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Teens charged in death of Australian due in court
Court Watch |
2014/02/06 23:34
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Three teenagers accused of fatally shooting an Australian baseball player as he jogged down an Oklahoma street, allegedly because they were bored, are expected in court Tuesday for a hearing that could reveal details about the case.
Police allege that Chancey Allen Luna and James Francis Edwards Jr., who are both 16, and Michael Dewayne Jones, 18, randomly targeted and shot Chris Lane last summer. Each teenager is charged with first-degree murder.
Lane's death garnered heavy media coverage in both the U.S. and Australia, prompting the judge to issue a gag order barring anyone involved from talking about the case outside court. That means little information has been released since the 22-year-old Melbourne native was shot in the back and died in August.
But investigators have said Lane was shot while jogging down a tree-lined street near the home of his girlfriend's parents in Duncan, about 80 miles south of Oklahoma City. He and his girlfriend had just returned to Oklahoma after visiting Australia, and he was preparing for his senior season playing catcher at East Central University in Ada, about 90 miles east of Duncan. |
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Lawmakers push back against Washington high court
Court Watch |
2014/01/27 21:46
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Washington state's highest court has exercised an unusual amount of power on education funding, and it's prompted some lawmakers to raise constitutional concerns.
Before last year's legislative session, the court ruled that the state wasn't meeting its obligation to amply pay for basic education. In response, the Legislature added about $1 billion in school-related spending, and lawmakers widely agree they'll add more funding in coming years.
Earlier this month, the court went a step further, analyzing specific funding targets while telling lawmakers to come back with a new plan by the end of April.
Those specific demands have irked budget writers in the Legislature.
"They are way out of their lane," said Republican Sen. Michael Baumgartner.
Baumgartner expects lawmakers will continue adding "substantially new resources" to the state education system, but he said the court's position could erode the proper balance of power in Olympia. Baumgartner hopes lawmakers will ignore the court's latest demands, or he fears justices may exercise more power going forward. |
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Ind. Supreme Court to hear foul ball injury case
Court Watch |
2014/01/10 22:46
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The Indiana Supreme Court is taking up the case of a woman who wants to sue a minor-league baseball team over injuries she suffered when a foul ball struck her during a game.
The court was scheduled to hear oral arguments Thursday in Juanita DeJesus' effort to sue the Gary SouthShore RailCats over fractured facial bones and blindness in her left eye she says were caused by a ball striking her during a May 2009 game.
The Times of Munster reports DeJesus sued the RailCats' parent company in 2011 alleging it failed to install protective netting for spectators.
A local judge initially allowed her suit to proceed, but the Indiana Court of Appeals threw it out last year, ruling that foul balls' dangers are well-known to baseball fans. |
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Affirmative action foe wins California court fight
Court Watch |
2013/12/20 18:28
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In a bitter fight over the effects of affirmative action, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that law school data on race, attendance and grades should be available to the public.
The unanimous decision represents a legal victory for a law professor seeking to test his notion that minority students are actually harmed by preferential admissions policies.
University of California, Los Angeles law professor Richard Sander created a firestorm when he published his "mismatch theory" in the Stanford Law Review in 2004.
Critics swiftly attacked his conclusions, saying Sander understated the positive effects of affirmative action and based his thinking on inadequate statistics.
To further his research, Sander sought data on ethnicity and scholastic performance compiled by the State Bar of California with a public records request in 2008. The state bar denied the request, prompting the lawsuit.
Information compiled by the bar, a branch of the state judiciary responsible with licensing and disciplining lawyers, is "unparalleled," Sander said after the ruling Thursday. |
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