|
|
|
Miss high court hears challenge to Barbour pardons
Legal Business |
2012/02/10 09:30
|
Feuding attorneys asked the Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday to determine the validity of pardons that Haley Barbour gave to convicted killers and other convicts during his final days as governor.
Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. said the court would not rule Thursday, but he didn't say when a decision would come.
"We want them to take enough time to do it right," said Randy Walker, who objects to the pardons. Walker was shot in the head in 1993 by one of the men Barbour set free last month. That former inmate, David Gatlin, also fatally shot his own estranged wife as she held the couple's baby.
At the heart of the dispute is Section 124 of the Mississippi Constitution, which says "no pardon shall be granted" by the governor until the convicted felon applying for the pardon publishes notice of that application for 30 days in a newspaper in or near the county where the crime was committed.
Justices could uphold the pardons, as requested by a private attorney representing Republican Barbour. Or they could declare the pardons invalid, as requested by Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood. If they agree with Hood that the 30-day publication is a must, they could send the pardons back to a lower court, where a circuit judge could hold a trial to determine whether the pardons met those requirements.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Appeals court halts deportation of 7 immigrants
Legal Business |
2012/02/09 10:07
|
A federal appeals court has put the Obama administration's new immigration directive to the test by halting the deportation of seven immigrants alleged to be in the country illegally.
In a 2-1 ruling on Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals demanded the Obama administration explain whether the immigrants can avoid deportation because of two memos released last year by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director John Morton urging prosecutors to use "discretion" when deciding whether to pursue immigration cases.
Morton's initial memo in June said prosecutors should take into account such factors as U.S. military service, criminal records, family ties and length of stay in the country when deciding whether to start formal deportation proceedings against undocumented immigrants. He issued another in November explaining further how to implement the guidelines.
Since then, though, immigration advocates and lawyers have been complaining that prosecutors have been too slow to call off deportation proceedings of immigrants meeting the criteria. The advocates view the appeals court's rulings as a call to action. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Murdoch's company settles phone hacking lawsuits
Legal Business |
2012/02/08 09:42
|
Rupert Murdoch's News International has succeeded in settling nearly all the cases in the first wave of lawsuits against it for phone hacking, with a new round of apologies and payouts announced in a London court Wednesday.
But a potentially damaging claim lodged by British singer Charlotte Church is still headed to trial, and a second wave of new lawsuits — as many as 56 in all — is still looming, lawyers told London's High Court.
News International, a division of News Corp., has tried hard to keep phone hacking cases from going to trial, launching its own compensation program overseen by a respected former judge and paying out hundreds of thousands of pounds in out-of-court settlements.
On Wednesday, lawyers announced that nine more lawsuits had been settled, including cases brought by comedian Steve Coogan, former soccer star Paul Gascoigne and maverick lawmaker George Galloway. Some of the suits had multiple claimants.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BofA investor lawsuit wins class-action status
Court Watch |
2012/02/08 09:42
|
Investors suing Bank of America Corp won class-action status for their lawsuit accusing the bank of fraudulently misleading them about the 2008 takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co and the size of Merrill's losses and bonus payouts.
U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan on Monday rejected the second-largest U.S. bank's argument that the investors could not prove they suffered losses by relying on materially misleading statements or omissions.
Among the other defendants who were also sued and opposed class certification were former Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis, former Merrill Chief Executive John Thain, former Bank of America Chief Financial Officer Joe Price, and Bank of America's board of directors.
Lewis had won initial praise for saving Merrill from possible collapse when he agreed to buy it on September 15, 2008, the day Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc went bankrupt.
But investors later faulted the bank for not disclosing the scope of Merrill's soaring losses, which reached $15.84 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, before December 2008 shareholder votes on the merger. They also objected to Merrill's having paid $3.6 billion of bonuses despite the losses.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hawaii Marine sergeant court-martialed for hazing
Legal Business |
2012/02/07 10:09
|
A Hawaii-based Marine sergeant is being court-martialed on accusations that he hazed a member of his squad by ordering him to dig a foxhole as punishment for falling asleep on watch duty in Afghanistan.
Sgt. Benjamin Johns is one of three Marines accused of hazing Lance Cpl. Harry Lew of Santa Clara, Calif. Lew committed suicide April 3 after prosecutors say he endured several hours of abuse.
Prosecutors say Johns had no authority to punish a Marine by ordering him to dig a foxhole. They say ordering the dig made Johns derelict of his duty to ensure the welfare of Marines under his care.
Johns' defense team says the sergeant wasn't trying to punish Lew, and the new foxhole was supposed to help Lew stay awake.
The court-martial begins Tuesday at a Marine base in Kaneohe Bay.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Legal News RSS Feed
