Court Roundup

Arkansas AG seeks to intervene in river nutrient suit LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Arkansas' attorney general has filed court papers asking to intervene in a lawsuit by environmental groups against the federal government over pollution in the Mississippi River. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Monday the lawsuit seeks "unreasonable federal regulation" of pollutants generated by farms and that the state should have a voice in the outcome. Suits filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York and New Orleans seek force the EPA to block the flow of nitrogen and phosphorous into waterways in the Mississippi River valley. McDaniel joined AGs in nine other states in a filing in federal court in New Orleans. McDaniel says Arkansas meets federal runoff requirements and doesn't need an additional regulatory burden. Environmental groups want to reduce a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Iowa Gov. tries to keep juvenile killers in prison DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has commuted 38 life sentences as part of a plan to keep killers who committed their crimes as juveniles in prison and forestall their resentencings. The action Branstad announced Monday will change 38 sentences from life without the possibility of parole to life sentences that allow parole only after 60 years. Branstad chose to act because a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision barred sentences of life without parole for juveniles. Branstad says he wants to protect the victims of violent crime. Last week, an Iowa court vacated the sentences of two Iowa inmates who were teenagers when they were involved in murders. It wasn't immediately clear how Branstad's action would affect the cases of Christine Lockheart and Thomas Bennett. Washington Sister of Lakewood cop killer released from prison PURDY, Wash. (AP) -- The sister of the man who killed four Lakewood police officers, LaTanya Clemmons, has been released from prison. KOMO Radio reports she was released early Monday from the Washington state women's prison at Purdy. She had been sentenced to five years for rendering criminal assistance to Darcus Allen, the getaway driver for Maurice Clemmons after he gunned down the officers in November 2009 at a coffee shop. She gave Allen $50 and drove him to a motel where he hid out. LaTanya Clemmons was entitled to early release as a first-time nonviolent offender and for good behavior in prison. A state appeals court threw out her conviction last month, saying there was no evidence she knew Allen was an accomplice. Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist says he's appealing that decision. Virginia Mom sues state over son's death at Va. prison BRISTOL, Va. (AP) -- The mother of an inmate who died after another prisoner attacked him is suing the state for $3.5 million. The lawsuit claims guards at Red Onion State Prison didn't respond to Kawaski Bass' pleas for help. It also says the state failed to adequately train or supervise employees responsible for maintaining safety within the housing unit where Bass was attacked. The Bristol Herald-Courier reports that the lawsuit was filed last month in Hampton Circuit Court on behalf of Bass' mother, Deborah Delaware. Virginia Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor says the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation. The department has said Bass was attacked in a cell at the Wise County prison on Sept. 6, 2011. He died early the next morning at a hospital in Roanoke. Kansas Garmin to pay $500K to settle patent infringement OLATHE, Kan. (AP) -- A unit of Olathe-based Garmin Ltd. has been ordered to pay $500,000 to settle a patent infringement lawsuit. The Kansas City Star reported that the damages were awarded by a jury in a Texas court to Ambato Media LLC., which had sued Garmin International Inc. Garmin said in a statement Friday that the verdict stated Ambato Media LLC.'s patent was infringed over the use of a television receiver service called MSN Direct. Garmin says that it discontinued using these personal navigation devices in 2010 and that the MSN Direct service was closed in January. Garmin says the verdict wouldn't affect current products and services. Garmin vice president and general counsel Andrew Etkind said in a statement that the company is pleased that Ambato's demand for "exorbitant damages" was rejected. Published: Tue, Jul 17, 2012