Kansas
Court finds police coerced teen's statements
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Prosecutors are trying to decide how to proceed after an appellate agreed that self-incriminating statements made by a teen in a Lawrence rape investigation should be tossed, finding that the interrogation was "almost like a therapy session."
The Kansas Court of Appeals agreed this month with a Douglas County judge who found that the high school student's 2017 statements to police were not made "of a free and independent will" and couldn't be used against him, the Lawrence Journal-World reports.
The appellate court noted that the teen was encouraged to let out everything he'd been "holding inside" and was not initially told he was suspected of rape. His only prior contact with law enforcement had been a mentor-like relationship with a school resource officer.
Court documents say the interrogation went on for nearly four hours before one of the officers told the boy she was going to submit a report to prosecutors and suggested that "we do kinda need to tell your mom what's going on." The teen was later charged with 14 felonies, including eight counts of rape, and two misdemeanors.
Virginia
Ex-doctor who killed father wants transfer to psych hospital
MARION, Va. (AP) - A former doctor from North Carolina who killed his father and dumped his mutilated body in Virginia wants to be transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Monday that Vince Gilmer, 57, has been serving a life sentence for the 2004 slaying at the Marion Correctional Treatment Center in southwestern Virginia.
Gilmer's lawyers sent the transfer request to Gov. Ralph Northam because Gilmer suffers from Huntington's disease. The terminal brain disorder can cause poor impulse control and outbursts and grows progressively worse.
Gilmer had lived in Fletcher, North Carolina, which is outside of Asheville. The body of his father, Dalton Gilmer, was found in southwestern Virginia with rope burns around the neck, and the fingers and thumbs cut off.
Gilmer said he killed his father in a rage brought on by childhood sexual abuse and withdrawal from antidepressants. But DNA tests have since confirmed that Gilmer has Huntington's disease.
Gilmer's lawyers said Marion will soon be unable to meet Gilmer's medical needs. His supporters say he would likely have been convicted of a less serious crime if he had been diagnosed before trial and now be in a hospital.
Gilmer's case was profiled on the national radio show, "This American Life."
Alaska
Opponents lose court case against mine near fishery
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Opponents have lost a court case against the proposed copper and gold mine near a major salmon fishery in Alaska's Bristol Bay region.
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could withdraw a "proposed determination" about potential negative mine impacts dating from 2014, Alaska Public Media reported Sunday.
The determination had concluded the mining project, named the Pebble Mine, posed too great a threat to the salmon-rich waters of Bristol Bay.
The judge's ruling was based on the amount of latitude government agencies have and what is subject to legal review, rather than the merits or dangers of the mine.
The case focused on a "preemptive veto" the EPA issued during the administration of President Barack Obama, before Pebble Limited Partnership filed an application for the mine in Southwest Alaska.
The mine's federal permit application is pending with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the EPA retains the right to veto the permit, a power that was not diminished by Friday's ruling.
The mine proposal has loomed over the region for years. But Pebble Limited Partnership did not apply for a permit while Obama was in office.
The mining company and Alaska's congressional delegation have complained of government overreach, saying the EPA tried to veto the project before seeing an application. The mining company eventually applied for a Clean Water Act permit in 2017.
The EPA said last year it would withdraw its proposed determination against the mine, which prompted the lawsuit by mine foes including the organizations Trout Unlimited, SalmonState and Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp.
The Corps of Engineers plans to issue its final environmental impact statement on the project this summer, one of the last steps before issuing a decision on the permit.
The EPA has said the science that the Corps is relying upon is inadequate and likely understates the harm to the bay.
North Carolina
Abortion protester charged for exceeding 10-person rule sues
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - An abortion protester is suing the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County after being arrested for exceeding a 10-person limit imposed to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
The Alliance Defending Freedom said Saturday it filed the lawsuit in federal court in Charlotte on behalf of protester David Benham and two antiabortion groups.
Benham is one of several protesters who were arrested April 4 outside A Preferred Women's Health Center in Charlotte after authorities say the protest exceeded the 10-person limit imposed under a joint proclamation by the city and Mecklenburg County.
The lawsuit accuses authorities of singling out the protesters for enforcement. It also states that the protest is outdoor activity that should be considered "essential activity" that is permitted under the rules.
Police have said that about 50 protesters were gathered at the clinic and that eight were arrested.
Kansas
Couple targeted in bungled pot raid settles lawsuit
LEAWOOD, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas City-area couple whose home was raided by a police tactical team in a bungled 2012 search for marijuana has settled a federal lawsuit against the sheriff's deputies who led the operation.
The amount of the settlement with Robert and Adlynn Harte, of Leawood, Kansas, is unknown because the settlement document has been sealed, KCUR-FM reported. But U.S. District Judge John Lungstrum ruled that he would unseal it once the parties have redacted portions related to the Hartes' children.
Cheryl Pilate, an attorney for the Hartes, said the case had been "resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties." Larry Ferree III, a lawyer for the Johnson County deputies, said the same thing.
The Hartes, retired CIA employees, filed their lawsuit in 2013.
Johnson County Sheriff's deputies raided their Leawood home in April 2012, eight months after Robert Harte and his two young children visited a hydroponic-gardening store and bought supplies for a basement tomato-growing project.
Deputies rooted through the Hartes' trash and found wet green vegetation. Then, seven officers clad in black SWAT uniforms pounded on the Hartes' door and burst in their home, guns drawn.
No marijuana was found and the vegetation in the trash turned out to be loose-leaf tea.
Published: Tue, Apr 21, 2020
