Pennsylvania
Philadelphia loses lawsuit that sought greater regulatory power over firearms
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia cannot impose stricter firearms regulations than are allowed by state law, Pennsylvania’s Democratic-majority state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday, a blow to city leaders looking for ways to stem gun violence.
The justices ruled 6-0 to uphold a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the city, the nonprofit group CeaseFirePA and family members of gun violence victims.
They had sought to throw out a state law that has long prohibited municipalities from regulating the ownership or possession of guns or ammunition. Under it, courts in Pennsylvania have thrown out decades of local firearms measures, including a 1990s-era assault weapons ban in Pittsburgh.
Justice Kevin Brobson’s majority opinion acknowledged the tragedy of gun violence and that “a serious problem exists.” But, he wrote, the court’s role was not to decide whether laws passed by the Legislature are adequate to address the challenge.
“There is nothing for us to do in the absence of a constitutional violation or other infirmity” in state firearms laws that preempt local ordinances, Brobson, a Republican, wrote.
Gun-rights proponents hailed the decision. On his website, Joshua Prince, a lawyer who advocates for gun rights in court cases, called it a “monumental decision.” The nonprofit organization Pennsylvania Gun Rights called it a “huge win.”
“For two years, Pennsylvanians have lived with this threat that localities might soon be allowed to create their own gun laws — including outright bans,” the organization wrote on Facebook. “Today, that fear is lifted.”
Republicans in the General Assembly, joined by a segment of Democrats, have voted repeatedly in recent years against proposals backed by many urban and suburban lawmakers to restrict gun ownership or gun owners’ rights.
In a statement, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration said the court’s decision means that Philadelphia cannot enact “many common-sense regulations of firearms that are proven to reduce gun violence and save lives.”
“While we are disappointed with this result, the Parker administration will continue to seek remedies to Philadelphia’s deadly gun violence crisis through every legal tool in the toolbox at our disposal,” Parker’s administration said.
House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, who in the past has supported an assault weapons ban and other gun control measures, said the decision was disappointing for communities that are wrestling with gun violence.
“However, today’s decision underscores that the General Assembly ultimately bears the responsibility for approving commonsense gun safety measures that can prevent violence and keep Pennsylvanians safe,” McClinton said.
Just eight states allow cities and towns to pass their own gun safety laws, according to the anti-gun-violence group Everytown for Gun Safety.
The lawsuit raised what Brobson called a novel approach to the constitutionality and validity of firearms preemption laws. The plaintiffs argued the laws violate the constitutional guarantee of due process of law, constitute a type of state-created danger, and interfere with Philadelphia’s health and disease prevention laws.
Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA, which works to end gun violence, said the organization was “deeply disappointed by the court’s decision that will continue to handcuff local governments’ ability to save the lives of their residents. The Pennsylvania General Assembly’s refusal to act has exacerbated this crisis and it’s time for them to change their approach.”
Philadelphia Police Department statistics show homicides have fallen in 2024 after several years of much higher rates that coincided with a national surge in gun violence. Through Wednesday, the city had recorded 228 homicides in 2024.
In 2023, the city recorded 410 after hitting what it says was a record high of 562 in 2021.
Researchers say gun violence is down in most big cities this year. The Center for American Progress said earlier this year that Philadelphia had seen the most significant decline in gun violence in 2024 of the 50 most populous U.S. cities.
The FBI reported violent crime in the U.S. had dropped in 2023 by about 3% from the year before, including a drop of 12% in murders and non-negligent manslaughter. That was in line with findings by the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice, which reported 13% fewer homicides across 29 cities during the first half of 2024 from the year before.
New York
Former doctor is sentenced to life after conviction for sexually abusing patients
NEW YORK (AP) — A former doctor was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing multiple patients, including children, over the span of years in the New York area.
Darius A. Paduch, a former urologist, was found guilty in May following a trial where 11 victims testified about being abused by Paduch and dozens more submitted statements to the court, federal prosecutors said.
Paduch, 57, has maintained his innocence and has said some of his methods of touching patients were medically necessary.
Prosecutors said Paduch sexually abused patients at a prominent hospital in Manhattan from at least 2007 to 2019 and then continued to abuse patients after he began practicing at a different hospital on Long Island. He invited at least one victim to his boat, where prosecutors said Paduch provided the victim with sedatives and sexually assaulted him.
