Court refuses to block Okla. execution

The Supreme Court has refused to halt the execution of an Oklahoma inmate who claims he is mentally incompetent and ineligible for the death penalty.

The justices said in an order Tuesday that they will not grant a stay of execution to 56-year-old Garry Thomas Allen, who is set to die by lethal injection Tuesday evening at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

Allen was convicted in the shooting death of his fiancée outside a children's day care in Oklahoma City in 1986.

Allen's attorneys had argued that he was incompetent when he entered a guilty plea in the case and that his mental condition has continued to deteriorate. Appellate courts have rejected those claims.

New Jersey/New York Automobile Accident Lawyer

While automobile accidents make up a significant portion of New Jersey / New York personal injury and wrongful death claims, these accidents cannot be considered routine.  Each accident must be individually investigated and analyzed in order to establish case specifics. We treat every case different and pay attention to the details.

Our law firm has extensive automobile accident litigation experience. We understand the physical, emotional, and finanacial burdens an unexpected automobile accident can place on an individuals. The Reinartz Law Firm is skilled at evaluating the physical principles of automobile accidents, the medical evidence used to evaluate injuries, and the economic and accounting principles required to evaluate losses.  We provide the strongest possible representation in automobile accident litigation and do a thorough assessment.

Victims of automobile accidents have the right for compensation on property damage, medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and for permanent injury or disfigurement.  Please be aware that adjusters and insurers may try to take advantage of victims who are not represented by an attorney who is experienced in New Jersey / New York automobile accident law.  Do not count on an insurance company to look out for your best interests because they are looking for business.  It is rare that a victim will "come out ahead" in an injury settlement without consulting a lawyer.

The law limits the time in which you may bring a claim for injuries suffered in an automobile accident. If you have been injured due to an unforeseen accident and is not at fault, you deserve to get compensation for the suffering you had to go through. Call today to discuss your case with an experienced Jersey City / West New York auto accident lawyer at (201) 448-9838 or find us online http://www.reinartzlaw.com/practice-areas/motor-vehicle-accidents

Court delayed for woman in W. Pa. shelter scam

A court date has been delayed for a woman charged with staying at a western Pennsylvania shelter for battered women under false pretenses.

Online court records show the trial of 33-year-old Amy Slanina, which had been scheduled to begin Monday has been pushed back to Sept. 6 when she's scheduled to enter an unspecified plea to one or more of the charges she faces.

Slanina's attorney and Armstrong County prosecutors haven't returned calls for comment.

Kittanning police charged Slanina, whose last known address was in Marysville, Ohio, with theft by deception and other charges for living at the shelter in December after falsely claiming to be the abused wife of a Pittsburgh police officer.

Police say Slanina also conned an Idaho couple into believing she was pregnant during phone calls from the shelter, but determined that wasn't a crime.

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Divorce is a legal proceeding within the court to formally dissolve a marriage between a couple. Divorce terminates a marital union, allowing the two people to pursue a new life personally and legally. As the most precious asset of any marriage, the best interests of the children should be of primary importance in any divorce proceeding. We strive to provide our clients with representation that will not only protect their rights, but also advance their best intentions for their children.

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2 men sentenced in Palin lawyer harassment case

Two Pennsylvania men convicted of harassing Sarah Palin's Alaska lawyers were sentenced Friday to time served and five years' probation, with the proceedings briefly halted after a short outburst in court by one of the defendants.
During his sentencing in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, 20-year-old Shawn Christy said the judge's order that he live up to six months in a Pennsylvania community re-entry program was "ridiculous."
His father, Craig Christy, 48, was ordered to perform community service.
The Christys, of McAdoo, Pa., pleaded guilty in January to making harassing phone calls to Palin's attorneys. Attorney John Tiemessen testified that the men's calls threatened Palin and attorneys. Both Christys apologized Friday for their actions.
Shawn Christy was released and sent back to Pennsylvania last month after an evaluation report said he wasn't a danger to the public.

