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Mass. judge who wrote gay marriage ruling retiring
Headline Topics |
2010/07/22 09:49
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| pMassachusetts Chief Justice Margaret Marshall said Wednesday that while she understands her tenure on the state's high court will always be linked to the legalization of gay marriage, that case holds no greater importance in her mind than the hundreds of other rulings she authored./ppI'm proud of every decision, said Marshall, who surprised even her closest colleagues with the announcement that she planned to retire from the bench by the end of October to spend more time with her husband, former New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis, who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease./ppThe court's 4-3 ruling in the 2003 case called Goodrich v. Department of Public Health paved the way for Massachusetts to become the first U.S. state to allow same-sex couples to wed, igniting a fierce national debate over gay marriage that continues to this day./ppWhether and whom to marry, how to express sexual intimacy, and whether and how to establish a family — these are among the most basic of every individual's liberty and due process rights, Marshall wrote./ppThe chief justice recalled how a courtroom packed with hundreds of people quickly cleared out after the court heard arguments in the gay marriage case, leaving only a handful of people who were there for other matters./p |
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Pa. senator, sister to be tried on ethics charges
Legal Business |
2010/07/22 04:49
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A western Pennsylvania lawmaker and one of her sisters will stand trial on charges they used the state senator's taxpayer-funded staff for campaign work for herself and another sister, a state Supreme Court justice, a judge ruled Wednesday.
State Sen. Jane Orie and her sister, Janine, were charged in April with using Jane Orie's legislative staff to conduct campaign business. Janine Orie was an aide to their sister Joan Orie Melvin while she was on the Superior Court and during the judge's two previous runs for the Supreme Court. Janine Orie is on paid suspension from that job. pAfter three days of testimony from former staffers, Allegheny County Judge Donna Jo McDaniel heard brief closing arguments and immediately ruled that the sisters were to stand trial on all charges./ppAttorneys for both women said they were not surprised at the judge's decision but said they were confident of their chances at trial./ppJane Orie's attorney, William Costopoulous, called the evidence put forth by prosecutors as trivial. He acknowledged staff members performed campaign work, but said they did so at their own volition or on compensatory time./p |
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Seton Hall ex-coach Gonzalez pleads not guilty
Court Watch News |
2010/07/22 03:49
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| Former Seton Hall basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez pleaded not guilty Wednesday to shoplifting a satchel at an upscale shopping mall last month. Gonzalez spoke during the five-minute arraignment only to verify his address in Harrison, N.Y. His attorney, Anna Cominsky, entered the plea on his behalf. Neither commented after the proceeding. pGonzalez is accused of taking a satchel worth about $1,400 from the Polo Ralph Lauren store in The Mall at Short Hills on June 29. Police said he removed the sensor device from the satchel and walked out of the store without paying for it./ppAccording to a police report, the Polo store manager reported that the manager of a restaurant in the mall returned the satchel. The restaurant manager said someone had come into the eatery, left the satchel with the hostess and never returned./ppGonzalez faces criminal mischief and shoplifting charges; the shoplifting charge is punishable by up to five years in jail, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Gonzalez surrendered to police in Millburn on July 5 and has not had to post bail./p |
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Officer wants Ariz. lawsuit merged with feds' case
Topics |
2010/07/19 09:30
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The lawyer for a Phoenix police officer who is challenging Arizona's new immigration law in court has asked a federal judge to merge his lawsuit with a challenge filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The officer's attorney, Stephen Montoya, tells U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton in a court filing that the cases are virtually identical because they claim the state law is trumped by federal immigration law and because both seek to keep the state law from being enforced.
The law requires police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person's immigration status if officers have a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally.
The seven challenges to the law are currently all separate lawsuits. |
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