Events schedued to appreciate jurors
July has been designated “Juror Appreciation Month” by the Michigan Supreme Court to thank those who answer the call to jury service.
Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly said that the Supreme Court chose July, the month in which Americans celebrate independence, to honor jurors and encourage jury service.
“The right to trial by jury is one of the fundamental components of the American and Michigan justice systems,” said Kelly. “Jury service is one of the basic responsibilities of citizenship, and is essential to a democracy that abides by the rule of law.”
Juror Appreciation Month, Kelly said, “is a way for judges, court staff, attorneys, and others who work in the justice system to recognize the sacrifices that jurors make.
“Jurors certainly deserve our thanks for the sacrifices that they, and their employers and families, make when they take time away from work, family life, and other priorities to report for jury duty.”
In a resolution designating July as Juror Appreciation Month, the court said that “the obligation and privilege to serve as a juror are as fundamental to our democracy as the right to vote.”
A number of trial courts are participating in Juror Appreciation Month, with many distributing bookmarks and other commemorative items to express their thanks to jurors.
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Portion of anti-fraud law struck down
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has struck down part of the anti-fraud law enacted in response to the Enron and other corporate scandals from the early 2000s, but said its decision has limited consequences.
The justices voted 5-4 this week that the Sarbanes-Oxley law enacted in 2002 violates the Constitution’s separation of powers mandate.
The court says the president, or other officials appointed by him, must be able to remove members of a board that was created to tighten oversight of internal corporate controls and outside auditors.
Congress created the board to replace the accounting industry’s own regulators amid scandals at Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc., Tyco International Ltd. and other corporations.
The board has power to compel documents and testimony from accounting firms, and the authority to discipline accountants.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, said that the Sarbanes-Oxley law will remain in effect with one change. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will continue as before, but the Securities and Exchange Commission now will be able to remove board members at will.
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Court turns down tobacco case appeals
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected appeals by the Obama administration and the nation’s largest tobacco companies to involve itself in a legal fight about the dangers of cigarette smoking that has stretched more than 10 years.
The court’s action, issued without comment Monday, leaves in place court rulings that the tobacco industry illegally concealed the dangers of smoking for decades. It also prevents the government from trying to extract billions of dollars from the industry either in past profits or to fund a national campaign to curb smoking.
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