Tagged: courts

A man facing the first criminal charges stemming from the BP oil spill has pleaded not guilty to obstructing justice. Federal authorities say he may have been planning to leave the United States permanently.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge in New Orleans has preliminarily approved a proposed class-action settlement that would resolve billions of dollars in claims against BP over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier's ruling Wednesday allows the settlement process to proceed, but he will hold a "fairness hearing" later this year before deciding whether to give his final approval.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to set a new trial date for this summer for government claims against BP over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP has asked the judge to set a January 2013 trial date. 

A federal prosecutor argues two court-appointed defense attorneys should be sanctioned for challenging a former New Orleans police officer's convictions and death sentence without his authorization.

Len Davis, who was sentenced to death for arranging a woman's 1994 murder, has elected to represent himself during his post-conviction proceedings. In March, however, his standby counsel filed a petition asking U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan to overturn his death sentence or order a new trial.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — By arresting a former BP engineer, federal prosecutors are showing their hand in the Gulf oil spill case. They have been probing whether BP PLC and its employees broke the law by intentionally lowballing how much oil was spewing from its out-of-control well. The arrest came two years and four days after the drilling-rig explosion.