Court upholds sentence for son of Schwarzenegger ally

Recent Cases


A California appeals court on Tuesday upheld former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to dramatically reduce the manslaughter sentence of a political ally's son, saying his conduct may be considered wrong but it didn't violate any laws.
 
On his last day in office in 2011, Schwarzenegger commuted the sentence of Esteban Nunez to seven years from 16 years in the stabbing death of college student Luis Santos in San Diego. Esteban Nunez's father is Fabian Nunez, speaker of the state Assembly while Schwarzenegger was governor.

Frederico and Kathy Santos, the victim's parents, and San Diego County District Bonnie Dumanis sued to overturn the shortened sentence, arguing that the governor violated a voter-approved constitutional amendment that requires victims to be notified before a decision. But the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento agreed with a trial judge that the amendment approved in 2008 and known as Marsy's Law does not apply to commuted sentences.

"We are compelled to conclude that, while Schwarzenegger's conduct could be seen as deserving of censure and grossly unjust, it was not illegal," Associate Justice Harry E. Hull Jr. wrote.

Related listings

  • High court throws out conviction for Facebook threats

    High court throws out conviction for Facebook threats

    Recent Cases 06/01/2015

    The Supreme Court has thrown out the conviction of a Pennsylvania man accused of making threats on Facebook.   The justices ruled Monday that it was not enough for prosecutors to show that the comments of Anthony Elonis would make a reasonable p...

  • High court won't hear appeal over Walker campaign probe

    High court won't hear appeal over Walker campaign probe

    Recent Cases 05/18/2015

    The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a conservative group seeking to end an investigation into possible illegal coordination between Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's 2012 recall campaign and independent groups. The justices on Monday let stand an...

  • Bankrupt Caesars unit gets court's OK to use cash, for now

    Bankrupt Caesars unit gets court's OK to use cash, for now

    Recent Cases 03/05/2015

    A federal judge in Chicago ruled Wednesday that a bankrupt division of Caesars Entertainment Corp. can tap some of the $847 million in cash it has on hand for at least five weeks. Judge Benjamin Goldgar said Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. could ...

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.

Business News

Clayton, MO Federal Criminal Defense Attorney The Law Offices of John M. Lynch, LLC, provides strong representation for clients with federal criminal defense. >> read
DuPage IL worker's comp lawyers The law firm of Krol, Bongiorno & Given, Ltd. has been a leader in the field of workers’ compensation law in DuPage, Illinois. >> read