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Judge won't halt Pa. voter identification law
Court Watch |
2012/08/15 17:45
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A Pennsylvania judge isn't stopping a tough new voter identification law from going into effect.
Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson on Wednesday refused to grant an injunction that would have halted the law requiring each voter to show a valid photo ID. Opponents are expected to file a prompt appeal to the state Supreme Court as the Nov. 6 presidential election looms.
The law is the subject of a furious debate over voting rights. People challenging it include some who say they'll be unable to vote.
Democrats say the law will make it harder for the elderly, minorities, poor and young adults to vote, and is designed to help Republican challenger Mitt Romney beat Democratic President Barack Obama.
Republicans who control the Legislature and the governor's office say they think it'll prevent voter fraud. |
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Appeals court affirms that cheering is not a sport
Court Watch |
2012/08/10 19:07
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A federal appeals court has ruled that colleges cannot count competitive cheerleading as a sport when trying to comply with gender-equity requirements, upholding a U.S. District Court decision against Quinnipiac University.
In a decision released Tuesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that competitive cheerleading does not yet meet the standards of a varsity sport under Title IX, the 1972 federal law that mandates equal opportunities for men and women in education and athletics.
The ruling comes on an appeal filed by Quinnipiac, a school with about 8,000 students in Hamden, which had been successfully sued by its volleyball coach after it tried to eliminate the women's volleyball program in favor of competitive cheering.
"Like the district court, we acknowledge record evidence showing that competitive cheerleading can be physically challenging, requiring competitors to possess 'strength, agility, and grace,' the court wrote. "Similarly, we do not foreclose the possibility that the activity, with better organization and defined rules, might someday warrant recognition as a varsity sport. But, like the district court, we conclude that the record evidence shows that 'that time has not yet arrived.'"
The appeals court agreed with U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill, who found in 2010 that competitive cheerleading did not have the organization, post-season structure or standardized rules required to be considered a varsity sport. |
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Pa. high court fast tracks juvenile lifer appeals
Court Line |
2012/08/08 19:06
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Pennsylvania's highest court is moving quickly to determine how to respond to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles aren't constitutional.
The Sentencing Project, an advocacy group based in Washington, has said Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of juvenile lifers.
The state Supreme Court scheduled oral argument for Sept. 13 in a pair of cases that will determine what to do about the hundreds of people serving such sentences, as well as how to handle the issue going forward.
The 5-to-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision issued June 25 still makes it possible for juveniles to get life, but it can't be automatic.
The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections says 373 lifers were under age 18 at the time they were sentenced. |
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Jackson Trial Lawyers - Fallbrook Personal Injury Attorney
Law Firm Topics |
2012/08/07 17:44
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The Law Offices of Robert W. Jackson is a Fallbrook personal injury attorney who has what it takes to represent your unique case. Insurance companies think it is acceptable to bully people with lesser knowledge of the legal system, but we are here to help.
Everyone deserves a fair chance in getting the maximum amount of compensation for their personal injuries. Because the insurance companies are out for business, and not looking for your best interests, it is easy for them to offer less compensation. As trial lawyers, we are not afraid to speak our minds and take action on what we believe is right. Therefore, we never give up on a settlement or trial.
Our Fallbrook Personal Injury Attorney is conveniently located in the San Diego county. Our clients are important to us, and by managing the complex and tedious relationships with insurance companies, medical facilities, and government agencies, it is our top priority to keep our clients at the top.
No one should ever have to settle for less than they deserve. If you have been injured in any type of accident, take the right steps immediately and contact one of our highly skilled Fallbrook personal injury attorneys to discuss your case today at 760-723-1295. |
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New DC drunken driving law to take effect
Court Line |
2012/08/03 18:20
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A new law that toughens penalties for drunken driving in the nation's capital takes effect Wednesday, but the city's police department still is not using breath tests on suspected drunken drivers more than a year after the tests were suspended.
The new law, which was approved by the D.C. Council and signed by Mayor Vincent Gray earlier this summer. It doubles mandatory minimum jail terms for people with blood-alcohol concentrations of .20 percent or higher and establishes a blood-alcohol limit of .04 percent for commercial drivers, including taxi drivers.
The law also establishes new oversight for the district's breath-testing program. But there's still no timetable to the resumption of breath tests, which D.C. police stopped using in February 2011 in the wake of revelations that their breath-testing devices had produced inaccurate results. Police have been using urine and blood tests instead.
A year earlier, District of Columbia officials had notified defense lawyers about nearly 400 drunken-driving convictions that relied, at least party, on inaccurately calibrated blood-alcohol tests.
More than two dozen people sued the district over convictions based on those flawed tests, and the district Attorney General's office said Tuesday that all the outstanding lawsuits had been settled. The district paid a total of $136,000 to 17 plaintiffs, with individuals receiving between $2,000 and $42,000, said Jeffrey Rhodes, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. |
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