Court Roundup

Alabama State sued over HIV-positive inmate treatment MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit claiming Alabama's policy on HIV-positive inmates discriminates against them by separating them from other inmates and excluding them from some programs. The lawsuit was filed Monday in the Middle District of U.S. District Court in Montgomery on behalf of 10 HIV-positive Alabama inmates. It names Gov. Robert Bentley, Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Kim Thomas and four wardens as defendants. The lawsuit asks that a court declare the prison system's segregation policy violates sections of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. Prisoners in the lawsuit claim they've received harsher punishments. Brian Corbett, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Corrections, says he hasn't seen the lawsuit and can't comment. Nebraska Lawsuit can proceed against law officials OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- A lawsuit against law enforcement officials by a Nebraska man wrongfully charged in a double murder can proceed. A federal judge rejected a motion by the officials to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Nicholas Sampson. Sampson and his cousin Matt Livers (LEYE'-vurz) spent months in custody before being cleared of murder charges in the 2006 shotgun slayings of Wayne and Sharmon Stock in their rural Cass County farmhouse. Crime scene investigator David Kofoed (KOH-fohd) found the only physical evidence that tied the men to the killings. He was found guilty of evidence tampering and is serving a 20-month sentence. A Wisconsin pair eventually pleaded guilty to murdering the couple. Livers also sued the officials. Court records show the trials will begin in November in U.S. District Court in Omaha. New York Man convicted of burning up wife gets prison WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- A New York jeweler who was convicted of murdering his wife -- although her body was never found -- has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Werner Lippe (LIH'-pee) was convicted in October of incinerating Faith Lippe in an oil drum after knocking her unconscious with a piece of lumber in 2008. Lippe, who made jewelry for Donald Trump and Yoko Ono, made an unrepentant argument for his innocence Tuesday. The Lippes were negotiating divorce when she disappeared. They had two teenage children. Werner Lippe confessed three times to the killing -- jurors heard the recordings -- but recanted. He testified that he last saw his wife being driven away from their home in a New York City suburb. His first trial ended with a hung jury. California Forger shows up in court with phony doctor note SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) -- A California woman facing nearly five years in prison for forging drug prescriptions showed up for sentencing with a phony doctor's note seeking a delay in the proceedings. Michelle Elaine Astumian was free on $45,000 bail and pleaded no contest in January to felony counts of forgery and using a fraudulent check. The 41-year-old woman arrived Monday for sentencing in a San Luis Obispo County courtroom and presented a note with a doctor's signature asking for a postponement. Prosecutor Dave Pomeroy called the doctor, who said the note is a forgery. The judge immediately ordered Astumian into custody and she collapsed to the floor. An ambulance took her to a hospital. Pomeroy told the San Luis Obispo County Tribune that Astumian will be sentenced later, but he doesn't know when. California Charges filed against clown in rape of young girl SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Prosecutors in California have filed felony charges against a professional clown accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl nine years ago. Jose Guadalupe Jimenez is charged with two counts of lewd acts upon a child, a count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, and a count of forcible lewd act on a child. The 41-year-old Anaheim man's arraignment was continued Monday until April 22. He could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Orange County prosecutors say Jimenez was dressed as a clown when he grabbed a girl at a fast-food stand in January 2002 and drove to a school parking lot, where the attack occurred. Investigators say a DNA sample taken after an arrest in another case linked him to the attack. Arizona Judge proposes change in Loughner's mental exam PHOENIX (AP) -- The judge who ordered a mental competency exam for the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage has proposed a change to that ruling. