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Democrats criticize hiring of firm for House remap
Law Firm News |
2011/04/18 07:56
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Democratic lawmakers are raising complaints about Republican House Speaker Jim Tucker's decision to hire a law firm with national GOP ties to submit the state House remap to federal officials.
The head of the House redistricting committee, Democratic Rep. Rick Gallot, said Friday the choice creates the appearance of impropriety because the firm had given the Republican delegation advice about redistricting.
The Senate is using its staff to do its redistricting submission.
Tucker has hired Washington, D.C.-based Holtzman Vogel PLLC to guide the redesign of the 105 House districts to the U.S. Justice Department for review under the Voting Rights Act.
Tucker says he chose a firm with the expertise needed for the complex legal work.
The managing partner of Holtzman Vogel is chief counsel to the Republican National Committee. |
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Court denies appeal over inmate's long sentence
Court Watch |
2011/04/18 05:58
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The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a convicted insurance swindler who is protesting his 835-year prison term.
The court did not comment Monday in turning away a plea from Sholam Weiss for his release from prison and return to Austria, where he was arrested after he fled the United States during his criminal trial in Orlando, Fla. Weiss is in prison for his role in the collapse of a life insurance company in the 1990s that cost thousands of people their life savings.
He still may be able to appeal his conviction and sentence, even though an appeals court had earlier ruled that he forfeited his appeal rights when he became a fugitive.
A judge cut 10 years from Weiss' sentence when Austria returned him to the U.S. |
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High court takes no action on Va. health care case
Headline News |
2011/04/17 09:57
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The Supreme Court has taken no action on Virginia's call for speedy review of the health care law.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is asking the court to resolve questions about the law quickly, without the usual consideration by federal appellate judges and over the objection of the Obama administration.
The case was among those that were scheduled to be discussed in the justices' private conference on Friday, but there was no announcement about the case when the court convened on Monday.
The silence could mean, among other things, that one justice asked for more time to think about the case or to write a short opinion that would accompany an order.
The justices meet again on Friday to discuss pending cases. |
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Court turns down appeal in murder plot case
Headline News |
2011/04/16 09:56
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The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal in a murder-for-hire plot after the star prosecution witness forged documents used at trial and lied about his military background.
The court said Monday it will not review a divided appeals court ruling that, by a 6-5 vote, upheld the conviction of Idaho businessman David Hinkson for plotting to kill a federal judge, prosecutor and tax agent. Hinkson is serving a 43-year prison term.
Earlier, a three-judge panel on the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had decided that Hinkson deserved a new trial because the witness, Elven Joe Swisher, lied about his war record, including presenting forged documents.
Swisher later was convicted of defrauding the government of nearly $100,000 in veterans' benefits and wearing unauthorized military medals. |
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Wis. public court record access may be threatened
Headline News |
2011/04/10 12:06
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| pWisconsin court officials fear the court's data management system, including a popular site that allows anyone to easily look up the criminal records of friends and neighbors, could be on shaky ground if the governor's proposed budget breaks up its funding mechanism. /ppGov. Scott Walker's proposed budget would end a dedicated funding stream for Consolidated Court Automation Programs, the data management system for the state courts system. State law now gives the system $6 out of every $21.50 charged as part of the Justice Information System Surcharge included in most court filing fees. Under the new proposal, all fee revenue would go to the Department of Administration, which would give the money to the system and a range of other programs. It would also cut the system's funding by 10 percent. /ppJean Bousquet, CCAP spokeswoman, said the switch would allow DOA to move money to other programs in the future. If that happens, Consolidated Court Automated Programs would have to consolidate or cut back on non-essential services, and the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access database would likely be on the shortlist of cuts. /ppThe WCCA site provides detailed and updated information on all past and pending court cases in the Wisconsin circuit courts system and is accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. Bousquet said while they hope cuts are not necessary, the system would likely deal with budget cuts through gradual moves. /p |
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Court ruling could mean NJ budget scramble
Court Watch |
2011/04/10 12:05
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| pGov. Chris Christie is warning that if the state Supreme Court rules the way it usually does on a long-running school funding case, it could doom other state services. The build-up about the immediate consequences gives the chapter of the court case known as Abbott v. Burke even more significance than many of the 20 other decisions in the case dating back to the 1980s./ppThe question now before the court is whether the state's cuts in aid to schools for the current academic year were so deep that New Jersey didn't live up to its constitutional requirement of providing a thorough and efficient education to all students.It's not clear when it might be decided./ppBut lawyers for the state and for children in the poorest school districts filed legal papers last week laying out their sides. Oral arguments are scheduled for April 20. Over the long history of the case, the state Supreme Court has consistently ruled that New Jersey should provide more money to the state's poorest school districts./ppThe rulings have led to free preschools for 3- and 4-year-olds in those cities. Those programs are often cited as national models and given credit for improving test scores of grade-school students. The infusion of money has also brought replacements and repairs for many of their decrepit school buildings, extra help for teaching key areas such as reading./p |
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