“He used his position as a renowned urologist at prestigious hospitals to sexually assault vulnerable patients, including children, to gratify his own sexual desires,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Paduch’s abuse was perverse and pervasive, spanning over a decade and victimizing patients both inside and outside of hospital rooms.”
Paduch’s attorney, Michael Baldassare, said in a statement that he would file an appeal in the coming days.
“Doctor Paduch maintains his innocence and we are confident that someday he will be vindicated,” Baldassare said.
Utah
Judge dismisses wrongful death lawsuit filed against police by victim’s parents
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge on Wednesday dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit that Gabby Petito’s parents filed against the city of Moab alleging police did not do enough during a traffic stop to protect their daughter from the man who killed her weeks later.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Judson Burton argued that a state law barring lawsuits against government agencies is unconstitutional and said they plan to appeal.
Seventh District Court Judge Don Torgerson said he could not consider the law’s constitutionality but the Court of Appeals can, KSL-TV reported.
Petito’s family said the dismissal was expected.
“We never anticipated that this would be an easy process and look forward to the Utah Supreme Court upholding the Utah Constitution’s original intent to preserve the right to recover for wrongful death claims under these circumstances,” her family said in a statement.
Petito, 22, was traveling the country in a converted camper van with her fiance, 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, and posting about it on social media when they were stopped by police in Moab on Aug. 12, 2021. Someone had called to report a man was slapping a woman. Police determined that Petito was the aggressor, and officers had them spend the night apart.
Her parents last heard from her in late August and reported her missing on Sept. 11, 2021, after Laundrie returned to Florida alone.
The search for Petito drew worldwide attention, spurring amateur sleuths to scour social media for clues. It also brought scrutiny from authorities and the media, both of which have been criticized for focusing more attention on missing white women than women of color.
Laundrie was named a person of interest in the case and disappeared two days before Petito’s body was found on Sept. 19, 2021, just outside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Authorities determined that she had been strangled.
Laundrie’s remains were found a month later in a wildlife reserve near his parents’ house in Florida. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after writing in a notebook that he killed Petito.
An independent investigation found that Moab police made “ several unintentional mistakes “ when they encountered the couple. In their report investigators said Petito very likely “was a long-term victim of domestic violence, whether that be physically, mentally, and/or emotionally.”
Her parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, sued Moab Police in November 2022, seeking $50 million in damages.
Burton, their lawyer, said Wednesday that Gabby Petito called them during the interaction with police and they wanted her to come home, but she assured them police would take care of things. The attorney said the parents relied on the police to handle the situation but a “grossly negligent” investigation increased the chances of their daughter being harmed.
Burton said officers placed Gabby Petitio in a police car and sympathized with Laundrie, laughing with him, which could have emboldened him. He said one of the responding officers explained the risk of domestic violence, showing he understood the situation but did not respond properly.
Mitchell Stephens, the attorney representing the Moab Police Department, argued for dismissal on the grounds of governmental immunity, while adding that allegations about Moab’s involvement in her death are completely speculative.
He said the couple left Moab together and continued traveling. He cited multiple instances where courts have not found police at fault when domestic violence escalated to murder.
“Moab is not liable for criminal conduct that occurred a month later in a different state. Brian Laundrie is the cause of Gabby Petito’s death,” Stephens said.
Idaho
Judge keeps death penalty a possibility for man charged in killings of 4 students
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The death penalty will remain a possibility for a man charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Judge Steven Hippler was not swayed by legal arguments made by Bryan Kohberger’s defense team to remove it as an option if he is convicted in the case, KBOI-TV reported.
Kohberger’s attorneys had argued in part that the death penalty does not fit today’s standards of decency, that it is cruel to make condemned inmates sit for decades awaiting execution and that it violates an international treaty prohibiting the torture of prisoners.
The Idaho Supreme Court has already considered many of those arguments in other capital cases and allowed the death penalty to stand, prosecutors noted.
Kohberger is accused of the Nov. 13, 2022, killings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. Investigators said they have linked Kohberger — then a graduate student at nearby Washington State University — to the crime from DNA found on a knife sheath at the scene, surveillance videos and cellphone data.
Kohberger’s attorneys have said he was out for a drive the night of the killings, something he often did to look at the sky. When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
His trial is scheduled to begin next August and is expected to last up to three months.
Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
Philadelphia loses lawsuit that sought greater regulatory power over firearms
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia cannot impose stricter firearms regulations than are allowed by state law, Pennsylvania’s Democratic-majority state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday, a blow to city leaders looking for ways to stem gun violence.
The justices ruled 6-0 to uphold a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the city, the nonprofit group CeaseFirePA and family members of gun violence victims.
They had sought to throw out a state law that has long prohibited municipalities from regulating the ownership or possession of guns or ammunition. Under it, courts in Pennsylvania have thrown out decades of local firearms measures, including a 1990s-era assault weapons ban in Pittsburgh.
Justice Kevin Brobson’s majority opinion acknowledged the tragedy of gun violence and that “a serious problem exists.” But, he wrote, the court’s role was not to decide whether laws passed by the Legislature are adequate to address the challenge.
“There is nothing for us to do in the absence of a constitutional violation or other infirmity” in state firearms laws that preempt local ordinances, Brobson, a Republican, wrote.
Gun-rights proponents hailed the decision. On his website, Joshua Prince, a lawyer who advocates for gun rights in court cases, called it a “monumental decision.” The nonprofit organization Pennsylvania Gun Rights called it a “huge win.”
“For two years, Pennsylvanians have lived with this threat that localities might soon be allowed to create their own gun laws — including outright bans,” the organization wrote on Facebook. “Today, that fear is lifted.”
Republicans in the General Assembly, joined by a segment of Democrats, have voted repeatedly in recent years against proposals backed by many urban and suburban lawmakers to restrict gun ownership or gun owners’ rights.
In a statement, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration said the court’s decision means that Philadelphia cannot enact “many common-sense regulations of firearms that are proven to reduce gun violence and save lives.”
“While we are disappointed with this result, the Parker administration will continue to seek remedies to Philadelphia’s deadly gun violence crisis through every legal tool in the toolbox at our disposal,” Parker’s administration said.
House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, who in the past has supported an assault weapons ban and other gun control measures, said the decision was disappointing for communities that are wrestling with gun violence.
“However, today’s decision underscores that the General Assembly ultimately bears the responsibility for approving commonsense gun safety measures that can prevent violence and keep Pennsylvanians safe,” McClinton said.
Just eight states allow cities and towns to pass their own gun safety laws, according to the anti-gun-violence group Everytown for Gun Safety.
The lawsuit raised what Brobson called a novel approach to the constitutionality and validity of firearms preemption laws. The plaintiffs argued the laws violate the constitutional guarantee of due process of law, constitute a type of state-created danger, and interfere with Philadelphia’s health and disease prevention laws.
Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA, which works to end gun violence, said the organization was “deeply disappointed by the court’s decision that will continue to handcuff local governments’ ability to save the lives of their residents. The Pennsylvania General Assembly’s refusal to act has exacerbated this crisis and it’s time for them to change their approach.”
Philadelphia Police Department statistics show homicides have fallen in 2024 after several years of much higher rates that coincided with a national surge in gun violence. Through Wednesday, the city had recorded 228 homicides in 2024.
In 2023, the city recorded 410 after hitting what it says was a record high of 562 in 2021.
Researchers say gun violence is down in most big cities this year. The Center for American Progress said earlier this year that Philadelphia had seen the most significant decline in gun violence in 2024 of the 50 most populous U.S. cities.
The FBI reported violent crime in the U.S. had dropped in 2023 by about 3% from the year before, including a drop of 12% in murders and non-negligent manslaughter. That was in line with findings by the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice, which reported 13% fewer homicides across 29 cities during the first half of 2024 from the year before.
New York
Former doctor is sentenced to life after conviction for sexually abusing patients
NEW YORK (AP) — A former doctor was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing multiple patients, including children, over the span of years in the New York area.
Darius A. Paduch, a former urologist, was found guilty in May following a trial where 11 victims testified about being abused by Paduch and dozens more submitted statements to the court, federal prosecutors said.
Paduch, 57, has maintained his innocence and has said some of his methods of touching patients were medically necessary.
Prosecutors said Paduch sexually abused patients at a prominent hospital in Manhattan from at least 2007 to 2019 and then continued to abuse patients after he began practicing at a different hospital on Long Island. He invited at least one victim to his boat, where prosecutors said Paduch provided the victim with sedatives and sexually assaulted him.
