New Jersey
Arson attempted at site of atheist reply billboard
PITMAN, N.J. (AP) — Police say someone tried to torch a billboard in New Jersey that was put up by atheists to protest a “Keep Christ in Christmas” banner.
The billboard proclaims “Keep Saturn in Saturnalia,” a reference to an ancient celebration of the Roman god of agriculture. It’s paid for by the Madison, Wis.-based Freedom from Religion Foundation.
Authorities say it was torched Tuesday night by two unidentified men who fled in a pickup truck.
The sign didn’t burn, but its steel support beams were charred.
The atheist group has been trying since 2011 to have a privately funded Christmas banner in Pitman removed or have one added for nonbelievers.
The foundation is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects.
Montana
Former attorney pleads no contest in threat to judge
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana attorney has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor for making threats against a judge in an apparent ploy to get the judge to recuse herself from his civil case.
Prosecutors say a different judge ultimately took over Ronald Marc Klotzer’s civil lawsuit against a construction company, but he was also ordered to forfeit his Montana law license because of the plea.
Klotzer was initially charged with a felony for threatening District Judge Karen Townsend on his Facebook page. Court records say a friend worried about Klotzer’s mental state showed police Klotzer’s statements threatening to hurt Townsend and damage her house.
On Wednesday, Klotzer pleaded no contest to misdemeanor privacy in communications. Justice of the Peace Karen Orzech gave him a deferred sentence.
Idaho
Coeur d’Alene teacher charged with raping child
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A teacher at an alternative school in Coeur d’Alene is charged with raping and sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl.
Court records released Wednesday in the case against 32-year-old Daniel Abram Taylor indicate he acknowledged touching the child for sexual gratification.
Taylor was arrested Monday and made an initial court appearance Tuesday. His bail was set at $50,000 on rape and two counts of lewd conduct. He told the court he planned to hire his own attorney.
Court records say the girl reported three instances of sexual abuse that began in January 2011 and ended in August 2012. The girl’s mother went to police on Dec. 5.
The school district put Taylor on administrative leave.
North Carolina
Trial for general facing sex assault charges delayed
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — A court-martial for a U.S. Army general facing sexual assault charges has been postponed for a third time.
The trial for Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair had been scheduled to begin at Fort Bragg on Jan. 7. In a news release Thursday, the Army said military Judge Col. James Pohl has rescheduled the court martial to begin March 3 so prosecutors and defense lawyers can complete further pre-trial discovery.
The 51-year-old Sinclair is believed to be the highest-ranking officer to face a sexual assault charge in the Army’s 238-year history.
He has pleaded not guilty to eight criminal counts, including forcible sodomy, indecent acts, violating orders and conduct unbecoming an officer. Sinclair faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.
Missouri
Prosecutor’s post on Twitter draws court’s concern
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri appeals court has expressed concern that St. Louis city’s top prosecutor posted case details on Twitter during the trial of a rape suspect, but has allowed the conviction to stand.
A three-judge panel of the Eastern District Missouri Court of Appeals rejected an appeal in the case of David Polk, despite the concerns over the tweets by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce.
Polk was convicted at a June 2012 trial of forcible rape and sodomy in an attack on an 11-year-old girl 20 years earlier. DNA evidence linked him to the crime. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Joyce tweeted some details of the case during the trial.
The judges did not weigh in on whether Joyce’s comments before and during the trial were improper as Polk’s attorneys claimed. But the ruling expressed concern that use of tweets “immediately before and during trial greatly magnifies the risk that a jury will be tainted.”
Joyce issued a statement saying the ruling recognized that “the basic facts underlying the tweets are part of the public record.” She said her last five tweets came after jurors had been warned away from news and social media.
“I am confident that continued use of social media by the Circuit Attorney’s Office will balance the competing rights of all citizens,” she wrote.
The Missouri Public Defender’s office called the tweets “prosecutorial misconduct.”
Joyce is a frequent user of Twitter. St. Louis’ top public defender, Mary Fox, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that her office had complained about Joyce’s tweets in other court motions.
North Dakota
Man accused of threatening judge faces new counts
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A man arrested more than a year ago accused of sending threatening letters to a federal judge mailed similar letters to district court officials in North Dakota and Minnesota after he was indicted, according to documents unsealed Wednesday.
Carlos Kidd was originally charged in November 2012 with two counts of mailing threatening communications. Authorities allege he mailed two separate letters from Texas to North Dakota threatening to kill U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland in Bismarck.
An updated indictment includes six new charges alleging that Kidd sent letters threatening to kill five district court clerks and one state judge. The indictment says the letters were mailed to officials in Cavalier, Grand Forks, Stutsman and Ward counties in North Dakota, and Clay and Ramsey counties in Minnesota.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson ruled after a competency hearing Monday that Kidd is fit to stand trial.
Erickson had ordered the evaluation after Kidd failed to respond to questions at a hearing.
Kidd is serving two prison sentences, including 10 years for escape and five years for harassment. Trial on the new charges is scheduled for Feb. 18 in Fargo.
