Thursday, December 07, 2006

News and Notes

1. Another first of its kind prosecution in Miami. A federal grand jury in Miami Wednesday indicted the son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor on torture charges in the first U.S. criminal case of its kind. Charles Taylor Jr., 29, accused of committing atrocities in Liberia as the former head of a paramilitary unit in his father's government, is in custody at the Federal Detention Center in Miami. He faces sentencing today on a separate passport-fraud conviction. The three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Miami accuses the defendant, also known as Charles McArthur Emmanuel, a U.S. citizen, of burning his victim's flesh with a hot iron, forcing the victim at gunpoint to hold scalding water and shocking the victim's genitalia. Here is the Herald article and the Sun-Sentinel article. Here is the indictment. The case has been assigned to Judge Altonaga and is being prosecuted by Karen Rochlin.

2. "Gravely ill, Miami lawyer Ellis Rubin says goodbye. As he prepares for death, Miami lawyer Ellis Rubin says he is proud of his storied career." (Miami Herald)

3. "Case of the Dwindling Docket Mystifies the Supreme Court." (NY Times)

4. "Crumbling Dream: Jesus Palencia is likely to be taken from his family and deported. Did he place too much trust in the U.S. Court system?" (DBR)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ellis Rubin = self-aggrandizing to the end.