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Crimean Filmmaker Pleads Not Guilty in Terrorism Trial
Legal Business |
2015/07/22 18:15
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A Ukrainian filmmaker who has been in a Russian jail for more than a year on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism.
Critics have dismissed Oleh Sentsov's prosecution as revenge for his pro-Ukrainian position in Russia-occupied Crimea. Sentsov, a Crimean native, was a vocal voice against Russia's annexation of Crimea which followed a hastily called referendum in March.
The 39-year-old Sentsov was arrested in Crimea's capital in May 2014 after a pro-Ukrainian rally protesting the annexation.
At the opening of his trial in the southern city of Rostov-on Don on Tuesday, Sentsov pleaded not guilty and insisted the case against him is a fabrication, Russian news agencies reported.
Sentsov's defense team describes Sentsov's arrest in May 2014 as a kidnapping.
Sentsov, who unlike many Crimeans didn't apply for Russian citizenship, was grabbed on the street in Crimea's capital, Simferopol, by Russian security agents and resurfaced days later in custody in Moscow.
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Wife says Chinese rights lawyer being denied legal counsel
Legal Business |
2015/07/20 16:09
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A prominent Chinese rights lawyer whose trial is drawing near on charges of inciting ethnic hatred and provoking trouble has been denied access to lawyers for nearly a month, his wife and one of his attorneys said Monday.
Meng Qun, wife of Pu Zhiqiang, raised the concern in an open letter addressed to the leadership of the Beijing detention center where her husband is being held, urging authorities to honor China's own rules to allow Pu access to lawyers.
One of Pu's attorneys, Shang Baojun, confirmed that Pu last met his lawyers on June 23 and verified the authenticity of Meng's letter.
Pu is widely believed to be politically persecuted amid Beijing's crackdown on civil society. The charges stem from his online posts that questioned China's ethnic policies in the wake of deadly violence involving ethnic minority Uighurs, and others that mocked several political figures.
He was taken away in May 2014 and was indicted on May 15 this year, after one year in detention.
Shang said he expects a Beijing court to hold Pu's trial soon, because by law Chinese courts have three months from the indictment to hold a trial and issue a verdict, but the authorities have not yet announced a date.
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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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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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Court rejects Duncan's death sentence appeal
Legal Business |
2015/03/31 19:54
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A federal appellate court has dismissed the appeal of a man who was sentenced to death for kidnapping, torturing and killing a young northern Idaho boy after killing several members of his family.
Joseph Edward Duncan III faces the death penalty for the 2005 murder of 9-year-old Dylan Groene. He also faces several life sentences for the murder of three family members and the kidnapping of his then-8-year-old sister.
Duncan represented himself at his sentencing hearing and later waived his right to appeal. But he has since changed his mind and his defense attorneys say he wasn't mentally competent to waive his rights.
On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that claim. The court said a lower court had correctly found Duncan competent. The justices said it was too late for Duncan to change his mind.
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High court won't hear challenge to Vermont campaign law
Legal Business |
2015/01/12 23:40
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The Supreme Court won't hear a challenge to part of Vermont's campaign finance laws that impose contribution limits on political action committees.
The justices on Monday declined to hear an appeal from the Vermont Right to Life Committee, an anti-abortion group. The group argued that Vermont's campaign finance registration, reporting and disclosure requirements for PACs were too broad and unconstitutional.
The group argued that a subcommittee it created should not be subject to Vermont's $2,000 limit on contributions to PACs because the subcommittee does not give money directly to candidates and makes only independent expenditures.
But a federal judge rejected those arguments, finding that there was no clear accounting between the two committees. A federal appeals court agreed.
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New York International Criminal Law Attorney
Legal Business |
2014/11/08 16:26
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International Criminal Law generally includes law that comes from international courts such as the tribunals in Yugoslavia and Rwanda and most recently, the International Criminal Court. These Courts are generally concerned with war crimes, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
International Criminal Law has a broader reach, however. For example, crimes can routinely cross the borders of different nations. These crimes can be seen as “trans-national crimes” and include drug trafficking, trans-national organized crime, terrorism, and foreign corrupt practices.
These trans-national crimes could include money laundering and computer crimes.
International Criminal Law is generally consensual in nature and is generally stated in the statute of the International Court of Justice and the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court.
Jurisdictional issues have always been central to International Criminal Law and a classic case on jurisdiction is the case of S.S. Lotus (France v. Turkey) 1927 P.C.I.J. (ser.A)10.
A key aspect to resolving international disputes is “customary international law” as described in the Supreme Court case Paquete Habana 175 U.S. 677 (1900).
There are certain key terms in International Law including:
- Comity, meaning customary, or reciprocity.
- Complementarity
- Erga Omnes which refers to a states standing to enforce certain rights that belong to the international community.
- Extraterritoriality, or acts that occur outside the territory of the state.
- Jus Cogens is the “compelling law”, the highest of obligations under law placed upon countries.
- Ne Bis in idem which is the international version of the concept of double jeopardy.
This brief overview will serve to make clear the essential structural basis of international criminal law. If you need legal assistance for your international criminal law case, attorney Andrrew J. Schatkin has the necessary experience to help you. Call 516-932-8120 or fill out our contact form to arrange a consultation.
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