Mass. court hears gay marriage lawsuit
BOSTON - The court that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize gay marriage will now decide whether same-sex couples from other states can marry here.
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Archive of Crime & Courts on Saturday October 08, 2005
Mass. court hears gay marriage lawsuit
BOSTON - The court that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize gay marriage will now decide whether same-sex couples from other states can marry here. Read More
Arizona smuggling law getting little use
PHOENIX - Prosecutors in Arizona border counties say they've had trouble bringing cases under the state's new migrant smuggling law because it's hard to hold on to the illegal immigrants who are the witnesses to the crime. Read More
Ryan campaign fund scrutinized
CHICAGO - Ex-Gov. George Ryan's campaign fund paid thousands of dollars to his family members, even though they apparently did no work to earn the money, and helped finance cross-country leisure trips with his pals, Ryan's former political aide testified Thursday. Read More
Report backs charges that N.J. Muslims were profiled
A confidential federal review has concluded that the state's counterterrorism agents filed 140 intelligence reports into a crime-fighting database with no grounds for suspicion other than the suspects' Muslim faith. Read More
Federal suit against legislators' pay raise
After filing a federal lawsuit yesterday to block the state legislative pay raise, Common Cause/Pennsylvania leader Barry Kauffman said he'll seek a court order next week to stop 134 incumbent lawmakers from continuing to receive higher compensation in the form of unvouchered expenses. Read More
ACLU sues over Ten Commandments display
MUSKOGEE, Okla. ? The Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Haskell County, demanding that a Ten Commandments monument be removed from the courthouse grounds in Stigler. Read More
Groves seeks dismissal of merit-case charges
Gov. Ernie Fletcher's former chief of staff has asked a judge to dismiss his indictment, saying he is covered under the governor's broad pardon order. Read More
Abramoff tied to contracts
Indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff "strongly recommended" that Tyco International give more than $2 million in contracts to a company founded by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s current deputy chief of staff while he was on the state payroll, according to testimony to Congress. Read More
Judge to hear sides in legislative redistricting lawsuit
A federal judge has asked parties in a legislative redistricting lawsuit to explain again any links between the ongoing dispute and a similar suit that was decided three years ago. Read More
A matter of faith
Alabama Chief Justice Drayton Nabers Jr., the man picked by Gov. Bob Riley to replace Roy Moore, says he felt a strong passion to finish a book he's written on character as viewed from a Christian perspective. Read More
Masters? report irks legislators
Legislators grumbled Thursday about the state Supreme Court masters concluding that lawmakers gave short shrift to public schools this year. Read More
State high court hears Clinton-center tax case
The nonprofit William J. Clinton Foundation should not receive the same tax benefits as for-profit businesses and industries, an assistant state attorney general argued before the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday. Read More
Arizona smuggling law lagging
PHOENIX - Prosecutors in Arizona border counties have encountered difficulties in bringing cases under the state's new migrant smuggling law because it's hard to hold on to the illegal immigrants who are the witnesses to the crime. Read More
Weeds at root of spraying lawsuit
You don't need a state license to pick up some chemicals at the home-supply store to rid your lawn of weeds. But Arizona law requires a gardener or landscaper you hire to spray those same chemicals to get 3,000 hours of training, a requirement being challenged on behalf of two Pima County gardeners by the Institute for Justice. Read More
Patrol cutback order is reversed
Gov. Janet Napolitano on Thursday reversed an order by the director of the Department of Public Safety requiring officers to reduce patrols to conserve fuel in the face of a potential $2 million overrun in fuel costs. Read More
Napolitano red-lights DPS gas-saving plan
Gov. Janet Napolitano pulled the wheels off a new Department of Public Safety policy to reduce road patrols Thursday, saying she's not willing to compromise public safety to save money. Read More
Mental-care system still inadequate
The troubled Valley mental-health system has fallen short of several important goals set for it by the courts, a state appointed monitor will report at a hearing today in Phoenix. Read More
Santa Barbara schools to test students for booze at dances
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Students who attend homecoming dances on Saturday will be doing some heavy breathing - into Breathalyzers. Read More
Workers' comp chief in new job
A longtime government lawyer who won a tough confirmation fight in April to become the state's workers' compensation director was named Thursday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as his new legal affairs secretary. Read More
ACLU calls for limits on Tasers
The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California released its first comprehensive survey Thursday on Taser stun guns, calling for restrictions on the weapon's use by law enforcement. Read More
Prison health care lags, audit finds
