Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Russia drops charge against doctor at prison where lawyer who reported corruption died

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MOSCOW - Russia's top investigative body said Monday it has dropped charges against a doctor suspected of negligence in the case of a prominent lawyer who reported official corruption in Russia, then died in custody while suffering from untreated pancreatitis.
The lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, had accused Interior Ministry officials of using false tax documents to steal $230 million from the state. He was imprisoned for tax evasion in 2008 and died in custody in November 2009.
A private investigation concluded Magnitsky was severely beaten and denied medical treatment in prison, and it accused the government of failing to prosecute those responsible.
Magnitsky worked for Hermitage Capital, an investment fund owned and run by U.S.-born William Browder, who has since been barred from Russia as a security risk.
On Monday, Russia's Investigative Committee dropped the negligence charge against Dr. Larisa Litvinova, citing a two-year statute of limitations in such probes.
Hermitage Capital sharply criticized the decision, calling it "the latest example of the reluctance within the Russian government to hold anyone accountable" for Magnitsky's death.
"In dropping charges against Ms. Litvinova, the Russian investigators have refused to acknowledge that Sergei Magnitsky had been tortured in custody, a crime that has a 10-year statute of limitations," the investment fund said in a statement.
The lawyer's death was seen as a litmus case for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's pledge to cement rule of law in Russia. Investors working in Russia have said Magnitsky's death and allegations of torture highlight corruption and the arbitrary nature of Russia's justice system.
Shortly after Magnitsky's death, Medvedev pledged to personally oversee the investigation which has been on for more than two years and is due to be wrapped up later this month.
But the Investigative Committee said Monday it has closed the investigation of Litvinova, the chief physician at the Butyrskaya prison where Magnitsky died, because of the statue of limitations. She was charged with negligence that led to Magnitsky's death, while the prison's deputy chief, Dmitry Kratov, was charged with negligence. The charge was not dropped against Kratov on Monday.
Magnitsky's family and colleagues have accused authorities of delaying the probe and charging only perpetrators, rather than those who might have ordered the lawyer's persecution.
In an apparent response to these claims, the Investigative Committee said Monday that the probe has taken so long because of lengthy medical procedures and the fact that Litvinova and Kratov were both hospitalized for two months last year for unexplained reasons.
The statue of limitations for the charge that Litvinova faced was shortened by Medvedev's amendments to the Criminal Code aimed at reducing the number of crimes that entail criminal liability. Medvedev proposed these amendments in response to criticism of the treatment of jailed businessmen, which was largely inspired by Magnitsky's case.
Investigators have recently re-opened a tax evasion probe against Magnitsky, even though he is dead, saying that it would give his relatives a chance to clear his name. But his family has objected to that, saying it never requested such an opportunity.

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In accordance with the provisions of the national trial lawyers Top 40 40 Rachel Roman is associated with St. Louis ...-PR Web (press release)

St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) 07. April 2012

St. Louis trial lawyer Rachel Roman is an associate, Zevan and Davidson law firm. Rachel has successfully litigated cases, product liability, medical malpractice, personal injury, death, undue liability and toxic to be.

Rachel earned her diploma in nursing, the emphasis is on the perustutkintotason of Loyola University Chicago in 2001. Prior to the school law, he worked as an emergency room registered nurse level 1 trauma centers in Chicago.

In 2006, he graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law. Law School Rachel earned the certificate of health law, was the lead editor, Saint Louis University Journal of health law and worked as a judicial extern to U.s. Attorney Office of the health care fraud and abuse. Rachel is licensed under the, the policy of the Missouri and Illinois and Missouri in the United States District Court in the Eastern District, Western District of Missouri and the Southern District of Illinois.

Rachel was named a Super lawyer Rising Star, Missouri, in 2009 and 2010. In 2012, he was called to the national trial lawyers association in the Top 40 for 40-year-old Missouri as a lawyer.

Zevan and Davidson on behalf of clients, in addition to the Rachel is her work with the Member States of the Missouri Association of trial lawyer, the women's Lawyers Association of St. Louis, the American Association, the American Bar Association and the Bar Association of Metropolitan Saint Louis. Rachel has taught the responsibility of the regions of the brain damage, and Anatomy and Physiology Bützow.

St. Louis personal injury lawyers and medical malpractice Bützow

Davidson law firm specialised in the provision of medical and Zevan malpractice and personal injury cases throughout Missouri won several more million dollar legal injury on behalf of customers. They can understand, care and sensitivity to the importance of the medical malpractice and personal injury cases. For this reason, and to aggressively pursue legal Zevan Davidson and due compensation for the damage, and, at the same time to protect the mental and physical health more.



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Lawyer: psychics protected by Constitution - UPI.com

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AppId is over the quota

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 9 (UPI) -- Lawyers representing a Florida family of psychics charged with fraud and conspiracy says the family is protected by freedom of religion and free speech.

Nine members of a fortune-telling Fort Lauderdale family of Roma decent led by Rose Marks were arrested in August on federal fraud conspiracy charges and accused of defrauding their clients of $40 million, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Sunday.

The nine family members are free on bail, but are barred from fortune telling or working as spiritual healers while they await trial.

Now, in an effort to get the charges dismissed before the proposed November trial date, defense lawyers argued the family members had a constitutional right to practice fortune telling and spiritual healing because it is a part of their religious beliefs and that fortune telling is protected by freedom of speech.

"Nancy Marks' conduct is rooted in her religion and spirituality," attorney Michael Gottlieb wrote in a 24-page legal document about religious rights. "Based upon this prosecution, the defendant has lost her livelihood and has been unable to make a living using her historical religious and spiritual gifts."

In his request to have the family's charges dismissed, Gottlieb compared their actions to "religious teachers, preachers, and healers and demon chasers," evangelists and the Psychic Friends Network, who have televised shows that often ask for donations.

"Yet none of these individuals... endure the constant derogatory label of being called a Gypsy for simply exercising their faith or practicing their chosen profession. Nor are they vilified and persecuted and prosecuted for espousing their beliefs and profiting ... even when their predictions fall short, miss the mark or are at odds with other genuinely accepted beliefs," Gottlieb wrote.

Prosecutors have not yet responded to the request and the judge is expected to rule on the matter in the next several weeks after hearing from both sides.


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UAE detains 6 Islamists stripped of citizenship: lawyer

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DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates on Monday detained six Islamist activists whose citizenship was revoked last year after they demanded political reform in the Gulf Arab state, their lawyer said.

The UAE, a top oil exporter, has weathered popular uprisings that have toppled four Arab heads of state since last year, thanks in part to its cradle-to-grave welfare system, but it has shown little tolerance towards dissent at home.

Jail terms have been imposed on activists who sought greater power for an elected body. In December, the UAE revoked the citizenship of six nationals it had described as posing a threat to national security.

A daughter of one of the six said her father, Muhammed Abdel Razzaq al-Siddiq, was detained by police on Monday after refusing to sign a declaration to seek a new nationality within two weeks or face imprisonment.

"My father called us... He refused to sign the declaration as now he is stateless, so he was detained along with the other five men," Alaa al-Siddiq told Reuters.

Mohammed al-Roken, a lawyer defending the six, confirmed the six had been detained for refusing to seek an alternative citizenship and said they have been transferred to prison. He also described stripping the six off their nationality as "unconstitutional."

A seventh Emirati, Ahmed al-Suwaidi, whose citizenship was also revoked last year, has been held for weeks, he said.

A UAE official said he was checking the report.

The case has set a precedent in the UAE, raising questions about rights and political reform in the oil producing Gulf Arab state.

Siddiq told Reuters last week he believed his citizenship was revoked because he had signed a petition sent to UAE leaders demanding the country's Federal National Council, an advisory body, be given more powers.

He also said he believed the men have been targeted for their Islamist political orientation. He and the other five men whose citizenship was revoked in December were members of Islamist organization al-Islah (Reform).

The UAE is concerned the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt after the ouster of President Hosni Mubara, once a close ally of the Gulf Arab state, could embolden its own Islamist community.

Egypt's Brotherhood group has been embroiled in a spat with the UAE over the expulsion of a group of Syrians who refused to disperse after a protest outside their consulate in Dubai. The Dubai police chief accused the Brotherhood of fomenting unrest.

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Karolina Tagaris)


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Rothstein Lawyer Charged With Illegal McCain Campaign Gifts - Bloomberg

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A former associate of convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein was charged with illegally helping their law firm become the largest contributor to the presidential campaign of Republican John McCain in 2008.

Attorney Steven Lippman, 49, was charged with conspiring to help Rothstein’s defunct law firm, Rothstein, Rosenfeldt & Adler, illegally “bundle” contributions to McCain’s losing campaign against President Barack Obama. He’s also accused of conspiring to draw checks on accounts with insufficient funds and to evade taxes.

Lippman is the eighth person accused of helping Rothstein, a disbarred attorney serving 50 years in prison for the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme he ran out of his law firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Rothstein pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, where Lippman and the others were also charged.

“The breadth, scope, and sheer complexity of Rothstein’s $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme is mind-boggling,” U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said today in a statement. “Its success depended, in no small part, on the complicity of his colleagues and associates, like Steven Lippman.”

Prosecutors charged Lippman, a shareholder at RRA with no equity stake, with helping to “dramatically increase the political influence and power” of the firm by serving as a straw donor who was illegally reimbursed for his contribution.

“The charges speak for themselves,” Lippman’s attorney, Bruce Zimet, said in a phone interview. “All of these acts do not relate to the Ponzi scheme. Though they may have had some effect on it, he was not a participant in the Ponzi scheme.”

McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, donated all Rothstein contributions under his control to charity when the fraud allegations first came to light in November 2009, spokesman Brian Rogers said in an e-mailed statement.

