NY court sniffs at ex-cop's drugged-dinner claim

NEW YORK (AP) -- A former New York City counterterrorism detective who says he was unfairly fired as a result of a failed drug test he blamed on his wife's marijuana-spiked meatballs has lost a court bid to get his job back---...More

Fire chief shot by cop in court over tickets

JERICHO, Arkansas - It was just too much, having to return to court twice on the same day to contest yet another traffic ticket, and Fire Chief Don Payne didn?t hesitate to tell the judge what he thought of the police and their speed traps. The response from cops? They shot him. Right there in court. Payne ended up in the hospital, but his shooting last week brought to a boil simmering tensions between residents of this tiny former cotton city and their police force.--...More

Animal groups in court over Helmsley fortune

NEW YORK – Leona Helmsley's dog, Trouble, may be living quietly enough in Florida, but there's a lot of barking about the way the late hotel queen's millions are being given away.

Three of the country's largest animal welfare groups on Monday accused the trustees of Leona Helmsley's estate of a "scheme to deprive dog welfare charities" of their stake in the real estate baroness' fortune. They filed a petition in Manhattan Surrogate Court arguing that Helmsley, who died in 2007, specified in her will that her multibillion-dollar estate should be used to help dogs, and the trustees disregarded those wishes.

The groups — the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Maddie's Fund — want the court to throw out a judge's February decision that gave the trustees for the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust sole authority to determine which charities would benefit from her estate.

In April, the trustees gave away $136 million to hospitals, foundations and the homeless. They gave $1 million to animal charities, including $100,000 to the ASPCA and groups that train guide dogs for the blind.

The trust, in a statement posted on its Web site, said Helmsley never wanted her fortune just to go to dogs.

"Did Leona Helmsley intend for this charitable trust to focus on the care and help of dogs, rather than people? Absolutely not," the statement said. "Have the trustees of this vast fortune acted improperly and ignored Mrs. Helmsley's instructions? Again, absolutely not."

The hotel heiress, whose fortune had been estimated at $5 billion to $8 billion after her death at age 87, also named her dog as a beneficiary in her will, leaving a $12 million trust fund for the little white Maltese. But a judge whittled that amount down to $2 million.

Trouble's last known residence was the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel in Sarasota, Fla.

Wisconsin court praises drunken concert goer

MADISON, Wis. – An Illinois teen knew he was too drunk to drive home after a Dave Matthews Band concert south of Milwaukee. So he fell asleep in his car, only to be awoken by a state trooper. Travis Peterson, 19, of Dixon, Ill., said even though he told the officer he was drunk and sleeping it off, the trooper ordered him to leave because the lot was being cleared.

Once out of the parking lot, Peterson was arrested for drunken driving. He was subsequently found guilty and ordered to spend 60 days in jail.

A Wisconsin appeals court on Wednesday commended Peterson for doing the right thing by trying to sleep it off, and said the trial court was wrong not to let him argue that police had entrapped him.

The state had argued successfully at trial that people who choose to drink too much can't argue they've been entrapped when stopped for drunken driving. The 2nd District Court of Appeals disagreed.

"Drinking alcohol to excess, while inadvisable and unhealthy, is not unlawful by itself," the appeals court said.

It did not address the fact that Peterson was underage. Peterson's attorney, Andrew Mishlove, said that was irrelevant given the other issues at stake.

It's not slang! Nev. court permits 'HOE' license

CARSON CITY, Nev. – A Las Vegas man won a courtroom battle Wednesday with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles over his "HOE" license plate, which the agency tried to cancel on grounds that he was using a slang reference to prostitutes.

The high court said the DMV based its opposition to William Junge's plate on definitions found in the Web-based Urban Dictionary, which includes user contributions. Justices ruled that the contributed definitions "do not always reflect generally accepted definitions for words."

Junge, whose case was pursued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said he got the "HOE" plate in 1999 for his Chevy Tahoe, after being told "TAHOE" wasn't available.

"It's nonsense," Junge said of the state agency's efforts to pull his plates. He said he was referring to his vehicle's model and not to prostitutes with his plates, adding: "That was their interpretation. Shame on them."

