Court Roundup

Wisconsin Man pleads not guilty to raping SD teenager SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A Wisconsin man who authorities say was in Sioux Falls training employees for a new Hardee's restaurant has pleaded not guilty to raping a teenage trainee. Thirty-six-year-old Shannon Manninger is charged with two counts of fourth-degree rape. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Authorities allege that Manninger called the 15-year-old girl's high school in December and posed as her father so she could be released from school and the two could have sex in a hotel room. The Argus Leader says court documents indicate Manninger told authorities the sex was consensual. In South Dakota, the legal age of consent is 16. Manninger has since lost his job with the fast-food-restaurant chain. Florida Sheriff, judges at odds over jury greeting PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) -- Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan says he will continue to greet prospective jurors as they board a trolley bound for the federal courthouse, even though three federal judges have asked him to stop. Morgan told the Pensacola News Journal on Monday that he's prepared to take the matter to court. In a letter dated March 3, judges Roger Vinson, Casey Rodgers and Lacey Collier told the sheriff his interactions with jurors raised concerns about the court's ability to seat impartial juries. Morgan responded on March 17 that he considers greeting jurors part of his First Amendment rights. Morgan says he's just "thanking prospective jurors for their public service." The issue first came to light last year when defense attorney raised complaints. Wisconsin Defense: Slaying of ex-boyfriend was accident SPARTA, Wis. (AP) -- The defense attorney for the Illinois woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend over his new relationship says the fatal shooting in Monroe County was an accident. Prosecutors contend 47-year-old Tammy Cole shot Vance Evans in the head last April because she was jealous of his new girlfriend. But, defense attorney Kristine Peshek argued Monday in Monroe County Circuit Court that the gunshot's trajectory shows the 53-year-old Evans wasn't executed. District Attorney Dan Cary told jurors Cole killed Evans, then lit a candle in his home while natural gas hissed from a broken stove pipe. The La Crosse Tribune says Evans' new girlfriend, Mary Mclain, says she discovered his body on the living room floor and smelled gas as she entered the house. Rhode Island Va. man seeks dismissal of Brown U. sword suit PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- The attorney for a Virginia man has asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Brown University seeking the return of a Civil War-era sword the Ivy League school says was stolen in the 1970s. Lawyer Alan Silber, who represents Donald R. Tharpe, of Williamsburg, Va., argues that Brown has not proven that it owns the sword and that the statute of limitations for bringing the suit in Virginia has expired. The Providence Journal reports that Brown has until March 31 to file a response in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Silber says his client bought the sword from an Illinois art dealer for $35,000 in 1992. Brown maintains ownership of the Tiffany silver presentation sword. A Sept. 7 trial has been scheduled. South Dakota Dismissal of Black Hills lawsuit being appealed RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- Environmentalists are appealing the dismissal of their lawsuit to halt a timber-cutting project in the Black Hills National Forest. A federal judge in January dismissed the lawsuit involving the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve. Now, Friends of the Norbeck and Native Ecosystems Council have filed notice of an appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. The Norbeck Wildlife Project was adopted by the U.S. Forest Service to improve wildlife habitat and reduce the risk of fire from trees killed by pine beetles. Environmentalists said the project violates several environmental protection acts. Illinois Lawsuit against herbicide maker languishes EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- It's been seven years since 13 southern Illinois water districts sued the makers of a farm herbicide, yet the case languishes in Madison County Circuit Court. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that Judge Bill Mudge is the seventh to preside over the case. The Holiday Shores Sanitary District was one of the water districts suing Syngenta, maker of atrazine. The herbicide is used on corn and grain grown in the United States and allegedly costs water districts millions of dollars for its removal from drinking water. Attorney Steve Tillery says the districts want Syngenta to help pay for filtration, estimated at about $400 million a year. Tillery accuses Syngenta of defying an order to produce documents. But Syngenta attorney Kurtis Reeg says the company has produced 4 million pages of documents. Texas Woman charged in day care fire re turns to Houston HOUSTON (AP) -- The owner of a Houston home day care where a fire last month killed four children was returned to Texas from Nigeria to face charges early Tuesday. Jessica Tata was brought to a Houston jail, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office's website, after spending Monday in the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. The 22-year-old day care operator arrived in the United States from Nigeria before dawn Monday, the U.S. Marshals Service said. Tata was taken into custody in Atlanta, then waived extradition to Texas. Tata was initially taken into custody Saturday in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Authorities believe she fled to the West African nation two days after the Feb. 24 fire, which also injured three children. Investigators believe Tata went shopping and left all seven children alone before a stove-top burner that was left on ignited the blaze. Tata has been charged with manslaughter, injury to a child and child abandonment. The manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The U.S. Marshals Service, which headed the search for Tata, said agents with the international police agency Interpol had been in Port Harcourt since Friday and were able to locate Tata based on leads and information from Interpol Washington, the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security and other authorities. Tata had been on the U.S. marshals' list of the 15 most wanted fugitives and the agency had offered a reward of up to $25,000. The agency said it has received some claims for the reward money and it is working through them to determine their validity. Published: Wed, Mar 23, 2011