| Archive for June, 2009 |
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| Posted by Janice | Permalink | 6 Comments | Add a comment |
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has weathered criticism for ruling along certain racial or socioeconomic lines. Today, this perception has again come to the fore. She previously decided that white firefighters in New Haven, CT were not discriminated against when the city tossed out the results of a promotion exam because too few minorities scored high enough.
Today, the Supreme Court validated the discrimination claim levied by Frank Ricci and his colleagues. Sotomayor’s “blunder” as characterized by many media sources, is summed up here: \”Judicial Malpractice\”
June 29th, 2009
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| Posted by Janice | Permalink | 5 Comments | Add a comment |
The ripple effect of California’s budget crisis could have an adverse effect on the high profile drug-related deaths of Anna Nicole Smith and Michael Jackson. Click here for more information on the budget crisis: read our lips.
Negotiators have proposed cutting $20 million from the 82 year old Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, on top of $12 million, in previous cuts from the Bureau. In recent years the Bureau has added to its cadre of skill sets electronic surveillance and fugitive tracking. It was instrumental in establishing the guilt of convicted murderer Scott Petersen, who is awaiting execution for killing his pregnant wife and unborn child in late 2002.
Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose department oversees the Bureau’s operations, has publicly stated that local law enforcement agencies that hunt down drug cartels will be severely outmanned and outgunned. An example of their efforts includes tracking down surging marijuana plantations often operated by Mexican drug cartels in forests and national parks, and major methamphetamine operations in the Central Valley and rural Southern California communities which provide much of the nation’s supply. The agency, part of the California Department of Justice, works under the radar with plainclothes agents operating in often dangerous conditions.
Recently, the Bureau was instrumental in the arrest of 2 Los Angeles doctors and the lawyer-turned-boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith in connection with her passing. We hope Lady Justice continues her quest of such nefarious activities, despite the possibility of her sword getting repossessed.
June 29th, 2009
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| Posted by Janice | Permalink | 1 Comment | Add a comment |
Last Thursday, June 25, 2009, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, heard oral arguments in the case of Marshall v. Marshall, regarding the decade long ongoing battle over the J. Howard Marshall/Anna Nicole Smith, a.k.a., Vickie Lynn Marshall estate.
It was conducted in Seattle at the William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse. According to my sources, Larry Birkhead and his team were able to hide out and avoid media, showing up in the courtroom around 11:00 a.m.. Whereas, Howard K. Stern, the primary executor of Anna Nicole’s estate, most likely did not show up due to the impending criminal charges against him in Los Angeles.
The parties addressed: (1) whether Vickie Lynn Marshall’s (“Vickie”) claim was a “core” bankruptcy proceeding; (2) if Vickie’s claim was not a “core” bankruptcy proceeding, whether the Texas probate court’s judgment precludes Vickie’s claim, in whole, or, in part; (3) whether the statute of frauds affects Vickie’s ability to establish her claim; (4) whether the discovery sanctions ordered by the district court were reasonable; and (5) if Vickie’s surviving child is a real party in interest and has no guardian ad litem, whether the court should appoint a guardian ad litem and, if so, who the guardian ad litem should be and what provisions should be made for the guardian ad litem’s compensation.
A decision is expected to be published very soon, so stay tuned for a more in depth analysis of how this case has tremendous impact on the legal precedent it may set for our great nation.
June 27th, 2009
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| Posted by Janice | Permalink | 2 Comments | Add a comment |
Former television sex symbol Farrah Fawcett, 62, passed away this morning at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica. She had been battling anal cancer since 2006 before it metastasized to her liver. Ironically, she accepted longtime beau Ryan O’ Neill’s proposal of marriage earlier this month.
Also today, pop star Michael Jackson died at the age of 50. Jackson suffered a heart attack in his rented Bel-Air home and was rushed to UCLA Medical Center, where paramedics were unable to revive him. The news comes as he was attempting a comeback after years of tabloid headlines, most notably his trial and acquittal on child molestation charges.
Jackson family attorney, Brian Oxman, gave interviews today stating he was “heartbroken” and concerned that Michael’s “abuse” of prescription medication could be fatal. Oxman further stated if one day Michael ended up dead, then he would speak out “loud and clear about what he saw about the abuse of medications and the people that enabled him.”
It will be interesting to see what happens with the three children and his estate.
Stay tuned..
June 25th, 2009
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| Posted by Janice | Permalink | 1 Comment | Add a comment |
Here follows a summary of today’s two landmark decisions from the United States Supreme Court:
Safford Unified School District v. April Redding, 08-479
An 8-1 ruling found that Savana Redding’s 4th Amendment rights violated when, as a 13 year old 8th grade student, school officials strip searched her based on another student’s assertion she possessed prescription-strength ibuprofen. No pills were found in Redding’s backpack or undergarments.
Justice David Souter, author of the majority opinion, stated: “What was missing from the suspected facts….was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear. We think that the combination of these deficiencies was fatal to finding the search reasonable.”
The lone dissenter, Justice Clarence Thomas, found the search legal and said the court previously had given school officials “considerable leeway” under the Fourth Amendment in school settings. “It was eminently reasonable to conclude the backpack was empty because Redding was secreting the pills in a place she thought no one would look,” Thomas said. “Redding would not have been the first person to conceal pills in her undergarments, nor will she be the last after today’s decision, which announces the safest place to secrete contraband in school.”
Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 07-591
A 5-4 rule found criminal defendants have a constitutional right to cross-examine the forensic analysts who prepare laboratory reports on illegal drugs and other evidence used at trial. Luis Melendez-Diaz challenged lab analysis confirming cocaine in plastic bags found in a car in which he was a passenger. Rather than accept the report, Melendez-Diaz said he should be allowed to question the lab analyst about testing methods, how the evidence was preserved, and other issues.
Massachusetts courts rejected his arguments, but Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the High Court, said he had a constitutional right to confront the lab analyst. Several more decisions are expected this Monday, so please stay tuned…
June 25th, 2009
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