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NC regulators hire law firm to probe Duke Energy
Court Watch |
2012/08/17 17:44
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North Carolina utilities regulators said Wednesday they have hired a former federal prosecutor with experience digging into corporate affairs to reveal whether regulators were misled ahead of a takeover that created America's largest electric company.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission said it has hired Anton Valukas and the Jenner & Block law firm, which he heads in Chicago. The ex-prosecutor and his firm are tasked with investigating what happened before regulators approved Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp. taking over Raleigh-based Progress Energy Inc.
State law allows the costs associated with the utilities commission's investigation to be charged to Duke Energy and its shareholders rather than allowing the company to pass them along to its 3.2 million North Carolina customers.
A Duke Energy spokesman said the company was cooperating with regulators in their investigation.
The company on Wednesday separately sought to begin passing along to Carolinas energy consumers the first $89 million of $650 million in merger-related savings promised over the next five years. If that is approved, the average residential customer in North Carolina and South Carolina could save between 80 cents and 92 cents a month beginning in September. |
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NJ court upholds decal law for young drivers
Court Watch |
2012/08/10 19:04
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Young drivers in New Jersey will have to continue displaying a red decal on their license plates.
The state Supreme Court upheld "Kyleigh's Law" in a ruling Monday.
In a unanimous opinion, the high court ruled that requiring the decals doesn't violate federal privacy laws or laws against unreasonable search and seizure. An appeals court had ruled similarly last year in a challenge brought by two parents.
The law is named for a New Jersey teenager who was killed in a 2006 crash. It's meant to aid police in enforcing restricted privileges for young drivers.
Opponents say displaying the decals could leave teen drivers vulnerable to predators. But a report last year found only one reported incident in which an underage driver was stopped by someone impersonating a police officer. |
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Court spurns religious claim to name change
Court Watch |
2012/08/03 18:16
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An appeals court has rejected a Kansas man's claim that the federal justice system's refusal to recognize his new Muslim name violates his constitutional religious rights.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Michael White failed to show it was unreasonable to deny his request to amend all records in his criminal case.
A lower court held that replacing the name Michael White with Abdul Hakeem Kareem Mujahid in all federal court records would create confusion.
Mujahid is serving 10 years at a prison in Colorado for killing another inmate at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth. A Kansas court granted his petition to change his name in December 2010. |
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Court sides with NJ judges in pension dispute
Court Watch |
2012/07/25 20:58
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New Jersey's Supreme Court dealt a partial defeat to one of Gov. Chris Christie's signature legislative accomplishments Tuesday when it ruled that the state's judges don't have to contribute more to their pensions and health benefits. A leading state lawmaker immediately said the battle over the matter would continue.
The narrow 3-2 decision sided with a legal challenge filed last year by a state Superior Court judge in Hudson County who argued that the law imposing the pension and health care benefits changes violated a part of the state constitution that set judges' salaries and said they cannot be reduced.
The justices noted in their ruling that without a corresponding salary increase, the increased contributions would eventually cost judges at least $17,000 annually in take-home pay, amounting to a pay cut of more than 10 percent.
Christie, a Republican, had worked with the Democratic-controlled Legislature to pass the law last year. It affects hundreds of thousands of government workers around the state in addition to between 400 and 500 sitting judges and justices. |
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