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Prosecutors to court: Get on with Jefferson trial
Attorney Blog News |
2008/12/26 09:13
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| Federal prosecutors are urging an appeals court to get on with Rep. William Jefferson's corruption trial, saying his appeal to the Supreme Court does not have enough chance of success to justify further delays.pJefferson. D-La., was indicted on bribery charges after agents found $90,000 in his freezer. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers argue that his trial should be delayed pending his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court./ppJefferson argues that the charges are invalid because a grand jury got access to information about his actions as a member of Congress. That, Jefferson claims, runs afoul of a constitutional clause that shields members of Congress from civil or criminal action stemming from the performance of their legislative duties./ppBut in a brief filed this week in Richmond, Va., with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, prosecutor Mark Lytle said delaying the trial would cause further prejudice, or harm, to the government's case against the nine-term congressman. The government brought the charges 18 months ago./ppJefferson, Lytle wrote, has not shown the required reasonable probability of success with the high court on the merits of his case./p |
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Court reinstates clean air rule during EPA fix
Topics in Legal News |
2008/12/24 09:14
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| In a ruling hailed by environmentalists, a federal appeals court on Tuesday reinstated one of President George W. Bush's clean air regulations while the Environmental Protection Agency makes court-mandated changes.pIn July, the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which required 28 mostly Eastern states to reduce smog-forming and soot-producing emissions that can travel long distances in the wind./ppThe court said the EPA overstepped its authority by instituting the rule, citing more than several fatal flaws in the regulation. However, a three-judge panel decided to reinstate the rule while the EPA develops a new clean air program./ppJudge Judith W. Rogers said allowing the country to go without the protection of CAIR while the EPA fixes it would sacrifice clear benefits to public health and the environment./ppThe judges did not give EPA a deadline to come up with new regulations, but warned the agency that this decision is not an indefinite stay of its July ruling./ppThe Environmental Protection Agency had predicted that the Clean Air Interstate Rule would prevent about 17,000 premature deaths a year by dramatically reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. In addition, the EPA said the rule would save up to $100 billion in health benefits, eliminate millions of lost work and school days and prevent tens of thousands of nonfatal heart attacks./p |
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Clayton State Alumna, Katie Fagan, joins SWB
Uncategorized |
2008/12/23 14:57
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Smith, Welch amp; Brittain LLP, Attorneys at Law is proud to announce that Katie Fagan, a Clayton College amp; State University graduate has joined our firm as an associate. Ms. Fagan graduated cum laude from the Mercer University, Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law in 2008.
Mrs. Fagan began interning for Smith, Welch amp; Brittain in the summer of 2006. She is a member of the Georgia Bar Association, the Henry County Bar Association, the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers and also coaches for the Eagle’s Landing High School Mock Trial team.
Smith, Welch amp; Brittain, LLP was established in McDonough in 1873. The firm currently operates offices in McDonough, Stockbridge, Jackson and Barnesville. SWB includes 20 attorneys and more than 50 support staff. |
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Alamo seeks removal of religious language in suit
Top Court Watch |
2008/12/23 09:16
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| A lawyer for jailed evangelist Tony Alamo asked a federal court Tuesday to remove religious references from a lawsuit against his client, saying they have the potential to draw the court into theological debate to decide the case.pJohn Hall of Little Rock said in a court filing that claims made by two former members of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries were based on religious beliefs and not matters for argument in a court of law./ppHall gave as examples claims that Alamo engaged in practices to intimidate church members by withholding food, marrying young girls and performing severe beatings. Hall said Alamo's defense to each of these allegations was based largely on the Bible, and the filing cites numerous biblical passages./ppAll of these fall within the ambit of defendant's religious beliefs, the filing says./ppThe suit, filed Nov. 25 in federal district court at Texarkana, claims that Seth Calagna and Spencer Ondrisek were beaten and subjected to abuse as teenagers in the church. The suit says the former church members, now adults, suffered physical pain, emotional distress, scarring and disfigurement. It seeks more than $75,000 in damages./p |
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Conservatives win court case in Va. church dispute
Attorney Blog News |
2008/12/20 09:18
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| Nearly a dozen conservative church congregations in Virginia have won a lawsuit in which they sought to split from the U.S. Episcopal Church in a dispute over theology and homosexuality.pThe final rulings came Friday from a Fairfax County judge who said the departing congregations are allowed under Virginia law to keep their church buildings and other property as they leave the Episcopal Church and realign under the authority of conservative Anglican bishops from Africa./ppSeveral previous rulings had also gone in favor of the departing congregations. The diocese said it will appeal./ppEleven Virginia congregations were involved in the lawsuit, including two prominent congregations that trace their histories to George Washington — Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church./ppThe congregations voted to realign in late 2006. Since then, the rift in the Episcopal Church has grown, and entire dioceses have voted to leave the denomination. Similar property disputes are expected there as well./ppThe Episcopal Diocese of Virginia argued it was the true owner of the church property and that the congregations' votes to leave the Episcopal Church were invalid./p |
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