US appeals court upholds EPA plan to clean up Chesapeake Bay

Legal Insight 2015/07/09 15:58   Bookmark and Share
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a federal plan limiting pollution in the Chesapeake Bay despite objections from farmers who accuse the Environmental Protection Agency of abusing its power.

The ruling Monday upholds restrictions on farm and construction runoff and wastewater treatment and is a clear win for environmentalists.

Six states have agreed to the pollution limits: Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, along with Washington, D.C.,

The American Farm Bureau Federation and others fought the restrictions. They argued that the EPA was usurping state authority to regulate waterways.

The EPA says animal waste and fertilizer that moves from streams into the Chesapeake is the single largest source of bay pollution.

Third Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro says Chesapeake Bay pollution is a complex problem that affects more than 17 million people.


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Legal public nudity; cattle rustling; sheriff pays tax

Legal Insight 2015/07/06 14:31   Bookmark and Share
A Minnesota volunteer firefighter was suspended Sunday for flying a Confederate flag from an engine that he drove in a holiday parade, and he said he expects to be asked to resign.

Brian Nielsen, 43, drove a Hartland Fire Department truck in the Third of July Parade in the southern Minnesota city of Albert Lea, the Albert Lea Tribune first reported. Nielsen, who's been with the department for about 10 years, flew both the Confederate and American flags from the back of the truck. He said neither his town nor his department had anything to do with it.

Nielsen said he's not for slavery, but did it because he was fed up with political correctness.

"It was my decision and I didn't think it was going to be a big deal, but boy was I wrong," Nielsen told The Associated Press.

He said Hartland Fire Chief Trent Wangen suspended him Sunday pending an investigation.

"More than likely I'll probably be asked to step down," Nielsen said. "I respect that and will do that if they want."

The killings of nine people at a historically black South Carolina church last month have sparked debate nationwide about the appropriateness of displaying the Confederate flag. The man charged in the shooting deaths had posted photographs of himself with the flag on social media.

Nielsen said he didn't think flying the flag would draw as much flak as it has. It's been the subject of critical tweets and Facebook postings. He said a woman wearing a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party patch came up to him and criticized the flag before the parade, but other spectators stood up and clapped as the truck flying both the U.S. and Confederate flags passed by.

Friday's parade was organized by the Albert Lea Chamber of Commerce. Its executive director, Randy Kehr, said the display was "unfortunate" but within the firefighter's rights. He told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis he didn't know ahead of time that the truck would carry the Confederate flag, and probably would have respectfully asked Nielsen not to fly it if he had known.
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Another Arizona immigration law dismantled by the courts

Legal Insight 2015/06/04 00:41   Bookmark and Share
The U.S. Supreme Court landed the final blow against an Arizona law that denied bail to immigrants who are in the country illegally and are charged with certain felonies, marking the latest in a series of state immigration policies that have since been thrown out by the courts.

The nation's highest court on Monday rejected a bid from metro Phoenix's top prosecutor and sheriff to reinstate the 2006 law after a lower appeals court concluded late last year that it violated civil rights by imposing punishment before trial.

While a small number of Arizona's immigration laws have been upheld, the courts have slowly dismantled most of the other statutes that sought to draw local police into immigration enforcement.

"At this point, we can say that was a failed experiment," said Cecillia Wang, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who led the challenge of the law. "Like the rest of the country, Arizona should move on from that failed experiment."

Voters overwhelmingly approved the no-bail law as the state's politicians were feeling pressure to take action on illegal immigration. It automatically denied bail to immigrants charged with a range of felonies that included shoplifting, aggravated identity theft, sexual assault and murder.
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Court debates law, grammar in ruling on weapons on campus

Legal Insight 2015/04/23 15:06   Bookmark and Share
It's a court decision that required knowledge of both law and grammar.

In a decision Tuesday, a divided state Appeals Court ordered a new trial for a former High Point University student who had a Ruger pistol and three knives in a car she parked on campus.

Judges said the trial court should have told the jury to consider whether prosecutors proved Anna Laura Huckelba was knowingly on educational property at the time.

The judges said they were ruling for the first time on whether the word "knowingly" in the law modifies both possessing weapons and being on educational property. In a 2-1 decision, the majority said it does.

Huckelba received suspended sentences when she was found guilty of three misdemeanors and one felony in October 2013.
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Man kills his lawyer, judge, co-defendant in Milan court

Legal Insight 2015/04/15 11:57   Bookmark and Share
A real estate developer on trial for fraudulent bankruptcy fired 13 shots inside the Milan Tribunal on Thursday, killing his lawyer, a co-defendant and a judge, eluding court security before being captured 25 kilometers away.

The shooting raised concerns about security at Italy's courthouses, where much of the surveillance has been outsourced to private contractors, and about Italy's ability to protect visitors during the Milan Expo 2015 world's fair, which opens May 1 and is expected to attract 20 million visitors over six months.

Premier Matteo Renzi pledged a robust investigation into how the gunman, identified as Claudio Giardiello, managed to bring a pistol into the monumental Fascist-era tribunal, where defendants and other visitors are required to pass through metal detectors, but accredited court officials, including lawyers, are not.

"Our commitment is that this never happens again, and that those responsible pay," Renzi said.

The chief federal prosecutor in Milan, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, told reporters it appeared Giardiello may have used a fake document to enter through the only pedestrian entrance not equipped with a metal detector and intended only for use by accredited court officials. He said the metal detectors at the other entrances were in good working order.

Bruti Liberati praised law enforcement, who apprehended Giardiello at a shopping center more than an hour after the shooting. They had identified the license plate on his motor bike with video surveillance cameras and tracked his arrival in Vimercate, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the scene in the heart of Milan.

Prosecutors said Giardiello, 57, was still armed with a loaded pistol and intended to kill another business partner whom he blamed for a failed real estate venture.
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Robin Williams' wife, children head to court in estate fight

Legal Insight 2015/03/31 13:17   Bookmark and Share
Attorneys for Robin Williams' wife and children are headed to court in their battle over the late comedian's estate.

The attorneys are scheduled to appear before a San Francisco probate judge on Monday, as they argue over who should get clothes and other personal items the actor kept at one his Northern California homes.

In papers filed in December, Williams' wife, Susan, says some of the late actor's personal items were taken without her permission.

She has asked the court to exclude the contents of the San Francisco Bay Area home she shared with Williams from the jewelry, memorabilia and other items Williams said the children should have.

Williams' children, Zachary, Zelda and Cody, said in response that Susan Williams is "adding insult to a terrible injury" by trying to change the trust agreement and rob them of the late actor's belongings.

Susan Williams' attorney said she was only seeking guidance from the court about the meaning of certain terms in the trust.
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