CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 7, 2013 | By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times
SAN FRANCISCO - A prison inmate whose triple-murder arson conviction was overturned after he demonstrated "actual innocence" will be retried rather than released, prosecutors said. U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii ordered the state last month to release George Souliotes, 72, or retry him immediately. After finding that Souliotes had proved his innocence, the judge overturned his conviction on the grounds he had been incompetently represented by his lawyer. Souliotes has spent 16 years in prison for murder in the deaths of Michelle Jones, 31, and her two children, Daniel Jr., 8, and Amanda, 3. The three died when a fire erupted in the home the family was renting from Souliotes.
NATIONAL
May 6, 2013 | By Richard A. Serrano and Matt Pearce, Los Angeles Times
A federal magistrate released a friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from jail Monday on strict pretrial conditions that include 24-hour home confinement and $100,000 bail. The friend, Robel Phillipos, a 19-year-old Boston native, is charged with making false statements to the FBI related to the April 15 explosions that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others. After a hearing before Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler, Phillipos quickly left the courthouse in street clothes and a baseball cap, surrounded by family and friends.
WORLD
May 6, 2013 | By Jeevan Vasagar, Los Angeles Times
BERLIN - The surviving member of an alleged neo-Nazi cell accused of a string of racially motivated murders went on trial Monday in a case that has forced Germany to confront the extent to which racism continues to pervade society here. Beate Zschaepe, 38, is accused of complicity in the murders of eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007. Her trial in Munich is expected to raise questions about the failings of security services and police, who suspected the slain immigrants of having connections to organized crime and refused to pursue tips about a far-right gang.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 1, 2013 | By Scott Glover and Lisa Girion, Los Angeles Times
Fearing lawmakers may fail to pass a package of medical reform bills, a coalition of consumer groups and trial lawyers is mounting a campaign to put before voters an even more ambitious slate of initiatives aimed at curbing prescription drug abuse and holding doctors more accountable for misconduct. About two dozen state and national advocacy groups - including the Consumer Attorneys of California, California Nurses Assn., the Center for Public Interest Law, and Public Citizen - have been organizing privately since December and plan to unveil the campaign at the state Capitol on Thursday.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 29, 2013 | By Jeff Gottlieb and Corina Knoll, Los Angeles Times
As Michael Jackson's highly anticipated comeback shows approached, promoter AEG was so desperate to become No. 1 in the concert industry that its executives ruthlessly pushed the pop star to perform, caring little about his health, an attorney said Monday. In his opening statement, Brian Panish, who represents Jackson's mother and his three children, told the jury that Anschutz Entertainment Group was willing to do whatever it took to catch up to its competitor, Live Nation. "AEG had a problem, and they wanted to fix it," he said.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 28, 2013 | By Mike Anton, Los Angeles Times
He was a smooth-talking swindler who operated Orange County's most notorious and lucrative strip club, the Mustang Topless Theater. Born James Stockwell, he rebranded himself Jimmy Casino and lived the extravagant lifestyle of a character from an Elmore Leonard novel. Expensive cowboy couture. Luxury cars. Enemies who wanted him dead. After years of staying a step ahead of the law and the people whom he owed money, Casino, 48, was ambushed at his Buena Park condo Jan. 2, 1987.