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Inmate Wins Supreme Court Review
Law Firm News |
2008/03/17 16:58
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| A Texas inmate acting as his own attorney persuaded the Supreme Court on Monday to hear his case.pCarlos Jimenez was sentenced to 43 years in prison in 1995 after pleading guilty to burglary and violating the terms of his probation. Jimenez had a prior felony conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon./ppIn 2005, acting as his own lawyer, Jimenez petitioned a federal court, challenging his burglary conviction and asserting that he had not received proper legal representation when he went before the state courts in San Angelo, Texas./ppThe federal judge said Jimenez had waited too long to file his petition and refused to extend the deadline. Federal law gives state inmates one year after a conviction is final to petition a federal court for review of their cases./ppAt issue is Jimenez's argument that the one-year clock should have started all over again in 2005 because of the unusual circumstances of his case./ppIn 1996, a state appeals court dismissed Jimenez's appeal after a court-appointed lawyer said in court papers that in his professional opinion, Jimenez had no grounds for an appeal./ppNearly six years later, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to let Jimenez file an appeal based on his argument that his attorney in 1996 had not properly notified him of what the attorney was planning to do. The appeals court wrapped up its work on Jimenez's belated petitions in 2005, after affirming his conviction and sentence./p |
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Court Will Decide Wash. Shooting Case
Law Firm News |
2008/03/17 16:57
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| The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider reinstating the murder conviction of the driver in a gang-related drive-by shooting that horrified Seattle in 1994.pThe court will hear arguments in the fall in the case of Cesar Sarausad II. He was convicted for his role as the driver in the shooting in which Melissa Fernandes, 16, was killed and Brent Mason, 17, was wounded outside a Seattle high school on March 23, 1994./ppThe 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco overturned the conviction because of faulty jury instructions./ppIn his instructions to the jury, Judge Larry A. Jordan said Sarausad could be convicted of murder regardless of whether he knew of any plan for a killing. The appeals panel ruled that the jury should have been told Sarausad could be convicted of murder only if he knew what was being planned./ppThe state of Washington asked the Supreme Court to reinstate the conviction, which had been upheld by state appeals courts./p |
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Lake Stevens to halt drug testing after court ruling
Law Firm News |
2008/03/14 09:22
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Lake Stevens School District plans to suspend student drug testing after the Washington State Supreme Court ruled today that testing of student athletes is unconstitutional.
The district’s lawyer needs to review the court decision, spokeswoman Arlene Hulten said.
“On first blush, it looks like this ruling would impact our programs and we’d have to stop our random drug testing programs for grades 9 to 12,” she said.
Lake Stevens High School is one of the few in the state that uses random drug tests. In a controversial move, the school began testing students involved in extracurricular activities for drugs in 2006.
The tests have helped motivate kids to avoid drugs, Hulten said.
The court unanimously ruled in support of a challenge brought against the Wahkiakum School District's policy of random urine tests of middle school and high school student athletes. |
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Man in Iced Body Probe Pleads Not Guilty
Law Firm News |
2008/03/11 04:00
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| A man arrested after police found a woman's body packed in dry ice in his hotel room pleaded not guilty Monday to two drug-related charges.pStephen David Royds, 46, is charged with one count each of the sale or transport of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. A prosecutor said the substance was cocaine./ppOrange County Superior Court Judge Derek G. Johnson set Royds' bail at $1 million./ppRoyds was arrested Thursday after police found the body of Monique Trepp packed in dry ice in a large Rubbermaid container in his hotel room. Police had obtained a warrant to search Royds' room for drugs./ppAn autopsy concluded that Trepp's death was not a homicide and Royds has not been charged with killing her. Toxicology reports were pending, but Dennis Conway, an Orange County assistant district attorney, said it appeared the 33-year-old died of an overdose./ppRoyds' court-appointed public defender, Richard Carmona, did not make himself available to reporters after the brief hearing and didn't immediately return a call for comment./ppIn addition to finding Trepp's body, investigators found drug paraphernalia, drugs and Christmas presents in Royds' room, Conway said./ppPolice and prosecutors have released few other details about the case, including how long Trepp's body was kept in the room. Conway said she had been dating Royds./ppRoyds has a prior drug conviction in Orange County in 2002, but did not appear for sentencing. Even if he were to post the $1 million bail on the new charges, he would be held with no bail on the older case, Conway said./p |
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