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High court to decide double jeopardy question
Legal Marketing News |
2011/10/11 09:47
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The Supreme Court will decide whether a jury forewoman's offhand comment that the jury was unable to make a decision on a murder charge means the suspect can't be retried on that charge.
The high court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal from Alex Blueford, whose murder trial in Arkansas ended in a hung jury.
The jury forewoman told the judge before he declared a mistrial that the jury had voted unanimously against capital murder and first-degree murder. The jury had deadlocked on a lesser charge, manslaughter, which caused the judge to declare a mistrial.
Blueford argued the forewoman's statement, said in open court, meant that he has been acquitted of capital murder and first-degree murder.
Prosecutors decided to retry Blueford on all three charges. He contended he could not be retried on capital murder and first-degree murder because of Fifth Amendment double jeopardy protections.
Arkansas courts have disagreed. The high court will now review that decision.
Blueford was on trial for killing his girlfriend's 20-month-old son. |
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US court turns down Philly DA in cop-killing case
Court Line News |
2011/10/11 09:47
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The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a request from prosecutors who want to re-impose a death sentence on former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of killing a white Philadelphia police officer 30 years ago.
The justices on Tuesday refused to get involved in the racially charged case. A federal appeals court ordered a new sentencing hearing for Abu-Jamal after finding that the death-penalty instructions given to the jury at Abu-Jamal's 1982 trial were potentially misleading.
Courts have upheld Abu-Jamal's conviction for killing Officer Daniel Faulkner over objections that African-Americans were improperly excluded from the jury.
The federal appeals court in Philadelphia said prosecutors could agree to a life sentence for Abu-Jamal or try again to sentence him to death. |
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Scott Cole Associates Announces Update for Class Action
Press Release |
2011/10/07 09:39
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According to Scott Cole, within days of being hit with a class action lawsuit for failing to offer meal and rest breaks to its California workforce, Guitar Center fired the man who pioneered the lawsuit and allowed its workers to parade the named plaintiff’s final paycheck around the workplace. In immediate reaction to these events, the plaintiff’s attorneys at Scott Cole amp; Associates amended the Complaint today to allege a wrongful termination and invasion of privacy claim.
“If Guitar Center thinks it can send a message to its workers that standing up for their rights will cost them, this new wrongful termination claim sends a stronger message right back,” says Scott Cole, the principal lawyer on the case. “Firing our client was a big mistake.”
The lawsuit is entitled Pellanda v. Guitar Center, Inc.
Oakland-based Scott Cole amp; Associates, APC is one of California’s premiere class action law firms and is devoted to representing individuals in employment and consumer rights litigation. For more information about our practice and cases, visit www.scalaw.com or call (510) 891-9800. |
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Hogan to be new courts administrative officer
Legal News |
2011/10/06 09:40
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Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan is the new director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Hogan, a former chief U.S. District Court judge in Washington, will serve a one-year term as the chief administrative officer for the federal court system. He will oversee the federal judiciary's 35,000 employees and its almost $7 billion annual budget.
The Judicial Conference of the United States is the principal policymaking body for the federal court system. As its presiding officer, Chief Justice John Roberts selected Hogan for the position.
Hogan will begin Oct. 17. He plans to resume work as a senior federal judge after his term ends.
The previous director, James Duff, left this summer to become president of the Freedom Forum. |
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Alberto Gonzales joins Nashville law firm
Lawyer Media News |
2011/10/06 09:39
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Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the first Hispanic attorney general in U.S. history, has joined one of Nashville’s largest law firms and will play a role in mentoring younger lawyers.
Gonzales, 56, will focus on government relations, government investigations and white-collar defense for Waller Lansden Dortch amp; Davis LLP, the firm said Wednesday.
He also will be involved in the firm’s diversity initiatives, which include a mentoring program.
“It is a great honor for me to join Waller Lansden, a firm that I greatly admire,” Gonzales said in a statement. “Waller Lansden has a reputation for providing incisive legal representation while caring deeply for its clients. The firm’s breakthrough initiatives to encourage diversity in the workplace are admirable.”
Gonzales became the first Hispanic attorney general in U.S. history when President George W. Bush appointed him in 2005.
But he left the post in 2007 under a cloud of controversy stemming from allegations that, under his watch, the U.S. Justice Department improperly hired and fired several U.S. attorneys for political reasons. |
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Bankruptcy judges asking $100 to cover Kagan talk
Headline Legal News |
2011/10/05 10:46
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The national organization of bankruptcy judges says reporters are welcome to cover Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan's talk at its convention in mid-October, if they pay $100.
Groups sometimes close their events to the press or allow reporters in with restrictions on the use of cameras and audio recorders. But it's very unusual to charge the news media merely to attend.
Kagan is scheduled to speak Oct. 15, at the end of the four-day conference in Tampa, Fla. She did not immediately comment on the fee arrangement.
Christine Molick, executive director of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, says the $100 fee is greatly reduced from what other attendees must pay. Registration fees for some participants top $900, according to the organization's website. |
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