Oregon: Salem family sues company over collapsed house
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two years after their house collapsed around them they prepared for bed, a Salem family has sued the Clackamas company it hired to build a basement.
The Oregonian reports that Doug and Eileen Ebanks filed a $11.6 million lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court against Emmert Industrial Corp. saying the company had given them multiple assurances that their house would be safe to live in for a few weeks while the structure was perched on beams while a new basement was being excavated.
In July 2008, the raised home dropped into the pit.
The company’s owner, Terry Emmert, declined to comment on the lawsuit, but earlier had blamed the collapse on saturated ground.
Massachusetts: Father in bullying case seeks public apology
HADLEY, Mass. (AP) — The father of a 15-year-old Massachusetts girl who committed suicide after what prosecutors said was relentless bullying by classmates says he might be willing to forgive the teens charged if they publicly apologize.
Jeremy Prince, in an interview with the online publication Slate.com, said he would be willing to ask a judge for leniency if his daughter’s alleged tormentors expressed their remorse in open court.
Phoebe Prince, a freshman at South Hadley High School, hanged herself in January. Six former students face charges in connection with the case and all have entered not guilty pleas.
Jeremy Prince said that while it’s up to the district attorney to determine prosecution, it would be wrong for the prosecutor to push for harsh sentences merely for the purpose of making an example of the teens.
New York: Teen charged in NYC melee won’t serve jail time
NEW YORK (AP) — A teenager who hurt two police officers as he resisted arrest during a melee near Times Square will serve no jail time.
New York Supreme Court Justice Carol Berkman allowed Jermaine Parker to plead guilty last week to felony assault and weapons possession. If he is not arrested for a year, the charges will be reduced to misdemeanors.
The judge says the 19-year-old acted out of stupidity during the April 4 mayhem. She says he had no criminal record and is not part of a gang.
More than 30 people were arrested that day as hundreds poured into the streets in midtown, shouting and throwing punches.
Two officers tackled Parker. One suffered a concussion and the other a sprained wrist as they fell.
A police union tells the Daily News the plea deal was a slap on the wrist.
Wyoming: No jail for former supervisor of county cemetery
GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a former Campbell County cemetery supervisor convicted of defrauding the district out of more than $17,000 to pay fines and restitution.
District Judge Dan R. Price II on Thursday spared Christina Maycock of any jail time. He gave the 62-year-old a suspended prison sentence and ordered her to pay $3,000 in fines and more than $17,000 in restitution.
A jury in May found Maycock guilty of a felony charge of obtaining property by false pretenses.
Prosecutors say Maycock falsely claimed she was married from 1993 to 1999 to obtain a family rate on insurance premiums from the cemetery district. Court records show the Maycocks divorced in 1971 and remarried in 1999.
Defense attorney Hardy Tate says Maycock will probably appeal her conviction.
Georgia: Courts dealing with big costs for interpreters
ATLANTA (AP) — Cities and counties in metro Atlanta are spending substantial sums to provide interpreters for defendants who don’t speak English.
While much of the expense involves defendants who speak Spanish, officials say they also wind up providing interpreters for defendants who speak only Russian, Farsi or Korean.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Gwinnett County, which has one of the area’s most diverse populations, spent $539,803 in 2009 on court interpreters.
Georgia law requires that all defendants who lack skills in English be provided an interpreter. If the court approves a pauper’s affidavit in a civil case, an interpreter is furnished at no cost.
Under rules adopted by the state Supreme Court, defendants may be billed for interpreting costs.
California: Attorneys get ready for Anna Nicole Smith trial
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Attorneys were setting the stage for the trial of two doctors and the attorney boyfriend of the late Anna Nicole Smith, arguing about what evidence will be allowed in court.
In a hearing Friday, defense attorneys opposed the use of photos of Smith and her psychiatrist nude in a hot tub and a controversial video of Smith in clown face makeup. Prosecutors say she appears to be drugged. Other motions include prosecutors’ opposition to one doctor’s claim that he is being prosecuted because he is gay and East Indian.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to illegally prescribe opiates and sedatives to the former Playboy model. They are not charged with causing her death. Jury questioning begins Monday.
New Jersey: State Supreme Court faults girl’s confession
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a 14-year-old girl who admitted performing oral sex on her adoptive mother’s 4-year-old grandson.
The unanimous court found the girl’s videotaped confession was not voluntary.
The justices ruled the girl did not understand her Miranda rights, which were read to her by her adoptive mother. The court also said police allowed the mother to play the role of interrogator during the interview instead of guardian of the child’s rights.
The videotaped confession of what happened in her Franklin Township home in 2007 was admitted into juvenile court and the girl was convicted.
The court says when a parent has conflicting interests and can’t safeguard the child’s rights, another adult can help the child.
Somerset County prosecutors must decide whether to retry the girl.
