|
|
|
Court rejects Cosby's attempt to reseal testimony on affairs
Attorney News |
2016/08/13 16:57
|
A federal appeals court on Monday rejected Bill Cosby's effort to reseal his deposition testimony about extramarital affairs, prescription sedatives and payments to women, saying the documents are now a matter of public knowledge.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that the comedian's appeal was moot. "The contents of the documents are a matter of public knowledge, and we cannot pretend that we could change that fact by ordering them resealed," the court wrote in an opinion.
Cosby's attorneys hoped a ruling in their favor could help them keep the documents from being used in the criminal case against him in Pennsylvania and in the many lawsuits filed around the country by women who accuse him of sexual assault or defamation.
Cosby gave the testimony in 2005 as part of a lawsuit brought against him by Andrea Constand, a Temple University employee who said he drugged and molested her at his home. She later settled for an undisclosed sum, and sensitive documents in the file remained sealed.
In the nearly 1,000-page deposition, the married comic once known as "America's Dad" for his beloved portrayal of Dr. Cliff Huxtable on his top-ranked 1980s TV show, "The Cosby Show," admitted to several extramarital affairs and said he obtained quaaludes to give to women he hoped to seduce.
The documents were released last year on a request from The Associated Press. U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno found the public had a right to Cosby's testimony because of his role as a self-appointed "public moralist" and because he had denied accusations he drugged and molested women.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
North Carolina shooting victim's family hires lawyer
Court News |
2016/08/13 16:57
|
The family of a black North Carolina man shot to death in a neighborhood confrontation in Raleigh has hired the lawyer representing two other black men who were killed by white police officers.
State Rep. Justin Bamberg of South Carolina says he is representing relatives of Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas.
Thomas was killed Aug. 7 when a white man living two doors down from a neighborhood party called police to complain of "hoodlums" and then fired a shotgun from his garage. Chad Cameron Copley is charged with murder.
Bamberg also is representing the family of Alton Sterling. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, man was killed last month after he scuffled with two police officers outside a convenience store.
Bamberg also represents the family of Walter Scott, an unarmed South Carolina motorist killed by a North Charleston officer last year. Michael Slager faces state and federal charges.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Egyptian lawyer, journalist released after prison sentence
Attorney News |
2016/08/11 16:57
|
Egyptian authorities have released two prominent human rights activists who had been jailed for over a year for demonstrating against police brutality.
Lawyer Mahienour el-Masry and journalist Youssef Shabaan were freed Saturday after serving 15 months in jail having been convicted of "storming a police station" at a demonstration in the coastal city of Alexandria in 2013.
El-Masry had been incarcerated before for her activism, and in 2014 received the Ludovic Trarieux Human Rights Award while on hunger strike in prison. Hunger striking is often used in Egypt to protest ill treatment and lack of due process.
Egypt has undergone an unprecedented crackdown on free speech, political opposition and any dissent under general-turned-President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who has promised stability and the revival of a still-faltering economy in need of reform.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Williams court cases decline, but caseload remains high
Court Watch |
2016/08/09 20:35
|
Court cases in Williams County have declined as energy activity has slowed, but caseloads in the oil patch county remain heavy.
The Williston Herald reports that about 2,100 criminal cases are expected to be filed this year in the county that's home to Williston, down from a peak of more than 2,750 filings in 2012.
State's Attorney Marlyce Wilder says theft cases remain steady, however, as people who have lost their jobs in the oil field struggle.
The clerk of court's office also is short-staffed. By fall, the office will have three open positions that can't be filled without state Supreme Court approval due to state budget cuts prompted by the oil slowdown.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Appeals court hands loss to New Jersey sports betting effort
Court News |
2016/08/09 20:35
|
A federal appeals court has rejected New Jersey's attempt to legalize sports betting, setting aside the state's legal challenge to a federal ban.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling published Tuesday invalidates a law passed by New Jersey in 2014 that would have allowed sports betting at casinos and racetracks.
The four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA sued the state, claiming the expansion of legal sports betting would damage the integrity of their games and lead to game-fixing.
Currently, only Nevada offers betting on individual games. Delaware offers multigame parlay betting in which players must pick several games correctly to win. Hundreds of billions of dollars are bet illegally on sports annually.
The 3rd Circuit wrote Tuesday New Jersey's law violates a 1992 federal law. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Swedish court hands life sentences to 2 for gang shooting
Court Watch |
2016/08/07 20:35
|
A Swedish court has handed life sentences to two men and prison sentences to six others in a high-profile gang-related shooting that left two dead and eight wounded in the city of Goteborg last year.
The Goteborg District Court said Monday the two key suspects were found guilty of murder for opening fire with automatic weapons in a crowded Goteborg restaurant in March, 2015 as people were watching a Champions League soccer match.
The court said six other defendants were charged with murder, attempted murder, planning and assisting the crime, and were given prison sentences between 7 and 14 years. Disputes between criminal gangs are believed to have motivated the shooting.
All eight men have denied the charges but it wasn't immediately clear whether they would appeal the verdict.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court to consider future of Alabama chief justice
Areas of Focus |
2016/08/04 20:35
|
A court is considering whether suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore should lose his job for an order on gay marriage.
The Alabama Court of the Judiciary scheduled a hearing for Monday on judicial investigators' request to remove Moore from office.
Moore denies any wrongdoing and is asking the court to dismiss administrative charges filed earlier this year.
Moore is accused of violating court ethics with an administrative order to state probate judges saying Alabama laws against same-sex marriage remained in effect after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized gay marriage.
Investigators with the Judicial Inquiry Commission are asking the court to oust Moore without a trial, but Moore opposes the request.
Both supporters and opponents of Moore are planning noontime rallies outside Alabama's main judicial building before the hearing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Headline Legal News for You to Reach America's Best Legal Professionals. The latest legal news and information - Law Firm, Lawyer and Legal Professional news in the Media. |
|
|