The law firm reimbursed Lippman with money and by paying for home renovations, patio furniture, a golf membership and a $134,000 Maserati, according to a charge filed today. He faces as many as five years in prison.

Rothstein admitted in 2010 that he persuaded wealthy investors to buy stakes in what he said were payouts from settlements of sexual-harassment and workplace discrimination cases. The cases were fabricated, using forged documents and ruses such as having an accomplice pose as a bank officer.

The scheme fell apart over Halloween weekend in 2009 when Rothstein couldn’t lure enough new investors to pay earlier ones. After fleeing to Morocco, Rothstein returned to the U.S. He pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud.

Rothstein was known for what he called his “rock star” lifestyle. He was married in the Versace mansion in Miami Beach -- Florida’s then-governor Charlie Crist was a guest -- and his car collection included a Rolls-Royce, a Bugatti, two Lamborghinis and a Maserati.

In February, Toronto Dominion Bank (TD) agreed to settle a lawsuit with investors who claimed it aided in the Ponzi scheme. Barron’s and the Miami Herald reported that TD Bank would pay $170 million.

The case is U.S. v. Lippman, 12-cr-60078, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida (Fort Lauderdale).

To contact the reporters on this story: Susannah Nesmith in Miami at susannahnesmith@yahoo.com; David Voreacos in Newark, New Jersey, at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.


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Martin Marietta Hostile Bid Not Valid, Vulcan Lawyer Says - Bloomberg

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Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (MLM)’s bid for gravel-industry rival Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) should be barred because it violates a confidentiality contract between the companies, a Vulcan lawyer told a judge.

In post-trial arguments today, lawyer William Savitt, representing Vulcan, told Delaware Chancery Court Judge Leo Strine Jr. that Martin Marietta officials wrongly used Vulcan’s non-public information in its hostile $5.5 billion bid.

Martin Marietta “walked right past the contract and launched its own hostile offer,” said Savitt. “Martin has to be held to account.”

Strine told lawyers after the seven-hour hearing that he’d write a decision, then added “I’m not saying when.” He described the case as “a hall of mirrors” that will require extensive analysis.

Martin Marietta argued that the offer isn’t prohibited by the confidentiality agreement between the rock-crushing companies. Robert Zimet, representing Raleigh, North Carolina- based Martin Marietta, told Strine that the language of the contract must be specific.

“We don’t have that here,” he said.

Martin Marietta offered on Dec. 12 to exchange half a share for each share of Vulcan and pay a quarterly dividend equal to 20 cents a Vulcan share.

Strine must decide whether agreements between the companies prohibit Martin Marietta from offering to buy Vulcan’s public shares and soliciting votes for five nominees for its board, according to court papers.

After a weeklong nonjury trial, Strine suggested on March 2 that one remedy might be to block the solicitation for a period of time.

He also said he didn’t think there was “ideal scrutiny on either side” of the potential combination, based on friendly negotiations that took place two years ago. The talks foundered when executives couldn’t decide who would lead the merged company, Strine said.

Combining the companies is “compelling” and would create “enormous shareholder value,” Martin Marietta’s chairman, Stephen P. Zelnak, told the judge during the trial.

Merging Birmingham, Alabama-based Vulcan, headed by Chief Executive Officer Don James, and Martin Marietta, led by CEO Ward Nye “seems to be a natural fit,” Zelnak said.

The mix could result in $350 million in combined cost- savings, according to testimony.

Martin Marietta fell $1.26 or 1.5 percent to $83.83 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Vulcan declined 48 cents or 1.1 percent to $42.02.

The case is Martin Marietta Materials v. Vulcan Materials, CA7102, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).

To contact the reporter on this story: Phil Milford in Wilmington, Delaware, at pmilford@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net


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UAE detains 6 Islamists stripped of citizenship: lawyer - Chicago Tribune

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DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates on Monday detained six Islamist activists whose citizenship was revoked last year after they demanded political reform in the Gulf Arab state, their lawyer said.

The UAE, a top oil exporter, has weathered popular uprisings that have toppled four Arab heads of state since last year, thanks in part to its cradle-to-grave welfare system, but it has shown little tolerance towards dissent at home.

Jail terms have been imposed on activists who sought greater power for an elected body. In December, the UAE revoked the citizenship of six nationals it had described as posing a threat to national security.

A daughter of one of the six said her father, Muhammed Abdel Razzaq al-Siddiq, was detained by police on Monday after refusing to sign a declaration to seek a new nationality within two weeks or face imprisonment.

"My father called us... He refused to sign the declaration as now he is stateless, so he was detained along with the other five men," Alaa al-Siddiq told Reuters.

Mohammed al-Roken, a lawyer defending the six, confirmed the six had been detained for refusing to seek an alternative citizenship and said they have been transferred to prison. He also described stripping the six off their nationality as "unconstitutional."

A seventh Emirati, Ahmed al-Suwaidi, whose citizenship was also revoked last year, has been held for weeks, he said.

A UAE official said he was checking the report.

The case has set a precedent in the UAE, raising questions about rights and political reform in the oil producing Gulf Arab state.

Siddiq told Reuters last week he believed his citizenship was revoked because he had signed a petition sent to UAE leaders demanding the country's Federal National Council, an advisory body, be given more powers.

He also said he believed the men have been targeted for their Islamist political orientation. He and the other five men whose citizenship was revoked in December were members of Islamist organization al-Islah (Reform).

The UAE is concerned the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt after the ouster of President Hosni Mubara, once a close ally of the Gulf Arab state, could embolden its own Islamist community.

Egypt's Brotherhood group has been embroiled in a spat with the UAE over the expulsion of a group of Syrians who refused to disperse after a protest outside their consulate in Dubai. The Dubai police chief accused the Brotherhood of fomenting unrest.

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Karolina Tagaris)


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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Invalid schedule worked by an employee who died in an accident-JD see crane the footnote (press release)

Construction period is the us in most places, roads and buildings in the USA around us will slow down the work of our Spring and summer commutes. May be easy for members of the public may be irritating to the construction, it is also important to note that employees who actually risk their lives in order to improve our communities.

The construction of the life risk has proved to be a fatal crane accident all the time recently in New York. the 30-year-old man was working on the project when things went awry metro. His everyday work proved to be deadly as the crane, and led to his death, as well as some of the other employees in the injury cable.

Sources indicate that in the course of the investigation so far, as it was bad timing. According to the auditor's reports, the Buildings Department has attempted to evaluate the crane January routine during the inspection. However, because of the crane was used, you will need a my?h?isemm?lle inspection. The inspection was supposed to take place yesterday, just two days after a fatal construction accident has occurred.

During the inspection of defects found in the mobile crane-other lifting devices in the system. Since these faults, if any, to apply to the result of the cable, it is only natural to be blank, that the inspection of the crane does not take place sooner. There is not enough only to be postponed for verification of the DOB. Crane operators is also a legal responsibility to inspect cranes on the basis of the everyday.

It seems that the ball was removed from the case, with the underground construction site safety. The victim's family for the loss of the factorial of a number, the search for justice. This is not only a safety issue that is responsible for the work, which went wrong, officials are taking this recent incident a serious construction company.

Source: The New York Post "compact crane cables went unchecked January inspection," Jennifer Fermino, Georgett Roberts and Bill Sanderson, 6. April 2012


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China rights lawyer jailed for 2 years, 8 months - Reuters

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BEIJING | Mon Apr 9, 2012 10:03pm EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court sentenced a disabled lawyer renowned for defending people evicted from their homes to two years and eight months in prison on Tuesday for causing a disturbance and fraud, Beijing's latest use of a controversial law to stifle dissent.

The lawyer, Ni Yulan, and her husband, Dong Jiqin, were detained in April 2011 and later convicted of the charges. Rights activists contend the charges were trumped up in an effort to silence the couple.

Dong was given two years in prison, also for "causing a disturbance", a court official told reporters at the courthouse in a western suburb of Beijing.

Ni's imprisonment is the latest signal of the ruling Communist Party's determination to stifle China's civil rights movement, which is reeling from the jailing of several dissidents in recent months.

The party is especially wary of political challenges ahead of a leadership succession later this year.

Ni has been an outspoken advocate for Chinese residents forced from their homes to make way for development, often for what residents say is grossly inadequate compensation.

Prosecutors alleged that Ni, who is disabled and wheel chair-bound, and Dong beat employees at a hotel - or what Ni has previously called a "black jail" - where they were forced to stay after their home was demolished in 2008.

A "black jail" is an informal detention site, such as a hotel or government guesthouse, used to hold protesters and petitioners without resorting to legal procedures.

(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Chris Buckley)


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New York personal injury lawyer Perecman from comments in the Elevator ...-Albany Times Union

New York personal injury lawyer David Perecman comments Bronx Elevator accident that injured teenager Thursday. Elevator, he plunged three of the stories, in the basement of the building housing the community after the end of the cable into the Elevator. New York personal injury lawyers at the Perecman firm is treated in the Elevator in the event of an accident, the number of cases in the last 30 years.

New York, New York (PRWEB) 03. April 2012

The cable, sending the teen launching appliances-free three-story drop, elevator car reported in the New York Daily News (3/30/2012).

New York personal injury lawyers at the Perecman firm for a full investigation by the New York Elevator accident.

"The cable is taken literally, Lift n the life-cycle. If the cables, safety equipment is intended to kick. Perecman, David New York personal injury lawyer, which is represented in the entire New York City customers which Elevator accidents hurt something catastrophic is usually occur when someone if you have Elevator free-fall, "said.

New York Daily News says that Kenneth had stopped the Bronx apartment Lacen, the fifth floor of the elevator. As the car neared on the second floor, divided into the cable. Lacen "flew to the maximum as he was a rocket" as the car plunged into the basement.

Lacen has caused his head to neck back and foot injuries due to accidents in the Elevator, of New York City, the tabloid said.

