Court Roundup

Arkansas Court won't review case of ex-Garland City mayor GARLAND CITY, Ark. (AP) -- A federal appeals court says it won't review the case of a former Garland City mayor convicted of mail fraud. Yvonne Dockery is serving a 30-month sentence at a federal prison in Florida. The Texarkana Gazette reports that Dockery has accused judges, prosecutors, law enforcement and the media of a conspiracy that led to her conviction. Dockery was convicted of three counts of mail fraud in July 2010. Prosecutors accused her of creating phony invoices for fire equipment that never existed. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a brief order last week denying Dockery's request for a review of her convictions. Missouri Columbia man wins 50K in police Taser lawsuit COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A 24-year-old Columbia man has received $50,000 to settle a lawsuit against the city police department and two officers over their stun gun use. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that Cadilac Derrick settled his federal civil suit earlier this month. The case was then dismissed from Missouri's Western District U.S. Court after it went to mediation. Derrick was pulled over by two Columbia officers in a Feb. 24, 2009 traffic stop. A patrol car dashboard video shows the man being subdued with a Taser after he didn't immediately respond to a request to leave the car. Derrick's girlfriend and her 3-year-old child were also in the car. Criminal charges filed against Derrick for resisting arrest were later dismissed A police internal affairs investigation found the two officers acted appropriately. Florida Law student being held on $1M bond in shooting NAPLES, Fla. (AP) -- An Ave Maria law school student is being held on $1 million bond after authorities say he shot at his roommate and threatened his ex-girlfriend. Jail records show 25-year-old Robert Christopher Ringley was charged Friday with attempted murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His next court date is Feb. 6. It was not immediately known if he has an attorney. The Naples Daily News reports that the Collier County Sheriff's Office says Ringley forced his ex-girlfriend and his roommate to their knees on the street, pointing the gun at them. The woman fled to an apartment to call authorities. That's when police say Ringley ordered his roommate to his feet and fired several shots in the air before pointing the gun at him. No one was injured. New Mexico Deming gang member gets 40 years in drug case LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) -- A 30-year-old gang member from Deming who pleaded guilty to smuggling methamphetamine into the country and trying to escape from custody has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. Daniel Ramon Munoz admitted in his plea that he used women to smuggle the drugs across the border in July 2009. The U.S. attorney's office in Albuquerque says a 31-year-old Farmington man who was Munoz's accomplice was sentenced to 30 years in prison for drug trafficking and firearms violations. Munoz was sentenced in federal court in Las Cruces on Friday, and Nathan Archuleta was sentenced on Thursday. Federal officials say Munoz is an admitted member of the Sureno gang. Kentucky Settlements exceed $500,000 over train derailment LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Louisville Metro Government has paid more than $525,000 to settle 23 claims stemming from a train derailment at the Louisville Zoo in 2009. The city has spent another $176,000 in legal fees in defending the lawsuits. The accident sent 22 people to hospitals after the open-air train flipped onto its side. So far this month, the city has paid $150,000 to settle seven claims, according to The Courier-Journal of Louisville. The newspaper cited records provided under the Kentucky Open Records Act. Six more claims are pending from those who aboard the train. Those claims will be mediated for settlement. The newspaper says they are expected to be the most costly because they include people with some of the most serious injuries. The train carried 29 passengers and the driver. Nevada 600 flood victims get share of settlement FERNLEY, Nev. (AP) -- About 600 victims of a flood caused by the failure of a century-old irrigation canal in Fernley in 2008 have received their share of a $10 million settlement. The settlement funds distributed last month stemmed from class-action lawsuits against the city of Fernley, Lyon County and the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District board. Under the settlement, Fernley paid $5 million and Lyon County $1.3 million, while insurance companies paid $3.8 million on behalf of seven irrigation district board members, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported. The Jan. 5, 2008 breach of the earthen Truckee Canal sent a wall of water into Fernley, located about 30 miles east of Reno, and inundated homes. The plaintiffs allege the flood was caused by inadequate maintenance and operation of the canal. Attorney Robert Maddox, who represents the plaintiffs, said $6 million was divided among flood victims, an estimated $3.3 million went to attorney's fees, and $700,000 covered expert witness fees and other costs. He said he "felt like Santa Claus" because checks were given to the flood victims on Dec. 23. "(They are) people who desperately needed the money," Maddox said. "They waited for four years. Their lives were torn apart, and it was nice to get them some of the money." The settlement reached last year states that the city, the county and the insurance companies denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to the deal to avoid further litigation. But Maddox said the plaintiffs also might receive settlement money from other pending lawsuits that chiefly blame the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation and the irrigation district for failing to properly maintain the canal. The suits contend the local governments shared responsibility because they knew or should have known the canal was in disrepair based on previous studies and warnings from the bureau. Justice Department lawyers have said they have no interest in negotiating a settlement because they believe whatever liability might exist is the responsibility of the irrigation district in its capacity as contractual operator of the irrigation system that brings water from the Truckee River to more than 2,500 ranchers and farmers in northern Nevada east of Reno. At a hearing last July, U.S. Magistrate Robert McQuaid Jr. acknowledged the deal had settled only a portion of the case. Florida Jury awards $12.6M in teen's vaccine error MIAMI (AP) -- A teenager who lost all four limbs because of a vaccination error has won a $12.6 million award in a lawsuit against the University of Miami medical school. The Miami jury reached the verdict Friday in the case of Shaniah Rolle of Miramar, the South Florida SunSentinel reported. A judge will likely reduce the award because jurors found Shaniah's mother partly at fault for not giving her enough medication. Shaniah had her spleen removed as a newborn 13 years ago. She got a vaccine designed to prevent infections but the medication had expired five months earlier. Shaniah later got an infection that led to amputation of her arms and legs. University of Miami attorneys had contended Shaniah would have gotten the infection despite the vaccine. An appeal is likely. Published: Tue, Jan 17, 2012