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Archive of Crime & Courts on Saturday May 07, 2005
FDLE is looking to expand Matrix
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is seeking proposals from companies to help expand a database for police to include credit and insurance information, even for those never accused of a crime. Read More
In Kansas, a sharp debate on evolution
TOPEKA, Kan. - Debating a question that the scientific establishment considers settled, Kansas education authorities put evolutionary theory on trial Thursday in a hearing marked by sharp exchanges over Earth's origins and what students should be taught in science class. Read More
House approves lowering medical malpractice cap
The House on Thursday approved lowering the cap on non-economic damages for medical malpractice awards. Read More
State inmate shot, killed at I-65 exit
A state inmate was shot and killed by law officers at Montgomery's Herron Street exit off Interstate 65 Thursday. Read More
DOT chief: U.S. driver license law needed
The chief of Alabama's driver license division says he would welcome proposed new federal standards requiring more stringent background checks on license applicants. Read More
Supreme Court takes step toward re-entering school funding case
The Arkansas Supreme Court has decided to hear oral arguments by school districts asking the high court to re-enter the state's school funding case. Read More
Benton School District to be removed from suit after permission dispute
The Benton School District will be removed as a plaintiff in a Fort Smith-based school funding lawsuit sometime next week, following a disagreement over whether the superintendent had given the plaintiffs' lawyer permission to include Benton in the suit. Read More
Attorney General seeks dismissal of Fort Smith suit
A Fort Smith-based school funding lawsuit against the state should be dismissed, Attorney General Mike Beebe said in a motion filed Thursday. Read More
Hearing in malpractice claim ordered
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a new hearing in a medical malpractice case filed against an Ozark doctor who allegedly misdiagnosed colon cancer in a woman who later died of the illness. Read More
AG rejects lawmaker's gambling amendment
A state legislator who names himself the first president of a state-run gambling operation in a proposed constitutional amendment had the measure rejected Wednesday by the state attorney general. Read More
Court action threatened over funding for English
Arizona will wind up back in court if it adopts a budget adding only $15 million to programs to teach English, the attorney for parents who sued the state said Thursday. Read More
Many coaches say crackdown would be an unnecessary burden
Coaches and athletic directors at high schools around the Bay Area are bridling at the prospect of having to execute a trio of new state rules inspired by the steroid scandal that has rattled the highest level of American sport. Some see the regulations as, at best, a bother and, at worst, an unnecessary waste of time. Read More
Probe seeks Perata e-mails
Federal investigators have initiated a broad Capitol inquiry into state Senate leader Don Perata, requesting copies of all e-mails sent by the Oakland Democrat and eight legislative staff members during his first six years in the upper house, according to a subpoena released Thursday. Read More
Lee hit with federal charges
The other shoe dropped for Julie Lee on Thursday when the erstwhile fundraiser for former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley was charged by a federal grand jury in Sacramento with mail fraud and attempted witness tampering. Read More
State Panel Issues Reprimand To Attorney
Almost 2? years after it first considered whether he wrongly allowed a former convict to handle a client's case, the state agency in charge of disciplining lawyers has issued a reprimand to New Haven attorney Howard A. Lawrence. Read More
State Probe Clears Malloy
A 17-month state investigation of Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy has turned up no evidence of wrongdoing, a finding that energized Malloy Thursday and caused him to jumpstart fundraising for a gubernatorial campaign that had been stalled by corruption charges. Read More
Lawyer still fighting Ross execution
With the clock ticking down to serial killer Michael Ross? execution May 13, attorneys who tried unsuccessfully last month to prove Ross incompetent tried their luck with the state Supreme Court Thursday. Read More
MacLeish new top trooper - ?Proven leader' has ?right stuff'
Col. Thomas F. MacLeish, a 28-year veteran of the Delaware State Police, was named the agency's superintendent Thursday evening. Read More
New chief of state police faces unrest
After nearly two years as second-in-command of the Delaware State Police, Lt. Col. Thomas F. MacLeish inherited his boss's job Thursday, along with a tangle of problems, from lawsuits to morale and public perception. Read More
Private juvenile workers lose out on raises
Workers in programs for teen offenders, whose salaries start at an average of $8 an hour, won't get the raises they expected this year because of an ideological fight between legislators. Read More
Asbestos-lawsuit limits await Bush's signature
