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Court denies Loughner's request for rehearing
Headline Legal News |
2012/06/05 00:00
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An appeals court rejected a request by lawyers for the man accused of shooting former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to rehear their arguments over their mentally ill client's forced medication with psychotropic drugs.
Attorneys for Jared Lee Loughner had asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a rehearing after the court in March denied their request to halt their client's forced medication.
The court on Tuesday denied the request to hear the appeal again.
Loughner has pleaded not guilty to 49 charges stemming from the January 2011 shooting in Tucson that killed six people and wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others.
The trial court judge on the case has set a June 27 hearing in Tucson to consider whether Loughner is mentally fit to stand trial.
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Wash. lawyers challenge secret court proceedings
Court News |
2012/05/26 15:14
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A defense lawyer in Eastern Washington was reading a detective's statement in his client's drug case when he came across a curious line. In asking to search the man's house and cars, the detective revealed that he had already seen the defendant's bank records.
That's odd, thought the lawyer, Robert Thompson of Pasco. There's no search warrant for the bank records. How'd he get them?
The answer — with a subpoena secretly issued by a judge — provides a window into the little-known use of "special inquiry judge proceedings" in Benton County and across the state. Prosecutors who use them say the proceedings are authorized by state law, make for more efficient investigations and have plenty of judicial oversight, but Thompson and other defense attorneys say they raise questions about privacy, accountability and the open administration of justice. |
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Court orders woman to stay away from Jeff Goldblum
Court News |
2012/05/26 15:14
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A judge on Friday granted Jeff Goldblum a temporary restraining order against a woman who has been repeatedly ordered to stay away from the actor in recent years.
Goldblum's attorneys obtained the order against Linda Ransom, 49, after she repeatedly went to the actor's home three times this month. A previous stay-away order against Ransom from 2007 has expired and police claim she has told them that she will not stop trying to meet Goldblum unless a restraining order is in place.
The filings state Ransom has been arrested three times for violating previous restraining orders. Goldblum first alerted authorities to her in 2001 after she attended one of his acting classes and then started waiting outside his home.
"Over the past decade, I have experienced substantial emotional distress due to Ms. Ransom's continuous stalking, harassing, and threatening behavior," Goldblum wrote in a sworn court declaration.
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Court: Families cannot sue over loan discount fee
Headline Legal News |
2012/05/25 15:14
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The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that three families cannot sue a mortgage company for allegedly charging them a loan discount fee without giving them a lower interest rate.
The high court's decision tosses out lawsuits filed in 2008 against Quicken Loans, Inc., in Louisiana by three families who claimed they paid the fees without receiving anything in return. The Freeman family paid $980 and the Bennett family $1,100 in loan discount fees but allegedly did not get lower interest rates in return. The Smith family allegations focus partly on a loan origination fee of $5,100, which they claim was a mislabeled loan discount fee.
A federal judge threw the lawsuit out, saying the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act made the lawsuit improper. That decision, which was upheld by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, was appealed to the Supreme Court.
The law says no "person shall give and no person shall accept any portion, split, or percentage of any charge made or received for the rendering of a real estate settlement service in connection with a transaction involving a federally related mortgage loan other than for services actually performed."
The argument is over whether that law "prohibits the collection of an unearned charge by a single settlement provider, or whether it covers only transactions in which a provider shares part of a settlement-service charge with one or more other persons who did nothing to earn it," said Justice Antonia Scalia, who wrote the opinion.
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2nd campaign aide to DC mayor pleads guilty
Court Watch |
2012/05/24 15:13
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For the second time in three days, a former campaign staffer to District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray has pleaded guilty to a federal offense arising from Gray's 2010 mayoral bid.
Howard Brooks pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to the FBI about payments he made to another mayoral candidate using Gray campaign funds. On Tuesday, former Gray aide Thomas Gore pleaded guilty to making some of the same payments and shredding records of them.
Authorities said the cases makes clear that the Gray campaign engaged in dirty politics.
"Today's guilty plea further reveals the underhanded dealings that tainted the integrity of the 2010 mayoral campaign," U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen said in a statement.
What remains unclear is whether Gray participated in or even knew about the criminal activity. While Gray has suffered politically from the scandal, he has not been implicated in any crimes. He has insisted previously during a long-running federal probe that he knew nothing about the potential misdeeds committed by staffers.
The most serious offenses that arose from the cases against Gore and Brooks occurred after Gray took office and involved attempts to conceal the Gray campaign's schemes. Gore pleaded guilty to shredding records of payments made with Gray campaign funds to Sulaimon Brown, a minor mayoral candidate. And Brooks admitted lying to the FBI about his involvement in giving Brown the money. |
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Investment Fraud Litigation |
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Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of the securities laws. Securities Arbitration. Generally speaking, securities fraud consists of deceptive practices in the stock and commodity markets, and occurs when investors are enticed to part with their money based on untrue statements.
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The content contained on the web site has been prepared by Securities Law News as a service to the internet community and is not intended to constitute legal advice or a substitute for consultation with a licensed legal professional in a particular case. | Affordable Law Firm Website Design by Law Promo |
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