"As it has become clearer, the manufacturers and the Elevator, Elevator maintenance companies can be liable for the Elevator accident conditions," the New York personal injury lawyer David Perecman said. "On a daily basis, many people depend on the elevators."It is of the utmost importance that the lifts are safe, reliable and safety codes and regulations are complied with. "

If you have been injured or lost a loved one in the event of an accident or personal injury New York Elevator in the event of an accident, contact the New York personal injury lawyers at the Perecman firm at http://www.perecman.com.

David Perecman Perecman firm PLLC and:

In the last 30 years, New York City, and in the event of an accident, medical malpractice, caused by construction, accidents and auto accident lawyers at the Perecman firm, PLLC has been subjected to all types of cases, including Elevator and escalator accidents. Perecman, David, the company's founder, has been recognised for his achievements in the national law, in the Hall of Fame New York Magazine "Best lawyers in America" and The New York Times Magazine, "the New York Super Lawyers Metro Edition" Honoree for the years 2007-2010. The prestigious US News and World Report ranks the Perecman firm 2011 and 2012 New York City's "top 20 companies in the case of personal injury.

The firm has returned to its customers millions of dollars. Among the later gains Mr. Perecman won the 15 million dollar verdict * * for construction accident (112370/03), $ 5.35 million dollar verdict *** car accidents (212/04) and a $ 40 million dollar facility, a medical malpractice settlement (index 2146/03) * * * *.

Perecman firm serves Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, Westchester, Upstate NY, Morris County and Rockland.

* at a later date, it is settled case-law that, in the case of an appeal 7.940 million dollars
* resolved at a later date, in the case of the 3.5 million dollar
* * * * total any profit

"By advertising"
"Prior results do not guarantee similar results."

The version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebNYpersonalinjurylawyer/NYpersonalinjurylawyer/prweb9352216.htm


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Pickton inquest lawyer explains why official is on leave

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AppId is over the quota

A lawyer involved in B.C.'s missing women's inquiry into the Robert Pickton case is cautioning the public against reading anything into the fact that the commission's executive director is on leave.

Peter Gall, who is advising the inquiry on the investigation, said the commission only wants to ensure there is no perception of possible interference with the conduct of an investigation into staff in its office.

The National Post reported Wednesday that former commission employees complained staff in the commission's office made derogatory comments about other employees and sex workers.

Based on anonymous sources, the allegations didn't specify who the accusations were directed at.

The newspaper subsequently published another article based on an anonymous source, complaining that executive director John Boddie was too involved in preparing witnesses for testimony.

Boddie went on leave Monday and two lawyers are now investigating the allegations.

"Because Mr. Boddie manages the work flow of the staff, it was considered necessary to have Mr. Boddie temporarily go on leave from his position during the course of the investigation," Gall said in a statement.

"Given the high profile nature of the commission and the recent focus on its inner workings, this was done to ensure that there would be no perception of possible interference with the conduct of the investigation."

Gall said people should not jump to conclusions that there have been any findings of wrongdoing on Boddie's part.

In fact, Gall said Boddie has "contributed greatly" to the commission's work, and it is "most unfortunate that his leave from his position is being interpreted in some quarters as a finding of wrongdoing on his part."

Commissioner Wally Oppal weighed in on the issue Thursday, issuing a statement saying it's difficult to respond to anonymous and vague accusations.

One family member of a missing woman also raised concerns.

Lillian Beaudoin, whose sister Dianne Rock was murdered by Pickton, said the commission is being drowned out by persistent controversies.

Several participant groups, including aboriginal organizations and sex worker advocates, withdrew from the inquiry last year after the provincial government announced it wouldn't fund them legally.

Last month, Robyn Gervais, an independent lawyer appointed by Oppal to represent First Nations, resigned, saying the inquiry was too focused on police and not aboriginal women.

"This inquiry was to find out what happened to the missing women, how they can improve anything for the missing girls, what the police did wrong," said Beaudoin outside the hearings Thursday.

"We have very little time remaining, and a lot of witnesses to go through. To add more stories like this, to me it feels like a diversion away from what this whole inquiry is all about."

The inquiry is examining why Vancouver police and the RCMP failed to catch Pickton.

The serial killer was eventually convicted of six counts of Second Degree Murder and accused in the deaths of numerous other women.

With files from James Keller


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Lawyer: psychics protected by Constitution

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AppId is over the quota

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 9 (UPI) -- Lawyers representing a Florida family of psychics charged with fraud and conspiracy says the family is protected by freedom of religion and free speech.

Nine members of a fortune-telling Fort Lauderdale family of Roma decent led by Rose Marks were arrested in August on federal fraud conspiracy charges and accused of defrauding their clients of $40 million, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Sunday.

The nine family members are free on bail, but are barred from fortune telling or working as spiritual healers while they await trial.

Now, in an effort to get the charges dismissed before the proposed November trial date, defense lawyers argued the family members had a constitutional right to practice fortune telling and spiritual healing because it is a part of their religious beliefs and that fortune telling is protected by freedom of speech.

"Nancy Marks' conduct is rooted in her religion and spirituality," attorney Michael Gottlieb wrote in a 24-page legal document about religious rights. "Based upon this prosecution, the defendant has lost her livelihood and has been unable to make a living using her historical religious and spiritual gifts."

In his request to have the family's charges dismissed, Gottlieb compared their actions to "religious teachers, preachers, and healers and demon chasers," evangelists and the Psychic Friends Network, who have televised shows that often ask for donations.

"Yet none of these individuals... endure the constant derogatory label of being called a Gypsy for simply exercising their faith or practicing their chosen profession. Nor are they vilified and persecuted and prosecuted for espousing their beliefs and profiting ... even when their predictions fall short, miss the mark or are at odds with other genuinely accepted beliefs," Gottlieb wrote.

Prosecutors have not yet responded to the request and the judge is expected to rule on the matter in the next several weeks after hearing from both sides.


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Personal injury law: news and Blog Posts, rate-Maryland injury lawyer blog (blog)

Home page-legal news, law, personal injury, > >: news and blog posts, in the interest of the posted: 9 April 2012, Ronald v. Miller, Jr.

I hope that this Easter was good. The following are some of the personal injury stories and blog posts that I found the interest during the last week.

Bob Kraft discusses the use of some sanity's continued effort to the Byzantine maze of personal injury lawyers face when attempting to work with Medicare liens. He is a summary of the passing of a new law, the wisdom in that simplifies the process of counting: "[W] hen the Chamber and the trial lawyers ' associations agreed on the proposed legislation, it is difficult to think of an excuse not to pass." Walter Olson reports information about the lawsuit, which sought to Overlawyered, finds the practice of unlawful McDonald Happy meals, a rejection of the toy. I do not know if it is a good idea to put the toys in Happy meals. I know that kids like to get them, but perhaps it is the poor food and toys that are a bad idea. But not all bad idea should lead to a trial, right?Max Kennerly type defence medicine and what may be the new trend of the Syytt?ess? is not appropriate for a medical malpractice lawyers doctors ails passes through the health care system. I have written this zillion times (here, here, here, here, and here, just on). How the structure of the appellate brief. GlaxoSmithKline is trying to pretend that it is in the Delaware. We all get it does not want to respond to Glaxo in its home Member State and to the citizens of Delaware, pretend, it is because the Delaware-all 500 square feet to the Fire to protect the company's own nationals, the Director wants. Because the companies are also the people, you know. I'm okay with their legal strategy, although really, they should tell the few people as possible.

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ABS trailblazers revealed

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AppId is over the quota
SRA.jpgWednesday 28 March 2012 by John Hyde

The Solicitors Regulation Authority today announced the identities of the first three alternative business structures.

The Co-operative Legal Services, John Welch & Stammers and Lawbridge Solicitors are the first to have their applications approved. They can now provide reserved legal activities while owned and managed by non-lawyers, under the terms of the Legal Services Act.

The SRA has spent almost three months processing more than 180 applications from a range of businesses.

Co-op Legal Services, set up in 2006, employs 400 staff and has plans to add a further 150 this year. ABS status will allow it to diversify into family law later this year, to complement services in personal injury claims, will writing, probate, conveyancing and employment law.

Operating in Witney, Oxfordshire, since 1932, John Welch & Stammers has seven fee earners and 11 support staff.

Practice manager Bernadette Summers will now be appointed as a non-lawyer managing partner to join two existing solicitor partners.

Lawbridge Solicitors, based in Sidcup, Kent, has one solicitor, Michael Pope, who will now be joined in the shareholding by his wife Alison, practice manager.

SRA chief executive Antony Townsend said the announcement is a culmination of two years’ work: ‘By stimulating competition and encouraging innovation, we should see consumers’ experiences enjoy a major boost.

‘Some people may be surprised that there are two high street practices with a handful of staff among the first wave of ABS organisations that we’ve authorised. But we’ve always said that ABS offers options for all firms.’

Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said customers will find legal services ‘more accessible’ and the service ‘more competitive and efficient’.

Djanogly added: 'Our UK legal services are unrivalled around the world and these changes will allow them to reach new heights, as solicitors’ firms develop new markets, seek external investment and join up with other businesses to offer different products to consumers and provide opportunities for growth.'

The Law Society has congratulated all three practices on being the first to receive the ABS licence and said the trio all reflect the opportunities that non-lawyer ownership can offer.

John Wotton, president of the Law Society, said: 'The Co-operative Group is a well-known brand on the high street, with a substantial profile and a strong reputation for ethical business.

'I’d like to welcome Co-operative Legal Services into the Law Society fold. Lawbridge Solicitors and John Welch & Stammers are existing law firms who have taken an innovative step in adopting new ownership structures.’

He added that the latest development would introduce new ways of working and increase choice for consumers and corporate clients.

David Edmonds, chair of the Legal Services Board, stressed that while regulation has a part to play in the new era, it must not restrict growth.

