Court Roundup

Colorado State Supreme Court to hear campus gun case DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether campus gun bans are legal. The Colorado Court of Appeals in April ruled in favor of a gun-rights group that sued the University of Colorado, arguing that a 1994 university policy banning concealed weapons violates state gun laws. The court agreed to examine two issues surrounding CU's ban on Wednesday. First is whether the Board of Regents has the authority to enact such a ban, and second, what test the court should apply in analyzing whether such a ban is constitutional. CU left its concealed weapons ban in place. In June, the school's Board of Regents decided to fight the appellate court's decision. The school has banned guns since the 1970s. Louisiana Judge: Man guilty in 2009 stabbing BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- A judge swiftly convicted a Baton Rouge man of second-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison for the 2009 stabbing death of his former girlfriend at an assisted living facility where she worked. Fredrick Jermaine Taylor, 28, who testified shortly before state District Judge Bonnie Jackson on Tuesday found him guilty as charged, admitted stabbing Allison Vallien in the cafeteria at The Haven at Windermere on Sept. 4, 2009. Vallien, 27, had obtained a restraining order against Taylor in October 2007, court records indicate. The order expired in 2008. Taylor is the father of one of Vallien's children. "That was my baby girl," Vallien's mother, Mary Vallien, said shortly after the judge convicted Taylor. "Our life is still not going to be the same." "I'm glad he got what he got," Rose Vallien, one of Allison Vallien's sisters, added. Taylor took the stand in his own defense and told Lyn Legier, one of his attorneys, that he was in love with Allison Vallien and "couldn't live without her." Taylor said he called Vallien "a hundred something times" the night before the killing but his calls went unanswered. Taylor said he meant to kill himself after stabbing Vallien and would have if he had made it back to his house, but he was apprehended when he walked outside the facility. "I know what I did was wrong," he said. Lead prosecutor Stephen Pugh reminded Taylor that a witness testified hearing him tell Vallien -- "I told you I'd get you" -- while he was stabbing her. Dr. Joel Carney, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Vallien's body, testified Monday that Vallien was stabbed 31 times. "Did you go there to kill her?" Pugh asked Taylor. "I don't know," Taylor replied. "Did you grab a knife from the kitchen (at the facility) or bring one with you?" the prosecutor inquired further. "Brought one," Taylor answered. "Are you sorry that it happened?" Pugh asked. "That's why I'm up here. To tell the truth," Taylor said. Pugh told Jackson that Taylor was determined to kill Vallien when he rode his bicycle to the facility and "no one was going to stop him." "If this is true remorse, it's a little late," the prosecutor said, referring to Taylor's testimony. Jackson, who presided over the bench trial, did not leave the bench to consider her decision. "Clearly if there was a case that did not require deliberation, this is it," she said. Taylor chose to be sentenced immediately. Second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence. Oregon Delay for woman accused of killing Eugene officer EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- A judge has found that the woman accused of killing a Eugene police officer is too mentally ill to stand trial. The Register Guard reports a Lane County Circuit Court judge ordered 56-year-old Cheryl Dawn Kidd of Springfield to the Oregon State Hospital on Monday for up to three years of treatment. If she becomes able to assist in her defense she would face an aggravated murder charge in the April shooting of Officer Chris Kilcullen, who was killed during a traffic stop. Lane County District Attorney Alex Gardner says if she does not recover, the charge could be dropped and Kidd could be released unless psychiatrists find she poses a danger. She has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Georgia Father of woman who died in fall from hotel sues ATLANTA (AP) -- The father of a woman who died after a fall from 10th-story Atlanta hotel room has filed a lawsuit against the hotel and its corporate owner. Maurice Threatt filed a lawsuit last week in Fulton County State Court seeking damages from W Hotel Management and Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Inc. The hotel says the building underwent structural reviews that included the windows when the company took ownership in 2008. Witnesses told police 30-year-old LaShawna Threatt and Kentucky native Cierra Williams, who is 25, were "play wrestling" in a room at the W Midtown Hotel early on May 28 when they crashed into a window and fell through it. The lawsuit claims negligence on the part of the hotel and seeks unspecified damages. Louisiana Tangipahoa desegregation case costs board $3M AMITE, La. (AP) -- The Tangipahoa Parish School Board has spent $3,025,554 in connection with the revived Joyce Marie Moore desegregation lawsuit filed in federal court against the board more than 46 years ago, according to a new report. That information was disclosed Tuesday when School Board member Brett Duncan, of Hammond, circulated the report on the suit's expenses just before the board went into an executive session near the conclusion of its regular meeting. The report, initialed by Schools Superintendent Mark Kolwe, was issued in response to a request from board member Sandra Bailey-Simmons last month asking for a total of all costs related to the lawsuit. The case was first filed in 1965, but lay dormant for decades before being revived four years ago. The largest portion of the money, $874,000, was paid to Nelson D. Taylor, the legal counsel for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The case was reactivated in 2007 through the efforts of the Tangipahoa Parish Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The board has spent $685,352 in costs paid to the law office of Charles Patin, who has assisted the board in dealings with the court over the desegregation case. An additional $269,483 in "fees and costs" was paid to the law office of Alton Lewis and Ashley Sandage. Another lawyer, Jay Augustine, was paid $91,068 in connection with the case. An additional major expense, $471,000, went for salaries and benefits for employees who were paid to assist in the case. A total of $208,845 was paid in salaries and benefits to what was listed as "Athletic Director" during this time period. More money was spent by the board on planning and promotion of a tax measure placed before the voters in May that was soundly defeated. Other funds were spent on additional salaries and benefits for persons involved in the lawsuit, for office expenses, public relations and various other costs, according to the report. Bailey-Simmons said in an interview that the figures released Tuesday do not reflect what the ultimate cost of the lawsuit might be. She said that additional money will have to be spent before the case in finally concluded. Among the items discussed by the board in its executive session was the Joyce M. Moore case. However, the board reported when it returned to the public meeting that no action on the matter had been taken. Published: Thu, Jun 9, 2011