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Miss. judge suspended for misconduct
Headline Legal News |
2011/08/12 16:24
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The Mississippi Supreme Court has suspended Alcorn County Justice Court Judge Jimmy McGee for misconduct.
The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance had accused McGee of interfering with a criminal case and making "statements in open court encouraging others to engage in vigilante justice."
The complaint involved a case in another court in which McGee's relative was a crime victim. He allegedly said in open court in 2008 that his relative's case should have been handled "down on the farm" instead of in the justice system.
The Supreme Court ordered a suspension without pay for 270 days, a public reprimand and assessed $100 in court costs. |
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Ariz. governor on deadline for immigration appeal
Headline Legal News |
2011/08/10 15:55
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Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer faces a Wednesday deadline for asking the U.S. Supreme Court to accept her appeal of a ruling that put on hold key parts of the state's immigration enforcement law.
The Republican governor lost her first attempt to throw out a district court's decision that blocks, among other portions of the law, a provision requiring police, while enforcing other laws, to question the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally, when a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected her motion in April.
Brewer vowed three months ago to take her argument before the nation's highest court, which has discretion on whether to hear her case.
The 9th Circuit said the federal government is likely to be able to prove the law is unconstitutional and likely to succeed in its argument that Congress has given the federal government sole authority to enforce immigration laws.
Brewer's lawyers have argued that the federal government hasn't effectively enforced immigration law and that the state's intent in passing its own regulations was to assist federal authorities, as Congress has encouraged.
They also have argued the district court judge erred by accepting speculation by the federal government that the law might burden legal immigrants and by concluding the federal government would likely prevail. |
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Pozen says Texas court upholds Treximet patents
Headline Legal News |
2011/08/09 16:16
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Drug developer Pozen Inc. said Monday that a Texas court upheld three patents supporting its migraine drug Treximet.
Pozen said the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled that the patents were valid. The court also found that generic versions of Treximet developed by Par Pharmaceutical Co. and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. infringed on all three patents, while a version developed by Alphapharm Pty Ltd. infringed on two patents. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. had also challenged the patents, but was dismissed from Pozen's lawsuit in April 2010 after it agreed to abide by the court's decision.
The court said the Food and Drug Administration cannot approve the generics made by Dr. Reddy's and Par until Feb. 2, 2025, and that the agency can't approve the Alphapharm generic until Aug. 14, 2017.
Treximet is a combination of GlaxoSmithKline PLC's drug Imitrex and an anti-inflammatory drug developed by Pozen. GlaxoSmithKline markets the drug and pays royalties to Pozen. In the second quarter, those royalty payments accounted for $4 million of Pozen's $4.6 million in total revenue.
The FDA approved Treximet in April 2008 after years of delays, and Par filed for approval of its generic in October of that year. |
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Lawyer pleads guilty to $47 million Ponzi scheme
Headline Legal News |
2011/08/05 16:07
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An Arkansas lawyer and businessman admitted today to staging a Ponzi scheme that netted more than $47 million, a scam that a prosecutor called the largest case of fraud in state history.
Kevin Lewis, 43, pleaded guilty today to one count of bank fraud in federal district court in Little Rock. He could face up to 30 years in prison, though U.S. Attorney Christopher Thyer said Lewis would likely receive between 10 to 13 years.
He will also have to pay restitution of almost $40 million, though that number could go down further as banks work to recover their losses.
Lewis acknowledged that he issued paperwork for fake rural improvement bonds often used by developers to defraud several Arkansas banks starting with a small bond in 1997.
That money went to maintain his business interests across the state, which range from a law firm to a clothing company. He used the money to make the payments on past fake bonds and support a personal lifestyle that included a house valued at more than $1 million, fancy cars and vacations, Thyer said.
Meanwhile, the bank that bought almost $23 million of the fake bonds, First Southern Bank in Batesville, was placed into receivership by authorities, Thyer said. Lewis had purchased majority ownership of First Southern, using a loan from another Arkansas bank that was backed by the fake bonds. |
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Kansas workers seek to bar immigration questions
Headline Legal News |
2011/08/03 15:34
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Workers who filed a class-action lawsuit against a Kansas slaughterhouse for unpaid wages and overtime have asked a federal judge to bar Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from discovering their immigration status during the litigation.
The employees have asked U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren for a protective order prohibiting the Arkansas City meatpacker from receiving from the named plaintiffs — or any other workers who opt into the lawsuit — any information pertaining to their present names or any other names they may have used.
They also seek to avoid having to disclose their place of birth, Social Security number and any present or prior addresses. The plaintiff's motion also seeks an order protecting the workers from having to turn over to Creekstone Farms any tax returns or any other tax forms filed under any of their identities or having to disclose the dates and times of entry into the United States. They also want to avoid turning over all identification documents likely to lead to the discovery of their immigration status.
Their attorney, Mark Kistler, told The Associated Press Tuesday that the courts already have decided that these types of information which could lead to discovery of immigration status should be protected from discovery during a lawsuit. |
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DeMocker defense says former lawyer will keep mum
Headline Legal News |
2011/08/01 15:48
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Lawyers for a Prescott stockbroker facing a murder retrial say they won't allow his former defense attorney to give a deposition in the case.
John Sears is one of two attorneys who quit Steven DeMocker's case in October, citing a conflict of interest. The move triggered a mistrial in November.
Deputy Yavapai County Attorney Jeffrey Paupore filed a motion last week that Sears be deposed as a material witness.
But DeMocker's current lawyer says any communications between Sears and DeMocker remains confidential and privileged.
The 56-year-old DeMocker is accused of killing his ex-wife, Carol Kennedy, with a golf club in July 2008 to avoid paying hefty alimony bills. He faces a life sentence if convicted. |
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Court reverses conviction on online Obama threat
Headline Legal News |
2011/07/20 16:39
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A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned the conviction of a man who posted Internet messages threatening Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.
A divided three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Walter Bagdasarian's violent and racist screeds against Obama were "repugnant" but not criminal. The court also said it was obvious the San Diego man wasn't planning to attack the candidate and that the postings were protected by Bagdasarian's free speech rights.
Bagdasarian was convicted in 2009 of two felony counts of threatening a major presidential candidate.
Bagdasarian posted several messages to a Yahoo Finance message board in October 2008, including one that called Obama a racial epithet and another that said "he will have a 50 cal in the head soon" — a reference to a .50 caliber gun.
A retired Air Force officer forwarded the postings to the Secret Service. Yahoo provided Bagdasarian's subscriber information to investigators, who raided his house and seized six guns and a hard drive containing an email with similar sentiments.
Bagdasarian admitted posting the messages, but said he was drunk and joking.
He waived his right to a jury trial. District Judge Marilyn L. Huff found him guilty and sentenced him to 60-days in a half-way home.
But the appeals panel said no "reasonable person" could have taken seriously Bagdasarian's posts. |
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