National Roundup

Washington
Judge: DNA obtained by co-worker can be used in ­murder trial
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — A Whatcom County judge says prosecutors can use at trial DNA evidence that led to the December arrest of a man for the rape and murder of a teenager near Bellingham nearly 30 years ago.

A co-worker of Timothy Forrest Bass collected a plastic cup and Coke can that he discarded and gave it to detectives. Authorities matched Bass’ DNA to evidence found on the body of Mandy Stavik. She vanished while jogging in 1989 near her home in Acme, east of Bellingham.

The Bellingham Herald reports that Superior Court Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis ruled Tuesday that the co-worker did not violate Bass’ rights against unreasonable search and seizure because she was not acting as agent of the state.

The co-worker said she came up with the idea because she felt an obligation to help.

Public Defender Stephen Jackson said he disagreed with the ruling but will respect it.

Alaska
Attorney withdraws from U.S. District Court judge ­nomination
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Anchorage attorney nominated by President Donald Trump to be a federal judge on the U.S. District Court for Alaska has withdrawn from his nomination.

Jonathan Katchen, one of five names submitted by Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, was nominated by Trump in April, the Anchorage Daily News reported Tuesday.
Katchen, 43, said he notified the White House of his decision last month.

Members of the Alaska Bar Association had opposed the nomination, and a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing was never scheduled. Katchen said he was unsure if he would make it through the process.

“And there was uncertainty about whether or not I’d make it through, and so it was time to. fish or cut bait,” Katchen said. “I was sitting in limbo for too long and didn’t like the uncertainty.”

Katchen’s experience is mostly in oil and gas law. He is currently an attorney in the Anchorage office of Holland & Hart. He previously worked for Sullivan at the state Department of Natural Resources, and he once clerked for Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, the president’s older sister.

Katchen’s age and lack of much trial or criminal law work prompted some opposition. He reportedly ranked low in an attorney poll produced by the Alaska Bar Association, though the results have been kept private.

The American Bar Association has not released a rating of Katchen’s qualification for a federal judgeship, which carries a lifetime term.


Illinois
Court says Housing Act covers harassed LGBT tenant
CHICAGO (AP) — A federal appeals court found that the U.S. Fair Housing Act places obligations on landlords to protect LGBT tenants from harassment by other tenants.

The new ruling by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Court of Appeals, posted late Monday, sides with 70-year-old Marsha Wetzel.

Wetzel accused a suburban Chicago senior living center of doing nothing to stop other residents from hurling homophobic slurs at her, spitting on her and even striking her because of her sexual orientation.

The unanimous, 20-page ruling by the three-judge panel reverses a lower-court judge who tossed Wetzel’s lawsuit against the Glen Saint Andrew Living Community in Niles.

“Not only does (the Fair Housing Act) create liability when a landlord intentionally discriminates against a tenant based on a protected characteristic,” the ruling said, “it also creates liability against a landlord that has actual notice of tenant-on-tenant harassment ... yet chooses not to take any reasonable steps within its control to stop that harassment.”

Lawyers for Wetzel heralded the decision.

“The court has now put all landlords on notice that they have an obligation to take action to stop known harassment,” said attorney Karen Loewy of the LGBT rights group Lambda Legal.

Wetzel, who moved to facility after her partner of 30 years died in 2013, was told by one resident that “homosexuals will burn in hell,” while another intentionally rammed her scooter with a walker, toppling her and bruising her arm, filings by her attorneys alleged.

“No one should have to endure what I endured because of who I am,” she said in a statement welcoming the 7th Circuit ruling.

A message seeking comment from the center Tuesday wasn’t returned. It could try to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 7th Circuit panel noted the living center actually took retaliatory measures against Wetzel — not her harassers — for complaining about the abuse, including barring her from certain common areas.

“St. Andrew complains that it would be unfair to hold it liable for actions that it was incapable of addressing, but we are doing no such thing,” the appeals decision said.

The center had many means available to seek to end the harassment, including by evicting those who were doing the harassing. But it opted instead for “a blame-the-victim approach,” the court said.

The three 7th Circuit judges who issued the unanimous ruling were Judge Diane Wood and Judge David Hamilton, both appointed by then-President Bill Clinton. The third judge, Michael Kanne, was appointed by Ronald Reagan.


Maryland
Indictment: Restaurateur plotted to frame wife as terrorist
HANOVER, Md. (AP) — A Maryland man is accused of plotting to kill his wife, falsely implicate her as a terrorist and burn down his restaurant for insurance money.

The Capital reports a federal indictment unsealed Monday says 51-year-old Khalil Ahmad gave an informant $5,000 as a down payment to have his wife “set up to look like a terrorist.”

The June indictment describes a scheme to burn down Ahmad’s Pakistani restaurant, Allah Rakha, as he faced financial pressure from banks, business partners and customers he owed money.

Prosecutors say Ahmad was worried his wife could receive a large settlement in the divorce for which she filed in April.

Ahmad was arrested on state charges in June, released and arrested on federal charges Aug. 2. It’s unclear whether he has a lawyer.