'Breaking down barriers to entry and freeing the ways in which firm can operate is key. But the change and innovation has to be provider-led. We will be working to make sure that regulation does not create inappropriate barriers and targets risk. Supervision must be proportionate.’


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Pa. judge limits lawyer comments on Sandusky case - The Associated Press

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Pa. judge limits lawyer comments on Sandusky caseBy MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press – 9 hours ago?

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The judge overseeing the child sex abuse case against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky issued a gag order Monday that severely limits what attorneys on both sides may say to reporters.

Judge John Cleland's order also applies to any law enforcement investigator who has worked on the case and anyone acting on behalf of the lawyers.

The off-limit topics include evidence; opinions about Sandusky's guilt or innocence or about the merits of legal and factual matters under discussion; and "the reputation, character, credibility or criminal record of the defendant or any witness, prospective witness or organization which is or may testify at trial, or be the subject of trial testimony or evidence."

He directed the lawyers to "make reasonable efforts" to limit statements by witnesses or the witnesses' lawyers and to be able to prove they have taken those steps.

Cleland said he was acting to help ensure a "fair, impartial and orderly trial" for Sandusky, a proceeding scheduled to begin June 5 in Bellefonte.

Sandusky, 68, is charged with sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years, and authorities say some of the abuse happened on Penn State's campus. Sandusky has maintained his innocence on the 52 counts against him.

The ensuing scandal led to the firing of legendary football coach Joe Paterno and the ouster of the university president.

Sandusky attorney Karl Rominger said he was studying the order.

"Having never been gagged by a court before, I will need to research the law and First Amendment issues," Rominger said in an email. "I'm pretty sure the court has the authority to limit press contacts, I just don't know what the law says about the scope and nature of such limits. Since the order does affect the media as well, I'll be curious to see if any press outlets appeal it."

A spokesman for the attorney general's office declined to comment.

Cleland said his order applies to comments that could reasonably be expected to be disseminated and to comments made on background or without attribution.

Lawyers on both sides have been speaking to banks of cameras and reporters after pretrial hearings at the Centre County Courthouse, a practice that is certain to be limited, if not ended outright, by the judge's order.

After a brief hearing on April 5, prosecutor Joe McGettigan was critical of the defense's tactics and responded to a defense claim that the charges lack specificity by telling reporters that Sandusky had been "provided with voluminous documentation of perversions against young children."

Cleland's order wasn't accompanied by any decisions regarding the defense motions that were the topic of last week's hearing, but the judge previously said he would decide on them this week.

Cleland wrote that the order was "narrowly tailored to achieve its purposes in light of the unprecedented publicity generated by the case" and that he will "broadly construe this order to assure that its purposes are achieved."

He also warned lawyers to comply with professional conduct rules regarding pretrial publicity, the special responsibilities of prosecutors and the state court system's code of civility.

Also awaiting trial are Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, Penn State administrators accused of lying to the grand jury investigating Sandusky and failing to properly report suspected child abuse. A Dauphin County judge on April 5 issued an order that set deadlines for various defense and prosecution filings, including catch-all defense motions by July 30, as well as a June 1 status conference on the case at a Harrisburg courthouse.

Curley, the school's athletic director, is on leave. Schultz, the former vice president for business and finance, has retired. Both have repeatedly denied the allegations.

Copyright ? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.


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Lawyer: Gerth under drug influence in deadly crash - Cincinnati.com

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As Mark Gerth crawled out of the fiery 2011 crash that killed two, he said, ?It?s over. It?s over.?

That, Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Kevin Hardman told jurors seated in Gerth?s murder trial, wasn?t in reference to the deadly crash.

It was Gerth?s selfish comment about his freedom, Hardman insisted Monday.

?He just didn?t care,? Hardman said, suggesting that was typical of a man with a 27-page criminal record accused of driving a stolen car ?like a mad man.?

Gerth, 40, is on trial before Common Pleas Court Judge Norbert Nadel for murder, aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges stemming from the March 16, 2011, Downtown crash that killed cab driver Mohamed Ould Mohamed Sidi, 33, of Erlanger, and his blind passenger, Tonya Hairston, 38, who was on her way to New York to care for her ailing mother.

The stolen car police say Gerth was driving was traveling at 77 miles per hour when he sped into the Downtown intersection and crashed.

Hardman boasted it was unusual for prosecutors to have video of a crime like the police cruiser and security video that captured the crash.

?What more can a prosecutor ask for on a case than to have the actual crime in front of you?? Hardman asked jurors, showing them the video.

Gerth, Hardman noted, should have been in prison ? on two separate convictions ? at the time of the crash. Gerth was convicted in 2002 and sent to prison for 10 years, Hardman said, but was released in 2008, just in time to be convicted of another crime and sent to prison for four years. Obviously, he didn?t serve all of that sentence, either.

Gerth?s attorney, though, insisted Hamilton County prosecutors didn?t prove their case. That combined with Gerth?s heavy drug use, he told jurors, should result in a not guilty verdict.

?This man was completely and totally under the influence of drugs,? Norm Aubin said.

Gerth, Hardman said, had alcohol, marijuana and cocaine in his system after his arrest.

The jury deliberated more than three hours Monday before being sent home to return today to continue deliberations.

Gerth?s charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.


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Russia drops charges in lawyer's prison death

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MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's top investigative body said Monday it has dropped charges against a doctor suspected of negligence in the case of a prominent lawyer who reported official corruption in Russia, then died in custody while suffering from untreated pancreatitis.

The lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, had accused Interior Ministry officials of using false tax documents to steal $230 million from the state. He was imprisoned for tax evasion in 2008 and died in custody in November 2009.

A private investigation concluded Magnitsky was severely beaten and denied medical treatment in prison, and it accused the government of failing to prosecute those responsible.

Magnitsky worked for Hermitage Capital, an investment fund owned and run by U.S.-born William Browder, who has since been barred from Russia as a security risk.

On Monday, Russia's Investigative Committee dropped the negligence charge against Dr. Larisa Litvinova, citing a two-year statute of limitations in such probes.

Hermitage Capital sharply criticized the decision, calling it "the latest example of the reluctance within the Russian government to hold anyone accountable" for Magnitsky's death.

"In dropping charges against Ms. Litvinova, the Russian investigators have refused to acknowledge that Sergei Magnitsky had been tortured in custody, a crime that has a 10-year statute of limitations," the investment fund said in a statement.

The lawyer's death was seen as a litmus case for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's pledge to cement rule of law in Russia. Investors working in Russia have said Magnitsky's death and allegations of torture highlight corruption and the arbitrary nature of Russia's justice system.

Shortly after Magnitsky's death, Medvedev pledged to personally oversee the investigation which has been on for more than two years and is due to be wrapped up later this month.

But the Investigative Committee said Monday it has closed the investigation of Litvinova, the chief physician at the Butyrskaya prison where Magnitsky died, because of the statue of limitations. She was charged with negligence that led to Magnitsky's death, while the prison's deputy chief, Dmitry Kratov, was charged with negligence. The charge was not dropped against Kratov on Monday.

Magnitsky's family and colleagues have accused authorities of delaying the probe and charging only perpetrators, rather than those who might have ordered the lawyer's persecution.

In an apparent response to these claims, the Investigative Committee said Monday that the probe has taken so long because of lengthy medical procedures and the fact that Litvinova and Kratov were both hospitalized for two months last year for unexplained reasons.

The statue of limitations for the charge that Litvinova faced was shortened by Medvedev's amendments to the Criminal Code aimed at reducing the number of crimes that entail criminal liability. Medvedev proposed these amendments in response to criticism of the treatment of jailed businessmen, which was largely inspired by Magnitsky's case.

Investigators have recently reopened a tax evasion probe against Magnitsky, even though he is dead, saying that it would give his relatives a chance to clear his name. But his family has objected to that, saying it never requested such an opportunity.

In a ruling posted on its website Monday evening, Russia's highest court declined to review a petition by Magnitsky's mother questioning the legality of the posthumous tax evasion probe because she is not party to it. The Constitutional Court also confirmed the legality of the new investigation.


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Sacramento personal injury lawyers open law group, Demas-PR Web (press release)

Sacramento, California (PRWEB) 30. March 2012

Sacramento injury Bützow group if the group to start a new course of Demas. The company began operations under the name in 2012, this March. The company's primary function is to serve the Sacramento community a wide range of personal injury matters. The company is made up of a Sacramento personal injury lawyer, with a common experience of injured to help customers in California for decades.

Demas-the group led by John n. Demas. Mr. Demas has been successfully dealt with in the case of personal injury case, the Sacramento, California area in 20 years, including the undue death, catastrophic injury and defective products claims. He is represented by the auto, trucking and construction accidents. Mr. Demas has earned the reputation of a lawyer, customers and insurance companies, which are similar to the vigilance with regard to the opinion of the Advocate General at the injured victims. Some of the Sacramento County is the largest in the history of the court procedures have led to his skills and knowledge. He was selected by his peers as the "Northern California Super Lawyers 2009, 2010 and 2011, the exclusive honor, only less than 5% of all lawyers and approximately 1% of the plaintiff personal injury to Bützow. He recognized recently as the trial lawyer of the year Capitol City trial version/the Advocate General lawyers ' Association, the extraordinary results of the studies and the work of consumers ' rights, recognition of the intrepid is activated. In addition, Mr. Demas has been granted membership of the American Board of trial advocates (ABOTA), and is a 10/10 rating, the highest possible rating of prominent attorney rating web site Avvo.com. He is also right in the Organization of the nation's senior Roundtable, in the case of personal injury Bützow 100 member.

