Latest news with #CountyDistrictCourt
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge sets July 3 date for O.J. Simpson estate claims
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas judge set a date to determine some of the claims made by the Goldman family against O.J. Simpson's estate. Simpson, a football star and celebrity acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, died in Las Vegas on April 10, 2024, at the age of 76. While Simpson was not found guilty of the deaths, he was found liable in a civil case and ordered to pay both families $33.5 million. The money was never paid. After Simpson's death, multiple news agencies reported that Simpson's executor, attorney Malcom LaVergne, vowed he would fight any claims for settlement money from Goldman's family. Father of Ron Goldman files $117M claim against O.J. Simpson's estate Over the years, the claim increased due to interest owed, more than $20 million, and three separate judgments that renewed the amount to more than $96 million. In July 2024, Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, filed a creditor's claim of $117 million against the estate. The hearing is set for July 3 at the Clark County District Court. At that time, the judge could determine how much money the Goldmans would receive from the sale of some of the O.J. Simpson sports memorabilia, including a Heisman Trophy replica, his Lombardi Award Trophy, golf clubs, and his car. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Kansans challenge constitutionality of state law nullifying end-of-life choices of pregnant women
Five lawsuit plaintiffs, three women and two physicians from Lawrence, are part of a constitutional challenge of a Kansas law nullifying the end-of-life medical care decisions of pregnant women. The suit was filed Thursday in Douglas County District Court. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Two physicians and three women are plaintiffs in a Kansas lawsuit challenging constitutionality of a state law invalidating advance medical directives outlining end-of-life treatment for pregnant patients. The group's lawsuit seeks to prohibit enforcement of a Kansas statute interfering with health care decisions outlined in living wills based exclusively on an individual's pregnancy status. Kansas is among states permitting state interference in advance directives for pregnant patients, regardless of the gestational age of a fetus, when a person was incapacitated or terminally ill. Issues surrounding end-of-life state law recently took on urgency as a brain-dead pregnant Georgia woman was placed on life support in deference to that state's abortion ban. Kansas patient plaintiffs Emma Vernon, Abigail Ottaway and Laura Stratton as well as Kansas physician plaintiffs Michele Bennett and Lynley Holman argued in the Douglas County District Court complaint filed Thursday the Kansas law violated rights of personal autonomy, privacy, equal treatment and freedom of speech under the Kansas Constitution's Bill of Rights by disregarding clearly articulated end-of-life choices of pregnant people. 'Because I'm currently pregnant, I don't get the peace of mind a living will is meant to provide,' said Vernon, a Lawrence resident who is pregnant. 'I shouldn't have to fear that my pregnancy could cost me my dignity and autonomy.' Vernon said she outlined in a living will the medical care she would want if faced with a life-threatening condition, but Kansas' law meant she wouldn't have control over her end-of-life care while pregnant. 'I am no less capable of planning my medical care simply because I am pregnant. I know what is best for me,' she said. Many states established a boundary for medical directives of pregnant individuals no longer capable of participating in end-of-life care in terms of the viability of a fetus. Kansas' statute invalidated decision-making authority of pregnant women regardless of gestational development of a fetus. Holman, a Lawrence physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, said responsibilities of health care professionals should be centered on honoring patients' autonomy and privacy. 'When a law compels me to act against my patients' clearly expressed decisions, it not only undermines the trust at the heart of the patient-provider relationship, but also threatens the ethical foundation of medical care,' Holman said. Defendants in the Kansas lawsuit are Kris Kobach, the state attorney general; Richard Bradbury, president of the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts; and Dakota Loomis, district attorney in Douglas County. The lawsuit seeks to prevent Kobach and Bradbury from enforcing state law nullifying directives of pregnant women. The case was filed by attorneys with Compassion & Choices, a Colorado nonprofit working to improve patient autonomy at the end of life; If/When/How, a California reproductive rights legal nonprofit; and the Topeka law firm of Irigonegaray & Revenaugh. Attorney Pedro Irigonegaray said Kansans valued individual rights and personal freedoms, but the state's pregnancy exclusion 'betrays those values by denying pregnant people the right to control their own medical decisions.' 'Our plaintiffs are simply asking for the same fundamental rights the Kansas Constitution guarantees to all Kansans,' said Jess Pezley, senior staff attorney at Compassion & Choices. 