Court: Officers may have to pay fees in lawsuit

The Supreme Court says a South Carolina sheriff's office can be held liable for attorneys' fees for stopping abortion protesters in South Carolina who wanted to hold up signs showing aborted fetuses.

Justices on Monday reversed a decision saying the Greenwood County sheriff's office was not required to pay attorney's fees in a lawsuit brought by Steven Lefemine and Columbia Christians for Life. The group was told by officers they couldn't protest with their signs in November 2005. A federal judge agreed that the sheriff was wrong, but did not award damages or lawyer's fees.

The justices threw out that decision without hearing arguments, saying the legal decision that officers could not stop the protesters "supported the award of attorney's fees." The case now goes back to the lower courts.

Pittsburgh Theft Offense Lawyers

Theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's freely-given consent and with the intent to deprive that person of their property. The severity of the penalty for a theft offense is based upon the value of the property taken and the circumstances of how it was taken. Many people who are facing criminal charges for theft are facing their first encounter with the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania. If you have been charged with shoplifting, writing a bad check, unauthorized use of an automobile or any other theft offense, you may not understand your rights.  You need an experienced criminal defense lawyer to explain and protect your rights.

I have a thorough understanding of theft crimes in Pennsylvania and will provide competent and aggressive defense to those charged with any type of theft, whether you are charged with shoplifting, misdemeanor theft or felony theft. I will review the type of theft charged, the value of the property alleged to be stolen, the alleged intent behind the act, as well as all possible defenses to the charges. Early and active involvement of a criminal defense attorney can make a big difference in theft charges filed against you.

Contact Our Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Law Firm
If you have been arrested for theft or another offense, talk to an experienced lawyer right away to ensure you are protected. Please call me today for a free consultation at 412-429-4360, email me at info@gbmlawpittsburgh.com, or contact me through this website http://www.gbmlawpittsburgh.com/criminal-defense/computer-crimes

New York Foster Care Lawyers - Rosin Steinhagen Mendel

Rosin Steinhagen Mendel is a law firm dedicated to serving our clients in New York City, and the surrounding counties in southern New York State and in New Jersey.

We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights, permanency hearings, custody hearings, guardianship, administrative proceedings, and adoption. Our goal is to provide each of our clients with the best possible representation in all aspects of their cases, and clients appreciate our careful analysis of individual cases, through preparation and attention to detail.

Rosin Steinhagen Mendel is here to provide their clients with the highest level of representation in family matters. Visit us on the web at http://www.lawrsm.com/ for more information regarding your adoption and foster care concerns.

Sydney Criminal Law - Sydney Criminal Lawyers

Driving without a license, whether it is suspended or cancelled, can have some serious consequences including criminal conviction, further length of disqualifying your licence, hefty fees, and in some cases, imprisonment. Driving while suspended is driving a motor vehicle on a public road when your licence is suspended by the RTA or by Police.

Driving while cancelled is driving a motor vehicle on a public road after your licence has been cancelled by the RTA. Driving while unlicensed is driving a motor vehicle on a public road without ever having held a valid NSW driver licence or when the licence was expired. All penalties can increase or decrease depending on the situation, however, offences for driving without a legal licence can have the potential for big consequences. Don't get stuck in a messy situation, our attorneys at Sydney Lawyers can help you!

At Sydney Criminal Lawyers, their attorneys are experts in driving cases, including driving without a valid licence. Our criminal lawyers have an in-depth knowledge of the driving laws including the defences of 'honest and reasonable mistake' and 'necessity'. With an outstanding team of attorneys to work with, your case will be aggressively defended by a representative and will help fight for your licence qualifications, your reputation and your free. Call us today at (02) 9261 8881 to schedule an appointment or visit us at http://www.criminallaw.com.au/driving-without-a-license for more information.

Ohio man found guilty in septic tank body case

A jury has convicted a man of aggravated murder and other charges in the death of his estranged wife, who was found strangled in a septic tank in southeast Ohio last year.
Hocking County jurors in Logan deliberated for about four hours before returning a verdict Tuesday in the trial of 27-year-old William Inman II. He could face the death penalty when he's sentenced.
His parents also are charged. They are being tried separately in the slaying of his 25-year-old wife, Summer.
Authorities say she was abducted in Logan, strangled with a zip tie and dumped in an underground septic tank behind a church in March of last year.
Inman's parents have pleaded not guilty. They'll be tried later this year.

Alaska conspiracy trial scheduled in federal court

Three Alaska men are scheduled to go on trial Monday in Anchorage on charges of plotting to kill government employees.

