National Roundup

New York $4.75M for man after '92 murder conviction tossed NEW YORK (AP) - A New York City man imprisoned for nearly 20 years for murder before a judge declared he was innocent is getting $4.75 million from the state. Fernando Bermudez told the New York Post in a statement published Tuesday that "the settlement will never erase the injustice." It was reached last month. Bermudez' conviction was thrown out in 2009, with a judge saying he had "demonstrated his actual innocence." He'd been convicted in 1992 of shooting 16-year-old Raymond Blount outside a Manhattan nightspot the year before Several eyewitnesses identified him Bermudez as the gunman but later recanted. Friends of his testified he was miles away at the time of the crime. State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office says he's "committed to ensuring that those who are wrongfully convicted are compensated." Massachusetts @ROUND UP Briefs Headline:Court rejects hara­s­sment as free speech BOSTON (AP) - The highest court in Massachusetts has upheld the convictions of an Andover couple convicted of harassing their neighbors through fake Craigslist ads and a false child abuse report. William Johnson served 18 months in jail after he was convicted of criminal harassment and falsely reporting child abuse. Gail Johnson served six months after she was convicted of criminal harassment. They appealed, saying their actions directed at Jim and Bernadette Lyons were protected by the First Amendment right to free speech. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in its decision Tuesday that the Johnsons' constitutional challenge "fails because the conduct in question was not protected speech, but rather a hybrid of conduct and speech integral to the commission of a crime." Jim Lyons says he is "gratified" by the decision. A lawyer for William Johnson was unavailable. Ohio Workers appeal ruling in school shooting suit PAINESVILLE, Ohio (AP) - Five current or former officials from a northeast Ohio school district are appealing a ruling allowing three school shooting victims' families to proceed with parts of a lawsuit. The suit by the families and a student injured in the 2012 shooting alleged Chardon High School didn't have enough security and an alternative school didn't properly evaluate the risks posed by the student shooter, T.J. Lane. Last month, a judge dismissed the district and the alternative school from the case and dismissed individual employees from negligence claims. But he allowed remaining non-negligence claims against a former superintendent, three principals and another official. Their notice of appeal filed with Ohio's 11th District Court of Appeals says the allegations of conscious disregard and malice don't trump certain legal immunities for school employees. Minnesota @ROUND UP Briefs Headline:Law to let some people seal their criminal records ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A Minnesota law taking effect Jan. 1 will allow people with minor rap sheets to ask a judge to seal their criminal records. The criminal-record expungement law will provide the new option to people convicted of misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors and some nonviolent felonies, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. Updated records available to members of the public such as prospective employers wouldn't include sealed crimes. Law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and judges could still get a person's full criminal record. Sherry Niesen, 37, said she she's determined to move past a fifth-degree misdemeanor assault charge to which she pleaded guilty in 2010. The registered nurse from Otsego said she wants a clean slate for 2015, and opportunities to land good jobs. "It has been horrific for me," Niesen said. "I feel like I've been crucified for one moment in my life that doesn't define who I am." The misdemeanor charge is the lowest-level assault charge possible in Minnesota, and Niesen's criminal record is otherwise clean. The Council on Crime and Justice says one in four Minnesotans has a criminal record. It's unclear how many will qualify under the new law, which gives judges a longer reach than they currently have. Judges will be able to seal records that reside with local law enforcement agencies and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The law's backers say it will help people secure job interviews, employment and housing. "Having a criminal conviction means, you know, that you made a mistake in the past," said Joshua Esmay, an attorney with the Council on Crime and Justice. "That's really an event within a lifespan, right? It's not something that in every case is indicative of some inherent trait of criminality." Mississippi Google sues state attorney general JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A federal judge has denied Google Inc.'s motion to block enforcement of a subpoena issued by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood that seeks information from Google about parts of its operations, including information about advertising for imported prescription drugs. Federal court records also show U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate put Google's response to the subpoena on hold Monday until after the new year. Wingate scheduled a Feb. 13 hearing for further discussions on Google's motion. He asked attorneys for both sides to file new briefs in January. In lawsuit filed this past week, Google argued Hood has tried to force the company to restrict access to content through its Internet search engine and advertising and on its video-sharing site, YouTube. Hood filed the 79-page subpoena in October. He argued there is probable cause to show that Google is violating Mississippi consumer protection laws. "The Attorney General has engaged in a sustained campaign of threats against Google," the Mountain View, California-based company said in its lawsuit. Hood said in a news release Monday that Wingate's order allows the state more time to respond to Google's lawsuit and "gives the parties additional time to attempt to reach an amicable resolution." Working with others in the National Association of Attorneys General, Hood has been pushing Google since 2013 to prevent use of the company's search engine to find illegal drugs and pirated music, video games and movies. Hood has said Google had worked with states' attorneys general to restrict access to information about child pornography, and the company had agreed to stop some of the search engine's autocomplete features that mentioned how to buy the painkiller oxycodone without a prescription. Hood said more needs to be done. Published: Thu, Dec 25, 2014