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Recent Cases Showcase New Judicial Leeway

Black, Vick decisions illustrate turn from sentencing guidelines

(Newser) - More federal judges are giving themselves wiggle room when it comes to once-strict sentencing guidelines, as evidenced by three recent high-profile court cases. The three—involving Conrad Black, Michael Vick, and a crack cocaine case that made it to the Supreme Court—illustrate how a spate of high-court rulings have...

Jeter a Cheater: New York State
Jeter a Cheater: New York State

Jeter a Cheater: New York State

If proven 'immersed' in Big Apple, superstar shortstop may owe millions in back taxes

(Newser) - Derek Jeter is spending the off-season denying he’s a Bronx Bomber. New York officials seeking back taxes from the Yankee—who files in Florida—have answered a judge’s demands to show the ballplayer is “immersed in the community.” If they can prove Jeter’s more a...

Bush Would Veto Aid for Whistle-Blowers

Salon continues investigation into oft-faulty system

(Newser) - President Bush has said he’d veto legislation to fortify legal protection for whistle-blowers, leaving in place a dysfunctional system that enables punishment for government employees who speak out—rather than those they indict. The finger-pointers lose their cases before special courts 97% of the time, reports a new study;...

Green Eggs and Slammer: NH Judge Channels Seuss

Inmate can't keep quiet about his prison diet

(Newser) - When a New Hampshire state prison inmate used a hard-boiled egg to illustrate his grievance with his institutional diet, the federal judge overseeing the case sought lofty counsel—Dr. Seuss. "I do not like eggs in the file. I do not like eggs any style," James Muirhead responded,...

Wig Out! Brit Courts Could Ditch The Hairpieces

Hair today, gone tomorrow for old look?

(Newser) - Judges and barristers in England and Wales have been wearing horse-hair wigs and black gowns to court since the 1600s, but that could all change depending on the results of an official survey seeking opinions from those who sport the hairpieces. The Lord Chief Justice will make a final decision....

Ill. Abortion Clinic Fights to Open
Ill. Abortion Clinic Fights
to Open

Ill. Abortion Clinic Fights to Open

Planned Parenthood cites pressure in case of vanishing permit

(Newser) - A federal judge will hear a lawsuit today alleging a Planned Parenthood clinic lost its permit on the eve of its opening due to pressure from anti-abortion groups. Officials in Aurora, Ill., maintain the permit they approved last winter withheld the facility’s true nature, and many in town are...

Lay Judges to Join Bench in Japan
Lay Judges
to Join Bench
in Japan

Lay Judges to Join Bench in Japan

Will citizens temper Japan's courts, where 99.9% are found guilty?

(Newser) - Japan will give citizens the gavel in an effort to counteract its judicial system’s prejudice for presuming guilt. Six citizens and three trained jurists will sit on criminal cases, and the majority will rule, Bloomberg reports. The new system follows a clamor of criticism about forced confessions, inhumane treatment...

Judge May Have Sued His Own Pants Off

Plaintiff in $54M suit vs. dry cleaners on thin ice in day job

(Newser) - Roy Pearson, the DC judge who sued his dry cleaners for $54 million after they lost his pants, may need to start tailoring his resume. A city commission informed Pearson yesterday that his reappointment is in jeopardy, reports the Washington Post. Though the pants trial made Pearson a national laughingstock,...

Pakistani Court Restores Judge
Pakistani Court Restores Judge

Pakistani Court Restores Judge

Slap to Musharraf will tk pro-democracy movement

(Newser) - The Pakistani Supreme Court has returned the country’s top judge to power, overruling  the suspension meted out by President Musharraf, which ignited a pro-democracy protest movement this spring. Charges of nepotism and abuse of power against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry were called "illegal" by the court.

Juror Arrested for Listening to MP3 Player Under Headscarf

Muslim woman unplugs during trial

(Newser) - A young Muslim juror may face jail time for contempt of court after allegedly listening to her MP3 player beneath her hijab during a murder trial in Britain. The judge thought he heard "tinny music" in the courtroom, but chalked it up to his own imagination, reports the Times....

Kennedy Is Swing Vote as Supreme Court Shifts Right

The term in review

(Newser) - As the Supreme Court wrapped up its first term under Chief Justice John Roberts Friday, the new court's conservative bent was obvious: the Court swung to the right in most of the ideological cases decided this year by a 5-4 margin. Justice Anthony Kennedy delivered the swing vote, making him...

Judge Bets on New Approach
Judge Bets on New Approach

Judge Bets on New Approach

(Newser) - A New York judge is handing down treatment-oriented sentences to defendants whose crimes result from gambling addiction, on a model introduced to address drug and spousal abuse. Offenders willing to plead guilty can choose Justice Mark Farrell's suburban Buffalo courtroom and receive lighter sentences, along with counseling and status checks...

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