Obama Attacks Supreme Court Ruling on Political Contributions

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Obama Attacks Supreme Court Ruling on Political Contributions

March 16th, 2010 by Dana Altman

In an unusual move, President Obama criticized a recent ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court during his State of the Union address, with six of the nine members of the court sitting a few feet in front of him. The ruling he was criticizing, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, will allow unrestricted political campaign contributions by unions, advocacy groups, and corporations. At issue in the case was whether spending restrictions applied to a conservative group’s documentary, “Hillary: The Movie.”

The campaign finance regulations were imposed after the Watergate scandal, but loopholes were created in the 1990s by wealthy individuals, corporations, unions and others taking advantage of unlimited “soft money” contributions to political parties. Congress closed those loopholes by eliminating soft money with the 2002 campaign finance law known as McCain-Feingold, prompting a search for new loopholes. Democrats say they will try to enact new laws to reinstate the restrictions in time for the midterm elections in November.

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/09/us/politics/09donate.html?hp

http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/White-House-stands-ground-on-high-court-criticism

Tags: Campaign Contributions, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Hillary: The Movie, McCain-Feingold
Posted in Elections | No Comments »

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Military Funeral Protest Case

March 9th, 2010 by Dana Altman

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether Westboro Baptist Church members can protest at military funerals under First Amendment protection of free speech. The protesters from the Kansas church have been appearing at military funerals with inflammatory messages on signs, such as “Thank God for Dead Soldiers”. They believe that deaths of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.

The case involves an appeal from the father of a Marine killed in Iraq, seeking to reinstate a $5 million verdict against the protesters, after they picketed outside his son’s funeral in Maryland. A Baltimore jury in awarded Albert Snyder damages for emotional distress and invasion of privacy, but it was overturned by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, who found the signs contained “imaginative and hyperbolic rhetoric” protected by the First Amendment.

Source:

http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/Court-to-rule-in-military-funeral-protest-case

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/bal-te.funeral09mar09,0,2187130.story

Tags: Albert Snyder, Military Funerals, Westboro Baptist Church
Posted in Free Speech | No Comments »

Supreme Court Hears Ex-Enron CEO Appeal

March 2nd, 2010 by Dana Altman

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the appeal of former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, who is currently serving a 24-year sentence after being convicted on 19 counts of conspiracy, insider trading, and securities fraud. The Court will consider if and to what extent the government must rebut the presumption of jury prejudice due to pretrial publicity and community impact from the crimes. Also at issue is whether the federal honest services fraud statute is unconstitutionally vague.

Skilling’s attorney argued that the lower court’s voir dire process during jury selection was inadequate to identify unduly biased jurors because of the degree of passion and prejudice in the community. After the downfall of Enron in 2001, Skilling was found to have deprived shareholders and the public of “the intangible right to honest services”, in violation of federal law.

Sources: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/03/supreme-court-hears-enron-ex-ceo-appeal.php

http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/Former-Enron-CEOs-Case-Before-High-Court

Tags: Enron, Honest Services Fraud, Jeffrey Skilling
Posted in Fraud | No Comments »

Justice Department Seeks $300 Billion Tobacco Verdict

February 23rd, 2010 by Dana Altman

The U.S. government and several tobacco companies have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a landmark ruling over the companies’ alleged concealment of the effects of smoking. The Obama administration has asked the Supreme Court to reverse an earlier ruling in a rackerteering case and allow damages of $280 billion in forfeited profits and $10 billion to fund anti-smoking campaigns in the United States. If the Supreme Court agrees to take the case, it could set new precedents for prosecutions under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

In May, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a trial judge’s verdict against cigarette makers, finding they violated federal anti-racketeering laws by conspiring to lie about the dangers of smoking. Altria Group Inc’s Philip Morris USA unit and two co-defendants filed to overturn the verdict, while the government argues the appeals court wrongly denied the repayment of billions of dollars in ill-gotten gains by the tobacco industry.

Source: http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/Tobacco-Industry-Faces-Renewed-300-Billion-Court-Battle

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017895838

Tags: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, RICO, tobacco
Posted in Racketeering | No Comments »

Obama to Announce New Nuclear Plants

February 16th, 2010 by Dana Altman

President Obama is preparing to announce groundbreaking for the first new U.S. nuclear reactors since the incident at Three Mile Island in 1979. The reactors will be built at a Southern Company plant in Burke, Georgia. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized the Department of Energy to issue loan guarantees “for projects that avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions and employ new or significantly-improved technologies.”The President has proposed tripling loan guarantees for nuclear-power plant construction to more than $54 billion in his FY2011 budget.

Approximately 20 percent of the United States’ energy needs are met through nuclear power. According to Southern Company, the new project will create approximately 3,000 onsite construction jobs in the short term and approximately 850 permanent operations jobs.

Source: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/02/president-obama-yes-new-nukes.html

Tags: Nuclear Power, Nuclear Reactors
Posted in Energy | 1 Comment »

Michael Jackson’s Doctor Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter

February 9th, 2010 by Dana Altman

Dr. Conrad Murray, 56, who was Michael Jackson’s personal physician, was charged today with involuntary manslaughter in the singer’s death last year. Acute propofol intoxication was listed as the cause of Jackson’s death. If convicted, he could get as much as four years in prison. Dr, Murray pled not guilty and was released on $75,000 bond. The doctor denies prescribing or administering anything to Jackson that should have caused his death. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Dr. Conrad Murray, Mochael Jackson, propofol
Posted in Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Address Posted on Facebook Site

February 1st, 2010 by Dana Altman

A new Facebook group created to remove Sheriff Joe Arpaio from power has created controversy after one of the page’s members posted the location of the Sheriff’s home. The group, which has grown to over 8,000 members in a single week, includes commentary about Arpaio, pictures taken from protests and information about future demonstrations. A recent post included a map to the Sheriff’s home in Fountain Hills and a satellite picture of the property. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: facebook, Privacy, Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Posted in Privacy | No Comments »