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Court to weigh practice of Christian prayers at meetings
Legal Topics |
2016/01/28 00:40
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A federal appeals court is grappling with the constitutionality of prayers at local council meetings for the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar case in 2014.
Oral arguments were held Wednesday before a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in the challenge of a North Carolina county commission's practice of starting meetings with prayers that almost always referred to Christianity.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Rowan County Commission in 2013 on behalf of people who said the prayers were coercive and discriminatory.
The Supreme Court recently upheld Christian prayers at local town council meetings in New York, but the ACLU says the latest case is different.
An attorney for the Commission says the "whole nation will be looking at this case."
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Supreme Court rejects appeal to outlaw death penalty
Headline Legal News |
2016/01/25 00:40
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The Supreme Court is rejecting a Pennsylvania inmate's appeal to consider banning the death penalty across the United States.
The justices did not comment Monday in turning away a challenge from death row inmate Shonda Walter.
Walter's appeal plays off Justice Stephen Breyer's call in an impassioned dissent in June to re-evaluate the death penalty in light of problems involving its imposition and use.
Breyer renewed his plea last week when he was the lone justice willing to give a last-minute reprieve to an Alabama death row inmate who was later put to death.
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Appeals court upholds Virginia health care facility law
Court News |
2016/01/23 00:38
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A Virginia law that requires government approval for new or expanded health care facilities is constitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond unanimously rejected a claim that Virginia's "certificate of public need" program impermissibly interferes with interstate commerce.
While we cannot say whether Virginia's program is ultimately wise, it most certainly is constitutional," Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote.
Virginia requires medical providers to prove to the State Board of Health that proposed new facilities, expansions or major equipment purchases are necessary in a geographic area. According to the appeals court, 36 states have similar programs.
Colon Health Centers of America and Progressive Radiology challenged Virginia's law. U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton ruled against the plaintiffs, and the appeals court upheld Hilton's decision.
“The program left in place by today's ruling amounts to nothing more than a certificate of monopoly for favored established businesses, which comes at enormous cost to ordinary Virginians,” said Robert McNamara, a lawyer at the Institute for Justice who represented the plaintiffs.
McNamara said no decision has been made on whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. He said such a petition would be due April 20, and the General Assembly might take action on the issue before then.
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Court overturns tobacco company victory over FDA on menthols
Legal Topics |
2016/01/19 07:29
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A federal appeals court has ruled that tobacco companies had no basis to challenge a Food and Drug Administration report on menthol cigarettes, which the industry alleged was written by experts with conflicts of interest.
The decision by a three-judge panel overturns a lower court ruling that barred the FDA from using the report and ordered the agency to reform its committee of tobacco advisers.
The 2011 report from the agency's Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee concluded that menthol flavoring leads to increased smoking rates, particularly among teens, African Americans and those with low incomes. The report said removing the flavoring would make it easier for some smokers to quit.
Cigarette makers Lorillard Inc. and Reynolds American Inc. sued the agency, alleging conflicts of interest by several members who had previously testified against tobacco companies in court.
But Judge Stephen Williams, writing for the court, states that the companies had no legal basis to challenge the makeup of the committee. Williams rejected company arguments that they could be damaged by the apparent conflicts as "too remote and uncertain." The opinion was issued Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Despite the victory for the federal government, the ruling may have limited impact on the FDA or its panel. Last year the FDA announced that four members of its tobacco products advisory panel had either resigned or were removed, following the previous court ruling against the agency.
In 2013, the FDA conducted its own review of menthol cigarettes, concluding they pose a greater public health risk than regular cigarettes. But it did not make a recommendation on whether to limit or ban them.
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Rome court acquits ex-Vatican accountant of corruption
Court Watch |
2016/01/19 07:29
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A lawyer for an Italian monsignor who was fired from his Vatican accountant's job says a Rome court has acquitted his client of corruption.
Prosecutors alleged Monsignor Nunzio Scarano was involved in a purported plot to use a private plane to try to smuggle 20 million euros (about $22 million) from Switzerland into Italy to evade taxes. They suspected the money was deposited in Switzerland to avoid Italian taxes.
Defense lawyer Silverio Sica says Scarano was acquitted of the corruption charge on Monday. According to Sica, the court convicted Scarano of slander and gave him a suspended two-year sentence.
Separately, Scarano is on trial in Salerno, Italy, for allegedly using his Vatican bank accounts to launder money. Italian prosecutors said the once highly-secretive Vatican bank amply cooperated in that case.
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Ohio's top court declines to change rules on plea deals
Court News |
2016/01/18 07:29
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Ohio's top court decided Thursday to continue allowing defendants to plead to lesser crimes that don't bear much resemblance to the facts of the original charge.
Some trial court judges argued that such pleas undermine public confidence in the courts, saying the seriousness of a crime sometimes isn't reflected in the end result.
"Baseless pleas are an affront to the very principles our justice system was designed to promote: that is, truth and justice," Michael Donnelly, a judge in Cleveland's Cuyahoga County court, said in a letter to a Supreme Court committee reviewing the use of such pleas.
Plea bargains that stray from the facts in sex crimes can also allow defendants to avoid having to register as sex offenders, Donnelly said.
The Ohio Supreme Court without comment declined by a 4-2 vote to move the proposal forward.
Donnelly said Thursday he was disappointed but would continue to push the issue.
Connecticut, Florida and New Jersey, among other states, require a plea to have some basis in the facts of the crime.
More than 20 states limit prosecutors' ability to resolve drunken driving cases with plea bargains that dismiss or eliminate an impaired-driving charge, according to the National Center for State Courts. New Mexico allows plea bargains as long as one of the convictions includes at least one offense related to driving under the influence.
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High court seems skeptical of mandatory public union fees
Legal Interview |
2016/01/17 07:30
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The Supreme Court appears ready to deliver a major setback to American unions as it considers scrapping a four-decade precedent that lets public-sector labor organizations collect fees from workers who decline to join.
During more than an hour of oral arguments Monday, the high court's conservative justices seemed likely to side with a group of California teachers who say those mandatory fees violate the free-speech rights of workers who disagree with a union's positions.
Labor officials fear unions' very existence could be threatened if workers are allowed to get all the benefits of representation without at least paying fees to cover the costs of collective bargaining. The case affects more than 5 million workers in 23 states and Washington, D.C.
But Justice Anthony Kennedy rejected arguments by lawyers for the state of California and the California Teachers Association that the current fee system is needed to prevent non-members from becoming "free riders" — workers who reap the rewards of union bargaining and grievance procedures without paying for it.
"The union basically is making these teachers compelled riders for issues on which they strongly disagree," Kennedy said, noting the political nature of bargaining issues like teacher salaries, merit promotions and class size.
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