Court Digest

New Hampshire
Court sides with school districts in latest education funding case
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire should be spending at least 80% more per pupil on public schools, a judge said Monday in one of two rulings that could force significant changes to education funding.

Lawmakers have been grappling with the issue for decades after the state Supreme Court ruled in the 1990s that the state is required to provide and pay for an adequate education. In response, the Legislature began sending each school district a set amount of aid per pupil — currently $4,100. Actual costs are much higher, however, and local property taxpayers make up the difference, with wide disparities due to differences in property wealth between communities.

Conval Regional School District and 17 others challenged the base amount in court in 2019, and after a trial in April, Rockingham County Judge David Ruoff agreed with them Monday that the current allocation is unconstitutional. While the plaintiffs argued aid must be increased to at least $9,900 per pupil, Ruoff declined to set a definitive amount but said it should be at least $7,356.

In his order, Ruoff said while he is mindful that the Legislature has the final say, school funding is a “complicated and politically-charged issue with a history that suggests some level of judicial intervention is now necessary.” He suggested politics have impeded the state’s duty to children, but said “that ends today.”

In a separate case, Ruoff also found the state has violated the constitution by not redistributing excess money collected via the statewide education property tax from wealthier towns to poorer communities.

The rulings are likely to be appealed. A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, which represented the state, said officials were reviewing the orders and considering next steps.

Kimberly Rizzo Saunders, super­intendent of the Conval Regional School District, said the court recognized the substantial evidence offered by plaintiffs.

“Today’s decision reflects what has been apparent for years: that the State of New Hampshire has not lived up to its legal and moral obligation to adequately fund public education,” she said in a statement.

Tennessee
Jury acquits Catholic priest who was charged with sexual battery
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A jury has found a Catholic priest in Tennessee not guilty of sexual battery against a woman who was a church member.

Jurors handed down the verdict late last week in the case against Father Antony Punnackal, who was suspended from his role as pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Gatlinburg after being indicted in January 2022 on two counts of sexual battery.

The charges centered on allegations from February 2020 regarding Punnackal’s actions toward the parishioner. A lawsuit by the woman remains active.

Punnackal has denied any allegations of assault. His attorney Travis McCarter told news outlets in a statement that the priest is a “terrific human being and we are glad to finally be able to show the world that he’s innocent of these accusations.”
An attorney for the woman pointed to her lawsuit, adding in a statement that “a civil case under federal trafficking laws is very different” than a criminal case.

The federal lawsuit targets Punnackal, the diocese and a Catholic congregation, alleging that Punnackal committed sexual battery when the asylum-seeking mother of three children came to him for grief counseling after her child’s father was killed.
“This case is now stronger than it was a week ago,” said Andrew Fels, an attorney for the woman.

Father Doug Owens, delegate to the apostolic administrator in the Diocese of Knoxville, shared news of the verdict in the criminal case “with great relief.”

“The stress Father Punnackal had to endure in the many months leading up to his trial must have been unimaginable, but he always maintained his innocence and we are grateful that the jury heard the testimony, evaluated the evidence, and agreed,” Owens said in a statement.

Owens said the diocese won’t comment on the lawsuit “until its fate can be decided.”

Tennessee
State Supreme Court Justice Roger Page to retire in 2024
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger Page announced on Monday that he plans to retire in August 2024.

In a statement from Tennessee’s court system, the 68-year-old said his time as a judge has been humbling, inspiring and the honor of a lifetime. He was first appointed to the high court by former Republican Gov. Bill Haslam in 2016. His last day will be Aug. 31.

“The Tennessee judiciary is truly a family, and I have been fortunate to walk this path with my great friends in the judiciary,” Page said in a statement. “I will miss all of them and treasure their friendship.”

The decision will give Republican Gov. Bill Lee a chance to appoint his third justice on the five-member court. The five current justices were all appointed by Republican governors.

Page has spent more than 25 years as a judge at the trial court, intermediate appellate and Tennessee Supreme Court levels. Haslam appointed him to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in 2011 before picking Page for the state Supreme Court about five years later. Page served as the chief justice from 2021 to 2023.

During his tenure, Page helped secure funding for electronic filing for the court system, advocated for access to pro bono services and promoted livestreaming of appellate arguments, according to the statement.

