SCOTUS ruling continues to impact Iowa inmates

Federal lawsuit over justice selection 'fatally flawed,' Iowa A.G. says
A Lawsuit that challenges Iowa’s merit-based judge selection system in Federal Court is so flawed that the case should be thrown out, state attorneys say. State lawyers asked a judge to dismiss the case on grounds that the Lawsuit filed by four Iowans relies on “fatally flawed” legal arguments. The plaintiffs also fail to show how they were harmed by the process, according to the motion filed late last week in U.S. District Court. Iowa Solicitor General Mark E. Schantz and Deputy Iowa Attor

Supreme Court continues to look for elusive rules on death penalty
When the Supreme Court hands down a list of the (few) cases it has picked for its docket and the (many) petitions it has rejected, it sometimes is accompanied by a commentary from one or more of the justices. More often than not, the subject is the death penalty. Even as the number of executions falls and the death sentences handed out decrease, the court still spends a remarkable amount of its time deciding whether someone receives the ultimate punishment. Or at least deciding when other j...

Justices to leave office despite legal challenge
Three Iowa Supreme Court justices voted out of office last month will leave as scheduled, despite a Legal Challenge that had sought to keep them on the bench. Lawyers who contend the Nov. 2 retention vote was Unconstitutional said this morning that they will drop their push to temporarily prevent the justices from leaving office. But the three Des Moines-area lawyers said they will continue to press their claim that justices and judges up for retention should appear on ballots separate from ot...

history
Supreme Court Case: Flemming vs. Nestor The fact that workers contribute to the Social Security program's funding through a dedicated Payroll Tax establishes a unique connection between those tax payments and future benefits. More so than general federal income taxes can be said to establish "rights" to certain government services. This is often expressed in the idea that Social Security benefits are "an earned right." This is true enough in a moral and political sense. But ...

US executions drop by 12 percent in 2010
WASHINGTON — The number of executions in the United States dropped 12 percent in 2010, and the number of people sentenced to die is nearing historic lows, a report from an anti-capital punishment group says. The Death Penalty Information Center attributed the reductions to changing attitudes toward Capital Punishment, but acknowledged there have also been problems with the availability of chemicals used in Lethal Injections. "Whether it’s concerns about the high costs of the death pe...

McDonnell eyes 'finality' in expedited suit
Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell of Virginia defended his efforts Sunday to have the state's trial-court victory in its federal health reform Lawsuit bypass an appeals court and go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. Asked by "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace about whether he just wants to "kill 'ObamaCare' before it gets rolling," Mr. McDonnell said he's really looking for a definitive answer for everybody. "Let's create finality for businesses, for citizens and for everybody ab...

US executions drop by 12 percent in 2010
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of executions in the United States dropped 12 percent in 2010, and the number of people sentenced to die is nearing historic lows, a report from an anti-capital punishment group says. The Death Penalty Information Center attributed the reductions to changing attitudes toward Capital Punishment, but acknowledged there have also been problems with the availability of chemicals used in Lethal Injections. “Whether it’s concerns about the high costs of t...

Two Tacony men convicted in 2010 killing
Two Tacony men charged in a racially tinged double slaying in 2007 were found Guilty of first-degree Murder Monday and now face the death penalty. Gerald Drummond, 26, and Robert McDowell, 28, will be sentenced to life or put on death row by jurors for the July 13, 2007, slayings of Damien Holloway, 27, and Timothy Clark, 15, in the 6900 block of Vandike Street. In a concession to the Holiday Season, Common Pleas Court Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes said the penalty hearing would start on Jan. 4. ...

US executions drop by 12 percent in 2010
WASHINGTON — The number of executions in the United States dropped 12 percent in 2010, and the number of people sentenced to die is nearing historic lows, a report from an anti-capital punishment group says. The Death Penalty Information Center attributed the reductions to changing attitudes toward Capital Punishment, but acknowledged there have also been problems with the availability of chemicals used in Lethal Injections. "Whether it's concerns about the high costs of the death penalt...

US executions drop by 12 percent in 2010
WASHINGTON—The number of executions in the United States dropped 12 percent in 2010, and the number of people sentenced to die is nearing historic lows, a report from an anti-capital punishment group says. The Death Penalty Information Center attributed the reductions to changing attitudes toward Capital Punishment, but acknowledged there have also been problems with the availability of chemicals used in Lethal Injections. "Whether it's concerns about the high costs of the death penalty a...

Checkmate | BofA, GMAC, Chase, Wells, Citi, Onewest Face N.J. Foreclosure Freeze
KABOOM! BofA, GMAC, Chase, Wells, Citi, Onewest Face N.J. Foreclosure Freeze This is coming in from multiple fronts... Chink in the Armor The State Supreme Court of NJ has ordered a halt to all foreclosure in the state of NJ. This is most excellent news for the reason you may not realize: NJ is owned by the Wall St. Bankers. Remember the movie Copland about a town in NJ owned and run by a bunch of NYC cops? Guess who used to be Governor of NJ? Corzine. Guess what his job was before he became G...

Justices say 'no' to quest to block removal
Three members of the Iowa Supreme Court who were removed by voters last month have asked that a Lawsuit challenging the Referendum not pursue an injunction to keep them on the bench while the Court Case is being decided. The three lawyers who filed the challenge last week said Monday that they no longer wish to try to block the removal of the three justices. But they said they want their Lawsuit to move forward, with the court deciding whether the Referendum procedures comply with the terms of...

Death Penalty Down in U.S., Figures Show
Source: The New York Times States are continuing a trend of executing fewer Prisoners and juries are wary of sentencing criminal defendants to die, according to year-end figures compiled by a group that opposes the death penalty. The 46 executions in 2010 constituted a nearly 12 percent drop from the previous year’s total of 52, according to the group, Death Penalty Information Center, which produces an annual report on execution trends. The overall trend shows a marked drop when compared with t...

