Colorado court: Some pot cases can be overturned

Colorado court: Some pot cases can be overturned

DENVER

Some people convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana can ask for those convictions to be thrown out under the law that legalized recreational marijuana in Colorado, the state’s second-highest court ruled Thursday.

The Colorado Court of Appeals said people whose cases were under appeal when Amendment 64 on recreational marijuana took effect in December 2012 are eligible to have their convictions reversed.

Brian Vicente, one of the amendment’s authors, called the ruling a “huge victory.” Vicente said Colorado prosecuted as many as 9,000 cases a year for marijuana possession. After pot was decriminalized, a number of appeals were still in the courts.

Pistorius trial photos

PRETORIA, South Africa

Blood on the stairs, walls and furniture, a cocked 9 mm pistol, bloody towels, fallen wall tiles. Like pieces of an unfinished puzzle, the photos of the blood-splattered interior of Oscar Pistorius’ home gave a fragmented picture Thursday of his girlfriend’s violent end.

One of the first police officers to arrive at the scene testified at the athlete’s murder trial that he followed a “trail of blood” when he got there.

Recounting what he saw in macabre detail, former police colonel G.S. van Rensburg said he traced spots and bigger blood marks downstairs where Reeva Steenkamp lay dead from three gunshot wounds, then followed them across the floor, up the stairs, through a small lounge area and into Pistorius’ bedroom.

Ultimately, he reached the bathroom where the double-amputee Olympian shot his girlfriend in the early hours of Valentine’s Day last year.

Jolly sworn in

WASHINGTON

The House’s newest congressman struck a note of collegiality Thursday after a bitter campaign to fill the seat.

Republican David Jolly of Florida declared the hard-fought race over moments after Speaker John Boehner administered the oath. Jolly edged out Democrat Alex Sink on Tuesday in a special election that Republicans cast as a referendum on President Barack Obama and his unpopular health care law.

The Tampa-area district had been considered a toss-up, and the two parties, outside groups and candidates spent millions of dollars on television advertising, much of it critical and linked to the health care law. Sink outspent Jolly by more than 3 to 1, though outside groups aligned with the GOP helped narrow the overall Democratic advantage.

Jet aborts takeoff after gear failure

PHILADELPHIA

Passengers were evacuated from a Florida-bound plane at Philadelphia International Airport after a mechanical failure.

Airline officials said USAirways Flight 1702 was heading to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., when the pilot was forced to abort takeoff about 6:30 p.m. Thursday after the front landing gear collapsed.

An airport spokeswoman said two passengers asked for medical assistance, but no serious injuries were reported. Spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said the Airbus 320 was carrying 149 passengers and five crew members. All were rescheduled on departing flights Thursday night.

Associated Press