Ohio: Gag order issued in case of man accused of killing
PORT CLINTON, Ohio (AP) — Attorneys in the case of an Ohio man accused of killing three family members are now under a judge’s gag order.
The order imposed last week in northwest Ohio’s Ottawa County bars the lawyers from making statements outside court, so as not to influence pretrial publicity.
Twenty-four-year-old William J. Liske (LIS’-kee) is charged with aggravated murder in the killings of his father, stepmother and an adult stepbrother. Another stepbrother found the bodies Oct. 31 at the family’s rural home just outside Toledo.
Liske has pleaded not guilty. He’s represented by two court-appointed attorneys. The gag order was requested by a third lawyer, appointed Liske’s guardian by the court. The Blade of Toledo reports that lawyer declined to explain his request.
Georgia: State top court OKs death option for cop shooting
ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled 5-to-2 that two men will be eligible for the death penalty if they’re found guilty of killing a Bibb County law enforcement officer.
The state is seeking the death penalty against Antron Dawayne Fair and Damon Antwon Jolly for the killing in 2006 of sheriff’s deputy Joseph Whitehead.
Whitehead was attempting to serve a ‘no-knock” warrant on a house that was the suspected site of illegal drug trafficking.
The state announced plans to seek the death penalty against Fair and Jolly, citing the killing of a police officer.
Attorneys for the men argued that the death penalty should be barred because Fair and Jolly did not know Whitehead was an officer.
On Monday, the court upheld the state’s right to seek the death penalty.
Virginia: Man arrested in connection with bomb threat
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — Virginia authorities say they’ve arrested a man on charges of threatening to blow up a courthouse in Newport News.
The Newport News Sheriff’s Office says 49-year-old Steven Goodwin has been charged with making the threat. The arrest stems from a threat phoned to the courthouse Oct. 21.
The building houses several courts, including General District Court. It was evacuated, but no bomb was found.
Goodwin is being held in the Newport News jail. It was unclear Sunday whether he had an attorney.
The Daily Press reports the courthouse also received several other bomb threats, which remain under investigation.
Kentucky: State to get share of settlement with medical firm
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky will receive a share of a $16.3 million settlement with Ameritox Ltd., a Maryland-based medical firm accused by the U.S. Department of Justice of giving kickbacks to physicians.
Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said the state’s Medicaid program will get $131,888 from the settlement with the company that provides doctors with urine testing supplies and services.
Since January 2008, the attorney general’s office has collected more than $140 million for the state and federal Medicaid programs from lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies and medical providers.
Tennessee: Judge sets 2011 trial in civil case over shooting
KINGSTON, Tenn. (AP) — Two brothers who beat a double-murder charges in the death of a Roane County deputy and a ride-along civilian are being sued by the ride-along’s family.
Special Judge Amy Hollars set a Nov. 7, 2011, trial date for the lawsuit brought by 44-year-old Mike Brown’s family against Rocky Joe Houston and his brother, Leon Houston.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that an appeals court threw out the case against Rocky Joe Houston and a jury acquitted Leon Houston of charges related to the 2006 shooting deaths of Brown and deputy Bill Jones, 53.
Hollars set the trial date on Friday during a hearing in which Leon Houston was ordered out of the courtroom twice for shouting and pointing fingers.
Kentucky: Fort Campbell soldier sues over police dog bite
OAK GROVE, Ky. (AP) — A Fort Campbell soldier has sued Oak Grove police saying a police dog bit him during an attack and caused permanent nerve damage in his arm.
Richard C. Lestienne, who was 27 when the dog bit him, wants $1.1 million for lost wages and punitive damages. Lestienne sued in federal court last week.
The Kentucky New Era reported that the bite happened Dec. 11, 2009, when police were called to a Pilot truck stop with a complaint about Lestienne beating on restaurant tables and windows.
The newspaper reports that a video of the incident shows the dog biting Lestienne as he was getting out of a car at the direction of a police officer. Lestienne was charged with first-degree disorderly conduct, alcohol intoxication in a public place and resisting arrest.
New York: NY judge orders Gawker to pull Palin book pages
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Saturday ordered Gawker Media to pull leaked pages of Sarah Palin’s forthcoming book “America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag” from its blog.
The injunction prohibits Gawker from “continuing to distribute, publish or otherwise transmit pages from the book” pending a hearing on Nov. 30.
HarperCollins Publishers had sued Gawker after it published images on Nov. 17 from Palin’s book before its release next week.
In response, Palin tweeted, “Isn’t that illegal?”
Gawker defended its action in a post Thursday titled “Sarah Palin is Mad at Us for Leaking Pages From Her Book” and addressed a message to “Sarah” telling her to read pages about fair use under copyright law. “Or skip the totally boring reading and call one of your lawyers,” the post said. “They’ll walk you through it.”
HarperCollins filed a legal complaint Friday in federal court asking that the site be banned from what it termed “further copyright infringement.”
Gawker Media LLC couldn’t be reached for comment but appeared to have removed the images from its site.
The blog was not the first site to publish excerpts from the book, which has been billed as a tribute to American values, but it refused to take them down after receiving a letter demanding that it do so, the lawsuit said.
