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Arguments in "Serial" case focus on lawyer, alibi witness
Lawyer World News |
2018/12/04 22:15
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Roughly two years after a new trial was ordered, Maryland's highest court on Thursday heard arguments in their review of the high-profile case of a man whose murder conviction was chronicled in the hit "Serial" podcast that attracted millions of armchair detectives.
Tasked with upholding the retrial order for Adnan Syed or reviewing a decision that could reinstate a conviction, Maryland's Court of Appeals heard about an hour's worth of arguments in the long-running case. Syed was convicted in 2000 of strangling his high school sweetheart and burying her body in a Baltimore park. He's been serving a life sentence ever since.
But a Baltimore judge vacated his conviction two years ago and a court ordered a new trial after concluding that his trial lawyer was ineffective. The state appealed. Earlier this year, the special appeals court upheld the lower court's ruling. The state appealed that decision, too.
On Thursday, state prosecutor Thiru Vignarajah acknowledged that the late trial lawyer for Syed did not contact an alibi witness but he asserts that the attorney understood the "gist" of what that witness, Asia McClain, might have told her at the time. The attorney in question, Cristina Gutierrez, died of a heart attack in 2004, about four years after Syed was convicted of murdering 18-year-old Hae Min Lee.
"The record is not silent on whether or not Ms. McClain was contacted. The state agrees with that. The record is silent on the critical question of why," he said, suggesting that it is not clear why Gutierrez decided to take one investigative path over another and asserting that it's wrong to conclude that Syed's constitutional right to effective counsel was violated. |
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Alec Baldwin appears in court in parking-spot case
Legal News Interview |
2018/12/03 22:14
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Alec Baldwin appeared in a New York court on Monday after being accused of striking a man in the face over a parking space.
The 60-year-old actor said nothing as he was arraigned on misdemeanor and violation-level charges. He has previously stated that he did nothing wrong.
Baldwin was arrested on Nov. 2. Police were told a driver pulled into a Manhattan parking space that one of Baldwin's relatives was holding for him, and the two men started quarreling and pushing each other.
The other driver told police Baldwin punched or slapped him. The 49-year-old man was taken to a hospital complaining of jaw pain and redness around his neck.
"Mr. Baldwin is a public figure whose reputation has been damaged by media reports that claim that he punched a man on a New York City street," said his lawyer, Alan Abramson.
"There is incontrovertible video evidence that has been turned over to the district attorney's office that proves beyond all doubt that Mr. Baldwin never punched anyone," the lawyer said. "Mr. Baldwin did not commit any crime and we are confident that once this matter is fully investigated it will be resolved swiftly and appropriately in court."
"Mr. Baldwin is a public figure whose reputation has been damaged by media reports that claim that he punched a man on a New York City street," said his lawyer, Alan Abramson.
"There is incontrovertible video evidence that has been turned over to the district attorney's office that proves beyond all doubt that Mr. Baldwin never punched anyone," the lawyer said. "Mr. Baldwin did not commit any crime and we are confident that once this matter is fully investigated it will be resolved swiftly and appropriately in court."
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Trial starts for Hong Kong businessman in bribery case
Court and Trial |
2018/12/02 22:13
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The New York trial of a prominent Hong Kong businessman charged in a United Nations-linked bribery conspiracy is set to begin with jury selection Monday.
The trial of Dr. Chi Ping Patrick Ho begins a year after he was arrested on charges accusing him of paying bribes so a Chinese energy conglomerate could secure business advantages. He has been held without bail.
His lawyer has said Ho is looking forward to clearing his name. Ho was once Hong Kong's home affairs secretary.
Ho has insisted he is not guilty of charges that he conspired in October 2014 to bribe the president of Chad and the Ugandan foreign minister.
Prosecutors say Ho's former co-defendant, Cheikh Gadio, will testify at trial that Ho arranged a $2 million bribe to be delivered to Chad's president in gift boxes.
Last Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska overruled defense objections, saying Gadio can testify that he understood Ho's $2 million cash payment to President Idriss Deby to be a "bribe."
Ho's lawyers had argued that Gadio's testimony as to whether the $2 million was a "bribe" was lay opinion and should be kept out of evidence the jury can consider. |
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Trump lawyer confident he'll win in charity suit
Court and Trial |
2018/12/01 12:12
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Donald Trump's lawyer says he's confident the president's side will prevail in a lawsuit alleging that he used his charitable foundation to further his business and political interests.
Trump's lawyer Alan Futerfas said a judge's decision to reject his bid to have the lawsuit thrown out "means only that the case goes forward."
State Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla's ruling was posted Friday.
Futerfas said Trump's side maintains that all money raised by the nonprofit Trump Foundation "went to charitable causes to assist those most in need."
New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said she welcomed Scarpulla's decision. The Democrat refuted the contention of Trump's lawyers that the lawsuit was politically motivated.
Underwood said she intends to enforce rules governing private foundations no matter who runs the foundation.
Donald Trump's lawyer says he's confident the president's side will prevail in a lawsuit alleging that he used his charitable foundation to further his business and political interests.
Trump's lawyer Alan Futerfas said a judge's decision to reject his bid to have the lawsuit thrown out "means only that the case goes forward." State Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla's ruling was posted Friday.
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Supreme Court sets high bar for medical device lawsuits
Trending Legal Issues |
2018/11/29 22:11
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The tiny balloon was supposed to stretch open a blocked artery on Charles Riegel's diseased heart. Instead, when the doctor inflated the balloon, it burst.
The patient went on life support but survived. His lawsuit against the manufacturer of that arterial balloon did not.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Medtronic, among the world's largest makers of medical devices, setting a precedent that has killed lawsuits involving some of the most sophisticated devices on the market.
The device that harmed Riegel had cleared the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's most rigorous review, known as "pre-market approval." To reach consumers, Medtronic provided regulators with documentation that the Evergreen Balloon Catheter would be safe and effective.
In Riegel v. Medtronic Inc., the justices grappled with whether Medtronic had any liability. They ruled that devices that have received pre-market approval are effectively immune from product liability lawsuits in state courts, where juries can award huge sums. The reasoning: Congress wrote that states couldn't add safety requirements beyond what the FDA imposes.
Since the Supreme Court ruling in 2008, rare is the case when a manufacturer must pay suffering, lost wages and other compensation to patients who claim they were injured by a pre-market approved device. Patients who believe they've been harmed can still sue device makers in federal court.
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