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Court nixes new rape trial in dispute over poem
Court Watch |
2011/03/24 09:28
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| pA court has overturned a decision granting a new trial to a convicted rapist who claimed his rights were violated when a poem written by the victim was kept out of evidence during trial in Wayne County. /ppThe poem expressing regret about alcohol and sex was written before the woman's encounter with Dustin Wiecek in 1999. /ppA federal judge says the exclusion hurt Wiecek's ability to fully confront his accuser at trial about her personal life. But a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday disagreed, saying Wiecek's lawyer had much opportunity to challenge the woman's credibility. /ppWiecek was accused of using GHB, known as a date-rape drug. He's already served 41 months in prison, more than the minimum sentence. He's been free on bond since fall 2009. /p |
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Oregon appeals court: Teeth not dangerous weapon
Court Watch |
2011/03/24 06:28
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| pThe Oregon Court of Appeals has ruled that teeth are not a dangerous weapon./ppThe decision Wednesday overturned a first-degree assault conviction for a Marion County man who bit off part of a neighbor's ear in 2008 in a drunken fight./ppThe Oregonian reports a second-degree assault conviction against 30-year-old Scott Russell Kuperus II stands. But first-degree assault involves a dangerous weapon, and teeth don't qualify./ppHis attorney says the first-degree assault charge that carried a sentence of 90 months in jail will be dismissed and Kuperus will be sentenced to 70 months for second-degree assault./p |
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Ex-judge Camp sentenced to 30 days in prison
Court Watch |
2011/03/11 11:55
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| pJack Camp, the former federal judge ensnared in a scandal involving drugs and a stripper, was sentenced Friday to 30 days in prison and 400 hours of community service./ppSenior U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan said he could not give a sentence of only probation because Camp had breached his oath of office./ppHe has disgraced his office, Hogan said. He has denigrated the federal judiciary. He has encouraged disrespect for the rule of law./ppBefore being sentenced, Camp apologized for what he had done and thanked his family and friends, many of whom filled the courtroom./ppI have embarrassed and humiliated my family as well as myself, Camp said. I have embarrassed the court I have served on and I am deeply sorry for that. When I look back at the circumstances which brought me here and look at what I did, it makes me sick./ppCamp said that at the end of the day, the only thing I can say is that I'm so very sorry./ppAs a judge, Camp often meted out harsh sentences and rarely gave breaks to defendants who presented mitigating circumstances to explain their conduct. On Friday, Hogan was asked by Camp's lawyers to grant leniency because of the ex-judge's decades-long battle with a bipolar disorder and brain damage caused by a 2000 biking accident./p |
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Court blames LA County for ocean pollution
Court Watch |
2011/03/11 11:55
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| pA California appeals court has sided with environmentalists in a decision that blames Los Angeles County and its flood control district for sending polluted runoff into the Pacific Ocean./ppThe 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the county is responsible for the heavily polluted storm water flowing untreated each year down the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers./ppThe Natural Resources Defense Council and Santa Monica Baykeeper environmental groups say the ruling is a turning point in the battle for clean water. Council attorney Aaron Colangelo says the county must now eliminate the flow of pollutants./ppThe Los Angeles Times says the Flood Control District argued its channels were simply conduits for upstream polluters, but the court says the district controls the flow to the ocean./p |
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Ex-NY state Sen. Dem. leader due in court .
Court Watch |
2011/03/01 08:47
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pA former New York state Senate Democratic leader and his son are due at a pre-trial hearing in New York City./ppPedro Espada Jr. and his son Pedro G. Espada are charged in a federal fraud indictment. They are accused of embezzling more than $500,000 from their federally funded Bronx health clinic./ppThe hearing is scheduled in Brooklyn federal court on Friday./ppEspada and his son have pleaded not guilty.
/p |
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Ohio defendant called about drug money from jail
Court Watch |
2011/02/24 09:19
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| pA newly released document in a $3 million pot shipping scheme says a California woman placed several calls to check on proceeds from the scheme even after she was jailed. /ppThe updated criminal complaint by a Drug Enforcement Administration agent released Thursday says Lisette Lee made 22 calls from Franklin County Jail in Columbus after she was arrested last June. /ppMost of the calls were to fellow defendant Christopher Cash, who repeatedly warned Lee to be careful what she talked about because the calls were being recorded. /ppThe DEA complaint says Lee asked several times about paperwork, a term the DEA says is a common expression for drug proceeds. /ppLee and Cash have both pleaded guilty to a scheme to fly thousands of pounds of marijuana to Ohio in suitcases./p |
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