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Court: Iowa must recognize both lesbian parents
Court News |
2013/05/09 23:32
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An Iowa agency's refusal to list both spouses in a lesbian marriage as parents on their children's birth certificates is a violation of their constitutional rights and must stop, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The court, which made history by legalizing gay marriage in 2009, ordered the Iowa Department of Public Health to start listing the names of both female spouses on the birth certificates of their children. The ruling was backed by all six justices who participated.
Iowa had been the only state in the nation that allowed marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples, but refused to list both spouses on birth certificates of their children, according to Camilla Taylor, an attorney for Lambda Legal, a gay rights group involved in the case.
Justice David Wiggins said the state government "has been unable to identify a constitutionally adequate justification" for treating lesbian parents differently than parents of opposite sex. He said the only explanation for doing so was "stereotype or prejudice" that violated their rights to be treated equally under the Iowa Constitution. |
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LulzSec hacker pleads guilty to cyberattacks
Court News |
2013/04/12 15:24
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A British computer hacker affiliated to the group Lulz Security pleaded guilty Tuesday to cyberattacks on institutions including Sony, Britain's National Health Service and Rupert Murdoch's News International.
Ryan Ackroyd admitted one count of carrying out an unauthorized act to impair the operation of a computer.
Prosecutors say the 26-year-old accessed websites belonging to Sony, 20th Century Fox, the NHS, Nintendo, the Arizona State Police and News International between February and September 2011.
He will be sentenced May 14 at Southwark Crown Court in London. Other charges against him are being dropped.
Three other British hackers — 18-year-old Mustafa Al-Bassam, 20-year-old Jake Davis and Ryan Cleary, 21 — had previously pleaded guilty to launching distributed denial of service attacks on organizations including the CIA and Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency. Denial of service attacks work by overwhelming sites with traffic. |
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NY top court OKs tax on online sellers like Amazon
Court News |
2013/04/02 11:12
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New York's highest court ruled Thursday the state can collect sales tax from out-of-state retailers, rejecting claims by Amazon.com and Overstock.com that the tax law violates the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause.
The Court of Appeals said in a 4-1 ruling that the 2008 amendment meets the U.S. Supreme Court test that the sellers have "a substantial nexus" with the taxing state. Taxes apply when the online retailers generate at least $10,000 in annual sales to New Yorkers from in-state websites that earn commissions by bringing in potential customers through links to the big retailers.
Amazon.com, with corporate offices in Washington state, has an "Associates Program" where others put such links on their websites. Overstock.com, based in Utah, suspended its similar "Affiliates" program in New York after the state statute was enacted.
New York's sales tax is 4 percent and all its counties and New York City add an additional tax ranging from 3 percent to near 5 percent. Both apply to applicable Internet sales, according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance. |
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Court-appointed receiver recovers $312 million
Court News |
2013/03/04 12:59
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Hundreds of millions of dollars have been recovered so far in a massive North Carolina-based Ponzi scheme that authorities say attracted more than 1 million investors.
The case involves Rex Venture Group, which operated several online projects. The Securities and Exchange Commission froze the company's assets in August.
Court-appointed receiver Kenneth Bell has filed a document in federal court in Charlotte detailing his expenses. As of Dec. 31, Bell says he has recovered $312 million and has incurred $1.6 million in fees and services for the investigation.
The SEC says the company, operated by Paul Burks of Lexington, ran a $600 million Ponzi scam, where money from new investors is used to pay out old ones.
Burks is paying a $4 million penalty and cooperating with the SEC. |
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Appellate court to consider Calif. paparazzi law
Court News |
2013/02/08 13:11
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A judge has declined to reconsider his ruling dismissing charges filed under California's ant-paparazzi law which will trigger a full appeal before a panel of judges who have indicated they believe the law is constitutional.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Rubinson issued a notice on Monday declining to reconsider his decision to dismiss two charges against photographer Paul Raef, court records show. The judge ruled last year that the 2010 law was overly broad and violated the First Amendment, but Los Angeles prosecutors appealed the decision.
A three-judge appeals panel asked Rubinson to reconsider his ruling and indicated in a filing Jan. 28 that it believes the law is constitutional. The filing was issued based on a brief filed by prosecutors.
Raef was charged after authorities accused him of being involved in a high speed chase of Justin Bieber last year. He is the first person charged under the 2010 law that increased penalties for reckless driving by people trying to get photos for commercial gain. |
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UK murder suspect's extradition case set for 2013
Court News |
2012/12/10 23:10
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A U.K. court will wait until next year to hold the extradition hearing of a Briton accused of hiring a hit man to kill his wife during their honeymoon in South Africa — after his mental state is reviewed.
The lawyer for Shrien Dewani says he has flashbacks and is a "husk" of his former self. Attorney Clare Montgomery said Monday it is unthinkable he would be able to plan any escape.
Dewani's mental condition will be reviewed in April, with a full extradition hearing set for July.
The 32-year-old is accused of arranging the murder of his wife, Anni, 28. She was found shot dead in an abandoned taxi in Cape Town's Gugulethu township in November 2010.
In March, a British court halted Dewani's extradition, citing his mental state. |
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