The high court said Urban Dictionary "allows, if not encourages, users to invent new words or attribute new, not generally accepted meanings to existing words."

But "a reasonable mind would not accept the Urban Dictionary entries alone as adequate to support a conclusion that the word 'HOE' is offensive or inappropriate," the justices wrote.

Rebecca Gasca of the ACLU of Nevada said the attempt by a DMV supervisor to cancel Junge's license plate violated constitutional First Amendment protections. Junge dropped out of the litigation after the DMV appealed to the Supreme Court, but the ACLU continued the fight.

"While the Urban Dictionary might be an entertaining Web site about the English language, the court acknowledged it's not a reliable source for DMV decision-making about whether a license plate is vulgar," Gasca said.

In written briefs submitted to the state Supreme Court, an attorney for the DMV argued there was no First Amendment violation and the state has a reasonable basis for regulating vanity plates on vehicles. It also said the term "hoe" was derogatory toward women.

Stupid News-Calif. man accused of driving stolen SUV to court

SAN ANSELMO, Calif. – Police have charged a man with stealing a Lexus SUV he drove to court the day a jury was to decide whether to convict him in a separate auto theft case.

The man, a 37-year-old San Francisco hairstylist, was arraigned Monday on charges of receiving a stolen vehicle and receiving stolen property after police saw him approach the stolen Lexus in front of the courthouse with its keys in hand.

Police were attracted to the SUV after bystanders noticed several Yorkshire terriers mulling around it.

The man was also charged with animal cruelty and leaving animals in an unattended vehicle.

Meanwhile, he was convicted in the other case. He was charged with possession of a $125,000 Porsche Carrera that had been stolen from a San Anselmo home.


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Stupid News - Detroit mayor returns to court on 2nd bond issue

Stupid News - Detroit mayor returns to court on 2nd bond issue


Detroit mayor returns to court on 2nd bond issue
DETROIT - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick returned to court Tuesday for a hearing to decide if he has violated his bail a second time.
District Court Judge Ronald Giles, who already has sent Kilpatrick to jail for one overnight stay, presided over the hearing on prosecutors' allegation that the mayor spent time during the weekend with his sister, a potential prosecution witness in his assault case.

The mayor appeared in court with his wife, Carlita.

Doug Baker of the Michigan attorney general's office said in a court filing that the mayor had been ordered to have no contact with witnesses, yet he and his sister were together Saturday at their mother's house.

Kilpatrick's defense team, however, denied the mayor was in trouble. Attorney Jim Thomas said Magistrate Renee McDuffee clarified Friday that Kilpatrick could have contact with his sister.

Kilpatrick is charged with assaulting two investigators who were trying to deliver a subpoena at his sister Ayanna Kilpatrick's house in July in a separate perjury case against him.

In a statement, Kilpatrick spokesman Marcus Reese accused state Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican, of trying to score political points with the latest filing against the Democratic mayor.

Giles sent Kilpatrick to jail Thursday for violating his bond conditions in the perjury case. The mayor traveled to Windsor, Ontario, for city business July 23 without first notifying authorities.

Baker's filing asked the court to look at what happened and amend the terms of Kilpatrick's bond. The document doesn't mention any possible changes, and Baker left court without speaking to reporters.

Kilpatrick was released Friday after a higher court, acting on an appeal, set his bond at $50,000.

Baker referred to the perjury case by saying the mayor has "demonstrated an inability to adhere to reasonable bond conditions."

Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, were charged in March with perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office. They will be arraigned Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court.

Prosecutors say text messages contradict their denial of an affair, a key point in a trial involving a former deputy police chief who claimed he was illegally fired.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy confirmed published reports that she met last week with community leaders, who are encouraging her to end the perjury case with a plea bargain.

Worthy, who is an elected official, defended her attendance at the meeting, saying it was an opportunity to listen to constituents. She declined to comment on any deal with Kilpatrick.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm will preside over a trial-like hearing that starts Sept. 3 to decide whether to oust Kilpatrick. A spokeswoman for Kilpatrick said Monday night that the mayor won't testify at the hearing or at a separate city council proceeding on his removal.