Supreme Court Notebook

High court lifts hold on Texan's execution WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has lifted its hold on the execution of a Texas man convicted in the shooting death of a woman in 2002. The court's order Tuesday frees the state to set a new execution date for Cleve Foster, who was hours away from receiving a lethal injection in April when the high court stepped in. Foster's appeal raised claims of innocence and poor legal help during his trial and early stages of his appeals. He was sentenced to death for fatally shooting Nyaneur Pal, 30, in Ft. Worth in February 2002. High court turns down new appeal from Conrad Black WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from former media mogul Conrad Black challenging his two remaining convictions on fraud and obstruction of justice. The court did not comment on the order Tuesday. Last year, the justices curtailed the "honest services" laws used to convict Black of defrauding Hollinger International investors. An appeals court subsequently reversed two convictions, but left two others in place. He is scheduled to be resentenced on June 24. Black's empire once included the Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Telegraph of London and smaller papers across the U.S. and Canada. Court to clarify witness identification rules WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court will decide whether a witness identification of a man suspected in a break-in of a car should be thrown out. The high court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal from Barion Perry, who is in prison for breaking into a car in 2008. A woman said she saw Perry take things from the car, but only after police had him in handcuffs. She later could not pick him out of a photo lineup, and could not describe the suspect. Perry wanted her identification thrown out because it was "unnecessarily suggestive" that he was a criminal because he was in handcuffs. The New Hampshire Supreme Court disagreed, and upheld his conviction. The high court will review that decision. The case is Perry v. New Hampshire, 10-8974. Published: Wed, Jun 1, 2011