Convicted killer of women appeals to U.S. Supreme Court
CLEVELAND (AP) - A Cleveland man sentenced to die for killing 11 women and hiding the remains in and around his home has appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
At issue are arguments by 57-year-old Anthony Sowellover the closure of an evidence hearing during his trial and his rejected offer to plead guilty.
Sowell's attorneys have objected to the trial judge's closing of a pre-trial hearing over the admissibility of Sowell's videotaped police interrogation of more than 11 hours.
The judge ultimately allowed the use of the video, and most of it was played during Sowell's trial.
Sowell's attorneys also argued in last week's filing that Sowell's willingness to plead guilty should have been considered as a factor in sentencing.
Prosecutors are expected to respond soon.
Justices won't hear Indiana's appeal in triple murder case
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court won't hear Indiana's appeal of a ruling that threw out the conviction and death sentence of an Indiana man for the 1988 slayings of his wife, her ex-husband and her 10-year-old son.
The justices on Monday left in place a federal appeals court ruling that said jurors should have heard evidence that one of the victims was seen alive after the time prosecutors allege Wayne Kubsch committed the killings.
Indiana officials said the appeals court misinterpreted the law.
Kubsch was first convicted in 2000, but the Indiana Supreme Court set aside his death sentence and convictions and ordered a retrial. He was convicted again after a second trial in 2005.
Justices make it easier for companies in patent cases
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is making it easier for companies to defend themselves against patent infringement lawsuits.
The justices ruled unanimously on Monday that such lawsuits can be filed only in states where defendants are incorporated. The issue is important to many companies that complained about patent owners choosing more favorable courts in other parts of the country to file lawsuits.
The case involved an appeal from TC Heartland, an Indiana-based food sweetener company sued by Kraft Foods in Delaware. Lower courts refused to transfer the case to Indiana.
But the court's ruling will have the biggest impact on federal courts in eastern Texas, where more than 40 percent of patent lawsuits are now filed. Local rules there favor quick trials and juries tend to be more sympathetic to plaintiffs.
Justices reject Florida appeal over death penalty
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court has left in place a lower court ruling that said imposing a death sentence in Florida requires a unanimous jury.
The justices on Monday turned away an appeal from Florida officials seeking to overturn the ruling last year from the state's highest court.
The Florida Supreme Court had struck down a newly enacted law allowing a defendant to be sentenced to death as long as 10 out of 12 jurors recommend it. That ruling concluded that Timothy Lee Hurst - convicted of a 1998 murder at a Pensacola Popeye's restaurant- deserves a new sentencing hearing.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court declared Florida's death penalty sentencing law unconstitutional. State legislators responded by overhauling the law.
Court upholds 'soft money' limits; Gorsuch, Thomas dissent
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is upholding federal limits on political parties' use of so-called soft money for federal elections.
A three-judge court in Washington, D.C., had earlier upheld the restrictions in a challenge brought by Louisiana Republicans.
Political parties may only use money they raise through the federal system for elections for Congress and president. This money often is called hard money because it is raised under rules limiting the size of contributions and requiring disclosure of its source.
Justice Neil Gorsuch joined Justice Clarence Thomas in calling for the Supreme Court to consider striking down limits on how political parties spend money. Gorsuch and Thomas said they would have set the case for argument. They did not otherwise comment.
Justices won't hear appeal over release of federal mug shots
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from the Detroit Free Press that asked the government to release mug shots of federal criminal defendants in Michigan and three other states.
The justices on Monday left in place an appeals court ruling that said the photos don't have to be released under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
The ruling last year from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals covers Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The U.S. Marshals Service already refuses to release booking photos in other states due to policy or rulings from other courts.
The lawsuit was filed by the newspaper and joined by other media organizations, including The Associated Press.
Supreme Court strikes down 2 congressional districts in NC
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court struck down two congressional districts in North Carolina Monday because race played too large a role in their creation.
The justices ruled that Republicans who controlled the state legislature and governor's office in 2011 placed too many African-Americans in the two districts. The result was to weaken African-American voting strength elsewhere in North Carolina.
Both districts have since been redrawn and the state conducted elections under the new congressional map in 2016. Even with the new districts, Republicans maintained their 10-3 edge in congressional seats.
Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, said the state did not offer compelling justifications to justify its reliance on race in either district.
The issue of race and redistricting one is a familiar one at the Supreme Court and Kagan noted that one of the districts was "making its fifth(!) appearance before this court."
States have to take race into account when drawing maps for legislative, congressional and a host of municipal political districts. At the same time, race can't be the predominant factor without very strong reasons, under a line of high court cases stretching back 20 years.
A three-judge federal court had previously struck down the two districts. The justices upheld the lower court ruling on both counts.
The court unanimously affirmed the lower court ruling on District 1 in northeastern North Carolina. Kagan wrote that the court will not "approve a racial gerrymander whose necessity is supported by no evidence."
The justices split 5-3 on the other district, District 12 in the southwestern part of the state. Justice Clarence Thomas joined the four liberal justices to form a majority. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Anthony Kennedy dissented. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not part in the case.
The state insisted that race played no role at all in the creation of one district. Instead, the state argued that Republicans who controlled the redistricting process wanted to leave the district in Democratic hands, so that the surrounding districts would be safer for Republicans.
"The evidence offered at trial...adequately supports the conclusion that race, not politics, accounted for the district's reconfiguration," Kagan wrote.
Alito said in dissent that the evidence instead shows that the district's borders "are readily explained by political considerations."
Published: Tue, May 23, 2017
