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Kansas abortion foes brace for state Supreme Court decision
Press Release |
2019/01/08 15:29
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Abortion opponents in Kansas have been bracing themselves for nearly two years for a ruling from the state's highest court that protects the right to have an abortion and potentially upends politics in a state long at the center of the national debate.
The Kansas Supreme Court is relatively liberal in a state with a Republican-dominated Legislature that has strong anti-abortion majorities.
Court watchers also are asking: Why is it taking so long for the justices to rule? No one outside the court knows for sure and the justices are not saying, as is their long-standing custom. One educated guess is that they still are wrestling with the implications of declaring that the state constitution protects abortion rights.
That was the core legal issue when the court heard attorneys' arguments in March 2017 in a major abortion lawsuit . An abortion-rights decision could allow state courts in Kansas to chart their own course on abortion and invalidate restrictions that the federal courts would uphold.
"What's the test for that?" said Jeffrey Jackson, a Washburn University of Topeka law professor. "There's any number of weird possible decisions that you can get to."
The case arises from abortion opponents' numerous legislative victories during eight years under Republican governors. Democratic Gov.-elect Laura Kelly, a strong abortion rights supporter, takes office Monday, but the Legislature emerged from last year's elections more conservative — and as anti-abortion as ever.
GOP conservatives' power in the Legislature surged following "Summer of Mercy" protests in 1991 against the late Dr. George Tiller's clinic in Wichita, among a few in the U.S. known to do late-term abortions. An anti-abortion zealot shot Tiller to death in 2009.
Legislators debate abortion annually. Kansas recorded its lowest number of abortions in 30 years in 2017, fewer than 6,800 — 46 percent less than the peak of more than 12,400 in 1999.
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Court orders mediation in Maryland desegregation case
Legal Marketing News |
2019/01/06 16:33
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A federal appeals court has ordered a fourth attempt at mediation in a long-running dispute over the state of Maryland’s treatment of its historically black colleges.
The black colleges say the state has underfunded them while developing programs at traditionally white schools that directly compete with them and drain prospective students away.
In 2013, a judge found that the state had maintained an unconstitutional “dual and segregated education system.” The judge said the state allowed traditionally white schools to replicate programs at historically black institutions, thereby undermining the success of the black schools.
Despite three previous tries at mediation, the two sides have been unable to agree on a solution.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Maryland’s higher education commission and the coalition to begin mediation again to try to settle the 12-year-old lawsuit.
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WVa AG's help sought in Supreme Court impeachment appeal
Legal News |
2019/01/05 16:33
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Three months after a ruling halted the impeachment process involving most of West Virginia's Supreme Court justices, the state Senate president is seeking a second opinion.
Senate President Mitch Carmichael said Friday at the annual Legislative Lookahead forum he's asked state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey to look into handling a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Carmichael, a Republican, is still steamed at a panel of state Supreme Court stand-ins that ruled impeachment efforts of the justices were a violation of the separation of powers doctrine. The process was officially derailed when the presiding judge didn't show up to Justice Margaret Workman's trial in the state Senate in light of the court's ruling blocking it.
"We believe it is totally, completely wrong," Carmichael said. The acting justices ruled the Senate lacked jurisdiction to pursue Workman's trial and later applied the decision to trials involving justices Robin Davis and Allen Loughry, who had petitioned the court to intervene.
Davis retired after the House approved impeachment charges against her. Loughry resigned after being convicted of felony fraud charges in federal court.
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The Latest: Man in California officer killing in court
Legal News |
2019/01/02 16:38
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A man charged with the killing of police officer in Northern California made his first court appearance but did not enter a plea. The Modesto Bee reports Gustavo Perez Arriaga told the judge Wednesday his true name is Paulo Virgen Mendoza.
His attorney questioned his mental competency, prompting the court to suspend the case until Perez Arriaga gets a mental evaluation.
Perez Arriaga was arrested Friday in the Dec. 26 shooting of Newman police Cpl. Ronil Singh during a traffic stop. The 33-year-old Singh is survived by a wife and 5-month-old son.
A man charged with the killing of police officer in Northern California made his first court appearance but did not enter a plea. The Modesto Bee reports Gustavo Perez Arriaga told the judge Wednesday his true name is Paulo Virgen Mendoza.
His attorney questioned his mental competency, prompting the court to suspend the case until Perez Arriaga gets a mental evaluation.
Perez Arriaga was arrested Friday in the Dec. 26 shooting of Newman police Cpl. Ronil Singh during a traffic stop. The 33-year-old Singh is survived by a wife and 5-month-old son.
Authorities say Perez Arriaga was in the country illegally and had previous arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol. Authorities say he was planning to flee to Mexico. President Trump cited the case while calling for tougher border security.
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Court to review murder convictions in husband's beating
Lawyer Media News |
2019/01/02 11:38
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A North Carolina appeals court has scheduled a January hearing for a father and daughter challenging their murder convictions in the beating death of the woman's husband.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports that a three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on Jan. 31 for Molly Corbett and Thomas Martens' requests to throw out their convictions.
In 2017, Corbett and Martens were convicted of second-degree murder in the beating death of businessman Jason Corbett.
Molly Corbett and Martens, her father and a former FBI agent, both were sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison.
Defense attorneys argued their clients acted in self-defense and feared for their lives during a struggle with the husband. In court papers, prosecutors say those self-defense claims are a "fantasy."
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Del. Man Acquitted of Drug Charges Won't Get Seized Money
Attorney News |
2019/01/01 11:39
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A court has ruled that a Delaware man acquitted of drug charges won't get the thousands of dollars seized in the drug bust back.
WBOC media partner the Delaware State News reports that the Superior Court ruling issued last week says Jeffrey Crippen isn't entitled to the $13,584 because of the lack of documentation and proof that the money was legitimately earned.
Dover police had searched Crippen's home in 2015. According to the Delaware Department of Justice, Crippen was acquitted of drug charges but sentenced to 10 years in prison for weapons charges.
The court also said that the initial confiscation of the three bundles of cash was allowed based on legitimate probable cause.
Crippen represented himself in the petition case. The report didn't include comment from him. |
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