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Nevada's GOP governor honored by mention about high court
Headline Legal News |
2016/02/19 17:18
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The prospect of President Barack Obama's nominating a Republican for the Supreme Court seems a long shot, but there's been some talk in Washington about Nevada's GOP governor, Brian Sandoval.
Sandoval says he's honored to have his name mentioned as a potential successor for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but says he's heard nothing to think the Democratic president is considering him.
Sandoval — a former federal judge who supports abortion rights — isn't saying whether he thinks the Senate should act on a nominee from Obama. Senate Republican leaders have said it should be up to the next president — who takes office in January 2017— to submit a nominee.
Sandoval spoke to The Associated Press on Saturday while attending the National Governors Association meeting in Washington.
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Court declines stay in redistricting; Congress elections off
Court Watch |
2016/02/17 17:17
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The U.S. Supreme Court refused Friday night to stop a lower-court order demanding North Carolina legislators draw a new congressional map, meaning House primary elections won't occur next month as scheduled and are shifted to June.
The denial of the request by state of North Carolina attorneys for the justices to intervene came just hours after Republican lawmakers meeting in Raleigh voted for redrawn boundaries as a safeguard to comply with a federal court ruling that called two majority black districts racial gerrymanders. A new congressional elections calendar also was approved.
The General Assembly reconvened and passed a new map because a three-judge panel had ordered a replacement by Friday.
State attorneys argued that absentee ballots already were being requested for the March 15 primary election, and blocking districts used since 2011 would create electoral chaos and a costly separate House primary later in the year. But voters who sued over the boundaries said they shouldn't have to vote in illegal districts for another election cycle, like in 2012 and 2014.
The refusal — a one-sentence decision that said Chief Justice John Roberts had referred the request to the entire court — means the congressional primary elections will now occur June 7 under new boundaries that put two incumbents in the same district and seriously jeopardize the re-election of Democratic Rep. Alma Adams, who is now living in a strong Republican district.
Mollie Young, a spokeswoman for GOP House Speaker Tim Moore, said the legislative leaders' attorneys would review the decision before making a comment.
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Supreme Court scuffle triggers constitutional clash
Legal Topics |
2016/02/14 17:17
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It only took one man's death to give Congress an opening to permeate its dysfunction throughout the rest of government.
Republican opposition to letting President Barack Obama replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia quickly sparked a constitutional clash over the president's right to fill Supreme Court vacancies. Democrats, who have their own history of boxing out Republicans over court nominees, are up in arms, but begrudgingly concede that Obama's pick is unlikely to be confirmed.
So as both parties prepare for political brawling, the eight remaining justices could spend the next year hearing critical cases alongside an empty seat, unable to break a tie in the event of a 4-4 split.
The standoff raises a scenario that Washington long has dreaded: that bitter partisanship in Congress, mixed with the tactics of obstruction such as the filibuster, would eventually jeopardize another branch's basic ability to function.
"If Republicans do what they suggest, I think we're headed not only for a constitutional crisis but also for big problems for the legislative process," said Jim Manley, a former aide to Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. "This is the natural reaction to the continued Senate breakdown we've seen for years."
Supreme Court nominees have been rejected before. Yet Democrats accuse Republicans of taking obstructionism to a new level by insisting Obama not even name a nominee with 11 months left in his term — and refusing to hold a confirmation vote if he does. Though the Constitution is clear that it is the president who nominates, Republicans say the Founding Fathers never required the Senate to give a vote.
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Court gunman's children face sentencing for cyberstalking
Court Watch |
2016/02/13 17:17
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A man whose ex-wife was gunned down by his father at a Delaware courthouse after a bitter custody battle that included international kidnapping is facing sentencing along with his sister on federal cyberstalking charges.
David Matusiewicz and Amy Gonzalez were to be sentenced Thursday. Their mother, Lenore Matusiewicz, was sentenced to life in prison last week.
All three were convicted of conspiracy and cyberstalking resulting in the 2013 death of David's ex-wife, Christine Belford. Prosecutors say the cyberstalking convictions were unprecedented.
Thomas Matusiewicz, David's father, fatally shot Belford and a friend as they arrived for a support hearing involving the three daughters Belford had with David.
Thomas Matusiewicz then traded gunfire with police before killing himself. His widow and children have denied knowing that he planned to kill Belford.
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Court rejects pay for woman sterilized at county's behest
Attorney News |
2016/02/12 17:16
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North Carolina doesn't have to compensate a woman involuntarily sterilized at the behest of a county social services worker because there's no evidence that the State Eugenics board was involved, an appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld a state commission's determination that the woman was ineligible for payment under a state law to compensate people involuntarily sterilized as part of a state program that ran through the 1970s.
Court documents say the woman was coerced into having an abortion and a sterilization procedure in 1974 by a worker from the Cleveland County Department of Social Services who threatened to take her two daughters.
The woman's attorney argues that the county agency was functioning as an arm of the state's social services system, and that the county worker was acting under authority of state law regarding sterilizations.
Attorney Bobby Bollinger Jr. wrote in his appeal that the worker "was an agent of the State" and that his client's claim shouldn't be denied just because there is a no documentation proving involvement of the Eugenics Board.
However, the Appeals Court ruled that the lack of documentation means the woman can't prove that she meets requirements for compensation. A 2013 state law requires claimants to show they were sterilized under state authority.
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Court to weigh cocaine cases, could alter sentencing in Ohio
Attorney News |
2016/02/10 18:00
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Prosecutors across Ohio are concerned that a ruling under review by Ohio's top court could delay and shorten sentences for suspects caught with cocaine and force costly changes upon law enforcement.
The state Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on whether to uphold an appeals court decision calling into question how prosecutors have handled cocaine cases for years. It all comes eastdown to weight.
A state appeals court in Toledo ruled last year prosecutors should have determined how much pure cocaine a suspect arrested in a drug sting had with him or her instead of sentencing him based on the weight of the entire amount.
The appeals court ruled that Ohio's drug laws say that what matters is the weight of the cocaine only — not filler material such as baking soda that's often added by drug dealers to stretch out their supply and increase profits.
Prosecutors along with the state Attorney General's office argue that such a narrow interpretation creates a new distinction for cocaine that isn't applied to any other illegal drugs.
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Supreme Court puts Obama's climate change plan on hold
Legal Business |
2016/02/10 07:50
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A divided Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to halt enforcement of President Barack Obama's sweeping plan to address climate change until after legal challenges are resolved.
The surprising move is a blow to the administration and a victory for the coalition of 27 mostly Republican-led states and industry opponents that call the regulations "an unprecedented power grab." By temporarily freezing the rule the high court's order signals that opponents have made a strong argument against the plan. A federal appeals court last month refused to put it on hold.
The court's four liberal justices said they would have denied the request. The plan aims to stave off the worst predicted impacts of climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions at existing power plants by about one-third by 2030. Appellate arguments are set to begin June 2. The compliance period starts in 2022, but states must submit their plans to the Environmental Protection Administration by September or seek an extension.
Many states opposing the plan depend on economic activity tied to such fossil fuels as coal, oil and gas. They argued that power plants will have to spend billions of dollars to begin complying with a rule that may end up being overturned.
Implementation of the rules is considered essential to the United States meeting emissions-reduction targets in a global climate agreement signed in Paris last month. The Obama administration and environmental groups also say the plan will spur new clean-energy jobs.
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