UK's 'crossbow cannibal' pleads guilty
A British Student who dubbed himself the "Crossbow Cannibal" has admitted to murdering three Prostitutes in northern England. Stephen Griffiths, 40, killed Suzanne Blamires, Shelley Armitage and Susan Rushworth, who all went missing in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Griffiths on Tuesday pleaded guilty to all three Murders in a packed Leeds Crown Court. The killings in Bradford evoked memories of the infamous "Yorkshire Ripper", Peter Sutcliffe, who murdered 13 women in the 1970s and early 1980s. Grif...

NJ Top Court May Block Foreclosures
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS 2) — New Jersey’s highest court was threatening to block six major lenders, suspected of irregularities, from foreclosing on most Homeowners. Those lenders, which include Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citibank, will have to appear in court next month and defend their Foreclosure practices. The Chief Justice of New Jersey’s Supreme Court said the court has become increasingly concerned about the accuracy and reliability of documents submitted to the office o...

Elena Kagan - Trust Us, She Needed This Gig Real Bad
When she became the fourth woman to join the highest court in the land last August, it was a significant moment in American history. But for newly minted Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan, it meant something so much more: a steady paycheck. And you have no idea how bad she needed it. Before Barack Obama nominated her to be the court's 112th justice, Kagan was having some pretty serious cash-flow issues. It's not like she was Homeless, but the former Solicitor General wasn't exactly living on Eas...

Central Falls receiver defends law authorizing takeover
PROVIDENCE — Lawyers for the Central Falls’ receiver filed papers with the state Supreme Court Monday defending the law that has put him in control of the city since July. Mayor Charles D. Moreau and four members of the City Council have appealed to the state Supreme Court, asking it to overrule a lower court ruling that upheld the law that let the state receiver, retired Judge Mark A. Pfeiffer, relegate them to advisory status. Pfeiffer was appointed by the State Department of Reve...

The Rich Who Laid the Golden Eggs
"The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg," a fable by Aesop, provides a moral lesson about greed. A couple owned a goose that laid a golden egg every day. Assuming there must be a big lump of gold inside the goose, the couple killed it. But they found no gold. By trying to get all of the gold at once, the couple deprived themselves of gold they would have otherwise received every day. In modern America, the rich are like the goose, and the couple is like the government. To get all it can ou...

The anti-American grinch is trying so hard to stamp out those nativity scenes
The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) recently sent a letter to the town of Brookeville, Indiana, claiming that it is unlawful for the government to have religious displays on public property and requested that a nativity scene outside the county Courthouse be moved to a private location. "It is unlawful for a government body to maintain, erect or host a holiday display that consists solely of a nativity scene, thus singling out, showing preference for and endorsing one religion. "The...

Quinnipiac: New Jerseyans Increasingly Split on Chris Christie
Quinnipiac finds New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie experiencing a bit of an end-of-the-year slide: New Jersey voters give Gov. Christie a split 46 – 44 percent job Approval Rating and also divide 47 – 48 percent on whether they approve of his governing style, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Gov. Christie’s latest job Approval Rating compares to 51 – 38 percent in a November 9 survey by the independent Quinnipiac University. Christie’s approv...

Democrats Give Up on Votes for Obamas Pro-Abortion Judges
Democrats have officially given up on seeking votes for four pro-abortion judicial nominees President Barack Obama put forward for lower court positions. In exchange, they received an agreement from Republicans to allow votes on more than 19 noncontroversial nominees that have not earned opposition from pro-life groups. Included the four is the highest nominee, Goodwin Liu, a Law School dean at University of California Berkeley nominated for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco...

Man indicted in infant daughter's death
A 25-year-old Brunswick man has been indicted on a first-degree Murder charge in the death of his 2-month-old daughter. Frederick County State's Attorney Charlie Smith says Jason Zirinsky was indicted by a Grand Jury Friday. If convicted of first-degree murder, Zirinsky faces a possible sentence of life without Parole. He could get another 25 years for Child Abuse resulting in death. Smith says prosecutors are awaiting the final Autopsy report on Zirinsky's daughter, Lexi Regina Zirinsky. Court ...

Lifer bring his quest for freedom to governor
A loser in multiple appeals since his 1987 first-degree Murder conviction in St. Clair County, Freeman finally scored in October when a Federal Judge in Detroit overturned the verdict (he remains behind bars as prosecutors appeal that ruling). Freeman, 47, also is one of four Michigan Prisoners whose request for commutation of sentence remains before Gov. Jennifer Granholm as she enters the final days of her tenure in office. He probably shouldn't coun...

Under Roberts, high court is becoming business-friendly
WASHINGTON — Almost 40 years ago, a Virginia lawyer named Lewis F. Powell Jr. warned that the nation’s free enterprise system was under attack. He urged the US Chamber of Commerce to assemble “a highly competent staff of lawyers’’ and retain outside counsel “of national standing and reputation’’ to appear before the Supreme Court and advance the interests of American business. “The judiciary may be the most important instrument for social, e...

Ohio Gov. Appoints First African-American Supreme Court Justice
History has been made in Ohio with the appointment of former judge Yvette McGee Brown to the state’s highest court. Outgoing Governor Ted Strickland appointed McGee Brown to the Ohio Supreme Court on December 10.  She is the first African-American woman and third justice of color overall to ever serve on the court. McGee Brown recently ran for Lieutenant Governor on the same ticket with Strickland. However, they were unsuccessful in their bid that would have kept Strickland in office ...