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Hundreds of UC Davis students protest pepper-spraying by police

November 21, 2011

Hundreds of students and faculty members at UC Davis gathered Monday in the campus quad to protest the use of pepper spray on students by university police last week.

The police on Friday sprayed a group of students who were sitting down in a peaceful protest as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Eleven students were treated for the effects of pepper spray, including two who were treated at a hospital.

Since then, two campus police officers and UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza have been placed on leave. UC officials are investigating the incident.

Some students Monday carried signs saying, “My voice is stronger than your pepper spray,” and there were calls for the ouster of UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi. She was expected to appear at the rally to speak about the incident.

A group of students who were pepper-sprayed and arrested Friday spoke to the crowd from a small stage, and were greeted by cheers of support as well as the chant, “Whose university is it? Our university!”

Geoffrey Wildanger, 23, a graduate student in art history from Los Altos, said, “Three days ago, I was pepper sprayed. It hurt. It hurt a lot, but you know that already. What happened on Friday is not exceptional. Police brutality may not be the most common occurrence on UC Davis but it happens every day to poor people, women and people of color.”

David Buscho, 22, said he and his fellow protesters posed no threat to officers but were pepper-sprayed nonetheless. “We were just kids sitting down in a circle singing. Someone yelled pepper spray, and I closed my eyes, and at that point I entered a world of pain.”

He urged students to “not choose a path of violence. I want take back our university brick by brick. But we’ll will do it with dignity.”

Article: Los Angeles Times

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Suspect in White House shooting makes brief court appearance, remains jailed

Washington (CNN) — An Idaho man charged with trying to assassinate the president in a shooting incident outside the White House made his first court appearance in the nation’s capital Monday for a brief hearing in which he was appointed a federal public defender but was not asked to enter a plea.

Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 21, is accused of firing shots at the White House 10 days ago, including some that hit the building near the residence area where President Barack Obama and his family live, according to a complaint document made public after Ortega, as he refers to himself, was arrested in western Pennsylvania last Wednesday.

Still with long hair and a beard as shown in photos released after authorities identified him as a suspect in the shooting, Ortega’s legs were chained and he was kept handcuffed during the 15-minute hearing before Magistrate Judge Alan Kay. The judge ordered that Ortega remain jailed pending a preliminary mental competency examination in coming days — as requested by prosecutors — and the judge scheduled a preliminary hearing for next Monday in Washington.

Ortega was assigned two federal public defenders. One of those lawyers, David Bos, said the case should be dismissed because the criminal complaint issued last week does not contain probable cause. Bos said none of the witnesses mentioned in that document had identified his client.

Article: CNN

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Man sues over 8-year-old wedding photos

November 14, 2011

New York (CNN) — One unhappy divorcé has sued a photography company, hoping to re-enact his wedding from eight years ago and capture the moments missed by the original photographer, according to court documents.

Todd J. Remis is suing for a reimbursement of the $4,100 he paid for the photographs, as well as $48,000 to reunite the entire wedding party, including his ex-wife, and restage the event.

Daniel Fried, co-owner of H&H Photographers, said, “I’ve speculated so many times about why he’s going to such an extent to sue us. Doesn’t seem logical.”

According to court documents, Remis claims the photographer missed key moments of the wedding, including the last dance and the bouquet toss.

However, according to the deposition, Remis was unable to recall who caught the bouquet or what song was played during the last dance. The exact whereabouts of his ex-wife, Melina, are unknown, though she is said to have returned to her native Latvia.

Justice Doris Ling-Cohan of the New York state Supreme Court has allowed the case to proceed despite throwing out a majority of it, including a charge of infliction of emotional distress.

Remis filed the lawsuit against H&H Photographers in 2009.

The couple’s divorce was finalized in 2010.

The suit does not threaten H&H’s 65-year business. Still, Fried says, “This case is taking away time and energy from what we do best. This lawsuit is an absolute abuse of the legal system.”

Remis was not available for comment.

Article: CNN

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Cities struggle to deal with occupy movement

San Francisco (CNN) — Police in riot gear moved into the Occupy Oakland encampment early Monday, tearing down tents and arresting some protesters, the latest effort by city officials across the country to gain control over a movement that some leaders say has become a public safety and health threat.

Oakland, California, police, aided by dozens of officers from nearby jurisdictions, arrested 32 people in the effort to clear Frank Ogawa Plaza near City Hall before dawn Monday, Interim Chief Howard Jordan said. There were no reports of injuries or complaints of abuse, he said.

The camp had become an unbearable drain on city resources, an economic threat to nearby businesses and a danger to public safety, Mayor Jean Quan said.

“The encampment became a place where we had repeated violence and this week a murder. We had to bring the camp to an end before more people were hurt,” she said.

The developments in Oakland come amid rising concern from city officials around the country that the protests drain resources and threaten public health. What started as the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York in September has spread across cities worldwide as a call to action against unequal distribution of wealth and other issues.

How will Occupy strategize to combat concerns?

In Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter said Sunday that what started as a peaceful protest 39 days ago has given way to increasing public safety and public health concerns.

“Occupy Philly has changed,” Nutter said. “We’re seeing serious health and safety issues playing out on an almost daily basis. … The people of Occupy Philly have also changed and their intentions have changed. And all of this is not good for Philadelphia.”

Article: CNN

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Supreme Court to hear dispute on health care law

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear a dispute testing the constitutionality of the Obama-sponsored health care overhaul, a move that opens the most important chapter in the legal battle over the law.

The leading question before the justices is whether in requiring most Americans to buy insurance, Congress exceeded its power to regulate interstate commerce.

The case is on track to be heard by March, and a ruling would come by the end of June, just before the Republican and Democratic conventions for the 2012 presidential election. The law known as the Affordable Care Act, intended to extend medical care nationwide, is the centerpiece of the Obama domestic agenda, and all major GOP presidential candidates oppose it.

The legal challengers, including a group of 26 states, say the law went beyond federal power and, if allowed to stand, would hurt small businesses and compromise individual choices on medical care.

“This is going to be the most heavily covered Supreme Court case in history, even more so than Bush v. Gore, because that was so compressed,” says Washington lawyer Thomas Goldstein, who argues regularly at the court, referring to the 2000 presidential election dispute that lasted just over a month. “This will run from today until the summer.”

Goldstein, who oversees the popular “scotusblog” that tracks the court’s actions, calls the health care dispute “the perfect storm of a pocketbook issue that’s also part of an ideological war between the parties in an election year.”

Article: USA TODAY

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