Supreme Court News Blog @newzblogz.com

HOUSTON Four condemned Texas inmates lost appeals today at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court. That includes a Harris County man convicted of a shooting rampage where five people were killed.Forty-nine-year-old Coy Wayne Wesbrook was convicted and sentenced to die for the November 1997 killing spree at an apartment complex just east of Houston.Other inmates to lose their appeals included:_ 48-year-old Michael Richard, condemned for killing a nurse at her home...

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Morgan Stanley Inc. on Wednesday won a reversal of a $1.58 billion verdict handed to billionaire Ron Perelman for misleading him in a deal to sell Coleman Co. to Sunbeam Corp. The Florida Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach ruled that the New York-based investment bank was punished unfairly for destroying e-mails involved in the transaction. The latest decision will be appealed in a case that could end up in the Florida Supreme Court.

Perelman, the chairman of cosmetics giant Revlon Inc., accused Morgan Stanley of conspiring with client Sunbeam to mislead him about the company's financial health. Because of this, he sold camping supplies maker Coleman Co. to Sunbeam in 1998 - months before Sunbeam restated earnings and ahead of its 2001 bankruptcy.

After the 2-1 vote, Judge Carole Y. Taylor wrote in her opinion that because there was no proof at trial on the correct measure of damages, the final judgment for compensatory damages should be reversed.

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WASHINGTON - After William Weaver was convicted of the 1987 murder of a key witness in a federal drug case, the prosecutor told jurors to think beyond Weaver and send a message to drug dealers by returning a sentence of death.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether those and other remarks in the Missouri case unfairly inflamed the jury and violated Weaver's constitutional rights.

A federal appeals court ruling found the prosecutor's remarks improper and upheld a federal judge's decision to throw out the death sentence. The Missouri Supreme Court previously had denied any claim of unfairness and affirmed Weaver's sentence.

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A state law allowing voters to challenge at-large elections systems on the basis that they dilute the strength of minority voters will stand, after the California Supreme Court declined to review the case Wednesday.

The high court's refusal to hear the case leaves intact an appeals court ruling that upheld the 2001 California Voting Rights Act.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights sued the city of Modesto in 2004 on behalf of Hispanic voters there, charging that electing city council members to at-large seats instead of from districts diminished the strength of their votes. Though the city is one-quarter Hispanic, just one Hispanic has been elected to Modesto's five-member city council since 1911.

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MONTPELIER, Vt. - Nine state attorneys general have asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to change its rules to allow consideration of a potential terrorist attack on a reactor when it decides whether to extend a plant's license.

Reports by the National Academy of Sciences, the NRC's staff and outside experts have shown that the pools where reactors store highly radioactive spent fuel "are susceptible to fire and radiological release from a wide range of conditions," seven of the attorneys general wrote in a March 16 letter to the NRC.

They added that those conditions include "natural phenomena, operator error, equipment failure, or intentional attack. The environmental impacts of a fire in a spent fuel pool may be severe, extending over a geographic area larger than a state's legal boundaries and continuing for decades."

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WASHINGTON — A lawyer for a St. Louis man convicted of murder in 1988 told Supreme Court justices Wednesday that a prosecutor crossed the line when he referred to Gen. George Patton in his closing argument, equating jurors to soldiers with a duty to kill.

The iconic general's rhetoric and its invocation in the courtroom were at the center of arguments in the St. Louis County murder sentencing case.

In the trial, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney George R. "Buzz" Westfall, who went on to become county executive and has since died, compared the juror's role in sentencing to that of a soldier who knows he has a duty to kill when he sees his friend's brains blown out on the battlefield.

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MADISON, Wis. - When a prominent lawyer was defending a businessman on charges of sexually assaulting a boy and possessing child pornography, he used a ruse to obtain the boy's computer to aid his case.

Now, state regulators want the state Supreme Court to scold the lawyer for the hoax. Stephen Hurley hired a private investigator to trick the boy into swapping his computer for a new laptop.