Page grew up on a farm in the Mifflin area of West Tennessee. Before his legal career, he worked as a chief pharmacist and assistant store manager for Walgreens.

“If I hurry, I might have time for one more career,” Page said.

He praised the work done by Tennessee’s judiciary system during the pandemic, including advances in technology.

“It has been incredibly gratifying to watch the start of an evolution across the judiciary,” Page said. “I look forward to following those changes and to catching up with my judicial family in between trips I have been planning for years, watching my grandkids play sports, and spending time with my wonderful wife.”

In Tennessee, the governor’s picks for Supreme Court must also be confirmed by state lawmakers. Republicans have supermajority control in both legislative chambers. Additionally, Supreme Court justices face “yes-no” retention elections every eight years. Voters retained Page and the other four justices at the time during the 2022 election.

Kansas
Oil refinery agrees to $23M  in ­penalties for ­violating federal air pollution law
COFFEYVILLE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas refinery has agreed to pay more than $23 million for violating the federal Clean Air Act and breaching a 2012 settlement for earlier pollution problems, the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday.

The federal agencies said the violations by Coffeyville Resources Refining and Marketing and its affiliated companies, collectively known as CRRM, resulted in illegal emissions from 2015 to 2017 that included an estimated 2,300 excess tons (2,000 metric tons) of sulfur dioxide from its oil refinery in Coffeyville in southeastern Kansas.

But CRRM’s efforts to come into compliance with federal requirements since the investigation began have already eliminated more than 39,000 tons (35,000 metric tons) per year of carbon dioxide emissions that can contribute to climate change, the agencies said in a joint news release. That’s equivalent to using nearly 4 million fewer gallons of gasoline per year, they said.

The EPA also estimated that a waste gas recovery system required by Monday’s court-enforceable settlement, known as a consent decree, will further reduce yearly emissions of greenhouse gases by nearly 13,000 tons (12,000 metric tons), equivalent to using 1.3 million fewer gallons of gasoline annually. It will also reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, which can make breathing more difficult, and nitrogen oxide, which contributes to smog formation.

“The emissions reductions achieved under this settlement will result in healthier air for a community disproportionately affected by air pollution,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim said in the statement.

CRRM did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The agreement also requires the company to spend at least $1 million on an environmentally beneficial project to be approved by the state.

The consent degree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.


Louisiana
3 teenage girls plead guilty in carjacking death of woman, 73
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three teenage girls involved in the dragging death of a woman whose arm was severed during a carjacking in New Orleans last year pleaded guilty Monday to reduced charges and were sentenced to 20 years in prison.

New Orleans news outlets report that the three were convicted of attempted manslaughter in the death of Linda Frickey, 73. A fourth suspect, a male who is now 18, still faces a second-degree murder charge, which carries a life sentence.

All four had been slated for trial Monday. Jury selection for the lone remaining suspect, who prosecutors said was behind the wheel when Frickey died, got underway after the three girls’ guilty pleas were entered.

The four ranged in age from 15 to 17 when they were charged as adults in the March 2022 killing. Authorities said Frickey died of blunt force injuries after she became entangled in a seatbelt as carjackers sped away with her car on the afternoon of March 21. She was dragged while neighbors watched helplessly.

Outside the courthouse, Frickey’s family talked with reporters about listening to statements two of the defendants made.

“When they were saying they were sorry, I’m sure they were,” said her sister, Jinny Frickey. “Because you go back, hindsight, a lot of times, you are sorry for the actions you completed. But you did it. And, unfortunately, they did it and they have to serve the time.”

One defendant wrung her hands as she stood before Frickey’s family, according to an account of the hearing in The Times-Picayune/ The New Orleans Advocate. “That’s not what we set out to do,” she said tearfully of the killing, “and I hope that you all can forgive me.”

Prosecutors won’t comment until the case is over, District Attorney Jason Williams’s office said.

“However, we would like to highlight the remarkable grace of Mrs. Frickey’s family in response to the words of the three defendants who accepted responsibility for their roles in this horrific matter,” the statement said. “Our hearts and unwavering support continue to be with the Frickey family as we fight for justice and pursue a resolution that honors Linda’s memory.”