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Appeals court in Va. reviewing NC abortion law
Legal Topics |
2014/10/30 18:06
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North Carolina's solicitor general on Wednesday urged a federal appeals court to revive a state law that would require abortion providers to show and describe an ultrasound of the fetus to the pregnant woman, even if the patient refuses to look or listen.
John Maddrey told a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the provision adds "relevant, truthful, real-time information" to North Carolina's informed consent law. The state is appealing U.S. District Judge Catharine Eagles' ruling in January that the mandate violates abortion providers' free-speech rights.
North Carolina's solicitor general on Wednesday urged a federal appeals court to revive a state law that would require abortion providers to show and describe an ultrasound of the fetus to the pregnant woman, even if the patient refuses to look or listen.
John Maddrey told a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the provision adds "relevant, truthful, real-time information" to North Carolina's informed consent law. The state is appealing U.S. District Judge Catharine Eagles' ruling in January that the mandate violates abortion providers' free-speech rights. |
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Court in Va. examines death row isolation policy
Legal Topics |
2014/10/28 21:20
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Virginia's practice of automatically holding death row inmates in solitary confinement will be reviewed by a federal appeals court in a case that experts say could have repercussions beyond the state's borders.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria ruled last year that around-the-clock isolation of condemned inmates is so onerous that the Virginia Department of Corrections must assess its necessity on a case-by-case basis. Failure to do so, she said, violates the inmates' due process rights.
The state appealed, arguing that the courts should defer to the judgment of prison officials on safety issues. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Tuesday.
The lawsuit was filed by Alfredo Prieto, who was on California's death row for raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl when a DNA sample connected him to the 1988 slayings of George Washington University students Rachel Raver and Warren Fulton III in Reston. He also was sentenced to death in Virginia, where he has spent most of the last six years alone in a 71-square-foot cell at the Sussex I State Prison.
Some capital punishment experts say a victory by Prieto could prompt similar lawsuits by death row inmates elsewhere.
"It gives them a road map," said northern Virginia defense attorney Jonathan Sheldon, who noted that the due process claim succeeded where allegations of cruel and unusual punishment have routinely failed. "It's not that common to challenge conditions of confinement on due process grounds." |
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Aggressive Securities Arbitration Services
Court Watch |
2014/10/22 21:51
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In the financial services industry, Conway & Conway gives exceptional legal counsel to the public. Whether its investors in dispute or issues with registered representatives and other associates, they have the high-caliber legal counsel to help. Fraud lawyers at the firm are well-versed in all things concerning the laws that apply to the securities and futures industries.
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For international commodity merchants, the commodity merchant attorneys at Conway & Conway administer arbitration and litigation services pertinent to trade disputes. |
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Court justice suspended over role in porn scandal
Legal Topics |
2014/10/22 21:50
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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday suspended one of its members over his participation in a state government pornographic email scandal that involved employees of the attorney general's office.
The court justices issued an order saying Justice Seamus McCaffery may not perform any judicial or administrative duties while the matter is reviewed by the Judicial Conduct Board, which investigates allegations of judicial misconduct.
The main order also noted allegations about McCaffery's actions related to a traffic citation received by his wife, who is a lawyer, and referral fees she obtained while working for him as an administrative assistant. It also noted he "may have attempted to exert influence over a judicial assignment" in Philadelphia.
The Judicial Conduct Board was given a month to determine whether there is probable cause to file a misconduct charge against McCaffery, a Philadelphia Democrat elected to the seven-member bench in 2007.
McCaffery's lawyer, Dion Rassias, said they were confident he will be cleared and will soon return to the bench.
The court's action followed disclosures last week by Chief Justice Ronald Castille, a Republican, that McCaffery had sent or received 234 emails with sexually explicit content or pornography from late 2008 to May 2012. McCaffery apologized, calling it a lapse in judgment, but blasted Castille for "a vindictive pattern of attacks" against him.
A third justice, Michael Eakin, also a Republican, on Friday went public with a claim McCaffery had threatened to leak "inappropriate" emails Eakin had received if he didn't side with McCaffery against Castille.
McCaffery denied threatening Eakin, who reported the matter to the Judicial Conduct Board. Neither Eakin nor McCaffery participated in the court's decision.
Castille was among the four justices voting to suspend McCaffery with pay, along with Max Baer, Corry Stevens and Thomas Saylor. Justice Debra Todd dissented, saying she would have referred the matter, including the question of suspension, to the Judicial Conduct Board. |
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Appeals court reinstates Texas voter ID law
Headline Legal News |
2014/10/20 19:53
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A federal appeals court on Tuesday temporarily reinstated Texas' tough voter ID law, which the U.S. Justice Department had condemned as the state's latest means of suppressing minority voter turnout.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals allows the law to be used in the November election, despite a lower judge's ruling that the law is unconstitutional. The 5th Circuit did not rule on the law's merits; instead, it determined it's too late to change the rules for the election.
The judge said the Supreme Court has repeatedly told courts to be cautious about late-hour interruptions of elections. Early voting starts Oct. 20.
"It will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the state to adequately train its 25,000 polling workers at 8,000 polling places" in time for the start of early voting, the appeals court wrote.
While some voters may be harmed, the greater harm would come in potentially disrupting an election statewide, the court said. |
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Writers object after UK court bans abuse memoir
Legal Topics |
2014/10/20 19:52
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Prominent writers say free speech is under threat after a British court halted publication of a celebrity's memoir of child abuse because his ex-wife argued that it would harm their son.
Three appeals court judges last week temporarily stopped publication of the book, which has already been printed and was due to be published this fall.
They described the author as a "talented young performing artist" whose ex-wife lives abroad with their son.
She argued the book would cause "psychological harm" to the boy, who has Asperger's syndrome and other disabilities.
The judges granted an injunction stopping publication of key sections of the book pending a full trial.
On Friday writers including Tom Stoppard, David Hare and Stephen Fry called the ruling "a significant threat to freedom of expression." |
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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. |
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