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Lawyer: NM gov aide recorded on state email use
Top Legal News |
2012/09/07 23:04
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An Albuquerque attorney said Tuesday he has a recording of the governor's top aide telling one of his clients that he never uses state email to conduct business because "I don't want to go to court (or) jail."
But the aide said the small recorded clip released to reporters is out of context, and he vowed to file an ethics complaint because the full recording outs a young female relative of the aide as a witness in a sexual assault case.
Defense attorney Sam Bregman represents fired Department of Corrections worker Larry Flynn in a wrongful termination case in which the administration's use of private email accounts was first revealed. He released the recording to reporters and said it is of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's chief of staff, Keith Gardner.
Speaking at a news conference held in his office, Bregman, a Democrat and vocal critic of Martinez, said the secret recording is of a conversation between Gardner and a friend, Brian Powell of Roswell. Powell told Bregman he made the recording when he and Gardner were having a conversation about family issues. Powell, who works for the Roswell Fire Department, did not tell Gardner he was recording him, and it's unclear why he was recording him. |
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NY court protects French shoemaker's red soles
Legal Watch |
2012/09/05 23:04
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A federal appeals court in Manhattan says the distinctive red soles of Christian Louboutin shoes are entitled to trademark protection.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled in favor of the French maker of luxury shoes worn by stars such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Scarlett Johansson and Halle Berry.
The court says Louboutin is entitled to protect its brand against red-soled shoes made by competitor Yves Saint Laurent S.A.S., which is also based in Paris.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2008 had granted the trademark protection to Louboutin.
Louboutin has applied glossy vivid red to the outsoles of women's shoes since 1992. The shoes sell for up to $1,000 a pair. |
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Ohio man pleads guilty to scamming storm victims
Top Legal News |
2012/08/31 18:28
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A man accused of ripping off storm victims in Ohio and Kentucky has pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said Joshua Salyers entered the guilty pleas in Hamilton County court in southern Ohio Tuesday. He admitted stealing more than $43,000 from the victims.
DeWine spokesman Mark Moretti said the 39-year-old Salyers ran a storm damage restoration business and took money from homeowners in Butler, Hamilton and Stark counties in Ohio and in Campbell County, Ky., to repair their homes after storms in 2010 and in 2011.
But Moretti said Salyers never began the work and refused to refund the money. |
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California deputy pleads guilty to weapons charge
Court Center |
2012/08/29 18:29
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A former Sacramento County sheriff's deputy has pleaded guilty to a federal charge stemming from the illegal sale of dozens of weapons, some of which were used by criminals.
Prosecutors in Sacramento say Thomas Lu and fellow former deputy Ryan McGowan, both of Elk Grove, bought and sold handguns that cannot be legally owned by citizens in California.
Lu, age 42, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to one count of dealing in firearms without a license, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
He is agreeing to cooperate with investigators as part of a deal that could bring him a lighter sentence.
The deputies are charged with serving as straw buyers who trafficked in restricted handguns. |
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Appeals court affirms oil company polar bear rules
Attorneys News |
2012/08/24 21:59
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Oil companies operating in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's northwest coast will have a negligible effect on polar bears and walrus, according to a federal Appeals Court ruling Tuesday that backed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules on harassment of the animals.
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the agency correctly issued rules that provide legal protection to oil companies if small numbers of polar bears or Pacific walruses are incidentally harmed.
"We're glad that the court has reaffirmed the appropriateness of our conservation measures," agency spokesman Bruce Woods said.
The Center for Biological Diversity sued over the rules, claiming both individual animals and entire populations must be analyzed for protection. Center attorney Rebecca Noblin said the Appeals Court agreed but concluded the Fish and Wildlife Service had done sufficient separate analyses. Noblin called the decision disappointing.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act generally prohibits the "take" of marine mammals. Take is defined to include harassment or annoyance that has the potential to injure or that could disrupt behavior patterns such as migration, nursing, breeding and feeding. |
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Wash. man due in court in alleged Obama threat
Court Center |
2012/08/22 21:58
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A Washington state man accused of making an email threat against President Barack Obama and brandishing a shotgun at officers who came to his door is scheduled to appear in federal court.
Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary says 31-year-old Anton Caluori was arrested Tuesday at an apartment in Federal Way for investigation of making threats against the president and assault on a federal officer.
U.S. attorney's spokeswoman Emily Langlie says the threat was sent to a general purpose FBI email address.
A Secret Service agent and a Federal Way police officer went to an apartment, knocked and announced themselves for about three minutes, then found themselves facing a man armed with a shotgun when the door opened.
Leary says Caluori is set to appear at 2 p.m. Wednesday in court. |
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NC regulators hire law firm to probe Duke Energy
Legal Watch |
2012/08/17 18:12
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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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