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Polygamous church dispute may head to Utah court
Legal Business |
2011/05/02 09:08
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An internal tug-of-war over control of jailed polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs' southern Utah-based church may force Utah courts to walk a constitutional tightrope that experts say could tread a little too close to separation of church and state.
The presidency of the 10,000-member Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been in question since March 28, when church bishop William E. Jessop filed papers with the Utah Department of Commerce seeking to unseat Jeffs as president of the church corporation. Under state law, the move automatically put Jessop in power.
That set into motion a flurry of filings from Jeffs loyalists removing Jessop and claiming that some 4,000 church members have pledged their loyalty to their incarcerated leader.
Monday marks the deadline set by commerce officials for both parties to resolve the dispute or a legal showdown might be set in motion since, if no agreement is reached, the state says power will revert back to Jeffs. |
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Firm hired by GOP ends work on gay marriage ban
Topics in Legal News |
2011/05/01 09:09
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A prominent law firm hired by Republican lawmakers to defend the federal ban on gay marriage said Monday it was withdrawing from the case amid criticism by advocacy groups, prompting the partner leading the work to quit.
The move by Atlanta-based King & Spalding is the latest flashpoint in the public debate over gay rights. Chairman Robert Hays Jr. said the firm chose to divorce itself from the controversy after determining that the decision to take the case wasn't vetted properly, but gay rights groups had also been pressuring the 800-lawyer company with plans for a protest Tuesday in Atlanta and with calls to its other clients. The groups cheered the move.
The decision, however, was sharply criticized by conservative groups, legal observers and the partner who had been handling the case, a former high-ranking Justice Department official under President George W. Bush. Washington-based attorney Paul Clement said he's moving to another law office so he can continue the work.
Clement had been retained by House Republican leaders after President Barack Obama ordered the Justice Department in February to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act. His administration said it believes the 1996 law, which defines marriage as only between a man and a woman, was unconstitutional.
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More psych evaluation in castration killing case
Topics in Legal News |
2011/05/01 09:09
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A doctor will pay a second visit to a Portuguese model accused of castrating and killing a TV journalist in a Times Square hotel before his lawyer decides whether to pursue a psychiatric defense in the attack.
A psychiatrist visited Renato Seabra this month but needs a second evaluation of the 21-year-old model, defense attorney David Touger said Friday. Seabra was transferred two weeks ago from Bellevue Hospital to jail at Rikers Island, Touger said.
"He is medicated because he has a psychiatric illness. He is doing well under the circumstances that he is under," Touger said after a short pretrial hearing in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.
Seabra, a former contestant on a Portuguese talent-search show, has pleaded not guilty to murder in Carlos Castro's Jan. 7 death. Castro, a 65-year-old Portuguese TV personality and writer, was found dead, naked and bloodied in a room they were sharing.
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Jackson doctor due in court to seek trial delay
Court News |
2011/05/01 09:08
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The doctor charged in Michael Jackson's death returns to court Monday to ask for a delay in his upcoming involuntary manslaughter trial.
The move comes two days before jury selection resumes, and one week before opening statements are scheduled to begin.
Dr. Conrad Murray had been seeking a speedy trial, but his attorneys asked for a delay late Friday to give them more time to prepare to rebut the opinions of newly-disclosed prosecution experts.
The Houston-based cardiologist is accused of giving Jackson a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol in the bedroom of the singer's rented mansion in June 2009. Murray has pleaded not guilty.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said Friday that he would consider the delay request, but would not necessarily grant it. |
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Community Health makes all-cash bid for Tenet
Topics in Legal News |
2011/04/19 08:44
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Hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc. on Monday revised its $3 billion offer for rival Tenet Healthcare Corp. to an all-cash bid. Community Health is now offering $6 per share in cash. In December, it had gone public with a bid of $5 per share in cash and $1 per share in stock. At the time, the offer was a premium of about 40 percent to the Dallas company's shares. But Tenet's board rejected that offer, and adopted a "poison pill" measure to fend off the bid. Tenet's shares have recently been trading above $6. But the company said Monday it will review the revised offer and make a recommendation. It said shareholders should take no action for now. Tenet shares fell 26 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $6.40 in afternoon trading while Community Health shares dropped $1.74, or 5.5 percent, to $30.16 after falling as much as 14.3 percent earlier in the session. Community Health Systems runs 130 hospitals in 29 states, and focuses on fast-growing and non-urban markets. Tenet runs 50 hospitals spread across 11 states, and most of its facilities are in urban and suburban communities. |
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