night hunts. The appeals court said the deer hunting has grown much safer over the past 20 years and said hunting at night was not likely to pose serious safety problems.
The Chippewa renewed their push for night hunting in 2012 after state lawmakers angered the tribes by allowing hunters to kill wolves at night. The Chippewa consider the wolf a spiritual brother. The wolf-hunting program ended after one season. |
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'Suge' Knight comes to court for robbery case in wheelchair
Attorney News |
2015/04/15 14:49
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A judge on Wednesday gave former rap music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight time to hire a new attorney in a robbery case filed after a celebrity photographer accused him and comedian Katt Williams of taking her camera last year.
In a separate case, Knight has been charged with murder in a deadly hit-and-run.
The Death Row Records co-founder appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom chained to a wheelchair. He complained to Judge Ronald Coen, saying he could walk. Knight fell at his previous court hearing and has been taken from courthouses four times for medical conditions since he was charged with murder in early February.
The judge promised Knight, 49, that he would not be brought into court in the wheelchair again as long as he was fit to walk.
Coen pressed Knight about whether he wanted a new attorney in the robbery case. His previous attorney, David Kenner, said in a filing he no longer wanted to represent Knight.
Knight said he wanted to fire Kenner and has until May 27 to hire a new attorney.
Knight is due back in court Monday for a preliminary hearing in a murder case filed after he allegedly struck two men with his truck outside a Compton burger stand, killing one of them. |
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Panama court lifts Martinelli's immunity from prosecution
Court News |
2015/04/15 14:48
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Panama's Electoral Tribunal has lifted former President Ricardo Martinelli's immunity from prosecution, clearing the way for authorities to investigate him for alleged corruption.
The lifting of Martinelli's immunity as a member of the Central American parliament had been requested by Panama's Supreme Court and frees it to proceed with his prosecution. The decision was made Tuesday and announced the following day.
The billionaire supermarket magnate faces accusations that he inflated contracts worth $45 million to purchase dehydrated food for a government social program.
Martinelli has denied the charges and says he is the target of persecution by his successor, Juan Carlos Varela. He has left the country and his whereabouts are unknown.
Martinelli governed Panama from 2009-2014, a period of high economic growth but also of corruption, his critics say.
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Ex-Premier Zia avoids arrest as Bangladesh court grants bail
Court Watch |
2015/04/07 13:11
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Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia avoided arrest on corruption charges Sunday after a court granted her bail.
Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadder approved Zia's request for bail when she surrendered to court in the capital, Dhaka.
Zia left her office for the first since Jan. 5, when authorities had initially barred her from leaving to attend an anti-government rally calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her archrival. Authorities later said she was free to move to her nearby residence, but Zia refused, vowing to continue with anti-government protests that have turned violent, leaving nearly 115 people dead since the beginning of the year.
Zia's lawyers have rejected allegations that she illegally collected more than $1 million in donations for a charity during her last premiership in 2001-2006, and say the charges are politically motivated, which authorities deny. The trial began early last year.
The court had issued an arrest warrant for Zia in February after she failed to appear to answer the charges against her. Prosecutors on Sunday did not oppose Zia's bail request.
Zia currently leads a 20-party opposition alliance that has been enforcing a nonstop transportation blockade across the South Asian country since early January to demand that Hasina resign and a new election be called.
The blockade began after a year of relative calm following a January 2014 election that was boycotted by Zia's party. The boycott allowed Hasina to come to power with an overwhelming majority, and she says there is no need for another election before 2019, when her five-year term ends. |
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