Pennsylvania
Court: Rehire teacher who put sign on boy
WIND GAP, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania appeals court says a special education teacher shouldn't have been fired for hanging an "I abuse animals" sign around the neck of an autistic, mentally challenged 14-year-old who hit a goat during a petting zoo field trip.
The Commonwealth Court's ruling Monday upholds an arbitrator's decision to convert Bruce Millheim's firing from the Bethlehem-area Colonial Intermediate Unit to a 53-day unpaid suspension.
Arbitrator Rochelle Kaplan reversed Millheim's December 2011 firing despite finding fault with the sign and other discipline measures, including calling students sissy and crybaby, twisting arms and pushing heads.
In her 2012 ruling she said the intermediate unit owed him 14 months of back wages. She said he must follow an improvement plan.
The intermediate unit's solicitor says school districts, not arbitrators, should make personnel decisions.
Pennsylvania
Two companies sued in sisters' dresser deaths
BEAVER, Pa. (AP) - A lawyer representing the estates of two toddler sisters who were crushed by a fallen dresser in their Pennsylvania home has sued a Babies R Us store and a New Jersey furniture maker.
The lawsuit was filed in Beaver County on behalf of 3-year-old Ryeley Beatty and her 2-year-old sister, Brooklyn.
The lawsuit claims their mother bought the dresser built by Baby Cache Inc. of Piscataway, New Jersey, from a Babies R Us store in Cranberry in 2010. The dresser fell on the girls in their Aliquippa (al-uh-KWIH'-puh) home July 4. Brooklyn died that day and Ryeley two days later.
Officials from the retailer and the dresser company didn't immediately comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges the dresser didn't have an anchoring strap to keep it from falling. The suit seeks unspecified damages.
North Carolina
Woman accused of smuggling pot in son's pants
BRUNSWICK, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina woman is accused of smuggling marijuana into a county jail in her 4-year-old son's pants.
The Fayetteville Observer reports that 24-year-old Jenifer Lynn Patterson of Fairmont was charged this week with providing drugs to an inmate.
The Columbus County Sheriff's Office says Patterson provided the marijuana to 24-year-old Cody Lambert, who was in jail serving a nearly three-year sentence for being a felon in possession of a gun. Lambert has been charged with being an inmate in possession of marijuana.
Detective Kevin Norris says two children with Patterson when she went to the jail Sunday have been turned over to the Department of Social Services.
It was not clear if Patterson has a lawyer.
Alabama
Legal advice is key to allowing gay marriage
WETUMPKA, Ala. (AP) - Alabama probate courts are citing legal advice for their decision to issue same-sex wedding licenses in additional counties.
Elmore, Limestone and Morgan counties became the latest on Tuesday to say they'll issue marriage licenses to anyone.
Elmore County Probate Judge John Enslen issued a statement saying legal guidance shows it's clear his office must issue the licenses.
A federal judge previously struck down Alabama's ban on gay marriage. But probate judges are faced with an order from Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore telling them not to allow same-sex marriage.
Officials in Limestone and Morgan counties say legal consultations led to their decisions to allow the marriages.
On Monday, same-sex licenses were sold in at least seven counties. Those include Coffee, Etowah, Fayette, Jefferson, Lowndes, Madison and Montgomery.
Oklahoma
Nitrogen gas death penalty bill clears panel
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma would be the first state to use nitrogen gas to execute inmates under a bill that has unanimously cleared a Senate committee.
With no debate, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 9-0 Tuesday to authorize "nitrogen hypoxia," which depletes oxygen supply in the blood to cause death.
The bill's author, Moore Republican Sen. Anthony Sykes, says it's likely the bill will be amended before the session is over.
Three lethal injections remain on hold in Oklahoma while the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether Oklahoma's three-drug method is constitutional.
A House committee studied the use of nitrogen gas to execute inmates after a botched lethal injection last spring sparked the legal challenge.
Wisconsin
State opposes $1.2M
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Wisconsin Department of Justice is opposing civil rights advocates' claims for $1.2 million in attorney fees they say they accumulated fighting the state's gay marriage ban.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit in 2014 challenging the ban on behalf of eight gay couples. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb invalidated the ban in June. The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld her ruling in September.
ACLU lawyers and other attorneys who worked behalf of the couples filed a motion with Crabb in December demanding $1.2 million in attorney fees.
The DOJ filed a brief Tuesday saying that the claim grossly exceeds the market rate for civil rights attorneys in Crabb's jurisdiction and questioning the attorneys' hours.
Wisconsin
Court upholds conviction in triplet beating
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A state appeals court says a Milwaukee man accused of severely harming his two-month-old triplet daughters by twisting their legs and breaking their bones was properly convicted.
Steven Sommer was convicted of three counts of child abuse in 2012 and sentenced to prison. Prosecutors said medical imaging showed the sisters had multiple broken bones and that injuries had been inflicted at different times.
Sommer argued on appeal he should be re-sentenced based on a new psychological exam and he received ineffective assistance from his trial lawyer.
The 1st District Court of Appeals rejected his arguments Tuesday, ruling the new exam isn't relevant and his lawyer was adequate.
Published: Wed, Feb 11, 2015
