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Court refuses to reconsider Spector's appeal
Headline Legal News |
2011/05/29 13:45
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An appeals court on Friday refused to reconsider music producer Phil Spector's appeal of his murder conviction, saying there was overwhelming evidence of his guilt.
The California 2nd District Court of Appeal panel acknowledged it did not consider an issue that defense lawyers now say was critical to his conviction.
The panel blamed the lawyers for failing to sufficiently brief the point and said they had no obligation to consider it.
They quoted case law saying, "Issues do not have a life of their own: if they are not raised ... we consider the issues waived."
Spector, a legendary rock music producer, was convicted two years ago of fatally shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra mansion in 2003. He is serving 19 years to life in prison on a second-degree murder conviction.
His first trial ended in a hung jury; the second ended in a conviction.
Defense lawyer Dennis Riordan said he will be filing an appeal with the California Supreme Court on June 13. Riordan said in an interview the court ignored a central issue of the case. |
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Hearing set on proposed Conn. court rules
Headline Legal News |
2011/05/29 13:43
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State court officials will hear from the public on various proposed rule changes, including some that allow expanded media access in certain cases but limit it in others.
The public hearing is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the state Supreme Court in Hartford. The Rules Committee of the Superior Court will hear comments on revisions to the Practice Book and Code of Evidence.
The proposed changes include expanding a media coverage pilot program from Hartford to a permanent program statewide. The program allows television cameras and electronic media in courtrooms for certain proceedings.
The changes would also add sexual assault cases to the list of proceedings in which broadcasting, televising, recording and photographing would be prohibited. Cases where coverage is currently limited include family matters and juvenile proceedings.
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Appeals court upholds sentence in NC bus stop case
Headline Legal News |
2011/05/26 13:44
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A man who a federal judge ruled had sex with his adopted sister has lost an appeal of his 2½ year prison sentence.
The judge ordered Royce Mitchell to jail because he decided his sexual relationship with 15-year-old Tiffany Wright violated terms of his 2007 probation on a federal drug charge.
Wright, who was eight months pregnant, was shot to death as she waited for the school bus in September 2009. Police named Mitchell a person of interest, but later concluded he wasn't involved with the killing.
But Wright told a detective that she had sex with Mitchell before she died.
Mitchell continues to deny the allegations, and Wright's lawyer said a DNA test that found Mitchell was not the baby's father proves they didn't have sex. But The Charlotte Observer reports that the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that just because prosecutors couldn't independently verify Wright's allegations doesn't mean they aren't true.
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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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Colo. pot grower to be sentenced in federal court
Headline Legal News |
2011/01/28 23:04
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A suburban Denver pot grower who tried to use state medical marijuana law in his defense is due to be sentenced in federal court. Christopher Bartkowicz is scheduled to appear in court Friday. Judge Phillip Brimer must decide whether to accept the five-year prison term that's part of a plea deal Bartkowicz reached with prosecutors or impose a sentence of his own. Bartkowicz pleaded guilty to three drug charges after federal drug agents raided his Highlands Ranch home last February and seized hundreds of pot plants growing in his basement. The raid came after a Denver TV station promoted a story in which Bartkowicz bragged about how much money he would make growing pot under Colorado's medical marijuana law.
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