Demas Law Group is committed to its customers with the best possible results. The main aim is to serve the needs of an open communication, not compassion and strong ethical values, through the members of the community. Personal injury lawyer law group, Demas, the legal specialized, experience and diligence, and the security log for all of the resources of the exceptional legal assistance and personal service. The success of the fishing activities of their entries in includes a number of seven figure settlement and court procedures, and has earned the United States a peer-to-peer and community.

Demas, a group of law has received the "AV" rating, the highest possible rating in Martindale-Hubbell national. In addition, the company has been given the highest marks "to meet the professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and care."



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China rights lawyer jailed for 2 years, 8 months

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BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court sentenced a disabled lawyer renowned for defending people evicted from their homes to two years and eight months in prison on Tuesday for causing a disturbance and fraud, Beijing's latest use of a controversial law to stifle dissent.

The lawyer, Ni Yulan, and her husband, Dong Jiqin, were detained in April 2011 and later convicted of the charges. Rights activists contend the charges were trumped up in an effort to silence the couple.

Dong was given two years in prison, also for "causing a disturbance", a court official told reporters at the courthouse in a western suburb of Beijing.

Ni's imprisonment is the latest signal of the ruling Communist Party's determination to stifle China's civil rights movement, which is reeling from the jailing of several dissidents in recent months.

The party is especially wary of political challenges ahead of a leadership succession later this year.

Ni has been an outspoken advocate for Chinese residents forced from their homes to make way for development, often for what residents say is grossly inadequate compensation.

Prosecutors alleged that Ni, who is disabled and wheel chair-bound, and Dong beat employees at a hotel - or what Ni has previously called a "black jail" - where they were forced to stay after their home was demolished in 2008.

A "black jail" is an informal detention site, such as a hotel or government guesthouse, used to hold protesters and petitioners without resorting to legal procedures.

(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Chris Buckley)


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Accused madam's lawyer wants lower bail - New York Daily News

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Accused East Side madam Anna Gristina was lost in the legal system for hours Monday before a Manhattan judge shot down her bid to have her $2 million bail reduced and sent her back to jail.

The smile on Gristina’s face on seeing her husband Kelvin Gorr sitting in the second row when she finally got to the courtroom — after seven plus hours in limbo — faded fast when the judge ordered her sent back to Rikers Island.

Gristina’s odyssey began at 8 a.m., when she was supposed to board the prison shuttle bus to the Manhattan courthouse.

“I wasn’t called,” she told her lawyer, sources said.

When Gristina didn’t turn up in Manhattan, her lawyers and the judge called the jail at 12:30 p.m. and were informed she was still there, sources said.

Only she wasn’t.

Gristina was already in a holding cell on the 12th floor of the courthouse complex, where she was finally located at 3:15 p.m.

Fifteen minutes later she was before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon, who promptly denied her lawyer’s petition to reduce her bail from $2 million.

Gristina, 44, is accused of running a $10 million call-girl ring that operated on the upper East Side and supplied high-class hookers to wealthy johns.

Police said 30-year-old Jaynie Mae Baker allegedly booked the girls for Gristina. She is free on $100,000 bail.

Gristina’s lawyer, Gary Greenwald, argued that if Baker was allowed out that Gristina should be too.

“How does the co-defendant get $100,000 [bail\] and she went to Mexico?” Greenwald said before the hearing. “That somehow doesn't play into anything?”

Baker told prosecutors she was on vacation in Mexico when the reputed vice den was shut down in February. She and Gristina have both

pleaded not guilty to prostitution charges.

Prosecutors argued again that the Scottish-born Gristina, who lives with her family upstate, remains a flight risk. They said Gristina had wealthy customers who might be willing to help her escape to avoid having their names revealed.

Before Gristina arrived in court, her

lawyer and prosecutors sparred before another judge, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, over access to evidence.

Greenwald once again demanded that prosecutors turn over “basic” evidence like the search warrants they got to bug the alleged brothel.

“We are entitled to that,” Greenwald said.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Roper said they plan to hand over that evidence but also want a protective order “for portions” of the search warrant materials.

Merchan told both sides to work something out and get back to him.

“I don’t want to get involved in gamesmanship,” Merchan said. “I don’t want to get involved in hand-holding.”

mgrace@nydailynews.com


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Lawyer: Pasadena police scapegoated 911 caller

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PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A lawyer for a man who wrongly reported an armed robbery to 911 says Pasadena police are scapegoating his client in the shooting death of a college boy.

Oscar Carrillo's lawyer Andres Bustamante said Friday that Pasadena police are doing damage control at his client's expense and wrongly blaming Carrillo in 19-year-old Kendrec McDade's death.

Carrillo called 911 to report an armed robbery March 24.

Chief Phillip Sanchez says Carrillo's call led them to believe McDade was an armed robbery suspect when they opened fire, but McDade was unarmed.

Bustamante says Pasadena police felt pressure from the community to dodge blame and scapegoated Carrillo in the 19-year-old's death.

Pasadena police, LA county prosecutors and a watchdog agency have opened investigations. The FBI is assessing whether to open a formal investigation.


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Russia drops charges in lawyer's prison death - Seattle Post Intelligencer

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MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's top investigative body said Monday it has dropped charges against a doctor suspected of negligence in the case of a prominent lawyer who reported official corruption in Russia, then died in custody while suffering from untreated pancreatitis.

The lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, had accused Interior Ministry officials of using false tax documents to steal $230 million from the state. He was imprisoned for tax evasion in 2008 and died in custody in November 2009.

A private investigation concluded Magnitsky was severely beaten and denied medical treatment in prison, and it accused the government of failing to prosecute those responsible.

Magnitsky worked for Hermitage Capital, an investment fund owned and run by U.S.-born William Browder, who has since been barred from Russia as a security risk.

On Monday, Russia's Investigative Committee dropped the negligence charge against Dr. Larisa Litvinova, citing a two-year statute of limitations in such probes.

Hermitage Capital sharply criticized the decision, calling it "the latest example of the reluctance within the Russian government to hold anyone accountable" for Magnitsky's death.

"In dropping charges against Ms. Litvinova, the Russian investigators have refused to acknowledge that Sergei Magnitsky had been tortured in custody, a crime that has a 10-year statute of limitations," the investment fund said in a statement.

The lawyer's death was seen as a litmus case for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's pledge to cement rule of law in Russia. Investors working in Russia have said Magnitsky's death and allegations of torture highlight corruption and the arbitrary nature of Russia's justice system.

Shortly after Magnitsky's death, Medvedev pledged to personally oversee the investigation which has been on for more than two years and is due to be wrapped up later this month.

But the Investigative Committee said Monday it has closed the investigation of Litvinova, the chief physician at the Butyrskaya prison where Magnitsky died, because of the statue of limitations. She was charged with negligence that led to Magnitsky's death, while the prison's deputy chief, Dmitry Kratov, was charged with negligence. The charge was not dropped against Kratov on Monday.

Magnitsky's family and colleagues have accused authorities of delaying the probe and charging only perpetrators, rather than those who might have ordered the lawyer's persecution.

In an apparent response to these claims, the Investigative Committee said Monday that the probe has taken so long because of lengthy medical procedures and the fact that Litvinova and Kratov were both hospitalized for two months last year for unexplained reasons.

The statue of limitations for the charge that Litvinova faced was shortened by Medvedev's amendments to the Criminal Code aimed at reducing the number of crimes that entail criminal liability. Medvedev proposed these amendments in response to criticism of the treatment of jailed businessmen, which was largely inspired by Magnitsky's case.

Investigators have recently reopened a tax evasion probe against Magnitsky, even though he is dead, saying that it would give his relatives a chance to clear his name. But his family has objected to that, saying it never requested such an opportunity.

In a ruling posted on its website Monday evening, Russia's highest court declined to review a petition by Magnitsky's mother questioning the legality of the posthumous tax evasion probe because she is not party to it. The Constitutional Court also confirmed the legality of the new investigation.


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Monday, April 9, 2012

Accused Afghan shooter's lawyer wants military counsel fired

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The civilian attorney representing the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan villagers wants to replace the military lawyer assigned to the case after disagreements over how to handle his defense.

"You are fired, sorry, but we have much more experience than you," Seattle-based John Henry Browne, the outspoken lawyer who has been the public face of the defense of Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, said in an email to military lawyer Major Thomas Hurley.

The Army assigns defense counsel such as Hurley to soldiers facing court martial but defendants also have the right to hire additional civilian counsel, in this case Browne. Any change in military counsel would have to be approved by the Army.

Browne's associate Emma Scanlan confirmed the decision, saying she and her boss looked forward to working with another lawyer. "We wish Major Hurley the best in his future endeavors," she said by email. Hurley declined to comment.

Browne's team wants to work with a military attorney with death penalty case experience, the email to Hurley from Browne, part of a chain obtained by Reuters, showed. Hurley has more than 60 military cases under his belt, with three involving homicide charges, but none were capital cases.

The decision comes after friction between the civilian and military lawyers over Browne's aggressive media strategy, and each side has accused the other of not being team players.

"Major Hurley is not a team player and has no experience in murder cases, we do," Browne wrote in a separate email to Reuters. "We have gotten 17 not guilty verdicts in murder cases and have gotten life verdicts in all our death penalty cases."

For his part, Hurley said Browne was the one who was not playing his role on the team.

Last week, Browne unleashed a unilateral public attack on the way U.S. prosecutors are handling the investigation into the shooting and accused U.S. authorities of blocking access to potential witnesses.

There was also disagreement over the decision to put Bales' wife on the Today show, where she said her husband showed no signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, potentially damaging Bales' most likely defense.

Karilyn Bales also said her husband was ready to be deployed to Afghanistan, in the interview with Today's Matt Lauer, parts of which were broadcast on March 25 and 26 on NBC.

Bales said she was not sure what post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms might be, but her husband did not have nightmares, trouble concentrating or display any erratic behavior shifts.

