SCOTUS rules in Trump's bid for immunity, Cancer victims lose bid to block proposed J&J talc bankruptcy, and more ??
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?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here is the rundown of today's top legal news:
??US Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official, not private acts
#SCOTUS for the first time on recognized that ex-presidents have immunity from prosecution for certain actions taken in office, as it threw out a judicial decision rejecting Donald Trump's bid to shield himself from criminal charges involving his efforts to undo his 2020 election loss.
The court ruled that former presidents are shielded from prosecution for actions they take within their constitutional authority, as opposed to a private capacity. The ruling marked the first time since the nation's 18th century founding that the Court has declared that former presidents may be shielded from criminal charges in any instance.
Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election in a rematch from four years ago. However it rules, the court's slow handling of the blockbuster case already has helped Trump by making it unlikely that any trial on these charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith could be completed before the election.
Trump had argued that he is immune from prosecution because he was serving as president when he took the actions that led to the charges. Smith has opposed presidential immunity from prosecution based on the principle that no one is above the law.
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?? US to criminally charge Boeing, seek guilty plea, sources say
The U.S. Justice Department will criminally charge Boeing with fraud over two fatal crashes and ask the planemaker to plead guilty or face a trial, two people familiar with the matter said on June 30.
The DOJ planned to formally offer a plea agreement to Boeing later in the day, which includes a financial penalty and imposition of an independent monitor to audit the company's safety and compliance practices for three years, the sources said.
Officials plan to give Boeing until the end of the week to respond to the offer, which they will present as non negotiable, the sources said. Should Boeing refuse to plead guilty, prosecutors plan to take the company to trial, they said.
The DOJ decided to charge Boeing after finding it violated a 2021 agreement that had shielded it from prosecution over the fatal crashes involving 737 MAX jets. The deadly crashes took place in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
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?? Cancer victims lose bid to block proposed J&J talc bankruptcy
A federal judge rejected a bid by a group of cancer victims to block Johnson & Johnson from pursuing a proposed bankruptcy settlement of tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its talc products contained cancer-causing asbestos.?
The cancer victims sought to block J&J from filing for bankruptcy outside New Jersey, which would have disrupted a $6.48 billion settlement plan. The motion was part of a class action lawsuit brought by plaintiffs' lawyers opposed to the plan.
But U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp on June 28 said he could not grant the motion because any harm to the victims was ‘strictly hypothetical.’ He said he had no jurisdiction to resolve a dispute over 'events that have not, and may never, occur.'
The healthcare conglomerate faces lawsuits from more than 61,000 plaintiffs alleging its talc caused ovarian cancer or mesothelioma, a deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure.
?? Judge denies Alec Baldwin's motion to dismiss manslaughter charge
A New Mexico judge on June 28 denied a request by actor Alec Baldwin to dismiss a manslaughter charge he faces for the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the film set of the movie 'Rust.'
In her ruling, Judge Mary Sommer rejected arguments by Baldwin's lawyers in a hearing on June 21 and June 24 that the charge should be dismissed because the gun that fired the round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was damaged during testing by the FBI following her death, preventing his lawyers from conducting their own testing.
Hutchins was shot with a live round after Baldwin pointed a gun at her as she set up a camera on a film set near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The '30 Rock' star has denied responsibility for Hutchins' death, saying the gun went off on its own after he pointed it at the cinematographer and cocked it. He denies pulling the trigger, an assertion, that has become central to the case.
'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez, who mistakenly loaded a live round into the revolver involved in the shooting, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced in April to 18 months in prison, the same term Baldwin will face if found guilty.
?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File, and have a great day!
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