National Roundup

New Hampshire
Court rejects new trial request in church rape case
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire’s highest court has rejected a new trial for a man convicted of raping a 15-year-old member of his church.
Ernest Willis was convicted in May 2011 of raping the girl in 1997. His lawyer argued that statements he made to the pastor of the fundamentalist Baptist church should not have been used against him.
But prosecutors countered that Willis’ statements were not protected by religious privilege because they involved the sexual abuse of a child.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision Wednesday morning.
Willis is serving 15 to 30 years in prison.
His trial gained national attention because the pastor — Charles Phelps — made the pregnant girl apologize to the congregation. Phelps reported the sexual assaults to police.

Ohio
Basketball player sues Xavier after being expelled
CINCINNATI (AP) — A former Xavier University basketball player is suing the school, alleging it damaged his reputation by expelling him for what he says was a false sexual assault accusation.
Dez Wells’ federal lawsuit also names the private Catholic school’s president as a defendant. A statement from Father Michael Graham says the university denies the allegations and will defend its decision.
Xavier expelled Wells a year ago after a woman accused him of sexual assault. A Hamilton County grand jury then decided against indicting him, and the prosecutor publicly questioned the school’s expulsion.
Wells, who is from Raleigh, N.C., was a freshman star for Xavier. He transferred to University of Maryland and was a top player there last season.
His lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory, punitive and special damages to be determined at trial.

Texas
Ex-judge set to be sentenced for racketeering 
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A disgraced former South Texas judge who pleaded guilty to racketeering for turning his courtroom into a money-making operation is to be sentenced.
Ex-state District Judge Abel Limas entered a guilty plea in 2011 and went on to testify in four federal trials of others charged in the wide-ranging enterprise at the courtroom in Brownsville on the Mexico border.
Limas faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison but is expected to get less Wednesday in recognition of his cooperation.
Limas attracted the FBI’s attention in late 2007 as he was nearing the end of his second term in office.
Investigators collected some 40,000 phone calls, as well as surveillance photos documenting how Limas had converted his courtroom into a criminal enterprise collecting bribes and kickbacks totaling $257,000.

California
Unionized strip club closing its curtains for good
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Nearly two decades after they made the nation gawk by forming its first unionized strip club, the dancers at San Francisco’s Lusty Lady are hanging up their thongs.
The employee-owned, co-op club will close in two weeks because it can no longer afford its rent.
General manager Scott Farrell tells the San Francisco Chronicle that while the workers own the club, they don’t own the North Beach building where rent was $5,500 a month in 2001 but now runs more than $16,000. That’s far more than the dancers and their wads of ones can manage.
Eviction proceedings began against the club earlier this year when it fell behind on rent. The workers have agreed to vacate by Sept. 2, and the owner says he’ll waive the back rent.

Texas
Ex-teacher sent to jail for having students hit bully
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A former San Antonio teacher accused of directing students to hit a schoolmate for being a bully has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Cynthia Ambrose also was ordered Tuesday to serve two years’ probation. She was convicted in June of official oppression, a misdemeanor.
Prosecutors say the 44-year-old former kindergarten teacher at Salinas Elementary School told her students in May 2012 to line up and hit the 6-year-old boy so he knows “how it feels to be bullied.”
The San Antonio Express-News reports state District Judge Sid Harle said he wants to prevent Ambrose from teaching for two years, the maximum probation term allowed.
He is allowing her to serve the jail sentence on work release or to report to the Bexar (bayr) County Jail on weekends.

California
Army reservist sues over alleged discrimination
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — An attorney with the County Counsel in Orange County is suing his own office, claiming he was denied promotions because he’s an Army reservist.
The Orange County Register says Robert Ervais contends he faced discrimination because of the time he had to serve away from his job a probate attorney.
Ervais sued last year in federal court and county supervisors reviewed the case Tuesday.
Ervais contends in the past decade, 15 people have been promoted over him and that he was told he should give up the reserves if he wanted a better chance.
Workplace discrimination against military service members is barred by federal law.
The county has denied discrimination and said Ervais wouldn’t have been promoted anyway — though it hasn’t said why not.

Washington, D.C.
Judge rejects whistleblower claims of officers
WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge has rejected a whistleblower lawsuit brought by three D.C. police officers over drunken driving enforcement.
The officers alleged that they were retaliated against for raising concerns about inaccurately calibrated breath-testing equipment used to evaluate suspected drunken drivers. The police department stopped using the machines in 2010 after discovering problems that could make a driver’s breath-alcohol content appear higher than it was.
The officers also suggested that lawyers in the attorney general’s office encouraged them to give false testimony.
Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein ruled in the district government’s favor in rejecting the lawsuit Tuesday. He said there was no evidence to support the officers’ claims.
Kris Baumann, the head of the police officers’ union, said the judge’s ruling prevents the D.C. government from being held accountable.d