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> News > Archives
> December 2000
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Louisville - Lasege vs. NCAA - U/L Basketball Player's
Lawsuit
Louisville
Cardinals Sports Report
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Read in the Louisville Cardinal's Sports Report about the legal
struggle of Muhammed Lasege to play college basketball for the
University of Louisville and the NCAA's responses. This
links you to a summary and analysis of the struggle plus a copy
of Judge Morris' legal
opinion granting Muhammed a temporary injunction against the
NCAA rules.
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Hopkinsville - Melancon Murder Case Set For May
Hopkinsville - Kentucky New Era
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Trial for the Hopkinsville couple charged in the death of their
baby earlier this year remains on track for May. 12.29.2000
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Louisville - City Documents Drying Out From Flood
Louisville
Courier-Journal
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Frankfort - Opponents of Death Penalty Prep Bills for Ky
Legislature
Louisville
Courier-Journal
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Former state Sen. Michael Moloney pleaded guilty to
baiting a pond for duck hunting
Lexington Herald-Leader
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ACLU Seeks Contempt Action Against County Officials Over
Hanging of Ten Commandments in Public Building, Officials
Respond
Lexington Herald-Leader
(click here for The displays)
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Southern Indiana -
Murder Suspect Backs Out of Deal
Louisville Courier-Journal
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Kelly Holland, accused of killing his wife and two children and
his wife's mother, withdrew his offer to plead guilty. He
may now face the death penalty rather than life without
parole. 12.28.2000
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Northern Kentucky -
Jury Asks Judge for Tougher Boating Laws
Lexington Herald-Leader
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Former jurors want tougher laws for drinking and boating
on Kentucky rivers. The 12 jurors and one alternate juror
from Campbell County case that acquitted boater sent a letter to
judges, prosecutors and Gov. Paul Patton after serving at the
trial of Brian Brunen, who was charged with three counts of
manslaughter and two counts of assault after an Aug. 16, 1999,
crash on the Ohio River that killed three. 12.28.2000
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Louisville - Family
Court Judges Start Work on the Bench
Louisville
Courier-Journal
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Three recent appointees to District Court - Stephen M. George,
Hugh Smith Haynie and Joseph W. O'Reilly - have put on their
robes for Jefferson Family Court. All three must run for
re-election in 2002. Good luck to all of you, and may you
be fair, impartial, and dispense justice to all that come before
you.
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Lexington - Jail Fees Law Coming Under Scrutiny
Lexington Herald-Leader
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A 5-month-old Kentucky law that allows jails to charge inmates
for room, board and other costs has received mixed reviews from
the state's jailers. Some say the new charges are a long-overdue
way to shift some of the costs of maintaining a jail from
taxpayers to criminals. Others note that many are already
financially strapped and unable to pay. ACLU has
challenged similar statutes in other states.
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National - White House Announces Medical Privacy Rules
ZDNet
News 12.26.2000
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In an attempt to staunch the flow of private medical data to
companies that should not have access, the White House announced
a set of privacy protections covering medical and insurance
information. The new rules, mandated by the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act, require that health plans
and health-care providers protect all medical records and
individually identifiable information.
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National - Prisoner's Lawsuit on
Penthouse's Paula Jones Pictorial Dismissed With Poetic Verse
ABC
News 12.26.2000
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Prisoner serving 14 years for robbery and assault sued Penthouse
in federal court, identifying himself as the Minister of Law of
the Mandingo Warriors prison gang, and alleging the Penthouse
picture of Paula Jones was not sufficiently revealing. U.S.
District Judge Sam Sparks dismissed the suit a $250 fine against
Joyner for filing a frivolous legal motion. His ruling
included a poem, a part of which follows:
’Twas Not Worth the Trouble'
The poem read in part:
“’Twas the night before Christmas and all through the prison
Inmates were planning their new porno
mission.
… The minute his Penthouse
issue arrived,
The Minister ripped it open to see what
was inside.
But what to his wondering eyes should
appear —
Not Paula Jones’ promised privates,
but only her rear.
Life has its disappointments. Some come
out of the blue
but that doesn’t mean a prisoner
should sue
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 Class action suit against Santa???
Lexington Herald-Leader
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| In a litigious society such as ours, take a
look at this tongue in cheek analysis of Santa and the damage
caused by his reindeer.
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Attorneys for Texas Governor George W. Bush filed suit in federal
court today, seeking to prevent Santa Claus from making his list
and then checking it twice.
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| Austin, TX -
The
complaint seeks an immediate injunction against the beloved
Christmas icon, asking the court to effectively ban his
traditional practice of checking the list of good boys and girls
one additional time before packing his sleigh.
The suit, filed in the Federal District Court of Austin, Texas,
asks a federal judge to "hereby order Mr. Claus to cease and
desist all repetitive and duplicative list-checking
activity, and certify the original list as submitted, without
amendment, alteration, deletion, or other unnecessary
modification."
"There are no standards for deciding who is naughty, and who
is nice. It's totally arbitrary and capricious. How many more
times does he need to check? This checking, checking, and
re-checking over and over again must stop now," said former
Secretary James Baker.