Although prisoners are 10 times more likely to be infected with hepatitis C than the general public, only about half on average were tested for the disease, an audit of Colorado's prison health-care system found. Read More
Activists demand Gov. Owens help stop illegal immigrants
A group of immigration activists wants Gov. Bill Owens to declare a state of emergency and develop a plan that includes sending illegal immigrants to "overflow holding areas" such as Coors Field and the former Lowry Air Force Base to await deportation. Read More
State audit faults prison health care
Colorado prisons could do a better job of providing health care to inmates, according to a state audit released Thursday. Read More
Activists urge governor to crack down on illegals
Activists delivered petitions to Gov. Bill Owens' office Thursday, demanding that he declare a state of emergency and use sports arenas and former military bases as overflow detention centers for illegal immigrants awaiting deportation. Read More
Lawmakers are split over how to alter laws on Eminent Domain
The General Assembly is going to alter the government's right to seize private property. The lawmakers leading the effort to review eminent domain statutes were sure of at least that much. Read More
2 DelDOT officials tell House panel about personnel actions
Two top state Transportation Department officials spent more than five hours in closed-door testimony Thursday with the House Personnel Practices Committee talking about the setup of DelDOT's human resources department and how the department arrived at a series of controversial disciplinary actions for employee computer misuse. Read More
Crime pays for state via seized funds
After announcing two record years for recovering cash and property from convicted criminals, U.S. Attorney for Delaware Colm F. Connolly turned over more than $284,000 to local law enforcement agencies Thursday. Read More
Area lawmaker pushes co-teaching in class-size counts
State Rep. Shelley Vana filed legislation this week to allow districts to count multiple-teacher classrooms when it calculates its class-size averages, four months after the state board of education said no. Read More
Appeals of ex-cop, 3 others rejected
A former police officer convicted of raping, strangling and drowning an 11-year-old girl while on duty in 1987 is among four longtime Death Row inmates who lost appeals Thursday in the Florida Supreme Court. Read More
Judge - Freed sex offender need not have a permanent address
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A state Department of Corrections policy of rearresting sex offenders for not securing an acceptable address before leaving prison violates a constitutional right to liberty, said a judge who ordered a sex offender to be released on probation even though he would be homeless. Read More
Judge orders homeless sex offender's release
DAYTONA BEACH - A state Department of Corrections policy of re-arresting sex offenders for not securing an acceptable address before leaving prison violates a constitutional right to liberty, a judge ruled. Read More
State to pay $52M for polluting waters
The state Department of Transportation has agreed to pay $52 million in one of the nation's largest stormwater violation settlements. Read More
Supreme Court Justice Breyer praises democratic process during trip to Iowa
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer praised the messy debate that contributes to the American democratic process during a speech Thursday in Iowa. Read More
Ryan aide takes stand for third day of testimony
CHICAGO - George Ryan's defense attorney clashed with federal prosecutors Thursday over whether jurors should hear about nine trips the former governor took to National Basketball Association games and other sporting events around the country. Read More
Fawell -- Ryan's family, friends got cash
Thousands of dollars were doled out from former Gov. George Ryan's campaign fund to his family and friends, even though they did nothing to earn it, a onetime top aide testified Thursday in Ryan's corruption trial. Read More
Madigan -- All cold medicine behind counter
llinois is moving to strengthen laws to curtail production of methamphetamines and monitor convicted sex offenders, Attorney General Lisa Madigan said Thursday. Read More
Aide -- Ryan campaign fund paid bills at hotel and country club
CHICAGO ? George Ryan?s former top aide told a federal court jury Thursday that the former governor dipped into his campaign fund to pay personal bills at New York?s Plaza Hotel, dues at the Kankakee Country Club and funnel thousands of dollars in gifts to his family and staff. Read More
Ryan's former top aide not through spilling the secrets
George Ryan's defense attorney clashed with federal prosecutors Thursday over whether jurors should hear about nine trips the former governor took to National Basketball Association games and other sporting events around the country. Read More
Election funds went to relatives
Former Gov. George Ryan's campaign paid out thousands of dollars to Ryan's son-in-law, four daughters, sister and even a family caretaker for political and consulting work they allegedly never did, according to testimony Thursday in the ongoing corruption trial. Read More
DNA test slowdown questioned
Authorities are looking into whether an apparent breakdown in the collecting and testing of DNA evidence by the state may have allowed an ex-convict to remain free and sexually assault a 14-year-old boy whose body was found in Lincoln Park in August. Read More
High court won't look at gun-law challenges
In a sharp rebuke of its own past reasoning, the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday reversed years of court precedent on some challenges to longer prison sentences for serious crimes. Read More
