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Court: EPA can stop some power plant modifications
Headline Legal News |
2013/03/29 16:09
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A federal appeals court says government regulators can try to halt construction projects at power plants if they think the companies didn't properly calculate whether the changes would increase air pollution.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sued DTE Energy in 2010 because the company replaced key boiler parts at its Monroe Unit 2 without installing pollution controls that are required whenever a utility performs a major overhaul. DTE said the project was only routine maintenance.
U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman threw out the suit, saying EPA went to court too soon.
But the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his decision Thursday. In a 2-1 ruling, the court says the law doesn't block EPA from challenging suspected violations of its regulations until long after power plants are modified. |
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NY court hears arguments on town fracking bans
Law Firm News/New York |
2013/03/25 15:13
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Backers of natural gas drilling and environmental advocates wrangled Thursday over whether New York's towns have the legal right to ban oil and gas development in a fight that could ultimately be decided by the state's highest court.
A four-judge appellate panel heard arguments over the local bans in Dryden and Middlefield, two central New York towns among dozens in the state that have passed zoning laws prohibiting drilling. Opponents argue state rules supersede such local restrictions.
The Dryden law is being challenged by drilling company Norse Energy and the Middlefield ban by a dairy farmer who said the town's action prevents her from making money from gas wells that had been planned for her land.
The cases are being closely watched by other towns across the state as a test of their constitutional right of "home rule." They're also of keen interest to the industry, which has claimed it can't operate profitably in a state with a patchwork of local regulation that may shift with each town board election.
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Former Chicago Bear pleads guilty to tax charges
Law Firm News/Illinois |
2013/03/14 15:36
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Former Chicago Bears player Chris Zorich pleaded guilty Thursday to federal tax charges, admitting to the judge that he didn't file "in a timely fashion."
The 43-year-old faced four misdemeanor counts of not filing federal income tax returns from 2006 to 2009. Over that time, he allegedly made more than $1 million, including income from a charity he founded.
The judge asked Zorich if he knew he was wrong not to file the returns.
"Yes, your honor," Zorich said, wearing a black suit and tie.
His attorney previously said Zorich was looking forward to putting the case behind him.
The Chicago native was on the 1988 Notre Dame team that won a national championship. He played for the Bears from 1991 to 1996 and ended his career with the Washington Redskins in 1997.
Zorich must pay $71,000 in back taxes as part of a plea agreement. He is to be sentenced July 12. Each count carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. |
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SC court nixes James Brown estate settlement
Law Firm News/South Carolina |
2013/03/04 13:03
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The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a settlement divvying up the multi-million dollar estate of James Brown, saying a former attorney general didn't follow the late soul singer's wishes in putting together the deal.
Attorney General Henry McMaster brokered a settlement in 2009 that split Brown's estate, giving nearly half to a charitable trust, a quarter to his widow Tomi Rae Hynie and leaving the rest to be split among his adult children.
But the justices ruled the deal ignored Brown's wishes for most of his money to go to charity. The court ruled the Godfather of Soul was of sound mind when he made his will before dying of heart failure on Christmas Day 2006 at age 73.
The court sent the estate back to a lower court to be reconsidered.
The justices did agree with the lower court's decision to remove Brown's original trustees. Members of Brown's family said they wanted them gone because the trustees mismanaged the estate until it was almost broke. |
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Accused UK police killer changes plea to guilty
Legal News |
2013/02/27 23:00
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A 29-year-old man accused of murdering two unarmed British police officers in a gun and grenade attack dramatically changed his plea to guilty Tuesday, midway through his trial.
Dale Cregan had denied killing Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes, but on Tuesday admitted the murders, replying "guilty" as a court clerk read out the charges.
The two officers were killed as they responded to a burglary call near Manchester, northwest England, in September.
Prosecutors said Cregan — who had made the false emergency call — waited for police to arrive, then opened fire with a Glock pistol.
He fired 24 shots at Bone, hitting her between five and eight times. Hughes was shot eight times, including three times in the head as she lay on the ground.
As he fled, Cregan lobbed a military fragmentation grenade into the yard of the house where the police officers lay, prosecutors said |
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Walton appointed presiding judge of FISA Court
Court Line News |
2013/02/08 13:16
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U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton has been appointed presiding judge of a secretive special court that oversees warrants for government surveillance in spy and terrorism cases.
Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Walton to head the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court effective Feb. 22, replacing Judge John D. Bates, whose term is expiring.
The court meets in secret at the federal courthouse in Washington to hear classified evidence from government attorneys. No defense attorneys are present. At least one of its 11 judges is on call to issue warrants any time of the day or night.
Walton has served on the surveillance court since 2007. He also has presided over a number of high-profile federal court cases, including last year's Roger Clemens perjury trial. |
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