Results tagged “court>”

Given the crime he stands accused of, this doesn't come as a big surprise: the AP is reporting that accused U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum shooter James von Brunn has been ordered held without bail today in federal court. This is the first time von Brunn has been able to appear in court in person, as he was still recovering from the gunshot wounds he received from one of the museum guards on June 10. The alleged gunman reportedly decided to say a few words at the short arraignment hearing. Among them: "I'm a United States citizen, and as a U.S. naval officer I swore to protect my country. I take my vows very seriously." James von Brunn has been charged with first-degree murder and related hate crime and gun violations in the death of security guard Stephen T. Johns.

Head over to City Desk if you'd like to download a pdf copy of Judge Judith Retchin's Superior Court decision from earlier today, in which she ruled against the request of petitioners Bishop Harry Jackson et al. to put a halt to the D.C. Council's same sex marriage recognition law. Not only did Retchin rule that stopping the clock on the legislation, which is set to take effect next week, was not warranted, she went so far as to rule more broadly that the landmark 1995 Dean v. District decision does not apply to this case. Here's the key passage: "The Court in Dean did not consider whether the government could refuse to recognize the legal right of persons to remain married solely because of their sexual orientation. In fact, the Court in Dean could not have addressed this issue because when Dean was decided in 1995, no state had legalized same-sex marriage." We expect Jackson and his anti-gay marriage crusaders to head straight over to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

We missed this City Desk report that D.C. Shadow Senator Paul Strauss pleaded guilty last Friday on charges stemming from his DUI stop in Adams Morgan last year. Strauss is one of the District's two elected shadow senators, a symbolic position charged with lobbying for statehood that carries few privileges and no pay. Following his guilty plea, Strauss received 11 months probation and must pay $400 in fines. The police account of Strauss's arrest stated that he had a 0.16 percent blood-alcohol level, twice the legal limit, that he "appeared confused" and that he flashed his U.S. Senate badge at the arresting officer.

Credit City Desk for the best news of the morning -- the lawsuit between the District's two main kickball leagues has finally come to an end.

It looks like Virginia's gunnin' for a fight -- pun intended.

With point guard Antonio Daniels out for 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee, the Washington Wizards were more than shorthanded going into Saturday night's game against the visiting Sacramento Kings. Rookie Nick Young started in Daniels' spot in the back court and scored five of the team's first seven points, but it was the hot hand of DeShawn Stevenson that led the Wizards to a 92-79 win.

Big news from the Washington Post: D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer has resigned after less than a year on the job.

Good morning, Washington. We'll be standing by for a good chunk of the day to see what the Metro Board decides to do about the proposed fare hike - the Board is meeting at 11 a.m. for a session that is expected to produce a final vote on the fare hikes, which could go into effect as soon as January. Board members have indicated they would likely pass a fare hike that is slightly less than the current proposal.

Good morning, Washington. It turns out that House Pages don't need lecherous congressmen's help to make scandalous headlines: two have just gotten busted for inappropriate behavior in a House elevator. They've been dismissed, bringing the year's total fired pages to five — two others were caught shoplifting, and one was booted for fighting. Needless to say, it looks like the program — the oversight of which has been in turmoil — will be getting...

Commenter Lionel M. Hutz linked to a video yesterday in our post about the 1-year jail sentence handed down to the former Metrobus driver who struck and killed two women in February. Rusty over at why.i.hate.dc also linked to it this morning, and since then, the DCist Staff email list has been filled with a lot of phrases like "Wow", "Holy crap!" and "That's the single most horrific piece of video I've seen in a...

WJLA brings word that Victor Kolako, the former Metrobus driver who was convicted of striking and killing two pedestrians on February 14, has been sentenced to one year in jail. Kolako was found guilty on two felony counts of negligent homicide in the Pennsylvania Ave. accident. The widower of one of the victims, Greg Schoenborn, has also filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Metro in U.S. District Court. The sentencing decision is potentially...

Good morning, Washington. Not that you could have missed the fact that it's awfully windy this morning after yesterday's late fall rainstorm, but the National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for the metro area, effective through 1 a.m. Tuesday morning — this wind will consistently be 25-30 mph until late tonight, with gusts over 46 mph expected. If you drive an SUV or another type of high profile vehicle, you're asked to use...

One need not dig too deep into our city’s jazz scene before coming across the name Thad Wilson. Since coming to D.C. in 1997, Wilson has become a mainstay in the jazz clubs of U Street and beyond by consistently performing with passion, intensity, and consummate artistry in a variety of settings. In addition to his own considerable abilities, his groups feature some of the finest players in the D.C. area. A native of...

In Los Angeles, LAist most definitely celebrated Thanksgiving like no other. After all, one has to keep up all the energy to keep on walking the line at the Writers Strike and fighting the unfortunate return of the wildfires in Malibu, which single handedly destroyed over fifty homes within the first 24 hours. National outlets may be covering the fires, but CNN also found it is easier to buy a gun than fruit and...

