National Round Up

Florida: Inmate loses appeal for victim’s truck
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida appellate court has ruled against a death row inmate who was convicted of killing a couple and then petitioned to keep a vintage pickup that belonged to one of the victims.

The ruling may end a legal battle that has dragged on seven years after the slayings of Richard and Karla Van Dusen in Tierra Verde, near St. Petersburg.

William Deparvine was sentenced to death in 2006 for the killings, but continued to press his claim on a restored 1971 Chevrolet Cheyenne the slain man restored. Authorities say Deparvine forged a bill of sale for the truck, then killed the couple and tried to frame someone else.

The St. Petersburg Times reported that an appellate court panel on Friday upheld a judge’s finding that Deparvine had no claim to the truck.

Ohio: Doctors’ lawsuit targets limits on campaign giving
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A group of Ohio doctors has filed a federal lawsuit against state restrictions on campaign giving by physicians who treat Medicaid patients.

A 1987 state law bars those doctors from contributing to candidates for state attorney general or county prosecutor — officials who prosecute Medicaid fraud.

In their suit filed Friday, nine physicians complain the law assumes doctors are “fraudsters” and violates their free-speech rights. They’re asking a federal court to find the law unconstitutional and stop the Ohio Secretary of State’s office from enforcing it.

The plaintiffs say they were kept from making a contribution to Democratic Attorney General Richard Cordray.

A spokesman for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (BROO’-nur) said she was waiting to see the lawsuit.

Louisiana: Evidence mishap delays accused serial killer’s trial
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — It appears Jeffrey Lee Guillory, Baton Rouge’s third accused serial killer, will wait a little longer for his trial.

WAFB-TV reported on Tuesday that the evidence in the case, or at least part of it, was in Lafayette. A jury there found Guillory guilty of trying to kill a woman.

Because part of the evidence is in Lafayette, the courts will have to delay Tuesday’s scheduled hearing.

Authorities say DNA links Guillory to the murders of three Baton Rouge women — Florida Edwards who was killed in 1999, Sylvia Cobb in 2001 and Renee Newman in 2002.

Indiana: State Supreme Court reprimands lawyer in Ky. case
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Supreme Court has reprimanded an attorney who worked with a Kentucky lawyer who had not received permission to practice in Indiana court.

The court found that the unidentified Indiana attorney had engaged in attorney misconduct by assisting in the unauthorized practice of law in Indiana.

The case involved a Kentucky resident who was injured in a fall at an Indiana restaurant. The resident hired a lawyer from his state who wasn’t admitted to the Indiana bar. Court documents say the lawyer worked with the Indiana attorney, but neither sought the necessary temporary admission for him.

The Supreme Court said that attorneys who fail to file the proper paperwork in the future could face stricter discipline.

Georgia: State high court considers voter identification law
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s top court is considering the legality of the state’s oft-challenged law that requires voters to show photo identification before they cast their ballots.

The Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on a new type of legal challenge brought by the law’s opponents.

Earlier efforts to block the law were filed in federal court and contended it violated voters’ rights under the U.S. Constitution. But the latest case brought by the Democratic Party of Georgia claims the requirement violates the Georgia Constitution.

Critics have long tried to block the law, claiming it places an undue burden on poor, disabled people and minorities. But supporters say it’s needed to combat voter fraud.

Washington: Appeals court panel denies stay of execution
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a death row inmate’s request for an emergency stay of his execution.

Cal Coburn Brown is scheduled to be executed Sept. 10 for the 1991 torture and murder of 22-year-old Holly Washa, a Burien woman. He is challenging the state’s new one-drug protocol for lethal injection, as well as the state Department of Corrections’ authority to obtain that drug and the qualifications of the execution team.

The three-judge panel rejected his request for a stay in a 2-1 decision Saturday. Attorneys for Brown could now ask the full court to review the case or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Brown’s attorney, Suzanne Lee Elliot, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brown was convicted of carjacking Washa at knifepoint near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He robbed, raped and tortured the young woman before stabbing and strangling her.

Brown also is seeking an emergency stay from the Washington state Supreme Court, arguing his death sentence should be reversed because information related to his mental illness was not adequately considered during sentencing. Brown reportedly suffers from bipolar disorder.

Louisiana: ‘Unsalvageable’ killer gets 70-year term
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A state judge in Baton Rouge says a 28-year-old man cannot get any early release from his 70-year sentence for a killing in 2007.

The Advocate reports that State District Judge Don Johnson sentenced Marlon Washington last week as a habitual offender, doubling the maximum penalty for manslaughter to 80 years.

Washington was tried in April for second-degree murder of 34-year-old Harold Flowers III, but was convicted of manslaughter. He denied shooting Flowers.

In November, he was charged with second-degree murder of a grocer killed in December 2003.

Prosecutor Will Morris called Washington unsalvageable.

Defense attorney Tommy Damico said prosecutors didn’t prove their case against Washington, and everyone can be rehabilitated.