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Utah court rejects appeal from polygamous sect
Law & Court News |
2010/08/30 03:01
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pUtah's Supreme Court has rejected a petition from members of a southern Utah-based polygamous sect seeking a reversal of changes made to its communal land trust./ppIn a ruling issued Friday, justices say members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints waited too long to challenge the state's intervention in the United Effort Plan Trust./ppValued at $110 million, the trust holds the property in Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz., the twin border towns where most church members live./ppUtah seized the trust in 2005 after allegations of mismanagement by church leaders. A court-appointed accountant has since converted the trust into a secular entity./ppFLDS members consider state control of the UEP a violation of their religious rights.
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NY man gets 19 years to life in wife's poisoning
Law & Court News |
2010/07/20 08:51
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| A New York man who admitted killing his wife by lacing her coffee with cyanide has been sentenced to 19 years to life in prison.pDavid Steeves of Center Moriches pleaded guilty in June to second-degree murder in the death of 41-year-old Maureen Steeves./ppAn autopsy found the woman was killed by potassium cyanide poisoning. Prosecutors say her husband had laced her coffee with the lethal substance./ppDefense attorney Craig McElwee said the 45-year-old Steeves bought the cyanide to kill himself but chickened out and gave it to his wife instead./ppSteeves pleaded guilty after prosecutors assured him that his sons would not be in court for the sentencing. The boys, ages 17 and 15, wrote letters to the judge, saying their father deserved no mercy./p |
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Bankruptcy judge approves Visteon disclosure plan
Law & Court News |
2010/06/28 08:59
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pA Delaware bankruptcy court judge on Friday cleared the way for auto parts supplier Visteon Corp. to begin soliciting votes on its proposed reorganization plan, which would leave unsecured bond holders in control of the company./ppOverruling objections from certain shareholders and holders of unsecured trade claims, Judge Christopher Sontchi approved documents describing Visteon's proposed reorganization plan and the process for creditors to vote on it./ppCreditors will have until July 30 to vote on the plan, and Sontchi scheduled a plan confirmation trial to begin Sept. 28./ppThe shareholders could receive nothing under Visteon's plan, and the trade creditors would get no more than 50 cents on the dollar for their claims, which total about $48 million. Their attorneys argued that the disclosure statement outlining Visteon's plan did not contain enough information on the company's valuation, and that the plan itself was unconfirmable because of how it treats various creditor groups./ppAttorneys for Visteon argued that the objections to the disclosure statement were without merit, or that they should be addressed at what promises to be a contentious plan confirmation trial stretching over two weeks.
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NY woman sentenced for taking $700K from law firm
Law & Court News |
2010/06/14 10:05
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pA former secretary for a Hudson Valley law firm has been sentenced to up to 13 years in prison for stealing nearly $700,000 from her employer over a seven-year span.
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Mary Merten of New Paltz was sentenced Tuesday in Ulster County Court to 4 1/3 years to 13 years and also ordered to pay more than $600,000 to the Kingston law firm where she was employed as a confidential secretary. /ppThe judge who sentenced the 44-year-old Merten noted that her thefts forced one of the victims out of retirement and looted a child's college savings. /ppShe pleaded guilty earlier this year to embezzling from the law firm of Riseley and Moriello. /ppThe $625,000 she was ordered to repay to her victims was the amount agreed to during a restitution hearing.
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US court weighs school discipline for Web posts
Law & Court News |
2010/06/03 21:25
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| A U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia has heard arguments on whether schools can discipline students for lewd, harassing or simply juvenile Internet speech posted off-campus. Two students in two different Pennsylvania school districts are fighting suspensions they received for posting derisive profiles of their principals on MySpace from home computers.pThe American Civil Liberties Union says school officials cannot reach beyond school grounds to impose discipline. The two school districts argue the postings could be disruptive at school, and say they have the right to maintain order./ppIn a rare move, all 14 eligible judges on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday./ppLegal experts hope the Supreme Court will clarify the rules in these types of cases./p |
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