Baker further claimed that unnamed GOP observers witnessed an
elf removing all boys named Justin from the 'nice' list,
filing them under 'naughty' instead because "everyone
knows all boys named Justin are brats."
Gov. Bush cited the potential for unauthorized list tampering,
and blasted what he called the "crazy, crazy mess up
there at the North Pole." "Their security is
really awful, really bad," said Bush. A0 "My mother
just walked right in, told 'em she was Mrs. Claus. They
didn't check her ID or nothing."
Meanwhile, Dick Cheney, Gov. Bush's running mate, issued a direct
plea to St. Nick himself. "Mr. Claus, I call on you to
do the honorable thing, and quit checking your list. The children
of the world have had enough. They demand closure now,"
Cheney said, adding that his granddaughter has already selected a
name for the pony she's asked for.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson was quick to respond to this latest
development with plans to lead his protesters from Florida to the
North Pole via dogsled. The "Million Man Mush" is
scheduled to leave Friday. "We need red suits and sleighs,
not law suits and delays," Jackson said.
Santa Claus could not be reached for comment, but a spokeself
said he was "deeply distressed" by news of the pending
legal action against him.
"He's losing weight, and he hasn't said 'Ho Ho' for
days," said the spokeself. "He's just not feeling
jolly."
A weary nation can relate.
The Supreme Court agreed to review the decision and in a 5 to 4
opinion, the highest Court held that the safe harbor provisions of
federal law apply and that a deadline is a deadline - Santa will
be allowed to make his run.
Check your stockings; and if you have coal in them, then you
naughty little lawyers can NOT get a recount.
Merry Christmas - Hope you enjoyed this humorous legal fiction.
Or was it fiction?
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Louisville - Judge Heyburn upholds
informed consent abortion law
Louisville Courier-Journal
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| U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II has
upheld Kentucky's 1998 "informed consent" law that
requires women seeking abortions to wait 24 hours so they may be
counseled about the procedure and offered state pamphlets about
abortion and alternatives.
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Louisville - $9 Million Medical Malpractice Verdict
Louisville Courier-Journal
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Family awarded $9 million in medical malpractice
case against Baptist Hospital East for death of boy who died of
complications following tonsillectomy. Surgeon and
anesthesiologist exonerated by jury; 100% fault for death on
hospital.
The jury found that the hospital's medical staff was
negligent in its care of Brian Dudley, whose condition
deteriorated within hours after his operation.
According to court records filed by attorney Michael Hance
who represented the Dudley family, Brian's surgery was
performed without any complications, but Brian was in
respiratory distress within hours and "the medical care
team continued to take no steps to alleviate Brian's respiratory
distress and provide meaningful intervention to reverse Brian's
slide" while his condition deteriorated per Hance.
VERDICT: $2.4 million for the loss of Brian's ability to earn money;
more than $2.5 million for the loss of his love and affection;
$250,000 for his pain and suffering; and $19,422.05 in medical
and funeral expenses; plus $4 million in punitive damages,.
Total award was$9,187,921.05.
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Louisville
- Jury Recommends 22 Years in Murder Trial
Louisville
Courier-Journal
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After
deliberating for two hours, the jury recommended that Aaron
Hardin -- who was 15 when his 13-year-old brother, Andre, was
shot -- be sentenced to 22 years in prison.
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Louisville
- Man Accused of Rape Turns Himself In
Louisville
Courier-Journal
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Man
accused of stopping a woman last spring by impersonating a
police officer, then raping her, turned himself.
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Hopkinsville - Father Going to
Trial for Son's Death
Hopkinsville
- Kentucky New Era
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Father who had previously been
accused of neglecting child and was not supposed to be alone
accused of death. Four month old child found dead in crib
by mother - shaken baby syndrome suspected.
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Louisville - Local Med-Mal Case Settles for $3
Million
Louisville
Courier-Journal
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Plaintiff's Attorney Bill McMurry settles med-mal
death case against radiologist and urologist over misdiagnosed
kidney cancer in the midst of trial for $3 million .
When Scott Allen Thompson
went to a Louisville urologist (Dr. John Hubbard) on his 35th
birthday in 1994 after seeing blood in his urine, the doctor
concluded his problem was kidney stones. However, Dr. Dennis
Jankowski identified a mass on the kidney x-ray, recommended a
CT scan, and sent the report to Dr. Hubbard who claimed not to
have received it (incidentally, the report made it to radiology
and the hospital records, and when Dr. Hubbard did learn of the
x-ray report after Thompson was diagnosed with cancer his
response was he didn't think the information "would help
him in any way, besides make him worry. . . . What good would it
do for a young man that's got this?".
By March 1998, Thompson had blood in his
urine, with a later diagnosis of kidney cancer. He died in
1999. In the midst of the trial, jurors said they were
deadlock on one doctor and had resolved the issue with the other
doctor. The parties settled. It turned out that the
jury did not believe the radiologist was liable and were split
6-6 on the urologist with the six holding the urologist liable
considering $1.5 million in damages.
