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NJ gov picks gay black man, Asian for top court
Court Line News |
2012/01/24 09:22
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Gov. Chris Christie moved to diversify the state's all-white Supreme Court on Monday with two firsts: the nominations of an openly gay black man and a Korean-born prosecutor to fill two vacancies.
If confirmed, Bruce A. Harris would become New Jersey's first openly gay justice, and Phillip H. Kwon would become its first Asian representative and the first justice born outside the United States.
Christie, a Republican, said he had extreme confidence in the records and intellects of his nominees, neither of whom has been a judge.
I felt strongly about making sure the court have diversity but first and foremost that the court have quality justices who make sure they take the court in a direction that is a responsible one for the future of our state and its people, Christie said at a news conference attended by the nominees and their families.
Harris, 61, is the Republican mayor of Chatham Borough in Morris County, a post Christie said he would give up if confirmed. He would be the third African-American to be seated on the court. |
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Court overturns Calif. slaughterhouse law
Court Line News |
2012/01/23 10:54
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The Supreme Court on Monday blocked a California law that would require euthanizing downed livestock at federally inspected slaughterhouses to keep the meat out of the nation's food system.
The high court ruled that the state's 2009 state law was blocked from going into effect by federal law administered by the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service. .
Federal law precludes California's effort ... to impose new rules, beyond any the FSIS has chosen to adopt, on what a slaughterhouse must do with a pig that becomes non-ambulatory during the production process, said Justice Elena Kagan, who wrote the court's unanimous opinion.
California strengthened regulations against slaughtering so-called downer animals after the 2008 release of an undercover Humane Society video showing workers abusing cows at a Southern California slaughterhouse. Under California law, the ban on buying, selling and slaughter of downer cattle also extends to pigs, sheep and goats.
But pork producers sued to stop the law, saying the new law interfered with federal laws that require inspections of downed livestock before determining whether they can be used for meat. |
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US army panel advises trial in Afghanistan suicide
Court Line News |
2012/01/23 10:54
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An investigative hearing has recommended that an American soldier be court-martialed over hazing that allegedly led to a fellow infantryman's suicide in Afghanistan, but dismissed the most serious charge against him, the U.S. military said Monday.
Spc. Ryan Offutt is one of eight soldiers charged in the death of 19-year-old Pvt. Danny Chen, who shot himself on Oct. 3 after what investigators say were weeks of physical abuse, humiliation and racial slurs.
A native New Yorker of Chinese descent, Chen had been in Afghanistan only two months when he shot himself in a guardhouse at a remote outpost in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
The investigative hearing recommended that Offutt, 32, be court-martialed on charges including assault, negligent homicide, and reckless endangerment, a statement from U.S. military said.
It said the hearing, which ended Sunday, did not recommend trial for an additional charge of involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The most serious charge Offutt now faces is negligent homicide, which carries a prison sentence of up to three years.
The regional American military commander will make a final decision on any court-martial based on the hearing's recommendations, the U.S. statement said.
Attorneys for Offutt could not immediately be contacted. Offutt, a native of Greenville, Pa., joined the Army in 2006 and served 14 months in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan. |
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Pacman Jones pleads guilty to disorderly conduct
Court Line News |
2012/01/18 10:10
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Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Pacman Jones pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
Jones entered the plea in Hamilton County Municipal Court just as his non-jury trial was scheduled to begin. A second misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest was dismissed in a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Judge Brad Greenberg ordered Jones to serve a year of probation, complete 50 hours of community service and pay a $250 fine plus court costs. Jones could have received a maximum jail sentence of 30 days.
Jones, 28, was accused in court documents of being disorderly, shouting profanities and trying to pull away as officers arrested him at a downtown bar in July.
At the time, Jones was on probation in Las Vegas in connection with a 2007 no contest plea to a strip club melee that left three people wounded. He was ordered in November to perform an additional 75 hours of community service for violating that probation with the Cincinnati arrest. |
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Nevada Supreme Court takes up foreclosure case
Court Line News |
2012/01/05 09:39
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The Nevada Supreme Court weighed arguments Wednesday on whether U.S. Bank can foreclose on a Douglas County couple's home despite findings by a mediator that not all required documents were presented during mediation.
Lawyers involved in the case said the court's ruling could have wide repercussions on foreclosures in a state hard-hit by the collapse of the housing market.
Attorneys for Andrew and Lauretta Davis want justices to send the case back to Washoe County District Court for a hearing on whether documents handled by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, or MERS, were signed by an authorized officer and whether they properly conveyed the Davis' mortgage from the now-defunct Ownit Mortgage Solutions to U.S. Bank.
The couple's attorneys claim MERS lacked the authority to assign the loan to the bank.
The certification for this assignment was not produced, attorney Mark Mausert argued before six of the high court's seven justices. Chief Justice Nancy Saitta missed the session but is expected to listen to arguments before a ruling is handed down at a later date.
A lawyer for the lender countered that the arguments raised by the Davis' attorneys go beyond the scope of Nevada's Foreclosure Mediation program, and that disputes over the validity of documents should be addressed in a separate lawsuit. |
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Madoff's ex-controller pleads guilty in NYC
Court Line News |
2012/01/02 15:20
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The former controller for imprisoned financier Bernard Madoff blamed him Monday for directing her to deceive investors, regulators and the Internal Revenue Service as she pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges.
I did not know that Madoff and others were stealing investors' money, Enrica Cotellessa-Pitz said as she entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, becoming the sixth person to plead guilty and admit a role in a fraud that Madoff claimed he carried out alone. For that, I am terribly sorry.
Cotellessa-Pitz , 53, said she wanted investors and the public to know that she is cooperating fully with prosecutors. Besides conspiracy, she pleaded guilty to falsifying books and records and making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The charges carry a potential of up to 50 years in prison for a woman who admitted a major role in the multi-decade fraud that cheated thousands of investors out of the roughly $20 billion they invested with a man whose once-sterling reputation on Wall Street caused many people to feel honored to be allowed to rest their money with his private investment business.
Cotellessa-Pitz said she started working at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in 1978 while she was studying economics in college. She was named controller in late 1998. She said Madoff and others within months were directing her to put false entries in the company's books to make it appear profitable trades were being made and that losses were not incurred. |
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