From ABA Journal Law News Posted by Molly McDonough April 18, 2011
Federal authorities on Friday unsealed a sweeping anti-illegal gambling indictment and shuttered popular online poker sites, accusing founders of money laundering and bank fraud.
The U.S. Department of Justice seized five of the companies' domain names, seized accounts and held money stored by players, many of whom make their livings playing poker.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the crackdown comes after years of tension between the sites and the U.S. government, which has long held that online gambling is illegal. The case will be closely watched because operators and players have argued that poker is a game of skill and is not gambling, the WSJ reports. More.
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Monday, April 25, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Supreme Court Rules Against Exonerated Inmate Awarded $14M in Damages
A death row inmate whose case may be portrayed in a film starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as his two lawyers has suffered a defeat in the U.S. Supreme Court.
John Thompson was seeking to uphold a $14 million judgment obtained after the New Orleans District Attorney’s office withheld exculpatory blood evidence in his trial for attempted armed robbery, leading to a conviction and ramifications in a later murder case. Thompson had maintained that New Orleans District Attorney Harry Connick had failed to properly train prosecutors about their duty to disclose evidence that would be helpful to the defense.
In a 5-4 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the award, obtained under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion (PDF). A district attorney may not be held liable for a civil rights violation for failure to train prosecutors based on just one failure to disclose, Thomas wrote in Connick v. Thompson.
Posted in ABA Journal Law News by Debra Cassens Weiss More.
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John Thompson was seeking to uphold a $14 million judgment obtained after the New Orleans District Attorney’s office withheld exculpatory blood evidence in his trial for attempted armed robbery, leading to a conviction and ramifications in a later murder case. Thompson had maintained that New Orleans District Attorney Harry Connick had failed to properly train prosecutors about their duty to disclose evidence that would be helpful to the defense.
In a 5-4 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the award, obtained under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion (PDF). A district attorney may not be held liable for a civil rights violation for failure to train prosecutors based on just one failure to disclose, Thomas wrote in Connick v. Thompson.
Posted in ABA Journal Law News by Debra Cassens Weiss More.
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Defense Lawyer Subpoenas Docs Detailing Prosecutor’s Cash Bonuses for Convictions
A Colorado defense lawyer has filed a motion claiming a prosecutor’s policy of paying bonuses for convictions should result in her office’s ouster in his client’s case.
Public defender Stephen McCrohan won more time to subpoena documents about the bonuses in a hearing on Monday, the Denver Post reports. The motion is the first of many expected to challenge the bonus program created last year by District Attorney Carol Chambers of Arapahoe County.
Posted in ABA Journal Law News by Debra Cassens Weiss More.
The Law Lady. For more info about us, click here. To be added to our email circulation with much more law, click here.
Public defender Stephen McCrohan won more time to subpoena documents about the bonuses in a hearing on Monday, the Denver Post reports. The motion is the first of many expected to challenge the bonus program created last year by District Attorney Carol Chambers of Arapahoe County.
Posted in ABA Journal Law News by Debra Cassens Weiss More.
The Law Lady. For more info about us, click here. To be added to our email circulation with much more law, click here.
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