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High court sides with state in DNA case
Headline News |
2012/06/18 12:28
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The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a rape conviction over objections that the defendant did not have the chance to question the reliability of the DNA evidence that helped convict him.
The court's 5-4 ruling went against a run of high court decisions that bolstered the right of criminal defendants to confront witnesses against them.
Justice Clarence Thomas provided the margin of difference in the case to uphold the conviction of Sandy Williams, even though Thomas has more often sided with defendants on the issue of cross-examination of witnesses.
The case grew out of a DNA expert's testimony that helped convict Williams of rape. The expert testified that Williams' DNA matched a sample taken from the victim, but the expert played no role in the tests that extracted genetic evidence from the victim's sample.
And no one from the company that performed the analysis showed up at the trial to defend it.
The court has previously ruled that defendants have the right to cross-examine the forensic analysts who prepare laboratory reports used at trial. |
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Massive LA County court layoffs to begin Friday
Court Watch |
2012/06/15 10:20
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Squeezed by state budgets cutbacks, the Los Angeles County court system is launching massive job layoffs, pay cuts and transfers, court officials said Thursday.
Cutbacks that will be implemented Friday will affect 431 court employees and 56 courtrooms throughout the nation's largest superior court system.
Presiding Judge Lee Smalley Edmon bemoaned the loss of longtime employees as well as the impact on public services.
"We are laying off people who are committed to serving the public," she said. "It is a terrible loss both to these dedicated employees and to the public."
The union representing state and municipal employees called Friday's action a "freeze on justice in Los Angeles" and warned that the county would experience "an end to timely justice" with cases being delayed for years, particularly in civil courts.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — AFSCME — planned to have representatives on hand to assist employees who will not know they are losing their jobs until they are informed individually Friday.
A spokeswoman for the California Judicial Council said other courts in the state will also be impacted by the budget cuts but will handle them individually. Los Angeles' court system, as the largest, will be the most heavily affected.
Edmon said the drastic actions are the result of a state mandate to reduce annual spending by $30 million. She noted that earlier reductions already saved $70 million, but more cuts in state support for trial courts are scheduled for the next fiscal year. |
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Accused Auburn shooter in court on 3 murder counts
Topics |
2012/06/14 09:49
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The man charged in three slayings near Auburn University has had three attorneys appointed for him after telling a judge he cannot afford to pay for his legal defense.
Desmonte Leonard had his first appearance before a judge in Opelika, Ala., on Thursday morning. He's facing three counts of capital murder and two assault charges in the shootings last weekend.
The dead included two former Auburn football players, and a current player was among the three injured.
The 22-year-old Leonard told a judge he can't afford to pay for a legal defense. So the judge appointed three Montgomery attorneys to represent Leonard at taxpayer expense.
Leonard says he understands the charges against him. Leonard was chained at his hands and feet during the brief appearance and is jailed without bond. |
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Ariz. gov. orders training ahead of court decision
Opinions |
2012/06/13 14:54
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Arizona's governor on Tuesday ordered a state board to redistribute a training video on the state's controversial immigration law to all law enforcement agencies.
The move comes ahead of an expected ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court this month on the law, which was signed by Gov. Jan Brewer in 2010.
Brewer said in a statement Tuesday that she wants to make sure officers are prepared if the court upholds the law.
Parts of the law blocked from taking effect include a provision requiring police to question people's immigration status while enforcing other laws if there's a reasonable suspicion they're in the country illegally.
The Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board's video outlines factors that constitute reasonable suspicion that someone is in the country illegally, including language, demeanor and foreign-vehicle registration. |
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Fort Hood shooter's beard stops court hearing
Topics |
2012/06/09 00:15
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A hearing to consider pre-trial motions in the murder case against an Army psychiatrist charged in the Fort Hood shooting rampage has been delayed after defendant Maj. Nidal Hasan showed up in court wearing a beard.
The trial judge, Col. Gregory Gross, said Hasan's appearance at the hearing Friday violated Army regulations and is considered a disruption to the proceedings.
Gross says the hearing will be delayed until the near future when Hasan either complies with military grooming standards or watches the hearing from outside the courtroom on a video feed. Hasan's lawyers say they'll seek an exception to the grooming rule on religious grounds.
Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the November 2009 attack. |
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Powerbroker tied to Nevada Sen. Reid goes to court
Court Watch |
2012/06/09 00:15
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A former developer and lobbyist with long ties to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Nevada's political elite turned himself in to federal authorities Thursday after being indicted on criminal charges involving federal campaign contributions.
Harvey Whittemore planned to plead not guilty later in the day before a federal magistrate in Reno, his lawyer, John Arrascada, told The Associated Press.
Whittemore, 55, was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on four counts related to campaign contributions made in 2007 to an unnamed elected federal official.
Once a kingpin in state political circles, Whittemore made campaign contributions to numerous politicians including Republican Sen. Dean Heller and Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley. But records show only Reid received donations of more than $100,000 on a single day in 2007.
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