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Williams court cases decline, but caseload remains high
Court Watch |
2016/08/09 20:35
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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.
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Swedish court hands life sentences to 2 for gang shooting
Court Watch |
2016/08/07 20:35
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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.
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Monitor chosen to oversee Ferguson's police, court reforms
Court Watch |
2016/07/25 15:35
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A federal judge on Monday chose a monitor team to oversee reforms of Ferguson's policing and court system, a process expected to cost the St. Louis suburb more than $1 million.
U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry announced that Squire Patton Boggs, a law firm based in Cleveland, was picked from four finalists to make sure reforms are adequate in Ferguson. City officials say the cost of the monitoring will not exceed $1.25 million over five years, or $350,000 for any single year.
The team will be led by Clark Ervin, who was inspector general for the U.S. State Department and Homeland Security before becoming a partner at Squire Patton Boggs.
A consent decree between the city and the U.S. Department of Justice, approved by Perry in April, calls for diversity training for police, outfitting officers and jail workers with body cameras, and other reforms.
"I'm excited that both the City of Ferguson and the Department of Justice have worked together to complete the process of choosing an Independent Monitor," Ferguson City Manager De'Carlon Seewood said in a statement. "This is a true testament that the collaboration between both parties had a mission and that is to do what's best for the Ferguson community and its police department."
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Illinois’ court fees rising to cover special programs
Court Watch |
2016/07/12 06:25
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Court fees and fines in Illinois have become bloated over the years with surcharges to pay for programs and services, resulting in steep increases to what people pay in civil and criminal cases, according to a new report.
Sometimes the added surcharges fund things unrelated to a case, such as law libraries, zero-interest loans for fire departments to buy new trucks, and waiting rooms for children while their parents are in court. In a recent case in central Illinois’ McLean County, for example, a DUI offender paid $1,742 in fees distributed across 25 state and local funds, including a Children’s Advocacy Center and a Fire Prevention Fund. Only about 8 percent of what was paid went to actual court costs related to the case.
And the amounts people pay vary widely from county to county. In southern Illinois’ Macoupin County, a DUI costs $344.
The findings come from the Statutory Court Fee Task Force, which was created by the Illinois Legislature. The group released its report in late June after a yearlong study by lawmakers, circuit court clerks, and judges who were part of the 15-member panel. The report highlights another aspect of the swollen bureaucracy in Illinois, a state with the most units of government in the nation - everything from park districts to counties and townships.
“What happens is every special interest group, if you will, has a really good idea and they say, ‘My very good idea will only cost a $5 filing fee,” said Republican Rep. Steven Andersson, a lawmaker on the task force. “And no one really tallied them up.”
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Thai military court adds to singer's jail term for insults
Court Watch |
2016/07/11 06:25
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A Thai country singer and political activist was sentenced Monday by a military court to more than three years in jail for insulting the monarchy, adding to a 7½-year sentence a criminal court imposed on him earlier for the same offense.
Thanat Thanawatcharanon, known by his stage name Tom Dundee, was convicted and sentenced under Article 112, which makes criticism of the monarchy and the king punishable with up to 15 years in jail. The lese majeste law has been used prodigiously by the military government that came to power in a May 2014 coup.
Thanat got into trouble because of the speeches he made in 2013 at a rally organized by the so-called Red Shirts, who are supporters of a charismatic prime minister ousted in an earlier military coup supported by the Yellow Shirt royalists.
The case in criminal court followed complaints by a Yellow Shirt group. The second case involving the same speeches was transferred to a military court after the 2014 coup.
Thanat's lawyer Saowalux Po-Ngam said his client was sentenced to five years in jail for the second case, but the time was reduced to three years and four months because he confessed. |
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Hulk Hogan, Gawker back in court in Florida
Court Watch |
2016/05/25 16:41
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A court hearing involving the Hulk Hogan sex tape case is underway in Florida, with Gawker Media asking for a new trial.
Gawker and Hogan faced off Wednesday morning in a St. Petersburg courtroom. It's the latest chapter in a years-long legal fight.
Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, won a $140 million verdict against Gawker in March.
Hogan sued Gawker after it posted a video of him having sex with his then-best friend's wife. The three-week trial was a lurid inside look at the business of celebrity gossip and a debate over newsworthiness versus celebrity privacy.
Earlier this month, Hogan sued Gawker again, saying the gossip website leaked sealed court documents with a transcript that quoted him making racist remarks.
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US appeals court revisits Texas voter ID law
Court Watch |
2016/05/24 16:41
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A federal appeals court is set to take a second look at a strict Texas voter ID law that was found to be unconstitutional last year.
Texas' law requires residents to show one of seven forms of approved identification. The state and other supporters say it prevents fraud. Opponents, including the U.S. Justice Department, say it discriminates by requiring forms of ID that are more difficult to obtain for low-income, African-American and Latino voters.
Arguments before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are set for Tuesday morning. The full court agreed to rehear the issue after a three-judge panel ruled last year that the law violates the Voting Rights Act.
Lawyers for Texas argue that the state makes free IDs easy to obtain, that any inconveniences or costs involved in getting one do not substantially burden the right to vote, and that the Justice Department and other plaintiffs have failed to prove that the law has resulted in denying anyone the right to vote.
Opponents counter in briefs that trial testimony indicated various bureaucratic and economic burdens associated with the law — for instance, the difficulty in finding and purchasing a proper birth certificate to obtain an ID. A brief filed by the American Civil Liberties Union cites testimony in other voter ID states indicating numerous difficulties faced by people, including burdensome travel and expenses to get required documentation to obtain IDs.
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