Such interviews "limit our options at trial or expose important witnesses to effective cross-examination that they would otherwise not have to face," Hurley said in the email chain obtained by Reuters.

Browne told Reuters Karilyn's ignorance of the signs of PTSD helped the defense, showing the extent to which soldiers try to keep the "hell of war" away from their families.

Bales, 38, has been formally charged with the murders of eight adults and nine children in a pre-dawn shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan on March 11.

The incident further eroded U.S.-Afghan relations already strained by a decade of war. He is awaiting mental evaluation at a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Bales, whose family hired Browne's team, has the right to request new military counsel under the court martial system, so any request to replace Hurley will have to be confirmed by the accused soldier and approved by the Army.

(Reporting By Peter Henderson and Bill Rigby; editing by Todd Eastham)


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Supreme Court rejects damage claim in HIV privacy case

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De grenzen van de Supreme Court "werkelijke schade" onder de Privacy ActA Californi? man opgeroepen wanneer de regering publiekelijk onthuld dat zijn HIV statusThe 5-3 uitspraak van het Hof conservatieve meerderheid tegen de liberale minorityJustice Elena Kagan, de voormalige vice-minister, ontpit nam niet deel

Washington ((CNN)) - A verdeeld Supreme Court oordeelde woensdag tegen een Californi? piloot die vervolgd nadat de federale regering publiekelijk onthuld zijn MIV-status.

In een 5-3 uitspraak besloten de high court Stanmore Cooper's claims van mentale en emotionele nood vallen niet onder de Privacy Act.

"De Privacy Act doet niet ondubbelzinnig schade voor mentale of emotionele nood toestaan en daarom doet geen afstand doen van de regering soevereine immuniteit voor dergelijke harms," schreef Justitie Samuel Alito voor de conservatieve meerderheid.

Drie liberale justices zich afgescheiden, terwijl een vierde, voormalig vice-minister Elena Kagan, nam niet deel.

In een verklaring woensdag zei Cooper dat het "ontmoedigend dat een meerderheid van de rechter van de regering zijde."

Cooper werd een gelicentieerde recreatieve piloot in 1964, maar twee decennia later, de San Francisco man werd gediagnosticeerd met HIV. Zijn toestand verergerd, wil hij zijn vervallen medisch attest vliegenier en van zijn privé piloot certificaat.

In 1996, Cooper toegepast voor lange termijn handicap met de Social Security Administration.

"Ik was in slechte vorm, ik heb niet lang te leven," zei hij vorig jaar. Maar zijn gezondheid verbeterd dankzij een cocktail van anti-retrovirale therapie. Hij ging terug aan het werk en wilde weer vliegen.

"Ik ontdekte ze waren medisch onderzoek (uitzonderingen) afgifte en ik opnieuw toegepast" aan de Federal Aviation Administration "zonder onthullen mijn MIV-status", zei hij. "Grote fout."

Hij ontving zijn nieuwe piloot certificaat, maar onbekend aan hem, een gezamenlijk initiatief van de lokale-federale genaamd operatie veilige Pilot werd gelanceerd in 2002. Met behulp van een werkblad, de agentschappen gedeeld en de namen en persoonlijke gegevens van ongeveer 45.000 piloten in Noord-Californi?, op zoek naar potentieel medisch ongeschikt individuen die ook federale voordelen ontvangen waren vergeleken.

Cooper was een van vier dozijn of zo piloten gelabeld als een "persoon die van belang." Wanneer geconfronteerd door de overheid ressorterende beambten, hij toegelaten tot een misdrijf last van een valse melding.

Hij werd veroordeeld tot een proeftijd en een boete, en zijn piloot certificaat is ingetrokken. Naam van het directielid voormalig business is aangeboden in een federale persbericht en later, door zijn vervolging, Cooper's medische geschiedenis plotseling was een kwestie van openbare record.

"Ik had geweest kundig voor zeggenschap die (met) wie ik mijn informatie gedeeld over mijn MIV-status, beperkt tot bepaalde collega's, familie en vrienden," zei hij "en plotseling dat was uit mijn controle."

Cooper, die uiteindelijk werd toegestaan om te vliegen weer, opgeroepen.

"Ik koos niet te onthullen mijn HIV-infectie en dat was een zeer slechte zaak," zei hij. "Ik nam de verantwoordelijkheid voor het en ik betaalde de prijs. Ik werd gestraft. En ik denk dat nu is het beurt van de regering om eigen tot het breken van de wet en neem verantwoordelijkheid voor wat zij deden. "

Een federale rechter vond zowel de FAA en de Social Security Administration geschonden de Privacy Act met het onderzoek van informatie-uitwisseling, maar zei onder de wet, alleen "werkelijke schade" kunnen worden ingezameld door eisers eisende.

Omdat Cooper geen vorderingen voor economische schade, zoals verlies van de lonen of medische kosten maakte, was hij van geluk. De rechter vond "emotionele schade" alleen niet gekwalificeerd en verwierp het proces.

Een federaal Hof van beroep teruggedraaid die beslissing, uitspraak voor Cooper. Toen vroeg de FAA het high court om in te grijpen.

Tijdens een uur van mondelinge argumenten vorig jaar bleef de justices weg van de specifieke claims van emotionele schade gemaakt door Cooper, zich in plaats daarvan te concentreren op wat de wet zegt over kwalificatie voor schade.

"Het argument dat u hebt gemaakt-- en ik begrijp het, dat dit de Privacy Act en dus het is precies deze soorten schade die u zou betrokken over--echt beide manieren bezuinigingen," zei Chief Justice John Roberts aan Cooper's advocaat.

"Wat u zegt is dat deze (wet) heeft betrekking op een echt grote brok van schade, omdat dit wat de hele wet is over was," zei Roberts. "En het lijkt mij dat argument suggereert dat er wat gewicht aan de regering punt: dat als je gaat om dat te krijgen, je echt nodig duidelijker" taal in de wet dat de regering tot op zekere hoogte van een overstroming van hard-aan-weerleggen rechtszaken immuniseren zou.

De dubbelzinnigheid lagere rechtbanken jarenlang heeft verdeeld, en privacy deskundigen zei het gemak waarmee de regering kan verzamelen en informatie uit te wisselen in het digitale tijdperk maakt de kwestie van de aansprakelijkheid van de persoonlijke levenssfeer rijp voor herziening.

Justitie Ruth Bader Ginsburg gehamerd herhaaldelijk weg bij de regering advocaat pleit voor de FAA. Ze zei dat de betrokken bepaling van de federale schade is vergelijkbaar met staat onrechtmatige daad claims die zowel emotionele en financi?le schade omvatten.

"De persoon die is onderworpen aan dit, tot deze verlegenheid, deze vernedering, voorschotten niet hebben, maar is vreselijk verdrietig, angstig en nerveus, en al de rest," zei Ginsburg. "De wet dat is het bereiken van het Congres, de impact is van die aard. Ik bedoel, geldelijke schade (monetaire) wonen normaal gedrag dat gênant, vernedert u, oorzaken van geestelijke nood."

Eric Feigin van het ministerie van Justitie zei de Privacy Act de taal kan worden ge?nterpreteerd als schadevergoeding voor zulke dingen als "vernedering, verlegenheid en geestelijke angst" waardoor, maar omdat de uitdrukking "werkelijke" blijft vaag schade, dat de regering moet krijgen het voordeel van de twijfel, zei het geval kantelen in eigen voordeel.

"Gewoon omdat een eiser een negatief effect kan hebben geleden" van de privacy schending, Feigin, betoogde "betekent niet dat de eiser werkelijke schade geleden."

Raymond Cardozo, Cooper's advocaat, tijdens de hoorzitting dat zijn cli?nt informatie openbaar werd gemaakt en zijn naam en MIV-status nog op een federale regering database Gepost zijn gewezen. Hij maakte ook een grotere argument, dat zijn cli?nt dilemma is één die gevolgen voor alle Amerikanen hebben kan.

"Congres deze daad de burger vertrouwen in hun regering, en het maakte een plechtige belofte voor de Amerikaanse burgers dat in geval van opzettelijke en opzettelijke schending, de Verenigde Staten is aansprakelijk voor werkelijke schade te herstellen," zei Cardozo. "Vandaag, de regering stelt dat"werkelijke schade"worden gelezen op een manier die maakt deze wet vrijwel niet relevant. Dat is een aanfluiting van die plechtige belofte."

Cooper studeerde aan de openbare zitting bij de rechtbank en drukte optimisme daarna die hij zou zegevieren.

"Ze heb verraden mijn vertrouwen en ik kan niet krijgen dat terug," zei Cooper op het moment. "Er was niets te verliezen hier. Ik had om het te doen. Het was het juiste ding om te doen."

Het geval is Cooper v. FAA (10-1024).

CNN's Tom Cohen en Kate Bolduan bijdragen aan dit verslag.


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The two companies the injury lawyers recognized as Top 40 lawyers under 40 in the trial version of Virginia-PR Web (press release)

Virginia Beach, VA (PRWEB) 30. March 2012

National trial lawyers has selected Virginia injury Bützow – Emily Mapp Brannon and Kevin Duffan, associates with Shapiro, Lewis and Appleton law firm, to be included in the "Virginia 40 ' for the trial lawyers in 40 of the world.

National trial lawyers Top 40 in the u.s. top 40 young people in the trial version of Bützow consists of a professional organization. Membership of the Top 40 in the 40-40-year-olds only, and upon the invitation of lawyers, which have opted for a process, which includes peer candidates and third-party research is limited. These lawyers have excelled in the room of the Court of Justice selected, superior competence and must be displayed in the leadership of the young people in the trial lawyers.

This means, in practice, Emily and Kevin are some of the 40-year-olds, the Virginia personal injury lawyers.

Our Virginia personal injury law firm is proud that Emily and Kevin was elected to this prestigious honor. They represent our company's commitment to excellence and the willingness on the part of the opinion of Advocate General of our client's rights to the original statement, though, when it is necessary.