The case illustrates what the American Bar Association says has been a major debate in legal circles in recent years: Can lawyers ethically participate in covert activities?

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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- A newspaper has asked the state Supreme Court to rule that the paper can see documents relating to a child's death from a peanut allergy while on a school field trip.

In arguments before the high court, attorney Duane Swinton said the state's Public Records Act required that the records be released.

But when The Spokesman-Review newspaper of Spokane filed a public records request with Spokane Public Schools six years ago, it was hit with a lawsuit in return, Swinton said Tuesday.

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ? A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a decision by the Federal Communications Commission that barred states, including Minnesota, from regulating Internet-based phone services.

A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the FCC's determination in 2004 that companies like Vonage Holdings Corp. of Edison, N.J., provide an interstate service that puts them outside state control.

Vonage uses what's called Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, which involves converting the sound of a voice into packets of data and reassembling them into sound at the other end of the call. Customers can make the calls almost anywhere a broadband Internet connection is available, for usually a flat monthly charge.

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WASHINGTON - President Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress careened closer to a full-blown legal showdown over the firing of federal prosecutors Wednesday as a House subcommittee voted subpoenas for top administration officials in defiance of the White House."After two months of stonewalling, shifting stories and misleading testimony, it is clear that we are still not getting the truth about the decision to fire these prosecutors and its cover-up," said Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif.In res...

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NEW YORK — A couple can proceed with a lawsuit against a fertility clinic they filed after the wife gave birth to a daughter whose skin they thought was too dark to be their child, a judge has ruled.

Thomas and Nancy Andrews, of Commack, N.Y., sued New York Medical Services for Reproductive Medicine, accusing the Manhattan clinic of medical malpractice and other offenses. They claim the Park Avenue clinic used another man's sperm to inseminate Nancy Andrews' eggs.

Three DNA tests — a home kit and two professional laboratory tests — confirmed that Thomas Andrews was not the baby's biological father, state Supreme Court Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam quoted the couple as saying.

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DE PERE De Pere officials are taking a wait-and-see attitude before they rule on where convicted sexual offenders can live.

The City Council discussed the matter Tuesday night, knowing Green Bay and other area communities are considering legislation that would keep sex offenders away from children.

The Green Bay City Council on Tuesday gave first approval to a proposal that would ban certain convicted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or other areas a child attends. The measure must go through another reading at the councils next meeting.

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President Bush undoubtedly felt he had no choice but to dig in and fight a gathering move in the House and Senate to subpoena several of his top White House aides in connection with the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

But Democrats and some Republicans also likely feel that they have no choice except to reject the very limited compromise the president has offered: The aides would address only certain questions in private with no oaths being administered and no transcripts kept. These precautions suggest the White House fears there could be some legal fallout.

Both sides cite institutional reasons for their stands: The White House its right to protect privileged communications and confidentiality, and Congress its right to exercise oversight over the executive branch.

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NEW YORK ? Morgan Stanley Inc. on Wednesday won a reversal of a $1.58 billion verdict handed to billionaire Ron Perelman for misleading him in a deal to sell Coleman Co. to Sunbeam Corp. The Florida Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach ruled that the New York-based investment bank was punished unfairly for destroying e-mails involved in the transaction. The latest decision will be appealed in a case that could end up in the Florida Supreme Court.

Perelman, the chairman of cosmetics giant Revlon Inc., accused Morgan Stanley of conspiring with client Sunbeam to mislead him about the company's financial health. Because of this, he sold camping supplies maker Coleman Co. to Sunbeam in 1998 ? months before Sunbeam restated earnings and ahead of its 2001 bankruptcy.

After the 2-1 vote, Judge Carole Y. Taylor wrote in her opinion that because there was no proof at trial on the correct measure of damages, the final judgment for compensatory damages should be reversed.

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A man with a history of robberies was executed Tuesday evening for a fatal shooting during a convenience store holdup in Dallas nearly 10 years ago.