Federal appeals court in Ore. takes up no-fly case

A federal appeals court in Oregon will hear arguments in a lawsuit filed by 15 men who say their rights were violated because they are on the U.S. government's no-fly list.

They are asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Portland to order their removal from the list or at least get an explanation why they were put on it.

The plaintiffs include the imam of a Portland mosque and a Marine veteran who is the son of a Palestinian immigrant. Others are outside the country and unable to return.

U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown ruled last year that her court does not have jurisdiction over the Transportation Safety Administration, which administers the no-fly list. The appeals court will hear the case on Friday.

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The Law Offices of Dennis R. Wheeler

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http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/Rigrodsky-Long-PA-Announces-A-Securities-Fraud-Class-Action

Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas on behalf of purchasers the common stock of Collective Brands, Inc. between December 1, 2010 and May 24, 2011, inclusive, alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company and certain of its officers and/or directors.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact Timothy J. MacFall, Esquire or Scott J. Farrell, Esquire of Rigrodsky & Long, P.A., 825 East Gate Boulevard, Suite 300, Garden City, New York 11530 at (888) 969-4242, by e-mail to info@rigrodskylong.com, or at: http://www.rigrodskylong.com/investigations/collective-brands-inc-pss.

Collective Brands was formed in 2007 when Payless ShoeSource acquired the Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group (formerly the Stride Rite Corporation) and Collective Licensing International. The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Collective Brands and certain of the Company’s directors and/or officers made materially false and misleading statements concerning its business and financial results. Specifically, it is alleged that defendants concealed from the investing public problems concerning the Company’s inventory level for Payless; significantly lower sales at the Company’s flagship Payless stores than expected due to deteriorating customer demand; and that the Company was forced to mark down Payless’s inventory at significant discounts, which negatively affected the Company’s margins and financial results for its first quarter.

On May 24, 2011, the Company disclosed its financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2011. As alleged in the Complaint, the Company reported earnings of $26.4 million or $0.42 diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) for the first quarter, which was nearly 50% less than the $0.82 diluted EPS expected by analysts. The Company also reported that net sales declined 1.1% to $869.0 million, due in substantial part to the Company’s 7.4% comparable store sales decline in its Payless Domestic segment. As a result, the price of Collective Brands common stock dropped $3.06 per share to close at $15.31 per share on May 25, 2011, a decline of approximately 17% on heavy trading volume.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than March 26, 2012. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Any member of the proposed class may move the court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

http://www.rigrodskylong.com

Teen pleads not guilty in Ohio Craigslist killings

An Ohio teen has pleaded not guilty to killing one man and attempting to kill a second in a deadly Craigslist robbery scheme that targeted older and single out-of-work men.

Brogan Rafferty, his ankles and wrists cuffed, made a brief appearance Friday in adult felony court in Akron on charges originally filed in Noble County, where the case unfolded.

Rafferty, dressed in a white T-shirt and orange jail pants, also has been charged with three counts of aggravated murder in juvenile court in Summit County. Prosecutors eventually hope to merge the cases in adult court in Akron.

A magistrate continued Rafferty's $1 million bond. His attorney says Rafferty cannot afford it.

A onetime mentor of Rafferty, 52-year-old Richard Beasley of Akron, has pleaded not guilty in the killings.

Court seems split on double jeopardy question

The Supreme Court seemed divided Wednesday on whether to allow an Arkansas man to be retried on murder charges even though a jury forewoman said in open court that they were unanimously against finding him guilty.

Alex Blueford of Jacksonville, Ark., was charged in July 2008 in the death of 20-month-old Matthew McFadden Jr. Blueford testified at trial that he elbowed the boy in the head by accident. Authorities say the child was beaten to death.

Blueford's murder trial ended in a hung jury. The jury forewoman told the judge before he declared a mistrial that the jury voted unanimously against capital murder and first-degree murder. The jury deadlocked on a lesser charge, manslaughter, which caused the mistrial.

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled last year that Blueford should be retried on the original charges. But Blueford's lawyers want justices to bar a second trial on capital and first-degree murder charges, saying that would violate Fifth Amendment protections preventing someone from being tried twice for the same crime.

