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Iowa mom pleads not guilty in newborn twins' death
U.S. Court News |
2012/01/30 10:18
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A Huxley woman accused of killing her newborn twin daughters and hiding their bodies in the trunk of her car has pleaded not guilty.
Jackie Burkle is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. She is being held on $1 million bond.
Her attorney entered a written plea of not guilty on her behalf Monday morning in Story County District Court in Nevada.
Police found the infants' bodies in the trunk of Burkle's car on Jan. 7 after receiving a call to check on her.
Court records show Burkle appeared pregnant at work at a Huxley convenience store Jan. 5. She no longer looked pregnant two days later, prompting a co-worker to call police.
Police have not released a cause of death or why Burkle gave birth at home. |
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Court throws out judge-drawn Texas electoral maps
U.S. Court News |
2012/01/21 10:14
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The Supreme Court on Friday threw out electoral maps drawn by federal judges in Texas that favored minorities. The decision ultimately could affect control of the U.S. House of Representatives and leaves the fate of Texas' April primaries unclear.
The justices ordered the three-judge court in San Antonio to come up with new plans that pay more attention to maps created by Texas' Republican-dominated state Legislature. All four of the state's new congressional seats could swing based on the outcome.
But the Supreme Court did not compel the use of the state's maps in this year's elections, as Texas wanted. Only Justice Clarence Thomas said he would have gone that far.
The court's unsigned opinion thus did not blaze any new trails in election law or signal retreat from a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, as some supporters of the law feared would result from this case.
Still, the outcome appeared to favor Republicans by instructing the judges to stick more closely to what the Legislature did, said election law expert Richard Hasen, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, law school. |
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Court Upholds Burlington Man's Murder Conviction
U.S. Court News |
2012/01/16 09:43
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The Iowa Supreme Court has overturned an appeals court ruling that threw out the conviction of a Burlington man in his ex-wife's death.
The court ruled Friday that even if the trial court erred in refusing to let a physical therapist testify, the error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt.
Dennis Richards was convicted of murder and arson after authorities found Cyd Richards strangled to death in a burning house in 2009.
The appeals court reversed the conviction because the trial court excluded testimony from a physical therapist who would have suggested Richards wasn't strong enough to strangle his ex-wife. A new trial was ordered.
The attorney general's office sought the Supreme Court review. |
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Court hearing Thursday on Credit Suisse loans
U.S. Court News |
2012/01/13 10:14
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Attorneys for Credit Suisse told a federal judge in Idaho that a multi-billion dollar lawsuit brought by homeowners at four resorts should be tossed out because there's not enough factual evidence to support the claims.
The lawsuit from property owners at Idaho's Tamarack Resort, the Yellowstone Club in Montana, Nevada's Lake Las Vegas resort and the Ginn Sur Mer Resort in the Bahamas is backed by Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth. The plaintiffs allege Credit Suisse inflated the value of the resorts and issued loans so large to developers that they could never be repaid in hopes of foreclosing on the properties as part of a so-called loan to own scheme.
Credit Suisse contends the lawsuit is baseless and that Blixseth is just trying to escape blame for the financial problems at the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club.
Roughly two dozen attorneys representing the plaintiffs, Credit Suisse and real estate consultant Cushman amp; Wakefield gathered before U.S. District Judge Ronald Bush in Boise on Thursday to argue over several motions, including one to have the lawsuit dismissed and one to have Cushman amp; Wakefield reinstated as a defendant. The real estate consultancy was listed as a defendant when the case was originally filed in 2010, but last year U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge dismissed all the claims against the company.
One of Credit Suisse's attorneys, David Lender, told the court that the plaintiffs have never been able to show there was any misrepresentation made to the homeowners by the bank. |
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