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3 U.K. journalists plead guilty to phone hacking
Legal World News |
2013/11/01 14:34
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Three British journalists who were charged with hacking the phones of celebrities and others for a Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid have pleaded guilty in advance of a trial, according to a prosecutor in London Wednesday.
Ex-news editor Greg Miskiw, ex-chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, and former reporter James Weatherup faced charges that they eavesdropped on the voicemails of story subjects while they worked for the defunct News of the World.
Eight other former News employees -- including editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson -- will proceed as defendants in the trial, which includes charges that they made illegal payments to government officials for exclusives.
The journalists have denied the charges, but the pleas show "there was a conspiracy which involved a significant number of people," according to prosecutor Andrew Edis.
The trial began Wednesday as the prosecutor made arguments that the journalists cracked into voicemails by obtaining the password of the phones belonging to celebrities, politicians and crime victims. |
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Sriracha hot sauce lawsuit heads to LA court
Legal Information |
2013/11/01 14:34
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A Southern California factory town's attempt to shut down production of the popular Sriracha chili sauce is heading to court.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge was expected to decide Thursday whether to grant the city of Irwindale's request to cease operations at the Huy (hoy) Fong Foods factory until the company can reduce the pungent smell of pepper and garlic fumes emanating from the plant.
The sprawling 650,000-square-foot factory processes some 100 million pounds of peppers a year into Sriracha (pronounced "sree-YAH-chah) and two other popular Asian food sauces.
The peppers get washed, mixed with garlic and a few other ingredients and roasted during this time of the year, when jalapeno peppers are harvested in central California and trucked to the 2-year-old plant. The pungent smell of peppers and garlic fumes is sent through a carbon-based filtration system that dissipates them before they leave the building, but not nearly enough say residents.
They complained the odor give them headaches, burn their throat and make their eyes water.
Huy Fong executives said they were cooperating with the city to reduce the smell, but balked at the city's suggestion of putting in a new, $600,000 filtration system that may not be necessary.
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'Boobies' bracelet fight could go to Supreme Court
Lawyer Court Feed |
2013/10/30 14:35
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The court battle between two girls and their Pennsylvania school over "I (heart) Boobies!" bracelets could be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Easton Area School District board voted 7-1 Tuesday night to appeal a federal appeals court's decision that rejected its claim the bracelets are lewd and should be banned from school.
The case started in 2010 when two girls, then ages 12 and 13, challenged the school's ban on the bracelets designed to promote breast cancer awareness among young people.
The students, Brianna Hawk and Kayla Martinez, said they merely hoped to promote awareness of the disease at their middle school. They filed suit when they were suspended for defying the ban on their school's Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
In August, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision in favor of the girls, saying also that the district didn't prove the bracelets are disruptive.
Superintendent John Reinhart told The Express-Times of Easton he supports the board's decision. |
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Man pleads not guilty to stealing corpse gold
Court Updates |
2013/10/30 14:34
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A former funeral home apprentice has pleaded not guilty to stealing gold crowns from the teeth of corpses in the Antelope Valley.
City News Service says 39-year-old Pete Lara entered pleas Wednesday to more than two dozen felony counts, mostly burglary but also grand theft and possession of methamphetamine.
He was arrested Monday and remains jailed.
Authorities say Lara was an apprentice embalmer at Halley-Olsen-Murphy Funeral Home in Lancaster when he began taking the dental crowns last year, along with medallions from funeral urns.
Prosecutors contend that he sold the gold at pawn shops and jewelry exchanges.
He faces up to 19 years in prison if convicted. |
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