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California high court strikes measure from ballot
Law Firm Press Release |
2014/08/19 15:01
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The California Supreme Court on Monday blocked an advisory measure backed by Democrats from the November ballot.
By a 5-1 vote, the court ordered the removal of Proposition 49, which would have asked voters if they want a federal constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's so-called Citizens United ruling allowing unlimited corporate spending in elections.
The majority opinion said no harm will come from removing the nonbinding measure while courts determine its validity. The court said it would consider the issue in more detail in September.
Writing separately, Justice Goodwin Liu agreed with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, an anti-tax group that filed a lawsuit seeking to remove the measure from the ballot. The group argued that advisory measures are not a proper use of the ballot.
Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said she would have allowed placing the proposition on the ballot, as a divided appeals court had ruled earlier.
The bill to place the measure on the ballot was introduced by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, and it passed over Republicans' opposition. Brown, a Democrat, let the bill become law without his signature. Lieu's Sacramento office didn't return a phone call placed late Monday. |
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Court: New Jersey must reconsider windmill plan
Top Court Watch |
2014/08/19 15:01
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A company that wants to build a windmill power project off the coast of Atlantic City has won a victory in court.
A New Jersey appeals ruled in favor of Fishermen's Energy in a dispute over the company's plan.
The state Board of Public Utilities had denied approval for the project in April. The board ruled that a Chinese company that would own 70 percent of the project did not demonstrate financial integrity and hadn't shown it could get the necessary federal subsidies.
Fisherman's Energy appealed the rejection, and Monday's ruling will require the board to reconsider the project.
The company said in a statement Monday that the appeals court decision requires that the board factor into its reconsideration the company's executing of an agreement for a $47 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The company also said that the board must acknowledge the company's proposed price of $199 per megawatt hour instead of the $263 per megawatt hour it cited in its rejection of the project. |
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Tennessee man pleads guilty to forgery
Law Firm Press Release |
2014/08/13 15:16
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A Tennessee man has pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery of the signatures of a district court judge and an officer of the U.S. District Court.
U.S. District Judge Pamela L. Reeves set sentencing for 49-year-old Scott Thibault of Maryville for Dec. 1 in Knoxville. Thibault entered the plea Wednesday.
Prosecutors say Thibault has also agreed to plead guilty to one-count information of use of the mail to defraud.
Prosecutors say Thibault falsely represented himself as an attorney in an adoption case and forging the name of U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan on the documents.
Thibault told the court he obtained at least $400,000 from the victims to further his scheme to defraud and obtain money.
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Appeals court OKs permits for Upper Peninsula mine
Law & Court News |
2014/08/13 15:15
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The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld a decision by state environmental regulators to allow construction of a nickel and copper mine in the Upper Peninsula.
A three-judge panel unanimously sided with the Department of Environmental Quality, which issued mining and groundwater discharge permits to Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. The Marquette County mine is now owned by Lundin Mining Corp.
DEQ officials approved a mining permit for the project in 2007, drawing legal challenges from environmentalists and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. A DEQ administrative law judge and a circuit court judge affirmed the department's decisions, and opponents took the case to the Court of Appeals.
The mine has been constructed and is scheduled to begin producing minerals this fall. |
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Court schedules night deer hunting arguments
Top Court Watch |
2014/08/06 09:58
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Wisconsin's Chippewa tribes will get a chance next month to tell a federal appeals court why members should be allowed to hunt deer at night.State officials have long banned night hunts out of safety concerns.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in the early 1990s that the ban applies to Chippewa hunters.The tribes asked Crabb in 2012 to reconsider her decision but she refused.
The Chippewa have since asked the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to allow tribal night hunts, arguing night hunting has become more common and the state can't argue it's unsafe.
The court has set oral arguments for Sept. 16. The tribes and state attorneys will each get 20 minutes to speak. It's not clear when the court might rule. |
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