Pennsylvania
‘Boobies’ word fight could go to Supreme Court
EASTON, Pennsylvania (AP) — The court battle between two girls and their school over “I (heart) Boobies!” breast cancer awareness bracelets could be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.
School officials in the Pennsylvania town of Easton plan to appeal a federal appeals court’s decision that rejected its claim the bracelets are lewd and should be banned from school after a school district board vote Tuesday night. Officials say they’re concerned about a “hyper-sexualized” school environment.
Easton is one of several school districts around the U.S. to ban the bracelets, which are distributed by the nonprofit Keep A Breast Foundation of California.
The case started in 2010 when two girls, then ages 12 and 13, challenged the school’s ban on the bracelets designed to promote breast cancer awareness among young people.
The students, Brianna Hawk and Kayla Martinez, said they merely hoped to promote awareness of the disease at their middle school. They filed suit when they were suspended for defying the ban on their school’s Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
In August, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision in favor of the girls, saying also that the district didn’t prove the bracelets are disruptive.
Superintendent John Reinhart told The Express-Times of Easton he supports the board’s decision.
In court sessions, Reinhart had called the bracelets “cause-based marketing energized by sexual double-entendres.”
An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which helped the girls challenge the rule, said Tuesday night the school had been hinting that it would petition the Supreme Court.
School district solicitor John Freund said the district had the backing of the National School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania School Board Association. He said they and other organizations are “concerned about the implications of a hyper-sexualized environment,” The Express-Times reported.
Tennessee
Inmates file suit over publications being withheld
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — An inmate rights organization is suing the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Wayne Anderson and claiming the department refusing to deliver its publications and newsletter to inmates held at the Sullivan County Jail.
Prison Legal News filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Greeneville on Oct. 10. PLN is a project of the Human Rights Defense Center, a Florida-based nonprofit organization whose mission is public education, prisoner education, advocacy and outreach in support of prisoners’ rights.
The Kingsport Times News reports PLN claims its publications and newsletter are being held at the county jail in violation of the 1st and 14th amendments. The group says the jail has also rejected book catalogs and offers.
Jail officials did not immediately respond to the suit.
Indiana
Man sues police over dumping of mom’s ashes
MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — A central Indiana man is suing two police agencies in federal court, claiming that a detective threw away his mother’s ashes during a search of his home.
The lawsuit filed by 26-year-old Joshua Baker of Muncie says detectives from the Muncie Police Department searched his home in October 2011 while he was being questioned elsewhere by a Randolph County sheriff’s detective.
The lawsuit claims a detective opened a chrome vial filled with a gray powder and discarded what was his deceased mother’s ashes in a water-filled outdoor trash can.
The Star Press reports the Muncie police chief declined to comment. Randolph County Sheriff Ken Hendrickson says his detective did nothing wrong and that Baker was never charged in the robbery for which he was questioned.
Virginia
Mars co-owner charged in fatal highway crash
ALDIE, Va. (AP) — Authorities in northern Virginia say Jacqueline Badger Mars, an owner of the candy company Mars Inc., will face a reckless driving misdemeanor charge in a fatal crash.
The Loudoun County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office says Mars was served Tuesday with a summons. The sheriff’s office says Mars was driving a Porsche SUV in Aldie, Va., on Oct. 4 when it crossed the center line and hit a minivan. The sheriff’s office says 86-year-old minivan passenger Irene Ellisor of Huntsville, Texas, died at the scene.
Seventy-four-year-old Mars, the company founder’s daughter who has been ranked by Forbes Magazine as the world’s seventh richest woman, is set to appear in court Dec. 5.
A personal spokesman says Mars “regrets this tragic accident” and her thoughts and prayers are with those who suffered injury and loss.
Alaska
Tentative trial date in wrongful death case is set
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Trial has been set for next September in the wrongful death case filed by the widow of a slain Hoonah police officer.
Haley Tokuoka alleges negligence in the death of Matthew Tokuoka by the city of Hoonah and police officer Tony Wallace.
Hoonah resident John Marvin Jr. was convicted in the 2010 shooting deaths of both Matthew Tokuoka and Wallace and is serving consecutive 99-year prison terms.
The lawsuit, among other things, alleges negligent training and supervision and breach of contract over benefits.
KTOO reports the suit seeks general damages of more than $100,000, special damages and attorneys’ fees.
The city of Hoonah disputes the claims and has asked the suit be dismissed.
The tentative Sept. 16 trial date was set during a brief court hearing Tuesday in Juneau.
Ohio
Court hearing set in gay marriage document lawsuit
CINCINNATI (AP) — Attorneys for the state want a funeral director removed from a lawsuit that seeks to have gay marriages recognized on Ohio death certificates despite a statewide ban.
They’re expected to argue in federal court in Cincinnati on Wednesday that Ohio’s ban on gay marriage couldn’t affect the constitutional rights of Cincinnati funeral director Robert Grunn, and that he should be removed from the civil rights lawsuit.
The lawsuit originally was filed on behalf of one gay couple in Cincinnati, then included another couple. Grunn’s addition expanded the litigation to all gay couples in Ohio who married in other states.
Grunn told The Associated Press that he wants to do what’s right and that married gay couples should be recognized as such on death certificates.