Court OKs longer prison terms
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has upheld longer prison sentences for people convicted of carrying or using a gun while committing drug trafficking crimes.
The court voted 8-0 Monday to affirm lower court rulings involving defendants who had five years tacked onto their drug trafficking prison terms because they had a gun with them.
Some federal courts had decided that the additional five years could not be added onto related sentences for federal crimes.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the court's first opinion of the term. Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the case because of her work on it in the Justice Department before she joined the court.
The consolidated cases are Abbott v. U.S., 09-479, and Gould v. U.S., 09-7073.
Justices won't get involved in patient advocate case
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court will not stop subpoenas issued to an advocate for chronic pain patients who is under investigation for obstruction of justice.
Siobhan Reynolds and her organization, the Pain Relief Network, are being investigated because of her involvement with a doctor and wife who illegally prescribed painkillers to dozens of patients who later died.
The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Reynolds.
Reynolds wanted justices to quash grand jury subpoenas and her contempt citation for not turning over subpoenaed e-mails and documents.
The court filings in Reynolds' case have been sealed.
The case is In Re Grand Jury Proceedings, 10-512.
Published: Wed, Nov 17, 2010
