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SC Supreme Court to rule on public autopsy reports
Headline Legal News |
2014/02/03 15:55
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South Carolina's Supreme Court will begin grappling with that question Wednesday, when it hears a lawsuit by a Sumter County newspaper against the county's coroner.
The Item newspaper wants the high court to toss out a lower court's ruling that said autopsies do not have to be made public because they do not fall under the state's Freedom of Information Act.
The coroner says autopsies should be considered medical records that are exempt from public view. The newspaper says autopsy reports are investigative tools, not medical records.
Open records advocates say the Sumter County case is an example of government officials making it harder to get public documents.
It's a debate that is far from settled nationally. About 15 states across the U.S. allow the public release of an autopsy report. About a half-dozen other states allow the release of reports not being used as part of a criminal investigation. The rest severely restrict what's released or don't give any information from the reports, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Keeping autopsy records secret closes off an important tool to make sure police agencies do the right thing when they investigate deaths, especially people shot and killed by officials or who die in custody, said Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center.
"There is any number of cases over the years where journalist watchdogs have been able to shed light on suspicious circumstances only by having access on those records," LoMonte said. "And those records don't just show culpability, they can clear someone, too." |
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Man pleads not guilty in deadly Lodi crash
Headline Legal News |
2014/02/03 15:55
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A man has pleaded not guilty to murder, driving under the influence and other charges in a car crash in Central California that killed five members of a family, including a pregnant woman.
The Record of Stockton reports that 28-year-old Ryan Morales entered the plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court on Monday.
Authorities say Morales was driving at freeway speeds in a residential area in Lodi on Oct. 22 when he crashed into a pickup. Five of the pickup's occupants died.
Authorities say Morales had been drinking apple-flavored vodka with his father. A preliminary analysis allegedly showed his blood alcohol count was 2 ½ times the state's limit.
Authorities say they sought a murder charge against Morales because he acted with complete disregard for human life.
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Teen charged in Mass. teacher killing due in court
Headline Legal News |
2014/01/30 15:26
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A 15-year-old Massachusetts boy charged with killing his math teacher is returning to court Thursday for arraignment on a second rape charge.
Philip Chism is charged in the October killing of Colleen Ritzer, a 24-year-old teacher at Danvers High School.
Chism has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, robbery and murder. He was indicted last week on the initial rape charge. In court documents filed last week, state police say Chism admitted killing Ritzer but denied raping her.
Police say they want to conduct a forensic examination of Chism's cellphone to see if he memorialized the killing in photos, video or audio recordings.
Authorities allege Chism raped and killed Ritzer after she asked him to stay after school for extra help.
Chism's arraignment is in Salem Superior Court. |
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Immigration
Headline Legal News |
2014/01/24 14:01
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Federal authorities would limit the use of shackles on immigrants who appear before immigration judges under a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agreed to avoid shackling immigrants at the San Francisco immigration court in many hearings. Immigrants will still be shackled at a type of brief, procedural hearing in which several detainees are addressed at the same time.
A federal judge in San Francisco was scheduled to consider Thursday whether to approve the settlement in the lawsuit filed in 2011 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and others.
ACLU attorney Julia Harumi Mass said the agreement applies only to the San Francisco court, which serves more than 2,000 immigrants a year who are in ICE custody at three county jails in Northern California.
The lawsuit says detainees at the San Francisco court wear metal restraints on their wrists, ankles and waists and that most are bused from jails several hours away, spending hours in shackles before, during and after their hearings.
Under the proposed settlement, detainees will not be restrained at bond or merits hearings unless they pose a safety threat or risk of escape. Except in limited circumstances, they will remain shackled at master calendar hearings, which are held for larger numbers of immigrants for brief, procedural issues like scheduling.
Immigration courts are staffed by judges working for the U.S. Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, not the judiciary. The judges decide whether immigrants can remain in the country. |
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Maryland appeals income tax case to Supreme Court
Headline Legal News |
2014/01/16 14:48
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The Daily Record reports the justices on Monday asked for the Obama administration's views on the constitutionality of barring state residents from deducting income taxes paid to other states from their local city or county taxes owed in Maryland.
Last year, the Maryland Court of Appeals found the state law unconstitutional, saying it violates the Commerce Clause. The court said the law discourages Maryland residents from earning money outside the state.
Maryland law allows residents to deduct income taxes paid to other states from their Maryland state tax. But the state says that provision does not apply to the "piggyback tax" the state collects for local governments.
In a brief to the Supreme Court, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler said the state has broad authority to "tax all income of its residents, even income earned outside the taxing jurisdiction." He noted that the Court of Appeals' decision could cost local governments $45 million to $50 million annually. If the law is found unconstitutional, Maryland also might have to refund up to $120 million in taxes, Gansler noted in his petition.
The case arose after Brian and Karen Wynne challenged their Howard County tax bill. They had been blocked from deducting $84,550 from their county tax bill that they had paid in income taxes to other states. Brian Wynne's out-of-state income resulted from his ownership stake in a company that operates nationwide. |
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