|
|
|
US appeals court upholds EPA plan to clean up Chesapeake Bay
Law Firm News |
2015/07/07 11:40
|
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a federal plan limiting pollution in the Chesapeake Bay despite objections from farmers who accuse the Environmental Protection Agency of abusing its power.
The ruling Monday upholds restrictions on farm and construction runoff and wastewater treatment and is a clear win for environmentalists.
Six states have agreed to the pollution limits: Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, along with Washington, D.C.,
The American Farm Bureau Federation and others fought the restrictions. They argued that the EPA was usurping state authority to regulate waterways.
The EPA says animal waste and fertilizer that moves from streams into the Chesapeake is the single largest source of bay pollution.
Third Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro says Chesapeake Bay pollution is a complex problem that affects more than 17 million people.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael Jackson’s doctor pleads not guilty
Legal Line News |
2015/07/07 11:40
|
Michael Jackson’s doctor pleaded not guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of the pop star at a brief hearing that had all the trappings of another sensational celebrity courtroom drama.
Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of giving Jackson a fatal dose of an anesthetic to help him sleep, appeared in court in a gray suit and burgundy tie as Jackson’s father Joe, mother Katherine, and siblings LaToya, Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Randy watched from courtroom seats behind prosecutors.
Neither Murray nor the Jacksons showed much emotion as the six-foot-five Murray entered his plea through his attorney Ed Chernoff, but as he emerged from court, Joe Jackson declared, “My son was murdered.”
“We need justice,” he added before leaving with family members in a fleet of Cadillac Escalades.
On Monday night, Joe Jackson told CNN’s Larry King that he doesn’t believe Murray is the only person responsible for his son’s death. “To me, he’s just the fall guy. There’s other people I think involved with this whole thing,” Joe Jackson said, without elaborating.
Joe Jackson also told King his son believed his life was in danger. “Michael said it himself that he would be killed,” Joe Jackson said. “He even told his kids that he would be murdered.”
Earlier, several people shouted “murderer” as Murray walked past a crowd of hundreds of reporters and Jackson fans on his way to a courthouse adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport. Others held signs urging “Justice For Michael.”
Murray, 56, a Houston cardiologist who was with Jackson when he died June 25, entered his plea just hours after he was charged.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Peterson returns to court in murder-for-hire trial
Legal News |
2015/07/06 11:39
|
Former suburban Chicago police sergeant Drew Peterson is due back in court as his trial on charges of plotting to kill a prosecutor approaches.
A hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday in the southern Illinois county where Peterson is imprisoned.
He's pleaded not guilty to charges of soliciting an unidentified prison inmate to kill Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow.
Glasgow prosecuted the 2012 case in which Peterson was sentenced to 38 years in prison for the bathtub drowning death of his ex-wife Kathleen Savio eight years earlier. Her death was initially ruled an accident, but the case was re-opened after the 2007 disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife.
The Randolph County trial was scheduled to begin Monday, but has been rescheduled to start on August 28.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Doctor with hundreds of fraud victims faces sentencing
U.S. Court News |
2015/07/03 11:39
|
A Harvard medical professor says patients of a Detroit-area cancer doctor were at high risk of infection because of excessive doses of powerful, expensive drugs.
Dr. Farid Fata will be sentenced in federal court for fraud. But a judge first is hearing from experts and patients this week. The hearing began Monday.
Testifying for the government, Dr. Dan Longo says some patients received a "stunning" number of injections of a drug called Rituximab. It's typically given eight times for aggressive lymphoma but one patient got it 94 times.
Fata pleaded guilty to committing millions of dollars in fraud against insurance companies and patients.
Prosecutors are seeking a 175-year prison sentence, while Fata is asking for no more than 25 years. Victims are in the courtroom.
|
|
|
|
|