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Appeals court reinstates charges against Worley
Headline News |
2011/05/28 11:22
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A state appeals court has reinstated five felony charges against former Secretary of State Nancy Worley for a second time.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals issued a 4-0 ruling Friday. The charges accuse the former Democratic officeholder of violating election laws during her unsuccessful campaign for re-election in 2006. Her attorney, James Anderson, says he will ask the court to reconsider.
The charges resulted from an investigation by the attorney general. They were originally thrown out by a Montgomery judge. Then the Court of Criminal Appeals reinstated them. The Alabama Supreme Court reversed that ruling in September and told the appeals court to take another look.
The appeals court ruled Friday that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to support the felony charges. |
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High court backs cuts in Calif. prison population
Headline News |
2011/05/20 08:48
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The Supreme Court on Monday endorsed a court order requiring California to cut its prison population by tens of thousands of inmates to improve health care for those who remain behind bars.
The court said in a 5-4 decision that the reduction is required by the Constitution to correct longstanding violations of inmates' rights. The order mandates a prison population of no more than 110,000 inmates, still far above the system's designed capacity.
There are more than 142,000 inmates in the state's 33 adult prisons, meaning roughly 32,000 inmates will need to be transferred to other jurisdictions or released.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, a California native, wrote the majority opinion, in which he included photos of severe overcrowding. The court's four Democratic appointees joined with Kennedy.
The violations have persisted for years. They remain uncorrected, Kennedy said.
Justice Antonin Scalia said in dissent that the court order is perhaps the most radical injunction issued by a court in our nation's history. |
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Court lets Minn. corporate disclosure law stand
Headline News |
2011/05/17 08:33
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A federal appeals court has affirmed a judge's decision to let stand Minnesota's law requiring the disclosure of corporate political donations, saying the state's rules are similar to laws upheld by the Supreme Court and the groups who want them blocked are unlikely to prevail.
In an opinion filed Monday, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with claims that Minnesota's disclosure requirements effectively prohibit corporate independent expenditures and impose burdensome regulations that ban free speech.
The burden on corporations appears light, and the reporting requirement greatly facilitates the government's informational interest in monitoring corporate independent expenditures, the appeals court found. The judges wrote that rather than banning contributions, the law provides a way to disclose certain information.
Minnesota law requires that in election years, businesses and independent groups must submit five reports and disclose large donations within 24 hours for the three weeks leading up to the primary and the last two weeks before the general election. In off years, one report is required. The registration requirement is triggered when businesses or independent funds spend more than $100. Penalties for violations can be up to $25,000.
One member of the three-judge panel disagreed with the majority in part, saying the state's reporting requirements chill political speech. |
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Denver appeals court weighs military impostor law
Headline News |
2011/05/12 08:41
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| p A federal appeals court in Denver was hearing arguments Thursday on whether Congress can make it illegal to falsely claim to be a military hero./ppAt issue is the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail to falsely claim to have been awarded a military medal./ppThe case before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals centers on Rick Strandlof, a Colorado man who was arrested after claiming he was wounded in Iraq as a Marine and had received military medals. His lawyers have acknowledged the claims were false./ppA federal judge ruled the law violated the First Amendment. Prosecutors asked the 10th Circuit to uphold the law, which has also been challenged in California./ppThe law makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail to falsely claim to have received a medal from the U.S. military./ppSome legal scholars have said they expect the law to eventually land before the U.S. Supreme Court./ppIn the Colorado case, Strandlof, who founded a veterans group in Colorado Springs, was charged in 2009 with violating the law by claiming to be an ex-Marine who was wounded in Iraq and received the Purple Heart and Silver Star. The military said it had no record that he ever served./ppA federal judge threw out the case in July, ruling the U.S. government had not shown any compelling reason to restrict that particular type of speech./ppThe judge also ruled that lying about getting a military medal doesn't fall into any of the limited exceptions to free speech that the Supreme Court has recognized, including fraud./ppThe law doesn't require a showing that an alleged impostor got financial benefits or caused financial harm for a conviction./ppIn the California case, Xavier Alvarez, a water board official from Pomona, was indicted in 2007 after saying at a public forum that he was a retired Marine who received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration./ppHe pleaded guilty on condition that he would be allowed to appeal on First Amendment grounds. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit ruled 2-1 in his favor in August./p |
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Speaker Boehner: Tax hikes are 'off the table'
Headline News |
2011/05/10 08:17
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div class=entrydiv class=articlepHouse Speaker John Boehner is insisting tax increases are off the table in negotiations with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats on extending the federal debt limit./ppThe Ohio Republican tells NBC's Today show everything else is on the table. Boehnernbsp; appeared a day after telling the Economic Club of New York he wants trillions of dollars in spending cuts as part of legislation allowing the government to continue borrowing beyond the current $14.3 trillion cap./ppBoehner says he doesn't think Congress can take money from some who would invest in our economy and hand it over to the government. He said, You can't raise taxes./ppBoehner said mandatory spending programs like Medicare and Social Security must be addressed because now they're unaffordable for our kids and our grandkids./p/div
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California teachers call for week of budget protests
Headline News |
2011/05/09 09:01
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Facing the threat of mass layoffs, larger class sizes and the elimination of myriad programs, thousands of California teachers are expected to take part in a weeklong series of rallies and sit-ins at the Capitol and throughout the state to protest possible spending cuts in the state budget.
The California Teachers Association, which is organizing the actions, is pressing Gov. Jerry Brown to back off his call for a special election and instead push Republican lawmakers to directly approve an extension of higher sales, income and vehicle taxes, which are due to expire at the end of June. Brown promised during his campaign last year that he would not raise taxes without going to the voters.
The rallies starting Monday are an escalation of efforts by the teachers association, which waited while Brown tried to negotiate a deal with Republicans to put his proposal before voters in June. Since that effort failed, the teachers are now delivering their message directly. |
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