Emily and Kevin's achievement is one of the best damage-Virginia is selected in the right companies in 2011 and 2012, US News and World Report, according to the company.



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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Lawyer: Man believed behind French killing spree claimed his innocence to police

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PARIS - An Algerian lawyer says she has evidence the young man accused of killing seven people in attacks on French soldiers and a Jewish school claimed his innocence to police. Separately, France announced it was expelling several foreign Islamist extremists on its soil.

Mohamed Merah, 23, was killed after a more than 30-hour standoff with police at his apartment in Toulouse after being identified as the suspect behind the killing spree last month. Authorities have said that during negotiations Merah claimed to have links to al-Qaida and confessed to the killings.

But Zahia Mokhtari, a lawyer for Merah's Algerian father, told BFM television on Monday that she had two identical videos of Merah that contradict the police narrative. "In these videos, he says, 'I am innocent. Why are you killing me? I didn't do anything,'" she said.

Mokhtari would not detail how she got the videos, saying she would reveal more on their origin once she files a lawsuit in French courts against the elite police force, RAID, that killed Merah.

Merah is alleged to have killed three paratroopers, a rabbi and three Jewish schoolchildren, attacks that put French authorities on edge. President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed a crackdown on foreign Islamist radicals, and the Interior Ministry said Monday that deportations are in progress.

An Algerian Islamist radical convicted for a role in 1994 attacks in Marrakech and said to have recently started linking up again with extremists was deported Monday along with an imam from Mali who preached anti-Semitism and the rejection of the West, the Interior Ministry said.

A Saudi imam who has systematically preached the need to isolate women among other things is to be forced home imminently. Efforts to deport two other people are in progress and more such actions can be expected "shortly," the statement said.

A police official with knowledge of the investigation into the Merah case cast doubt on the Algerian lawyer's claims about the videos Monday, noting that Merah led police to evidence that proved he was the perpetrator.

Prosecutors say Merah spoke at length with negotiators from the RAID force throughout the standoff while he was holed up in a Toulouse apartment.

During these conversations, authorities say, Merah told them where to find a video he took of the crime spree. Al-Jazeera television has said it received a copy of the video, which shows the deaths of three paratroopers, three Jewish children and a rabbi from the killer's point of view.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of police rules, added that Merah had toyed with police during the standoff, initially agreeing to surrender but later vowing to "die with his weapons in his hands."

Police have said that Merah said he had links to al-Qaida but have cast doubt on that claim. They are holding his brother on suspicion he helped to prepare the attacks and are looking for a possible third man who may also have been involved.

The killings have left France reeling, reviving worries about Islamist extremism and shaking up the French presidential campaign.

___

Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten contributed to this report.


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Lawyer Donna Hall appears before court

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Donna Hall. Photo / Greg Bowker

Prominent Maori lawyer Donna Hall has denied a conflict of interest over a central North Island land deal in which she allegedly acted for three of the trusts involved in the sale.

The Law Society's standards committee alleges Ms Hall acted for the vendor, purchaser and lender during the 2007 deal, without the consent of each party to represent the others.

The committee opened its case against Ms Hall before the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal in Wellington today.

The tribunal is able to impose much harsher sanctions than the committee can, including being struck off the roll, suspension, or fines of up to $30,000.

The hearing follows a complaint from a shareholder of the Tauhara Middle 15 Trust, which in 2007 bought the Tauhara North block near Taupo from Landcorp for $5 million jointly with another trust.

The complainant alleged a conflict because Ms Hall acted for both Tauhara and the Hikuwai Hapu Lands Trust, which facilitated the transaction.

She also acted for Tauhara Middle 4A2A Trust, which provided an unsecured loan to Tauhara Middle 15 to help fund its $1m contribution to the deal.

Law Society standards committee lawyer Gary Turkington told the tribunal today that Ms Hall failed to advise each party of the areas of conflict or potential conflict, and to advise the purchaser and lender that each should take independent advice.

Ms Hall was in a conflicted position during the on-selling of the land because she was also acting for the purchasing trust, he said.

In authorising the sale, the Maori Land Court gave its approval for the execution of a mortgage, but signalled it was not approving the purchase until five questions had been answered.

Mr Turkington said Ms Hall by-passed the questions and had put Hikuwai's trustees first.

Ms Hall's lawyer, Helen Cull, said there was no conflict because her client was not acting on the land deal itself.

Rather, she was acting on behalf of the Tauhara Middle 15 in its Maori Land Court proceedings, and to help remove a trustee who was opposed to the bank loan to secure the deal.

Ms Cull said the trust had approached Ms Hall to act on its behalf in the land deal, but she declined and instructed a barrister to act for the trust.

It was the barrister's duty to inform the trustees of a potential conflict, and any conflict arose from the trusts sharing trustees, she said.

Three people involved in the deal were trustees on all three trusts, while a further three were trustees on the two Tauhara trusts.

Ms Cull said there was evidence the trusts had shared mutual interests in purchasing the land, which had significant development potential for Maori, and the trusts shared beneficiaries.

"It is only a professional conflict if there are two distinctive interests that are conflicting and we don't accept that,'' she said.

Tribunal member Susan Hughes QC questioned whether the trustees were aware that Ms Hall stood to lose $300,000 in legal fees from the Hikuwai trust if the deal did not got through.

Ms Cull said she would need to take instructions from her client on that matter, and would get back to the tribunal tomorrow.

The hearing is expected to last three days.

- APNZ

By Hana Garrett-Walker and Matthew Backhouse | Email Hana

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Lawyer: French attacks suspect claimed innocence

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PARIS (AP) — An Algerian lawyer said Monday that she has evidence the young man accused of killing seven people in attacks on French soldiers and a Jewish school claimed his innocence to police. Separately, France announced it was expelling several foreign Islamist extremists on its soil.

Mohamed Merah, 23, was killed after a more than 30-hour standoff with police at his apartment in Toulouse after being identified as the suspect behind the killing spree last month. Authorities have said that during negotiations Merah claimed to have links to al-Qaida and confessed to the killings.

But Zahia Mokhtari, a lawyer for Merah's Algerian father, told BFM television on Monday that she had two identical videos of Merah that contradict the police narrative. "In these videos, he says, 'I am innocent. Why are you killing me? I didn't do anything,'" she said.

Mokhtari would not detail how she got the videos, saying she would reveal more on their origin once she files a lawsuit in French courts against the elite police force, RAID, that killed Merah.

Merah is alleged to have killed three paratroopers, a rabbi and three Jewish schoolchildren, attacks that put French authorities on edge. President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed a crackdown on foreign Islamist radicals, and the Interior Ministry said Monday that deportations are in progress.

An Algerian Islamist radical convicted for a role in 1994 attacks in Marrakech and said to have recently started linking up again with extremists was deported Monday along with an imam from Mali who preached anti-Semitism and the rejection of the West, the Interior Ministry said.

A Saudi imam who has systematically preached the need to isolate women among other things is to be forced home imminently. Efforts to deport two other people are in progress and more such actions can be expected "shortly," the statement said.

A police official with knowledge of the investigation into the Merah case cast doubt on the Algerian lawyer's claims about the videos Monday, noting that Merah led police to evidence that proved he was the perpetrator.

Prosecutors say Merah spoke at length with negotiators from the RAID force throughout the standoff while he was holed up in a Toulouse apartment.

During these conversations, authorities say, Merah told them where to find a video he took of the crime spree. Al-Jazeera television has said it received a copy of the video, which shows the deaths of three paratroopers, three Jewish children and a rabbi from the killer's point of view.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of police rules, added that Merah had toyed with police during the standoff, initially agreeing to surrender but later vowing to "die with his weapons in his hands."

Police have said that Merah said he had links to al-Qaida but have cast doubt on that claim. They are holding his brother on suspicion he helped to prepare the attacks and are looking for a possible third man who may also have been involved.

The killings have left France reeling, reviving worries about Islamist extremism and shaking up the French presidential campaign.

___

Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten contributed to this report.


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Supreme Court rejects damage claim in HIV privacy case

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The Supreme Court limits "actual damages" under the Privacy ActA California man sued when the government publicly revealed his HIV statusThe 5-3 ruling pitted the court's conservative majority against the liberal minorityJustice Elena Kagan, the former solicitor general, did not participate

Washington (CNN) -- A divided Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against a California pilot who sued after the federal government publicly revealed his HIV status.

In a 5-3 ruling, the high court decided Stanmore Cooper's claims of mental and emotional distress are not covered under the Privacy Act.

"The Privacy Act does not unequivocally authorize damages for mental or emotional distress and therefore does not waive the government's sovereign immunity for such harms," Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the conservative majority.

Three liberal justices dissented, while a fourth, former Solicitor General Elena Kagan, did not participate.

In a statement Wednesday, Cooper said it was "discouraging that a majority of the court sided with the government."

Cooper became a licensed recreational pilot in 1964, but two decades later, the San Francisco man was diagnosed with HIV. As his condition worsened, he let his private pilot's certificate and his airman medical certificate lapse.

In 1996, Cooper applied for long-term disability with the Social Security Administration.

"I was in bad shape, I didn't have long to live," he said last year. But his health improved thanks to a cocktail of anti-retroviral therapy. He went back to work and wanted to fly again.

"I found out they were issuing medicals (exemptions) and I reapplied" to the Federal Aviation Administration "without revealing my HIV status," he said. "Big mistake."

He received his new pilot's certificate but, unknown to him, a joint local-federal initiative called Operation Safe Pilot was launched in 2002. Using a spreadsheet, the agencies shared and compared the names and personal data of about 45,000 pilots in Northern California, looking for potentially medically unfit individuals who were also receiving federal benefits.