The settlement matched the largest jury
verdict returned in Kentucky last year in medical malpractice
cases, according to the Kentucky Trial Court Review, a private
verdict-tracking service; the average verdict in such cases was
$266,000. Plaintiff's attorney Bill McMurry said the hung jury
shows how difficult it is to convince juries in Kentucky that
doctors are at fault -- even in a case valued at millions of
dollars by a doctor's own insurance carrier. Juries last year
awarded damages in just 19 of 67 medical malpractice cases
statewide.
To
order Kentucky Trial Court Reviews Analysis of Jefferson County
Medical Malpractice Verdicts for the 1990's, click here for more
information. It's only $70.00!
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Barbourville - Insurance
Company Sues City For Indemnity In Settlement of Suit
for Playground Injury
Barbourville - Mountain Advocate
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A child was injured in
1995 from a fall on city-owned playground equipment. The
mother's suit against the
Knox County Board of Education was settled by the board's
insurer, the Kentucky School Board Insurance Trust and United
Insurance Management Company, which has now filed suit against
the city of Barbourville seeking contribution towards the a
settlement.
The suit claims the
city was negligent in providing protective railings and
cushions in violation of safety standards and the city of
Barbourville was given the opportunity to "investigate
and participate in the resolution of the claims" but
"refused to contribute in any way" toward the
settlement.
The insurer is seeking
the entire cost and fees incurred by the plaintiffs in the
resolution of the child's claim, including a reasonable
attorney's fee, in the amount of $15,825.96, with interest. |
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Ashland - Jury Awards $841,901 to Engineer in Train
Accident
Ashland - Daily Independent |
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A trucking company and CSX Transportation Inc. were negligent
in a 1995 accident that injured a locomotive engineer, a jury
decided last week. The Boyd Circuit Court jury awarded
$841,901 in damages to Carl Wellman and his wife, Beverly.
Wellman, 58, was the engineer on a CSX train that collided
with a loaded coal truck on the tracks near Lockwood Estates
at Catlettsburg on Oct. 4, 1995. Wellman suffered
injuries to his knee and back in the collision and claimed the
railroad should have known the crossing was dangerous,
according to court records. The jury apportioned 40
percent of the fault to the railroad and 60 percent to the
truck driver. The plaintiff had already settled with the
trucker prior to trial. |
Louisville - Dress Code at
High School Upheld in Federal Court
Louisville
Courier-Journal |
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A parent who filed a lawsuit
over Atherton High School's dress code said yesterday that she
has not decided whether to appeal a federal judge's ruling
upholding the policy, which the school said was aimed at
curbing suspected gang activities |
Louisville - Teen Convicted of Murdering Brother
Louisville Courier-Journal
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After deliberating for about two hours, a
Jefferson Circuit Court jury found Hardin guilty of wanton
murder and possession of a handgun by a minor. By convicting him
of wanton murder, the jury showed it believed Hardin had created
a grave risk of death and acted with extreme indifference to
human life.
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Louisville - Jefferson Jury Recommends Death for Murderer
Louisville Courier-Journal
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Jefferson Circuit Court jury recommends death sentence for
Melvin Lee Parrish, who was convicted earlier this week of
fatally stabbing a woman and her 8-year-old son three years ago.
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Ashland
- Attorney Indicted on Drug Charges
Ashland -
Daily Independent |
| An indictment
handed up Thursday in U.S. District Court charges Jack
Richendollar with one count of possession of cocaine with intent
to distribute and two counts of using a telephone in the
commission of a drug felony. If convicted on all charges,
Richendollar could face nearly 30 years in prison and more than
$1 million in fines. |
Kentucky
Court of Appeals - Libel Judgment Upheld
Lexington
Herald-Leader |
| The
Court of Appeals upheld a $75,000 judgment against the
publisher of a race track tip sheet for libeling another race
track regular. Edward L. Musselman publishes Indian Charlie, a
free newsletter distributed at race tracks in Kentucky and
elsewhere. In October and November 1997, Musselman ``lampooned
(Donald) Alvey's abilities as a self-employed bloodstock agent,
professional handicapper and gambler; he also ridiculed Alvey's
personal appearance,'' according to court records. |
Judge
Bertlesman Plans to Retire
Lexington
Herald-Leader |
| U.S.
District Judge William O. Bertelsman of Covington will retire in
February to be a ``senior judge.'' Bertelsman, 64, said
yesterday he will carry about half his current caseload.
