High court won’t hear appeal from former mayor
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal from former Newark, N.J., Mayor Sharpe James.
The high court on Monday refused to hear from James, convicted in 2008 of illegally steering sweetheart land deals to his then-mistress and sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. He was released in the spring of 2010.
James was mayor of New Jersey’s largest city from the mid-1980s until 2006. James’ appeal focused on a juror at his 2008 trial who failed to disclose that both his parents worked for the city and had been hired by James. But the courts said James could not prove that meant that the juror was biased against him, and the Supreme Court refused to review those rulings.
High court won’t hear appeal from former lobbyist
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal from the only lobbyist to be tried on charges of bribing public officials related to the Jack Abramoff scandal.
The court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Kevin Ring, who was sentenced to 20 months in prison.
Ring was the only lobbyist defendant to go to trial rather than make a deal with the government to plead guilty and cooperate. All the other lobbyists and most of the public officials charged cooperated with prosecutors and received plea deals, most of which did not include prison terms. Abramoff, the ringleader, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Ring, who worked under Abramoff, was convicted of giving meals and event tickets to public officials with an intent to corrupt them.
High court won’t get involved in Hutterites case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won’t get involved in a Montana decision to force a Hutterite religious colony to pay worker compensation insurance for jobs outside the commune.
The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from the Big Sky Colony of Hutterites, which is fighting a 2009 state law requiring religious organizations to carry workers’ compensation insurance.
The Hutterites say the law targeted their religion and infringed on their beliefs. Its members have no personal property and make no wages as part of their communal life, and a member can’t make a claim against the colony or take money for himself without risking excommunication.
The Montana Supreme Court ruled that the workers’ compensation requirement does not interfere with the Hutterites’ religious practices but only regulates their commercial activities.
High court won’t hear Argentina appeal over bonds
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has turned away Argentina’s first appeal of a lower court ruling ordering it to pay hedge funds that bought up some of the country’s unpaid debt from its default in 2001.
But Argentina retains other legal options, including a second appeal pending in federal court in New York
The justices did not comment on their order Monday.
The case stems from Argentina’s financial crisis a dozen years ago, when the government defaulted on $100 billion in debts, and some investors scooped up nearly worthless Argentine bonds.
The country eventually offered creditors new bonds that initially paid less than 30 cents for each dollar of bad debt. More than 90 percent of bondholders agreed; the rest sued and won their case in the lower courts.
