At a Glance ...

Commission says judge shouldn’t be paid

LANSING (AP) — The state’s watchdog over the judiciary has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to suspend a Livingston County judge without pay amid allegations of misconduct.

The Livingston Daily Press & Argus and WHMI report the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission made the request to the state’s high court regarding District Judge Theresa Brennan, who separately was charged last month with perjury and destroying evidence in her divorce case.

Brennan was barred from hearing cases in June after the commission issued its formal complaint.

A commission official wrote “the public’s confidence in the judiciary is eroded when a judge continues to enjoy the perquisites of her office after having admitted to engaging in felonious conduct.”
 

Court plays a sad tune for musical instrument store

COOPERSVILLE (AP) — A legal dispute over school band instruments has ended with a sour note for a western Michigan company.

West Michigan Band Instruments claims its rights were violated when the Coopersville district excluded it from a 2017 event where students and parents could choose instruments.

But a federal appeals court recently rejected the argument and said the district was free to name its own tune.

West Michigan Band sells and rents instruments to students in the region. The school district selected a competitor, Meyer Music, to be the exclusive vendor at band night.
Coopersville told the appeals court that too many vendors would be distracting for families when they’re trying to get information about school band opportunities.


High court to hear case over stores’ food stamp sales

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says it will hear an appeal from a group representing food retailers to prevent the release of information about the federal food stamp program to a South Dakota newspaper.

The justices say they’ll review an appellate ruling that said information maintained by the Agriculture Department about where people spend their food stamp dollars is public.

The Food Marketing Institute is trying to prevent what it considers confidential sales information from being handed to the Argus Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls. The paper filed a lawsuit for the data under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The Supreme Court has blocked the release while it considers the appeal.


Police seek volunteers to get drunk for them; many respond

KUTZTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A police department's request for volunteers to get drunk for law and order purposes generated a predictably enthusiastic response.

The Kutztown Police Department sought three volunteers to drink hard liquor to the point of inebriation so officers could be trained how to administer field sobriety tests during traffic stops.

A call for volunteers on Facebook accumulated hundreds of responses and over 1,000 shares in less than a day.

The post was soon updated with news that the department had its volunteers for the April 4 training session.

Volunteers were required to have a clean criminal history.

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