State’s top court takes jury tampering case
BIG RAPIDS (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to look at a misdemeanor conviction that raises key questions about free speech.
Keith Wood was distributing pamphlets in 2015 outside the Mecosta County courthouse in Big Rapids. He told people they could choose their conscience over the law if they were picked to serve on a jury.
The case involved a man who had a wetlands dispute with a state agency. The case ended with a plea deal and didn’t go to trial. But Wood was charged with jury tampering and convicted.
Wood argued that he couldn’t be convicted of jury tampering because no jurors were selected in Andy Yoder’s case. The Michigan appeals court rejected that argument.
The Supreme Court says it will hear arguments during its current term.
Judge rejects class action in Detroit no-mattress lawsuit
DETROIT (AP) — A judge has rejected class-action status in a lawsuit over the failure to provide mattresses to people arrested by Detroit police.
The no-mattress policy for people held overnight lasted four years until fall 2017.
Federal Judge Marianne Battani says the practice was unconstitutional. But she won’t make the lawsuit a class-action because the injuries, if any, could vary among the hundreds of people who were locked up for one or two nights.
Battani noted that some people without bedding reported pain and discomfort but didn’t seek medical help.
Dr. Gary Stanton, an expert hired by the city of Detroit, said people “vary significantly” in how they tolerate discomfort from sleeping on a hard surface.
The judge is meeting with attorneys from both sides Wednesday.
High court won’t review inmate’s death sentence
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says it won’t review the case of an Alabama death row inmate who argued his sentence is unconstitutional because a judge imposed it over the will of a jury.
The high court said Monday it won’t the case of Mario Dion Woodward, who was convicted of fatally shooting Montgomery police officer Keith Houts during a 2006 traffic stop.
A jury voted 8-4 to sentence him to life in prison, but a judge overrode the jury and imposed the death penalty.
In 2017, Alabama passed a law ending the practice of judicial overrides going forward.
Woodward argued Alabama’s abandonment of the practice was an acknowledgment that his sentence is unconstitutional.
Un-bear-able! Cubs get locked in van, honk horn to get out
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — Two bear cubs were rescued after they locked themselves in a van and then honked the horn for help.
News reports say security technician Jeff Stokely had parked his van outside a customer’s home in Gatlinburg and went to work, then heard a horn honking and realized it was his van. He was surprised to see two bear cubs locked inside and repeatedly hitting the horn.
Stokely says the cubs must have climbed in through the driver side door and then locked themselves by hitting the lock button.
Stokely took video and photos of the cubs before opening a door to let them out.
He says he didn’t see Mama Bear.
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