Lawmakers sent Gov. Jeb Bush a bill to limit asbestos exposure lawsuits, which supporters say is needed to make sure money is left to compensate those who are truly sick from the cancer-causing material. Read More
Slots push may reach court
Big casino companies, tiny greyhound tracks and horse breeders spent millions of dollars to convince voters to allow slot machines at four South Florida parimutuels. Read More
Parental-notice, fetus measures close to passage
Lawmakers agreed Thursday to sweeping changes in Florida abortion laws, including a voter-mandated requirement that doctors must notify the parent or guardian of girls who want to end their pregnancies. Read More
Former lawmaker found guilty of conspiracy
AUGUSTA, Ga. - A former state lawmaker was found guilty Thursday of conspiracy charges by an Augusta jury. Read More
State probes boy's death at outdoor camp
Counselors at a state-run camp for troubled youngsters held a 13-year-old Douglas County boy facedown on the ground for an hour and a half before he stopped breathing and later died, state records show. Read More
Audit criticizes child support agency
Serious problems continue to plague the financial operations of the state Child Support Enforcement Agency, a team of examiners has concluded in an audit released yesterday. Read More
'The records are public, they're just not accessible'
Collection orders that the Child Support Enforcement Agency files publicly at the Hawai'i Bureau of Conveyances against parents who aren't paying child support are confidential records that the CSEA won't disclose to the public, according to the attorney general's office. Read More
Door opening for tort reform
In what could be a breakthrough in the yearslong standoff on tort reform, Democratic leaders in the Statehouse Thursday signaled a willingness to accept limits on jury awards in malpractice cases, something doctors have long argued is vital to ending the rise of insurance costs. Read More
Fallen Illinois police officers honored at Capitol
On Thursday morning, 12 new members joined one of the saddest of families. Surrounded by hundreds of officers, greeted by Gov. Rod Blagojevich and other state officials, families of Illinois law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty gathered on the Capitol lawn to memorialize those who were killed and to grieve with others who know their pain. Read More
Doctors, insurers join GOP push to cap big jury awards
Doctors and insurance companies who say huge jury verdicts in malpractice cases are pushing them out of business could finally get some relief at the Capitol - but they might have to swallow some bad-tasting medicine first. Read More
1994 shove now High Court case
Nearly 11 years after he was attacked by a grouchy co-worker, Anthony Farmer is asking the Indiana Supreme Court to force DePuy Inc. to pay $80,000 in worker?s compensation benefits. Attorneys for both parties argued the case before the state?s highest court Thursday. No decision was made. Read More
More taxes may be answer to county debt
The new state budget calls for an aggressive collection of the debt that counties owe the Indiana Department of Correction for housing juvenile offenders, a move that threatens to raise local property taxes in areas throughout the state. Read More
Midsize districts tell court to toss funding law
The Kansas Supreme Court should strike down the state's new school funding law and order lawmakers to spend an additional $1 billion a year on education, lawyers for midsize school districts said Thursday. Read More
3 charged in 2000 vote case
As forecast earlier this week by his attorney, state Sen. Johnny Ray Turner, D-Drift, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on vote-fraud charges stemming from a 2000 election. More surprisingly, the grand jury also indicted again two Pikeville men who were convicted last fall in London for conspiring to rig a 2002 Pike County election. Read More
Lawmakers to get taste of region
Kentucky legislators will converge on Northern Kentucky next month to get a first-hand look at one of the fastest-growing regions in the state. Read More
State agency is short $67,000 in permit payments
A state agency is missing more than $67,000 in checks and money orders collected from state plumbing permits, the state Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet announced yesterday. Read More
Child-support collection billing may change
A state agency is considering changes to the way county attorneys bill for child-support collection cases after the state auditor found inconsistencies from county to county. Read More
Senator, 2 other men are indicted
State Sen. Johnny Ray Turner, a cousin and a wealthy Pikeville businessman were indicted yesterday on allegations of using illegal campaign donations and buying votes in Turner's 2000 primary victory. Read More
State Police drug procedures at issue
DEDHAM, Mass. - The former head of the embattled State Police Narcotics Inspection Unit admitted under oath yesterday that he violated his own orders and failed to properly document a large batch of seized marijuana destined for the drug evidence bunker. Read More
Indictment of Finneran is expected
Federal prosecutors are preparing to indict former House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran for perjury, in allegedly lying when he testified in a federal trial that he was unaware of the contents of a House redistricting plan, according to two sources familiar with the progress of the investigation. Read More
