Court Roundup

South Carolina
Widow sues to stop release of husband’s jail-death video

GREENWOOD, S.C. (AP) — A lawyer for newspapers and news media organizations across South Carolina said a judge would be rewriting the state’s open records laws if he allows the widow of a man who died in jail to block the release of the surveillance video of his final moments.

LaKrystal Coats sued to stop the release of footage of her husband’s death in March, saying the video is an invasion of privacy. The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office has refused to release the footage, citing Coats’ lawsuit.

The Index-Journal of Greenwood requested the video under the Freedom of Information Act and was sent footage from before Demetric Cowan became sick, but no video that showed how jail workers responded when he started to crawl around and shake on the floor.

The newspaper wants the video to see how quickly jail officials reacted and whether they should have called paramedics quicker, said South Carolina Association lawyer Taylor Smith said (http://bit.ly/2l0ZBz8).

“That’s the story, frankly, your honor, the Index-Journal wants to shed light on,” Taylor said.

Coates’ attorney Charles Grose said Cowan’s family does not want his final moments shown all over the internet. He said the footage should be considered a medical record, which is private under South Carolina’s public records law.

Smith said the newspaper can’t say what it would do with the video because it has not seen it yet, but that Cowan shouldn’t have expected privacy in a publicly funded building such as a jail, where people are constantly monitored.

Public records laws in South Carolina also don’t include any provision to consider a family’s wishes, Smith said.

An autopsy determined Cowan died from a drug overdose. A prosecutor did not charge any jail employees after reviewing the State Law Enforcement Division’s investigation of the death.

New Mexico
City to appeal Commandments case to high court


BLOOMFIELD, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico city will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a lower court ruling requiring the removal of a Ten Commandments monument outside City Hall.

The Daily Times reports that Bloomfield city councilors voted to appeal the case to the nation’s highest court after a closed session Monday night.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th circuit left in place a lower court ruling that concluded that the Christian monument violates the Constitution’s prohibition on the government endorsing a religion.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the 2012 lawsuit on behalf of two Bloomfield residents who objected to the monument.

ACLU attorney Andrew Schultz said he doesn’t expect the Supreme Court to consider the case and, if it does, he thinks it will rule against the city.

Oklahoma
Judge refuses to recuse himself from wrongful death lawsuit

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A federal judge won’t recuse himself from a wrongful death lawsuit that alleges an injured inmate died after languishing in the Tulsa Jail for nearly a week.

U.S. District Judge John Dowdell denied a motion Wednesday filed by defense attorneys who asked Dowdell to remove himself from the case. They cited Dowdell’s partnership with a private law firm involved in another lawsuit against former Tulsa County Sheriff Glanz, a defendant in the wrongful death suit.

The judge said the motion didn’t meet standards to disqualify him from presiding over a trial in the case, the Tulsa World reported.

“Moreover, the Court does not harbor any bias or ill will toward any party and has no financial or other personal interest in any party or the outcome of this matter,” Dowdell wrote.

The lawsuit alleges Elliott Williams, 37, was ignored by jail staff despite his insistence he was paralyzed.

Williams was arrested in Owasso on an obstruction complaint in October 2011. Reports state that Williams suffered from a “complete and utter mental breakdown” when he allegedly drove his head into the door of a holding cell shortly after his arrival.

The state medical examiner concluded that Williams was dehydrated when he died in October 2011 of “injuries due to blunt force trauma.” The lawsuit states Williams had a broken neck. He died after nearly a week in the jail.

Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalad is a defendant in the lawsuit.


Massachusetts
Judge tosses out defamation suit against Bill Cosby

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A federal judge in Massachusetts has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against comedian Bill Cosby, although he still faces criminal charges in Pennsylvania.

Judge Mark Mastroianni ruled Thursday that Katherine McKee didn’t adequately show Cosby defamed her when his representatives called a 2014 New York Daily News story on her rape allegations defamatory and demanded a retraction.

The former actress alleged the 79-year-old Cosby raped her in a Detroit hotel in 1974.

McKee was among dozens of women to come forward with allegations recently and among at least eight suing for defamation in Massachusetts, where Cosby owns a home.

Cosby’s lawyers called Thursday’s decision the “correct outcome.” McKee’s attorneys didn’t immediately comment.

In Pennsylvania, “The Cosby Show” star has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a former employee at Temple University.