Ohio
Parking citation tossed because of missing comma
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) - An appeals court has agreed with an Ohio woman who said her parking citation should be tossed because the village law was missing a comma.
Andrea Cammelleri (kah-meh-LEHR'-ee) says she shouldn't have been issued a citation in 2014 based on the wording of the law enacted by the village of West Jefferson.
The law lists several types of vehicles that can't be parked longer than 24 hours, including a "motor vehicle camper," with the comma missing between "vehicle" and "camper."
Cammelleri says her pickup truck did not fit that definition.
The village says the law's meaning was clear in context, but Judge Robert Hendrickson of the 12th Ohio District Court of Appeals says in last week's ruling that West Jefferson should amend the law if it wants it read differently.
Virginia
Jury awards woman $700K in suit against clinic
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - A jury has awarded $700,000 to a Roanoke woman who sued a Salem clinic over her treatment.
The Roanoke Circuit Court jury found that Virginia Orthopaedic PC was negligent in its treatment of Rhonda Bailey Palmer.
Palmer's lawsuit says she was treated at the clinic after she fractured her left humerus in July 2012. The lawsuit alleges that the bone was refractured during a follow-up procedure.
Palmer's attorney, Les Bowers, tells The Roanoke Times that the secondary injury delayed Palmer's physical therapy. She suffered permanent damage as a result.
The jury issued its verdict last week.
New Hampshire
Judge finds no probable cause in drugs case
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A judge has determined that two of three charges against a nurse accused of diverting drugs at a New Hampshire hospital lack the probable cause to go forward in court.
The Concord Monitor reports 47-year-old Kerry Bridges, of Warren, Maine, was arrested this month and charged with illegal possession of morphine and hydromorphone while she was working at Concord Hospital's emergency department between March and May.
A judge determined that the state hadn't proved probable cause in the charges relating to hydromorphone, but did in the morphine case. All three charges can still be presented to a grand jury for possible indictment.
Bridge's lawyer questioned the investigation methods and successfully argued that a travel ban, which limited Bridges to Maine and New Hampshire, be removed.
Massachusetts
Teen charged with killing teacher wants trial moved
SALEM, Mass. (AP) - Lawyers for a Massachusetts teenager charged with killing his high school math teacher have asked a judge to move their client's trial out of eastern Massachusetts, saying it will be difficult to pick an impartial jury given the large amount of publicity the case has received.
A lawyer for 16-year-old Philip Chism said in court Tuesday that media coverage of the case has been "pervasive," ''sensational" and "inflammatory." The defense suggests moving the trial to western Massachusetts. Chism attended the hearing but did not speak.
He has pleaded not guilty to killing Danvers High teacher Colleen Ritzer in October 2013, when he was 14. His trial is scheduled to start in October.
Prosecutors oppose moving the trial.
The judge did not immediately rule but indicated he may rule later this week.
Oregon
Man gets 6 years for punch that caused death
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A 42-year-old man who punched a stranger during an argument causing him to fall and later die has been sentenced to 6 1/3 years in prison.
The Oregonian reports that Robert Lewis Browne pleaded guilty Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court to the second-degree manslaughter of William "Cougar" Burleigh.
Prosecutors say Browne and Burleigh argued last October leading Browne to punch the 38-year-old. Burleigh was knocked off the sidewalk and into the street where his head struck the ground.
Burleigh was found by Portland Rescue Mission workers across the street from the homeless shelter. He had been on the ground for some time and someone had riffled through his pockets and taken his pants. He died two days later in the hospital.
Kansas
Man sentenced to 44 years in jail for raping girl
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Topeka man accused of kidnapping and raping a 5-year-old girl has been sentenced to nearly 44 years in prison.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports 21-year-old Al'Ryon Perkins was also sentenced Tuesday to 3 years of post-release supervision.
Perkins pleaded guilty in September to several charges including aggravated indecent liberties with a child younger than 14 and two counts of aggravated burglary. He denied kidnapping and raping the victim in a statement Tuesday.
Authorities say Perkins broke into a residence in 2010 to steal marijuana, but took a cash box instead and then returned to carry a child outside, where he sexually assaulted her. Perkins was 17 at the time, but the case was moved from juvenile court because of the nature of the crime.
Arizona
County denied new hearing in profiling case
PHOENIX (AP) - A federal appeals court has denied Maricopa County's request for another hearing over its decision to make the county a party in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's racial profiling case.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in mid-April that Arpaio's office was improperly named as a party in the case and instead substituted the county as a party.
Still, Arpaio was sued in his individual capacity and remains a party to the case.
The appeals court upheld a May 2013 ruling that concluded Arpaio's office had racially profiling of Latinos in its regular traffic and immigration patrols.
The sheriff is undergoing contempt-of-court proceedings in the profiling case for his acknowledged violation of a judge's orders.
Arpaio is seeking to disqualify the judge from the case.
Published: Thu, Jul 02, 2015
