Legal News

CA officials ask appeals court to allow execution

  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Government lawyers have asked a federal appeals court to let California carry out its first execution in nearly five years.

Lawyers with the attorney general's office want the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a Tuesday ruling by a federal judge to block the execution of Albert Greenwood Brown.

The convicted killer had been scheduled to die by lethal injection at 9 p.m. Thursday.

But U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel halted the execution, saying he needs more time to determine if California's new lethal injection procedure avoids imposing cruel and unusual punishment.

Government lawyers argue the new protocol ensures condemned inmates will suffer little pain.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal judge on Tuesday blocked what would have been California's first execution in nearly five years, giving a death row inmate who was two days from receiving a lethal injection a reprieve that could last months.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel canceled Albert Greenwood Brown's execution after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered him to apply different legal standards than the ones he used last week when he cleared the way for Brown to be put to death.

Fogel said he halted the execution scheduled for 9 p.m. Thursday because he didn't have enough time "to render a reasoned decision and permit adequate appellate review."

The judge said Brown's lawyers had "raised substantial questions of fact as to whether at least some of the deficiencies" in California's lethal injection process that prompted Fogel to halt California executions in 2006 remained.

Migrants turn to the sea to enter US illegally

The speedboat is about three miles offshore when a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent cuts the engine to drift on the current in quiet darkness, hoping for the telltale signs of immigrant smuggling - sulfur fumes or a motor's whirr.

"It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack, and the haystack is the Pacific Ocean," agent Tim Feige nutes before sunrise marks the end to another uneventful shift.

This is a new frontier for illegal immigrants entering the United States - a roughly 400-square-mile ocean expanse that stretches from Tijuana, Mexico, to Los Angeles. In growing numbers, migrants are gambling their lives at sea as land crossings become even more arduous and likely to end in arrest.

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California Gay Marriage Ban Lifted

Judge Vaughn Walker today issued an order to lift the injunction and stay on gay marriage after 5:00PM August 18, 2010. If the the US 9th District Court of Appeals does not issue a stay on or before August 18, same sex marriage is once again legal and binding in the state of California. Same sex couples will be free to marry in California. Read Judge Walker's ruling here.

While it was not the immediate victory that gay marriage proponents had hoped for, it was still viewed as an important milestone towards winning the fight for equality.

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Court to review order for Calif. to reduce inmates

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it will review whether California must cut its prison population by nearly 40,000 inmates to improve medical and mental health care, escalating a legal battle that has been playing out for two decades.

The justices agreed to hear the state's appeal of a court order to reduce its inmate population by December 2011. The state argues that a panel of three federal judges overstepped its authority.

The administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledges the state's 33 adult prisons are filled beyond their intended capacity but says it has been making progress to improve health care for inmates. The case involves lawsuits that stretch back to 1990 and include repeated court findings of intolerable prison conditions that violate the Constitution.

At one point, a federal judge said incompetence and malfeasance in California's prison medical system was the cause of one inmate death per week. The prison health care system has operated under the authority of a court-appointed receiver since April 2006.

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High court says Mojave cross in Calif. can remain

The Supreme Court has said a federal court went too far in ordering the removal of a congressionally endorsed war memorial cross from its longtime home in California.

The justices said Wednesday that federal judges in California did not take sufficient notice of the government's decision to transfer the land in a remote area of California to private ownership to eliminate any constitutional concern about a religious symbol on public land.

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Judge: Schwarzenegger can't furlough prison guards

A judge on Thursday ruled against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's furlough order for thousands of California prison guards in a decision that could cost the state millions.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch sided with the 30,000-member California Correctional Peace Officers Association and ordered the state to pay prison guards back for the days they worked without pay.

The union argued that Schwarzenegger's furlough order amounted to an illegal wage cut because prison guards could not take time off fast enough due to the nature of their work.

"We are thankful for the judge's ruling regarding our peace officer members receiving compensation for the time they worked," said CCPOA spokesman Lance Corcoran.

Corcoran said it's not clear how much the decision could cost the state but estimated it to be in the millions.

