Washington
Legal fight over contraceptives for emergency still on
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Six years after state regulators clarified that pharmacies must dispense emergency contraceptives when asked, one pharmacy owner in Olympia continues to fight the rules, citing religious reasons.
The case is still in federal appeals court, delayed by legal wrangling over the requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act, The Olympian reported Saturday.
Washington’s rules require that pharmacies stock and dispense drugs that are in demand. The state adopted the dispensing rules in 2007 following reports that some women had been denied access to Plan B, which is effective at preventing pregnancy if a woman takes it within 72 hours of unprotected sex.
Kevin Stormans and his family, who own Ralph’s Thriftway Pharmacy, sued in 2007 to overturn the state emergency contraceptive rule. They won a trial in federal court in Tacoma in 2012.
But the state Department of Health and Pharmacy Commission appealed the decision, which also awarded legal fees of more than $2 million that the state would have to pay if it ultimately loses.
The case was moving toward possible closure in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco last month but is now on hold, The Olympian reported.
The 9th Circuit wants to wait until the U.S. Supreme Court hears two legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that health insurance policies cover female birth control for free, the newspaper reported. Contraceptives fall under the health law’s requirement that insurers cover preventive care.
The central legal issue is whether a private business can assert a right to exercise religious conscience in not following the state law.
The Stormanses “have had a tremendous burden in not knowing if their pharmacy would be closed and have enormous legal fees,” argued Kristen Waggoner, part of a legal team representing the family.
Joyce Roper, senior attorney with the attorney general’s office, said the case for the state has never been about Plan B alone, but about all legally prescribed drugs.
“The concern is a free exercise claim would allow a pharmacy owner to decide they are not going to provide medications needed by patients based on the pharmacy owner’s beliefs when it may be necessary for the patient,” she said.
But U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton found in 2012 that the state singled out religious objectors for failing to dole out medications. In his decision, the judge did not strike down Washington’s rules but said the way they were applied to the plaintiffs in this case was unconstitutional.
Maine
Three men face trial in massive marijuana bust
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Three men arrested in connection with what authorities call one of the biggest marijuana busts in state history head to trial this week.
The Portland Press Herald reports that Malcolm French, Kendall Chase, and Rodney Russell are scheduled to appear Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor on drug trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Police say the three men played key roles in a sophisticated outdoor marijuana growing operation at two sites, near a camp in Lagrange, in Penobscot County, and at a site in the woods of Township 37, near Horse Lake in Washington County.
Police say a raid at the Washington County site alone in September 2009 yielded 3,000 plants worth an estimated $9 million.
Louisiana
Can grand jury testimony ever be used in trial?
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Louisiana Supreme Court will hear a case this month about whether grand jury testimony may ever be used as trial evidence.
It’s the appeal of Eric “Tooti” Ross, who was convicted three years ago of shooting Albert McClebb 14 times.
Prosecutors used Conrad Jackson’s grand jury testimony after he recanted it, telling the trial jury that he saw nothing.
He told the grand jury that he had known both McClebb and Ross since they were children, and knew Ross was one of the gunmen who shot McClebb.
He was severely beaten in jail sometime after his grand jury appearance, The New Orleans Advocate reported.
The state 4th Circuit Court of Appeal overturned Ross’s conviction last year, ruling that the judge should not have let prosecutors give jurors a transcript of Conrad’s grand jury testimony.
The Supreme Court will decide whether Ross gets a new trial or remains in Angola for the rest of his life.
The Louisiana Constitution requires every person involved in a grand jury proceeding to keep witness testimony secret, to protect the integrity of the proceedings, the identity of witnesses and the reputation of those who are investigated and cleared.
The state’s highest court has upheld a decision to overturn the indictment of a woman accused of burning down her house with her children inside after prosecutors gave other witnesses transcripts of testimony.
State law allows a few exceptions to the secrecy rule: for a perjury investigation if a witness is suspected of having lied to the grand jury, if a prosecutor or defense attorney wants to talk to a witness about his testimony, or to reveal misconduct or other irregularities in the grand jury proceeding itself.
Prosecutors did not cite any of those when they asked Criminal District Court Judge Camille Buras to allow use of Jackson’s testimony. They pointed to a 1983 Supreme Court ruling that there is a specific reason that injustice would be done or a case would be “greatly prejudiced” without it.
The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office insists Jackson’s “continued testimonial stonewalling” on the stand showed such a need.
