Supreme Court Rejects Appeal by Former Massey Energy CEO Blankenship--Update
October 10 2017 - 12:45PM
Dow Jones News
By Jess Bravin and Brent Kendall
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by
a former coal executive convicted of safety violations linked to
the 2010 explosion at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch mine that
killed 29 men.
Don Blankenship, former chief executive of Massey Energy Co.,
received a one-year sentence after his 2015 conviction for
conspiring to violate federal mining safety regulations, a verdict
upheld by a federal appeals court in Richmond, Va. He was acquitted
of more serious felony counts.
In his appeal, Mr. Blankenship's attorneys argued the case
"stemmed from a rush to judgment at the highest levels of the
federal government" and marked by "unchecked abuses of power by
prosecutors intent on securing a conviction by any means
possible."
They asked the court to overturn the verdict for several
reasons. Jurors, they said, were told that to convict they must
find Mr. Blankenship acted with "reckless disregard" for safety
regulations, but weren't instructed that they had to find the
defendant knew his conduct was unlawful.
The Justice Department, urging the Supreme Court to reject the
appeal, said Mr. Blankenship "privately communicated to the Massey
employee in charge of the Upper Big Branch mine that 'safety
violations were the cost of doing business' and that it was
'cheaper to break the safety laws and pay the fines than to spend
what would be necessary to follow the safety laws.'"
Court Rejects Gitmo Appeal
Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal from a
Guantanamo Bay detainee challenging aspects of the military
commission system established after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
to prosecute aliens for terrorism-linked offenses without affording
them constitutional rights.
Ali al-Bahlul, a former communications aide to Osama bin Laden,
has been held at Guantanamo since 2002. He was convicted of
conspiracy in 2008 after a trial he largely boycotted other than to
proclaim his fealty to al Qaeda.
Among other issues, Mr. Bahlul, who received a life sentence,
challenged the military commission's power to try him for
conspiracy, which traditionally has been viewed as a civilian
offense rather than a war crime.
In 2006, the Supreme Court left that issue unresolved in a
decision striking down President George W. Bush's order creating
the military commissions that answered to him alone. Subsequent
legislation added more procedural protections for defendants, but
stopped short of providing the same constitutional guarantees
required in courts-martial and civilian courts.
Justices Seek Government Views in Apple Case
In action from the court's business docket, the justices asked
the Trump administration for its views on Apple Inc.'s bid to
dismiss a consumer lawsuit alleging the company illegally
monopolized the sale of iPhone apps.
The iPhone maker has filed an appeal with the high court asking
the justices to hear the case and rule that iPhone-app purchasers
don't have legal standing to proceed with their claims.
The Supreme Court deferred a decision on whether to intervene,
instead asking U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco to weigh in
first with the government's position on the case. That could take
several months.
At issue is a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging consumers
pay higher prices for iPhone apps because Apple maintains an
exclusive marketplace for their sale and charges a 30% commission
to app developers.
Apple denies that it has engaged in anticompetitive conduct and
says app developers are the ones who set the prices for apps sold
in Apple's App Store.
A federal appeals court ruled in January that the plaintiffs had
standing to proceed with their lawsuit.
Write to Jess Bravin at jess.bravin@wsj.com and Brent Kendall at
brent.kendall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 10, 2017 12:30 ET (16:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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