Schwarzenegger's spokeswoman Rachel Arrezola said the governor plans to appeal. The administration argued the furlough plan at the Corrections Department is working because it gives workers flexibility to schedule their time off without disrupting prison operations.

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New California DUI Bill

A new California DUI bill by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, a Democrat from Los Angeles officially requires first time offenders in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Tulare counties to install ignition interlock devices in their car which require the driver to test his or her alcohol levels to start the car. The bill was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger yesterday.

Gov. Schwarzenegger also signed a bill by Sen. Bob Huff, a Republican from Diamond Bar, that lets repeat drunken drivers apply for restricted licenses if they install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles.

California Ponzi Scheme Earns 100 Year Sentence

The SEC announced today that on September 28, 2009 the United States District Court for the Central District of California sentenced Richard M. Harkless, 65, of Riverside, California to 100 years in federal prison. Harkless was convicted in July of three counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Harkless’s sentence is believed to be the longest ever imposed in a white collar crime in the Central District of California.

Harkless was charged by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California with orchestrating a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme between 2000 and late 2003. Harkless and his sales agents fraudulently induced investors nationwide to invest in Mx Factors’ notes, which purportedly paid a “guaranteed” return of up to 14% every two to three months. Mx Factors claimed that it would use the investor funds to provide its clients - construction contractors, wholesalers, and manufacturers - with accounts receivable financing. Instead, Harkless operated a Ponzi scheme and skimmed investor funds to finance a Mexican crab fishing business, pay personal expenses, and fund overseas bank accounts. In February 2004, the Commission obtained a restraining order against Harkless, Mx Factors, and the sales agents, and federal criminal authorities executed search warrants. Harkless fled to Mexico shortly thereafter. Harkless was arrested by special agents with IRS-Criminal Investigation two years ago when he traveled to Phoenix.

In a related proceeding, the Commission obtained a final judgment against Harkless on February 6, 2006. That judgment permanently enjoins Harkless from future securities law violations and orders him to pay over $42 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. The Commission also obtained a judgment by default against Mx Factors and its sales agents BBH Resources and JTL Financial. Mx Factors, BBH Resources, and JTL Financial have been under the control of a court-appointed receiver since the Commission’s action was filed on February 26, 2004 in federal district court in Riverside, California. And, on June 2, 2006, the Commission obtained a final judgment against Harkless’s three sales agents, Daniel Berardi, Jr., Thomas Hawkesworth, and Randall W. Harding ordering disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. The judgment orders Berardi and Hawkesworth, managing members of BBH Resources, LLC, to pay over $11 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. The judgment orders Harding, managing member of JTL Financial Group, LLC, to pay over $17 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. Berardi, Hawkesworth, and Harding received sentences of up to six years as part of the criminal proceeding.

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California Investment Fraud Sentence

A California man was ordered to serve 19  years in prison for a Ponzi scheme that federal prosecutors say financially devastated dozens of victims.

Stefan Wilson plead  guilty earlier this year to wire fraud and tax evasion charges. Wilson was also ordered to pay restitution of more $12 million.

Federal prosecutors say Wilson bilked nearly 80 people out of millions of dollars by promising returns of 1824 percent in an investment fund. Some of the victims say they lost their homes or were forced to come out of retirement.

While he was wrecking peoples lives, I’m not sure this sentence is necessary. He’s not a dangerous man unless hes involved in securities, so just don’t make that an option for him and take more of his money rather than spend tax payer money having him locked up.

Source: California Investment Fraud

California Lawmaker Brags About Sex on Video, Quits

A California Republican state lawmaker ,Mike Duvall, resigned Wednesday due to growing outrage over a videotape that caught him gloating in graphic detail about having sex with a female lobbyist and another woman.

Duvall ,whose votes on family oriented legislation received high marks from conservative groups, said in a statement the furor over his comments had begun to divert attention from the work his fellow lawmakers were trying to finish during the final week of their session.

Duvall is married and has two adult children.

How did a man this dumb ever get so high?

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