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Appeals court upholds convictions in Fort Dix plot
Law Firm News |
2011/12/28 10:28
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A federal appeals panel on Wednesday upheld the convictions and sentences of five Muslim men accused of planning to attack Fort Dix or other military bases, though it threw out a charge against one defendant.
The main issue was prosecutors' use of wiretaps obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a part of the Patriot Act aimed largely at gathering foreign intelligence.
The recordings were a major piece of a 2½-month trial for the five men, all Muslim immigrants who grew up in the New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia.
The men — Mohamad Shnewer, Serdar Tatar, and brothers Dritan, Eljvir and Shain Duka — were arrested in May 2007. In 2008, a federal jury in Camden, N.J., convicted them of conspiring to kill U.S. military personnel at Fort Dix. All but Tatar are serving life terms.
Defense lawyers said it was unconstitutional to use the recordings in a domestic criminal case and that it may have been impossible to convict the men without the evidence.
But in a unanimous ruling written by Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, a three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. The challenged search was conducted in objectively reasonable reliance on a duly authorized statute, and therefore admissible at trial, Rendell wrote.
Another major issue came from an error that federal prosecutors acknowledged in January: Three of the men were convicted of attempted possession of firearms in furtherance of a crime, but the law in question does not have a provision that outlaws attempted possession. |
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Supreme Court rejects Hessler appeal
Law Firm News |
2011/12/26 16:10
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The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday rejected a death-row inmate’s claim that his lawyer failed to properly represent the convicted kidnapper, rapist and murderer at his sentencing.
Jeffrey Hessler had argued that his trial-court lawyer should have demanded a competency hearing when Hessler moved to represent himself at his sentencing. The state Supreme Court rejected that argument, saying allowing someone to serve as their own attorney did not constitute ineffective counsel and Hessler failed to show he couldn’t adequately represent himself at sentencing.
Hessler was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault of a child and use of a firearm to commit a felony in December 2004. He was sentenced to die for the 2003 kidnapping, rape and shooting death of 15-year-old Heather Guerrero. She was delivering newspapers on her morning route just blocks from her home when Hessler grabbed her and forced her into his car.
A jury found that Hessler took her to an abandoned house at nearby Lake Minatare, raped her and then shot her in the head on Feb. 11, 2003. Guerrero’s body was found the next day at the house, about 12 miles from where she disappeared.
Hessler claimed in his appeal that his trial lawyer was ineffective and failed to tell the court that he suffered from mental health problems, including hallucinations.
Scotts Bluff County District Judge Randall Lippstreu dismissed that claim earlier this year, saying Hessler and his attorneys seemed to have had philosophical differences between the time of Hessler’s conviction and sentencing hearing. But, the judge said, that did not constitute ineffective counsel. |
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Phil Spector to take appeal to US Supreme Court
Law Firm News |
2011/12/16 09:30
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A lawyer for imprisoned music legend Phil Spector is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review his murder conviction, arguing his constitutional rights were violated by the trial judge.
Attorney Dennis Riordan contends that Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler became a witness for the prosecution by offering his opinion on an expert's testimony.
The filing was expected to reach the court Friday. It cites the prosecution's use of the judge's videotaped comments and his picture during prosecution summations.
The same arguments were made to state appellate justices, who refused to consider them because of a belated filing. They upheld Spector's second-degree murder conviction in the death of actress Lana Clarkson.
The California Supreme Court declined to review the case. |
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Wall St. seeks dismissal of Ala. record bankruptcy
Law Firm News |
2011/12/16 09:30
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Wall Street creditors asked a federal judge Thursday to throw out the record bankruptcy filed by Alabama's largest county over more than $4 billion in debt, arguing state law doesn't allow it.
Lenders claimed during a hearing and in court documents that Alabama law permits bankruptcy only for bond debt, and Jefferson County has a different type of debt called warrants. The county and creditors could be thrown back into out-of-court settlement talks if the judge agrees.
The county contends bankers are cherry-picking state law in hopes of getting the case dismissed, and that any government in the state can go bankrupt whether its debt is for bonds or warrants.
The Jefferson County Commission president, David Carrington, testified that municipal bankruptcy was the county's sole option after intense negotiations fell apart. |
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Previously announced class action settlement approved
Law Firm News |
2011/12/15 11:32
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MEGA Brands Inc. announces that the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has approved the previously announced settlement of a class action lawsuit filed against the Corporation in 2008 by a resident of California on behalf of all persons who purchased and/or received Magnet Toys in the United States .
MEGA Brands denied any and all liability but agreed to settle the matter to avoid the expense and resources that would be needed for further litigation. The Corporation has made a provision for this lawsuit in its financial statements and considers that, based on the approved settlement, such provision is adequate.
This lawsuit does not allege personal injury claims.nbsp; Rather, plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed that certain Magnet Toys contained defective magnets, and they asked for their money back.
For additional information, please refer to the press release issued by the Corporation on September 27, 2011, which is available at http://www.megabrands.com. |
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Next ICC prosecutor warns against sex crimes
Law Firm News |
2011/12/14 12:59
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The next chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court pledged Tuesday to strengthen efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of sexual and gender crimes.
A day after her election by the 119 countries that support the tribunal, Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda said too often gender crimes go unreported and unpunished and the victims are trivialized, denigrated, threatened and silenced, which enables the abuses to continue unimpeded.
In its first cases, she said, the ICC has sent the message that this is no longer acceptable and must stop.
The International Criminal Court, which began operating in 2002, is the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal. It is a court of last resort, stepping in only when countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
At the moment, the ICC is dealing with cases from Congo, the Central African Republic, Uganda involving the Lord's Resistance Army, the Darfur conflict in Sudan, the recent Libyan uprising, and post-election violence in Kenya and Ivory Coast.
At present, crimes such as rape, sexual slavery, and forced prostitution and pregnancy are alleged in some cases before the court in all of these situations except Libya, where an investigation of alleged gender-based crimes is still under way. |
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