"We close at 5," Judge Sharon Keller told a court staffer Sept. 25, 2007.

The appeal was never heard, and four hours later, convicted killer Michael Wayne Richard was executed. Now it's Keller who will be before a judge, facing charges that could end her career in a special trial that begins Monday in San Antonio. Denying the rights of a condemned man is among five judicial misconduct charges that Keller, the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is up against.

Nicknamed "Sharon Killer" among critics for a tough-on-crime reputation crafted over the years, Keller is the highest-ranking judge in Texas to be put on trial by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. The judge overseeing the trial will submit a report to the commission, which could dismiss the charges, issue a censure or suggest Keller be removed from the bench.

Keller, a Republican who has served on the court since 1994, has not spoken publicly since being charged in February. Her attorney, Chip Babcock, said the widely repeated narrative of what happened the day Richard was executed isn't accurate.

Marshall had faced two counts of simple battery stemming from a March 4, 2008, argument with then-girlfriend Rasheedah Watley at the Atlanta condominium the couple shared.

Marshall said after the verdict in Fulton County State Court that he had some butterflies in his stomach when deliberations began, but was confident in the work of his lawyers.

"I'm just happy now that legally and emotionally we can move past this," he said, adding that he appreciated the support of teammates and fans. He said he planned to celebrate Friday night by watching his teammates in an offseason game against the San Francisco 49ers.

His lawyer Harvey Steinberg expressed gratitude to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for waiting for the verdict before deciding whether to take any league action. Marshall was suspended for last year's season opener after a series of domestic disputes, and Goodell had said a conviction in the Atlanta case could have led to a second suspension.

Before the verdict was announced, the judge cautioned that no outbursts would be tolerated and asked anyone who might not be able to comply to leave the courtroom. Watley, who was sitting with her family, got up and left. Her family was visibly disappointed at the verdict but declined comment.

Authorities say the 38-year-old Steele led San Mateo County sheriff's deputies on a car chase on July 11 that ended with him streaking into a home and then into woods near Redwood City.

Deputies say it took a Taser and two shots from a bean bag gun to bring him down.

Fleet Management Ltd. pleaded guilty to charges of obstruction, making false statements and negligent discharge of oil, and agreed to pay a $10 million fine under a deal reached with prosecutors. A federal judge still must approve the deal.

The Cosco Busan sideswiped the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on a foggy morning on Nov. 7, 2007. The ship spilled 53,000 gallons of oil into the water, killing thousands of birds and other wildlife and fouling miles of shoreline.

The ship's pilot, John Cota, was sentenced in July to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges.

Company director Aga Nagarajan appeared in court Thursday with lawyer Marc Greenberg, who entered the guilty pleas. They declined comment outside court.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston scheduled a Dec. 11 hearing to decide whether the $10 million is enough punishment.

Court documents showed the company acknowledging its crew was poorly trained and the master failed to stop the pilot from leaving port in thick fog. The master admitted he could "suffer adverse personnel consequences" if he delayed departure, according to the court filing.

In a ruling published Friday, the Federal Criminal Tribunal rejected an appeal by the Duvalier family, which wants to reclaim the money. It can now appeal the case to Switzerland's highest court.

The government says the Duvalier family has failed to prove that the money stashed in Swiss accounts is of legitimate origin.

Many in Haiti consider that money stolen from public funds before Duvalier was ousted in 1986. Duvalier, who is believed to be living in exile in France, has always denied that.

The court said the Duvalier family had diverted public funds into Swiss accounts through a Liechtenstein foundation that amounted to a "criminal organization."

The accounts in Switzerland have been blocked since 2002.

Switzerland has traditionally been a favorite location for dictators' money because of its banking secrecy rules. But reforms over the past two decades have made it harder to hide money in Switzerland and the country has returned hundreds of millions of francs (dollars) to countries in Africa, the Philippines and elsewhere.

Two former salespeople for the health care giant allege J&J illegally marketed its blockbuster anemia drug Procrit. They claim the company got doctors to prescribe it for unapproved uses and sometimes at high doses that could be dangerous.

Federal regulators have since put restrictions on which patients can get the drug and how much they can take, hurting Procrit sales.

A federal appeals court in Boston has revived the case and sent it back to the District Court in Boston.

Johnson & Johnson officials say they will comment later today.

"When Justice Sotomayor put her hand on that Bible and took that oath ... we came yet another step to the more perfect union that we all seek," Obama told a White House reception for Sotomayor.

The ceremony was packed with family and friends of Sotomayor, who has become the first Hispanic and third woman on the high court bench. Lawmakers, issue advocates, Hispanic community leaders and others who helped shepherd her confirmation through the Senate came to watch as she appeared with the president for remarks.

"While this is Justice Sotomayor's achievement, the result of her ability and determination," Obama said, "this moment is not just about her. It's about every child who will grow up thinking to him- or herself, `If Sonia Sotomayor can make it, then maybe I can too.' "

Following Obama at the lectern, Sotomayor spoke emotionally about wending her way from a modest background to the highest court in the land. She grew up in public housing projects in South Bronx, N.Y., before getting an Ivy League education and starting her legal career.

"It is our nation's faith in a more perfect union that allows a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx to stand here now," she said, a line that earned her huge applause and a standing ovation from the audience.