Wisconsin
Federal court injunction gives governor big win
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal court ruling halting an investigation into Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s 2012 recall campaign and other conservative groups that supported him is a major victory for the Republican as he faces re-election and a possible 2016 presidential run.
A judge on Tuesday issued an injunction ordering a stop to the investigation that has shadowed Walker as he runs for a second term with an eye toward national office.
Walker avoided being charged in a previous criminal investigation that targeted his former aides and associates. The second John Doe investigation was focused on fundraising and spending by his campaign and his allies.
Milwaukee attorney Mike Maistelman said Wednesday that Walker will be able to use the decision to argue that he was unjustly targeted by political enemies.
New Jersey
Ex-prosecutor won’t see grand jury transcripts
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey appeals court has ruled against a former assistant county prosecutor who claims his 2010 firing was politically motivated.
Wednesday’s ruling denied Bennett Barlyn access to grand jury transcripts from a case that is at the heart of his lawsuit against the state.
Barlyn is suing over his firing from the Hunterdon County prosecutor’s office. Barlyn claims he was fired after he complained about the dropping of a 43-count indictment against then-Hunterdon County sheriff Deborah Trout and two subordinates.
Barlyn claims the attorney general’s office took over the case and dropped the indictment because of political pressure, possibly from as high up as Gov. Chris Christie.
Christie has denied any involvement.
Massachusetts
Man says he’s not to blame for fatal brownstone fire
BOSTON (AP) — A man named in a civil lawsuit alleging his welding company started a Boston brownstone fire that killed two firefighters says in a court filing he had no role in the blaze.
Giuseppe Falcone’s response was filed in Suffolk Superior Court. It says he wasn’t performing welding at a building next door when the March 26 fire erupted and the company named as his, D & J Iron Works, doesn’t exist.
The lawsuit was brought last month by the executor of the estate of Michael J. Callahan, which owns the apartment building that burned. It also names the owner of the building where the welding took place.
California
Report faults communications amid rampage
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A report says that communication and coordination problems between six law enforcement agencies hampered the police response as cop-turned-killer Christopher Dorner went on a 10-day rampage across Southern California last year.
The report, released Monday by the Washington, D.C.-based Police Foundation, praised the overall work of police and sheriff’s officials in four counties but identified several areas for improvement.
For example, too many officers raced to the scene when authorities had Dorner holed up in a cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains, creating a dangerous situation.
Dorner, who had been fired from the Los Angeles Police Department, eventually shot himself in the burning cabin.
He killed four people during his revenge mission, including a San Bernardino County sheriff’s detective who was shot during the final gunbattle.
New Jersey
Ex-New York Jets cheerleader sues, arguing low pay
HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — A former cheerleader with the New York Jets has sued the team, claiming she and others were underpaid in violation of New Jersey state wage laws.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in state Superior Court in Bergen County, where the Jets and the New York Giants play their home games at MetLife Stadium.
The cheerleader is identified in court papers as Krystal C. California-based attorney Sharon Vinick says she and other members of the Jets Flight Crew earned $150 per game and $100 for required special events. But she says they weren’t paid for practices or other appearances.
Vinick says when the unpaid hours are factored in the $1,700 per season works out to $3.77 per hour. She also represents cheerleaders with the Oakland Raiders in a similar lawsuit.
California
Man released who shot student in wrong unit
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A man who fatally shot a 26-year-old college student who went to the wrong unit in a San Francisco apartment building after a night out drinking will be released from jail pending further investigation, a newspaper reported.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office discharged the case against Amisi Sudi Kachepa, 68, citing the need to collect more evidence, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Tuesday.
The family of the shooting victim, Stephen Guillermo, 26, told the Chronicle that Guillermo had been out drinking with friends and apparently pressed the elevator button for the wrong floor when he arrived home. He went to a unit in the same location as the apartment he shared with his brother and sister two stories above.
Police have said they responded to the shooting around 1:40 a.m. Saturday and found the victim inside an apartment. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Florida
Medical issue delays trial for mom in deaths
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The trial of a Tampa mother accused of killing her two teenagers has started late because she reported a medical problem.
Julie Schenecker told her attorneys Wednesday that she was having numbness in her legs. The court doctor evaluated her, and she returned to the courtroom about 90 minutes late.
Schenecker is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors say she killed her 16-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son.
Her ex-husband testified for the prosecution Tuesday. The two divorced after the killings.
Parker Schenecker said he had not been concerned for their children’s safety when leaving them in his wife’s care.
Julie Schenecker has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Her attorneys say she has suffered from bipolar disorder and depression for decades.
Prosecutors say the slayings were premeditated.
