Court Digest

Mississippi
Federal appeals court reverses ruling on mental health care discrimination
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling that found Mississippi relies too much on institutionalizing people with mental health conditions rather than providing care in their communities.

The decision came Wednesday from three judges on the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They wrote that the federal government, which sued Mississippi, failed to prove that the state discriminated against people with mental health conditions in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The appeals court judges also wrote that a remedial order by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, which sought to make changes in Mississippi’s mental health system, “vastly exceeds the scope of claimed liability.”

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office argued that the appeals court should overturn the district judge’s ruling. Republican Fitch applauded the ruling Wednesday, saying federal agencies have used the threat of lawsuits “to coerce Mississippi and other states into adopting their preferred policies and budget priorities.”

“This opinion is a good reminder to Washington that the people have the right to speak through their state elected leaders to set their own priorities,” Fitch said.

The federal government issued a letter in 2011 saying Mississippi had done too little to provide mental health services outside mental hospitals. The U.S. Justice Department sued Mississippi in 2016.

Reeves ruled in 2019 that Mississippi had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by having inadequate resources in communities to treat people with mental illnesses.

Evidence showed people were repeatedly admitted to state hospitals for lengthy stays, only to later return to the hospitals without long-term improvement.

Reeves in 2021 approved funding for an independent monitor to collect and analyze data on how Mississippi’s mental health system is working to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations.

State attorneys say Mississippi has enacted programs that enable people to obtain treatment in their communities and avoid hospitalizations, such as mobile crisis teams, supportive housing and peer support services.
Justice Department attorneys said those services need to be expanded, with measurements to ensure they are working.

North Carolina
Google sued for negligence after man drove off collapsed bridge
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The family of a North Carolina man who died after driving his car off a collapsed bridge while following Google Maps directions is suing the technology giant for negligence, claiming it had been informed of the collapse but failed to update its navigation system.

Philip Paxson, a medical device salesman and father of two, drowned Sept. 30, 2022, after his Jeep Gladiator plunged into Snow Creek in Hickory, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Wake County Superior Court. Paxson was driving home from his daughter’s ninth birthday party through an unfamiliar neighborhood when Google Maps allegedly directed him to cross a bridge that had collapsed nine years prior and was never repaired.

“Our girls ask how and why their daddy died, and I’m at a loss for words they can understand because, as an adult, I still can’t understand how those responsible for the GPS directions and the bridge could have acted with so little regard for human life,” his wife, Alicia Paxson, said.

State troopers who found Paxton’s body in his overturned and partially submerged truck had said there were no barriers or warning signs along the washed-out roadway. He had driven off an unguarded edge and crashed about 20 feet below, according to the lawsuit.

The North Carolina State Patrol had said the bridge was not maintained by local or state officials, and the original developer’s company had dissolved. The lawsuit names several private property management companies that it claims are responsible for the bridge and the adjoining land.

Multiple people had notified Google Maps about the collapse in the years leading up to Paxson’s death and had urged the company to update its route information, according to the lawsuit.

The Tuesday court filing includes email records from another Hickory resident who had used the map’s “suggest an edit” feature in September 2020 to alert the company that it was directing drivers over the collapsed bridge.
A November 2020 email confirmation from Google confirms the company received her report and was reviewing the suggested change, but the lawsuit claims Google took no further actions.

“We have the deepest sympathies for the Paxson family,” Google spokesperson José Castañeda told The Associated Press. “Our goal is to provide accurate routing information in Maps and we are reviewing this lawsuit.”


New York
Judge dismisses charges against deputy in brawl and shootout
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A judge in New York dismissed all charges Wednesday against a Vermont deputy who was involved in a chaotic sidewalk brawl that ended when he was shot multiple times by police.

Judge James A. Murphy said many factors went into his decision, including the prosecution’s “failure to properly instruct the grand jury on the law” as well as improper speculation by witnesses.

Vito Caselnova, who was a sheriff’s deputy in Rutland County, Vermont, was involved in the late-night melee in November 2022 with three men from Utica, New York, in the historic center of Saratoga Springs.

