US Legal, Inc. – April 2008 Newsletter
Tax Rebate Delivery Now Underway
The Internal Revenue Service has begun distributing payments to taxpayers who are eligible to receive rebates as part of The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. Rebates are going out ahead of schedule as announced by President Bush on Friday, April 25th.
Payments are being issued through a process based on the last two digits of the main tax filer’s Social Security number. The first wave of payments will be transmitted electronically to those who requested to receive them via direct deposit. Paper checks will be mailed starting on May 9th.
More than 130 million taxpayers are expected to receive rebates this year as part of the Economic Stimulus Act. Rebates for eligible recipients will range from $300 to $600 for individual taxpayers and from $600 to $1200 for married taxpayers who filed joint returns.
The IRS now expects all payments to be distributed to eligible recipients no later than July 11th.
If you would like to know when you will receive your funds, please see the Economic Stimulus Package payment schedule at the following link:
http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=180250,00.html.
More April Legal Headlines
Federal Aviation Administration Announces Improvements to Its Safety Inspection Program
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a news release on April 2 detailing measures designed to strengthen aviation safety. FAA Acting Director Robert A. Sturgell said that results of a safety audit revealed 99% airline compliance with Airworthiness Directives (ADs).
Sturgell says that internally the agency will make changes to:
- Enable inspectors to raise their concerns quickly and at a higher level
- Toughen ethical standards for inspectors to prevent conflicts of interest
- Enhance airline safety by improving the clarity and coordination of directives issued by the FAA to air carriers
- Require reporting of voluntary disclosures to be made by senior airline officials
- Speed up the expansion of a comprehensive aviation safety database
See the FAA press release at: http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=10196.
Supreme Court Upholds Voter Identification Law
The US Supreme Court ruled in April that an Indiana state statute which required voters to present a photo ID before voting did not violate the US Constitution. Opponents of the law had argued it would hinder voting by older individuals, poor persons and minorities, while supporters claimed it would deter voter fraud. The law was previously upheld last year by the 7th Circuit US Court of Appeals.
In affirming the ruling, the Court held that the law did not impose an excessive burden on any specific class of voters. Courts have upheld voter identification laws in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, and many states currently require some form of identification.
The case is Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, No. 07-21.
Sources: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-21.pdf,
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/04/supreme-court-allows-indiana-voter.php
For more legal news, visit the USLegal Reporter at http://reporter.uslegal.com.
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In Brief
USLegal CEO Frank Edens Appears on The G. Gordon Liddy Show
USLegal CEO Frank D. Edens made a guest appearance on G. Gordon Liddy’s national radio talk show on April 3, 2008. Edens discussed tips for “How to Organize Your Legal Life.”
USLegal Offers Many Ways for You to Learn About the Law
-Visit the USLegal Blog at http://blog.uslegal.com/ for insights on current legal topics.
-Visit the USLegal Law Digest at http://lawdigest.uslegal.com/ to read summaries on popular areas of the law including Bankruptcy, Business, Civil, Contracts, Criminal, Employment, Estate Planning, Family, Healthcare and more.
-Visit the LegalLife™ Resource Center at http://www.uslegalforms.com/legallife/ to learn how to get your legal affairs in order.
Law and Legal Definitions
US Court Systems Law and Legal Definition
The Supreme Court of the United States was created by Sec. 1 Article III of the Constitution. Its jurisdiction is set out by statute in Title 28 of the U.S. Code. The organization of the Court is also governed by legislation. The Court develops its own rules governing the presentation of cases. One of the most important powers of the Supreme Court is judicial review.
Judicial review consists of:
- The power of the courts to declare laws invalid if they violate the Constitution.
- The supremacy of federal laws or treaties when they differ from state and local laws.
- The role of the Court as the final authority on the meaning of the Constitution.
State Courts
Each state has a court system that is separate from the federal courts. State court systems have trial courts at the bottom level and appellate courts at the top. Over 95% of the nation’s legal cases are decided in state courts (or local courts, which are agents of the states).
Some states have two appellate levels, and others have only a single appellate court. States vary in the way they organize and name their courts, but they usually give some lower courts specialized titles and jurisdictions. States have special courts for divorce, juvenile, and estate matters. Below these specialized trial courts are more informal trial courts, such as magistrate courts and justice of the peace courts, which hear minor matters such as traffic cases.
Cases that originate in state courts can be appealed to a federal court if a federal issue is involved and usually only after all avenues of appeal in the state courts have been exhausted.
Federal Courts of Appeal
When cases are appealed from district courts, they go to a federal court of appeals. Courts of appeals do not use juries or witnesses. No new evidence is presented on appeal. Appellate courts generally base their decisions on a review of the law applied as evidenced in the lower-court records.
There are 12 general appeals courts. Except for the court which serves only the District of Columbia, they serve an area consisting of three to nine states (called a circuit.) There is also the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in appeals of decisions in cases involving patents, contract claims against the federal government, federal employment cases and international trade. Between four and twenty six judges sit on each court of appeals, and each case is usually heard by a panel of three judges. Fewer than 1 percent of the cases heard by federal appeals courts are later reviewed by the Supreme Court.
Federal District Court
All federal courts, except for the U.S. Supreme Court, were created by Congress. There are ninety four federal district courts across the country, with at least one in every state (larger states have up to four). There are about 550 federal district-court judges who are appointed by the president with the advice of the Senate. District courts are the only courts in the federal system in which juries hear testimony in some cases, and most cases at this level are presented before a single judge. Federal district courts are bound by legal precedents established by the Supreme Court.
The Bankruptcy Courts
The federal courts have jurisdiction over all bankruptcy cases. Bankruptcy cannot be filed in state courts. The primary purposes of the law of bankruptcy are: to give an honest debtor a “fresh start” in life by relieving the debtor of most debts, and to repay creditors in an orderly manner to the extent that the debtor has property available for payment.
Other special courts include:
U.S. Tax Court
Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Court of International Trade
United States Sentencing Commission
For more legal definitions, please visit our free online legal dictionary at http://definitions.uslegal.com/.
Customer Feedback
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