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Criminal defense bar calls SJC case cautionary tale
Criminal defense lawyers say that a recent Supreme Judicial Court decision will lead many practitioners to advise that their clients no longer agree to having indictments placed on file. Massachusetts is the only state in the country that still recognizes the practice of filing indictments, which effectively results in a sentence being suspended indefinitely. The SJC case, Commonwealth v. Simmons (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-058-07), involved a nearly 200-year-old law that gives prosecutors the ability, at any time, to resurrect cases for sentencing that had previously been filed without a disposition. The defendant had argued that removing a case placed on file five years earlier, and sentencing him for those offenses, violated his due process rights and was contrary to long-standing Trial Court practice.
Defense lawyers defend Moncier
A prominent Knoxville defense attorney facing a possible jail term if convicted today of criminal contempt of court was just doing his job, a statewide association wrote on his behalf. In a rare move, the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has filed a brief asking a federal judge to drop a contempt charge lodged against attorney Herbert S. Moncier. .
Apple board backs Jobs Correspondents in Los Angeles
APPLE board of directors has defended chief executive Steve Jobs after the company's former finance chief linked him to the handling of backdated stock options grants.
The remarks by former chief financial officer Fred Anderson renewed a focus on any role Mr Jobs may have played in the options grants after the company had said its CEO knew about certain inaccurate options dates but did not benefit from them."Steve Jobs cooperated fully with Apple's independent investigation and with the government's investigation of stock option grants at Apple," the board wrote in a statement shared by all of Apple's directors except Mr Jobs."We have complete confidence in the conclusions of Apple's independent investigation, and in Steve's integrity and his ability to lead Apple," they said.Directors signing the statement included former US vice president Al Gore, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Bill Campbell, Millard Drexler, Arthur Levinson and Jerry York.The company has taken pains to distance Mr Jobs from the SEC investigation, and he is widely seen by investors as the driving force behind Apple's success.On Wednesday, Apple's share price topped $US100 ($120) for the first time, hitting $US102.80 in after-hours trading, after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.The US Securities and Exchange Commission reached a settlement on Tuesday with Anderson, who said he had relied on Jobs in handling 2001 stock option grants that later became the subject of investigation and a civil lawsuit.Anderson's lawyer said Tuesday that his client had warned Mr Jobs to price a January 2001 grant on the date the Apple board had agreed to it, but was told by Mr Jobs that the board had given prior approval and would verify it.SEC lawyers accused Anderson and Nancy Heinen, Apple's former general counsel, of backdating more than $US20 million in stock options in 2001 for themselves and other executives, including Jobs.Heinen's lawyer said on Tuesday that every action she took with respect to the options grants "was fully understood and authorised by Apple's board of directors," and that she "did not backdate stock options."The agency said it would not pursue enforcement action against Apple, but said that decision does not bar further civil claims against other Apple executives.If Mr Jobs is not named in an SEC lawsuit, he probably will also avoid criminal prosecution, said defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Scott Christie."It would be odd for the SEC to decline an investigation for lack of evidence and the US Attorney to then pursue a case criminally ...
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