National Roundup

Pennsylvania
Retrial in Philly after mistrial over lost eyeball
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A retrial has begun in Philadelphia after a mistrial was declared when a man’s prosthetic eye popped out while he was testifying.
John Huttick was weeping on the witness stand in Common Pleas Court last month as he testified about the impact of losing his eye in the August 2011 fight in the parking lot of a bar. The prosthetic eye popped out and Huttick caught it, prompting the judge to grant a mistrial.
The Philadelphia Daily News reports the aggravated assault retrial began Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege 23-year-old Matthew Brunelli, a onetime bouncer, punched Huttick in the left eye with an object that may have been a key. Huttick’s eye ultimately had to be removed.
Brunelli’s attorney, Eileen Hurley, says her client used his fist to defend himself.

Illinois
Judge clears way for drilling in Shawnee forest
BENTON, Ill. (AP) — A federal judge has cleared the way for possible timber cutting and natural resources exploration in a southern Illinois national forest.
The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale reports U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert lifted his 1996 injunction barring such activity in the Shawnee National Forest.
Gilbert says circumstances have changed “significantly” since he first blocked timbering and drilling in the forest. He says the U.S. Forest Service “has embarked on an entirely new forest-planning process that was based on entirely new environmental analysis.”
Environmentalist Sam Stearns calls the ruling “a setback for people who want to protect the Shawnee and a victory for people who are willing to sacrifice our natural heritage for a quick, short-term profit.”
A Forest Service spokeswoman says Gilbert’s earlier concerns were addressed.

Minnesota
86-year-old charged with voter fraud
ST. PETER, Minn. (AP) — An 86-year-old woman diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and dementia has been charged with voter fraud.
Margaret Schneider says she forgot she had voted by absentee ballot in the 2012 primary election and about a month later, on Aug. 14, went to her polling place to vote. Now Schneider finds herself facing a felony charge and a court appearance April 2.
A police report notes the voter roster at Schneider’s polling place showed she had already voting absentee, but the election judge didn’t stop her from voting again. Schneider says if she’s convicted, the election judge should be convicted too for failing to stop her.
Nicollet County Attorney Michelle Zehnder Fischer tells The Free Press that in general, if there’s probable cause to show a crime occurred, she has to prosecute.

New York
Photographer  sued, accused of choking, beating
NEW YORK (AP) — Celebrity photographer David LaChapelle has been sued for $1 million by a Montana gallery director who claims he beat and choked him.
According to the lawsuit, the Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone photographer attacked James Parmenter at a Manhattan apartment in March 2012.
The suit was filed Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
It says Parmenter was chocked “to the point of unconsciousness.”
The New York Post reports that LaChapelle’s representative denied the allegations.
Paramenter has exhibited LaChapelle’s works at his Bigfork Collaborations gallery where his prints go for more than $100,000 each.
LaChapelle has taken portraits of Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna and other celebrities.

Indiana
Federal judge upholds city’s ban on smoking 
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge has upheld Indianapolis’ smoking ban that prohibits smoking in most public places, including bars, bowling alleys and hotel rooms.
After the ban took effect last June, a lawsuit seeking to overturn its provisions was filed in federal court in Indianapolis on behalf of more than 40 plaintiffs that included 10 bars, a bar customer and a bar employee.
But WTHR-TV and The Indianapolis Star report that U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young said in Wednesday’s ruling that the ban’s opponents failed to demonstrate “the merits of their claims.”
Young also wrote in his ruling upholding the ordinance that the smoking ban “advances the public interest, and the legislative choice to include bars and taverns is constitutionally sound.”

Washington
Howard students sue over sorority rejection in 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Howard University students and their mothers have sued the school and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority after the students were denied membership.
The Washington Examiner reports the lawsuit filed last week alleges Laurin Compton and Lauren Cofield were discriminated against because of their status as daughters of dues-paying sorority members.
The students say they attended recruitment events as freshmen in 2009. But to join before they were eligible as sophomores, they had to undergo hazing. They say they were “mentally tormented” and ostracized when one mother complained.
The suit says the sorority was suspended for hazing, preventing new members from joining. They were later denied membership.
In court, the sorority says it chose younger students for the priority membership process for daughters of members.
The school declined to comment.

Missouri
ACLU opposes amendment on prayer after suit
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union says it will keep fighting against Missouri’s new constitutional amendment on prayer after a federal judge dismissed its initial lawsuit.
The ACLU sued Missouri’s Department of Corrections on behalf of two inmates after voters approved the amendment in August. It argued the measure’s ballot summary did not explain how the amendment would impact prisoners. A provision in the amendment says the religious rights of inmates are limited to federal law, which provides fewer protections than Missouri law.
U.S. Judge Howard Sachs dismissed the case in February. An ACLU official says the group hasn’t decided whether to appeal this case or wait for another lawsuit.
The amendment is more widely known for protecting public prayer and letting students avoid assignments that violate their religious beliefs.