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Calif Supreme Court says threats must be serious
Legal Topics |
2011/08/15 16:21
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The California Supreme Court says state laws against threatening a crime victim or witness are valid only if a reasonable listener believes the threats are serious.
The San Francisco Chronicle says last week's unanimous decision means a Riverside County judge must re-examine the conviction of a man who told his jailed wife he would blow away the head of a man who accused them of stealing $250,000.
Eddie Lowery was convicted of threatening a crime victim and he was sentenced to a year in jail.
In its ruling Thursday, the court ruled a threat is not protected by freedom of speech if a reasonable listener concludes the speaker was serious and wasn't merely joking. |
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Appeals court strikes health insurance requirement
Legal Topics |
2011/08/14 16:21
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A federal appeals court panel on Friday struck down the requirement in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul package that virtually all Americans must carry health insurance or face penalties.
The divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the so-called individual mandate, siding with 26 states that had sued to block the law. But the panel didn't go as far as a lower court that had invalidated the entire overhaul as unconstitutional.
The states and other critics argued the law violates people's rights, while the Justice Department countered that the legislative branch was exercising a "quintessential" power.
The decision, penned by Chief Judge Joel Dubina and Circuit Judge Frank Hull, found that "the individual mandate contained in the Act exceeds Congress's enumerated commerce power."
"What Congress cannot do under the Commerce Clause is mandate that individuals enter into contracts with private insurance companies for the purchase of an expensive product from the time they are born until the time they die," the opinion said. |
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Lawyer: NJ student didn't mean to spy on roommate
Legal Topics |
2011/08/11 17:25
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A lawyer for a former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man says in newly filed legal papers that prosecutors got it all wrong and that the case should be dropped.
Nineteen-year-old Dharun Ravi faces charges, including bias intimidation and invasion of privacy, in the case that's been linked to roommate Tyler Clementi's death last September when he jumped off the George Washington Bridge.
Clementi's suicide sparked a national discussion about bullying and gay youth that prompted celebrities, senators and President Barack Obama to speak out.
But defense lawyer Steven Altman said in a brief filed Wednesday that his client was not spying on Clementi. Altman said Ravi initially turned on his webcam from a friend's computer to see what was going on in the dorm room because he was concerned about whether the man Clementi had over might steal Ravi's iPad. He stopped watching "two seconds" after seeing the men kissing, Altman said.
Altman provided text messages that he said Ravi sent Clementi on Sept. 22 - about the time the 18-year-old violinist from Ridgewood was on the suspension bridge crossing the Hudson River.
"I turned on my camera and saw you in the corner of the screen and I immediately closed it. I felt uncomfortable and guilty of what happened," the message said. "Obviously I told people what occurred so they could give me advice. Then Tuesday when you requested the room again I wanted to make sure what happened Sunday wouldn't happen again ... I turned my camera away and put my computer to sleep so even if anyone tried it wouldn't work. I wanted to make amends for Sunday night. I'm sorry if you heard something distorted and disturbing but I assure you all my actions were good natured."
Another said, in part: "I've known you were gay and I have no problem with it."
Altman argued in the brief that prosecutors did not present evidence that Ravi would have broken the law by using a webcam to monitor what was happening in the dorm room he shared with Clementi, that he actually viewed any sexual images from his webcam, that he copied or distributed them, or that he deleted Twitter posts about what was on the webcam to hide evidence from investigators. |
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Court rules firing of NJ casino dealer unlawful
Legal Topics |
2011/08/09 16:16
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A federal appeals court has sided with an Atlantic City casino dealer who says he was targeted because he was involved in union organizing.
Bally's Park Place fired Jose Justiniano in 2007. The casino claimed he misused family medical leave time by attending a pro-union rally on a day he took time off to care for his daughter.
Justiniano had been active in casino unionizing efforts.
A judge upheld the firing, but the National Labor Relations Board disagreed and said it was unlawful.
Friday's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., agreed with the NLRB. It noted that Justiniano attended the rally for 20 minutes. It also said Bally's policy on family leave didn't justify the firing.
A message was left seeking comment from an attorney representing Bally's. |
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Buffalo city lawmakers irked by law firm's TV ad
Legal Topics |
2011/08/03 15:31
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Some city lawmakers in Buffalo want a local law firm to stop running a television commercial that was filmed inside the Common Council Chambers.
The Buffalo News reports that the ads touting the Cellino and Barns law firm were filmed in the chambers on a Saturday in June after the building was closed to the public. The city prohibits commercials from being filmed in City Hall.
Common Council President David Franczyk says he never was informed of any plans to film a commercial in the ornate chamber. Majority Leader Richard Fontana told the newspaper he wants the firm to stop running the ads.
The firm's chief operating officer says they'll continue airing the commercial, which was shot while a filmmaker was inside the building shooting scenes for a movie about Buffalo. |
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Layoffs loom in Ala. court clerks' offices
Legal Topics |
2011/08/01 15:49
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A month-long notice has begun for massive layoffs in state court clerks' offices.
The Birmingham News reports that court officials say about one-third of the 750 employees in clerks' offices statewide will be laid off effective Aug. 31.
The officials say the layoffs are timed so the 255 workers will be off the state payroll before the court system's new, leaner budget takes effect Oct. 1.
The Jefferson County clerk's offices, which handle more than 75,000 filings per year, will be down to 48 full-time clerks and three temporary workers after the layoffs.
Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb has ordered clerks' offices statewide to be closed to the public for 10 hours weekly starting in August to give the workers time to catch up on processing court documents. |
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NJ high court to rule in case of retired judge
Legal Topics |
2011/08/01 15:49
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New Jersey's Supreme Court has upheld the censure of a retired Superior Court judge.
Steven Perskie was disciplined in March for not recusing himself in a timely fashion from a case involving his former campaign treasurer. A state Supreme Court committee also found Perskie was not forthcoming in his remarks to a Senate committee about the incident when he was facing re-appointment.
Today's ruling found Perskie shouldn't have rejected a request during a 2006 case that he recuse himself. He later recused himself for different reasons.
The court also found that Perskie didn't intentionally mislead the Senate committee when he answered questions about the incident.
Perskie served on the Superior Court in Atlantic County and retired in January 2010. He also served as a state legislator. |
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