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Stephen Baldwin to avoid jail in tax ca
Firm News/California |
2013/03/14 15:21
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Stephen Baldwin will avoid jail and will have up to five years to pay $350,000 in back taxes and penalties, his lawyer said Monday.
Attorney Russell Yankwitt said he and prosecutors tentatively agreed that Baldwin, youngest of the four acting Baldwin brothers, will admit in court this month that he repeatedly failed to file his New York state income tax returns.
Baldwin, who starred in 1995's "The Usual Suspects" and is currently on television in "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice," is accused of skipping his 2008, 2009 and 2010 returns. When he was arrested in December, the district attorney said Baldwin could face up to four years in prison if convicted.
But at Monday's closed-door conference at the Rockland County Courthouse, "The district attorney's office and the judge made it very clear that Mr. Baldwin will not be going to prison," Yankwitt said. "If Mr. Baldwin can't work, he can't pay back his back taxes."
Baldwin, 46, of Upper Grandview, was not at the conference.
Prosecutor Anthony Dellicarri confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached on a plea deal but would not detail the specifics. The district attorney's office said only that a possible resolution of the case was discussed.
Yankwitt said that if Baldwin pays back the money within a year, the case will be discharged on the condition he stay out of trouble. If Baldwin doesn't meet the one-year deadline, he will be sentenced to probation and given five years to pay back the money. |
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3 ex-Marine Corp clerks plead guilty in San Diego
Law Firm News |
2013/03/11 23:47
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Three former civilian contractors at Camp Pendleton have pleaded guilty to stealing more than $3 million worth of medical equipment that was headed to combat zones, including Afghanistan.
Henry Bonilla of Pomona, Richard Navarro of Fallbrook and Michael Tuisse of Oceanside pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego Thursday to a single count of conspiring to steal government property. The Los Angeles Times says each man faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced May 24.
Federal prosecutors say the men took ultrasound machines, defibrillators, ventilators and broken bone kits from the 1st Medical Logistics Company where they worked.
Court documents say the men would load equipment in their cars, and then meet up with buyers after dark in secluded parking lots. |
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Justices voice skepticism of voting rights law
Headline News |
2013/03/04 12:57
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The Supreme Court's conservative justices voiced deep skepticism Wednesday about a section of a landmark civil rights law that has helped millions of Americans exercise their right to vote.
In an ominous note for supporters of the key provision of the Voting Rights Act, Justice Anthony Kennedy both acknowledged the measure's vital role in fighting discrimination and suggested that other important laws in U.S. history had run their course. "Times change," Kennedy said during the fast-paced, 70-minute argument.
Kennedy's views are likely to prevail on the closely divided court, and he tends to side with his more conservative colleagues on matters of race.
The court's liberals and conservatives engaged in a sometimes tense back-and-forth over whether there is an ongoing need in 2013 for the part of the voting rights law that requires states with a history of discrimination, mainly in the Deep South, to get approval before making changes in the way elections are held. |
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SC court nixes James Brown estate settlement
Headline News |
2013/02/27 22:18
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The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a settlement divvying up the multi-million dollar estate of James Brown, saying a former attorney general didn't follow the late soul singer's wishes in putting together the deal.
Attorney General Henry McMaster brokered a settlement in 2009 that split Brown's estate, giving nearly half to a charitable trust, a quarter to his widow Tomi Rae Hynie and leaving the rest to be split among his adult children.
But the justices ruled the deal ignored Brown's wishes for most of his money to go to charity. The court ruled the Godfather of Soul was of sound mind when he made his will before dying of heart failure on Christmas Day 2006 at age 73.
The court sent the estate back to a lower court to be reconsidered.
The justices did agree with the lower court's decision to remove Brown's original trustees. Members of Brown's family said they wanted them gone because the trustees mismanaged the estate until it was almost broke. |
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Oklahoma considers foreign law court ban
Court Watch |
2013/02/15 14:38
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Oklahoma lawmakers are considering banning judges in the state from basing any rulings on foreign laws, including Islamic Sharia law.
A Senate panel on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the bill, which has broad support in the Republican-controlled Legislature. The bill would specifically make void and unenforceable any court, arbitration or administrative agency decision that doesn't grant the parties affected by the ruling "the same fundamental liberties, rights and privileges granted under the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions."
"This is a way to protect American citizens ... where somebody may try to use any kind of foreign law or religious law to affect the outcome of a trial," said Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, who sponsored the bill. Shortey described it as "American Law for American Courts."
A handful of other states have laws aimed at keeping courts from basing decision on foreign legal codes, including Islamic law. Oklahoma voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2010 that would have specifically prohibited courts from considering Sharia law, but a federal judge blocked its implementation after a Muslim community leader alleged it discriminates against his religion.
Shortey said he didn't know of an instance in Oklahoma where a judge has relied on foreign laws, but he said there have been cases in other states.
That prompted state Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, to describe the measure as a "solution that's looking for a problem." Crain was the only member of the Senate committee to vote against the bill. |
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Top lawmakers consider new court to monitor drones
Firm News/D.C. |
2013/02/08 13:08
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Senator Dianne Feinstein says it's time to lift the secrecy off the CIA drone program that targets al-Qaida operatives so that U.S. officials can acknowledge the strikes and correct what she says are exaggerated reports of civilian casualties.
The California Democrat and Senate Intelligence Committee chairman says she and other lawmakers may explore setting up a special court system to regulate strikes, similar to the special courts that signs off on government surveillance in espionage and terror cases.
Feinstein spoke after the confirmation hearing for CIA nominee John Brennan, who defended the drone program, saying policymakers only used lethal strikes as a last resort.
She says the CIA allows her staff to monitor the top secret Predator program, but she believes it's now too public to keep under wraps.
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