Tobacco reps, government enter settlement discussions News
Tobacco reps, government enter settlement discussions

[JURIST] The Justice Department and tobacco industry representatives have begun settlement negotiations in the government's racketeering case [DOJ case backgrounder] against the industry, an anonymous source involved with the case said Tuesday. The two sides have met at least once with a court-appointed mediator, but both are under court orders not to discuss the negotiations. The talks were prompted by US District Judge Gladys Kessler [official profile], the trial judge in the five-year-long case. The government has a greater incentive to settle its claims after an appeals court ruling last month that it could not seek $280 billion in past industry profits. Reuters has more.

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THIS DAY @ LAW

Phillip III of Spain expels Muslim converts to Christianity

Phillip III of Spain began the expulsion of the country's "Morisco" (Muslims who converted to Christianity and their descendants) population on April 9, 1609, based on the Crown's fears that the Morisco population retained Muslim beliefs. Hundreds of thousands of Moriscos would be expelled from the country from 1609-1614. The expulsions took place just over 100 years after Spain's Jewish population was expelled in 1492. Learn more about the expulsion of the Moriscos.

Senate approves purchase of Alaska

On April 9, 1867, the U.S. Senate voted to ratify the Treaty with Russia for the Purchase of Alaska and thereby approve the purchase of the territory from Russia for $7.2 million. Initially, the purchase was made to keep Alaska away from the British. It was politically unpopular with many Americans who denounced it is "Seward's Folly", after U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, who had lobbied for the purchase. Seward was later vindicated by the discovery of gold and oil in Alaska.

Learn more about the Alaska Purchase from the U.S. State Department.

Last beheading in England

On April 9, 1747, Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, became the last man to be beheaded in England when he was executed on Tower Hill for his part in the Jacobite rising of 1745. Learn more about the legal history and practice of beheading.