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Judge grants new trial in death of intern Chandra Levy
Court News |
2015/06/04 19:05
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A judge has formally granted a retrial in the case of a man convicted of killing Washington intern Chandra Levy.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Gerald Fisher on Thursday granted a motion for a new trial the case of Ingmar Guandique, who was convicted in 2010 of killing Levy.
Guandique's attorneys had been pushing for a new trial because they said a key witness in the case gave false or misleading testimony. Prosecutors last month told a judge they believe the jury's verdict was correct but that they would no longer oppose the new-trial request.
Levy's 2001 disappearance created a national sensation after the 24-year-old California native was romantically linked with then-U.S. Rep. Gary Condit.
Condit, a California Democrat, was ultimately ruled out as a suspect. |
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Brazil court convicts 2 firefighters in nightclub fire
Legal Business |
2015/06/04 19:05
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A court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced two firefighters to a year behind bars in connection with a 2013 nightclub fire that killed more than 200 people in southern Brazil.
The two and six other firefighters had been charged with negligence and falsifying public documents related to the club's fire permit. Prosecutor Joel Dutra successfully argued that the court should drop charges against the other six, saying they had been "induced to error by unclear norms that gave room to different interpretations."
Lawyers for the convicted men said they would appeal.
The fire in January 2013 at the Kiss nightclub in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul state, killed 242 young men and women, all suffocated by toxic smoke that filled a windowless building with no emergency exits.
Soundproofing foam on the ceiling caught fire in the overcrowded nightclub when the lead singer of a country band onstage lit a flare as part of an illegal indoor pyrotechnics show.
Investigators said the burning foam released cyanide, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide that quickly killed those attending a university party. Dozens of bodies were piled in twisted knots inside the club as hundreds of people stampeded through darkness, trying to reach a single row of four doors that served as both entry and exit. Aside from the dead, 630 people were injured.
The nightclub's two owners and two band members blamed for starting the fire face homicide charges, but are free pending trial. A guilty verdict could bring a prison sentence of up to 30 years, although the complexity of Brazil's legal system and the ability to present numerous appeals means several years can elapse before someone convicted of a crime is put behind bars. |
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Court upholds sentence for son of Schwarzenegger ally
Areas of Focus |
2015/06/03 19:05
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A California appeals court on Tuesday upheld former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to dramatically reduce the manslaughter sentence of a political ally's son, saying his conduct may be considered wrong but it didn't violate any laws.
On his last day in office in 2011, Schwarzenegger commuted the sentence of Esteban Nunez to seven years from 16 years in the stabbing death of college student Luis Santos in San Diego. Esteban Nunez's father is Fabian Nunez, speaker of the state Assembly while Schwarzenegger was governor.
Frederico and Kathy Santos, the victim's parents, and San Diego County District Bonnie Dumanis sued to overturn the shortened sentence, arguing that the governor violated a voter-approved constitutional amendment that requires victims to be notified before a decision. But the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento agreed with a trial judge that the amendment approved in 2008 and known as Marsy's Law does not apply to commuted sentences.
"We are compelled to conclude that, while Schwarzenegger's conduct could be seen as deserving of censure and grossly unjust, it was not illegal," Associate Justice Harry E. Hull Jr. wrote.
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German court cancels session in Auschwitz guard trial
Court Watch |
2015/06/02 19:05
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A German court has canceled another session in the trial of a 93-year-old former Auschwitz guard due to his poor health.
The Lueneburg state court said Wednesday's session in the trial of former SS sergeant Oskar Groening was called off, the fourth to be scrapped, and proceedings should resume June 9. The court already has limited sessions in Groening's trial, which opened in April, to three hours.
Groening is charged with 300,000 counts of accessory to murder on allegations he helped the death camp function by sorting cash and valuables seized from Jews.
On Tuesday, the court heard testimony from Angela Orosz-Richt, who was born at Auschwitz. She said she survived "because I have a mission to speak for those who can't speak," the news agency dpa reported. |
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High court: Bankrupt homeowners can't void second mortgage
Legal Business |
2015/06/01 19:06
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A unanimous Supreme Court says homeowners who declare bankruptcy can't void a second mortgage even if the home isn't worth what they owe on the first mortgage.
The justices on Monday ruled in favor of Bank of America in two Florida cases where bankrupt homeowners wanted to "strip off" a second loan because they were underwater on the primary mortgage.
Lower courts allowed both homeowners to nullify the second loans and the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed both cases.
But Bank of America said the rulings conflicted with Supreme Court precedent. The company argued that the second loan might be repaid eventually if the property's value rises.
The homeowners argued that the second loans were basically worthless. |
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High court throws out conviction for Facebook threats
Headline Legal News |
2015/06/01 19:05
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The Supreme Court has thrown out the conviction of a Pennsylvania man accused of making threats on Facebook.
The justices ruled Monday that it was not enough for prosecutors to show that the comments of Anthony Elonis would make a reasonable person feel threatened.
Elonis was prosecuted for making illegal threats after he posted Facebook rants in the form of rap lyrics about killing his estranged wife, harming law enforcement officials and shooting up a school.
Elonis claimed the government had no right to prosecute him if he didn't actually intend his comments to be threatening to others. But the Obama administration said that the test is whether the comments would strike fear in a reasonable person. |
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Court: State can’t order unions, companies to reach binding contracts
Headline Legal News |
2015/05/18 07:19
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A California appeals court sided with one of the largest fruit farms in the nation, ruling that a law allowing the state to order unions and farming companies to reach binding contracts was unconstitutional.
Labor activists say the mandatory mediation and conciliation law is a key to helping farm workers improve working conditions.
However, the 5th District Court of Appeal said Thursday it does not clearly state the standards that the contracts are supposed to achieve.
The ruling came in a fight between Gerawan Farming and the United Farm Workers, the union launched by Cesar Chavez. The union won the right to represent Gerawan workers in 1992, but the two sides did not agree to a contract.
At the union’s request, the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board in 2013 ordered Gerawan and the UFW to enter into binding mediation. The two sides couldn’t come to an agreement so a deal was crafted by the mediator and adopted by the labor relations board, the appeals court said. Gerawan objected to the terms. |
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