President Carter appointed Bertelsman in 1979. |
Somerset
- Same Sex Student Sex Harassment Suit Settled
Lexington Herald-Leader |
| The Somerset school district
will pay an estimated $135,000 to settle a lawsuit claiming it failed
to end harassment of a male student by boys who thought he was gay,
according to the student's mother. |
Louisville
- Barnes Will Be Retried for Murder in Jail Death
Louisville
Courier-Journal |
| Former jail
officer Timothy Barnes will stand trial again in the death of inmate
Adrian Reynolds, Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel announced
yesterday. Stengel said his office will retry Barnes on a murder
charge for allegedly killing Reynolds in a struggle outside his
Jefferson County Jail cell. The first trial ended earlier this month
in a hung jury. |
| Other
Headlines from Around the State During December 2000 |
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Thursday - December 14, 2000 |
Louisville - Trial Begins in Minor Accused
of Killing Brother
Louisville
Courier-Journal |
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In
opening statements, the jury heard dramatically different
accounts of what happened at the Hardin home at 3020 Vermont
Ave. on Dec. 27, 1999 when his 13 year old brother was
shot. Pprosecutor Paul Dzenitis told the jury that
Hardin shot his brother in the face in an argument over a
video game. Gwendolyn Horton, one of Hardin's attorneys, said
that there was no argument, that Hardin had accidentally shot
his brother. Trial is expected to go two more days. |
Southern Ind. - Convicted killer in Shearer
Murder Out of Jail
Louisville
Courier-Journal |
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Toni
Lawrence, one of the four Indiana girls involved in the 1992
torture slaying of 12-year-old Shanda Sharer, will leave
prison today after serving nearly nine years of a 20-year
sentence. |
Covington - Judge Delays Sentencing of
Confessed Killer
Kentucky
Post |
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Kenton Circuit Judge Steve Jaeger officially has delayed a
sentencing hearing that could result in the death penalty for
an ex-convict who admitted that he shot and killed a Fort
Thomas teen-ager. |
Frankfort - New trials sought in Letcher
killings
Lexington
Herald-Leader |
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Two men sentenced to die for a sensational Letcher County
murder did not receive a fair trial, their attorneys argued
yesterday before the Kentucky Supreme Court. Among other
problems, their attorneys told the court, the prosecutor had
improper contact with jury members even supplying alcohol to
at least one and presented false testimony against Roger
Epperson and Benny Lee Hodge in their 1986 trial. |
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Elsewhere |
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Wednesday - December 13, 2000 |
Ashland - Attorney Indicted on Drug Charges
Ashland - Daily Independent |
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An indictment handed up Thursday in U.S.
District Court charges Jack Richendollar with one count of
possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and two counts
of using a telephone in the commission of a drug felony. If convicted on all charges, Richendollar
could face nearly 30 years in prison and more than $1 million
in fines. |
Pikeville - 1986 Murder Suspect Returns
Appalachian News Express |
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Sandra Kalvaitis remained free and living in other states for
more than a decade after she allegedly killed a retired coal
miner on a dead-end road near Kimper. |
Lexington - Report Says Schools Safer
Lexington Herald-Leader |
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Kentucky schools saw a huge drop in assault, theft, arson and
gun-related offenses from 1999 to 2000, according to new data
released yesterday by the Kentucky Center for School Safety |
Oldham - Man Convicted of Killing Woman and
Her Son
Louisville Courier-Journal |
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An Oldham County man was convicted of fatally
stabbing a woman and her 8-year-old son -- and trying to kill
her 5-year-old son. Melvin Lee Parrish, 37, of Crestwood was
found guilty of two counts of murder, one count of attempted
murder and robbery. |
Richmond - Bus Driver Charged With Sex Abuse
Had DUI Record, Arrests
Lexington Herald-Leader |
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A substitute school bus driver who has been charged with
sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy also faces questions about
why he was ever behind the wheel of a bus at all. |
Covington - Comm. Atty Crockett Cracks Open
New Team
Covington - Kentucky Post |
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Kenton Commonwealth Attorney-elect Bill Crockett will bring in
an almost entirely new slate of attorneys when he takes over
the job Jan. 1. |
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Elsewhere |
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Tuesday - December 12, 2000 |
Louisville - 8 Year Old Testifies in Murder
Trial
Louisville Courier-Journal |
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Jonathan pointed at Melvin Lee Parrish and told
a Jefferson Circuit Court jury that he was the one who had
stabbed him and his brother, LaShawn Allen, who was 8 years
old at the time of his death - the
man accused of stabbing him, his brother and his mother three
years ago. Jonathan Allen, who was 5 when he was
attacked, was the only survivor. |
Lexington - Ex-housing Inspector Sues City
Lexington Herald-Leader |
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Former Division of Code Enforcement inspector sued the Urban
County Government Friday, alleging the city unfairly suspended
him after the Herald-Leader wrote critical stories about the
division. |
Hopkinsville - Father Going to Trial for
Son's Death
Hopkinsville - Kentucky New Era |
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Father who had previously been accused of
neglecting child and was not supposed to be alone accused of
death. Four month old child found dead in crib by mother
- shaken baby syndrome suspected. |
Harrodsburg - Car Dealer Closes, Sue for
Millions
Lexington Herald-Leader |
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Harrodsburg Ford Mercury abruptly shut its doors over the
weekend. The car dealership is a defendant in a $2.14 million
lawsuit filed Friday by Firstar Bank which alleges that the
dealership's owners obtained money fraudulently by falsifying
at least 16 vehicle identifications for cars that ``do not
exist.'' |
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Elsewhere |
- GREENUP, Ky.
