Court Roundup

Washington
Justices won’t reinstate $20 million award against Hustler
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won’t reinstate an award against a racy magazine in a dispute over nude pictures of a model published after she was killed by her professional wrestler husband.
The court turned away a request by the family of Nancy Toffoloni Benoit to reinstate a jury’s decision to make Hustler Magazine pay them almost $20 million. The magazine published the photos after she and her son were killed in 2007 by wrestler Chris Benoit.
Benoit’s family said Nancy never gave permission to publish the 24-year-old photos, while the magazine said it could print them because they were newsworthy.
The jury’s 2011 decision to penalize the magazine $19.6 million was later reduced to $250,000. The award was then thrown out by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

South Carolina
State to appeal ruling in lawsuit over tough new immigration law
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina has issued notice it plans to appeal a federal judge’s ruling keeping most of the state’s tough new immigration law from going into effect.
Attorney General Alan Wilson said in documents filed last week the state is appealing the decision to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel said part of the 2011 law allowing police to check the immigration status of people they stop could take effect during a lawsuit. But he kept in place an injunction on most other parts of the law.
The federal government and the American Civil Liberties Union sued last year, challenging the constitutionality of South Carolina’s law.
Modeled on similar legislation in Arizona, the law is considered among the toughest in the country.

Indiana
Jury: Cops didn’t overuse force during arrest
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Jurors have cleared police in a northern Indiana town of using excessive force when they arrested a professional cage fighter.
Scott and Lisa Blevins sued police in Mentone, saying an officer threw her to the floor while serving an arrest warrant on the man in March 2009. Those charges were later dropped.
The couple also claimed officers threw Scott Blevins’ head into a refrigerator after they found him hiding.
Police Chief Jim Eads and officer Terry Engstrad denied the allegations and said they had been concerned for their safety because Scott Blevins is trained in mixed martial arts.
The South Bend Tribune reports jurors in federal court in South Bend found in the officers’ favor Friday.
The Blevins’ attorney, Ilene Smith, told the Tribune, “That’s life.”