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Court rejects cat hoarders' appeal of convictions
Legal Watch |
2013/07/08 18:08
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The Montana Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a northwestern Montana couple's conviction of aggravated cruelty to animals after 116 cats were found living in filthy, snowbound trailers.
The Daily Inter Lake reports the court announced the decision July 2 involving Edwin and Cheryl Criswell.
The cats were found in December 2010 and a jury the following year found the couple guilty. In October 2011 Cheryl Criswell received a two-year sentence deferred over six years. Edwin Criswell received a two-year suspended sentence but later violated his probation by testing positive for marijuana and methamphetamine. In January he was sentenced to two years in prison.
In September 2006, the Criswells entered Alford pleas to 10 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty in northern Idaho in what officials then called the largest animal hoarding case in state history involving 430 animals.
In the Montana case, the Criswells contended they were wrongly convicted because during the trial Flathead County Deputy Attorney Ken Park called them "professional freeloaders," prejudicing the jury. |
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Houston, Texas - Motorcycle Collisions and Wrecks
Firm News/Texas |
2013/06/25 19:32
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| As commuters look to motorcycles as a means of transportation, the risk of motorcycle collisions have increased in high-traffic areas. Motorcycle collisions with aggressive automobile drivers often involves a serious injury or death of the cyclist. It is important to understand your rights if you have been involved in a collision while riding your motorcycle. The attorneys at Padilla & Rodriguez, LLP can help you analyze the scene to secure the physical evidence for your case. If you or a loved on has been injured or have suffered from a death, contact our personal injury layers for a consultation today. |
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The Law Offices of David Stein - Maryland Theft Lawyer
Firm News/Maryland |
2013/06/22 22:30
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Theft can be defined as unpermitted control over property. This may be thoughtfully planned out and intentional or may be through deception. Maryland theft convictions depend on the value of the stolen property. With a value of $1,000 or more is guilty of a felony subject to imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding $ 10,000. If the value of the stolen property is less than $1,000, the charges is a little less severe and will be considered a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment not exceeding 18 months or a fine not exceeding $500 or both.
Another form of theft that is seen as more hostile is robbery. This type of theft can be defined as forceful taking of a property. Committing a robbery can have serious consequences and someone who violates this section of MD statute is guilty of a felony
and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 15 years. If a weapon is used in the commission of crime, or “a written instrument claiming the person has possession of a dangerous weapon” –then the maximum sentence is increased to 20 years.
It is important to know where to turn to when you are accused on a theft crime. If you find yourself in this situation, it is crucial to contact a MD criminal lawyer specialized in theft and robbery cases to safeguard your rights and to scrutinize the government’s case and to discover all exculpatory evidence. |
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McDonnell Law Office - San Diego Personal Injury
Firm News/California |
2013/06/22 20:39
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McDonnell Law is a San Diego Personal Injury Attorney who focuses on helping people who are injured, disabled and unable to work, and those with employment issues. We have over 20 years experience in the legal profession also as a social security and employment law attorney in the San Diego region. We advocate tirelessly to help you obtain a favorable result. You pay no legal fees unless you win! Because we are a small firm, we are able to spend more time and energy on your case and give you more personalized attention.
We offer a free consultation. If you meet with us, we can tell you whether or not you have a claim. You may also email us and give us information about your case for a free email consult. It usually takes a small amount of investigation to determine if you have a case or whether you need an attorney in Downtown San Diego.
Personal injury can affect your life drastically. If you are injured, disabled, or suffered damages you need a San Diego Personal injury lawyer who will take control of your case and advocate strongly on your behalf. McDonnell Law will advocate for you and will fight for a winning result! Call or email today for a free consultation. |
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Oregon court upholds governor's execution delay
Headline News |
2013/06/20 22:18
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Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber can delay the lethal injection of a death-row inmate who wants to waive his appeals and speed his execution, the state's highest court ruled Thursday.
The Oregon Supreme Court said Kitzhaber did not overstep his power when he granted a reprieve delaying the death sentence of Gary Haugen, who was convicted of two murders.
Kitzhaber opposes the death penalty and intervened weeks before Haugen was scheduled to be executed in 2011. The governor said he refused to allow an execution under a state death-penalty system he views as broken, vowing to block any execution during his term in office.
Haugen challenged Kitzhaber's clemency, saying the reprieve was invalid because Haugen refused to accept it. He also argued that it wasn't actually a reprieve but rather an illegal attempt by the governor to nullify a law he didn't like.
The governor argued that his clemency power is absolute, and nobody - certainly not an inmate on death row - can prevent him from doing what he believes to be in the state's best interest. |
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NJ court: Special US Senate election in Oct. OK
Court Center |
2013/06/19 18:07
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A special U.S. Senate election to replace the late Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg can be held in October, as it was scheduled by Republican Gov. Chris Christie, a state court ruled Thursday.
The ruling could be appealed. And while it keeps an election on course it does not seem likely to chill criticism of the popular governor for how he chose to replace Lautenberg, the Senate's oldest member, who died last week at age 89.
Four Democrats and two Republicans have filed petitions to run in the Senate race to complete Lautenberg's term, with three early polls showing Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker as the front-runner.
Christie scheduled the election for Oct. 16. A group of Democrats sued, saying it should be held Nov. 5, the day voters are going to the polls in the general elections anyway.
Christie's critics have complained that holding the election in October will cost taxpayers unnecessarily. Officials say each election costs the state about $12 million to run.
Judge Jane Grall wrote Thursday that objections to the costs of the election are policy matters that aren't questions for the court. |
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Court says human genes cannot be patented
Headline News |
2013/06/13 16:24
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The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that companies cannot patent parts of naturally-occurring human genes, a decision with the potential to profoundly affect the emerging and lucrative medical and biotechnology industries.
The high court's unanimous judgment reverses three decades of patent awards by government officials. It throws out patents held by Salt Lake City-based Myriad Genetics Inc. on an increasingly popular breast cancer test brought into the public eye recently by actress Angelina Jolie's revelation that she had a double mastectomy because of one of the genes involved in this case.
Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the court's decision, said that Myriad's assertion — that the DNA it isolated from the body for its proprietary breast and ovarian cancer tests were patentable — had to be dismissed because it violates patent rules. The court has said that laws of nature, natural phenomena and abstract ideas are not patentable.
"We hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated," Thomas said.
Patents are the legal protection that gives inventors the right to prevent others from making, using or selling a novel device, process or application. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been awarding patents on human genes for almost 30 years, but opponents of Myriad Genetics Inc.'s patents on the two genes linked to increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer say such protection should not be given to something that can be found inside the human body. |
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