Also. . .

* A federal appeals court refused to reinstate a 1991 state securities fraud conviction against Charles H. Keating Jr., released from prison earlier this year. In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a federal judge that Keating’s Los Angeles Superior Court convictions on charges of defrauding investors in the parent company of Lincoln Savings & Loan were tainted by flawed jury instructions. Keating was convicted on separate state and federal charges. His federal convictions were overturned on the grounds that the jury had improperly heard about his Superior Court convictions. He pleaded guilty to wire and bankruptcy fraud and served five years.

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* Ford Motor Co. said it was granted a new trial by a state judge who ruled jury misconduct led to a $295-million verdict in the case of a 1993 Bronco rollover accident that killed three people. The new trial will be on only the punitive damages awarded July 13 by the jury in Stanislaus County Superior Court.