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Court sides with Wyoming in dispute with Montana
Court Press News |
2011/05/02 09:12
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The Supreme Court says Wyoming is not taking too much water from a river system it shares with Montana.
The high court on Monday turned away Montana's complaint that Wyoming is taking too much water from the Tongue and Powder rivers in violation of a 1950 agreement between the states.
Montana claimed that more efficient irrigation in Wyoming is preventing runoff from rejoining the river and flowing downstream.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the 7-1 decision, which says more efficient irrigation is permissible to the detriment of downstream users. Justice Antonin Scalia was the only dissenting vote.
Justice Elena Kagan did not participate in the case because she worked on it while in the solicitor general's office. |
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Possible plea deal in Ohio abortion gunpoint case
Legal & Political |
2011/05/01 09:13
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A prosecutor says discussions about a possible plea bargain are under way in the case of an Ohio man accused of trying to force his pregnant girlfriend at gunpoint to get an abortion.
Police say 28-year-old Dominic Holt-Reid pulled a gun Oct. 6 on his girlfriend, Yolanda Burgess, and forced her to drive to an abortion clinic.
Authorities say the procedure never happened because Burgess managed to slip a note to a clinic employee, who called police.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien told The Associated Press in a statement Wednesday that his office and lawyers for Holt-Reid have been discussing a potential plea.
A message left with Holt-Reid's lawyer seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.
O'Brien approved charging Hold-Reid under a 1996 fetal homicide law. Holt-Reid has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, kidnapping and other charges. |
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Corps halts levee break prep as states argue
Headline Legal News |
2011/05/01 09:10
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| pA federal judge hearing arguments over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' plan to intentionally break a Mississippi River levee left the bench Thursday without making a ruling but indicated he was reluctant to get in the agency's way./ppU.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. heard arguments from attorneys for the state of Missouri and the Army Corps of Engineers on the corps' proposal to use explosives to blow a 2-mile-wide hole through the Birds Point levee in southeast Missouri. The corps says breaking the levee would ease waters rising around the upstream town of Cairo, Ill., near the confluence of the swollen Mississippi and Ohio rivers./ppThe corps, however, halted its preparation for the break on Thursday, saying it needed until the weekend to assess whether a sustained crest of the Mississippi at Cairo would demand the extraordinary step./ppThe river's crest at the Cairo flood wall could reach 60.3 feet — nearly a foot above its record high — as early as Sunday, corps spokesman Jim Pogue said. The wall protects the town up to 64 feet, but there's concern the crest could last up to five days and create extra pressure on the wall./p |
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Court upholds $311K award against debt collector
Legal News Digest |
2011/04/19 08:50
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div class=entrydiv class=articlepA North Dakota law firm accused of trying to collect a $3,800 debt after the statute of limitations expired is now the one that owes a lot of money./ppAn appellate court has upheld a $311,000 jury award to a Montana man who sued the firm in 2007 over a violation of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act./ppJohnson, Rodenburg amp; Lauinger appealed the April 2009 summary judgment and damages awarded to Timothy McCollough of Laurel. The case was heard in July by a special panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Billings, including retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor./ppThe panel issued a decision Friday upholding the damages. They include $1,000 statutory maximum for violating the debt collection law, $60,000 in punitive damages and $250,000 for emotional distress./ppI'm just so giddy it's all over. We're finally able to take a deep breath, McCullough told The Billings Gazette on Friday. We knew we had a good case, but it just went on forever./ppMcCullough said he hoped the case showed debt collectors that people are going to know they don't have to take the garbage. They can fight back./pp
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Court hears arguments in new global warming case
Court Press News |
2011/04/19 08:49
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The Obama administration and leading power companies are going before the Supreme Court in an effort to block a global warming lawsuit aimed at forcing cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday in the court's second climate change case in four years. A half-dozen states, New York City and three land trusts sued four private utilities and the Tennessee Valley Authority over emissions of carbon dioxide from plants in 20 states. The lawsuit says carbon dioxide, which is produced when coal, gasoline and other fossil fuels burn, is one of the chief causes of global warming.
The administration and the companies say federal courts should not set environmental policy. The administration says the Environmental Protection Agency is developing regulations that would accomplish what the states are seeking. |
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