Recent Updates
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Judge fears secret hearings over Guantanamo Bay
Lawyer Blogs 08/28/2008A federal judge overseeing cases against dozens of Guantanamo Bay detainees said Wednesday that he fears the public — and the detainees themselves — will be locked out of the courtroom when evidence in the case is scrutinized for the first time.Hundr...
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Man who sparked Obama threat probe due in court
Lawyer Blogs 08/28/2008The Colorado man who authorities say made racist threats against Barack Obama is scheduled to be formally charged on state drug and weapons offenses.Tharin Gartrell is due in Arapaho County Court on Thursday.Authorities say police found scoped rifles...
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Bush steps up fight over congressional authority
Lawyer Blogs 08/27/2008The Bush administration is raising the stakes in a court fight that could change the balance of power between the White House and Congress.Justice Department lawyers said Wednesday that they will soon ask a federal appeals court not to force the pres...
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Ohio man sentenced for writing racial hate letters
Lawyer Blogs 08/26/2008A man who wrote hundreds of hateful letters to black and mixed race men — including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter — was sentenced Tuesday to three years and 10 months in prison.David Tuason apologize...
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Reputed drug lord pleads not guilty in US court
Lawyer Blogs 08/26/2008A reputed drug lord who was extradited to the United States last week from Brazil has pleaded not guilty in a large cocaine smuggling scheme.Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia entered the plea Monday in federal court in Brooklyn and was ordered held without ...
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Indictments to stand against DeLay associates
Lawyer Blogs 08/25/2008An appeals court has declined to throw out money-laundering indictments against two of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's political operatives, who had claimed that state elections law used to charge them was too confusing to proceed.Attorneys ...
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Gay marriage foes mobilize for ban in California
Lawyer Blogs 08/25/2008Michael Bumgarner says he's never campaigned for a political cause before, but his strong opposition to same-sex marriage has prompted him to join thousands of volunteers going door-to-door in support of a ballot initiative that would ban gay nuptual...
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Detroit mayor offered plea deal in assault case
Lawyer Blogs 08/22/2008A prosecutor made a surprising offer Friday to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick: resign by Sept. 3 in exchange for the dismissal of one of two assault charges.Doug Baker of the Michigan attorney general's office made the disclosure during a routine arraignment...
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Judge libeled by Boston Herald agrees to step down
Lawyer Blogs 08/21/2008A judge who won a $2 million libel award from the Boston Herald, then sent threatening letters to its publisher, will step down from the bench, a court said Wednesday.Judge Ernest Murphy and the state Commission on Judicial Conduct have agreed Murphy...
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Court says EPA air pollution rule is illegal
Lawyer Blogs 08/21/2008A Bush administration rule barring states and local governments from requiring more air pollution monitoring is illegal, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out...
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Jury finds ranch negligent in 10-death landslide
Lawyer Blogs 08/20/2008A jury has ruled that a ranch company's negligence helped lead to the huge 2005 landslide that crushed part of a seaside community and killed 10 people.After a trial of nearly two months, the jurors in Ventura County Superior Court found on Tuesday t...
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Court protests halt hearing in immigrant killing
Lawyer Blogs 08/19/2008Courthouse protests have caused a brief interruption in the preliminary hearing of three teenagers charged in the beating death of a Mexican immigrant in a small Pennsylvania town.About 40 protesters outside the courthouse in Pottsville have been tol...