Prosecutors said Caselnova and another man shot their guns at each other simultaneously, while defense lawyers said the Utica man fired first.

Police officers responded and shot Caselnova. A bullet fired by officers also grazed his girlfriend’s arm.

Caselnova was indicted in March on charges including attempted murder and possessing a firearm in a “sensitive location.” He pleaded not guilty.

Following Wednesday’s dismissal, Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen will still be able to present the case to a new grand jury, Murphy wrote.

There was no immediate response to email messages sent to Heggen and Caselnova’s lawyer, Gregory Teresi, seeking comment.

Alabama
Former college swimmer indicted on rape charge
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — A former Auburn swimmer has been charged with rape.

A Lee County grand jury has indicted Christopher “Reid” Mikuta, 21, on a first-degree rape charge, according to court documents published online Wednesday. Auburn police received a delayed report of a sexual assault on Dec. 9, 2022. The accuser, who was not identified, reported that an acquaintance raped her on Oct. 9, 2022, a police statement said.

The indictment accuses Mikuta of having sex with someone “who was incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated.”

An attorney listed as representing Mikuta did not immediately respond to phone and email messages from The Associated Press. Lee County District Attorney Jessica Ventiere said her department does not comment on pending cases.

Mikuta turned himself in on Tuesday and is being held at the Lee County Jail pending a bond hearing.

An Auburn spokeswoman said Mikuta is no longer a student and the university would have no further comment. Mikuta was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference performer each of the past two seasons.

Lee County Circuit Judge Christopher Hughes has recused himself from the case because his law clerk is married to the Title IX investigator who investigated the allegations for the university.


New York
Father and son sentenced to probation for fire that killed 2
NEW CITY, N.Y. (AP) — A father and son were sentenced Wednesday to probation after reaching a plea deal for starting a fire that killed a firefighter and a resident at an assisted living facility in suburban New York.

Rabbi Nathaniel Sommer, 71, and his 29-year-old son Aaron Sommer will avoid prison after they admitted to acting recklessly in causing the March 23, 2021, fire at the Evergreen Court Home in Spring Valley that killed firefighter Jared Lloyd, 35, and resident Oliver Hueston, 79.

In preparation for Passover, the Sommers were using a blowtorch to burn away remnants of leavened bread in the kitchen when the facility caught fire.

They had reached a plea deal to avoid prison in June, with the father pleading guilty to two counts of manslaughter and the son pleading guilty to reckless endangerment.

The Journal News reports that Rockland County Judge Kevin Russo said probation was appropriate, noting that the two men had no criminal history.

“I doubt I will ever see you again in my courtroom,” Russo said of the pair.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh said in a statement defending the plea deal that the fire was a “first-of-its-kind case in the State of New York” and that going before a jury would have left open the possibility for an acquittal.

“No one has been convicted, let alone arrested and prosecuted, for utilizing a torch and hot coals for a ritual religious cleaning in the manner the defendants chose that evening,” Walsh said.

WABC-TV reports Nathaniel Sommer apologized in court, saying, “I am sorry, I feel terrible for what I did. I tried my whole life to help people and I did the exact opposite here and hurt so many people and I feel terrible for them.”


Arizona
Judge orders city to permanently clear homeless encampment
PHOENIX (AP) — A judge ruled Wednesday that Phoenix must permanently clear the city’s largest homeless encampment by Nov. 4.

City officials began shutting down the homeless encampment known as “The Zone” in May under an order by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney, but they had asked to be given until April 2024 to complete the job.

Justin Pierce, a lawyer representing the city, said in July that parts of the encampment on the edge of downtown Phoenix have been cleared since a judge declared the area to be a public nuisance, but other blocks still need to be addressed.

Pierce added that the process takes time, including making sure those who live there have somewhere else to go.

He said Phoenix is developing a space nearby with tents and temporary restroom facilities as an alternative, has increased the number of police officers working in the area and has nearly tripled its funding on confronting issues of homelessness.

Business owners and residents near the encampment have called it a public nuisance that subjects their properties to damage, litter and crime.