Fairbanks militia leader Schaeffer Cox of Fairbanks, Coleman Barney of North Pole and Lonnie Vernon of Salcha were arrested 14 months ago and also face weapons charges.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the arrests followed an FBI investigation of Cox that began in 2010.

Cox has described himself as a sovereign citizen.

The FBI classifies the sovereign citizen movement as domestic terrorism movement known for clogging the court system with fraudulent liens and lawsuits.

Cox ran for state House in the Republican primary in 2008. In 2009 he started a gun rights organization, the Second Amendment Taskforce, which staged large rallies in Fairbanks.

Federman & Sherwood Announces Securities Class Action

A class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Swisher Hygiene 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 or false misrepresentations to the market which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price during the Class Period, which is May 16, 2011 through March 28, 2012. 

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all Swisher Hygiene Inc. shareholders who purchased common stock during the Class Period and are therefore a member of the Class as described above. You may move the Court no later than Tuesday, May 29, 2012 to serve as a lead plaintiff for the entire 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, obtain further information and participate in this or any other securities litigation, or should you have any questions or concerns regarding this notice or preservation of your rights, please contact www.federmanlaw.com 

Judges skeptical of Texas in redistricting case

Three federal judges weighing the legality of Texas' new political maps reacted with skepticism Tuesday when the state's lawyer suggested the intent of the redrawn boundaries was to maximize the influence of Republicans, not to minimize the influence of minorities.

The U.S. Justice Department and a coalition of minority groups contend the legislative and congressional maps the Texas Legislature drew last year recut districts in a way meant to dilute the state's burgeoning minority voting population. They say the maps violate a section of the Voting Rights Act that requires states with a history of racially discriminatory voting practices to get so-called "pre-clearance" from the Justice Department before making electoral changes.

Texas is gaining four congressional seats this year due to population readjustments made in the 2010 census. That has increased the redistricting stakes, with Hispanics and Democrats often clashing with the GOP-controlled Legislature about how the lines should be drawn.

John Hughes, a lawyer for Texas, which is seeking to keep the maps in place, said during closing arguments before a Washington federal court panel that the maps were the result of partisan gerrymandering that didn't violate federal law. He argued that "a decision based on partisanship" is not based on race, even if it results in minority voters having less political influence.

Ex-Calif. teacher in court on molestation charges

The children at Miramonte Elementary School never complained about their third-grade teacher. Not, authorities said, when he blindfolded them, not when he put tape over their mouths or even placed live cockroaches on their faces.

He told them it was a game and then photographed them, creating images that would eventually lead to his arrest, investigators said of Mark Berndt, who is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on charges that he committed lewd acts on 23 boys and girls, ages 6 to 10, between 2008 and 2010. He has hired a lawyer and has made no statements to authorities, said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

The investigation began when a film processor found Berndt's photos more than a year ago. Since the discovery, the school district fired Berndt and police put him under surveillance.

"If it wasn't for the film processor, this could still be continuing today," said sheriff's Lt. Carlos Marquez.

Berndt was arrested Monday at his home in Torrance and was being held on $2.3 million bail.

Some parents picking up their pre-kindergarteners at the school on Tuesday complained that officials at the school in South Los Angeles should have notified them when the photos were found.

Thomas, Kagan asked to sit out health care case

Conservative interest groups and Republican lawmakers want Justice Elena Kagan off the health care case. Liberals and Democrats in Congress say it's Justice Clarence Thomas who should sit it out.

Neither justice is budging — the right decision, according to many ethicists and legal experts.

None of the parties in the case has asked the justices to excuse themselves. But underlying the calls on both sides is their belief that the conservative Thomas is a sure vote to strike down President Barack Obama's health care law and that the liberal Kagan is certain to uphold the main domestic achievement of the man who appointed her.

The stakes are high in the court's election-year review of a law aimed at extending coverage to more than 30 million people. Both sides have engaged in broad legal and political maneuvering for the most favorable conditions surrounding the court's consideration of the case.

Taking away just one vote potentially could tip the outcome on the nine-justice court.

Republican lawmakers recently have stepped up their effort against Kagan, complaining that the Justice Department has not fully revealed Kagan's involvement in planning the response to challenges to the law. Kagan was Obama's solicitor general, the administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, until he nominated her to the high court last year.

US court won't block its Texas redistricting map US court won't block its Texas redistricting map

A federal court refused late Friday to block a congressional redistricting map it drew up for Texas, rejecting a request from the state's attorney general just hours after the Republican accused the court of "undermining the democratic process."

