Court Roundup

Vermont Axing of cop shooting lawsuit enables appeal BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) -- The family of a Vermont man shot to death by state troopers is clear to ask the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to overturn the dismissal of civil lawsuit against the state police and the troopers involved in the shooting in Corinth. The move comes after U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha dismissed the remaining counts of a lawsuit filed by the family of Joseph Fortunati. In May 2006, the 40-year-old Fortunati, who suffered from mental illness, was shot to death during a confrontation with police. Some family members who were detained by police near the scene of the shooting sued over their arrests. The Valley News says Murtha has ruled the family does not have enough evidence to prove their case in a second trial. Georgia DA to seek death penalty in 2003 slaying SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- Savannah prosecutors say they plan to seek the death penalty against a man charged in the 2003 slaying of his girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter. Bobby Lavon Buckner was scheduled to stand trial next month in the killing of Ashley Moore, who went missing for three weeks before her body was found by the Savannah River. The trial will likely have to be delayed after District Attorney Larry Chisolm filed a court petition Wednesday saying he intends to seek the death penalty. Death penalty cases require a number of additional legal steps and hearings as opposed to non-capital murder trials. Buckner may also need a new defense attorney with death penalty experience. Chisolm declined to discuss the case. Buckner's attorney, Michael Schiavone (shi-VOH-nee), says prosecutors are trying to deny Buckner his due process rights. Pennsylvania Iconic Pittsburgh sandwich shop settles lawsuit PITTSBURGH (AP) -- An iconic Pittsburgh sandwich shop chain will make a $25,000 donation, pay up to $62,000 in attorneys' fees and offer free sandwiches to thousands of customers to settle a class-action lawsuit involving credit card disclosure laws. A federal judge on Wednesday approved the settlement between Primanti Bros. and its customers prompted by a customer's complaint that the restaurant printed too much of her credit card information on a receipt, violating federal law. Attorneys claimed Primanti Bros. printed more than 49,000 such receipts at its South Side location. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says customers who got such a receipt will get a voucher for a free sandwich, side dish, and non-alcoholic drink. The donation will benefit the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Illinois Judge dismisses lawsuit connected to reality show CHICAGO (AP) -- A judge in Chicago has dismissed part of a lawsuit by a woman who claims her rights were violated when she was featured on a reality television show depicting the lives of Naperville's female police officers. Eran Best's lawsuit against "Female Forces" claims she was humiliated in February 2008. She said she was forced to wait 30 minutes for a camera crew to show up to film her being administered a sobriety test after being pulled over for a moving violation. Resulting charges were later dismissed. In his opinion last week, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly cited the First Amendment right of free speech. Kennelly also ruled Best's attorneys must provide more arguments on why her claims of invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress should not be dismissed. Louisiana Judge refuses to bar lawyer from Katrina case NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A federal judge has refused to disqualify a lawyer from representing one of six current or former New Orleans police officers charged in deadly shootings on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina. Prosecutors said attorney Eric Hessler has a potential conflict of interest in defending Sgt. Robert Gisevius against charges stemming from the fatal shootings of two people and wounding of four others on the Danziger Bridge less than a week after the 2005 storm. Hessler had represented Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, another defendant in the Danziger case, after he shot a man in 2001. On Thursday, however, U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt ruled that prosecutors' "unsettled allegations" about the 2001 shooting don't warrant barring Hessler from representing Gisevius. Virginia State high court to hear UVA climate records case CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- The Virginia Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's attempt to obtain documents related to a climate-change researcher. Cuccinelli is investigating whether former University of Virginia researcher Michael Mann defrauded state taxpayers by using manipulated data to obtain government grants. The university has fought Cuccinelli's demand for the records, saying it infringes on academic freedom. Cuccinelli is appealing a judge's ruling last August that said he wasn't specific enough about how Mann, who now works at Penn State, might have broken the law. The judge also said Cuccinelli lacks authority to investigate federal grants. Spokesmen for Cuccinelli and the university both said they are happy the case will be reviewed by the Supreme Court. University officials and others have said the investigation by Cuccinelli, a global warming skeptic, was an attempt to take aim at Mann's research that shows the earth's temperatures have risen steadily since the early 1900s. More than 800 college faculty members in Virginia signed a letter protesting the investigation. When the parties appear before the justices, "the ability of scientists in Virginia to ask tough questions of their peers" will be on the line, said Michael Halpern, scientific integrity program manager at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit science advocacy group. Cuccinelli has denied that he is targeting Mann's conclusions. Published: Mon, Mar 14, 2011