Court nixes new rape trial in dispute over poem
Headline Legal News
A court has overturned a decision granting a new trial to a convicted rapist who claimed his rights were violated when a poem written by the victim was kept out of evidence during trial in Wayne County.
The poem expressing regret about alcohol and sex was written before the woman's encounter with Dustin Wiecek in 1999.
A federal judge says the exclusion hurt Wiecek's ability to fully confront his accuser at trial about her personal life. But a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday disagreed, saying Wiecek's lawyer had much opportunity to challenge the woman's credibility.
Wiecek was accused of using GHB, known as a date-rape drug. He's already served 41 months in prison, more than the minimum sentence. He's been free on bond since fall 2009.
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USCIS Will Begin Accepting CW-1 Petitions for Fiscal Year 2019
On April 2, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting petitions under the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2019 cap. Employers in the CNMI use the CW-1 program to employ foreign workers who are ineligible for other nonimmigrant worker categories. The cap for CW-1 visas for FY 2019 is 4,999.
For the FY 2019 cap, USCIS encourages employers to file a petition for a CW-1 nonimmigrant worker up to six months in advance of the proposed start date of employment and as early as possible within that timeframe. USCIS will reject a petition if it is filed more than six months in advance. An extension petition may request a start date of Oct. 1, 2018, even if that worker’s current status will not expire by that date.
Since USCIS expects to receive more petitions than the number of CW-1 visas available for FY 2019, USCIS may conduct a lottery to randomly select petitions and associated beneficiaries so that the cap is not exceeded. The lottery would give employers the fairest opportunity to request workers, particularly with the possibility of mail delays from the CNMI.
USCIS will count the total number of beneficiaries in the petitions received after 10 business days to determine if a lottery is needed. If the cap is met after those initial 10 days, a lottery may still need to be conducted with only the petitions received on the last day before the cap was met. USCIS will announce when the cap is met and whether a lottery has been conducted.