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott had asked the San Antonio-based court to stay the implementation of its interim map, which the court drafted when minority groups challenged the original plan passed by the Republican-dominated state Legislature.

The court-drawn map would ensure minorities made up the majority in three additional Texas congressional districts. If the 2012 elections were held under the court's map, Democrats would have an advantage as they try to win back the U.S. House.

Abbott said he would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court-ordered map will remain in place until the legal fights are resolved.

The court drew the maps after minority groups filed a lawsuit, claiming a redistricting plan devised by Republican lawmakers didn't reflect growth in the state's Hispanic and black populations.

AMERICAN DISABILITIES ACT PROBLEMS

http://www.insiderexclusive.com/show-content/375-american-disabilities-act-problems-florence-kulbs-story.html

Oppression is omnipresent among people with disabilities. It's interwoven in their daily lives.  They breathe, sleep and work with it as if it were natural.The fight for accessible public transportation seems to have been the crucible for the disability rights movement for much of the last two decades.  Advocates thought that accessible transportation would be the key to free disabled people and to mainstream them in society.

When the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act passed, mandating that all public buses and trains be made accessible, Americans with Disabilities celebrated this new legislation.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guarantees that people with disabilities have the same access to public services such as transportation as people without disabilities. To make bus service available to those with disabilities, many City transit authorities have equipped their buses with wheelchair lifts and other special devices.  

Public transit authorities also provide ADA paratransit service for those disabled persons who are unable to travel using the fixed route bus service. The ADA paratransit service provides both curb-to-curb service and door-to-door services.

The spirit of the ADA is all about equal access and leveling the playing field so that Disabled persons no longer have to sit on the sidelines. But 21 years after the law was passed, we still see horror stories of a "Well-Intended Plan that sometimes goes horribly wrong"Today the INSIDER EXCLUSIVE  "Goes Behind The Headlines" to share one of those horror stories in  "AMERICAN DISABILITIES ACT PROBLEMS- Florence Kulb's Story", and to expose where the ADA's Paratransit Program went horribly wrong in Philadelphia.And how Florence Kulb's lawyer, Robert Huber, Ptr Huber & Palsir  successfully represented Florence  to get her the justice she deserved. Robert's goals.....  Not ONLY To get Justice for his Florence...   BUT To make sure that similar incidents don't  ever happen again, anywhere in America. If you have a compelling story that you believe deserves National TV exposure, please contact us.

Calif. salon shooting suspect due for arraignment

A man charged with killing his ex-wife and seven others in a shooting rampage at a Southern California hair salon was due back in court Tuesday.

Scott Dekraai was expected to be arraigned in Orange County Superior Court on eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Dekraai put on a bulletproof vest and took three handguns to a nearby beach where he pondered shooting his former wife Michelle Fournier, prosecutors said. He then allegedly headed to Seal Beach, bursting into Salon Meritage where Fournier worked and shot eight people in the head and chest in a two minute rampage. Only one of the victims survived.

He then walked out and shot to death a man sitting in his car in the parking lot before driving away, prosecutors said.

After his arrest a few blocks away, Dekraai told police that he shot Fournier, her friend and the salon's owner who headed toward him with scissors, and a number of others whom he saw as "collateral damage," court papers showed.

Court schedules week of health care arguments

The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will use an unprecedented week's worth of argument time in late March to decide the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's historic health care overhaul before the 2012 presidential elections.

The high court scheduled arguments for March 26th, 27th and 28th over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which aims to provide health insurance to more than 30 million previously uninsured Americans. The arguments fill the entire court calendar that week with nothing but debate over Obama's signature domestic health care achievement.

With the March dates set, it means a final decision on the massive health care overhaul will likely come before Independence Day in the middle of Obama's re-election campaign. The new law has been vigorously opposed by all of Obama's prospective GOP opponents. Republicans have branded the law unconstitutional since before Obama signed it in a March 2010 ceremony.

In an extraordinary move, the justices are hearing more than five hours of arguments over the health care overhaul. In the modern era, the last time the court increased that time anywhere near this much was in 2003 for consideration of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance overhaul. That case consumed four hours of argument.

The Supreme Court will start the week of arguments that Monday with one hour on whether court action is premature because no one yet has paid a fine for not participating in the overhaul.

Federal law generally prohibits challenges to taxes until they are paid. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., ruled earlier this year that the penalty for not purchasing insurance will not be paid before federal income tax returns are due in April 2015, therefore it is too early for a court ruling.