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Lawyer: Bahrain court postpones activist's appeal
Legal News Feed |
2012/10/19 14:55
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A defense lawyer in Bahrain says a court has prolonged the appeal of
an imprisoned human rights activist by ordering another hearing next
month.
Nabeel Rajab is challenging his three-year prison sentence for
allegedly encouraging illegal protests and violence in the
strife-wracked Gulf nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet.
He is among the most high-profile prisoners in Bahrain's crackdowns.
The country has been hit by near-daily unrest since February 2011,
when its Shiite majority began an uprising demanding a greater
political voice in the Sunni-ruled nation.
Attorney Mohammed al-Jishi says the court on Tuesday set Rajab's next
hearing for Nov. 8.
Also Tuesday, authorities detained another rights campaigner, Mohammed
al-Maskati, the president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human
Rights. |
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Ohio appeals to Supreme Court on early voting
Legal News Feed |
2012/10/12 13:04
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Ohio's election chief on Tuesday appealed a ruling that reinstates the final three early voting days in the battleground state, calling a decision last week by a federal appeals court "an unprecedented intrusion" into how states run elections.
Secretary of State Jon Husted asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the state Legislature or federal courts should set Ohio election laws.
Husted, a Republican, also asked the court to delay the lower court's decision while the Supreme Court decides whether to take the case.
Husted said Friday's decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would affect how elections are run in all 50 states. The appeals court in Cincinnati affirmed a lower court ruling and returned discretion to set hours on the final three days to local boards of elections.
"This ruling not only doesn't make legal sense, it doesn't make practical sense," Husted, a Republican, said in a statement.
He said it opened up the chance for Ohio's 88 county boards of elections to set different rules, while at the same time ordering that all voters be treated the same. Husted said he will be consulting with those boards to craft a directive that sets uniform hours on the three disputed days in the event his appeal isn't successful. |
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Court upholds RI lawyer's corruption conviction
U.S. Court News |
2012/10/10 13:04
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A federal appeals court has upheld the corruption conviction of a former North Providence town attorney who facilitated bribes to three town councilmen.
Robert Ciresi was convicted in April 2011 of bribery, extortion and conspiracy charges. The jury found he arranged and delivered a $25,000 bribe to then-Councilman John Zambarano after the town council rezoned a plot of land so a supermarket could be built there. Ciresi also helped put Zambarano in touch with a middleman on a separate $75,000 bribe related to a mill development.
Among other issues, Ciresi’s lawyers argued to the appeals court that the lower court incorrectly allowed prosecutors to play for the jury audiotapes that were made of Zambarano discussing Ciresi’s role in the scheme, arguing it constituted hearsay evidence.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday disagreed and upheld the conviction, as well as Ciresi’s sentence of five years and three months in prison.
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High court begins new term with human rights case
Court News |
2012/10/08 15:00
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The Supreme Court opened its new term Monday with a high-stakes dispute between businesses and human rights groups over accountability for foreign atrocities.
The justices appeared ready to impose new limits on lawsuits brought in U.S. courts over human rights violations abroad.
The argument was the first in a term that holds the prospect for major rulings about affirmative action, gay marriage and voting rights.
Meeting on the first Monday in October, as required by law, the justices entered the crowded marble courtroom for the first time since their momentous decision in late June that upheld President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
The lineup of justices was the same as in June, but the bench had a slightly different look nonetheless. Justice Antonin Scalia was without the glasses he no longer needs following cataract surgery over the summer.
Chief Justice John Roberts formally opened the term and the court turned quickly to its first argument.
The dispute involves a lawsuit filed against Royal Dutch Petroleum over claims that the oil company was complicit in abuses committed by the Nigerian government against its citizens in the oil-rich Niger Delta. |
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