State probe clears IPALCO leaders
Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita said Thursday his office had finished a two-year investigation into the sale of an Indianapolis power company without finding any provable violations of state anti-fraud laws. Read More
Timing of justice's swearing-in criticized
The Kansas Supreme Court's newest justice won't be sworn in until Nov. 18, guaranteeing he won't face voters next year amid ongoing criticism that the court is out of touch. Read More
Groves seeks dismissal of charges, claims covered by pardon
Former gubernatorial chief of staff Daniel Groves has asked a judge to dismiss his indictment, claiming that he is covered by a pardon and amnesty signed by Gov. Ernie Fletcher. Read More
La. oilfield scam case widens as Calif. prosecutors open probe
LAFAYETTE, La. - Prosecutors in California have joined the investigation of an alleged scam that took in more than $1 million from Acadiana investors who sought high returns for what was billed as a lucrative oilfield clean-up product. Read More
Release plan for prisoners called unfair
The Louisiana Department of Corrections has been freeing evacuated prisoners in alphabetical order 35 at a time -- even though hundreds more have already served their sentences and should be out. Read More
Mass. high court hears lawsuit over nonresident gay marriages
The court that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize gay marriage will now decide whether same-sex couples from other states can marry here. Read More
Ruling lets sex offenders off the hook
State courts yesterday threw out lifetime parole sentences for two convicted sex offenders and more than 200 sexual predators may also soon be freed from lifetime supervision despite convictions for vicious crimes like rape. Read More
Mass. court hears out-of-state gay rights challenge
BOSTON - Massachusetts' highest court heard a lawsuit on Thursday that seeks to give same-sex couples from other states the legal right to marry here in a case that could turn the liberal New England state into America's gay marriage capital. Read More
Advocate blasts strict rules on child data
Parents, reporters and even children in state or court child-protective actions can be jailed or fined if they release even their own state child-protective documents, a critic of the state child-protective system says. Read More
Lawyers -- Discrimination law not linked to marriage
A group of 46 lawyers and law professors concluded Thursday that it's unfair to suggest a link between same-sex marriage and a Maine law banning discrimination against gays and lesbians that appears on the November ballot. Read More
Senate -- Wait on gay benefits
The state Senate on Thursday approved resolutions urging the Michigan Supreme Court to block public-sector employers, including state government, from providing health insurance to the partners of gay employees until the court makes a final ruling on the issue. Read More
Senate asks Supreme Court to act quickly on domestic partner benefits
Looking to block the governor from awarding same-sex benefits to state employees' partners, the state Senate asked the Michigan Supreme Court to bar the benefits until their legality is decided under the state's gay marriage ban. Read More
Vang Pao nonprofit will fold
A nonprofit organization named for former Hmong military leader Vang Pao will be dissolved, and his son and nephew will be permanently barred from handling nonprofit funds, under a settlement announced Thursday between the Vang Pao Foundation and the Minnesota attorney general's office. Read More
Top court closes sentencing loophole
The state Supreme Court closed a legal loophole Thursday that could have cut short prison sentences for dozens of the state's most violent felons, including a gang member convicted of the beating death of a 15-year-old St. Paul boy. Read More
Money withheld from police that failed to report racial data
Eighteen law enforcement agencies in Missouri are losing some state funding because they failed to file racial profiling reports, Gov. Matt Blunt's office said Thursday. Read More
Court absolves Entergy in injury
Entergy Mississippi cannot be held liable for injuries to a truck driver whose rig hit a low-hanging transmission line that the utility claimed it knew nothing about, the Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled. Read More
Fraud counts follow Katrina
Authorities arrested three Mississippians Thursday ? the first of many, they say, to commit post-Katrina fraud. Read More
UNC search committee violated law on public meetings, legal experts say
A University of North Carolina search committee broke state law by failing to notify the public of meetings to interview candidates for system president, legal experts said. Read More
District court clerks group addresses passport fees issue
Following an opinion by the Nebraska attorney general that passport fees can't be kept by court clerks, the district court clerks' association suggested that they turn the money over to their counties or put it into escrow, pending legislation. Read More
Nadeau to retire from high court
State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Nadeau announced yesterday that he will retire from the bench at the end of the year. Nadeau wants to free himself to do international pro bono work, including the possibility of helping Iraqi judges develop their country's new constitution. Read More
Governor campaigns for tougher child-predator laws
HUDSON, N.H. ? Gov. John Lynch said he would like to see stricter laws for sexual predators who prey on children in New Hampshire. Read More
Proposed gay marriage ban faces high hurdle
