At a Glance ...

State justices take to the road once again

The Michigan Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Maniaci v Diroff, Supreme Court Case No. 158005, at Traverse City Central High School on Wednesday, Oct. 16 as part of its “Court Community Connections” program.

While the court normally hears oral argument at the Michigan Hall of Justice in Lansing, justices and staff travel to various communities.

“Court Community Connections”was launched as a public education program aimed principally at high school students.

The Oct. 16 event is celebrated as being the court’s 25th such program.

Participating schools that day will include Traverse City Central High School, Traverse City West Senior High School, and St. Francis High School. 

A debriefing session with attorneys will follow oral argument.


Priest takes plea deal in sexual abuse investigation

DETROIT (AP) — A Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after a Detroit-area jury said it was having trouble reaching a unanimous verdict in his sexual abuse trial.

The attorney general’s office says the Rev. Patrick Casey pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault. He was accused of engaging in sex acts with a younger man who was struggling with his Catholic faith and homosexuality and had sought Casey’s counsel in 2013.

The maximum penalty is a year in jail.

Casey at the time was a priest in Westland. TV station WXYZ reports that a Wayne County jury was deadlocked during deliberations Monday.

Casey had been charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony.

The Detroit Archdiocese says it learned about the allegations in 2015 and banned Casey from any form of church ministry.


Long-lost sculpture has returned to Los Angeles library

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A bronze sculpture that mysteriously disappeared from the Los Angeles Central Library 50 years ago has returned to its original home.

One of three panels of the Well of Scribes was unveiled at the downtown library earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The sculpture depicting writers from different cultures vanished in 1969 when the library underwent a renovation. The story of its disappearance was revived in Susan Orlean’s 2018 novel “The Library Book,” which inspired Alta magazine's managing editor to investigate its whereabouts.

An article published in the magazine’s July edition caught the attention of an antiques dealer in Arizona who bought the panel from a woman for $500 years earlier.

Floyd Lillard in Bisbee, Arizona, recognized the sculpture in question, contacted the library and gave it back.

City Librarian John Szabo says the discovery has given him hope that the other two panels might turn up one day.

“Up until now, we thought (the sculpture) might have been destroyed or was in someone’s backyard,” he said. “We just didn’t know if it would ever be found.”

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