From the death chamber gurney, Charles Anthony Nealy blamed a more than 20-minute delay in his execution on technicians' inability to find a suitable vein to carry the lethal chemicals.

"I used to tear up the doctor's office," Nealy said. "I hate needles."

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DANBURY, Texas School officials have rejected the appeals of three students after administrators refused to distribute the Danbury High student newspaper.The publication was held up because it was not reviewed beforehand by the principal.The December issue of the D-Town Press had articles written by Danbury High students about the consequences of teenage sexual activity, sexually transmitted diseases and teen parenting.Journalism teacher Kristi Piper also said the paper had editorials making abo...

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WASHINGTON - After William Weaver was convicted for the 1987 murder of a key witness in a federal drug case, the prosecutor told jurors to think beyond Weaver and send a message to drug dealers by returning a sentence of death.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will consider whether those and other remarks in the Missouri case unfairly inflamed the jury and violated Weaver's constitutional rights.

The court is reviewing a ruling by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, which found the prosecutor's remarks improper and upheld a federal judge's decision to throw out the death sentence. The Missouri Supreme Court had previously denied any claim of unfairness and affirmed Weaver's sentence.

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DALLAS (Reuters) - Texas executed a man by lethal injection on Tuesday for the murder of a clerk during a convenience store robbery in Dallas in the state's ninth execution this year.

Charles Nealy, who would have turned 43 on Friday, shot and killed the clerk during the 1997 robbery, then fled on foot with $4,000, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.

Local media reports said Nealy had maintained he was innocent of the crime.

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WASHINGTON – President Bush gave his embattled attorney general, Al Gonzales, a public affirmation on Tuesday. But based on his track record, that's no assurance of job security.

"He's got support with me. I support the attorney general," Mr. Bush said at a hastily arranged news conference. He vowed to fight efforts to force top aides to testify about the firing of eight U.S. prosecutors, though he'll let them talk to Congress informally.

To the untrained ear, that should have put to rest concern that Mr. Gonzales' days in the Cabinet are numbered. But someone who's worked for this president as long as the man Mr. Bush calls "Fredo" would know there are no guarantees, not even when the boss says he likes you.

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Not burdened by the need to campaign at least until 2011, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has decided to co-sponsor one of the worst pieces of legislation to make its way through Congress in years.

Nelson will join Sen. Ted Kennedy as a sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007, the companion legislation to a measure passed earlier this month in the House of Representatives.

The bill would allow labor to act as a collective bargaining agent for workers without having to win an election.

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The New Zealand soprano pulled out of a series of concerts with Australian rock singer John Farnham in 2005 after watching a DVD in which female fans threw underwear at him on stage.

The promoter of the concert sued Dame Kiri in the New South Wales Supreme Court, claiming A$2 million (US$1.6 million) in damages for breaching her contract.

During the case, Dame Kiri told the court that she was embarrassed by the underwear throwing and found it offensive that Farnham collected them as "some sort of trophy."

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LUCASVILLE, Ohio - Attorneys for a death row inmate whose execution was delayed by the U.S. Supreme Court said the postponement gives them hope that the sentence will be thrown out based on a ruling this week in another capital case.

Kenneth Biros was scheduled to be executed Tuesday for killing 22-year-old Tami Engstrom, dismembering her body and scattering the remains across two states. He and the family members of his victim waited more than six hours past his scheduled 10 a.m. execution time for the Supreme Court to rule that the lethal injection could not proceed.

The justices' one-sentence decision agreed with a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that upheld a lower court's order saying Biros should be allowed to continue appealing a lawsuit with other inmates challenging Ohio's method of lethal injection as cruel and unusual punishment. Other executions have been delayed in the past year because of the suit, although a former cult leader was put to death despite his appeal.

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The hunger comes from years of rejection in all aspects of his life as a student, father, businessman and candidate.

Classmates rejected Redner, a slow learner who finally gave up and dropped out of high school. The parents of his daughters' friends rejected him, refusing to allow their children to sleep over at his house. City leaders rejected him, trying to shut down his adult businesses.

