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Court denies execution stay for Fla. killer.
Legal Focuses |
2014/01/10 22:47
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The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block Tuesday's scheduled execution of an inmate convicted of fatally stabbing a prison guard while already on Florida's death row.
Askari Abdullah Muhammad, previously known as Thomas Knight, was set to die by lethal injection Tuesday evening.
The 62-year-old Muhammad was first condemned to die for the 1974 abduction and killings of Sydney and Lillian Gans, a Miami couple. He was sentenced to die again for killing corrections officer Richard Burke in 1980 using a sharpened spoon.
His execution has been delayed for so long because of numerous appeals and rulings, including a 1987 federal appeals court tossing out his death sentence because he hadn't been allowed to put character and background witnesses on the stand during the penalty phase.
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Court grants law license to man in US illegally
Legal Focuses |
2014/01/06 18:55
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The California Supreme Court granted a law license Thursday to a man who has lived in the U.S. illegally for two decades, a ruling that advocates hope will open the door to millions of immigrants seeking to enter other professions such as medicine, accounting and teaching.
The unanimous decision means Sergio Garcia, who attended law school and passed the state bar exam while working in a grocery store and on farms, can begin practicing law immediately.
It's the latest in a string of legal and legislative victories for people who are in the country without permission. Other successes include the creation of a path to citizenship for many young people and the granting of drivers licenses in some states.
"This is a bright new day in California history and bodes well for the future," the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles said in a statement.
The court sided with state officials in the case, which pitted them against the White House over a 1996 federal law that bars people who are in the U.S. illegally from receiving professional licenses from government agencies or with the use of public money, unless state lawmakers vote otherwise. |
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Court sides with S. Ind. city in man's injury suit
Attorney News |
2014/01/06 18:54
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The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's ruling that the Ohio River city of Madison is not liable for injuries a man suffered when he tripped on a sewer grate.
Brad Haskin suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in July 2008 when he tripped on the grate while walking from Madison's riverfront. He sued Madison in 2009, alleging it was negligent in maintaining the sewer drain and did not properly illuminate it.
The Madison Courier reports a Jefferson County judge had ruled that under Indiana law a city cannot be held liable for injuries caused by infrastructure like the grate that had been unchanged for 20 or more years.
The appellate agreed with that ruling, finding that the city was immune from liability in the case. |
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Utah asks Supreme Court to block gay marriage
Legal Focuses |
2014/01/02 21:38
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Utah took its fight against gay marriage to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking the high court to suspend same-sex unions that became legal when a judge struck down the state's voter-approved ban.
The heavily Mormon state wants the marriages to stop while it appeals a judge's decision, which said banning gay couples from marrying violates their right to equal treatment under the law.
In papers filed Tuesday, the state asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor to overturn a decision that has led to more than 900 gay marriages in Utah. Sotomayor handles emergency requests from Utah and other Rocky Mountain states.
Sotomayor responded with a request for legal briefs from same-sex couples by Friday at noon. She can act by herself or get the rest of the court involved.
"Numerous same-sex marriages are now occurring every day in Utah," Utah lawyers complain in the filing. "Each one is an affront not only to the interests of the state and its citizens in being able to define marriage through ordinary democratic channels, but also to this court's unique role as final arbiter."
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Court order needed to stop Pa. center utilities
Legal Focuses |
2014/01/02 21:25
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A judge says a court order is needed to shut off lights and other utilities at Pittsburgh's struggling August Wilson Center for African American Culture.
Allegheny County Judge Lawrence O'Toole on Monday approved an order sought by the center's court-appointed conservator to keep the downtown facility running.
The ruling covers water and electricity as well as sewage treatment, telephone and Internet services.
An attorney for Duquesne Light said the center owes the electric company $38,000 and is running bills of $10,000 a month.
The center, which opened in 2009, is named after late Pulitzer prize-winning playwright August Wilson, who was born in Pittsburgh.
Dollar Bank began foreclosure proceedings in September after the center defaulted on its $7 million mortgage. |
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