Supreme Court to rule in drug forfeiture case News
Supreme Court to rule in drug forfeiture case

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Friday granted certiorari to Honeycutt v. United States [docket; cert. petition, PDF], a case dealing with collecting forfeitures from drug deals. At issue is whether one co-conspirator in a drug deal is liable for forfeiting all of the reasonably foreseeable proceeds from the deal. Tony and Terry Honeycutt were charged [SCOTUSblog report] with federal drug crimes after selling a chemical that is an ingredient in methamphetamine at their hardware store. Although Terry forfeited $200,000, the government wanted him to forfeit the rest of the proceeds, which Terry argued he never received. Although the district court agreed with Terry, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed [opinion PDF], stating that joint and several liability applied to drug forfeitures.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.