| Court calls order for DNA swab improper | | Posted Monday, January 08, 2007 2:45:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | During the hunt for a south Louisiana serial killer, a Baton Rouge judge improperly ordered an innocent man swabbed for DNA, a federal appeals court has decided. In a strongly worded 16-page decision, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concludes state District Judge Richard Anderson lacked sufficient evidence to sign off on a search warrant for Shannon Kohler’s DNA. Kohler, a 47-year-old welder, was among 1,200 south Louisiana men given oral saliva swabs to eliminate them as suspects in the slayings of seven women over the past decade. He was one of the few identified in the media as a suspect who wouldn’t cooperate with authorities after he initially refused the swab — citing, among other things, the fact that his foot is three to four sizes larger than a print found at one of the crime scenes.... | |
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| | | Federal judge sends prep football lawsuit back to state court | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 2:45:41 AM by Blog57 Team | | ALBUQUERQUE A federal judge's decision today will likely delay the start of the Class Five-A state high school football playoffs. U-S District Judge Judith Herrera has sent back to state district court in Las Cruces a lawsuit filed by parents of 19 Las Cruces High School football players. The parents sued the New Mexico Activities Association -- the governing body for high school sports in the state. They want a judge to overturn the N-M-A-A's decision that the Las Cruces football team had to forfeit victories over Onate and Gadsden because an ineligible player participated for the Las Cruces team. The two forfeits, if allowed to stand, would keep Las Cruces out of the playoffs that were scheduled to start this week. Herrera says the case belongs in state district court.... | |
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| | | Pornography case moving to federal court PUBLIC SAFETY | | Posted Monday, October 30, 2006 10:46:11 AM by Blog57 Team | | KANSAS CITY | A Brookside advertising executive is facing child pornography charges in federal court, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office said. A federal grand jury indicted Michael J. Alexander, 43, after police arrested him Oct. 14 at his home in the 6200 block of Morningside Drive. Jackson County authorities soon charged him with possession of child pornography. State authorities usually defer to federal prosecution in such cases because the penalties are harsher. OVERLAND PARK | Fire in carport destroys five cars A fire in a carport early Sunday destroyed five cars and caused minor damage to a building at the Hawthorne on the Lake apartments near West 120th Terrace and Ash Street. Residents in one of the buildings were evacuated, but fire crews stopped the blaze before any serious damage was done to the building, a spokesman said.... | |
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| | | Court limits authority of federal government at Indian casinos | | Posted Saturday, October 21, 2006 10:45:37 PM by Blog57 Team | | An appeals court ruled today the federal government can't make rules for the way Las Vegas-style games are played at American Indian casinos. The ruling is a blow to efforts by the National Indian Gaming Commission to regulate the booming, 22 billion dollar tribal gambling industry. Oklahoma Office of State Finance officials say 29 tribes have compacted with the state, which means they are able to have Las Vegas-style games in their casinos. Today's 11-page ruling says Class-three games like blackjack and slots are outside the commission's jurisdiction. The U-S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decision stems from a dispute in Arizona between the Colorado River Indian Tribes and the NIGC. Copyright 2006 Associated Press.... | |
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| | | Federal Court backs decision on Alinta | | Posted Friday, October 20, 2006 12:45:34 PM by Blog57 Team | | The Federal Court has backed a decision by the Takeovers Panel that Alinta Ltd's acquisition of a 10.25 per cent stake in Australian Pipeline Trust (APA) was unacceptable. The Federal Court also upheld a decision by the Panel the stake should be sold. APA managing director Mick McCormack welcomed the Federal Court's decision, calling it a victory for the company's shareholders. "APA believes that the decision vindicates the actions taken by APA in the Takeovers Panel and the Federal Court," Mr McCormack said. Earlier this month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Competition (ACCC) ruled Alinta should sell its stake in APA amid concerns of reduced competition in the pipeline industry. © 2006 AAPBrought to you by .... | |
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| | | Federal Court sits in Pilbara to hear BHP rail row | | Posted Friday, October 13, 2006 2:45:51 PM by Blog57 Team | | A Federal Court hearing will today move to the Pilbara, in north-west Western Australia, where BHP Billiton will try to prove its rail lines are an integral part of the company's iron ore production. Fortescue Metals Group and the National Competition Council believe BHP's Mount Newman and Goldsworthy rail lines should be freed up to allow other companies access to them. However, BHP says its multi-billion dollar iron ore exports could be jeopardised if that occurs. Federal Court Justice John Middleton and a group of lawyers will spend today and tomorrow inspecting the rail lines and train service first-hand. .... | |
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| | | Federal court hears cases at law school | | Posted Thursday, October 05, 2006 6:45:37 AM by Blog57 Team | | Hundreds of students took a rare peek at the inner workings of the federal court system on Tuesday as a panel of appeals court judges listened to oral arguments at the University of Virginia School of Law. Though cases are normally heard during the first week of the month in a venue across from the White House, panels from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit are also authorized to hear cases in cities throughout the country. According to the clerk's office, panels travel around the country at least once a year, mostly visiting law schools throughout the country's 12 other circuits. "It's definitely a very cool experience for UVa to have this," said Arun Goel, a third-year law student who watched two patent cases before the court. Depending on the nature of the case, lawyers traditionally are allotted 15 to 30 minutes each to argue their sides and answer the court's questions.... | |
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| | | Man accused of ramming Davenport clinic charged in federal court | | Posted Tuesday, September 26, 2006 10:45:40 PM by Blog57 Team | | DAVENPORT, Iowa Federal charges are now pending against a Michigan man, alleged by authorities to have rammed his car into a Davenport women's clinic because he thought it performed abortions. David McMenemy, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, appeared in U-S District Court today on a charge of committing arson against a business affecting interstate commerce. He was originally charged with arson in Scott County District Court. Court documents unsealed today say McMenemy chose to attack the Edgerton Women's Health Center because he thought it was an abortion clinic. He apparently thought his actions would disrupt activities there. The center's officials say it does not perform abortions and does not provide abortion referrals. Officials say McMenemy crashed his car into the clinic's central lobby early in the morning hours of September 11th.... | |
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| | | Court monitor at child welfare agency keeps state job | | Posted Monday, September 18, 2006 6:46:26 AM by Blog57 Team | | The federal court monitor who was fired by the Department of Children and Families for ethical violations continues to work at the agency at a $150,000 salary. Raymond M. Mancuso lost his DCF job on July 10. But he has kept his other job as federal court monitor despite DCF's request that he be removed for having improper sexual relations with an agency client 22 years ago. .... | |
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| | | High court hears, but doesn't rule yet, on Shyne candidacy | | Posted Sunday, September 10, 2006 12:46:16 PM by Blog57 Team | | BATON ROUGE -- Attorneys on both sides of a Supreme Court argument over whether Joe Shyne can run for Shreveport City Council say theyre hoping for a ruling early next week so the Sept. 30 election can proceed on schedule - with or without Shyne on the ballot. Until the court rules on todays oral arguments, an appellate court decision in Shynes favor stands. The full court acknowledged the key issue in the case is whether former Gov. Mike Fosters Aug. 29, 2003, pardon of Shyne for a federal racketeering conviction allows him to run for office. Two constitutional provisions deal with pardons and the attorneys interpret them differently. One of the provisions, authored by Shreveport Sen. Max Malone, sought to prohibit anyone convicted of a federal crime from running for office.... | |
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