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December 29, 2008
IN ALMOST every state, a guilty defendant’s criminal sentence is basically final, except for appeals, parole or executive clemency. Not so in Maryland: A quirky state rule gives trial courts nearly unlimited power to revisit sentences and reduce — but not increase — them, even long after a jury verdict. Judges honor many defense motions for “reconsideration” each year. Supporters of the practice say it encourages rehabilitation and good behavior in prison; opponents note that the results can be horrific when felons leave prison early and return to their old ways. As Post reporters Dan LeDuc and Lori Montgomery showed in a 2001 series, one beneficiary of reconsideration went on to commit murder after his release in 1999; another kidnapped and raped a woman that same year. The Post series triggered calls for change, but reform failed in the General Assembly, thwarted by the defense bar and its champion, House of Delegates Judiciary committee chairman Joseph F. Vallario Jr. (D-Prince George’s).
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DETROIT, Dec. 29 — A Michigan developer has reached a settlement with regulators in a decades-long dispute over wetlands and development in a case that landed before the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal government announced Monday.
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DETROIT — A Michigan developer has reached a settlement with regulators in a decades-long dispute over wetlands and development in a case that landed at the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal government announced Monday.
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NEW YORK, Dec. 29, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The regulatory settlements that forced UBS Securities to offer to repurchase all Auction Rate Securities ("ARS") that the firm had improperly sold to investors, prior to the collapse of the ARS market in February of 2008, expired at the close of business on December 19, 2008.
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DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 29, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq:CREE), a leader in LED lighting, announces that Cree and Boston University have agreed with Bridgelux, Inc. to settle the parties' patent infringement litigation and to dismiss all claims and counterclaims in the suits. As part of the settlement, Cree granted Bridgelux a license to the Cree and Boston University patents at issue in the litigation, and Bridgelux agreed to pay a license fee and royalties. In addition, Bridgelux and Cree have entered into a supply agreement under which Cree will become a significant supplier to Bridgelux. Other terms of the settlement are confidential.
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December 27, 2008
HONOLULU — The Navy has settled a lawsuit filed by environmentalists challenging its use of sonar in hundreds of submarine-hunting exercises around the world.
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AYEAR AGO, Mary Gray watched in horror as a speeding Prince George’s County police cruiser slammed into a car ahead of her — the car her son was driving. Twenty-year-old Brian Gray was pronounced dead soon after. The officer, Mario Chavez, who later admitted to drinking “three, four” beers some time before the crash, was charged only with speeding. It was a punishment incommensurate to the crime, an outcome far too frequent in reckless-driving cases in Maryland. The state has one of the strictest — some say unreasonable — standards in the country for prosecuting vehicular homicide. The tragic death of Mr. Gray should be an impetus for lawmakers to create a more sensible standard.
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WARDAK PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Two months ago, Mohammad Anwar recalls, the Taliban paraded accused thieves through his village, tarred their faces with oil and threw them in jail.
Filed by admin at December 27th, 2008 under News
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December 26, 2008
Barack Obama chose Joe Biden, and John McCain turned to Sarah Palin, but in the end the most sought-after running mate in the 2008 campaign never appeared on a single ballot.
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December 25, 2008
Filed by admin at December 25th, 2008 under News
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