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Top German court seeks more evidence in far-right ban bid
Attorney Press Release |
2015/03/23 10:54
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Germany's highest court is asking authorities to provide more evidence that they no longer have paid informants inside the country's main far-right party, signaling a potential hitch in a move to ban the group.
Parliament's upper house, which represents Germany's 16 states, in 2013 applied for a ban of the National Democratic Party. It alleges that the party promotes a racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic agenda in violation of Germany's constitution.
In 2003, the Federal Constitutional Court rejected a previous attempt to ban the party because paid government informants within the group were partially responsible for evidence against it.
State governments say this application contains no information from informants. However, in a decision published Monday, the court demanded more evidence to back their assertion that they stopped using informants. |
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Judicial candidates' appeals for campaign cash at high court
Attorney Press Release |
2015/01/20 12:55
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The Supreme Court is weighing whether candidates for elected judgeships have a constitutional right to make personal appeals for campaign cash.
The justices are hearing an appeal from Lanell Williams-Yulee of Tampa, Florida, who received a public reprimand for violating a Florida Bar rule that bans candidates for elected judgeships from personally soliciting donations.
The bar and many good government groups say the ban that is in place in Florida and 29 other states is important to preserve public confidence in an impartial judiciary.
A ruling for Williams-Yulee could free judicial candidates in those states to ask personally for campaign contributions.
In all, voters in 39 states elect local and state judges. In the federal judicial system, including the Supreme Court, judges are appointed to life terms and must be confirmed by the Senate.
The arguments are taking place five years after the Supreme Court freed corporations and labor unions to spend freely in federal elections. The court has generally been skeptical of limits on political campaigns, though slightly less so when it comes to those involving judges.
In 2002, the court struck down rules that were aimed at fostering impartiality among judges and barred candidates for elected judgeships from speaking out on controversial issues. But in 2009, the court held in a case from West Virginia that elected judges could be forced to step aside from ruling on cases when large campaign contributions from interested parties create the appearance of bias. |
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Court reinstates whistleblower case at nuke site
Attorney Press Release |
2014/11/11 15:27
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An appeals court reinstated a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation who claims he was fired by a subcontractor after raising safety issues at the nation's most polluted nuclear weapons production site.
In its ruling Friday, the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals also said plaintiff Walt Tamosaitis is entitled to a jury trial.
The appeals court ruled that a lower court wrongly dismissed the case against the primary subcontractor on construction of a Hanford vitrification plant intended to deal with the most dangerous wastes, the Tri-City Herald reported.
"We are anxious to get into court as soon as we can," Tamosaitis' attorney, Jack Sheridan said.
Hanford, located near Richland, Washington, for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons and now contains the nation's largest collection of radioactive wastes.
The lawsuit will continue with only URS Energy and Construction as a defendant. The 9th Circuit ruled that it had been appropriate to dismiss the U.S. Department of Energy from the lawsuit.
It's the first time a court of appeals has confirmed that whistleblowers are entitled to a jury trial, Sheridan said.
"It puts them on equal footing with other victims of discrimination," he said.
Tamosaitis contends the subcontractor removed him as the research and technology manager of the unfinished $12.2 billion vitrification plant project after he said more time was needed to resolve complex technical issues. Construction on the plant has since stopped because of technical and safety issues. |
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Brown appoints legal affairs aide to appeals court
Attorney Press Release |
2014/07/29 14:34
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Gov. Jerry Brown has named a senior aide to become an associate justice on the Sacramento-based Third District Court of Appeal.
Brown announced the appointment of Jonathan Renner on Friday.
The 44-year-old Democrat from Sacramento has been Brown's legal affairs secretary since 2011.
He was senior assistant attorney general at the California Department of Justice from 2009 to 2010, when Brown was the state's attorney general. Renner previously held other high-ranking positions within the attorney general's office.
The appointment requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. It includes the current attorney general, Kamala Harris, and Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye ("TAWNY canTILL SOCK-a-OO-ay").
If confirmed, Renner will begin his term Jan. 5. He would fill the vacancy created when Cantil-Sakauye moved to the California Supreme Court. |
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Media lawyer: Court's secrecy note not a surprise
Attorney Press Release |
2014/07/11 13:01
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Critics of House Speaker Bobby Harrell said Thursday they're concerned by the state Supreme Court's call for secrecy in future court arguments in his case.
But media attorney Jay Bender said he thinks the justices only recognized the secrecy of grand juries.
On Wednesday, the state's high court unanimously overturned a lower court's decision and said Attorney General Alan Wilson has the authority to investigate Harrell and empanel a state grand jury to consider allegations the powerful Charleston Republican abused his power for personal benefit.
That lower court must now decide whether Wilson should be removed from the case, as Harrell initially sought in his February motion. The justices noted Judge Casey Manning had raised questions about Wilson's jurisdiction on his own.
Harrell, speaker since 2005, maintains he's done nothing wrong. He's called the allegations and investigation politically motivated.
Bender, a freedom of information expert, does not represent any parties in the case but does represent the news media, including The Associated Press.
He said he's not disturbed by a footnote in the ruling, which orders future arguments on jurisdiction and related issues to be held in private. Such hearings will likely involve what the grand jury is hearing, he said.
Bender noted that Wilson wanted to present sealed grand jury evidence to the Supreme Court as part of his appeal. The justices did not allow it, saying he can't use documents on appeal that were never presented to Manning.
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