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Court: Payday lending law violated constitution
Topics |
2008/11/05 14:07
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| A 1999 state law allowing so-called payday lenders to charge high fees for short-term loans violates the state constitution, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday.pIn a 6-0 decision, the court said the fees permitted under the 1999 Check Cashers Act were really triple-digit interest rates. The state constitution limits interest rates on loans to 17 percent./ppBecause that fee is in reality an amount owed to the lender in return for the use of borrowed money, we must conclude that the fees authorized clearly constitute interest, Justice Paul Danielson wrote./ppThrough a payday loan in Arkansas, a customer writing a check for $400, for example, typically would receive $350. The lender would keep the check for about two weeks before cashing it./ppThe customer could buy back the check for $350 during that two-week period, but otherwise would pay the full $400 when the company cashed his check. The $50 charge on a $350 loan for 14 days equates to 371 percent, well above Arkansas' usury limit./ppAttorney Todd Turner, who represented the plaintiffs who challenged the Check Cashers Act, said the ruling means it will be impossible for payday lenders to operate in the state./ppIt's great for all the Arkansas residents who have been paying 600 percent for these loans, Turner said./ppTom Hardin, attorney for the Arkansas Financial Services Association that sought to preserve the law, did not immediately return a call seeking comment./ppEven before Thursday's ruling, the number of payday lenders in the state has dwindled in response to threats of lawsuits from Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. An advocacy group said in a report last month that the number of payday lenders operating in the state has dropped from 237 in March to just 33./ppIn its 6-0 decision, the court overturned a Pulaski County judge who last year ruled that the 1999 act was constitutional. /p |
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Supreme Court wrestles with TV profanity case
Court Watch |
2008/11/04 14:07
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| The Supreme Court spent an hour on Tuesday talking about dirty words on television without once using any or making plain how it would decide whether the government could ban them.pThe dispute between the broadcast networks and the Federal Communications Commission is the court's first major broadcast indecency case in 30 years./ppAt issue is the FCC's policy, adopted in 2004, that even a one-time use of profanity on live television is indecent because some words are so offensive that they always evoke sexual or excretory images. So-called fleeting expletives were not treated as indecent before then./ppThe words in question begin with the letters F and S. The Associated Press typically does not use them./ppChief Justice John Roberts, the only justice with young children at home, suggested that the commission's policy is reasonable. The use of either word, Roberts said, is associated with sexual or excretory activity. That's what gives it its force./ppJustice John Paul Stevens, who appeared skeptical of the policy, doubted that the f-word always conveys a sexual image./p |
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Alaska Sen. Stevens can still vote, despite felony
Headline News |
2008/10/30 19:43
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| GOP Sen. Ted Stevens' felony conviction won't block him from casting a vote for himself in Tuesday's election. pStevens was convicted Monday on seven counts of trying to hide more than $250,000 in free home renovations and other gifts that he received from a wealthy oil contractor. Alaska law says a person convicted of a crime that constitutes a felony involving moral turpitude under state or federal law may not vote in a state, federal, or municipal election from the date of the conviction through the date of the unconditional discharge of the person./ppBut state legal officials say that since Stevens has not been sentenced yet, he is eligible to vote in the general election, said Gail Fenumiai, director of the Alaska Division of Elections./ppStevens won't be sentenced until early next year. He faces a maximum 35 years in prison, but is likely to get far less, if any, prison time. If re-elected, he also could face an expulsion vote in the Senate, or senators could recommend a lesser sanction./ppThe 84-year-old senator, who has represented Alaska in the Senate since 1968, is in a tight race with Democratic challenger Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage./ppSeveral politicians, including GOP presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, have called on Stevens to resign. But the senator has said he plans to fight his conviction and for re-election. /p |
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Alinghi, rivals call on BMW Oracle to drop lawsuit
Topics |
2008/10/30 19:41
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| All 11 teams challenging for the next America's Cup have called on American syndicate BMW Oracle Racing to drop its legal fight with cup holder Alinghi.pThe request came at a meeting of Cup contenders Thursday called by Alinghi at its home yacht club in Geneva./ppPreparations for the 33rd America's Cup have been stalled for more than a year by legal problems./ppThe BMW Oracle team based in San Francisco believes Alinghi has acted unfairly in the way it has drawn up rules for the next cup races./ppThe team is waiting on an appeal ruling from a New York court./ppSwiss-owned Alinghi has invited teams from across the world to help it plan for an America's Cup in 2010. On Thursday they united to ask BMW Oracle to join them. /p |
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Anti-gay-marriage groups look for Ariz. redemption
Law Firm News |
2008/10/30 09:43
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| Arizona has been a disappointment to anti-gay marriage activists since 2006, when the state became the first in the nation to reject a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage.pThose same opponents are hoping for redemption Tuesday, when Arizona voters again will have to decide whether they want the state's constitution to be amended to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman./ppIt actually helped us out having it fail the first time because it allowed us to raise more money, said state Sen. Ron Gould, a Republican and prime sponsor of this year's measure, which was put on the ballot by the Legislature. It just motivates people to put the remote down, get out of the La-Z-Boy and do something./ppTwenty-seven states have approved anti-gay marriage ballot measures, including seven in 2006. Similar measures are being considered in California and Florida this year./ppAlthough Arizona voters turned down the 2006 measure, there is a big difference between that one and this year's measure, Proposition 102./p |
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