-- The adoptive parents of a 9-year-old girl say they will
go to jail rather than submit to a judge's order granting
visitation rights to her biological grandmother.
- PIKEVILLE, Ky.
-- Judge-Executive Karen Gibson and Pike Fiscal Court have
settled a federal lawsuit by four former employees who
claimed they lost their jobs in an act of political
retaliation.
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Monday - December 11, 2000 |
Louisville - Court could order new
trial in notorious 1984 slayings
Louisville Courier-Journal |
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Kentucky Supreme Court again considers whether to grant Victor
Taylor a new trial -- possibly reopening one of Jefferson
County's highest-profile murder cases -- it is faced
with the same question it decided a decade ago. |
Louisville Bar Association's
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION SEMINARS
Wednesday, December 13 - "EEO Basics - Regional
Institute" for 7.5 CLE Hours. This is a special
seminar co-sponsored by the ABA Section of Labor and
Employment and the LBA. All registrations and payments
are being handled by the ABA. Please contact Chris
Meacham at 312-988-5821 for more information.
Friday, December 15 - "You Got the Call...Now What Are
You Going to say? Effectuating the pre-formal arrest right to
counsel in a DUI case" for 2.0 CLE Hours
To register for any upcoming seminars, please visit
http://www.loubar.org/clecalendar.html |
Kentucky Court of Appeals - Libel Judgment
Upheld
Lexington Herald-Leader |
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The Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a $75,000 judgment
against the publisher of a race track tip sheet for libeling
another race track regular. Edward L. Musselman publishes
Indian Charlie, a free newsletter distributed at race tracks
in Kentucky and elsewhere. In October and November 1997,
Musselman ``lampooned (Donald) Alvey's abilities as a
self-employed bloodstock agent, professional handicapper and
gambler; he also ridiculed Alvey's personal appearance,''
according to court records. |
Judge Bertlesman Plans to Retire
Lexington Herald-Leader |
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U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman of Covington will
retire in February to be a ``senior judge.'' Bertelsman, 64,
said yesterday he will carry about half his current caseload.
President Carter appointed Bertelsman in 1979. |
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Elsewhere - |
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Friday - December 8, 2000 |
Mount Sterling - Doctor Pleads Guilty to Abusing Patients
Lexington Herald-Leader
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Mount Sterling physician pleaded guilty yesterday to 15
misdemeanor charges of sexually abusing female patients under
his care. Dr. Lowell G. Arnett Jr., 30, is scheduled to be
sentenced Jan. 29, and the judge is expected to follow the
conditions outlined in Arnett's plea bargain.
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Lexington - Courthouse is not vane, no weather vane that is
Lexington Herald-Leader
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Fayette County's main courthouse will remain a bit bald for the
next year or so. A storm knocked the weather vane akimbo last
month, a brutal blow from Mother Nature that wound up closing
Short Street for a few days because the copper striding horse
was hanging over mortals below like the sword of Damocles.
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Federal - Appeals Court to decide flag case in Madison
Lexington Herald-Leader
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It's now up to a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals
to decide whether Madison County school officials can bar
students from displaying the Confederate battle flag at school.
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Louisville - ACLU Wants Southern Ky Counties in Contempt
Louisville Courier-Journal
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The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky
asked a federal judge yesterday to hold two Southern Kentucky
counties in contempt for posting Ten Commandments displays in
their courthouses.
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LaGrange - Couple Accuses Police of Racism
Louisville Courier-Journal
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An Oldham County couple have filed a complaint
against the La Grange Police Department, claiming an officer
stopped their son and arrested him simply because he is black.
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Jamestown - Jury Gives 100 Years for Deaths in DUI
Russell Register
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Jack Shaffer was convicted earlier this week on five counts of
wanton murder, and one count of assault, in connection with the
deaths of five people in a 1996 auto accident. His 1998
conviction for the murders of Eddie Eads, 43, Mary Lucille Eads,
47, Aaron Shawn Eads, 16, Brittany Ann Blankenship, eight months
old, and Erin DeBoard, 15, and assault of Adam Lawless had been
overturned by the Kentucky supreme Court. He had a blood
alcohol level of .023–more than twice the legal limit under
state law, when he collided with a car driven by Eddie Eads just
days before Christmas four years ago. He was convicted
again and the jury recommended 100 years. Formal
sentencing later.
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Glasgow - Walmart Counterfeiting Case May go Federal
Glasgow Daily Times
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It is possible that charges against two Barren County men who
allegedly passed counterfeit money at Glasgow's Wal-Mart could
be treated as federal offenses, according to Barren County's
Commonwealth Attorney Phil Patton.
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Elizabethtown - Man Sentenced to 8 years - sodomy &
incest
Elizabethtown - News-Enterprise
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27-year-old Elizabethtown man was sentenced to eight years in
prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to charges of
second-degree sodomy and incest. Eddie Lee Haskins,
originally had entered a not guilty plea during his April
arraignment and was set for a jury trial but later pleaded
guilty to both the charges against him.
