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Conn. high court rules prisoners can be force-fed
Legal Watch |
2012/03/05 20:58
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Connecticut prison inmates who go on hunger strikes can be restrained and force-fed to protect them from life-threatening dehydration and malnutrition, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The 7-0 decision came in the case of 51-year-old prisoner William Coleman, a Liverpool, England, native who stopped eating in September 2007 to protest his conviction on what he claimed was a fabricated rape charge by his ex-wife. The court rejected Coleman's claims that force-feeding violated his free speech rights and international law.
Coleman's weight dropped from 237 pounds to 129 pounds by October 2008, and a prison doctor who believed Coleman was at risk of dying or developing irreversible health problems determined it was necessary to force-feed him by inserting a feeding tube through his nose and into his stomach.
The first of what Coleman's lawyers say was about a dozen forced feedings was performed on Oct. 23, 2008, after prison officials had obtained permanent authority to force-feed him after a trial in Superior Court. Coleman appealed the Superior Court judge's ruling to the Supreme Court.
Coleman resumed taking liquid nutrition voluntarily in late 2008 and returned to a normal weight, court records say, but the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut says he went back on the hunger strike last week. |
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Group wants Supreme Court to save war memorial
Legal Watch |
2012/02/09 18:10
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Supporters of a war memorial cross deemed unconstitutional last year by a federal court plan to ask the Supreme Court to reverse the decision, amid a growing fight nationwide over the use of religious symbols to honor fallen troops.
A nonprofit legal firm, Liberty Institute in Dallas, planned to file its petition Thursday to preserve the 43-foot monument on federal land atop San Diego's Mt. Soledad — the same day the group called on combat veterans and supporters to rally at the picturesque site overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the suburb of La Jolla.
The Supreme Court has signaled a greater willingness to allow religious symbols on public land, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill last month that writes into law the propriety of displaying such markers at war memorials.
Last year's ruling by the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals capped two decades of legal challenges over the 1954 cross that became a memorial to Korean War veterans.
A number of other military memorials on public lands across the country have been challenged in recent years by civil liberty activists and atheists who say they violate the separation between church and state. The Supreme Court in 2010 refused to order the removal of a congressionally endorsed war memorial cross from its longtime home atop a remote rocky outcropping in California's Mojave Desert. |
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Palm Beach Construction Law Attorney
Legal Watch |
2012/02/04 18:03
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Palm Beach Construction Law Attorney
Heitman Law Firm serves its clients by first comprehending the specific issues our clients face and then tailoring our representation to those specific needs. Construction law cases often involve legal, technical, engineering, design, constructability and scheduling issues. We speak the language of construction. We understand your business. We know how to read a set of plans. Our client service is based on the idea that the client should not be required to pay to
bring us up to speed on the construction issues. Instead, we make it our business to be ahead of the learning curve.
Our law firm's Florida construction law practice includes the following areas:
• Land Use Planning
• Permitting
• Bid Preparation
• Bid Protests
• Contract Drafting
• Contract Review
• Contract Negotiation
• Contract Administration
• Design-Build Contracts
• Contract Claims Preparation
• Contract Dispute Resolution
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
• Dispute Review Board Hearings
• Administrative Hearings
• We represent both domestic and international clients
• Private Construction Projects
• Public Construction Projects
• Projects Nationwide
• Design Professional Negligence
Heitman Law Firm combines experience and efficiency in construction law to render their clients high quality legal representation. With years of experience building real world construction projects, Mr. Heitman is an expert in construction law and efficiently resolve construction disputes. Visit www.palmbeachconstructionlaw.org for more information. |
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Court Upholds Burlington Man's Murder Conviction
Legal Watch |
2012/01/16 17:43
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The Iowa Supreme Court has overturned an appeals court ruling that threw out the conviction of a Burlington man in his ex-wife's death.
The court ruled Friday that even if the trial court erred in refusing to let a physical therapist testify, the error was harmless in light of the "overwhelming evidence" of guilt.
Dennis Richards was convicted of murder and arson after authorities found Cyd Richards strangled to death in a burning house in 2009.
The appeals court reversed the conviction because the trial court excluded testimony from a physical therapist who would have suggested Richards wasn't strong enough to strangle his ex-wife. A new trial was ordered.
The attorney general's office sought the Supreme Court review. |
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Court hearing Thursday on Credit Suisse loans
Legal Watch |
2012/01/13 18:14
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Attorneys for Credit Suisse told a federal judge in Idaho that a multi-billion dollar lawsuit brought by homeowners at four resorts should be tossed out because there's not enough factual evidence to support the claims.
The lawsuit from property owners at Idaho's Tamarack Resort, the Yellowstone Club in Montana, Nevada's Lake Las Vegas resort and the Ginn Sur Mer Resort in the Bahamas is backed by Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth. The plaintiffs allege Credit Suisse inflated the value of the resorts and issued loans so large to developers that they could never be repaid in hopes of foreclosing on the properties as part of a so-called "loan to own" scheme.
Credit Suisse contends the lawsuit is baseless and that Blixseth is just trying to escape blame for the financial problems at the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club.
Roughly two dozen attorneys representing the plaintiffs, Credit Suisse and real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield gathered before U.S. District Judge Ronald Bush in Boise on Thursday to argue over several motions, including one to have the lawsuit dismissed and one to have Cushman & Wakefield reinstated as a defendant. The real estate consultancy was listed as a defendant when the case was originally filed in 2010, but last year U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge dismissed all the claims against the company.
One of Credit Suisse's attorneys, David Lender, told the court that the plaintiffs have never been able to show there was any misrepresentation made to the homeowners by the bank. |
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Family plans lawsuit in Wash. state ice fatality
Legal Watch |
2011/12/29 09:49
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A law firm has announced a lawsuit in the death of a Washington state girl killed by huge chunk of falling ice in July 2010 at the Big Four Ice Caves, a popular hiking destination in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
The 11-year-old Marysville girl was on a family outing when a block of ice the size of a pickup truck broke loose and slid into where she was sitting with her mother, some distance from the caves.
The Daily Herald reports the family said it heeded warning signs and stayed off the ice at the caves, east of Granite Falls.
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie spokesman Kelly Sprute says the forest doesn't comment on ongoing litigation.
The lawsuit is being handled by the Tacoma law firm of Messina Bulzomi Christensen. The firm announced the suit at a news conference Tuesday. |
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Federman & Sherwood Announces Class Action Lawsuit
Legal Watch |
2011/11/21 17:32
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On November 16, 2011, a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc. The complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws, Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, including allegations of issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price. The class period is from August 16, 2010 through October 7, 2011.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of the Class. If you are a member of the Class as described above, you may move the Court no later than Tuesday, January 17, 2012, to serve as a lead plaintiff for the Class. However, in order to do so, you must meet certain legal requirements pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
If you wish to discuss this action, participate in this or any other lawsuit, or have any questions or concerns regarding this notice, or preservation of your rights, please contact: www.federmanlaw.com |
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