Recent Updates
-
Court hears appeal on Mass. wine shipment law
Court Alerts 11/02/2009Gerald Leader loves California wines but lives in Massachusetts, where state law sharply limits the ability of out-of-state wineries to ship their products directly to consumers."I can't go directly to wineries in Napa and Sonoma," said Leader, a ret...
-
Jury Awards $16M in Radio Contestant Death
Court Alerts 10/30/2009A Sacramento Superior Court jury Thursday awarded the survivors of Jennifer Lea Strange $16,577,118 as a result of her death nearly three years ago in a water-drinking contest conducted by a local radio station.In making the award, the seven-man, fiv...
-
'Big Brother 9' winner due in court in drug case
Court Alerts 10/30/2009The winner of the reality TV show "Big Brother 9" is headed to federal court for a detention hearing on a drug charge.Adam Jasinski (jah-ZIN'-skee), of Delray Beach, Fla., is charged with attempting to sell 2,000 oxycodone pills. He is scheduled to a...
-
Ga. man who sought out Miley Cyrus gets plea deal
Court Alerts 10/30/2009A 53-year-old Georgia man has pleaded guilty to resisting police outside the set of a Miley Cyrus movie after prosecutors agreed to drop charges that he tried to stalk the teen pop star.A State Court judge sentenced Mark McLeod (MIK-lowd) to 24 month...
-
Fla. Supreme Court denies NCAA motion for a stay
Court Alerts 10/29/2009The NCAA's bid to delay a court order to release its records on academic cheating at Florida State was rejected Tuesday by the Florida Supreme Court.In a terse one-sentence order, the high court denied the NCAA's emergency motion. However, that decis...
-
Lawyers want admitted al-Qaida member released
Court Alerts 10/28/2009An al-Qaida sleeper agent is expected in federal court in Illinois for a sentencing hearing that could have far-reaching effects.Ali al-Marri, a 44-year-old native of Qatar, pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiring to provide material support...
-
Dallas Terror Suspect Pleads Not Guilty to Charges
Court Alerts 10/27/2009A Jordanian man accused of trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper with what he thought was a car bomb pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Monday.Hosam Maher Smadi, 19, told the judge "I'm not guilty on both counts" before she formally asked for ...
-
Man who threw feces in CA courtroom gets 31 years
Court Alerts 10/27/2009A man who sneaked a bag of his feces into a San Diego courtroom during his home-invasion robbery trial, smeared it on his lawyer and threw it at jurors has been sentenced to 31 years in prison.Superior Court Judge Frank Brown on Monday sentenced Weus...
-
Espionage suspect pleaded to overbilling govt
Court Alerts 10/26/2009Court records show a former government scientist accused of attempted espionage last week pleaded guilty earlier this year to overbilling NASA and the Department of Defense more than $265,000 for contracting work.The January plea by 52-year-old Stewa...
-
Minn. court: Bong water can count as illegal drug
Court Alerts 10/23/2009In Minnesota, bong water can count as an illegal drug.That decision from Minnesota's Supreme Court on Thursday raises the threat of longer sentences for drug smokers in that state who fail to dump the water out of bong — a type of water pipe often us...
-
3 Tijuana drug figures plead guilty in US
Court Alerts 10/22/2009Three once-powerful members of Mexico's Arellano Felix drug cartel have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in San Diego.Jorge Aureliano Felix admitted Wednesday to working with members of the Tijuana-based cartel to smuggle hundreds of tons of cocain...
-
D.C. man pleads guilty to threatening U.S. prosecutor
Court Alerts 10/22/2009A 45-year-old District man has pleaded guilty to threatening the life of a federal prosecutor, according to court records and trial testimony. Darryl Tipps and a co-defendant, Wayne W. Pannell, 47, were charged with threatening the life of Assistant ...