Given that this is bound to be a slow day at work, what better time for Gilbert Arenas and adidas to launch GilTV, undoubtedly the next phase of The Takeover. Included are four new commercials -- The Black President (above), Cooking With Gil, Agent Zero and Gilbert's Island -- all seemingly ripped right out of the pages of The Wizznutzz. Let's hope those guys are at least getting some royalty checks from this. On...

A sharpshooting GW student earned a free round-trip flight at the Colonials' hoops game last Wednesday by swishing a half court shot on his first try. The turquoise shorts-wearing, foam tricorner-hatted student, named Charles, had two chances to complete the feat during GW's win over Boston University at the Smith Center, but only needed the first. While a few students complained that the shooter had stepped over the line (audible in the video), we...

The Supreme Court has announced that it will take on Heller v. District of Columbia, the D.C. handgun case, and decide whether our city's ban on handguns violates the Constitution. The Court will likely hear the case sometime in March, with a decision to come later in the session. The case will mark the first time the Court has taken up the meaning of the Second Amendment in almost 70 years, and the decision could...

We've always wondered:Where the police have reason to believe that a suspect is concealing cocaine between his buttocks cheeks, is it reasonable under the Fourth Amendment for the police, at the scene of the arrest, to reach into the suspect's undershorts and seize the cocaine as a search incident to the suspect's arrest?While this might sound like a late-night joke between first-year law students, it's actually a question the U.S. Supreme Court is set to...

Dynamic, lively, stunning, soaring. These are the words used by Smithsonian officials and architect Spencer de Grey to describe the new Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, home to both the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. With a blend of modern aesthetics and historic sensibilities, the new courtyard is a gorgeous space that the Smithsonian plans to use to hold public...

The Post is reporting that a Chinese food deliveryman was shot and killed in Southeast over the weekend, the second such killing in recent months. Hong Zhi Wang, 29, was delivering food at 10:30 p.m. Sunday in the 1300 block of Barnaby Terrace when he was shot in the neck. The latest killing came less than three months after another deliveryman from an Asian restaurant was robbed and murdered. Ling Mao, 36, was found...

...ummm, nothing yet. According to the Associated Press, the Supreme Court failed to reach a decision on whether or not to hear a case related to the District's gun laws. Though a verdict from last week's conference discussion was possible today, it seems that the nine justices haven't yet decided if they want to take the case, which stems from a March decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Circuit that ruled...

Good morning, Washington. Recent increases in gun-related crime in the city seems to be today's main topic of news, just as the Supreme Court may announce today whether it intends to take another look at D.C.'s handgun ban. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has scheduled a press conference this morning to address the District's position on its gun safety law, but in the meantime the Washington Post is questioning the law's effectiveness and just last...

Good morning, D.C. The federal government is observing Veteran's Day today, which means Washington is much quieter than normal this morning. The chilly, wet weather certainly isn't helping make the work day, for those of us who are at our desks, any more inviting. Keep in mind that post offices, banks, schools and local government offices are closed for the day as well. Coal Train Clean-up Continues: Workers are still out cleaning up the site...

Earlier this season, the Caps ranked first in the entire NHL - for about an hour, before the Ottawa Senators reclaimed the lead. Yesterday the Caps were tied for last place overall, and had spent two whole days in sole possession of last place in the Eastern Conference. The Senators, meanwhile, remained on top of the league with thirteen wins and one loss. Last night, with three of their top five wingers out injured, the...

Good morning, Washington. The city is still reeling from the news that the U.S. Attorney's Office has indicted two employees from the District's Office of Tax and Revenue on charges of embezzling over $16 million. It's a staggering sum, and the Post cites officials who are calling it the largest theft ever uncovered in local government in the Washington area. The two women, Harriette Walters and Diane Gustus, are said to have used the money...

Londonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story for Hallowe'en....

In the coming weeks District officials will find out whether a Court of Appeals decision that found the city's gun laws unconstitutional will stand or whether the U.S. Supreme Court will take up Mayor Adrian Fenty's appeal. According to SCOTUSBlog, the justices of the Supreme Court will debate whether or not to take the case on November 9. Should they choose to, the two sides would argue before the court in February or March; otherwise,...

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist...

>> "A D.C. police officer confessed in court today that, while responding to a false alarm at a Northeast Washington home in August, he swiped the owner's credit card from a credenza while she was gone and tried to rack up thousands of dollars in charges." [WaPo] >> "The D.C. Council is considering legislation to reduce the spread of drug-resistant staph infection by starting the fight where the bug is most prevalent — in...

It's hard out there for a frat guy. That, at least, is what pro-Greek commenters over at George Mason University's Broadside newspaper would have you believe. The student publication has a story up about a law suit filed by the school's banned chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, which is suing GMU for violating their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Sigma Chi was kicked off the campus after being found guilty of a series of...