A proposal to amend the state constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman stands little chance of success, advocates on both sides of the issue agree. But even the suggestion of an amendment could re-ignite a debate over gay marriage in New Hampshire. Read More
Youth jails halt illegal holding of mentally ill
New Jersey's youth jails have stopped the illegal warehousing of dozens of mentally ill and neglected children, finally clearing up one of the juvenile justice system's most notorious failures, officials said yesterday. Read More
N.J. on fence on Forrester donations
Q: Did Forrester really make illegal campaign contributions? A: It's not really clear. Because Douglas Forrester is the majority owner of Washington, D.C.-based Heartland Fidelity Insurance Co., Democrats argue that he has run afoul of a 1911 law prohibiting insurers and other state-regulated companies from making campaign contributions in New Jersey. Read More
State ends backlog at juvenile detention centers
The sad scenario was commonplace in New Jersey's 17 juvenile detention centers: For years, children and teens with behavioral and mental health problems were forced to remain behind bars because the state had no place else to put them. Read More
House names committee to investigate Vigil
The House of Representatives named a 10-person committee Thursday to investigate charges against State Treasurer Robert Vigil and make a recommendation to the full House on possibly impeaching him. Read More
House starts work on possible impeachment
A bipartisan panel of lawmakers began working on the possible impeachment of state Treasurer Robert Vigil on Thursday, the first day of a special session of the state Legislature. Read More
Supreme Court ballot disputed
A court order issued Thursday bans the seven boards of elections in the Third Judicial District from printing ballots with state Supreme Court candidate Michael Lynch's name on the Independence Party line until an official ruling is made. Read More
Investigators to re-create boat sinking
Investigators plan to re-create the sinking of a tour boat that capsized on Lake George by placing it back in the water and mimicking the environment on and around the vessel when it capsized. Read More
BWC hid $215 million loss, board told
Senior managers at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation conspired to cover up a $215 million investment loss by a politically connected firm, according to the bureau's former investment chief. Read More
Bill would block access to autopsy photos
Autopsy photographs and suicide notes would be exempt from Ohio's public-records law under a bill making its way through the state legislature. Read More
Ohio prisons improve care
Ohio prisons will hire more doctors and overhaul medical facilities as part of a multimillion-dollar settlement reached Thursday with inmates who claim they receive inadequate health care. Read More
Board says Patel lied about job status
A former Portland surgeon linked to multiple patient deaths in Australia lied to an Oregon medical board investigator two years ago, claiming he was retired when he was actually the full-time chief of surgery at a Queensland hospital, state regulators said Thursday. Read More
Clatsop fire shows no sign of arson
Investigators found no conclusive evidence that the fire that destroyed Fort Clatsop National Memorial on Monday night was intentionally set. Read More
Federal suit targets legislator raises
A government watchdog group filed suit yesterday in federal court here to overturn the controversial pay raise that the state legislature voted itself and other officials three months ago. Read More
Teachers testify on refusal to promote intelligent design
Dover High School science teachers were so outraged by a decision to introduce what they said was Bible-based creationism into biology class that they refused to read a mandatory statement to their students promoting the idea, according to two science faculty members testifying in a federal trial over the teaching of evolution. Read More
Gaming board proposes ethics policy
Facing criticism over private meetings between gambling regulators and people hoping to win lucrative gaming licenses, the state gambling board yesterday offered up an ethics policy that bans such meetings but falls short of earlier drafts as well as policies in other states. Read More
Attempted break-in at Rendell home
An attempted break-in at Gov. Rendell's home in East Falls yesterday was apparently foiled by the family's three dogs. "We think the hero dogs saved the day," said Kate Philips, Rendell's press secretary. Read More
Ex-head of R.I. DOT back on state payroll
Matthew Gill, a veteran state worker, former director of the state Department of Transportation under Governor Edward DiPrete and currently president of an asphalt company, has found his way back to the state payroll, this time as a part-time $20,000-a-year employee at the state Superior Court. Read More
2 prisoners escape, but are captured hours later
Two female inmates in a special program at the Adult Correctional Institutions escaped Wednesday night, but were arrested hours later in Providence, according to a prison official. Read More
State investigates 'sexual contact' Roosevelt
State agents have joined the investigation of an incident that led to the suspension of Roosevelt High School students after the school football team's all-night bus trip home last weekend from Spearfish. Read More
Redistrict case may proceed
A federal judge?s decision has cleared the way for the state to file an appeal in a dispute on whether the Legislature?s 2001 redistricting plan violated the voting rights of American Indians in an area that includes the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian reservations. Read More