Hardin Circuit Court Judge Steven Bland sentenced Haskins to
eight years for each charge to run concurrently. Haskins already
has served 321 days that will be credited toward his sentence.
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Covington - Murder Defendant Wins One Ruling, Loses One
Covington - Kentucky Post
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Campbell County judge has given a murder defendant a mixed
victory, saying prosecutors cannot use a conversation he had
with police shortly after he was appointed a lawyer, but they
can use a letter he wrote from his jail cell two weeks later.
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Barbourville - Woman Picked Up after year on the run
Barbourville - Mountain Advocate
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A 33-year-old man has pleaded guilty to stabbing his roommate
with a knife last summer and in exchange may receive a probated
sentence. Steve Wilson entered an amended guilty plea Friday to
second-degree assault charges in the stabbing of his former
roommate Steve Adkins, whose address is now listed as London, on
June 7.
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Barbourville - Woman Picked Up after year on the run
Barbourville - Mountain Advocate
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A 33-year-old Bell County woman charged with second-degree
manslaughter in a wreck that killed a Knox County man was
arrested Thanksgiving Day after being on the lam for more than a
year.
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Hodgenville - 75 year old man arrested for
rape
Bardstown - Kentucky Standard |
A 75-year-old Hodgenville man has been arrested and charged
with first-degree attempted rape and fourth-degree assault.
The Nelson County Sheriff’s Department was called to
investigate a possible assault Monday at 8659 Stiles Road in
Howardstown. |
Richmond - Woman pleads not guilty in death
of newborn
Ashland - Daily Independent |
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A Louisa woman accused of causing her newborn son's
death pleaded not guilty to reckless homicide Thursday
in Madison County Circuit Court. |
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Elsewhere |
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Thursday - Dec 7, 2000 |
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Louisville - Lawyer Michael Poole Pleads
Guilty to Stealing from Client (12/6/2000 Courier Journal,
B-3)) |
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J. Michael Poole, age 48, pled guilty to 28
counts of stealing nearly $365,000 from his elderly
client. His plea agreement provides for sentences up to
13 years in prison. Judge Knopf scheduled to sentence
Poole on Feb. 7, 2001. The client was 89 years old in a
nursing home at the time of the thefts, but has since
died. Prosecutor Joe Gutman told court he would object
to probation, but would have no objection to shock probation
if restitution made to the estate. Poole had been
suspended from the practice of law in another case involving
diverting client's funds. |
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Louisville - Man Indicted for Bilking Local
PNC Bank of $580,000 (12/6/2000 Courier Journal B6) |
|
Federal grand jury indicted Iowa man, J.
Michel, Jr., age 30, for defrauding bank of $580,000 in
checks. If convicted, could be sentenced to 30 years in
prison and $1,000,000 in fines. |
Prisoner Info On-Line @ www.cor.state.ky.us
KOOL - Kentucky OnLine Offender Lookup
Louisville Courier-Journal |
|
The state Department of Corrections announced
that information about every felon currently in the Kentucky
prison system is now available on the Internet, the state
Department of Corrections. |
Louisville - Jefferson Starts Experimental
OnLine Criminal Info
Lexington
Herald Leader |
|
New software unveiled in Jefferson District Court yesterday
will let judges instantly access a defendant's criminal
history during court proceedings.
The Benchpro system, developed by the state Administrative
Office of the Courts, is on a $2 million trial run in
Jefferson County. The state will spend another $4 million in
the next 18 months spreading it to the rest of Kentucky,
starting with larger communities like Lexington and Covington,
officials said. |
Lexington - Injunction Issued In Housing
Discrimination Case
Lexington
Herald Leader |
|
Fayette Circuit Court judge has ordered Sami Shalash to stay
away from Sarah Duer, a former tenant in the Ingleside Mobile
Home Park who complained she was the victim of illegal housing
discrimination. |
Jamestown - Man Convicted Again in DUI
Deaths
Lexington
Herald Leader |
|
For the second time in two years, Jack Shaffer has been
convicted of killing five people and seriously injuring
another in a drunken-driving wreck four years ago. His 1-ton
Chevy flatbed truck crossed the center line of Ky. 80 on Dec.
