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Chris Brown returns to court after rehab dismissal
Headline News |
2014/03/17 13:54
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After a weekend in jail, Chris Brown is facing a court hearing over his dismissal from rehab and whether he should be given additional penalties, which could include more time behind bars.
The Grammy-winning R&B singer spent the weekend in a downtown Los Angeles lockup after a judge ordered him to be arrested for violating the rules and regulations of his treatment. Court records did not elaborate on the reason for Brown's dismissal from the facility in Malibu that was treating him for anger management, substance abuse and issues related to bi-polar disorder.
Brown, 24, had been under court orders to remain in treatment since November, one month after he was arrested in Washington, D.C., after a man accused him of punching him in a confrontation outside a hotel. That case remains pending, and Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin has not yet scheduled a probation violation hearing to address whether he would penalize the singer for the arrest.
His attorney Mark Geragos did not return an email message seeking comment on the singer's arrest. Prosecutors have not said what action they plan to take at Monday's hearing.
Brandlin revoked Brown's probation in December, but refused a prosecutor's request in February to send the singer to jail because of the Washington misdemeanor assault case. The judge has said Brown appeared to be making good progress in rehab and a probation officer gave him a favorable report at his last court hearing on Feb. 28.
The singer's arrest last week represents another stumble in his efforts to put his 2009 attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna behind him. Brown's probation had been scheduled to conclude in August, but that is now unlikely because he still has 750 hours of community labor to complete and could face additional penalties for failing to complete rehab successfully. |
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Inmate pleads guilty in prison guard's stabbing
Law Center |
2014/03/14 14:15
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An inmate has pleaded guilty to murder in the stabbing death of a guard at a federal prison in Central California.
The U.S Attorney's Office says 48-year-old James Ninete Leon Guerrero, of Guam, entered the plea on Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Guerrero held Officer Jose Rivera down at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atwater in 2008 as another inmate, Jose Cabrera Sablan, stabbed him more than 20 times with an eight-inch shank. The 22-year-old Rivera - a U.S. Navy veteran - was doing a daily headcount when he was attacked.
Guerrero was serving a life prison sentence at the time in connection with an armed bank robbery. Prosecutors say under a plea agreement, he will receive another life term. Sablan is scheduled to go on trial in April. |
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High Court battle over Richard III's remains
Court Watch |
2014/03/14 14:14
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Distant relatives of England's King Richard III are launching their High Court battle over where to rebury the 15th-century monarch's remains.
The remains of Richard — who was killed in battle in 1485 — were found in a Leicester parking lot.
The government has given Leicester Cathedral in central England permission to rebury the king, but his relatives want him buried in the northern England city of York.
The relatives — under the name the Plantagenet Alliance — are bringing legal action that begins Thursday at the High Court against the government and the University of Leicester.
They claim that the government did not consult widely enough — or consider the wishes of Richard or his descendant — on where the monarch should be reburied. |
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Man pleads guilty to sea cucumber smuggling charge
Legal Focuses |
2014/03/10 13:43
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Federal prosecutors in San Diego say a man has pleaded guilty to charges he smuggled 100 pounds of dried sea cucumber into the United States from Mexico.
Sea cucumbers are leathery-skinned marine animals used in some folk medicine practices.
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy says Cheng Zhuo Liu (chuhng joo-oh lee-oo), a resident of Chula Vista, admitted to tucking the sea cucumbers into the spare tire area of his car before crossing the border last October.
According to the US attorney's office, their market value was between $5,000 and $10,000.
The particular species Liu had is protected under international trade rules, and requires a permit for import.
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Driver pleads guilty in deadly bus stop crash
Headline News |
2014/03/10 13:42
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A driver who plowed into a Riverside bus stop, killing a woman and a 7-year-old girl, has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
The Press-Enterprise reports 46-year-old Joe Williams was ordered Thursday to serve six months in custody of the Sheriff's Department, but his sentence could include a work-release program in lieu of jail time.
Williams was indicted after prosecutors told a grand jury that he had a history of blackouts seizures and should not have been driving.
Authorities say Williams, a parking enforcement agent, blacked out at a red light on Dec. 28.
When motorists behind him honked their horns, Williams accelerated, veered up onto the shoulder of the road and crashed into a bus bench.
Twenty-eight-year-old Melissa Bernal and 7-year-old Aniya Mitchell were killed. |
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Court upholds $185 million award against Argentina
Legal Focuses |
2014/03/07 14:58
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The Supreme Court has upheld a British natural gas company's multimillion dollar award against the government of Argentina.
BG Group won $185 million through arbitration of a dispute with Argentina over investment in natural gas development. An arbitration tribunal said the company did not have to first submit the dispute to Argentine courts before arbitration could begin.
Argentina asked a U.S. court to throw out the award. The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., sided with Argentina because it found that judges, not arbitrators, should decide where attempts to resolve the dispute should begin.
But the Supreme Court said Wednesday the arbitrators get to make that call and that they were correct to rule in favor of BG Group in this case. |
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