Minnesota
Business group sues over state campaign laws
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce is asking a federal judge to void state campaign finance laws that restrict corporate activity in elections.
The business group sued Tuesday in U.S. District Court, seeking a judgment that matches up with a recent Supreme Court ruling giving corporations more latitude in federal races.
Minnesota law prohibits corporations from making contributions intended to influence the outcome of elections. Corporate employees could write checks from personal accounts.
The lawsuit says corporations want to get rid of the state ban so they can spend money from their treasuries to run advertisements, endorse candidates, hold rallies and set up phone banks.
Chamber lawyers argue that corporations fear prosecution and steep penalties if they move ahead while Minnesota's laws are on the books.
Alabama
Judge upholds life sentence of man who killed his son
OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) -- A Lee County judge has upheld a sentence of life in prison without parole for a 21-year-old man convicted of capital murder for the death of his 7-month-old son.
Circuit Court Judge Jacob A. Walker III on Tuesday upheld the sentence for Barry Lee Jones. In November, a jury convicted Jones of capital murder in the 2007 death of Kevin Christopher Jones. The jury then sentenced Jones to life without parole rather than death by lethal injection.
After the judge's ruling, defense attorney William Whatley said he would ask for a new trial and appeal the guilty verdict to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
Whatley had argued that his client should not be sentenced to die because he had a history of psychological or emotional disturbance.
Arkansas
Federal judge wants to know why a juror was fired
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- A federal judge in Little Rock is ordering a business owner in Benton to explain why an employee was fired after being called to jury duty.
Andrew Bunten is to appear before U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson on Friday to explain the firing of Elizabeth Curtis of Alexander. Curtis worked as a cook at The Learning Center of Benton -- which is a group of preschools owned and operated by Bunten.
Bunten attorney Justin Minton says the firing just happened to coincide with other issues. He declined to elaborate.
Curtis says a termination letter she was given makes it clear she was fired because her supervisors believe the jury duty notice is false.
Firing an employee because of jury duty is a violation of both state and federal law.
Iowa
Judge: 66-year-old man incompetent to stand trial
CENTERVILLE, Iowa (AP) -- A judge says a 66-year-old southeast Iowa man accused of killing his wife is incompetent to stand trial.
Jackie Glascock Sr. is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Doretta Glascock, on July 12, 2009. Authorities found her body at her rural Cincinnati home. Her husband was found nearby with self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
Glascock was charged after he was released from the hospital.
Judge Annette Scieszinski has suspended future proceedings and ordered Glascock committed to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center for psychiatric and medical treatment.
Mississippi
FBI agent asks judge to delay trial for eight months
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- FBI Agent Philip Halbert Neilson has asked a federal judge to delay his scheduled March 8 trial on charges that he concealed his ownership stake in a building the FBI leases in Oxford.
Neilson has pleaded not guilty to an indictment that alleges he lied and failed to properly report his financial interest in Oxford's FBI office building.
Neilson entered his plea Feb. 1, a few days before undergoing triple bypass surgery. He has asked for the trial to be delayed for eight months.
His attorney, Ken Coghlan, says the government has given them some 19,000 pages of information related to the charges, which must be analyzed with Neilson's help, and his recent heart surgery will require lengthy recovery.
A judge has not ruled on the request.
Texas
San Antonio woman gets 8 years for stalking
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- A judge handed down an eight-year prison sentence to a self-described "annoying" woman with a history of harassment who pleaded guilty to stalking.
Crystal Mercado, 31, gave rambling answers about several of her victims when she took the stand Tuesday before being sentenced by State District Judge Lori Valenzuela.
"Yes, I know I can be a little annoying at times," Mercado said, "but they can be annoying as well. They did nasty things to me and my cars."
Valenzuela told Mercado that she did not believe her behavior would cease if the judge placed her on probation or sent her to a state hospital.
Mercado's arrest in March on two felony counts of stalking did not stop her from sending more than 40 letters from jail to some of her victims, said Michelle McDonald, one of at least five people who accused Mercado of tormenting them.
Mercado, who pleaded guilty last month to stalking, could have received up to 10 years in prison.
Before her arrest, Mercado was convicted of harassment at least seven times and usually received probation, the San Antonio Express-News reported Wednesday.
Her victims have accused her of leaving messages laced with profanities and mortal threats, trespassing and repeatedly calling police and Child Protective Services to allege nonexistent abuse.
North Carolina
Judge drops case over culinary school's breaks
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A North Carolina judge has dismissed a lawsuit to block $10 million in state subsidies promised to a culinary school.
The Charlotte Observer reported that Wake County Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan ruled the breaks offered to Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte served a legitimate public purpose of education and economic development.
Morgan also said taxpayers challenging the breaks used to lure the school lacked standing to sue.
Iowa
Judge: Boy will be represented by public defender
CHARITON, Iowa (AP) -- A judge has rejected a request by family members that a private attorney represent a 12-year-old Chariton boy accused of killing his stepfather.
The boy is charged in juvenile court with first-degree murder in the Feb. 10 shooting death of Todd Peek. He also faces charges for allegedly trying to kill his mother and a five-year-old girl.
The boy's family wants Des Moines attorney William Kutmus to represent the child. A judge on Tuesday rejected the request. For now, a public defender will represent the boy.
The child's court-appointed attorney, Jane Rosien, waived a detention hearing on Tuesday. The boy remains in a juvenile detention center in Des Moines.
The Associated Press does not name juveniles charged in a crime.
Published: Thu, Feb 18, 2010
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