22, 1996, and smashed head-on into the Dodge Intrepid of a
family on its way to see Christmas lights. All but one of the
six occupants in the car were killed. |
Covington - School & Girl Settle Suit
Over Expulsion for Sex
Corbin - News-Journal |
|
A teen-age girl who says she was expelled from her Christian
school because she was sexually active has reached an
out-of-court settlement in her lawsuit, her attorney said. |
|
Wednesday - Dec 6, 2000 |
Oldham County - Murder Trial
Louisville Courier-Journal |
|
An Oldham County man accused of fatally
stabbing a woman and her 8-year-old son was only one of
several people who could have slain the two, his lawyer told a
jury yesterday as the man's murder trial began. If convicted,
Melvin Lee Parrish, 37, of Crestwood could be sentenced to
death. He is accused of killing his cousin, Rhonda Allen, 26,
and one of her sons, LaShawn Allen, three years ago. |
Covington - Judge Keeps Teen on Probation
Covington - Kentucky Post |
|
Nicholas Race - who at age 14 was jailed for trying to kill an
elderly woman in his Covington neighborhood - will be allowed
to remain on probation with a stern warning from a judge that
he should expect no more second chances. |
|
Hopkinsville - School Bus Crash Update -
Student Pulled Arm
Hopkinsville - Kentucky New Era |
|
The driver of the school bus involved in a wreck that killed
one student and left more than 30 others injured told school
officials that a student grabbed her arm and caused the
steering wheel to jerk seconds before the accident. |
|
Lexington - DUI Treatment
Reform Needed
Lexington Herald-Leader |
|
Kentucky sends its drunken drivers to alcohol-treatment
programs, where depending on the program they receive months
of education or counseling, or they snooze through movies for
a few weeks and get back their driver's licenses. |
Frankfort - KSU President Sues Over Web
Defamation
Lexington Herald-Leader |
|
Kentucky State University President George Reid has filed a
libel and defamation lawsuit against a Frankfort newspaper and
one of his detractors. The lawsuit accuses The State Journal
and University of Cincinnati history professor L.J. Andrew
Villalon of publishing false information about Reid's academic
credentials ``with reckless disregard for whether the
statements were false or not.'' |
|
Law.com - Ergonomics Rules Draw
Attacks
The National Law Journal |
Both business and labor groups have sued over massive new
ergonomics standards issued by the federal Occupational Safety
and Health Administration, which explain how to settle
arguments over injuries caused by repetitive job actions. Big
business sued because, it says, OSHA went too far in
protecting overworked employees. Labor wants to litigate
points on which it feels the agency caved in. http://www.law.com/cgi-bin/nwlink.cgi?ACG=ZZZBBJ7QCGC |
Lawyers Weekly
Do Unto Others Before They Sue You Paper: Lawyers Shield
Selves From Lawsuits UPI/Virtual New York
Lawyers appear to be quick to sue almost anyone except other
lawyers, a lawyers' publication said. Lawyers Weekly USA
reported Thursday that a growing number of lawyers are putting
fine print in fee agreements shielding them from being sued by
a client if they botch a case.
http://www.vny.com/cf/news/upidetail.cfm?QID=140115 |
Advertisement - LAWYERSED.COM
CLE.
LawyersEd.com provides online CLE seminars accredited in 20
states, including Kentucky. LawyersEd.com is easily accessible
and conforms to your schedule. Just choose the topic that
interests you, download, print and read the material at your
convenience. Take a short quiz and print your CLE certificate
right from your computer. |
|
Tuesday - Dec 5, 2000 |
Louisville - Mary Jane Karem Dies - Lawyer,
woman, activist
Louisville Courier-Journal |
|
Mary Jane Mansfield Karem, who began studying
law in 1945 when the words "lawyer" and
"woman" rarely applied to the same person, died
yesterday at Nazareth Home. She was 92. One of her sons,
Edmund Karem, remembered yesterday how his mother would tell
stories of meetings at which people would refuse to believe
that she was the lawyer, rather than the secretary. |
|
Louisville - Local Bar CLE Seminars
Tuesday, December 5 - "Banrkuptcy Crimes" for 2.0
CLE Hours
Wednesday, December 6 - "Conduit Loans and Conduit Loan
Covenants" for 2.0 CLE Hours
Thursday, December 7 - "Changes in Hearing Level
Procedures" for 2.0 CLE Hours
Friday, December 8 - "How to Find the Courthouse"
for 7.5 CLE Hours |
Findlaw - Supreme Court oral arguments with simultaneous
text of opinion, and MP3
http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/us/election/election2000.html |
Paintsville - Hanging at Jail Probed
The Paintsville Herald |
|
Investigators are likely to rule the
August 18 hanging death of regional jail inmate Shawn
Rittenhouse a suicide, and one official said criminal charges
are an unlikely result of the probe. |
|
Newsbriefs |
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Monday - Dec 4, 2000 |
|
Louisville - Local Med-Mal Case Settles for $3
Million
Louisville Courier-Journal
|
|
Plaintiff's Attorney Bill McMurry settles med-mal death case against
radiologist and urologist over misdiagnosed kidney cancer in the
midst of trial for $3 million .
When Scott Allen Thompson went to a Louisville
urologist (Dr. John Hubbard) on his 35th birthday in 1994 after
seeing blood in his urine, the doctor concluded his problem was
kidney stones. However, Dr. Dennis Jankowski identified a mass on
the kidney x-ray, recommended a CT scan, and sent the report to Dr.
Hubbard who claimed not to have received it (incidentally, the
report made it to radiology and the hospital records, and when Dr.
Hubbard did learn of the x-ray report after Thompson was diagnosed
with cancer his response was he didn't think the information
"would help him in any way, besides make him worry. . . . What
good would it do for a young man that's got this?".