'Categorically stripping individuals of their right to make deeply personal end-of-life decisions because they are pregnant is not only offensive, it's fundamentally at odds with the values enshrined in the Kansas Constitution.' The lawsuit says Kansas law 'unjustly, discriminatorily and categorically disregards' the clearly expressed end-of-life decisions of pregnant women. The women plaintiffs asked the district court to 'affirm that the protections guaranteed by the Kansas Constitution apply equally to them and ensure that their most personal end-of-life decisions will be respected regardless of their pregnancy status.' In addition, the petition says the physician plaintiffs were 'deeply committed to the foundational medical principle that patients have a fundamental right to determine what treatment they receive, and that providing treatment without a patient's informed consent violates both medical ethics and the law.' 'Yet, Kansas law compels them to disregard their patients' clearly expressed end-of-life decisions, forcing them to provide their pregnant patients with a lower standard of care than any of their other patients receive,' the petition said. 'It demands this diminished care without offering any clarity on what end-of-life treatment they are required to provide — leaving them to guess at what the law expects while exposing them to civil, criminal and professional consequences for getting it wrong.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
No resolution reached yet in criminal case against ex-state trooper Shane Roper
May 29—ROCHESTER — A resolution has not been met in the criminal case against Shane Roper, the ex-Minnesota State Patrol trooper involved in a fatal crash in May 2024. Roper appeared virtually in court on Thursday, May 29, for another hearing. He is facing nine criminal charges in Olmsted County District Court, including felony counts of second-degree manslaughter, criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation, for his involvement in a fatal crash that killed 18-year-old Olivia Flores. The crash happened around 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at the intersection of Memorial Parkway and 12th Street Southwest, near Apache Mall. Flores sat in the back seat of her friend's Ford Focus when the car was struck by a Minnesota State Patrol squad car, driven by Roper. During Thursday's hearing, District Judge Lisa Hayne said she would like to hear arguments on the change of venue motion "sooner rather than later." The next hearing, a settlement conference, was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Aug. 20. If the case is not resolved by then, Hayne said, both parties will present their arguments. In previous court documents, the defense submitted a change of venue motion due to the case's publicity. If granted, the jury trial would move to a different county whose residents would be impaneled as jurors. The court is looking at dates in early 2026 for a possible jury trial. Recap of the criminal complaint According to the criminal complaint, Roper quickly approached the intersection of Apache Drive Southwest, an area where the primary entry points to the Apache Mall are located. This area tends to have "very active traffic ... on a typical Saturday." When Roper's car was 400 feet from the intersection, the squad camera showed a green traffic signal for eastbound traffic. A larger SUV also traveling east entered the left turn lane to go onto Memorial Parkway Southwest, obstructing the view for vehicles turning onto Apache Drive Southwest, the complaint said. A Ford Focus with three passengers was in that turn lane and attempted to drive through the intersection. "Due to Roper's excessive speed (traveling 83 miles per hour and at full throttle up until 1.4 seconds before impact), when the Ford Focus started through the intersection, Roper was unable to sufficiently brake or maneuver his squad car to avoid the collision," the complaint says. Roper's squad car hit the passenger side of the Ford Focus, the vehicle Flores was in, while traveling at least 55 mph. The impact sent both cars east through the intersection to collide with a Toyota Rav4. There were two people in the Toyota. Witnesses told police that the oncoming vehicle was "flying." Witnesses did not see or hear emergency lights or a siren. According to the complaint, the Ford Focus driver sustained a liver laceration, a bruised kidney and numerous additional minor injuries. The front passenger sustained a broken pelvis, lacerated kidney and other minor injuries. The passengers of the Toyota Rav4 sustained physical pain from the collision. In the squad car, Roper had a ride-along passenger who sustained rib bruising and multiple fractures from the crash. Roper was also injured. Weeks after the incident, Roper confirmed to law enforcement that he was attempting to "close the gap" between his squad car and a vehicle suspected of being in violation of a traffic code, the Post Bulletin previously reported. Roper said it was not an active pursuit and that he was not paying attention to his speed, according to the criminal complaint. He told police he did believe his lights were activated.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Menendez brothers resentencing: Timeline of killers' fight over freedom in parents' murders
After the bombshell Tuesday news that convicted killers Erik and Lyle Mendendez have been resentenced to 50 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole, the future for the brothers still remains uncertain. The pair, who admitted to killing their parents, Mary "Kitty" and Jose Menendez, in a bloody 1989 shotgun massacre inside their Beverly Hills home, maintained that their actions were self-defense stemming from a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse by their parents until Tuesday's resentencing hearing. Below is a timeline of how we've reached this point in their resentencing bid, and what could happen next: March 2023: Attorneys for the brothers ask the Los Angeles County District Court to reconsider their convictions and sentencing in light of a new affidavit claiming Jose Menendez raped a 14-year-old boy in 1983 or 1984. The claimant was Roy Russello, a