National Roundup

Kentucky
Brief argues gay marriage ban not biased
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration is arguing in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court that Kentucky’s ban on gay marriage isn’t discriminatory because it bars both gay and straight people from same-sex unions.
The brief argues that because Kentucky’s law bars everyone from same-sex marriage, it isn’t discriminatory and should be upheld.
Attorney Dan Canon, who represents six gay couples challenging Kentucky’s gay marriage ban, told The Courier-Journal that the argument in the brief filed last week is “especially absurd.”
“Kentucky is in essence saying that our clients are precluded from marriage entirely, unless they change their sexual orientation (or simply marry someone to whom they are not attracted),” he said in an email.
“It’s akin to passing a law banning all Catholic churches within city limits, and then saying it’s not discriminatory because you can still go to a Baptist church,” he said
Beshear spokeswoman Kerri Richardson said the governor would have no comment. He has said previously he favors a decision by the Supreme Court.
Mathew Staver, who is chairman of the conservative legal group Liberty Counsel, said that same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples are not “similarly situated” by biology or history and therefore do not have equal protection under the law as defined by Supreme Court decisions.
Justices will hear arguments on April 28 on state marriage bans from Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.

Connecticut
Teen accused of killing classmate faces review
MILFORD, Conn. (AP) — A judge has ordered a Connecticut teenager accused of stabbing a classmate to death on the day of their prom to be examined by psychiatrists for the state, after his lawyers announced they were pursuing an insanity defense.
Seventeen-year-old Christopher Plaskon appeared Tuesday in Milford Superior Court. He is charged with murder in the slaying of 16-year-old Maren Sanchez in a hallway at Jonathan Law High School in Milford in April 2014.
Milford State’s Attorney Kevin Lawlor requested Tuesday that the prosecution be allowed to have its own experts evaluate Plaskon’s mental health. A judge continued the case to July 7, when Lawlor will give an update.
Plaskon’s lawyers declined to discuss the findings of the defense’s mental health experts. They have said that Plaskon was taking anti-psychotic medication.

New York
Family of woman slain by mentally ill man settles
MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — The family of a suburban New York teacher killed and dismembered by a neighbor home on a weekend pass from an upstate mental health facility has settled a wrongful death lawsuit.
State Supreme Court Justice F. Dana Winslow approved a $500,000 settlement Tuesday between the family of Denice Fox and a psychologist who had treated convicted killer Evan Marshall.
The now-40-year-old Marshall pleaded guilty to killing the retired teacher in August 2006 in an exclusive gated community in Glen Cove, Long Island. He was arrested with her head in his car trunk.
He is serving 30 years to life.
Fox’s family claimed releasing Marshall for the weekend was inappropriate because he was a danger to the community.
An attorney for the psychologist did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.

Pennsylvania
Jewelry expert testifies in $20M insurance case
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A jewelry expert is testifying against a political fundraiser charged in a $20 million insurance scheme that Pennsylvania prosecutors say involved three mansion fires in five years.
Prosecutors hope to show GOP hostess Claire Risoldi claimed losses for jewelry that later turned up in her bank deposit box.
Prosecution expert Don Palmieri believes that at least some of the jewelry reported stolen after a 2013 fire were custom pieces and Risoldi wouldn’t have owned duplicates.
The weeklong preliminary hearing in Bucks County Court will determine if Risoldi, her two adult children and two others will face trial.
Her husband fatally shot himself in February, citing the pressure of defending against what he called false accusations.
Authorities say the family lived lavishly on insurance proceeds at their 10-acre estate near Philadelphia.

Ohio
Prosecutors: Police witnesses uncooperative
CLEVELAND (AP) — Prosecutors say they intend to question uncooperative Cleveland police officers as hostile witnesses at the trial of an officer accused of firing the final rounds of a 137-shot barrage that killed two unarmed suspects in 2012.
Officer Michael Brelo’s trial on two counts of voluntary manslaughter is scheduled to start April 6. Prosecutors say Brelo fired his last 15 rounds after the car stopped moving and the suspects were no longer a threat.
Prosecutors filed a motion late Monday that says most subpoenaed officers have refused requests for pretrial interviews. The motion says the refusal shows that a police union continues to impede Brelo’s prosecution.
If the judge were to declare a witness hostile, the prosecution would be allowed to suggest answers to questions normally asked during cross-examination.

Pennsylvania
Cops say man turn­ed day care into heroin den
SHAMOKIN, Pa. (AP) — Police say a Pennsylvania man turned his mother’s day care center into a heroin den once the kids left for the day.
The Shamokin News Item reports Tuesday that Ryan Varano told police he and another man would use Jesus’ Lil Helpers Daycare to sell and use heroin on nights and weekends.
Police say they used children’s tables, chairs and cabinets to package heroin and load syringes.
The 28-year-old and two other men were arrested Saturday after someone at the daycare building called police to report an overdose.
Police and emergency workers revived 37-year-old Christian Kehler with CPR and naloxone.
Varano, Kehler and Frederick Russo are charged with criminal conspiracy and possession with intent to deliver.
Online court records didn’t include information on lawyers to comment on the charges.