National Roundup

Pennsylvania Police: Robbery suspect used infection threat SHARON, Pa. (AP) -- Police say a man tried to rob a western Pennsylvania gambling parlor by threatening to spread a staph infection. Online court records don't list an attorney for 41-year-old Fred Parker, of Coolspring Township. Police say he walked into Lucky's Internet Cafe in Sharon on Monday night and began touching the walls and gambling machines, claiming he has MRSA -- a serious staph infection that resists antibiotics. Sharon police Chief Mike Menster says Parker then threatened to infect the cashier if he didn't give Parker money. The chief tells The Herald newspaper of Sharon, "It's our first case of robbery by threat of an infectious disease." Police say Parker left when the cashier refused, but was arrested a short time later based on his description. Parker remained in jail Wednesday. Delaware Judge weighs clemency agreement for Del. killer WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- A Superior Court judge in Delaware is holding a hearing to put final approval to Gov. Jack Markell's decision to commute the death sentence of a man who was facing execution this week for the murder of his former girlfriend. Markell on Tuesday said he would commute the sentence of Robert Gattis to life in prison, following a recommendation from the state Board of Pardons. But the governor agreed with the pardons board that in return for having his sentence commuted, Gattis must forgo any further legal challenge to his conviction and sentence. Gattis also must waive the right to any further request for pardon or commutation, and agreed to spend the rest of his life in the maximum-security unit of the state prison. Vermont State to weigh anti-Citizens United resolution MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Some Vermont lawmakers and activists, including Ben & Jerry's cofounder Jerry Greenfield, have unveiled a resolution calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution overturning the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. That 5-4-ruling two years ago found that corporations have the same rights as individuals to make unlimited contributions to independent groups seeking to influence elections. It has been harshly criticized by Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and others on the left as unleashing unlimited corporate influence over elections. On Wednesday, Senators Virginia Lyons and John Campbell appeared at the Statehouse with activists to introduce a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment overturning the idea that corporations are people. Massachusetts State lawmakers seek end to corporate spending BOSTON (AP) -- Critics of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that eased restrictions on the use of corporate money in political campaigns are calling on Massachusetts lawmakers to back a U.S. constitutional amendment aimed at overturning the January 2010 ruling. The non-binding resolution would urge Congress to set in motion an amendment specifying that corporations do not have the same constitutional rights as ordinary citizens. The Massachusetts resolution was introduced by state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, and Rep. Cory Atkins, D-Concord. Similar measures have been introduced in at least nine other states. As the two-year anniversary of the high court ruling approached, critics on Wednesday pointed to the flood of outside attack ads unleashed during Republican presidential primaries, many of them funded by so-called Super PACs, which can spend unlimited amounts of cash to influence elections. Pennsylvania Judge: Hoax mom swindled $1M from boss, relative PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A federal judge has found that a Pennsylvania woman stole more than $1 million before she called in a hoax carjacking and fled to Disney World with a daughter. The million-dollar fraud boosts Bonnie Sweeten's sentencing range to about seven to nine years. The 40-year-old paralegal is in court for sentencing, but the hearing may not conclude Wednesday. Prosecutors are seeking 10 years in prison for her guilty pleas to fraud and aggravated identity theft. Sweeten triggered a nationwide search in 2009 when she told a 911 operator she and her 9-year-old had been carjacked and stuffed into a trunk. Authorities say she fled as police closed in on her for swindling her boss and an elderly relative. Sweeten spent a year in prison for the fake abduction call. Wyoming Judge denies defense motions in death case CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- A Cheyenne judge has denied a defense lawyer's request to dismiss a death penalty case. Laramie County District Judge Peter Arnold on Wednesday denied a motion from a lawyer representing Nathaniel Castellanos of Cheyenne to dismiss his case. Castellanos has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in connection with shootings at his house last summer. Arnold denied defense lawyer Robert Rose's request to dismiss the case on the grounds that special prosecutor Michael Blonigen of Casper wasn't properly appointed. The judge also denied Rose's request to disqualify Blonigen on the grounds that he's related to two potential witnesses. Arnold's rulings meant he didn't have to rule on Rose's request to seal court records. The Associated Press had asked to intervene to argue against sealing the records. New York NY bar association says budget cuts slowed courts ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- The New York Bar Association says cuts in funding for the state's courts have led to shorter hours, disruptive delays in cases and even forced people to go through metal detectors twice a day at New York City courthouses that now have mandatory midday shutdowns. The lawyers' group says the statewide court system has seen a 12 percent increase in caseload over the past decade, while the budget was cut $170 million this fiscal year after several flat years. And the proposed $2.3 billion budget for 2012-13 continues reductions. Its report draws from interviews and surveys of judges and attorneys from all 13 judicial districts. While noting operational improvements like staff cross-training, online research and electronic filing in some jurisdictions, the group says those alone won't solve the problems. Published: Thu, Jan 19, 2012