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"Killing Time" An 18 Year Odyssey from Death Row to Freedom
Legal Marketing |
2011/05/22 13:43
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According to Harry Connick Sr, the former New Orleans District Attorney for 30 years, Angola's death row isn't such a bad place for an innocent man to spend 14 years, according to the New Orleans DA's office. Connick stated that John Thompson did not deserve the $14 million a jury awarded him, because nobody raped him and he got to play chess and watch TV. He wasn't denied medical treatment and made several pals in prison, prosecutors argued in an appeal brief. Our question to former DA Connick....How much would it have been worth it to you if you had spent the last 14 years of your life for a crime you were "FRAMED By" The New Orleans District Attorney's Office?
Thompson was railroaded in 1983, when Harry Connick was DA. In 2007, Thompson, who was wrongfully convicted of murder by Connick's DA office due to evidence withholding, was awarded a $14 million verdict by a federal court jury.
The jury found "that Thompson's 18 years behind bars (14 of which he spent in solitary confinement on death row) were caused by Connick's deliberate failure to train his prosecutors on their obligations to turn over exculpatory evidence"
"Killing Time-an 18 Year Odyssey from Death Row to Freedom" is a sobering look at our justice system, told with journalistic precision by our Guest John Hollway and his writing partner Ronald Gauthier. Told in careful timeline fashion, it details the story of John Thompson, an African American who was, in 1984, wrongfully convicted of the brutal murder of a New Orleans Hotelier, and sent, under a death sentence to Angola Prison to await execution. Thompson adamantly and unceasingly proclaimed his innocence. After Philadelphia lawyers Michael Banks and Gordon Cooney take on his case, they struggle to find areas of misconduct in his previous trials while grappling with their questions about Thompson's innocence. John Hollway and Ronald M. Gauthier have interviewed Thompson and the lawyers, and paint a realistic and compelling portrait of life on death row and the corruption in the Louisiana police and DA's office.
John Thompson, having been exonerated and freed thanks to the work of Attorneys Banks and Cooney is now deeply involved in the organization Resurrection After Exoneration or REA. He, once again, lives in Louisiana.
The Orleans Parish DA's office appealed and the case, Connick v. Thompson, was orally argued before the U.S. Supreme Court during the October 2010 term. By a 5-4 vote split along ideological lines,[6] the Supreme Court overturned the $14 million award in a decision issued on March 29, 2011.
The majority opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas construed the series of admitted violations to not amount to a pattern of similar violations of Brady v. Maryland (1963), and such a pattern was necessary to hold Connick liable for the incompetence of his employees.
The dissenting opinion, read from the bench by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, noted that Connick's office had in fact committed a pattern of violations, to wit:
• Failing to disclose exculpatory blood-type evidence,
• Failing to disclose audio tapes of witness testimony,
• Failing to disclose a deathbed confession of evidence destruction by the prosecuting attorney Gerry Deegan,
• And Failing to disclose eyewitness identification of the killer that didn't match Thompson.
There are other allegations of systemic misconduct by Connick and his prosecutors. "According to the Innocence Project, a national organization that represents incarcerated criminals claiming innocence, 36 men convicted in Orleans Parish during Connick's 30-year tenure as DA have made allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, and 19 have had their sentences overturned or reduced as a result."
For additional information on John Hollway's "KILLING TIME', please visit www.johnhollway.com
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"The Death and Life of American Journalism" by Robert Mc Chesney
Legal Marketing |
2011/05/22 13:42
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It is a frightening fact that, in a time of unprecedented advances in communication technology, the quality of that communication is in sharp decline.
Indeed in American Culture, quality journalism seems to be in crisis. Newspapers are closing, broadcast news rooms are being emptied of some of the brightest and most experienced reporters and public scrutiny of public business...particularly in the government...is absent at best and intentionally skewed at worst.
Robert McChesney brings his educated viewpoint to this crisis in the communications era. McChesney is the author of several books on media and politics, professor of communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, host of the weekly talk show, Media Matters, on WILL-AM radio, and cofounder of the media reform organization Free Press. Free Press Co Founder and journalist John Nichols is his collaborator on this important new book
Not only does "The Death and Life of American Journalism" Take a close look at the forces...some economic, some accidental and some deliberate...that have put the craft of the journalist in a state of crisis...but the book also details how the same social and technological forces that have endangered the craft can revitalize it...and revitalize America in the Process.