Pot petition drive is under way
Marijuana laws in Michigan would be transformed from among the harshest in the country to the most liberal under a proposed amendment to the state constitution that backers hope to place before voters in 2006. Read More
Some medicines are moving behind counter to fight meth
Some popular cold and allergy medicines are moving behind the pharmacy counter in a step to crack down on methamphetamine abuse in Missouri. Read More
Court rejects removal of judge
The Mississippi Supreme Court refused Thursday to remove a black judge in Jackson from presiding over racial-profiling lawsuits against the Dillard's department store chain. Read More
Abuse suit against diocese OK'd
The state Supreme Court Thursday cleared the way for a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a priest to go forward against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson. Read More
Prisoner services agency in peril
N.C. Prisoner Legal Services, which helps inmates with complaints about their quality of care behind bars, is in jeopardy of going out of business. And the person seeking to pull the plug is a former staffer -- state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird. Read More
Appeal on N.C. execution fails
The nation's highest court declined Thursday to stop the looming execution of a former Army drill sergeant convicted in the slayings of four people, including a pair of children. Read More
Justices refuse to revisit ruling on elections
The N.C. Supreme Court handed another legal defeat to the Republican candidate for school superintendent, declining yesterday to examine the constitutionality of certain ballots cast on Election Day. Read More
Court won't hear closed meeting case
BURLINGTON, N.C. - The N.C. Supreme Court on Thursday said it won't review an appeal from the city of Burlington in its suit against the publisher of a weekly newspaper. Read More
UMDNJ's plant boss indicted in acid dump
The chief of energy management at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey campus in Newark is facing a series of criminal charges for allegedly ordering thousands of gallons of undiluted sulfuric acid released into the city sewer system. Read More
Nevada Senate passes amended stun-gun bill
The Nevada Senate voted Thursday for a bill to regulate stun guns - after it was amended to exclude those younger than 18 from having the weapons under any circumstances and to make it illegal for anyone to sell the guns to juveniles. Read More
Anti-pimp bill passes Nevada committee
A bill to make it easier to prosecute pimps and panderers is headed to the full Senate for a vote after winning approval Thursday in committee. Read More
Alcohol and minors - Drinking bill meets skepticism
An Assembly panel Thursday picked apart a Senate-passed bill that would make parents criminally liable and subject to fines of $5,000 if they knowingly furnished or allowed minors to drink alcoholic beverages. Read More
Bill to punish inattentive drivers signed by Nevada governor
A bill that would create tougher penalties for those who cause deaths through inattentive driving has been signed into law by Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn. Read More
Court ruling highlights auto-leasing law targeted by Legislature
The state's highest court ruled a passenger seriously injured in a car driven by a Russian diplomat can't sue the diplomat over the crash, but she can sue the car leasing company under a law many in Albany want repealed. Read More
Head of state public broadcasting agency resigns
The head of Ohio's public broadcasting agency has resigned, five weeks after an inspector general's report accused him of miscoding hundreds of thousands of dollars in purchases to avoid oversight by state purchasing officials. Read More
Fingerhut opposes ban on state funds for stem cell work
With a group of clergymen behind him, State Sen. Eric Fingerhut said Thursday that embryonic stem cell research is not a moral issue and that he would fight for it to be publicly funded. Read More
Conceal-carry law sparks debate over information access
The question of whether Ohioans have a right to know who among them carry hidden guns divided law enforcement officials, journalists and private citizens at a public discussion Thursday. Read More
Abuse law opposition criticized
Catholic Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk and other Ohio bishops were criticized Thursday for opposing a proposed law that would allow child abuse victims to file lawsuits alleging incidents that occurred as long as 35 years ago. Read More
DUI repeaters may face interlocks
People with two or more drunken-driving offenses would be required to install ignition interlock devices for a 12-month period under legislation sent to the governor on Thursday. Read More
Capitol police officer sues colleagues, superiors
A Capitol Police officer who claims his superiors are trying to force him out because he is a whistle-blower has filed a federal lawsuit against several officers and officials in U.S. Middle District Court. Read More
House OKs dismantling of volunteer police group
The state House of Representatives gave the Pennsylvania State Police a 100th birthday present yesterday. Read More
