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Calif. court: Spanking with wooden spoon not abuse
Court Watch |
2013/10/11 10:34
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A state appeals court on Tuesday tossed out child abuse findings against a frustrated Northern California mother who spanked her 12-year-old daughter hard enough with a wooden spoon to cause bruising.
The 6th District Court of Appeal in San Jose reversed the child abuse determination made by the Santa Clara County Department of Social Services. Social workers waned to report Vernica Gonzalez to the state Department of Justice's child abuse database with a "substantiated" abuse determination. That determination was upheld by a trial court judge.
The appeals court said the spanking came close to abuse, but that social workers and the lower court judge failed to consider the family's entire circumstances.
Gonzalez and her husband testified that other forms of punishment such as groundings and taking away her phone had failed to persuade their 12-year-old daughter to do her schoolwork and avoid gang culture. The parents said that other family members had testified that spankings in the household were a rarity.
The appeals court said the mother's growing frustration with her daughter's behavior and her intention not to inflict harm in the April 2010 spanking weighed heavily in its ruling. |
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Maine RR makes 1st court appearance in bankruptcy
Court Watch |
2013/08/12 15:02
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A railroad company whose runaway oil train killed 47 people in Canada was granted permission Thursday to continue its business operations pending the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee.
Montreal, Maine & Atlantic lawyers made their first appearance in courtrooms in Bangor and in Montreal a day after the company filed for bankruptcy protection, while Maine's transportation commissioner said the state will make sure that the company's rail lines stay open during bankruptcy proceedings.
In Bangor, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Louis Kornreith granted Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd.'s motion to keep operating until a trustee is appointed to oversee the case. The company says it can preserve the value of its assets for an eventual sale if it can maintain its day-to-day operations during bankruptcy.
In Montreal, a Quebec Superior Court judge granted Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Canada Co. creditor protection, a decision expected to increase the value of the company's assets and speed up the payment process.
The railroad has come under particularly harsh criticism in Canada for the way it's handled itself since July 6, when an unattended train carrying crude oil derailed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, setting off massive explosions that destroyed much of the downtown area and killed the 47 people. Justice Martin Castonguay told a Montreal courtroom on Thursday that the company's actions have been "lamentable." |
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Arizona high court to hear school funding case
Court Watch |
2013/07/23 10:38
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The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday hears arguments in an appeal of a lower court's ruling that requires the state Legislature to give schools an annual funding increase even in lean years to account for inflation.
The high court is reviewing a Court of Appeals decision. It said a voter-approved law requires the Legislature to provide an annual inflation adjustment for state funding to public schools.
School districts and education groups sued after the Legislature in 2010 instead only increased schools' transportation funding, eliminating a $61 million increase in general school spending.
The Supreme Court says it is considering is whether the Voter Protection Act allows voters to require the legislature to increase funding for schools.
The Voter Protection Act severely restricts the Legislature's to change voter-approved laws.
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Court: US can keep bin Laden photos under wraps
Court Watch |
2013/05/22 11:00
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A federal appeals court is backing the U.S. government’s decision not to release photos and video taken of Osama bin Laden during and after a raid in which the terrorist leader was killed by U.S. commandos.
The three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia turned down an appeal Tuesday from Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, which had filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the images.
The court said that the CIA properly withheld publication of the images. The court concluded that the photos used to conduct facial recognition analysis of bin Laden could reveal classified intelligence methods — and that images of bin Laden’s burial at sea could trigger violence against American citizens.
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Fee proposed for public court record access
Court Watch |
2013/03/25 15:18
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A proposal by the state's judicial branch to charge $10 to view a public file at the Santa Rosa courthouse is being criticized by those who say it would limit access to public information.
A spokesman for the Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the courts, tells the Santa Rosa Press Democrat the search fee would generate $6 million annually.
But open government advocates and some journalists say it will create an unfair financial barrier to public documents.
The new search fee is among 11 recommendations from a panel of judges, lawyers and legislators that have been sent to Sacramento for inclusion in Gov. Jerry Brown's budget.
The newspaper says the proposals are expected to raise $30 million statewide.
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