National Roundup

New York
State courts to expand gender options on jury documents
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s court system says it plans to expand the gender options on jury documents in an effort to be more inclusive of people who do not identify as male or female.

State court spokesman Lucian Chalfen says the system aims to have the updated juror information card set for distribution by early January.

Chalfen says the new categories will include female, male, transgender, nonbinary, intersex and other. He says the cards, which tell people when they must attend jury duty, only have male and female gender options right now.

The court system is also changing up its juror questionnaire.

South Carolina
Sheriff charged with domestic violence takes job leave
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina sheriff accused of punching a woman in the face at his home said he is taking a leave of absence to heal and self-reflect.

Colleton County Sheriff R.A. Strickland announced his leave Monday evening, two days after he was charged with second-degree criminal domestic violence.

Strickland attacked the woman in his house Thursday night, punching her in the face causing “moderate bodily injury” and took her cellphones so she couldn’t call for help, according to an arrest warrant from the State Law Enforcement Division.

Strickland’s statement doesn’t mention the allegations against him.

“This time will allow me to heal, and self-reflect on myself,” Strickland wrote. “I will strive to be stronger, and better at serving the citizens of Colleton, and my employees upon returning.”

Chief Deputy Buddy Hill will run the sheriff’s office, Strickland wrote in his statement, which said he decided to take his leave “out of love, and respect for my employees, and the citizens of Colleton County.”

Strickland was booked into his own jail in Colleton County before being released on his own recognizance. He faces up to three years in prison if convicted of the misdemeanor.

The warrant only identified the woman as a “household member.”

Strickland has been sheriff in Colleton County for seven years. Several candidates are campaigning against him in next year’s election, prompting the Republican sheriff to send an email to all his employees in August reminding them that under South Carolina law, he makes all personnel decisions and can fire them for just about any reason, including any support given to one of his opponents.

In the email with the subject line “Calling a Few Out!” Strickland told sheriff’s office employees that “zero tolerance is now in effect” and to “stay in your lane.”

Nine other sheriffs have been convicted of crimes in the past decade in South Carolina on charges ranging from protecting drug dealers to using inmates for personal work to using the power of their office to arrange an affair with a subordinate.

Strickland and two other sheriffs are currently awaiting trials. Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone is charged with using county money and drug seizure funds for personal items and prosecutors said Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood violated a man’s civil rights by jailing him for three days and creating a false report after he videotaped an investigation outside his home.

One other sheriff died just before he was likely to be indicted on embezzlement charges, authorities have said in court papers.

California
Widow sues boat owner in fire  that killed 34
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The widow of a passenger who died in a fiery dive boat disaster that killed 34 people in the waters off California sued the vessel’s owners Monday.

Christine Dignam, whose husband, Justin Dignam, died when the Conception caught fire Sept. 2 off the Santa Barbara coast, claimed that the boat was unsafe.

The vessel didn’t have adequate smoke detectors or firefighting equipment, it lacked enough emergency exits, and a required night watch was not on duty when the flames broke out in the middle of the night, according to the wrongful-death lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles.

U.S. authorities are conducting criminal and safety investigations into the fire that killed all 33 passengers and one crew member sleeping below deck. The blaze’s cause has not been determined.

The lawsuit against Santa Barbara-based Truth Aquatics Inc. is the first from a relative of the victims who died. A crew member who was injured trying to escape the flames previously sued.

Dignam’s case is a counterclaim to a lawsuit filed pre-emptively by the boat owners to protect them from liability under a quirk of pre-Civil War maritime law. The limitation of liability lawsuit put anyone with a claim on notice that they have until July 1, 2020, to contest the action.

For lawsuits by families and others to move forward, lawyers will have to show that the boat’s owners, who were on shore, should have known the boat was unsafe at the time of the fire.

Boat owners Glen and Dana Fritzler said in their lawsuit that they “used reasonable care to make the Conception seaworthy, and she was, at all relevant times, tight, staunch, and strong, fully and properly manned, equipped and supplied and in all respects seaworthy and fit for the service in which she was engaged.”

Coast Guard records show the boat had passed its two most recent safety inspections without violations, but authorities said all six crew members were asleep when the pre-dawn fire started. That goes against Coast Guard regulations requiring a “roving” night watch.

While the fire’s cause remains under investigation, the new lawsuit hints at the mess of electrical wires and cables where passengers charged their phones, video cameras, strobe lights and other battery-powered equipment. The equipment was in the galley above the guest sleeping quarters.

The lawsuit said the boat was not equipped with a safe electrical system.

Truth Aquatics voluntarily suspended its fleet last month. Lawyers for the boat company did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Justin Dignam, 58, of Anaheim Hills, has a teenage daughter and son. He was a veteran water polo player and coach who was chief executive officer at a payroll company he founded.