National Roundup

Iowa
State high court orders new trial in sex abuse case
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As expected, the Iowa Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man sentenced last year to up to 10 years for sexually abusing a teenage boy.

Friday’s decision by the Iowa Supreme Court came after state prosecutors last month took the rare step of asking it to reverse 61-year-old Doug Lindaman’s conviction.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office made the move after finding the Charles City man was allowed to represent himself at his trial without knowingly waiving his right to have an attorney.

Lindaman is accused of performing a sex act in 2011 on a 17-year-old boy without the boy’s consent. Lindaman, a former attorney, was running for a school board spot at the time of his 2015 arrest.

A new trial date has not been set.

Illinois
Blagojevich attorneys ask for another appeals court hearing
CHICAGO (AP) — Lawyers for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich have asked for another hearing before the same three-judge panel that affirmed his 14-year prison sentence last month.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Blagojevich’s attorney petitioned the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday to rehear his case.

That judicial panel overturned five of Blagojevich’s original 18 criminal convictions in 2015. That decision led to a resentencing hearing last August where the Democrat received the same sentence he had been given in 2011.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear from him early last year.

If the appeals court again refuses to hear the case, Blagojevich’s only hope for an early release is clemency from President Donald Trump.

Trump called Blagojevich’s conviction “just a lot of political stuff” before his initial sentencing.

Indiana
Jury awards couple $744k for son’s surgery
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana jury has awarded $744,000 to a couple who claimed a now-deceased doctor performed unnecessary surgery on their teenage son.

Dean and Tracy Dixon’s medical malpractice suit alleged that Dr. Willard G. Yergler performed unneeded shoulder surgery in 2012 on their then-16-year-old son that’s left him with enduring pain.

The South Bend Tribune reports a St. Joseph County jury ruled in their favor last week.

The Dixons’ attorney claimed Yergler, who died last year, gave the family a “false choice” that their son could either have the end of one of his collarbones removed or he could live with pain from an injury he suffered in a wrestling match.

The attorney said more conservative treatments could have been tried first.

Australia
Rebel Wilson’s defamation trial against magazine publisher begins
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rebel Wilson was devastated by a series of magazine articles that she says painted her as a liar and subsequently cost her roles in Hollywood, a lawyer for the actress said Monday.

Wilson is suing Australian publisher Bauer Media for defamation over several articles published in 2015 that the Australian-born actress said led to her film contracts being terminated.

At the opening of the trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday, Wilson’s lawyer, Matthew Collins, said his client was “cut to the core” when she learned 1.5 million people had read an article online that said she had lied about her name, age and upbringing in Australia. Collins said the articles were published to coincide with a high point in Wilson’s acting career, including the release of “Pitch Perfect 2.”

“She thought she’d never been hit with such nastiness, coincided to time with the pinnacle of her career,” Collins told the court.

Collins said Wilson was subsequently fired from several movie roles.

The actress, known for her work in comedies such as “Pitch Perfect” and “Bridesmaids,” flew to Melbourne for the three-week trial and sat in court on Monday alongside her sister. She is expected to testify at a later date.
Wilson is seeking unspecified damages from the publisher.

A lawyer for Bauer Media rejected the argument that the articles had harmed Wilson, telling the court that no reasonable reader would have thought any less of the actress by reading them.

“They weren’t nasty articles,” lawyer Georgina Schoff said.

Schoff also said the articles were factual, telling the court that Wilson did not grow up in the “ghetto” of Sydney as the actress previously said in interviews. In fact, Schoff said, Wilson attended an elite private boarding school.

Minnesota
Clothing store gets donation of marijuana
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (AP) — Someone apparently inadvertently donated more than 100 grams of marijuana when they dropped off some used children’s clothes at a suburban Minneapolis shop.

The Maplewood Police Department posted a photo on Facebook of the surprise donation to the Once Upon a Child store with an invitation to the owner to come in and claim it.

Not surprisingly, no one has come forward yet.

The drug was divided up into dozens of little plastic bags. Police Chief Paul Schnell says because it was packaged for distribution or sale, its owner, if identified, could face a felony charge that would carry a sentence of more than a year in jail.

Texas
Senate approves ‘religious refusal’ adoption bill
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ Republican-controlled Senate approved a bill early Monday that allows publicly funded foster care and adoption agencies to refuse to place children with non-Christian, unmarried or gay prospective parents because of religious objections.

The “Freedom to Serve Children Act” received a late push in the Legislature ahead of the May 29 end of session. Conservatives have made creating exemptions for sincerely held religious beliefs a major theme this year, with lawmakers backed by the tea party movement inserting language protecting them in myriad bills, ranging from rules for practicing law to pharmacists.

If Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signs the bill into law, Texas will become only the second state allowing state-funded adoption agencies to reject families on religious grounds. South Dakota passed similar legislation in March.