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Ex-Attorney General McGraw files for Supreme Court race
Court Watch |
2016/02/01 13:45
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Former state Attorney General Darrell McGraw wants one of his old jobs back.
According to the West Virginia secretary of state's website, the 79-year-old McGraw filed on Saturday to run for the state Supreme Court.
McGraw spent one term on the court from 1976-1988 and served five terms as attorney general. He lost the 2012 attorney general's race as the Democratic incumbent to Republican Patrick Morrisey.
The Supreme Court election will be nonpartisan for the first time in 2016. The election will be held during the May primary.
Incumbent Justice Brent Benjamin is seeking re-election. Others who have filed for the race are Wayne King, Beth Walker and Bill Wooton.
McGraw's brother, Warren McGraw, previously served on the Supreme Court.
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Court turns down appeal for Harvey family killer
Court Watch |
2015/12/23 16:53
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A federal appeals court won't rehear the case of a man sentenced to death in the New Year's Day 2006 slaying of a Richmond family.
Lawyers for Ricky Jovan Gray had asked the 15-member U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear claims that were rejected by a three-judge panel two weeks ago. The court rejected Gray's request on Tuesday.
Rob Lee, an attorney for Gray, says he now intends to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
Gray was convicted in the slayings of Bryan and Kathryn Harvey and their daughters, 9-year-old Stella and 4-year-old Ruby.
The 38-year-old claims his trial attorneys failed to present evidence that might have cast doubts on his confession and by not telling jurors that he was high on PCP during the murders.
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Columbus County lawyer enters pleas on obstruction charges
Court Watch |
2015/12/15 15:30
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A Whiteville lawyer and former prosecutor has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor obstruction charges, ending a separate criminal investigation.
Multiple media outlets report that 41-year-old Randy Lemay Cartrette pleaded guilty Monday. Felony charges leveled against Cartrette last week, and one from last year, were dropped as part of a plea deal. Cartrette was sentenced to suspended sentences of 45 days in prison, 30 hours community service and two years' probation.
Cartrette's lawyer Howard "Butch" Pope says Cartrette also agreed to a voluntary disbarment in North Carolina.
In his plea, Cartrette admitted to forging a court document in July 2014 to recall orders of arrest for his clients.
Another indictment charged Cartrette with improperly obtaining limited driving privileges for his clients through the courts in Columbus County.
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Mexico issues first permits for marijuana under court ruling
Court Watch |
2015/12/13 15:31
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The Mexican government on Friday granted the first permits allowing the cultivation and possession of marijuana for personal use.
The federal medical protection agency said the permits apply only to the four plaintiffs who won a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court last month. The court said growing and consuming marijuana is covered under the right of "free development of personality."
The permits issued Friday won't allow smoking marijuana in the presence of children or anyone who hasn't given consent. The permits also don't allow the sale or distribution of the drug. Ironically, the plaintiffs said that even with the permits in hand, they don't plan to smoke the marijuana permitted.
They said they filed the suit to make a point about prohibitionist policies being wrong, not to get their hands on legal weed. "The objective is to change the policy, not to promote consumption," said Juan Francisco Torres Landa, one of the four plaintiffs. "We are going to set the example; we are not going to consume it."
The court's ruling didn't mean a general legalization for Mexico. But if the court ruled the same way on five similar petitions, it would then establish the precedent to change the law and allow general recreational use.
The government medical protection agency, known as COFEPRIS, said it has received 155 applications to get such permits. But other applicants would have to go through the appeals process, something supporters say would probably take at least a year. |
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Texas man executed for setting fire that killed 3 children
Court Watch |
2015/11/18 22:07
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A Texas inmate was executed Wednesday for setting a fire that killed his 18-month-old daughter and her two young half-sisters at an East Texas home 15 years ago.
Raphael Holiday, 36, became the 13th convicted killer put to death this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other state. It has accounted for half of all executions in the U.S. so far this year.
The lethal injection was carried out after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal seeking to halt Holiday's punishment so new attorneys could be appointed to pursue additional unspecified appeals in his case.
Earlier Wednesday, the judge in Holiday's trial court stopped the execution after Holiday's trial attorney filed an appeal saying the conviction and some trial testimony were both improper. The judge agreed the issues should be reviewed and withdrew his execution warrant. The Texas attorney general's office appealed, the judge's order voided and the warrant reinstated, clearing the way for the lethal injection to move forward.
At the Supreme Court, Austin-based lawyer Gretchen Sween argued that Holiday's court-appointed attorneys abandoned him after the justices in June refused to review his case. Those lawyers advised Holiday his legal issues were exhausted and new appeals and a clemency petition would be fruitless.
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Kansas Supreme Court to take up school funding case
Court Watch |
2015/11/05 14:48
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A case that has the potential to increase funding for Kansas schools goes before the state Supreme Court today, the same day that economists, legislative researchers and officials in Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration are expected to announce new, more pessimistic revenue projections.
Four districts that are suing the state have asked justices to lift a stay on a lower court ruling and release state funds to public school districts. A three-judge Shawnee County District Court panel found in June that the state’s newly enacted strategy for financing 286 school districts and cuts to state aid for low-income school districts were unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court approved Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s request for a stay on the order while he pursued an appeal. The state argues in court filings that “doomsday predictions” about students and the state suffering because of how schools are being funded “have proven to be pure hyperbole.”
Education, from K-12 through the collegiate level, is the state’s largest expenditure, accounting for 62 percent of its budget. Any increase in education spending has the potential to create budget havoc when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
Since the current fiscal year began in July, tax collections have fallen about 4.1 percent short of expectations, at $1.8 billion. The state has struggled to balance its budget since Republican legislators slashed personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging, in an effort to stimulate the economy.
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