Court Roundup

Colorado Murderer sues state for saving his life DENVER (AP) -- A convicted murderer is suing the state of Colorado for saving his life after his heart stopped beating. Daniel Self says he suffers from sleep apnea and he ordered prison guards not to resuscitate him if he stopped breathing. The 54-year-old says in a lawsuit filed in federal court that prison officials were deliberately indifferent to his right to refuse medical treatment when he stopped breathing in 2009. Self tells the Denver Post death would be a welcome relief after he was convicted in 2003 of killing 24-year-old Leah Gee, who was pregnant. Self says Gee shot herself. A Colorado prisons spokeswoman says the state has not been served with Self's lawsuit and she could not comment about the case because it is in litigation. Pennsylvania Mom sues county, blames bagel over drug test NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) -- A western Pennsylvania woman claims local officials improperly seized her newborn son after a positive test for opiates she says was triggered by a poppy seed bagel. The lawsuit reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports is the second in a year accusing Lawrence County Children and Youth Services of improperly taking a newborn. Eileen Ann Bower is suing the county agency, a caseworker and Jameson Health System for negligence, invasion of privacy and violation of due process. She says the baby was taken from her three days after birth and returned two months later. A message left for Lawrence County Children and Youth Services Director Jane Gajda by The Associated Press was not immediately returned Monday. Litigation in a similar lawsuit filed by another mother last year is ongoing. Louisiana $62M Road Home settlement: $0 for lead plaintiffs NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Two lead plaintiffs won't get any money from a recent $62 million settlement in a case alleging discrimination in Louisiana's "Road Home " program, which was established to help people rebuild after the 2005 hurricanes. The Times-Picayune reports that Almarie Ford and Edward Randolph cannot get extra rebuilding cash because they're already back in their eastern New Orleans homes. They scraped together money for gradual repairs over the past six years. The lawsuit alleged that the program discriminated against black neighborhoods because grants were based on property values -- not repair costs. Plaintiffs and policy makers agreed the settlement should target the most needy, leaving out residents from about 5,000 households who are back in their homes, even if they used all their savings or got a new mortgage. Mississippi Judge: $5,000 bond for teen accused of hate crime JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- A judge has set a $5,000 bond for a teenager charged in the death of a man who was run over by a pickup truck in Jackson. Police had charged 18-year-olds Deryl Dedmon and John Aaron Rice of Brandon with murder in the death of James Anderson. Both teens are white. Anderson was black. However, a detective testified Monday that Rice was not at the scene when the truck struck Anderson. Hinds County Judge William Barnett sent the case to a grand jury on a reduced charge of simple assault and granted a $5,000 bond. Rice had been held without bond. Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith calls Anderson's June 26 death a hate crime. He says the grand jury could consider a stiffer crime than assault. Dedmon is accused of driving the pickup truck and is jailed on $800,000 bond. New York Prosecutors: Father lied in NYC terror plot NEW YORK (AP) -- Prosecutors say a father lied to the FBI to try to protect his terrorist son during an investigation of a 2009 plot to attack New York City subways. But lawyers for Mohammed Wali Zazi insist he was in the dark about his son's failed scheme. A jury heard the two portrayals of Zazi on Monday at opening arguments at his trial in Brooklyn. Zazi's son, Najibullah, pleaded guilty to charges he received explosives training from al-Qaida in Pakistan. He also admitted he sought to launch a suicide bomb attack on the subways with two friends until he learned the FBI was watching him and abandoned the plot. Prosecutors allege the elder Zazi lied and destroyed evidence of his son's homemade explosives. The 55-year-old defendant from Colorado denies the obstruction-of-justice charges. Utah Trial set for doctor in pain pill case SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Jury selection begins Monday in the federal trial of a Brigham City orthopedic surgeon charged with illegally prescribing millions of painkillers to hundreds of patients. Dewey C. MacKay has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He faced 129 counts for allegedly prescribing more than 1.9 million hydrocodone pills and 1.6 million oxycodone pills to patients without legitimate needs, but the U.S. Attorney's office in Salt Lake City filed a motion late Sunday requesting a judge dismiss 40 of the counts. Prosecutors said that doing so would allow them to more efficiently present the case at trial and would not have a significant influence on MacKay's sentence if he is found guilty on remaining charges. According to federal filings, MacKay saw up to 120 patients per eight-hour work day between 2005 and February 2007. From March 2007 to October 2009, prosecutors contend MacKay saw 59 patients per five-hour day. In both instances, prosecutors contend new patients received limited or no physical exams to diagnose their pain before being issued prescriptions. The first two counts of the indictment allege MacKay's distribution of the drugs resulted in a patient's death in 2006. If convicted on those charges alone, the 64-year-old could spend 35 years in prison and be ordered to pay $2.5 million in fines. The other charges carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison and fines of $1 million each. Defense attorney Peter Stirba said he will vigorously fight the charges. "Obviously, the indictment contains allegations, nothing more, nothing less," Stirba said. "We absolutely and thoroughly dispute them." Stirba declined to comment further, citing the pending trial. Prosecutors also declined comment. According to records maintained by the state of Utah, MacKay issued more than 37,700 prescriptions for the painkillers hydrocodone and oxycodone between June 2005 and October 2009, totaling more than 3.5 million pills. The Drug Enforcement Administration has since revoked MacKay's authorization to prescribe controlled substances. Published: Tue, Jul 19, 2011