For additional information on Robert McChesney "The Death and Life of American Journalism" please visit http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Death-and-Life-of-American-Journalism |
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Ex-Georgia bank exec to be sentenced for fraud
Headline Legal News |
2011/05/11 09:24
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A former Georgia bank executive who pleaded guilty to using customers and family members in a multimillion-dollar fraud conspiracy that led to his bank's downfall is scheduled to be sentenced to prison.
Randy Jones could face at least 12 years in prison on Wednesday when he is sentenced in federal court. Three others who have pleaded guilty to conspiring with Jones are also set to be sentenced.
Jones, 50, pleaded guilty in January to receiving kickbacks for real estate loans while he was an executive vice president at Community Bank & Trust, the failed Cornelia-based bank where he worked for 30 years.
The hearing started Tuesday but attorneys spent the day in court arguing over how much restitution Jones should pay and how much time he could face behind bars.
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Former Litigator Joins Kurtzman Carson Consultants Class Action Team
Law Firm News |
2011/05/11 01:24
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Kurtzman Carson Consultants (KCC), a Computershare company, today announced that Steven Weisbrot has joined the company as Director, Class Action Services. Weisbrot brings nearly a decade of litigation experience to KCC and will be working in the company's New York office. In his new role, Weisbrot will support the company's growth initiatives as a class action litigation expert and member of the business development team. He will also contribute his expertise to key client engagements.
"Steven's knowledge of class action matters makes him a great addition to our team of experts in settlement administration," said Jon Orr, president of KCC. "He joins KCC at a time of significant growth and investment in our people, technology and resources to deliver a higher standard of settlement administration services."
Prior to joining KCC, Weisbrot was an attorney with Lane M. Ferdinand PA, where he was involved in large wage and hour cases. He has also worked with several leading mid-Atlantic firms where he concentrated his practice on complex damages including consumer class actions and general commercial litigation. Weisbrot earned his Juris Doctor from Rutgers University. In 2010 and 2011, he was named one of Thomson Reuters' Super Lawyers' New Jersey's Super Lawyers Rising Stars.
Over the last decade KCC has been committed to delivering best-in-class solutions to its clients. The company's experienced client services team helps guide counsel through the complexities of settlement administration eliminating unnecessary expenses, inefficiencies and inaccuracies. As part of the recent integration with Rosenthal, the expansion of resources and infrastructure, KCC is well positioned to become a leader in the industry.
About KCC
Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC (KCC) www.kccllc.com, a Computershare company, provides administrative-support services that help legal professionals realize time and cost efficiencies. With an integrated suite of corporate restructuring, class action and legal document management solutions, KCC alleviates the administrative challenges of today's legal processes and procedures. KCC has gained client and industry recognition for its industry expertise, professional-level client service and proprietary technologies.
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Courts nationwide hold hearings with video
Topics in Legal News |
2011/05/10 09:23
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George Villanueva, charged with first-degree murder in the death of an NYPD officer, will not leave jail for months of pretrial hearings.
Instead, he'll be beamed into the courtroom via video as lawyers discuss his case in front of the judge.
Villanueva's case is part of a surge in court appearances done by video in New York and around the country, as cash-strapped communities look for ways to boost efficiency and cut costs. The tools are used in courts large and small, and the savings for some are staggering: $30 million in Pennsylvania so far, $600,000 in Georgia, and $50,000 per year in transportation costs in Ohio.
"We've had to trim our spending wherever we can and still provide what we think is effective constitutional justice, and we're doing that with the help of modern technology," said Pennsylvania State Supreme Court Justice Ronald D. Castille.
Advocates say the virtual hearing is easier on defendants, who don't have to get up at 4 a.m. to be shuttled with other criminal suspects to court, only to wait hours standing and handcuffed for an appearance. Judges say their cases are moving faster. And civil liberties groups say the practice raises no red flags.
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