Minnesota
Court says spouse entitled to privacy
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A state appeals court says a spouse has a "reasonable expectation" of privacy in her bathroom at home.
The decision affirms the conviction of Richard Allen Perez in Mille Lacs County District Court. The 39-year-old Perez admitted to secretly videotaping his wife at their Princeton home in 2006 while the couple was in the process of a divorce.
Perez was convicted in 2008 and sentenced to a year in jail. He hasn't served any time while his appeal was pending. His attorney, Craig Cascarano of Minneapolis, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press they would petition the state Supreme Court for a review of the case.
New York
Slain boy's mom banned from son's funeral
NEW YORK (AP) -- A former pharmaceutical industry executive charged with murdering her autistic son in New York by feeding him prescription drugs was barred from attending his funeral. That's according to court documents released Tuesday.
Eight-year-old Jude Michael Mirra was buried in Connecticut last month.
Two days earlier, his 49-year-old mother, Gigi Jordan, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder at her arraignment -- via video link from a Queens hospital prison ward.
Her lawyer, Gerald Shargel, argued that she should be allowed to attend Jude's funeral.
But prosecutor Kerry O'Connell said it would be inappropriate, given what O'Connell called the "premeditated intentional murder of her only child" in a Manhattan hotel suite.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Charles Solomon denied Jordan's request.
Utah
Man challenges Utah university's weapons policy
OREM, Utah (AP) -- A Utah Valley University student videotaped and posted online a discussion he had with police after they confronted him because he was openly carrying a gun on campus.
Nick Moyes said he has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but his actions last week have spurred a debate over whether that means guns on campuses must really be hidden from view.
Utah Valley University says they do, while Moyes argues he was within his right to carry the gun in a holster on his hip in view of others.
State law says a person must have a concealed firearm permit to carry a gun on a school campus. But there are no laws barring a person with a permit from carrying a firearm openly on campus.
Moyes said campus police approached him Friday after someone reported seeing a man with a gun at the school.
"All I was doing was standing on a ladder and adjusting our banner," he said, adding that he wasn't drawing attention to himself or acting in a threatening way.
Moyes filmed part of the interaction and posted two videos on YouTube.com. They show an officer telling Moyes he wasn't allowed to openly possess a gun on campus.
"Carry it concealed, and it's a dead issue," the officer said. "I'm not trying to take away your rights or anything else, but the school has the right to make sure that everybody ... feels safe."
UVU spokesman Chris Taylor said the school believes a person with a concealed weapons permit can bring a gun on campus, but they must conceal it.
"We're just saying to conceal it as the state defines that it ought to be concealed," he said.
Lt. Douglas Anderson of the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification said it's lawful to carry a concealed firearm on campus with a permit, but openly carrying one is a "different animal." It is not expressly allowed or disallowed by state law, he said.
He said proposed legislation would help clarify what it means to display a weapon in a threatening manner.
The Utah attorney general's office said it has not received a complaint and declined to comment.
For decades, the University of Utah in Salt Lake City enforced a ban on guns, but in 2004 the Legislature passed a law clarifying that the school is subject to a state law that allows concealed weapons on state property. The university challenged the law, but the Utah Supreme Court upheld it in 2006.
Colorado State University recently joined most major colleges nationwide by approving a ban on guns on its two campuses.
Moyes said he has had his permit since January 2007 and has been openly carrying a gun on campus since September. This is the first time it's created a problem, he said.
Moyes added he doesn't carry the gun openly to be an activist and said he understands that an openly carried gun could cause alarm, particularly with so many school shootings in the news.
"I can absolutely see that side of the coin," he said.
Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council and a firearms instructor, said he teaches students to be careful about where they choose to openly carry firearms. He said he doesn't openly carry guns in schools or banks.
"Just out of decorum," he said. "But it is certainly legal to do."
Moyes said he concealed his weapon after talking with police and will continue to until the issue is resolved.
Maine
Plaintiffs lose
ruling in light
cigarette lawsuit
BANGOR, Maine (AP) -- Smokers suing Philip Morris and its parent company over light cigarettes will have to start from scratch with their lawsuit in Maine.
A federal judge in Bangor has denied plaintiffs' request to have facts from a previous lawsuit by the Department of Justice applied to the new litigation over so-called "light" or "low-tar" cigarettes. The order, issued Friday, will likely be appealed.
The lawsuit contends smokers of Marlboro Lights, Virginia Slims Lights and other light cigarettes were misled into thinking that the cigarettes contained less tar and nicotine.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that plaintiffs can use state consumer protection laws to sue cigarette makers.
The lawsuit involves more than 20 plaintiffs from across the country.
Published: Thu, Mar 11, 2010
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://test.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
