National Roundup

PENNSYLVANIA
Grad student sues, says C-plus cost her $1.3M
EASTON, Pa. (AP) — Talk about grade inflation.
Graduate student Megan Thode wasn’t happy about the C-plus she received for one class, saying the mediocre grade kept her from getting her desired degree and becoming a licensed therapist — and, as a result, cost her $1.3 million in lost earnings.
Now Thode is suing her professor and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, claiming monetary damages and seeking a grade change.
A judge is hearing testimony in the case this week in Northampton County Court. Lehigh and the professor contend her lawsuit is without merit. Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano declined to dismiss the suit Wednesday, ruling that there was enough evidence for the suit to proceed, according to The (Easton) Express-Times.
Thode took the class in the fall of 2009. Her instructor, Amanda Eckhardt, testified this week that she stood by the grade, saying Thode failed to behave professionally and thus earned zero out of 25 points in class participation, bumping her down a full letter grade.
The C-plus prevented Thode, an otherwise A student, from going on to the next class and advancing in her professional therapist studies, the newspaper reported. She wound up getting a master’s degree in human development instead.
Her attorney, Richard Orloski, argued that Eckhardt targeted Thode because she is an outspoken advocate for gay marriage.
Eckhardt testified that while she believes marriage is between a man and a woman, she would never allow her personal views to influence her treatment of students. She said Thode had outbursts in class, did not participate appropriately, was emotionally unstable and failed to heed a warning letter.

CONNECTICUT
Greenwich man gets life for his ‘reign of terror’
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut man has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for murdering a gas station attendant, nearly killing another gas station worker and robbing a bodega during what a judge called a “reign of terror.”
Twenty-four-year-old Alain LeConte of Greenwich was sentenced Wednesday in Stamford Superior Court
The Greenwich Time reports that LeConte apologized to the victims and victims’ family, but he also denied many of the facts of the cases.
LeConte was convicted of killing Norwalk gas station attendant Jose Joaquin Morales during a robbery in October 2009, nearly killing another gas station attendant in Greenwich who survived a gunshot to the head in November 2009 and robbing a Stamford bodega in December 2009.
LeConte said during the sentencing that he’s not perfect and he made “mistakes.”

PENNSYLVANIA
Man arrested in basketball court shooting spree
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A 24-year-old man has been charged for allegedly opening fire into a crowd at a Philadelphia playground during a basketball game, injuring six people.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Isiah Davis faces six counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault and other counts in connection with the August 2011 shooting in the city’s Kingsessing section.
Investigators say a neighborhood feud sparked the shooting, which happened as 500 people were in the bleachers for an adult league game. Witnesses saw a young man cross the court and fire into the crowd.
Walker says police began to focus on Davis after receiving tips. He says Davis turned himself in Wednesday, accompanied by a lawyer.

IOWA
No new trial for lawyer who lost U. Iowa age claim
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A court has refused to grant a new trial to a Michigan lawyer who claims the University of Iowa law school passed him over for a teaching job because of his age.
The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that Donald Dobkin won’t get a second trial in his age discrimination claims, which a jury rejected last year.
Dobkin applied for a teaching position in 2008, citing experience leading a large immigration law firm and other qualifications. A 32-year-old was offered the position. Dobkin claimed he was passed over because he was 55.
Dobkin’s appeal argued that a judge erred by not allowing jurors to see an article by former North Dakota Attorney General Nicholas Spaeth about age discrimination in law schools.
The court says the article was inadmissible hearsay.

INDIANA
Inmate sues city, alleging assault while in hospital
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana prison inmate is suing the city of Lafayette and one of its police officers, accusing the officer of assaulting him as he was handcuffed to a hospital bed.
Tyler J. Collins’ federal lawsuit alleges the officer repeatedly hit him in the face without provocation following his November 2011 arrest for attacking his ex-girlfriend.
Collins was brought to a Lafayette hospital after that arrest because he had a cut on his head from a previous fight.
Lafayette police say an officer struck Collins after he tried to grab the officer’s handgun from its holster and squeezed the officer’s fingers, causing him “extreme pain.”

CALIFORNIA
NCAA sued over new rule barring felon coaches
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A nonprofit group sued the NCAA on Wednesday over a new policy that bars felons from coaching NCAA-sanctioned events.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Diego, claims that the new rule violates the Civil Rights Act and disproportionately affects minority coaches.
The action came after Dominic Hardie, who had coached high school girls’ basketball teams in NCAA tournaments in the past, was unable to renew his certification because of a nonviolent drug conviction more than a decade ago.
Hardie is seeking a preliminary injunction to allow him to coach in an upcoming game in San Diego. His legal team, which includes the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said the new policy has a chilling effect on minority coaches.
The NCAA previously allowed people with a nonviolent felony conviction older than seven years to coach at NCAA-certified basketball tournaments. In 2011, the rule changed and all ex-felons were prohibited from coaching.
In a statement, the NCAA said it stands by its policy.