NY court decision bolsters anti-fracking movement

A New York court decision has bolstered a movement among towns determined to prevent the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas within their borders.

A state Supreme Court justice on Tuesday upheld the town of Dryden's August 2011 zoning amendment banning gas drilling. Denver-based Anschutz Exploration Corporation, which has spent $5.1 million leasing and developing 22,000 acres in Dryden, about 40 miles southwest of Syracuse, had argued state law trumped the ban.

More than 50 New York communities have enacted gas-drilling bans. Binghamton attorney Helen Slottje, who helps draft such laws, says the ruling should embolden towns considering local bans.

"We think it's a terrific vindication of the town's right to home rule and to decide their future," Slottje said Wednesday. "It really should give the green light to communities that want to proceed down this route."

Albany attorney Tom West, who represented Anschutz, said the trial-level state court decision is likely to be appealed to the mid-level Appellate Division and, if necessary, to the state Court of Appeals.

"We remain confident in our position that municipalities cannot ban natural gas drilling in New York state," West said.

Another challenge of a municipal gas-drilling ban is pending in Otsego County, where Cooperstown Holstein Corp. sued the town of Middlefield over a ban similar to Dryden's. The lawsuit says the landowner has leased nearly 400 acres to a gas-drilling company and the ban would block the economic benefits of the arrangement.

Court extends NYC church access to public schools

A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected an attempt by New York City to keep churches out of its public schools while a judge decides whether a city law banning them from its school buildings can be enforced.

But the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals encouraged a lower court judge to act quickly after she ruled earlier this month that a small Bronx church can continue to meet in a public school for Sunday services, despite the city's threat to begin enforcing its ban on worship services in city schools. She later extended the order to include all of the roughly 40 churches meeting in public schools.

In a two-page order, the appeals court declined the city's request to block U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska from preventing enforcement while she hears the merits of a lawsuit brought by the Bronx Household of Faith.

She said the church was likely to win its First Amendment challenge and had demonstrated it would suffer irreparable harm if it could not continue to use Public School 15 for Sunday morning worship services.

Court: California can force inmates to submit DNA

A divided federal appeals court ruled Thursday that California law enforcement officials can keep collecting DNA samples from people arrested for felonies.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said law enforcement’s interest in solving cold cases, identifying crime suspects and even exonerating the wrongly accused outweigh any privacy concerns raised by the forced DNA collections.

The 2-1 ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by four Californians who were arrested on felony charges but never convicted.

The arrestees sought a court order barring collection of DNA from people who are arrested but not convicted, arguing the process is an unconstitutional search and seizure since some suspects will later be exonerated.

The DNA samples are obtained with a swab of the cheek and stored in the state’s DNA database, which contains 1.9 million profiles. Arrestees who are never charged with a felony can apply to have their samples expunged from the database.

The state Department of Justice said it has had roughly 20,000 “hits’’ connecting suspects with previous crimes since it began collecting the DNA profiles.

Judge Mylan Smith Jr., writing for the two-judge majority, said the useful law enforcement tool wasn’t any more intrusive than fingerprinting.

Appeals court tosses Armenian payments law

A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down a novel and controversial California law that allowed descendants of 1.5 million Armenians who perished in Turkey nearly a century ago to file claims against life insurance companies accused of reneging on policies.

The move came when a specially convened 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously tossed out a class action lawsuit filed against Munich Re after two of its subsidiaries refused to pay claims.

The ruling, written by Judge Susan Graber, said the California law trampled on U.S. foreign policy — the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government.

The California Legislature labeled the Armenian deaths as genocide, a term the Turkish government vehemently argued was wrongly applied during a time of civil unrest in the country.

The court noted the issue is so fraught with politics that President Obama studiously avoided using the word genocide during a commemorative speech in April 2010 noting the Armenian deaths.

The tortured legal saga began in 2000 when the California Legislature passed a law enabling Armenian heirs to file claims with insurance companies for policies sold around the turn of the 20th century. It gave the heirs until 2010 to file lawsuits over unpaid insurance benefits.