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Miss. court tosses exploitation conviction
Headline News |
2011/06/20 04:10
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div class=entrydiv class=articlepfontThe Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the conviction of Vanessa Decker, who was given a 4-year suspended sentence in 2008 on a charge of exploiting her own mother./font/ppfontLast year, the state Court of Appeals upheld Decker's conviction./font/ppfontDecker was convicted in Clay County of felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult for taking $4,120 from her mother's bank account between November 2005 and April 2007. She said she had permission./font/ppfontThe Supreme Court says a jury instruction given by the trial judge conflicted with Decker's indictment. The court said the failure of the judge to correct the mistake required the conviction to be overturned./font/ppfontDecker had argued the law under which she was convicted was vague. The Supreme Court did not discuss that issue./font/p/div
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2 ex-judges, lawyer back to prison in Miss scheme
Headline News |
2011/06/13 19:09
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Two ex-judges and an attorney from Mississippi must return to federal prison for their convictions in a loan scheme.
A federal appeals court had vacated their bribery convictions but upheld the guilty verdicts on corruption charges. So they needed to be resentenced.
U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate denied requests by Paul Minor and former Harrison County judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield to be re-sentenced to time they have already served.
Wingate on Monday sentenced Minor to eight years, Teel to four and Whitfield about six — all less than previous.
Prosecutors said Minor would guarantee loans for the judges, then used cash and third parties to pay off the debts. Judges then ruled in his favor in civil cases. He has long said he is innocent and was making loans to help friends. |
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Ohio judge says Ford must pay dealers $2B
Headline News |
2011/06/10 23:42
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Ford Motor Co. must pay nearly $2 billion in damages to thousands of dealerships in a 2002 class-action lawsuit that said the automaker violated dealer agreements, an Ohio judge ruled Friday.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Peter Corrigan in Cleveland issued the ruling based on a Feb. 11 jury determination that the company overcharged dealers for commercial trucks over an 11-year period.
The $2 billion award covers more than 3,000 dealerships and about 474,000 trucks. It includes a judgment of about $781 million and about $1.2 billion in interest.
In awarding the dealers the amount of money they overpaid for trucks, the jury verdict places ... the dealers in the financial position contemplated by the terms of the contract, said James Lowe, a Cleveland attorney for Westgate Ford Truck Sales Inc., a dealership in Youngstown that represents the class.
Ford's annual report, filed on Feb. 28, says the class action included all dealers who purchased a 600?series or higher truck from Ford from 1987 to 1997. It says the lawsuit accused the automaker of failing to reveal that price concessions were given to some dealers. |
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Loughner lawyer says she can't provide discovery
Headline News |
2011/06/06 09:15
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The Tucson shooting rampage suspect's lawyer says she's unable to provide discovery requested by prosecutors until her client is declared competent to stand trial.
In a Monday filing, defense attorney Judy Clark says the court's finding that Jared Lee Loughner is incompetent to stand trial makes it clear that she cannot have rational or meaningful communication with him.
She says she also cannot consult with him about any possible defenses or evidence that may be presented at trial until he is declared competent.
Judge Larry Burns ruled last month that Loughner is mentally unfit to assist his lawyers or understand the charges he faces.
Loughner has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the Jan. 8 Tucson mass shooting that killed six and injured 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. |
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Court refuses to reconsider Spector's appeal
Headline News |
2011/05/30 11:21
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An appeals court on Friday refused to reconsider music producer Phil Spector's appeal of his murder conviction, saying there was overwhelming evidence of his guilt.
The California 2nd District Court of Appeal panel acknowledged it did not consider an issue that defense lawyers now say was critical to his conviction.
The panel blamed the lawyers for failing to sufficiently brief the point and said they had no obligation to consider it.
They quoted case law saying, Issues do not have a life of their own: if they are not raised ... we consider the issues waived.
Spector, a legendary rock music producer, was convicted two years ago of fatally shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra mansion in 2003. He is serving 19 years to life in prison on a second-degree murder conviction. |
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Appeals court reinstates charges against Worley
Headline News |
2011/05/28 11:22
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A state appeals court has reinstated five felony charges against former Secretary of State Nancy Worley for a second time.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals issued a 4-0 ruling Friday. The charges accuse the former Democratic officeholder of violating election laws during her unsuccessful campaign for re-election in 2006. Her attorney, James Anderson, says he will ask the court to reconsider.
The charges resulted from an investigation by the attorney general. They were originally thrown out by a Montgomery judge. Then the Court of Criminal Appeals reinstated them. The Alabama Supreme Court reversed that ruling in September and told the appeals court to take another look.
The appeals court ruled Friday that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to support the felony charges. |
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