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Judges skeptical of Texas in redistricting case
Legal Network |
2012/02/01 17:38
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Three federal judges weighing the legality of Texas' new political maps reacted with skepticism Tuesday when the state's lawyer suggested the intent of the redrawn boundaries was to maximize the influence of Republicans, not to minimize the influence of minorities.
The U.S. Justice Department and a coalition of minority groups contend the legislative and congressional maps the Texas Legislature drew last year recut districts in a way meant to dilute the state's burgeoning minority voting population. They say the maps violate a section of the Voting Rights Act that requires states with a history of racially discriminatory voting practices to get so-called "pre-clearance" from the Justice Department before making electoral changes.
Texas is gaining four congressional seats this year due to population readjustments made in the 2010 census. That has increased the redistricting stakes, with Hispanics and Democrats often clashing with the GOP-controlled Legislature about how the lines should be drawn.
John Hughes, a lawyer for Texas, which is seeking to keep the maps in place, said during closing arguments before a Washington federal court panel that the maps were the result of partisan gerrymandering that didn't violate federal law. He argued that "a decision based on partisanship" is not based on race, even if it results in minority voters having less political influence. |
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Attorney: Texas redistricting talks have stalled
Court Issues |
2012/01/31 18:17
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Negotiations between minority groups and Texas officials in a lengthy clash over new political districts appeared stalled Monday as both sides prepared to argue in Washington over whether the Republican-drawn maps violate the federal Voting Rights Act.
An attorney for the League of United Latin American Citizens, one of nine groups suing to block the maps, said negotiations to create temporary maps so Texas could salvage an April 3 primary date hit an impasse over the weekend. Both sides have another week to work out a deal, but Luis Vera, LULAC's general counsel, said he was not optimistic.
"It just doesn't seem feasible," he said.
A federal court in San Antonio last week gave the sides until Feb. 6 to draw up the temporary maps that would remain in place through November's election. If they don't, Texas' primaries will be pushed back for a second time. They were originally scheduled for March.
Lauren Bean, a spokeswoman for the Texas attorney general's office, said her office was not commenting on the negotiations.
Vera said a major obstacle is that the state isn't involving all parties in the negotiations. Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP that is among the nine plaintiffs, said the state was mainly negotiating with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. |
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Former UBS trader pleads not guilty in UK court
Topics |
2012/01/30 21:18
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A former UBS trader arrested in London on charges of fraud linked with unauthorized trades that cost the Swiss bank more than $2bn pleaded not guilty Monday to the charges against him.
Kweku Adoboli, 31, pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and two of false accounting between 2008 and September 2011 at London's Southwark Crown Court.
The trader was arrested on Sept. 14 after on charges of committing fraud that cost the bank over $2 billion.
The incident pushed then-CEO Oswald Gruebel to resign and damaged the bank's efforts to clean up its image after being involved in a United States tax evasion investigation and sustaining huge losses on subprime mortgages during the financial crisis.
City watchdog the Financial Services Authority and its Swiss counterpart have launched an investigation into why UBS failed to spot allegedly fraudulent trading.
Adoboli's case was delayed last year after he replaced his former lawyers at Kingsley Napley law firm with a new team from Bark & Co., which specializes in fraud cases. McCreath set a provisional trial date for September 3 and remanded Adoboli in custody. He said he was willing to hear an application for bail. |
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Conviction and sentence upheld in Palin email case
Court Watch |
2012/01/30 21:18
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A federal appeals court panel has upheld the conviction and sentence of a University of Tennessee student in the hacking of Sarah Palin's email in 2008.
The three judge panel in a Monday decision affirmed the conviction of 24-year-old David Kernell. A Knoxville jury last April convicted Kernell of unauthorized access to a protected computer and destroying records to impede a federal investigation.
Kernell's attorney, Wade Davies, contended at trial that Kernell had no criminal intent and that guessing his way into the email account was a prank. Palin was governor of Alaska and John McCain's GOP running mate at the time.
Kernell was released in November after serving less than 11 months.
Davies said he will seek a review by the full U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. |
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