Georgia court sentences Atlanta gunman who killed judge to consecutive life terms News
Georgia court sentences Atlanta gunman who killed judge to consecutive life terms

[JURIST] A Superior Court of Georgia [official website] jury Saturday sentenced [Atlanta Journal-Constitution report] Brian Nichols to consecutively serve seven life terms, four terms of life without parole, and 485 years following his conviction [CNN report] last month for the murders of court and law enforcement personnel [JURIST report] committed in a March 2005 escape from Atlanta's Fulton County Courthouse [official website], where he was in the midst of a retrial [USA Today report] for rape. While being escorted to court, he overpowered a Fulton County Sheriff’s Deputy and took her gun. Nichols proceeded to search for and kill Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Ann Brandau, Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Hoyt Teasley, and US Customs agent David Wilhelm. He was taken into custody after what was described as the largest manhunt in Georgia state history. He later pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to the charges against him.

US judges and court administrators have been increasingly focused on security issues [NCSC materials] following a spate of attacks, bombings and threats [JURIST reports] directed at judges, their families, and their workplaces in recent years. In April 2008 Ohio resident David Tuason was indicted for allegedly threatening to blow up the US Supreme Court building [JURIST report] and attack black men, including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Other death threats [JURIST report] have been reported against Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and now-retired Justice Sandra Day O'Conner.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.