By March 1998, Thompson had blood in his urine,
with a later diagnosis of kidney cancer. He died in
1999. In the midst of the trial, jurors said they were
deadlock on one doctor and had resolved the issue with the other
doctor. The parties settled. It turned out that the jury
did not believe the radiologist was liable and were split 6-6 on the
urologist with the six holding the urologist liable considering $1.5
million in damages.
The settlement matched the largest jury verdict returned in
Kentucky last year in medical malpractice cases, according to the
Kentucky Trial Court Review, a private verdict-tracking service; the
average verdict in such cases was $266,000. Plaintiff's attorney
Bill McMurry said the hung jury shows how difficult it is to
convince juries in Kentucky that doctors are at fault -- even in a
case valued at millions of dollars by a doctor's own insurance
carrier. Juries last year awarded damages in just 19 of 67 medical
malpractice cases statewide.
To order Kentucky
Trial Court Reviews Analysis of Jefferson County Medical Malpractice
Verdicts for the 1990's, click here for more information.
It's only $70.00!
|
Somerset - Same Sex Student Sex Harassment Suit
Settled
Lexington Herald-Leader
|
|
The Somerset school district will pay an estimated $135,000 to
settle a lawsuit claiming it failed to end harassment of a male
student by boys who thought he was gay, according to the student's
mother.
|
Louisville - Woman Won't Have Two Trials for Baby's Deaths
Louisville Courier-Journal
|
|
Louisville woman accused of killing her infant daughter and another
baby in Delaware 24 years ago will have one murder trial instead of
two.
|
Bullitt - Dishon Homicide Case Ready to Go to Grand Jury
Louisville Courier-Journal
|
|
Bullitt County investigators claim they have strong
evidence in the Jessica Dishon homicide case and will present it to
a grand jury on Jan. 3. The announcement came a day after the FBI
returned long-awaited DNA-test results on evidence collected during
the investigation of Jessica's slaying.
|
Louisville - Homicide Suspect Shot & Killed by Police
Louisville Courier-Journal
|
Woodford - Ex-teacher denies molesting student in federal case
against School Board (ex-teacher not a defendant)
Lexington Herald-Leader
|
Jamestown - Retrial in Drunk Driving Deaths Starting
Lexington Herald-Leader
|
|
The retrial of a Russell County man charged with killing five people
in a 1997 drunken-driving wreck opened yesterday with chilling
testimony from a survivor of the crash. ``What do you remember?''
Gail Wilson, an assistant prosecutor, asked 24-year-old Adam
Lawless, the first witness against Jack Shaffer.
|
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Elsewhere
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Friday - Dec.1, 2000 |
Louisville
- Grand Jury Does Not Indict Officers in Abernathy Shooting
Louisville
Courier-Journal |
| The
four Louisville police officers involved in an altercation
that ended in the fatal shooting of Rodney Abernathy in
Chickasaw Park last June will not face criminal charges, a
Jefferson County grand jury decided yesterday. Commonwealth's
Attorney Dave Stengel said the jury's decision was consistent
with the findings of a six-member panel that included
attorneys and detectives with the commonwealth's attorney's
office. |
Louisville
- Barnes Will Be Retried for Murder in Jail Death
Louisville
Courier-Journal |
| Former
jail officer Timothy Barnes will stand trial again in the
death of inmate Adrian Reynolds, Commonwealth's Attorney Dave
Stengel announced yesterday. Stengel said his office will
retry Barnes on a murder charge for allegedly killing Reynolds
in a struggle outside his Jefferson County Jail cell. The
first trial ended earlier this month in a hung jury. |
Louisville
- Prosecutors Decline Murder Charges in Shaken Baby Case
Louisville
Courier-Journal |
| Prosecutors
have decided not to seek a murder conviction against the man
who shook Brook Miller into the vegetative state in which she
lingered for 20 months before dying two weeks ago. |
Louisville
- Dress Code at High School Upheld in Federal Court
Louisville
Courier-Journal |
| A
parent who filed a lawsuit over Atherton High School's dress
code said yesterday that she has not decided whether to appeal
a federal judge's ruling upholding the policy, which the
school said was aimed at curbing suspected gang activities |
Woodford
- Student Sues Board Claiming Molested by Teacher
Lexington
Herald-Leader |
| The
Woodford County Board of Education is facing a federal lawsuit
from a 16-year-old boy who says he was sexually molested by a
high-school special education teacher. Within days of hearing
the boy's complaint, now-retired Woodford County
superintendent Charles Dowler fired Pat Douglas Davis, said
the board's attorney, Bob Chenoweth of Frankfort. |
Greenup
- Jury Recommends 200 Years in Child Pornography Case
Ashland
- Daily Independent |
| A
Raceland man will spend the next 200 years behind bars, if a
Greenup County jury has its way. The jury Wednesday convicted
Timothy Chambers, 30, of 16 felony sex charges involving
minors and recommended the maximum penalty for each charge |
Nelson
County Man Charged With Murder for Highway Death
Bardstown
- Kentucky Standard |
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