|
|
|
Mom charged in son's 1991 murder is due in court
Current Legal Issues |
2014/09/23 14:41
|
A Florida woman charged in the 1991 death of her 5-year-old son is scheduled to make her first appearance in a New Jersey courtroom.
Middlesex County prosecutors say Michelle Lodzinski is due to appear Tuesday afternoon in New Brunswick. She is charged with killing Timothy Wiltsey, but her attorney has said she "adamantly denies" the charges.
Lodzinski, 46, has been in custody since her arrest August 7. She's was extradited to New Jersey on Friday and is being held in the county jail on $2 million bail.
She had said her son disappeared at a carnival, but investigators said her story kept changing. His skeletal remains were found in a marshy area of Edison 11 months later.
Lodzinski went into seclusion after her son's remains were discovered, and neighbors said at the time that she didn't appear distraught. In late July, a county grand jury handed up a one-count indictment stating she "did purposely or knowingly kill" Timothy or did "purposely or knowingly inflict serious bodily injury" resulting in his death. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Appeals court OKs permits for Upper Peninsula mine
Current Legal Issues |
2014/08/13 16:18
|
The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld a decision by state environmental regulators to allow construction of a nickel and copper mine in the Upper Peninsula.
A three-judge panel unanimously sided with the Department of Environmental Quality, which issued mining and groundwater discharge permits to Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. The Marquette County mine is now owned by Lundin Mining Corp.
DEQ officials approved a mining permit for the project in 2007, drawing legal challenges from environmentalists and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. A DEQ administrative law judge and a circuit court judge affirmed the department's decisions, and opponents took the case to the Court of Appeals.
The mine has been constructed and is scheduled to begin producing minerals this fall. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court throws out Chiquita terror payment claims
Current Legal Issues |
2014/07/29 14:34
|
A divided federal appeals court on Thursday threw out claims potentially worth billions of dollars against produce giant Chiquita Brands International made by relatives of thousands of Colombians killed during years of bloody civil war.
A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that federal courts have no jurisdiction over the Colombian claims. The lawsuits accused Chiquita of assisting in the killings by paying $1.7 million to a violent right-wing paramilitary group known as the AUC, the Spanish acronym for United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.
Chiquita, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, formerly operated large banana plantations in Colombia through its Banadex subsidiary. Chiquita insists it was the victim of extortion and was forced to pay the AUC or face violence directed at its employees and assets in Colombia.
The majority cited a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as Kiobel vs. Royal Dutch Petroleum that imposed limits on attempts by foreigners to use U.S. courts to seek damages against corporations for human rights abuses abroad. Chiquita had insisted that ruling meant the Colombians' lawsuit had to be tossed out.
"We are gratified that the U.S. Court of Appeals has now agreed with us and the claims have been dismissed," said Chiquita spokesman Ed Loyd in an email statement. "The decision reinforces what Chiquita has maintained from the beginning — that Chiquita is not responsible for the tragic violence that has plagued Colombia." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court rejects appeal of gay jury selection case
Current Legal Issues |
2014/06/25 12:34
|
A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to reconsider its ruling granting heightened legal protections to gays and lesbians, prompting three dissenting judges to warn of far-reaching implications in same-sex marriage cases in the Western United States.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in January banned the exclusion of potential jurors because of their sexual orientation, saying such action was akin to striking someone from the jury pool because of their race or gender.
An undisclosed majority of the full 29-judge court voted against rehearing the case over the objections of three judges.
The dissenters, led by Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain argued that the ruling "bears significant implications for the same-sex marriage debate and for other laws that may give rise to distinctions based on sexual orientation."
O'Scannlain argues giving gays and lesbians the same protections as minorities and women prematurely decides the same-sex marriage issue without the U.S. Supreme Court's input. O'Scannlain pointed out that officials in Nevada and Oregon have cited the 9th Circuit opinion to drop official opposition to same-sex marriage.
A week after the Jan. 21 ruling, for instance, Carson City District Attorney Neil Rombardo withdrew opposition to a lawsuit challenging Nevada's gay marriage ban, citing the 9th Circuit juror ruling that he called a "game changer."
O'Scannlain was joined by Judges Jay Bybee and Carlos Bea. All three judges were appointed by Republican presidents.
The ruling is binding in the nine Western states covered by the 9th Circuit, including the four states with pending same-sex marriage cases: Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon and Nevada. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Turkish court orders arrest of Israeli commanders
Current Legal Issues |
2014/05/27 11:55
|
A Turkish court on Monday ordered the arrests of four former Israeli military commanders being tried in absentia over the killing of nine people aboard a Turkish aid ship that tried to break a Gaza blockade in 2010, Turkey's state-run news agency reported.
The court in Istanbul ruled that authorities must seek an international warrant for Israel's former military chief Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and three other former commanders, the Anadolu Agency reported. Trial was then adjourned until Dec. 9.
Turkish prosecutors are seeking life in prison for the officers. It was unlikely however, that Israel would ever extradite the four to Turkey.
The court's decision, meanwhile, comes despite signs that Turkey and Israel could be close to ending a four-year rift over the deaths.
Turkish officials have said that the two countries are close to sealing a reconciliation pact, while in March, Israel agreed to ease its blockade to allow building materials into the Gaza Strip for the construction of a Turkish hospital.
The reconciliation deal would lead to compensation for the families of the victims and for court cases against Israel over the raid to be dropped. |
|
|
|
|
|
Law Firm SEO RSS Feed
