|
|
|
Ky. high court to hear death penalty appeal
Law Firm News/Kentucky |
2014/02/13 15:04
|
The Kentucky Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the case of a death row inmate who has twice won a new trial.
The justices on Thursday will take up the case of 57-year-old Michael Dale St. Clair, who was convicted in the 1991 slaying of distillery worker Frank Brady in Bullitt County.
St. Clair has won three trials in the case, which has lingered for years in appeals.
St. Clair and another inmate escaped from an Oklahoma prison before going on a multistate spree that ended in Kentucky with Brady's death. St. Clair also faces a murder charge in New Mexico for the 1991 kidnapping and slaying of paramedic Timothy Keeling.
St. Clair also received a second death sentence for capital kidnapping from the Hardin County Circuit Court. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SC lawyer pleads guilty to defrauding clients
Attorney News |
2014/02/10 14:29
|
A Florence attorney has pleaded guilty to defrauding his clients. U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said Friday that 48-year-old William J. Rivers pleaded guilty to mail fraud.
Authorities began investigating after some of Rivers' clients complained to the South Carolina Bar Association. Between 2006 and 2012, prosecutors say more than 100 of his firms' clients were defrauded of more than $3.3 million.
Authorities say Rivers settled personal injury cases but didn't tell his clients or medical providers about the settlement money, which he kept. Prosecutors say that action left Rivers' clients still owing money for treatments they had received.
Prosecutors say Rivers' law partner committed suicide during the investigation. Rivers faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 when he's sentenced.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Farmer pleads guilty in pot growing scheme
Press Release |
2014/02/10 14:27
|
A Northern California farmer renowned nationally for his heirloom tomatoes has pleaded guilty to leasing out his greenhouses for growing marijuana.
Sixty-four-year-old Thomas Jopson of Sutter County pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture at least 50 marijuana plants, three years after 2,168 marijuana plants were seized from the ranch of Thomas and David Jopson in Rio Oso.
The Sacramento Bee reports that an Oakland medical marijuana entrepreneur, Yan Ebyam, faces trial March 3 for allegedly setting up marijuana cultivations at the ranch and at a wholesale florist greenhouse in Sacramento County.
U.S. District Judge United States John A. Mendez ordered Thomas Jopson to appear for sentencing June 24. According to statements in court, David Jopson is expected to plead guilty on Feb. 18. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Teens charged in death of Australian due in court
Legal News |
2014/02/06 15:51
|
Three teenagers accused of fatally shooting an Australian baseball player as he jogged down an Oklahoma street, allegedly because they were bored, are expected in court Tuesday for a hearing that could reveal details about the case.
Police allege that Chancey Allen Luna and James Francis Edwards Jr., who are both 16, and Michael Dewayne Jones, 18, randomly targeted and shot Chris Lane last summer. Each teenager is charged with first-degree murder.
Lane's death garnered heavy media coverage in both the U.S. and Australia, prompting the judge to issue a gag order barring anyone involved from talking about the case outside court. That means little information has been released since the 22-year-old Melbourne native was shot in the back and died in August.
But investigators have said Lane was shot while jogging down a tree-lined street near the home of his girlfriend's parents in Duncan, about 80 miles south of Oklahoma City. He and his girlfriend had just returned to Oklahoma after visiting Australia, and he was preparing for his senior season playing catcher at East Central University in Ada, about 90 miles east of Duncan. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Case challenging gay-marriage ban heard in Va.
Law Firm News/Virginia |
2014/02/06 15:50
|
In a case that could give gay marriage its first foothold in the old Confederacy, a federal judge will hear arguments Tuesday on whether Virginia's ban on gay marriage should be struck down _ the position the state's newly elected Democratic attorney general has endorsed, angering many Republican lawmakers.
In January, Attorney General Mark Herring's office notified the federal court in Norfolk that it would not defend the 2006 voter-approved constitutional amendment in a lawsuit. Republicans have accused Herring of abandoning his responsibility to defend the state's laws. On Tuesday morning, a handful of protesters gathered at the courthouse. They shouted phrases decrying his position and carried signs: "Herring's herring. AG's must uphold the law."
Across the street, gay-marriage supporters _ in about equal numbers _ shouted their support for the plaintiffs and carried signs saying "Marry who you love."
Newly elected Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has rebuffed calls to appoint outside counsel to defend the ban. On Monday, Republicans in the House passed a bill that would give lawmakers standing in lawsuits where the attorney general and governor have chosen not to participate. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Man pleads not guilty in deadly Lodi crash
Headline Legal News |
2014/02/03 15:23
|
A man has pleaded not guilty to murder, driving under the influence and other charges in a car crash in Central California that killed five members of a family, including a pregnant woman.
The Record of Stockton reports that 28-year-old Ryan Morales entered the plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court on Monday.
Authorities say Morales was driving at freeway speeds in a residential area in Lodi on Oct. 22 when he crashed into a pickup. Five of the pickup's occupants died.
Authorities say Morales had been drinking apple-flavored vodka with his father. A preliminary analysis allegedly showed his blood alcohol count was 2 ½ times the state's limit.
Authorities say they sought a murder charge against Morales because he acted with complete disregard for human life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Legal News RSS Feed