“He used his position as a renowned urologist at prestigious hospitals to sexually assault vulnerable patients, including children, to gratify his own sexual desires,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Paduch’s abuse was perverse and pervasive, spanning over a decade and victimizing patients both inside and outside of hospital rooms.”
Paduch’s attorney, Michael Baldassare, said in a statement that he would file an appeal in the coming days.
“Doctor Paduch maintains his innocence and we are confident that someday he will be vindicated,” Baldassare said.
Utah
Judge dismisses wrongful death lawsuit filed against police by victim’s parents
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge on Wednesday dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit that Gabby Petito’s parents filed against the city of Moab alleging police did not do enough during a traffic stop to protect their daughter from the man who killed her weeks later.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Judson Burton argued that a state law barring lawsuits against government agencies is unconstitutional and said they plan to appeal.
Seventh District Court Judge Don Torgerson said he could not consider the law’s constitutionality but the Court of Appeals can, KSL-TV reported.
Petito’s family said the dismissal was expected.
“We never anticipated that this would be an easy process and look forward to the Utah Supreme Court upholding the Utah Constitution’s original intent to preserve the right to recover for wrongful death claims under these circumstances,” her family said in a statement.
Petito, 22, was traveling the country in a converted camper van with her fiance, 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, and posting about it on social media when they were stopped by police in Moab on Aug. 12, 2021. Someone had called to report a man was slapping a woman. Police determined that Petito was the aggressor, and officers had them spend the night apart.
Her parents last heard from her in late August and reported her missing on Sept. 11, 2021, after Laundrie returned to Florida alone.
The search for Petito drew worldwide attention, spurring amateur sleuths to scour social media for clues. It also brought scrutiny from authorities and the media, both of which have been criticized for focusing more attention on missing white women than women of color.
Laundrie was named a person of interest in the case and disappeared two days before Petito’s body was found on Sept. 19, 2021, just outside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Authorities determined that she had been strangled.
Laundrie’s remains were found a month later in a wildlife reserve near his parents’ house in Florida. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after writing in a notebook that he killed Petito.
An independent investigation found that Moab police made “ several unintentional mistakes “ when they encountered the couple. In their report investigators said Petito very likely “was a long-term victim of domestic violence, whether that be physically, mentally, and/or emotionally.”
Her parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, sued Moab Police in November 2022, seeking $50 million in damages.
Burton, their lawyer, said Wednesday that Gabby Petito called them during the interaction with police and they wanted her to come home, but she assured them police would take care of things. The attorney said the parents relied on the police to handle the situation but a “grossly negligent” investigation increased the chances of their daughter being harmed.
Burton said officers placed Gabby Petitio in a police car and sympathized with Laundrie, laughing with him, which could have emboldened him. He said one of the responding officers explained the risk of domestic violence, showing he understood the situation but did not respond properly.
Mitchell Stephens, the attorney representing the Moab Police Department, argued for dismissal on the grounds of governmental immunity, while adding that allegations about Moab’s involvement in her death are completely speculative.
He said the couple left Moab together and continued traveling. He cited multiple instances where courts have not found police at fault when domestic violence escalated to murder.
“Moab is not liable for criminal conduct that occurred a month later in a different state. Brian Laundrie is the cause of Gabby Petito’s death,” Stephens said.
Idaho
Judge keeps death penalty a possibility for man charged in killings of 4 students
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The death penalty will remain a possibility for a man charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Judge Steven Hippler was not swayed by legal arguments made by Bryan Kohberger’s defense team to remove it as an option if he is convicted in the case, KBOI-TV reported.
Kohberger’s attorneys had argued in part that the death penalty does not fit today’s standards of decency, that it is cruel to make condemned inmates sit for decades awaiting execution and that it violates an international treaty prohibiting the torture of prisoners.
The Idaho Supreme Court has already considered many of those arguments in other capital cases and allowed the death penalty to stand, prosecutors noted.
Kohberger is accused of the Nov. 13, 2022, killings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. Investigators said they have linked Kohberger — then a graduate student at nearby Washington State University — to the crime from DNA found on a knife sheath at the scene, surveillance videos and cellphone data.
Kohberger’s attorneys have said he was out for a drive the night of the killings, something he often did to look at the sky. When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
His trial is scheduled to begin next August and is expected to last up to three months.
Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
