Court Roundup

Washington
State settles suit brought by mental hospital patients
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The state is loosening its restrictions on outside trips for patients of mental hospitals after coming to an agreement with a group of patients who claimed the rules violated their civil rights.

The Spokesman-Review reports that six patients and advocacy group Disability Rights Washington had filed a lawsuit against the state in 2014. They claimed the restrictions implemented after a patient walked away from a trip to the Spokane County Fair in 2009 violated patients’ constitutional rights.

Under the settlement reached earlier this month, patients will have court orders allowing them to leave hospital grounds for family visits and other outings. It also calls for a more frequent review of cases to determine patients’ progress.

State officials say the agreement serves to balance patients’ treatment needs with public safety.

Georgia
Man sentenced to life in prison for PlayStation killing
ATLANTA (AP) — A 22-year-old Atlanta man has been convicted of murder and sentenced to life plus five years in prison in connection with the 2014 killing of a man over a PlayStation 4 game console.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office says a jury convicted Nathaniel Vivian on Wednesday of murder, felony murder, armed robbery and other charges in the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Daniel Zeitz.

Prosecutors alleged that Vivian and Kayla Dixon, then 16, planned to rob Zeitz during a sale arranged on Craigslist.

At their meeting, Vivian tried to take the PlayStation from Zeitz without paying the $280 asking price. In a scuffle, prosecutors say, Dixon pulled out a handgun and fatally shot Zeitz.

Dixon pleaded guilty to murder in July and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Massachusetts
Feds to look into town’s rejection of Muslim cemetery
BOSTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are investigating whether a Massachusetts town violated the civil rights of an Islamic group when officials there rejected plans for a Muslim cemetery.

U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz announced Thursday that the investigation will determine whether the town of Dudley violated the right to religious exercise by the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester. The Islamic group purchased 55 acres of farmland in Dudley for a Muslim cemetery, but town officials rejected the plan, citing traffic and environmental concerns.

Jay Talerman, a lawyer for the group, has suggested that anti-Muslim bias played a role in the town’s decision to deny needed permits for the cemetery.

Ortiz said her investigation will look into whether the town placed unreasonable barriers to the group’s cemetery proposal. Federal prosecutors are authorized to investigate allegations of discriminatory treatment under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which prohibits discrimination against any assembly or institution on the basis of religion.

“All Americans have the right to worship and to bury their loved ones in accordance with their religious beliefs, free from discrimination,” Ortiz said.

Talerman, who filed a lawsuit against the town in land court last month, said he has had discussions with the town’s attorneys to try to come to an agreement about the cemetery.

“We remain hopeful, but to date we don’t have a commitment from the town that meets our expectations,” Talerman said.

Dudley officials said their denial of a permit for the cemetery did not violate the religious rights of the group.

“The Dudley Board of Selectmen welcomes this investigation as an opportunity to show that the Town’s zoning and land use practices do not violate any religious rights of the Islamic Society, nor do such practices discriminate against any assembly or institution on the basis of religion or religious denomination,” the town said in a statement.

The Islamic Society, which owns a mosque in Worcester, wants to build the cemetery on a long-idle dairy farm.

During town meetings on the proposal, residents of Dudley have said they are concerned that burial practices could contaminate groundwater because Muslims traditionally do not embalm bodies and bury their dead without coffins. They have also cited concerns about noise, vandalism and increased traffic on the narrow road where the cemetery would be built.

One resident said he worried he would have to listen to “crazy music” like the Islamic call to prayer.

Proposals for Muslim cemeteries in other states have been met with similar resistance, including in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Farmington, Minnesota; and Farmersville, Texas.


Arizona
Teacher rapist wants lawyer in suit seeking $10M
PHOENIX (AP) — A convict who raped an Arizona prison teacher and faces a potential $10 million judgment for damages now wants a lawyer.

Jacob Harvey sent a letter to the U.S. District Court in Phoenix last week telling the federal judge overseeing the case that he wants legal representation against the lawsuit.

A magistrate judge is recommending the judge award a $10 million default judgment against Harvey to the teacher. He wrote in his report that Harvey refused to talk by telephone during an April 13 hearing.

The woman was raped inside a prison classroom in January 2014. Arizona paid her a $3 million settlement.

Harvey was just 20 and serving a 30-year term for rape when he assaulted the teacher. He was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty.

Louisiana
Woman sentenced to life in prison for pastor’s death
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — It’s taken 13 years but the saga involving the 2003 murder of a retired Blanchard minister has ended with the resentencing of a co-defendant in his death.

KTBS-TV reports state District Judge Katherine Dorroh vacated Brandy Holmes’ death sentence Wednesday and re-sentenced her to life in prison without parole.

Holmes, 27, was on death row for the slaying of the Rev. Julian Brandon, but Caddo Parish prosecutors doubted the sentence would stand up on appeal because of conflicting testimony from one of their witnesses.

Brandon, 70, was stabbed to death on New Year’s Day 2003 after he answered the door at his home near Blanchard. His 68-year-old wife, Alice, was shot in the head but survived, although she was left permanently disabled and died several years later.

The Brandon family, who did not attend the sentencing hearing, did not want to go through the ordeal of another trial, Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Williams said.

“In light of this changed testimony, that’s where it likely would have ended up,” Williams said. “We’re trying to save everyone a lot of time and heartache.”

During the hearing, Holmes answered the judge’s questions about whether her plea was voluntary but made no other statement. Two spiritual advisers were in the courtroom during the 10-minute hearing.

Holmes’ former boyfriend, Robert Coleman, was sentenced to life in prison in May. His two death sentences were overturned because of the exclusion of blacks from the respective juries.

In the penalty phase of Holmes’ and Coleman’s trials, prosecutors had presented evidence about their involvement in an unrelated murder. A key prosecution witness gave conflicting testimony about who was the actual shooter.
“We could re-try the penalty phase of the case, but the expert (witness) changing testimony undermines a pretty substantial portion of the case we had relied upon to get the death penalty,” Williams said.