|
|
|
Court halts Texas execution of ex-Army recruiter
Court Watch News |
2011/09/19 23:55
|
A former Army recruiter who for the third time this year was hours away from his scheduled execution for the rape-slaying of a woman in Fort Worth nearly 10 years ago was granted yet another reprieve by the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Cleve Foster, 47, was set to die Tuesday evening in Huntsville.
The high court twice earlier this year stopped Foster's scheduled lethal injection. The latest court ruling came about 2½ hours before Foster could have been taken to the Texas death chamber.
Foster was meeting with one of his lawyers in a small holding cell a few feet from the death chamber when a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman delivered the news.
He thanked God and pointed to his attorney, saying this woman helped save his life, prison spokesman Jason Clark said.
He also said Foster repeated his insistence that he was innocent. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
W.Va. lawyer nominated to federal appeals court
Headline Topics |
2011/09/09 08:54
|
President Barack Obama has nominated Hamlin native Stephanie Dawn Thacker as a judge on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Thacker has been a partner in the Charleston law firm of Guthrie amp; Thomas since 2006.
Before that she spent seven years with the U.S. Department of Justice. Her work as a trial attorney there focused on prosecution and training in connection with child pornography and sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, obscenity and other offenses.
She also served as an assistant federal prosecutor and worked for the state attorney general's office.
The U.S. Senate must now consider Thacker's nomination to the Richmond, Va.-based court. The seat became vacant after the March death of Judge Blane Michael.
The 15-member court covers North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court tosses Sivak's death sentence
Headline Court News |
2011/09/09 00:37
|
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the death sentence of an Idaho man convicted of brutally slaying a former coworker because the state allowed a jailhouse informant to lie on the witness stand.
Lacey Mark Sivak was sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of Dixie Wilson at the Baird Oil gas station in Garden City. In a ruling handed down Wednesday, the appellate court said that while Sivak's murder conviction was appropriate, the outcome of his sentencing hearing might have been different if prosecutors hadn't knowingly presented the testimony of an inmate who lied on the stand.
Still, the appellate court said state attorneys may decide to hold a new sentencing hearing if they still want to seek the death penalty for Sivak's crimes. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ex-Va attorney convicted in law firm embezzlement
Headline Topics |
2011/09/07 08:55
|
A former attorney has been convicted of embezzling at least $450,000 from the law firm where she worked.
Henrico County Circuit Judge L.A. Harris Jr. on Friday found Kyle C. Leftwich guilty of eight counts of embezzlement in a scheme to divert funds from Marks amp; Harrison's accounts between 2004 and 2008. She could face up to 160 years in prison when she's sentenced in November.
Evidence showed that Leftwich endorsed Social Security checks made out to her for representing disabled clients. But she deposited the money elsewhere than into the firm's account and rigged firm ledgers to cover her actions.
Leftwich was fired in June 2010 and lost her law license a short time later. She repaid $450,000 to Marks amp; Harrison as part of a civil settlement. |
|
|
|
|
|
Legal News RSS Feed
