National Roundup

South Carolina Harrell wants redistricting suit thrown out COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Lawyers for the leader of the South Carolina House say a lawsuit over redrawing the state's new U.S. House districts should be dismissed. Attorneys for House Speaker Bobby Harrell say in court papers filed Monday that six black voters have failed to prove the state's congressional districts were redrawn unfairly based on race. Harrell is among the defendants in a lawsuit over new district lines, including the state's new 7th Congressional District along the coast. Six black voters are challenging the plan passed by the Republican-dominated state Legislature, claiming it creates "voting apartheid." The Justice Department has already said it would not challenge the new layout. Last week, a federal judge ruled that Harrell and Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell would not have to testify about their redistricting debate. Rhode Island Officer intends to appeal conviction in casino assault PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- A Lincoln police officer convicted of kicking a handcuffed woman in the head outside the Twin River Casino has filed a court document saying he plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court. The Providence Journal reports that a lawyer for Edward Krawetz filed a notice to appeal last week. Krawetz also has a motion for a new trial pending. A state judge convicted Krawetz last month of felony battery for kicking 44-year-old Donna Levesque of Uxbridge, Mass., in the head outside the slot parlor in May 2009. She was sitting on a curb awaiting booking on a disorderly conduct charge at the time. Krawetz is scheduled to be sentenced on March 19. He's suspended without pay while his case is pending in the courts. North Dakota Suspects ordered extradited in teacher kidnap WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) -- A North Dakota district judge has ordered two suspects in the disappearance of a Montana math teacher to be moved to Montana for trial. Northwest District Judge David Nelson ordered the extradition of 47-year-old Lester Vann Waters Jr. and 22-year-old Michael Keith Spell during separate court hearings Tuesday in Williston, N.D. Waters and Spell face charges of aggravated kidnapping in the disappearance of 43-year-old Sherry Arnold of Sidney, Mont. Arnold disappeared Jan. 7 shortly after she left her home for a run. Authorities have said she is presumed dead but her body hasn't been found. Waters and Spell will be moved from Williston to the Richland County jail in Sidney, Mont., Tuesday. Richland County prosecutor Mike Weber says the pair could appear in court in Montana Tuesday or Wednesday. Texas Ex-Clarksville teacher gets 5 years in prison CLARKSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- A former middle school teacher in Clarksville has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges involving sexual misconduct with a 13-year-old male student. The Texarkana Gazette reports that 32-year-old Randi Lynn Bratcher Savage pleaded guilty to indecency with a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child. District Judge Eric Clifford sentenced her to concurrent five-year terms on the charges. Savage was a teacher at Cheatham Middle School in Clarksville. She was accused of contacting the boy through Facebook and text messages, which led to sexual encounters. Prosecutor Val Varley says Savage must also surrender her teaching license and register as a sex offender for the rest of her life. An attorney for Savage couldn't immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. Massachusetts Family sues over 'under God' in classroom pledge ACTON, Mass. (AP) -- An atheist family from Acton has sued the local school district, saying their children are being discriminated against because the Pledge of Allegiance contains the words "under God." The family's lawyer asked a judge in Middlesex Superior Court on Monday to have the words taken out. The parents are identified only as John and Jane Doe, with three children, one in high school and two in middle school. Their attorney told the judge the children are being marginalized and discriminated against, and that reciting the pledge "defines patriotism according to a particular religious belief." The school district's attorney said the pledge is constitutional and voluntary. Superintendent Stephen Mills says the there are no negative consequences for students who choose not to say the pledge. The judge did not immediately rule. Washington Evaluation is ordered for man in wife's death WASHINGTON (AP) -- A German-born man charged with killing his socialite wife in Washington is being transferred to a psychiatric hospital for a competency screening after a doctor said he was delusional. Albrecht Muth is charged in the August strangulation and beating death of his 91-year-old wife Viola Drath, a German journalist and socialite, in the fashionable Georgetown neighborhood. A doctor who has met with Muth for months said in court Tuesday that Muth has hallucinatory visions of the Archangel Gabriel and takes directions from him. He said Muth believes God will take care of him during a planned 40-day fast. Superior Court Judge Russell Canan found Muth currently incompetent for trial pending the outcome of the screening. Maine Maine man gets year in prison for killing bald eagle BANGOR, Maine (AP) -- A Maine man who fatally shot a protected bald eagle while he was barred from having a gun or a hunting license has been sentenced to a year in prison. A federal judge in Bangor on Monday also sentenced 51-year-old Stephen Voisine to two years of probation and ordered him to undergo mental health and substance abuse treatment. Authorities started investigating after getting an anonymous tip in November 2009 and finding the bird near a logging road in Kingman in eastern Maine. Voisine told investigators he thought the eagle was a large hawk. The Bangor Daily News reports that Voisine's lawyer asked that his client be spared prison time because of mental health and medical conditions. Voisine was barred from possessing guns or a hunting license because of prior convictions. Published: Wed, Feb 15, 2012