Biros’ execution on December 8, 2009 was stayed, but will now proceed due to the state’s policy change. A U.S. District Court judge had temporarily delayed Biros’ execution after the governor halted the lethal injection of another inmate in September because prison staff could not find a suitable vein. The new state policy is a change from a three-drug intravenous lethal injection to a one-drug IV injection, with a two-drug muscle injection serving as a backup.

Source: http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/Federal-court-allows-Dec-8-execution-in-Ohio

http://www.fox8live.com/news/national/story/Lawyer-Ohios-lethal-injection-a-human-experiment/TvSC0wkNu0uejfkRbdDGaw.cspx?rss=2210

A memo on the new policy was sent to federal prosecutors in 14 states.  14 states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Some medical marijuana advocates say Maryland shouldn’t be included in that group, because the law there only allows for reduced penalties for medical marijuana usage.

Source:  http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2009/10/19/ap_newsbreak_new_medical_marijuana_policy_issued/

 In the dissenting opinion, Justice Alito criticized the majority opinion for creating an unclear standard that the dissent claimed will be confusing for law enforcement officers to follow and endanger their safety. The majority said the earlier Belton case was misinterpreted to mean that officers may search the passenger compartment of a vehicle as part of a lawful arrest of a suspect. The dissent accused the majority of using the misinterpretation explanation as an excuse to change a law it disagreed with.

Source: http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/Supreme-Court-limits-warrantless-vehicle-searches

Warr and his wife are being charged with trying to obtain a grant for a beach house they owned but did not live in. The government is seeking to forfeit $222,798 in funds, and Warr faces a prison sentence of up to 210 years and fines totalling $4 million if convicted on all charges.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i1iPkSKCbK1qKls7wV3kv5nBUFmgD960CO3O1
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=9746725&nav=menu40_11

The state is urging the court to allow statements of out-of-court witnesses who have been victims of intimidation to be used at trial without presenting the witnesses themselves. Defense lawyers claim that allowing the statements to be used without presenting the witness would violate the defendants’ constitutional right to confront accusers.

Source: http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/NJ-high-court-hearing-case-on-witness-intimidation

The appeals court said the evidence pointed to the defendant’s knowledge that the guns he sold in Florida were destined for New York City. The judge who imposed the sentence based it on the urgent need to deter gun trafficking into large metropolitan areas. The appeals court found that, “Where the profits to be made from violating a law are higher, the penalty needs to be correspondingly higher to achieve the same amount of deterrence.”

Source: http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/NYC-court-Big-city-guns-can-equal-stiff-sentence

In one example of transporting a high security prisoner to a court hearing, attended by corrections officers and two state troopers, Connecticut estimates it costs the state at least $1,600 per hearing. This year, Connecticut has completed installing teleconferencing equipment in all of its 18 correctional facilities. Kansas uses teleconferencing for parole hearings and internal disciplinary matters, and is seeking to expand its use. Teleconferencing is used in Pennsylvania for court cases, parole hearings and immigration hearings, as well as employee meetings and regional training sessions. Facing an economic downturn, more states are expected to use teleconferencing to save on the expenses for vehicles, vehicle maintenance, gasoline, drivers, and security personnel, associated with the transportation of prisoners.

Source: http://www.lexisone.com/news/ap/ap112408b.html

Gonzales is accused of improperly using his position to stop an investigation into alleged abuses at the federal detention centers.

Sources: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6119394.html

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/brownsvilleherald_91922___article.html/attorney_state.html

A federal jury found Stevens guilty of knowlingly failing to disclosure more than $250,000 in gifts and services including remodeling work on his home, an expensive massage chair, a sled dog and others items which he received from friends.

Senate ethics rules require annual financial disclosure forms. Stevens was found to have made false statements on disclosure forms from 1999 to 2006.

The maximum sentence on each of the felony charges is five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

Stevens has served in the Senate for more than 40 years. He says he plans to continue to run for re-election.

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/washington/28stevens.html?hp

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6088781&page=1

Cooey made a similar request in 2003, which the Ohio Parole Board denied. Cooey came within a day of being executed that year before a federal judge issued a reprieve. If his execution proceeds as scheduled on October 14, 2008, it will be the first execution in Ohio since the end of a moratorium while the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed Kentucky’s lethal injection procedure.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-08-25-death-row_N.htm