New Hampshire: Mom on trial for brawl at twin girls’ birthday party
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire judge is going to issue a verdict in the trial of a mother charged in what police say was a fight with another mother at a birthday party for twin 4-year-olds in Portsmouth.
Twenty-five-year-old Seldonia Allen of Portsmouth asked the court for the trial on a simple assault charge stemming from the Aug. 29 incident with Stephanie Smith of Dover.
Allen claims she acted in self defense.
Smith says she’s pleaded guilty.
The Portsmouth Herald says Allen testified Tuesday she was hosting the party for her twins’ birthday when she and Smith began challenging each other to “hit me.” Allen says that after Smith hit first, she hit back.
Judge Sawako Gardner says she’ll issue a ruling at a later date.
Utah: Judicial leaders: more interpreters for courts needed
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s judicial leaders have agreed to make more use of foreign-language interpreters in the state’s courts.
They also plan to let judges decide who can afford to pay for the service.
Court officials say Utah provides language services at no cost in all criminal and some civil proceedings.
The Utah Judicial Council says offering language services in all civil cases satisfies a federal directive.
The U.S. Department of Justice, however, says charging for the service might violate civil rights laws.
Assistant state court administrator Rick Schwermer tells the Associated Press that Utah disagrees with that position and believes judges should be able to charge civil litigants who can afford it $38 an hour for interpreters.
North Carolina: Woman accused of stealing cars with tow truck
LEXINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A Winston-Salem woman has been arrested and accused of using a tow truck to steal vehicles on the side of the road.
The Dispatch of Lexington reported that 28-year-old Victoria Adriana Flores Pineda is charged with two counts of larceny of a motor vehicle, two counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and four counts of obtaining property by false pretenses.
Davidson County sheriff’s investigators say they had been investigating reports of cars being stolen from the side of the road between May and November.
Pineda is to appear in court Dec. 13. It was unclear if she has an attorney.
California: Woman gets $245K settlement in deputy sex suit
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California woman has settled her Los Angeles deputy sex assault civil suit for $245,000.
The Downey woman says Deputy Mark Fitzpatrick, who is facing a criminal trial for the incident and two others, touched her chest during a 2008 traffic stop, then followed her home and assaulted her in the driveway. She sued the Sheriff’s Department and a settlement was announced Tuesday.
The 41-year-old deputy, who has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case, has been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the trial.
The Los Angeles Times says the lawsuit claimed the Sheriff’s Department was indifferent to past allegations of misconduct against Fitzpatrick. Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore says Sheriff Lee Baca takes allegations against deputies seriously.
Pennsylvania: Ex-horse owner sues racing agency over ouster
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A former racehorse owner and his ex-trainer claim officials at the state Horse Racing Commission trampled their rights in ousting them from a central Pennsylvania track.
Michael Gill and Anthony Adamo filed a federal lawsuit Nov. 18 alleging they weren’t allowed to defend themselves against false claims of unethical behavior.
Jockeys at Penn National Race Course near Harrisburg boycotted races involving Gill’s horses in January because they said he used shady practices that endangered riders and animals.
Gill denied wrongdoing. But the commission ejected Gill and Adamo on Feb. 2, claiming their presence at Penn National would have a “detrimental impact on racing.”
Agriculture Department spokeswoman Nicole Bucher declined comment on the lawsuit to The Patriot-News of Harrisburg on Tuesday.
Arizona: State high court to review ruling on kids’ auto wrecks
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to review a lower court’s ruling on parents’ liability for auto accidents involving their children.
The state Court of Appeals held that parents are on the hook financially even when a minor son or daughter gets in an auto accident while driving a family vehicle in violation of parental instructions.
The case stems from a 17-year-old’s accident that caused serious injuries to another driver.
The accident occurred after the youth drove friends around although his parents had told him after a previous accident that he could only drive to school, church or work.
The parents argued that they shouldn’t be held liable when their son drove the family car in violation of restrictions they imposed.
Ohio: Lawsuit: Officer’s stun gun use led to brain damage
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man has filed a federal lawsuit accusing a police officer of using excessive force with a stun gun, leading to severe, disabling brain damage.
The lawsuit on behalf of Matthew Hook was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Columbus against the suburb of Perry Township, its board of trustees and a township police officer.
The lawsuit says Hook was scaling a fence in August to escape police when he was stunned and fell headfirst onto concrete. It charges that the defendants violated his constitutional rights.
Arkansas: Lawsuit over state executions goes forward
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A lawsuit by eight Arkansas death row inmates against the state’s death penalty law is being allowed to go forward.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox agreed Tuesday to the challenge that claims the Method of Execution Act violates the state constitution’s separation of powers clause.
The inmates claim the 2009 law gives the Correction Department director too much control over executions and that it could lead to torture. Attorneys for the state counter that the U.S. and Arkansas Constitutions already prohibit cruel and unusual punishment.
The law removes most of the execution process from legislative oversight and exempts most of the process from the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
The Arkansas Supreme Court has ordered that no executions are to take place in the state until the lawsuit is resolved.