Cooper was among four dozen or so pilots tagged as a "person of interest." When confronted by government agents, he admitted to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false report.

He was sentenced to probation and fined, and his pilot's certificate was revoked. The retired business executive's name was listed in a federal press release and later, through his prosecution, Cooper's medical history suddenly was a matter of public record.

"I had been able to control those (with) whom I shared my information about my HIV status, limited to some co-workers, family, and close friends," he said "And suddenly that was out of my control."

Cooper, who was eventually allowed to fly again, sued.

"I chose not to reveal my HIV infection and that was a very bad thing," he said. "I took responsibility for it and I paid the price. I was punished. And I think now it's the government's turn to own up to breaking the law and take responsibility for what they did."

A federal judge found both the FAA and the Social Security Administration violated the Privacy Act with the information-sharing investigation, but said under the law, only "actual damages" could be collected by plaintiffs seeking redress.

Since Cooper made no claims for economic harm, such as lost wages or medical expenses, he was out of luck. The judge found "emotional injury" alone did not qualify and dismissed the lawsuit.

A federal appeals court reversed that decision, ruling for Cooper. The FAA then asked the high court to intervene.

During an hour of oral arguments last year, the justices stayed away from the specific claims of emotional harm made by Cooper, focusing instead on what the law says about qualifying for damages.

"The argument you have made -- and I certainly understand it, that this is the Privacy Act and so it's precisely these types of damages that you would be concerned about -- really cuts both ways," Chief Justice John Roberts said to Cooper's lawyer.

"What you are saying is this (law) covers a really big chunk of damages, because this is what the whole act was about," Roberts said. "And it seems to me that argument suggests that there is some weight to the government's point: That if you are going to get that, you really do need clearer" language in the law that would immunize the government to some extent, from a flood of hard-to-disprove lawsuits.

The ambiguity has divided lower courts for years, and privacy experts said the ease with which the government can collect and share information in the digital age makes the issue of personal privacy liability ripe for review.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg repeatedly hammered away at the government lawyer arguing for the FAA. She said the federal damages provision in question is similar to state tort claims that include both emotional and financial harm.

"The person who is subject to this, to this embarrassment, this humiliation, doesn't have out-of-pocket costs, but is terribly distressed, nervous, anxious, and all the rest," Ginsburg said. "The act that the Congress is reaching, the impact is of that nature. I mean, pecuniary (monetary) damages ordinarily attend conduct that embarrasses, humiliates you, causes mental distress."

Eric Feigin of the Justice Department said the Privacy Act's language may be interpreted as allowing damages for such things as "humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish," but said because the phrase "actual" damages remains vague, the government should get the benefit of the doubt, tipping the case in its favor.

"Simply because a plaintiff may have suffered an adverse effect" from the privacy violation, argued Feigin, "doesn't mean that the plaintiff suffered actual damages."

Raymond Cardozo, Cooper's lawyer, pointed out during the hearing that his client's information was made public and his name and HIV status are still posted on a federal government database. He also made a larger argument, that his client's dilemma is one that may affect all Americans.

"Congress passed this act to restore the citizens' faith in their government, and it made a solemn promise to the American citizens that in cases of intentional and willful violation, the United States shall be liable for actual damages," Cardozo said. "Today, the government is proposing that "actual damages" be read in a way that renders this act virtually irrelevant. That makes a mockery of that solemn promise."

Cooper attended the public session at the court and expressed optimism afterward he would prevail.

"They've betrayed my trust and I can't get that back," Cooper said at the time. "There was nothing to lose here. I had to do it. It was the right thing to do."

The case is Cooper v. FAA (10-1024).

CNN's Tom Cohen and Kate Bolduan contribute to this report.


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Lawyer Has Had Major Impact on Citrus Industry

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The Lakeland lawyer's contributions have come in the legal arena, in which she was the driving force behind two of the most significant citrus-related litigations in the past three decades.

A 1980s case forced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to pursue "orange juice adulterators" — juice processors outside Florida who were adding sugar and other additives to inferior juice and misleadingly selling it as 100 percent OJ. The faux OJ was taking market share away from the genuine Florida product, diminishing the brand and profits to the state's growers.

But the Florida Department of Citrus had no authority over out-of-state processors, said Bernie Lester, the department's executive director at the time, and FDA officials initially showed little interest in pursuing litigation.

Florida traditionally provides nearly all the domestically produced OJ in the U.S., and the state's juice processors buy 95 percent of the annual orange crop. But three major freezes and a couple of minor ones during the 1980s destroyed crops and trees, creating an opening for the unscrupulous OJ processors.

Working as the Citrus Department's general counsel, Gunter, 58, and the department's scientists built the case against the adulterating processors and shared it to the FDA, which agreed to pursue criminal charges. Some company officials got jail time, Lester said, and OJ adulteration has not been an issue since.

"The adulteration issue was not one that got a lot of headlines, but it was very important to the Florida citrus industry," said Bill Becker, owner and CEO of Peace River Citrus Products Inc., a Vero Beach processor, who was chairman of the Florida Citrus Commission at the time. "She stayed on top of it and pushed and pushed. Absent her involvement, I'm not sure we would have been successful."

The Florida citrus industry still feels the effects of the second, more controversial case last decade involving five foreign citrus processors represented by Gunter that nullified a state tax on imported orange juice.

The Florida Citrus Commission, the Citrus Department's governing body, imposed the imports tax to help finance OJ marketing, which represent more than half its annual budget.

The Citrus Department, a state agency that promotes Florida citrus products, is financed mostly by taxes paid by Florida growers. Those growers argued OJ imports benefit from that marketing program and should help finance it through a tax equal to theirs, thus giving the levy its name, "equalization tax."

While Florida growers supply more than 90 percent of the 1 billion gallons of orange juice consumed annually in the U.S., processors need imported OJ to meet domestic demand.

Gunter essentially won the argument the state tax was illegal because the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the sole authority to tax imports. In agreeing to the 2003 settlement, Citrus Department officials conceded U.S. trade officials had advised the state tax was probably illegal under World Trade Organization rules.

The settlement has cost the Citrus Department millions of dollars in tax revenue, a loss that subsequently became more acute. The department has lost millions more since 2005 under the impact of weather and diseases that has cut Florida's average orange production dropped by a third.

The howls from Florida growers have grown only louder that imports unfairly benefit from Citrus Department marketing without paying, commonly called "free rider."

Gunter said she knew the equalization tax lawsuit carried the risk that Florida growers, most of her clients, would ostracize her, especially if she won.

"That was a heavy lift for me, both personally and professionally," she said. "I was told I would not eat lunch in this town again if I took the case. I was prepared for that, but every lawyer I know has faced that in his career."

Perhaps, but few lawyers would take on the risk, said Judge Lynn Tepper of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in Dade City, a friend and former law school classmate familiar with the case.

"It takes a lot of guts. You're going against the people in your own community, like Atticus Finch defending someone the community doesn't like," said Tepper, referring to the main character in the book and movie, "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Almost nine years after she settled the lawsuit, Gunter still eats lunch in Lakeland and other citrus towns and still counts some of the biggest names in Florida citrus among her clients.

Army Brat

Kristen Elizabeth Gunter was born Feb. 13, 1954, to Roy and Hope Elizabeth Carlson in St. John's, Newfoundland, in Canada, where her father, an Air Force pilot, was stationed. She was the fourth of the couple's five children and the elder daughter.

A self-described "Army brat," Gunter and her family moved every few years with Roy Carlson's reassignments. She lived, by chronological order, in St. John's; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Burlington, Vt.; Montgomery, Ala.; Madrid, Spain; Lompoc, Calif.; Tampa; Okinawa, Japan; and back to Tampa.

Unlike some Army brats, who complain of feeling rootless and losing friends, Gunter said she enjoyed the frequent relocations.

"I enjoyed the new horizons," she said. "It probably installed a rhythm of change in me. In early adulthood, I did have a feeling every three years, I would like something new."

Her mother, now Hope Kirkendall, a Lakeland resident, said Gunter from a young age was an explorer and a risk-taker. She usually wanted to do what her three older brothers were doing, such as riding her bother's rocking horse, even at age 3, when she was too small to reach the stirrups.

At age 5, Gunter taught herself to ice skate and to ride a bicycle without training wheels, an early example of the relentlessness that has served her well in her legal career.

"She fell off that bike 89 times a day," Kirkendall said. "She would go on top of a hill, then ride it down. But she couldn't stop, so she would crash. Then she'd go back to the top of the hill."

A tomboy? "Oh, boy, was she ever," the mother said.

Gunter got straight A's in school and was a good athlete, particularly excelling at swimming, but she remained popular with fellow students because she never put on airs, family and friends said. She was the kind of person who becomes the homecoming queen and head cheerleader, both of which Gunter did at her polyglot high school in Okinawa.

After her graduation, the family returned to Tampa and Gunter graduated in three years from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in journalism. A law degree from Stetson University followed in 1977.

Gunter worked at small law firms and the Pasco County State Attorney's Office before finding her niche in Florida citrus in 1980, when she joined the Citrus Department legal staff and soon rose to general counsel, its top lawyer.

Through her life and career, Gunter has shown a natural ability to put others at ease, often with humor, usually expressed through a quip or a knowing jest that breaks up a sober conversation, said family, friends and even former legal adversaries.

"She's a delight to deal with," said lawyer Hank Campbell, now with Valenti, Campbell, Trohn, Tamayo & Aranda in Lakeland, who represented the Citrus Commission in the equalization tax lawsuit. "The truly best thing about her is she truly cares about the Florida citrus industry."

And she takes as well as she gives, said Robert Carlson, 61, a retired Denver lawyer and the brother who let Gunter ride his hobby horse.

"One of her endearing qualities is that she laughs easily," he said. "She makes you think you're funny, and I'm not very funny."

[ Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-422-6800. ]


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