Allegheny County assessment appeal hearings set to resume
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato's cap on assessment increases is a crucial program of "temporary tax relief" and does not violate state law or the Pennsylvania Constitution, argues a brief filed yesterday by the county Law Department with Common Pleas Court. Read More
Senate panel weighs domestic violence bill
A Senate panel began Thursday considering a bill that would set mandatory jail sentences for spouse-batterers, hearing from one prosecutor who said parts of the bill might keep some victims from pursuing cases. Read More
Abortion limits face strict state standard
Lawmakers have the authority to restrict abortion rights or make laws concerning abortion but face strict scrutiny from the Tennessee Supreme Court and high standards under the state Constitution, state Atty. Gen. Paul Summers says. Read More
Analysis - Probation reform would save big bucks
Controversial proposals to reform Texas' probation system could save taxpayers nearly $49 million during the next two years, far more than previously predicted, two new state reports showed Thursday. Read More
Police fail to persuade politico to release bill
Police chiefs of the six largest cities in Texas on Thursday urged senators to act on a bill stuck in committee that would elevate the penalty of burglary of a vehicle to a state jail felony. Read More
Legislators set sights on obesity
The Texas House tentatively passed a bill Thursday banning lawsuits that blame restaurants or food makers for obesity-related health problems. On the same day, Texas senators attacked what health officials call a childhood obesity epidemic. Read More
State legal adviser's role in cases faulted
A lawyer who was named the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's top legal adviser last month once presided over what a judge called a cover-up of a sexual harassment claim that cost the state $148,000, according to court records. Read More
Court upholds parents' child-rape convictions
The state Supreme Court upheld the child-rape convictions of an Okanogan couple yesterday, closing off a way other prisoners in similar cases may have otherwise been able to win new trials. Read More
Eastside projects ruled legal
The Washington Supreme Court ruled yesterday that King County was justified in allowing the massive Redmond Ridge and Trilogy developments to be built on rural land - laying to rest a decade-long legal fight. Read More
Burke wants charges dropped
Attorneys for former state Sen. Brian Burke told a Dane County judge Thursday that eight of 13 felony charges against the Milwaukee Democrat should be dropped because they do not relate to the original focus of the Capitol corruption probe. Read More
Ethics panel to sue for fines
State Ethics Commission members on Thursday unanimously authorized a lawsuit against former House of Delegates Education Chairman Jerry Mezzatesta for his failure to pay $2,000 in fines. Read More
States tell police to turn on the camera
Hoping to protect criminal suspects from abuse and help investigators in court, a handful of states are beginning to require police officers to electronically record interviews with those in custody. While supporters say the audio or video recordings bring greater accountability to the criminal justice system, the measures also have come under fire as expensive and ineffective. Read More
States hunt down online cigarette buyers
Bargain seekers buying cheap cigarettes on the Internet are getting a nasty surprise in a number of a states: bills for sometimes thousands of dollars in unpaid sales and cigarette taxes. States scrounging for tax revenues are prying loose the identities of smokers who bought online and dodged state taxes. Read More
Legal test looms for Wash's Gov. Gregoire
WENATCHEE, Wash. - As Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire basks in the glow of an impressive showing in her first legislative session, lawyers in this small agricultural town in Washington state will argue a Republican lawsuit seeking to toss her from office. Today they'll debate the burden of proof for overturning an election. Read More
States require new proof of identity at polls
Voting in some states soon may feel like checking into the airport: Get ready to flash some photo identification. Since the contested 2000 presidential election, more states have been weighing laws to weed out fraud at the ballot box. But laws requiring voters to bring photo IDs to the polls in South Carolina and Georgia -- along with bills passed in Indiana and Wisconsin -- are raising the ire of civil rights and civil liberty groups, which say the measures create unfair obstacles to voting. Read More
State laws vary on driving distractions
New Hampshire is the only state that doesn't require adult motorists to wear seat belts, but it's also the only state where drivers can be ticketed for eating, drinking, talking on a cell phone or fussing with their makeup while behind the wheel. The state whose motto is "Live Free or Die" passed the nation's first distracted driving law in 2001. Since then, every state has looked at ways to keep drivers' minds on the road, but lawmakers in most states are choosing to focus more narrowly on restricting cell phone use while driving. Read More |
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