And voters rejected him six times, always choosing the more mainstream candidate over the nude club king.

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WASHINGTON ? Flexing their political muscle against the White House, Democrats in the House and Senate are insisting that President Bush's top aides describe their roles in the firings of eight federal prosecutors on the record and under oath.

A House committee was to vote Wednesday to authorize subpoenas for political director Karl Rove and other administration officials despite Bush's declaration a day earlier that Democrats must accept his offer to allow the officials to talk privately to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, but not under oath and not on the record.

Would he fight Democrats in court to protect his aides against congressional subpoenas?

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WASHINGTON - Flexing their political muscle against the White House, Democrats in the House and Senate are insisting that President Bush's top aides describe their roles in the firings of eight federal prosecutors on the record and under oath.

A House committee was to vote Wednesday to authorize subpoenas for political director Karl Rove and other administration officials despite Bush's declaration a day earlier that Democrats must accept his offer to allow the officials to talk privately to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, but not under oath and not on the record.

Would he fight Democrats in court to protect his aides against congressional subpoenas?

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WASHINGTON - President Bush gave his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, a public affirmation on Tuesday. But based on his track record, that's no assurance of job security.

"He's got support with me. I support the attorney general," Bush said at a hastily arranged news conference. He vowed to fight efforts to force top aides to testify about the firing of eight U.S. prosecutors, though he'll let them talk to Congress informally.

To the untrained ear, that should have put to rest concern that Gonzales' days in the Cabinet are numbered. But someone who's worked for this president as long as the man Bush calls "Fredo" would know there are no guarantees, not even when the boss says he likes you.

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AUSTIN A federal judge in Austin will expedite the case of eight children confined to a highly criticized facility holding immigrant families.U-S District Judge Sam Sparks ruled today while hearing from attorneys for the children and the government.Civil liberties and immigration advocates this month sued on behalf of children at the T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor.Critics say the government inappropriately houses children in jail-like conditions at the former prison while their families await p...

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LUCASVILLE, Ohio The U-S Supreme Court has agreed with two lower courts and blocked the execution of a man who had been scheduled to die Tuesday in Ohio.Kenneth Biros has acknowledged killing a woman in 1991, but says he did so in a drunken rage. Her remains were found scattered across two states.The high court decision means Biros can continue arguing that Ohio's method of lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment.On Monday, three judges on the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati upheld a lower court order blocking the execution.

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NEW ORLEANS A federal appeals court says Enron shareholders cannot proceed with a class-action lawsuit against investment banks accused of the accounting fraud that led to Enron's collapse.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion today reversed a ruling by a federal judge in Houston which had said shareholders could sue as a class.Shareholders' attorneys argue that Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and other investment banks that did business with Enron should be held liable for billions of doll...

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NEW ORLEANS - A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Enron Corp. shareholders cannot proceed with a class-action lawsuit against investment banks for their alleged role in the accounting fraud that led to Enron's collapse.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion reversed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon in Houston, who had said shareholders could sue as a class."As we have recognized, class certification may be the backbreaking decision that places 'insurmountable pressure'...

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WASHINGTON — Due partly to a shortage of federal agents and poor record-keeping, aliens under court order to be removed from the country often face unconstitutionally long detentions, an inspector general has found.

A report to be released Tuesday by the Homeland Security Department inspector general found that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement service is hobbled by outdated databases and inadequate staffing in trying to deal with alien removals.

"Cases are not prioritized to ensure that aliens who are dangerous or whose departure is in the national interest are removed," Inspector General Richard Skinner wrote in the report, "or that their release within the United States is adequately supervised."

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Kenneth Baumruk is brought into the St. Charles County courtroom by officers for his sentencing Monday.

(Odell Mitchell Jr./P-D)

Lisa Schmidt was there in the St. Louis County courtroom nearly 15 years ago when her stepfather, Kenneth Baumruk, shot and killed her mother Mary Baumruk. Now, after a judge sentenced Kenneth Baumruk to deaththis afternoon, Schmidt says she wants to watch his execution.

