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Supreme Court considers suit over 2001 detention of Muslims
Legal Business |
2017/01/15 15:39
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Ahmer Abbasi speaks softly as he describes the strip searches, the extra shoves, the curses that he endured in a federal jail in Brooklyn following the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I don't think I deserved it," Abbasi said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press from his home in Karachi, Pakistan.
Abbasi's quiet, matter-of-fact tone belies his determination, even after 15 years, to seek justice in American courts — provided the Supreme Court will let him.
The justices on Wednesday are hearing an appeal from former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former FBI Director Robert Mueller and other former U.S. officials that seeks to shut down the lawsuit that human rights lawyers have filed on behalf of Abbasi and others over their harsh treatment and prolonged detention.
"Somebody has to be accountable, somebody has to be responsible," said Abbasi, 42, who works in real estate in Pakistan.
The former officials, including the top immigration enforcement officer and the warden and deputy warden at the New York City jail, say it should not be them.
"Senior government officials should not be regularly second-guessed by lawsuits seeking money damages from them in their personal capacity," said Richard Samp, chief counsel at the Washington Legal Foundation and author of a brief from four former attorneys general.
Abbasi was among more than 80 men who were picked up in the days and weeks following Sept. 11 on immigration violations. Until then, he said he had been "living the American dream" since coming from Pakistan in 1993. He was living in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the river from Manhattan and driving a taxi in New York.
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Indiana Supreme Court reprimands Floyd County prosecutor
Court News |
2017/01/13 15:40
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The Indiana Supreme Court has publicly reprimanded Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson for a conflict of interest in a triple-murder case but declined to suspend him as its disciplinary commission suggested.
The court ruled Friday that Henderson violated rules of professional conduct by simultaneously representing the state in the prosecution of David Camm and pursuing a book deal in the case in which the former Indiana state trooper was accused of killing his wife, Kimberly, and their two children in the fall of 2000. After his first two convictions were reversed on appeal, Camm was acquitted in a third trial in fall 2013.
"The violation is serious and adversely affected the administration of justice in this case," the court wrote. "However, noting (Henderson's) misconduct occurred in connection with a single, unusual case and is an aberration from what otherwise has been a long and distinguished career as a public servant, we conclude a suspension is not warranted in this case."
The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission formally asked for Henderson to be suspended in October.
After Camm's defense team learned of Henderson's plans to write a book, they asked that he be removed from the case, court records show. The request was denied initially but later granted on appeal by the Supreme Court.
The disciplinary commission, which investigates claims of misconduct against licensed attorneys including prosecutors, filed a complaint against Henderson in March 2016 alleging he violated rules of conduct when he signed an agreement with a literary agency to produce a book about the Camm trials.
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Gambia's leader says only court can declare who's president
Politics |
2017/01/11 08:58
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Gambia's outgoing President Yahya Jammeh is criticizing foreign pressure for him to step down and calling on Gambians to wait for a Supreme Court decision to determine the credibility of the Dec. 1 elections that he lost.
On Tuesday, thousands of supporters of Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction gathered around a Supreme Court hearing, pushing for the annulment of the election outcome. The Supreme Court, with only one sitting member, adjourned until Monday but said it likely cannot hear the petition filed by the party until May, when the Nigeria and Sierra Leone judges appointed by Jammeh are available.
The delay creates uncertainty that many fear could turn to violence. Jammeh at first conceded defeat to opposition coalition candidate Adama Barrow but later called for a new vote, saying the Dec. 1 elections had irregularities.
The coalition has said it plans to move forward with Barrow's inauguration on Jan. 19, at the end of Jammeh's mandate, and the United Nations, European Union and West African bloc have called on Jammeh to respect the election and step down from power.
"Only the Supreme Court can declare anyone a president. So I ask anyone of us to respect the supreme law of the republic and await the Supreme Court review on the election result," said Jammeh in a late Tuesday address on state-run TV.
The incumbent criticized interference from other countries, including those of the Economic Community of West African States, which on Friday will send a delegation to try to persuade Jammeh to step down.
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Ohio brother slaying case might return to juvenile court
Court Watch |
2017/01/11 08:58
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An Ohio teenager accused of killing his 14-year-old brother after an argument over Halloween candy will have a hearing Feb. 9 to determine whether his case is handled in juvenile court or the adult court system.
The 16-year-old Springfield boy was charged with aggravated murder and pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity in Clark County Common Pleas Court.
The Springfield News-Sun reports the case is returning to juvenile court for a hearing because of a recent Ohio Supreme Court case. In that ruling, justices said automatically transferring certain juvenile cases to adult courts is unconstitutional.
Authorities allege the Springfield teen beat his brother with a baseball bat, then stabbed him. Their grandmother found the younger teen dead in bed on Oct. 31.
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High Court won't hear appeal over Backpage.com escort ads
Court Watch |
2017/01/11 08:53
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The Supreme Court said Monday it won't hear an appeal from three sex trafficking victims who accuse advertising website Backpage.com of helping to promote the exploitation of children.
The justices left in place a lower court ruling that said federal law shields Backpage from liability because the site is just hosting content created by people who use it.
The women say they were sold as prostitutes in Massachusetts and Rhode Island through advertisements for escort services on the site when they were as young as 15. They say Backpage is not protected by the Communications Decency Act because the company not only hosted the ads, but created a marketplace that makes child sex trafficking easier. Backpage has denied those allegations.
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