Iowa
Defendants must be told about loss of driving rights
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa Supreme Court says defendants facing drug charges must be told that they'll lose their driving privileges for six months if they plead guilty.
The court ruled Friday that defendants also have a right to know the amount of mandatory surcharges they'll be required to pay on top of their fines.
Those declarations came in an appeal filed by Kevin Fisher, who pleaded guilty to possessing a small amount of marijuana in Iowa City in 2013.
As part of a plea agreement, he agreed to plead guilty, spend two days in jail and pay a $315 fine.
He wasn't told that his plea would also result in the automatic suspension of his drivers' license for 180 days, or that he'd have to pay an additional $245 in surcharges.
New Jersey
Police ticket man for flying Donald Trump flags
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey man is facing a fine for flying flags that support Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Joseph Hornick thought West Long Branch police were responding to his reports that the flags proclaiming "Trump Make America Great Again" had been vandalized. Instead, he was ticketed for violating an ordinance that restricts the display of political signs.
Acting borough administrator Lori Cole says the ordinance prohibits the display of political signs until 30 days prior to an election. New Jersey's primary is June 7.
Violators face a minimum fine of $100. The maximum penalty is a fine of $2,000, 90 days in jail or both.
Hornick says he intends to keep flying the flags. His court date is April 20.
Cole would not comment on Hornick's summons.
Nevada
Trial set for man in kidnap-child sex slave case
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Trial is set next year for a 27-year-old North Las Vegas man facing 83 felony charges alleging that he abducted and kept several teenage girls as sex slaves.
A state court judge on Thursday scheduled Jimmy Carter Kim's trial for March 13, 2017, after a prosecutor and defense attorney said it will take time to prepare.
Kim is jailed on $1.5 million bail. He faces life in prison on kidnapping and child sexual assault charges. He also faces lewdness and use of a minor in pornography charges.
The case came to light when a 14-year-old Arizona girl walked into a Las Vegas-area convenience store last December and said she'd been kept captive for a month and raped repeatedly.
A 15-year-old from Las Vegas provided Reno police with a similar account.
Missouri
Jury sides with Philip Morris in tobacco suit
ST. LOUIS (AP) - A St. Louis jury has sided with tobacco giant Philip Morris in a class-action lawsuit that sought about $1.5 billion.
The suit alleged that the company deceived smokers by claiming light cigarettes were safer than regular cigarettes. But the jury sided with the company after deliberating less than an hour Thursday following a month-long trial, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The verdict marked the second time a St. Louis jury heard the case. A 2011 trial ended with the jury deadlocked 8-4 in favor of the plaintiff. Nine votes are needed for a civil case verdict in Missouri.
The lawsuit, first filed in 2000, covered Missouri smokers who used Marlboro Lights from Feb. 14, 1995, through Dec. 31, 2003. Roughly 700 million packs of Marlboro Light cigarettes were sold in Missouri during that time period. The lead plaintiff was Jefferson County resident Deborah Larsen, who smoked a pack-and-a-half of Marlboro Lights a day from 1979 until quitting in 2002.
The suit alleged that light cigarette packages promised lower tar and nicotine but were made from the same tobacco as regular cigarettes. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that they were actually more dangerous than regular cigarettes since smoker might inhale longer and deeper.
"They knew it was wrong ... they knew they were deceiving people," plaintiff's attorney Mark Bronson said during closing arguments.
Philip Morris attorneys argued that the light cigarettes contain less tobacco than Marlboro Reds, more ventilation and a longer filter.
Philip Morris attorney Beth Wilkinson said the company took the label of "lower tar and nicotine" off packages in 2003, and eventually stopped using the term "lights" as well.
"Make no mistake, this case is only about money," she said in closing arguments.
Tennessee
Court must order damages award for fired Muslim
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A federal appeals court says a $1 damages award to a Muslim state trooper fired after a military liaison falsely accused him of terrorist sympathies was "wholly inadequate."
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered the lower court to consider a more appropriate damages award for De'Ossie Dingus.
U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell previously found that the Tennessee Department of Safety discriminated against Dingus because of his religion.
In order to receive damages, a plaintiff must show that the discrimination caused emotional distress.
Campbell awarded Dingus only a symbolic $1 in damages, primarily because Dingus did not seek counseling or other psychological treatment.
The 6th Circuit says Dingus clearly presented evidence of emotional distress.
Minnesota
Lawsuit accuses children of taking $24M from mother
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A lawsuit filed on behalf of a widow with dementia accuses her three children, particularly one son, of defrauding her estate of $24 million.
A court-appointed conservator accuses the children of taking the money as their 79-year-old mother slipped deeper into dementia at Rogers memory-care facility.
Although the lawsuit lists Beverly Engels three children as defendants, the allegations are focused mainly on Troy Engels of Monticello. His siblings, Todd Engels of Pequot Lakes and Sheri Brinker of Edina, said in court filings that they support the conservator's efforts to investigate their brother's handling of the estate. The Star Tribune says Troy Engels has argued the lawsuit is not in the best interest of his mother because her estate would ultimately be distributed back to the children when she dies.
Published: Mon, Apr 11, 2016
