National Roundup

California
Judge to rule if boy murdered neo-Nazi dad
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A judge is determining whether a 12-year-old boy should be convicted of murdering his white supremacist father while he was asleep.
Riverside Superior Court Judge Jean Leonard is hearing the case without a jury. At issue is whether the boy, then 10, knew what he was doing was wrong and whether there was premeditation.
Prosecutors argue that the child killed his father to keep him from splitting up with his stepmother, who at first said she had killed Jeff Hall, 32, but then quickly retracted her statement. She was not charged in the case.
The boy’s younger sister bolstered the prosecution’s case by saying her elder sibling plotted the shooting days in advance. Hall, a regional leader of the National Socialist Movement, was shot at point-blank range with a .357 Magnum while he slept on a sofa in the family home.
Defense attorney Matthew Hardy said his client grew up in an abusive and violent environment and learned it was acceptable to kill people who were a threat. Hardy contended the boy thought if he shot his dad the violence would end.
The boy said in a videotaped interview with police that he didn’t think he’d get in trouble because he saw an episode of “Criminal Minds” in which a child killed an abusive father and wasn’t arrested.
Prosecutors maintained Hall’s white supremacist beliefs had nothing to do with the crime. They noted the boy had a history of violence that dated back to kindergarten when he stabbed a teacher with a pencil.
Hardy said he hopes the boy, if convicted, would not be sent to a juvenile lockup but rather be placed in a private facility that offers therapy, medical treatment and schooling.

New York
Swartz’ death fuels debate over computer crime
NEW YORK (AP) — The death this week of internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz is rekindling a long-running debate about how harshly authorities should deal with well-meaning people who compromise computer systems.
Swartz struggled for years against a legal system that he felt had not caught up to the information age. Federal prosecutors had tried unsuccessfully to mount a case against him for publishing reams of court documents that normally cost a fee to download.
Swartz’s family said that same system helped cause his death by branding as a felon an activist who was more interested in spreading academic information than in the fraud federal prosecutors had charged him with.
They said that Swartz’s death by suicide was “the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach.”

Massachusetts
4 arrested after violent brawl at baby shower
STOUGHTON, Mass. (AP) — Three men and a 14-year-old boy have been arrested in connection with a violent brawl at a Massachusetts baby shower in which bottles and punches were thrown and furniture was smashed.
Police say 24-year-old Patrick Cardoso Lopes; 24-year-old Paulo Pires Depina; and 22-year-old Aderito Lopes Deandrade, all of Brockton, are scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges including disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer.
The 14-year-old boy’s name was not released because of his age.
Police say they responded to a function hall in Stoughton at about 11:45 p.m. Saturday and found as many as 200 people involved in the fight they say was sparked by uninvited guests. The fight, involving women, went on in front of children. Sgt. Daniel McGowan called the scene a “nightmare.”

New York
‘A Beautiful Mind’ author sues over $1million grant
NEW YORK (AP) — The Columbia University professor who wrote “A Beautiful Mind” has filed suit against the school over almost $1 million that she says she’s owed.
According to a summons filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, Sylvia Nasar says Columbia owes her $923,000 dating back to September 1998 from an endowment grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The summons was filed on Jan. 7.
Columbia declined to comment.
Nasar is the John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Business Journalism at Columbia. She has written for numerous publications including The New York Times and The New Yorker magazine.
“A Beautiful Mind” tells the life story of economist John Nash. It was made into a movie starring Russell Crowe in 2001.

Illinois
Chicago man faces charges of spitting on agent
CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man has been charged with spitting on a Secret Service agent who was guarding President Barack Obama’s home last month.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Kevin Lawrence is accused of spitting into the agent’s vehicle on Dec. 29 outside the Chicago home, hitting the agent in the face and neck. He’s charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer.
The 46-year-old Lawrence is jailed on $50,000 bail. Cook County Jail records show he was booked Sunday. The records don’t list an attorney for him.
His next court date is Friday.

Alaska
Judge hears arguments for DNA testing
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A judge in Juneau is considering whether to order DNA testing in a three-decade old double murder.
Superior Court Judge William Carey says he will review transcripts and documents before ruling in the case stemming from the 1982 murders of Anne and James Benolken.
The Juneau Empire says Carey heard oral arguments Friday.
Newton Lambert was convicted in 1983 in the slaying of Anne Benolken and acquitted of killing James Benolken. Another man, Emanuel Telles, also was charged in the deaths and acquitted.
Public Defender Michael Jude Patesays the DNA of blood found on James Benolken’s clothes would show the presence of other suspects, not of his client.
Assistant District Attorney Amy Williams says DNA evidence would have limited value, especially since Lambert was acquitted of killing James Benolken.h