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High court overturns Seattle drug arrest
Court Watch News |
2013/03/25 15:05
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The state Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the conviction of a man who was arrested on drug charges because the officer who saw the alleged crime was not the arresting officer.
Under state law, unless a specific statutory exception applies, only an officer who is present during the offense may arrest a suspect for a misdemeanor or a gross misdemeanor. Exemptions include traffic infractions where an officer can ask another to arrest the driver.
Gregorio Ortega was arrested in March 2009 in Seattle after an officer on the second floor of a building observed Ortega and another man purportedly appear to make three drug transactions. The officer in the building maintained radio contact with officers in a car nearby, described Ortega's activities and instructed them to arrest him. The officers found crack cocaine and cash on him, the court wrote.
In a unanimous ruling, the court reversed a Court of Appeals ruling in 2011 that upheld his 2009 conviction of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, because it said the circumstances of his arrest went against state law. |
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Lawyer seeks dismissal in Ohio HS player rape case
Headline Topics |
2013/03/14 15:20
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On the eve of their trial, the attorney for one of two Ohio high school football players charged with raping a girl after an alcohol-fueled party said Tuesday that moving forward with the case is "patently unfair and un-American" because important witnesses haven't been compelled to testify.
The attorney for Ma'Lik Richmond filed a motion Monday saying that further prosecution of Richmond violates his due process and equal protection rights and asks the judge or state to dismiss the case.
"You have case where it's clear — clear — that basic, fundamental, constitutional guarantees are not available to this child, my client, to put on a defense," Walter Madison told The Associated Press. "As such, it is patently unfair and un-American to continue knowing that that is not available."
Richmond, 16, and Trent Mays, 17, are scheduled to go on trial Wednesday in Jefferson County juvenile court in Steubenville on charges they attacked a 16-year-old West Virginia girl last August. Their attorneys have denied the charges.
But the attorneys for both teens said their clients will be denied a fair trial because of the availability of crucial witnesses. A West Virginia judge's ruled last week that three juvenile witnesses there could not be compelled to testify in the Ohio case. |
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Pa. court directs tobacco money to health care
Headline Topics |
2013/03/11 23:47
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Pennsylvania state officials are trying to figure out the implications of a judge's ruling that a portion of the state's unspent tobacco settlement money go to the defunct adultBasic health insurance program for lower-income adults or a similar plan.
Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini on Tuesday ruled unconstitutional two state laws that siphoned the money from adultBasic and Medicaid for disabled workers.
Pellegrini is throwing out laws passed in 2010 and 2011 that diverted tobacco settlement funds.
Pellegrini is denying a request by those who sued that adultBasic be reinstated and that $200 million be reimbursed to the funds from the two prior years.
The judge notes that Gov. Tom Corbett's administration says the required portion of the tobacco money is all going to Medicaid. The decision says it must also go to adultBasic or a similar program. |
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CA supervisor agrees to plead guilty to felonies
Political View |
2013/03/04 12:55
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A Santa Clara County supervisor has resigned from office and agreed to plead guilty to a dozen counts of criminal activity, including perjury and misappropriation of public funds.
The San Jose Mercury News reports George Shirakawa Jr. made the announcement Friday after months of denying allegations that he used campaign and county funds for personal use.
In a memo, the 51-year-old Shirakawa says he plans to plead guilty at his arraignment on March 18. He apologized to his constituents and linked his troubles to depression and a gambling addiction.
The Board of Supervisors must decide how to replace Shirakawa, who was re-elected to a four-year term in November.
Prosecutors say Shirakawa moved $130,000 in and out of campaign accounts and public funds and spent most of it at casinos. |
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Kris Humphries' lawyer wants out of divorce case
Headline Topics |
2013/02/15 14:37
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A lawyer for Kim Kardashian's estranged husband wants to end his involvement in the former couple's divorce proceedings.
Marshall Waller says irreconcilable differences have arisen between him and Kris Humphries, and he should be allowed to leave the case.
He filed paperwork Thursday, one day before he and Kardashian's attorney are expected to appear in court for a scheduling hearing.
Kardashian is asking a judge to schedule a trial as soon as possible, while Waller has been advocating for more time to prepare.
If Waller is allowed to leave, it could delay a judge's decision on a trial date. |
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Folsom man pleads guilty in $40M investment scam
Headline Court News |
2013/02/04 21:37
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The president of a Northern California financial firm has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in an investment scam that bilked more than 300 people out of roughly $40 million.
Federal prosecutors in Sacramento say Anthony Vassallo and his associates collected about $80 million, returning half to clients to lull them into thinking they were getting a good return on their investment.
The 33-year-old Folsom man pleaded guilty Friday. He could face 16 years in prison under a plea agreement when he is sentenced May 3.
His Equity Investment Management and Trading Inc. promised investors risk-free, 36 percent annual returns, but he put their money into high-risk investments and personal luxuries, including a $103,000 Lexus for his wife.
Investigators say he met many of his victims through the Mormon church. |
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Court sides with Jewish group against Twitter
Headline Topics |
2013/01/29 22:58
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A French court has sided with a Jewish group seeking to identify authors of anti-Semitic messages that circulated the social network Twitter last autumn.
The Paris court ordered Twitter to turn over to the French Union of Jewish Students whatever data it has that could help identify the account holders who posted the tweets. The court also ordered Twitter to make it easier for users of its French website to report "illicit content" such as apology for crimes against humanity and incitation to racial hatred.
Twitter is free to comply or not with the court order as the U.S. company has no personnel or offices in France.
Last October, the company bowed to complaints and agreed to pull the anti-Semitic tweets, which included slurs and photos evoking the Holocaust.
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