Turnover and rehabilitation priorities for new prisons chief
George Little took the helm of the state correction department yesterday, vowing to reduce rampant employee turnover and improve the way Tennessee rehabilitates prisoners. Read More
Lawyer says Craddick won't be indicted in GOP probe
Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, is no longer a possible target of the campaign money-laundering investigation that has involved U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and other GOP fundraisers, Craddick's attorney said Thursday. Read More
DeLay statements raise new questions
Statements by U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and his lawyer, as well as documents in a civil lawsuit, raise questions about when he knew a Texas political committee he founded sent $190,000 in corporate money to the Republican National Committee. Read More
Enviros sue feds to block development in roadless forests
SAN FRANCISCO - Twenty environmental groups sued the Bush administration over a decision to repeal Clinton-era regulations that blocked road construction, logging and industrial development on more than 90,000 square miles of the nation's last untouched forests. Read More
Congress might join fight about death law
WASHINGTON - Congress, not the Supreme Court, could be the final battleground in the fight about Oregon's physician-assisted-suicide law and the ability of the terminally ill to decide when to end their lives. Read More
Environmentalists sue feds to block development in roadless forests
SAN FRANCISCO - A coalition of 20 environmental groups sued the Bush administration Thursday to block road construction, logging and industrial development on more than 90,000 square miles of the nation's last untouched forests. Read More
FOP, pro-gun association back Bolling
Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Bill Bolling has picked up the backing of the Virginia State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police and the Virginia Shooting Sports Association, while Democrat Leslie L. Byrne yesterday called for a crackdown on payday lending. Read More
Kilgore backs gun-law review
ROANOKE, Va. - Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry W. Kilgore, endorsed by the NRA, said yesterday that if elected governor he will ask the General Assembly to consider scrapping Virginia's one-handgun-a-month law. Read More
Deeds campaign ad stresses toughness on crime
Attorney General candidate R. Creigh Deeds turned to the top lawman on his home turf of Bath County to attest to his toughness on crime. Read More
Potts sues to be in Sunday debate
Independent candidate H. Russell Potts Jr. of Winchester filed suit yesterday to have himself included in the televised gubernatorial debate Sunday night. Read More
Lowe's, environmentalists spar on stormwater at Vt. high court
Vermont's contentious stormwater battle took center stage before the state Supreme Court on Thursday as Lowe's Home Centers and environmentalists squared off over whether the national retailer can restart construction in South Burlington. Read More
High court hears sex offender case
Convicted child molester Shawn D. Schulpius should be discharged from a mental facility, despite a psychologist's finding that he remains dangerous, because Milwaukee County and the state Department of Health and Family Services have failed to provide adequate housing for his supervised release as required by state law, his attorney told the state Supreme Court on Thursday. Read More
Assembly probe led to Burke's fall
No criminal charges were ever filed against any Assembly Democrats, but it was an investigation of their alleged illegal fundraising practices that eventually brought down state Sen. Brian Burke, Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard says. Read More
Task force passes on setting malpractice limits
MADISON, Wis. - A task force charged with figuring out how to restore a cap on malpractice awards wrapped up a final draft of its recommendations Thursday without coming up with a limit. Read More
Lawmakers limit crash data
Lawmakers are paying a lot of attention to some little-known technology that collects data during car crashes. Four states this year followed California's lead in limiting who can use information from devices built into vehicles that record a car's speed and the response of seat belts, brakes and air bags in an accident. Read More
New scandal clouds Illinois politics
When Democrat Rod Blagojevich told Illinois voters in 2002 that, if elected governor, he would "end business as usual," voters knew what he meant. He was alluding to the state's history of public officials being hauled into court on corruption charges. Now, in his third year as governor, Blagojevich finds himself fending off allegations of wrongdoing. Read More
State AGs rally to hurricane duty
Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, state attorneys general on the Gulf Coast and beyond have contended with price-gouging, charity scams, online cheats, illegal contractors and the considerable task of rebuilding the criminal justice system in some storm-stricken areas. The disasters underline the role of state attorneys general in the aftermath of catastrophes, academic and legal experts said. Read More
State lawmakers bag online hunting
Lawmakers in 11 states jumped on the bandwagon to outlaw online hunting this year, and California may soon do the same. Why all the fuss? It's over a single website that briefly offered Internet users a chance this spring to shoot live animals on a Texas ranch and that netted a single customer. Read More |
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