Stab-able president a cult success in France
International Herald Tribune Nov 28, 08 4:25 PM CST
(Newser)
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An appeals court in France essentially told the nation's president to lighten up today. The court rejected a bid by Nicolas Sarkozy to ban voodoo dolls made in his likeness, the International Herald Tribune reports. It ruled that the dolls can continue to be sold, only now they must have a red label declaring that poking the mini-Sarko constitutes an attack on his dignity. The court also awarded Sarkozy a token euro in damages and told the doll maker to pay $2,000 in legal fees.
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Las Vegas justice rejects defense claims that jury foreman was racist
Associated Press Nov 7, 08 5:21 PM CST
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OJ Simpson won’t get a retrial in his Las Vegas robbery conviction, despite challenges raised by his attorneys, AP reports, with the presiding judge telling Simpson’s lawyers to take matters up with state appellate court. A lawyer for Simpson’s co-defendant today accused the jury foreman of racism, but the judge did not find the complaint credible.
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US appeal of ruling strands 17, held since 2001 without charge
Guardian (UK) Nov 1, 08 4:13 PM CDT
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17 Chinese prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay will stay there indefinitely pending an appeal of a judge’s decision that they be released, the Guardian reports. “They were on freedom's doorstep," their frustrated lawyer said. “The plane was at Gitmo.” Refugee and religious organizations in the US have offered to take the men in. They were captured by Pakistani troops in Afghanistan in 2001 and turned over to the US, but they have never been charged with any crimes.
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Could impede Justice tactic of jail time for illegal immigrants
Washington Post Oct 20, 08 3:44 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Supreme Court said today it will hear a case pertinent to a recent surge in identity-theft prosecutions against illegal immigrants, the Washington Post reports. Lower courts were split over whether the government must prove that thieves knew they were stealing the identity of an actual person when they use a fake ID. A ruling against the Justice Department could hamstring recent efforts to the threat of prison time to crack down on illegal immigration, analysts say.
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Statute of limitations for kidnapping had expired, appeals panel rules
Clarion-Ledger Sep 10, 08 3:47 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A federal appeals court has thrown out last year's conspiracy and kidnapping conviction of an ex-Klansman involved in the murders of two black teens in Mississippi in 1964. Lawyers for James Ford Seale said they will seek to have the 72-year-old cancer patient, who was serving three life sentences, freed on bond. "The court didn't reverse it on the facts," the US attorney told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. "They reversed it on a technicality."
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Kilpatrick loses appeal to block fallout from love affair
Detroit News Sep 3, 08 1:56 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A state hearing to determine if Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will be booted from office is back on the schedule today after the mayor lost an appeal to block it. Kilpatrick’s lawyer had argued that the hearing established Michigan's governor as "judge, jury and executioner," reports the Detroit News . The mayor is accused of manipulating City Council members into a $8.4 million whistle-blower settlement to cover up perjury linked to a torrid affair with an aide.
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Rockefeller's ex makes emotional video appeal
New York Daily News Aug 1, 08 4:17 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The ex-wife of fugitive millionaire Clark Rockefeller, the man on the run with their 7-year-old daughter, has videotaped an emotional appeal for the child's return. "Please, please bring Snooks back. There has to be a better way for us to solve our differences," pleads Sandra Boss, using the couple's nickname for their daughter, Reigh.
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Infrequent posts discuss his 'wrongful conviction' and support
Radar Jul 18, 08 7:29 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Scott Peterson has a blog—of sorts. The death row inmate, convicted for the murder of his wife Laci and the fetus she carried, is posting his thoughts on a website set up by a Canadian anti-death penalty group, Radar reports. The occasional postings concern his appeal, his "wrongful conviction," and his “mother-in-law,” Laci's mom—who went on Larry King Live last night to describe her outrage.
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State can't block
Grasso payout, says court, after bitter battle
Wall Street Journal Jul 2, 08 5:45 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange has won an ugly 4-year battle to retain a mammoth $187.5 million compensation package. A New York appeals court dismissed an action initiated by then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer challenging the payout for Dick Grasso as excessive, the Wall Street Journal reports. Grasso was ousted in 2003 after details of his pay package surfaced, sparking a nasty confrontation between Spitzer and Grasso, as well as the NYSE directors who approved the deal.
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'Murder this innocent
black man,' he pleads
Associated Press May 7, 08 3:10 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Convicted DC sniper John Allen Muhammad has called on prosecutors to help stop his attorneys from pursuing appeals to overturn his death sentence. Muhammad, convicted in the 2002 shooting spree that killed 10 strangers, said in a handwritten letter that any appeals “have been done against mine will,” the AP reports. In a recent appeal filing, attorneys argued brain damage likely rendered Muhammad incapable of making reasoned legal decisions.
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Court passes on death-row cases following ruling upholding lethal injection
New York Times Apr 21, 08 2:49 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Supreme Court today dismissed appeals from 11 death-row prisoners in seven states, including three who received last-minute stays of execution last year; the result was no surprise 1 week after the landmark ruling upholding lethal injection in Kentucky, the New York Times reports. The earlier opinion held that the execution method does not amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
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He claims drugs
made him shoot grandparents
CNN Apr 14, 08 7:55 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Supreme Court refused today to let a teenage boy appeal his 30-year sentence for double-murder, CNN reports. Christopher Pittman, who was tried as an adult in South Carolina 3 years ago, is serving the longest sentence ever for someone his age—and blames antidepressants for inspiring him to kill his grandparents and set their house ablaze at the age of 12.
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Jailed newspaper tycoon says evidence too flimsy to convict
National Post (Canada) Mar 15, 08 9:30 PM CDT
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Lawyers for former newspaper mogul Conrad Black appealed his 6½-year prison term for fraud today, arguing that the jury received bad instructions and that the evidence failed to prove he had knowledge of shady dealings, reports Canada's National Post . Black was convicted of bilking about $6 million from Hollinger International, his former Chicago-based newspaper publishing company. He began serving his sentence at a Florida prison last week.
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Ex-media tycoon surrenders in Fla.
as he appeals ruling
Reuters Mar 3, 08 6:54 PM CST
(Newser)
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Ex-newspaper mogul Conrad Black arrived at a Florida prison today to start his 6-and-1/2 year term for fraud and obstruction of justice, Reuters reports. He stayed mum as his wife drove him in, but is appealing the ruling that he helped bilk his former company of $6.1 million. "My book about this outrage is almost ready, so if I must go, I will not be going quietly," he wrote in a recent email.
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