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The convicted triggerman in a murder-for-for hire plot in San Antonio and a man found guilty of killing a 16-year-old Houston-area girl lost appeals Monday before the U.S. Supreme Court, moving them another step closer to execution.

The high court refused to review the cases of death-row inmates Rolando Ruiz Jr., 34, of San Antonio, and George Whitaker III, 36, of Houston. Neither has scheduled execution dates.

Ruiz was convicted in the 1992 slaying of Theresa Rodriguez, 29, who was shot in the head at close range with a .357-caliber Magnum pistol in the garage of her San Antonio home as she got out of her car. Evidence showed Ruiz was paid $2,000 by the woman's husband and brother-in-law so they could collect on life insurance policies worth $400,000.

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WASHINGTON – A high school senior's 14-foot banner proclaiming "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" gave the Supreme Court a provocative prop for a lively argument Monday about the extent of schools' control over student speech.

If the justices conclude Joseph Frederick's homemade sign was a pro-drug message, they are likely to side with principal Deborah Morse. She suspended Mr. Frederick in 2002 when he unfurled the banner across the street from the school in Juneau, Alaska.

"I thought we wanted our schools to teach something, including something besides just basic elements, including the character formation and not to use drugs," Chief Justice John Roberts said Monday.

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Various legal factors allow pediatrician Burton Moore, arrested in 2003, to still see patients.

ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR

ROCKFORD — The Rockford pediatrician accused of keeping a stash of child pornography still practices medicine in Rockford, more than three years after his arrest.

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There's really no good way to complete that thought. And even if someone made one up, you wouldn't read it here. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has it right when he calls adults who would sexually abuse children "monsters."

"Not in Texas," he says.

Yet that doesn't mean Mr. Dewhurst and the Legislature should rewrite Texas law to punish these monstrous acts with the death penalty, a punishment reserved for the most heinous crimes that result in a victim's death.

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WASHINGTON - Forget the presidential election in 2008 - Sen. Arlen Specter has his sights on 2010.

The Pennsylvania Republican, dismissing the possibility he'll retire at the end of his term, says he will seek a sixth term and already is raising cash for a re-election run.

"There are a lot of important things to be done," Specter said Monday. "Finally after being here to acquire some seniority, I'm in a position to do them."

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A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Enron Corp. shareholders cannot proceed with a class-action lawsuit against investment banks for their alleged role in the accounting fraud that led to Enron's collapse.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion reversed U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon in Houston, who had said shareholders could sue as a class.

"As we have recognized, class certification may be the backbreaking decision that places `insurmountable pressure' on a defendant to settle, even when the defendant has a good chance of succeeding on the merits," the 5th Circuit opinion said.

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NEW ORLEANS - A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Enron Corp. shareholders cannot proceed with a class-action lawsuit against investment banks for their alleged role in the accounting fraud that led to Enron's collapse.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion reversed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon in Houston, who had said shareholders could sue as a class.

"As we have recognized, class certification may be the backbreaking decision that places 'insurmountable pressure' on a defendant to settle, even when the defendant has a good chance of succeeding on the merits," the 5th Circuit opinion said.

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WASHINGTON -- The late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously declared that he could not define pornography but he knew it when he saw it. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas does not define affirmative action in the same way that a lot of other people do, but he knows when he has not benefited from it.

He reveals that view and more in a rare and surprisingly expansive interview with Business Week senior writer Diane Brady, posted on the magazine's Web site.

Thomas has a reputation for saying little on the bench and even less to reporters. But he granted this rare interview because Brady was writing an article about Thomas' beloved college mentor, the Rev. John E. Brooks, former president of Holy Cross College.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court today declined to use a sexual harassment claim from a 16-year-old ice cream scooper to decide whether an underage employee must show that her co-worker's attention was unwelcome.

The case stemmed from a sexual encounter between the teen and a 25-year-old co-worker that Illinois law defines as statutory rape.