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns said in records filed Monday that he was mistaken in ruling that 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner can seek a separate competency exam by an independent psychiatrist in addition to the evaluation already under way by court-appointed professionals at a medical prison facility in Missouri. Burns said he made the mistake in trying to accommodate concerns from Loughner's attorneys about the impartiality of the Bureau of Prisons professionals conducting the exam. The judge still approves of having a second exam but now proposes appointing a psychiatrist who has no affiliation with the Bureau of Prisons to conduct it, rather than letting Loughner's attorneys choose the professional. Burns said his proposed changes would eliminate any distinction between a court-ordered exam and one done by a psychiatrist picked by the defense. "Instead, there would be two court-ordered examinations," Burns wrote. A final decision on the matter will be made by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Burns proposed his changes to the mental exam order after Loughner's attorneys appealed his ruling to the 9th Circuit and judges on the appeals court asked Burns to chime in. The appeals court rejected a request last week by Loughner's attorneys to put the exam on hold and return him to Arizona. But the court temporarily put on hold Burns' requirement that video recordings of Loughner's exam be provided to both prosecutors and defense attorneys. The exam will still be video-recorded, but the recordings will be set aside as lawyers litigate the issue. Loughner has pleaded not guilty to dozens of federal charges stemming from the Jan. 8 shooting at a meet-and-greet political event. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others were wounded in the attack, and six people were killed, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge. The charges against Loughner include trying to assassinate Giffords, as well as murder in the deaths of U.S. District Judge John Roll and Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman. Giffords remains at a rehabilitation center in Houston as she recovers from a bullet wound to the brain. New York Federal charge for man cleared of 1972 NY slaying ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- A 78-year-old man recently acquitted of killing a blind woman in 1972 has been hit with a federal charge that he failed to register as a sex offender. Willie James Kimble was arraigned Tuesday and ordered held until a bail hearing in April. He did not enter a plea and will be assigned a lawyer. If convicted, he could get 10 years in prison. Kimble was cleared March 10 of bludgeoning to death Annie Mae Cray at her Rochester home in October 1972. It was one of the nation's oldest cold-case murders to come to trial. In 2009, police obtained a DNA match from a semen-stained blanket kept in police storage for almost 38 years. Kimble skipped town while the murder was being re-examined and was tracked down in Florida last year. Louisiana Judge to McNeese State: Pay lawyers $1.3M LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) -- A judge has ordered McNeese State University to pay more than $1.3 million in attorneys' fees to lawyers who handled a civil rights case filed 10 years ago in an attempt to force the university to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Attorney Seth Hopkins, who has been involved with the case for its entirety, was given $1,053,984. The remaining amount was divided among five other attorneys based on an hourly rate of $240. The attorneys had originally sought in excess of $5 million, including a sanction against McNeese. Candace Townsend, the university's director of public information and communications, said Monday the university "will reserve comment until we have a chance to thoroughly review this matter with our attorney." Pennsylvania Fed judge closes settled Pa. 'cybersquatting' case PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A federal judge has closed a cybersquatting lawsuit filed by a Pittsburgh-area plumbing company against a larger competitor. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab closed the case Tuesday leaving in place an order he issued last month that prevents Gillece Plumbing and Heating Inc. from using the Web address www.fagnelli.com to direct business to Gillece's main Web site. Fagnelli Plumbing Co. sued last year claiming Gillece had registered more than 180 domain names that are "identical or confusingly similar" to the names of Gillece's competitors. Fagnelli's real Web site is www.fagnelliplumbing.com. Gillece's attorney didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday. But the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the judge closed the case days after Fagnelli attorneys filed a motion saying the companies reached a damage settlement. Fagnelli's attorney says the deal is confidential. Louisiana Man accused of screwdriver killing ruled insane LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) -- A Calcasieu Parish judge has ruled that a 23-year-old man accused of killing a convenience store clerk by stabbing him in the neck with a screwdriver remains insane and unable to stand trial on first-degree murder and armed robbery charges. The American Press reports that Judge Michael Canady recently ordered James Lee Richard of Sulphur back to a state psychiatric hospital in Jackson. Defense attorney King Alexander told the judge that doctors say Richard may not be sane enough for trial within the next six months. He's accused of killing 26-year-old Benjamin Mevis on Feb. 3, 2009. Lake Charles police said Richard was pulled over about 40 minutes later, driving Mevis' car. Canady first ordered Richard sent to the state hospital in March 2009, on an emergency basis. Published: Wed, Mar 30, 2011