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Maine lawmaker due in court on gun-threat charges
Court News |
2011/05/21 08:49
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A Maine lawmaker charged with pulling a gun in a parking lot confrontation is due in court as a legislative leader seeks to ban him from the State House.
Rep. Frederick Ladd Wintle, a Republican from Garland, has been in jail since being charged Saturday with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and carrying a concealed weapon. He is due in court Monday afternoon.
The confrontation happened outside a Dunkin' Donuts in Waterville. The victim told police that Wintle accused him of being a drug dealer and mentioned the death of a boy earlier in the week in a homeless shelter.
Lawmakers have expressed concern about Wintle's increasingly erratic behavior. House Speaker Robert Nutting asked that a judge make it a condition of bail that he's banned from the State House complex in Augusta. |
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High court backs cuts in Calif. prison population
Headline Legal News |
2011/05/20 08:48
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The Supreme Court on Monday endorsed a court order requiring California to cut its prison population by tens of thousands of inmates to improve health care for those who remain behind bars.
The court said in a 5-4 decision that the reduction is "required by the Constitution" to correct longstanding violations of inmates' rights. The order mandates a prison population of no more than 110,000 inmates, still far above the system's designed capacity.
There are more than 142,000 inmates in the state's 33 adult prisons, meaning roughly 32,000 inmates will need to be transferred to other jurisdictions or released.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, a California native, wrote the majority opinion, in which he included photos of severe overcrowding. The court's four Democratic appointees joined with Kennedy.
"The violations have persisted for years. They remain uncorrected," Kennedy said.
Justice Antonin Scalia said in dissent that the court order is "perhaps the most radical injunction issued by a court in our nation's history." |
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SD Supreme Court disciplines circuit judge
Court News |
2011/05/19 09:07
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The South Dakota Supreme Court has ruled that Circuit Judge A.P. "Pete" Fuller of Rapid City must retire or undergo a six-month suspension followed by strict probation for misconduct that involved mistreating lawyers, court personnel and others.
The Judicial Qualifications Commission had recommended that Fuller be removed from office or forced to retire because he repeatedly displayed a lack of courtesy and respect for lawyers and court staff.
The case marked the first time in the 121-year history of the South Dakota judicial system that the Supreme Court had been asked to remove a judge from the bench.
In a hearing last month, Fuller told the high court he is ashamed of his behavior but believes he could return to the bench and be an effective judge. |
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Mack Trucks, Volvo to pay $525M to settle suit
Court Watch |
2011/05/19 09:07
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Mack Trucks Inc. and its parent, AB Volvo, will pay $525 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by more than 9,300 retirees of the North Carolina truck maker after they challenged potential reductions to their lifetime health benefits.
The Legal Intelligencer reported Tuesday that Senior U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick gave preliminary approval of the settlement. A hearing is Sept. 7 to decide if the settlement is fair and reasonable.
The suit was filed in Michigan after Mack sought a ruling that lifetime benefits of its retirees were not vested and could be modified or eliminated. Both cases were consolidated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Mack reached an agreement with the UAW in May of 2009 on a voluntary employees beneficiary association, or VEBA, that would have the union oversee retirees' health benefits. Mack and Volvo agreed to fund it with $525 million, paid in five annual installments.
Mack said it expects the final approval of the VEBA in September.
The company also reported that deliveries nearly doubled in April from a year earlier with 1,608 trucks delivered from the 810 it recorded in April 2010, an increase of 99 percent. |
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Holland & Hart adds 29 attorneys in Salt Lake City
Attorney News |
2011/05/18 09:54
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The law firm Holland & Hart recently added 29 attorneys to its Salt Lake City office.
The expansion expand the firm's natural resources and litigation practices, and brings the number of its Salt Lake attorneys to more than 80, according to the firm's press release.
"We have found that Salt Lake City is a very solid center for business — we strongly believe in its future," said John Husband, chairman of the firm's management committee.
The firms' natural resources practice includes oil and gas, water, and climate change law.
The firm employees over 900, including 400 attorneys, in 15 offices throughout the West and an office in Washington, D.C. |
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