Oklahoma
Legislators seek change in sodomy law after ruling
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Outraged Oklahoma lawmakers say they'll move quickly to change a loophole in the state's forcible sodomy law after the state's highest criminal court found it doesn't apply to cases where the victim is unconscious or intoxicated.
Rep. Scott Biggs said Thursday he is drafting language that legislators could consider as early as next week.
Oklahoma's highest criminal court ruled unanimously last month that while the state's rape law addresses unconscious or intoxicated victims, the forcible sodomy law does not. The court said it could not expand the "fair meaning" of the law to justify someone's prosecution.
The ruling came after a 17-year-old boy was accused in Tulsa County District Court of forcing a heavily intoxicated girl to perform oral sex. A lower court judge had dismissed the case last year.
Florida
$1.53 an hour for lawyer fees? Not here, court says
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida's Supreme Court says a law limiting lawyer fees in workers' compensation cases is unconstitutional after considering a case in which an attorney was paid $1.53 per hour for his work.
In its ruling Thursday, the court said it's absurd that a highly skilled lawyer would be paid $164.54 for more than 100 hours of work.
But that was the case after a worker successfully sued a Miami door manufacturer after an on-the-job accident.
That's because in 2003, then-Gov. Jeb Bush signed attorney fee limits into law as his solution to skyrocketing workers' compensation insurance rates. Those limits now can't be enforced because of the court's 5-2 ruling.
North Carolina
Vet groups sue federal agency over water claims
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Three veterans' groups have sued the Department of Veterans Affairs over its handling of claims about contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
Multiple media outlets report the lawsuit was filed by Vietnam Veterans of America; The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten; and the Connecticut State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America.
The lawsuit says between 1953 and 1987 nearly one million Marines, sailors, civilian employees and family members unknowingly "drank, cooked with, and bathed in contaminated water" at Camp Lejeune.
Henry Huntley, a public affairs specialist with the Veterans Administration, told The Daily News of Jacksonville that he was not familiar with the lawsuit and could not comment.
WNCT in Greenville, North Carolina, reports the lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Connecticut with assistance from a veterans legal service team at Yale Law School.
The lawsuit challenges the department's system set up to handle claims stemming from the medical problems suffered by those exposed to the water.
The groups say the claim approval rate has dropped from 25 percent to 8 percent since the program started in 2012.
The lawsuit says a group of 30 doctors works under the agency's Subject Matter Expert Program and the veterans groups have not been able to determine the panel's credentials and qualifications.
Those suing say they are also concerned about what they see as a selective implementation of the claims review panel.
"Camp Lejeune veterans are the only veterans that have been subjected to this so-called subject matter expert program," said Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine and founder of The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten.
All other veterans file normal claims, but the VA has a Camp Lejeune Task Force, Ensminger said he learned this week.
Pennsylvania
Critics of NFL concussion deal seek court review
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Critics of the proposed $1 billion settlement of NFL concussion claims want a full U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia to review a recent decision that upheld the deal.
The challengers believe the lead players' lawyers negotiated away compensation for chronic traumatic encephalopathy because the science is still being developed.
They consider CTE the "industrial disease" of football and say it was the key complaint in the initial lawsuit.
In their appeal Thursday, the critics' lawyers say the lead players' negotiators "traded" away the issue in exchange for enhanced compensation for less common problems, such as Parkinson's disease and dementia.
The lead plaintiffs' lawyers say further appeals will delay payments to ailing players and their families.
California
Brothers arrested in their parents' shooting deaths
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Two brothers are in custody in the shooting deaths of their parents, who emigrated from Bangladesh 30 years ago and were found slain over the weekend in their California home.
Police arrested 22-year-old Hasib Bin Golamrabbi and his 17-year-old brother on suspicion of homicide Thursday. They're being held without bail. The older son is slated to be in court on Friday. An appearance date for the teen was not immediately available.
The teen's name wasn't released.
The brothers are accused of killing Shamima and Golam Rabbi, who were found dead Sunday.
Police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Garcia says relatives discovered the bodies. It was unknown how long the couple had been dead.
Police haven't released a motive in the killings or any other details.
The husband and wife often hosted relatives as a first step in their own journey from their native Bangladesh to the United States.
The couple's nephew, Golam Mustakim, and his family emigrated from Bangladesh in 2000. Upon arriving in the United States, they stayed with the Rabbis in their four-bedroom home in San Jose.
It was not immediately clear Thursday morning if the two have attorneys.
KNTV reports that board members at the Evergreen Islamic Center in San Jose said the bodies of the parents were released Wednesday afternoon to relatives and the funeral is being planned for Friday at the Five Pillars Farm Cemetery in Livermore.
Mosque spokesman Faisal Yazadi did not know about the arrest of the younger son until notified by a reporter.
"Needless to say," he said. "This is one of those tragedies nobody ever wants to be in. All we can do is pray. This is a family matter and a police investigation."
Published: Fri, Apr 29, 2016
