Settlement talks fail between al-Kidd, feds
Recent Cases
Court-ordered settlement talks between a man detained in a federal case and the government have failed.
Attorneys on both sides told a U.S. District judge this week that no settlement was reached. That means the lawsuit brought by Abdullah al-Kidd against the United States, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others will likely go to trial.
Al-Kidd filed the lawsuit in 2005, claiming his civil rights were violated when the government improperly used material witness laws to detain him for two weeks.
The government has maintained it did nothing wrong.
Al-Kidd worked on behalf of the Islamic Assembly of North America, a Michigan-based charitable group federal investigators allege funneled money to activities supporting terrorism.
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Texas Adopts Statewide Texting-While-Driving Ban
Effective September 1, 2017, Texas will become the 47th state to pass a statewide ban on texting while driving. Governor Abbott’s signing of House Bill 62 is an effort to unify Texas under a uniform ban and remedy the “patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas.”
The bill specifically prohibits drivers from reading, writing, or sending an electronic message on a device unless the vehicle is stopped. That includes texting and emailing. It does not, however, prohibit dialing a number to call someone, talking on the phone using a hands-free device, or using the phone’s GPS system.
Violations would be punishable by a fine ranging from $25 to $99, to be set by each municipality. Although penalties could rise to as much as $200 for repeat offenders.
Studies have found that a driver’s reaction time is half as much when a driver is distracted by sending or reading a text message. According to state officials, in 2015 more than 105,000 traffic accidents in Texas involved distracted driving, leading to at least 476 fatalities.