The teenager and her shift supervisor, Matthew Nayman, worked at a store North Aurora-based Oberweis Dairy operates in Illinois.

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WASHINGTON – Sen. John Cornyn has proved himself time and again to be one of President Bush's fiercest defenders. It's endeared him to conservatives, but the cachet of being the president's man in Congress isn't what it used to be.

Last week, Mr. Cornyn broke ranks. He criticized the attorney general over the handling of politically tinged firings of prosecutors. And he took on the president on education policy, pushing a No Child Left Behind overhaul that would undo federal testing requirements at the heart of a signature Bush program.

Is he trying to put an unpopular president at arm's length as he gears up for his next campaign?

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On Sunday, after Avery was found guilty of killing his sister Teresa, Halbach calmly answered questions again. But his voice broke at one point.

Halbach said that, besides the conviction, his family wants Avery to spend the rest of his life in prison.

"I hope we get that," he added, and composed himself again.

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico --Lawyers for an Australian detainee at the U.S. military camp at Guantánamo Bay have filed an injunction to stall his trial on charges of providing material support for terrorism.

The legal team for David Hicks asked a U.S. District Court in Washington last week to suspend the military commission, said Marine Maj. Michael Mori, Hicks' Pentagon-appointed lawyer.

Hicks, 31, is scheduled to appear before the military commission on March 26, more than five years after he was captured in Afghanistan and sent to the U.S. base in eastern Cuba.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- More than $10 million has been set aside in Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed two-year budget for the Ohio Supreme Court to develop an online database where law enforcement, government officials and the public could conveniently access legal records from courts statewide. Millions of pages of court documents become public records in Ohio each year in 385 courts around the state. Some courts in Ohio's 88 counties use sophisticated technology and regularly post records onli...

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Today is Monday, March 19, the 78th day of 2007. There are 287 days left in the year. This is the date the swallows traditionally return to the San Juan Capistrano Mission in California.

Todays Highlight in History:

On March 19th, 1945, during World War Two, 724 people were killed when a Japanese dive bomber attacked the U.S. carrier Franklin off Japan; the ship, however, was saved.

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CLEVELAND (AP) -- A court fight over redeveloping a sagging riverfront bar district will test an Ohio Supreme Court ruling over when governments may seize land for private developers. The Port Authority, working with the city and a developer, is set to argue in court this week that it has the authority to take nine properties in the Cleveland Flats area because they haven't been able to negotiate a selling price with the owners. If Cuyahoga County Probate Judge John E. Corrigan rules in the ...

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CLEVELAND — A court fight over redeveloping a sagging riverfront bar district will test an Ohio Supreme Court ruling over when governments may seize land for private developers.

The Port Authority, working with the city and a developer, is set to argue in court this week that it has the authority to take nine properties in the Cleveland Flats area because they haven't been able to negotiate a selling price with the owners.

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* CHILLICOTHE GUN SHOW AND SALE:9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Christopher Conference Center, located inside the Comfort Inn. Admission is $4 per person. Ladies admitted free and children (with an adult) age 12 and younger also admitted free. Open to the public. With a successful event this will be conducted two to three times per year. For more information, call Greg Stanley at (304) 422-4026 or e-mail www.stanleyzorro@yahoo.com.

* MEET THE AUTHOR: Herb Brown, a retired Supreme Court justice and author of "Presumption of Guilt" and "Shadows of Doubt" and the plays "You're My Boy" and "Power of God," will meet the public at 3 p.m. at the Northside branch of the Chillicothe and Ross County Public Library, 550 Buckeye St. Event organized by Friends of the Library.

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They can't offer advice, lest they slide from law helpers to outlaws.

ADVERTISEMENT

ST. PETERSBURG - The big blue sign in the storefront window reads "Legal Documents for Less."

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Irving dilemma: English immersion or both languages at once?

03:31 PM CDT on Sunday, March 18, 2007

kunmuth@dallasnews.com

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