member of the boy band Menudo, who made the rape claim against the former record executive at age 54. He said that he went to the Menendez home and drank a glass of wine, then lost control of his body before Jose raped him. Read On The Fox News App Sept. 2024: The Menendez family defends the brothers against the "dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime" in a Netflix documentary called "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story." Sept. 27, 2024: The Menendez family calls for the brothers' release. "We are virtually the entire extended family of Erik and Lyle Menendez. We are 24 strong and today we want the world to know we support Erik and Lyle," their family wrote in a statement that Erik's wife, Tammi Menendez, posted to X in response to the Netflix docuseries. "We individually and collectively pray for their release after being imprisoned for 35 years. We know them, love them, and want them home with us." Oct. 4, 2024: Then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announces that he is reviewing evidence in the case. Oct. 14, 2024: Gascon announces that he has found new evidence that affects the brothers' case. That evidence came in the form of a letter allegedly written by Erik to his cousin, Andy Cano, eight months before the double-homicide, claiming that Jose was continually raping his sons. Menendez Brothers Discuss 'Bullying And Trauma' In Prison In Rare Public Remarks, New Podcast Interview Oct. 16, 2024: Multiple generations of the Menendez family hold a news conference asking for the brothers' release. Oct. 25, 2024: Gascón asks the court to resentence the brothers. "After very careful review of all the arguments… I came to a place where I believe that, under the law, resentencing is appropriate, and I am going to recommend that to a court tomorrow," Gascon said at the time. Oct. 31, 2024: The brothers' attorney, Mark Geragos, files a request for clemency from Gov. Gavin Newsom. Nov. 5, 2024: Nathan Hochman defeats Gascón in the general election for Los Angeles County District Attorney. Nov. 19, 2024: Newsom says he won't make a clemency decision until Hochman has had time to review the case. "The Governor respects the role of the District Attorney in ensuring justice is served and recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman to carry out this responsibility," Newsom's office said in a statement. "The Governor will defer to the DA-elect's review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions." Nov. 25, 2024: Judge Michael Jesic delays the brothers' resentencing hearing until Jan. 30, 2025. Jan. 3, 2025: Hochman meets with the Menendez family. "As we prepare to meet with DA Hochman, our family is hopeful for an open and fair discussion," the family said in a statement at the time. "Despite the abuse they endured as children and the unfairness of their current sentence, Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent the last three decades taking responsibility for their actions and contributing positively to their community through leadership and rehabilitation." Jan. 18, 2025: The brothers' resentencing trial is postponed due to the extreme and destructive Los Angeles wildfires. The new hearing was scheduled for March 20–21. Watch On Fox Nation: Menendez Brothers: Victims Or Villains? Feb. 26, 2025: Newsom announces that he has directed the state parole board to conduct a "comprehensive risk assessment investigation" of the Menendez brothers in response to their request for clemency. March 10, 2025: Hochman asks the court to withdraw Gascón's motion to free the brothers. "As a full examination of the record reveals, the Menendez brothers have never come clean and admitted that they lied about their self-defense as well as suborned perjury and attempted to suborn perjury by their friends for the lies, among others, of their father violently raping Lyle's girlfriend, their mother poisoning the family, and their attempt to get a handgun the day before the murders," Hochman's motion said. March 11, 2025: Newsom sets June 13 parole board hearings for the brothers in their bid for clemency. March 20, 2025: The resentencing hearing is again postponed, this time until April 18-19. April 11, 2025: Jesic denies Hochman's motion to quash the brothers' resentencing hearing. April 14, 2025: Jesic denies Hochman's motion to withdraw a petition by the brothers for a new trial, and Terry Baralt, the 85-year-old aunt of Erik and Lyle is hospitalized after fainting at the court hearing. Prosecutors were accused of showing unredacted crime scene photos to the court without prior notice to the family, leading to Baralt's medical emergency. Hochman's office later apologized. "To the extent that the photographic depiction of this conduct upset any of the Menendez family members present in court, we apologize for not giving prior warning that the conduct would be described in detail not only in words but also through a crime scene photo," his office said. April 18, 2025: The resentencing hearing is postponed until May 9 to address two motions in the case: whether Hochman's office should be punished for showing the graphic photos, and whether it could cite the parole board's comprehensive risk assessment in its arguments. April 28, 2025: Geragos files a motion attempting to disqualify Hochman from the case over an alleged conflict of interest regarding members of his office who opposed the brothers' resentencing. May 9, 2025: Jesic denies Hochman's request to withdraw the March 10 motion in which he asked the court to drop Gascón's attempt to free the brothers. Jesic also denies Geragos' attempt to withdraw his own April 28 motion to disqualify Hochman. Geragos said he wanted to withdraw the motion because he "did not want to waste any more time" and wanted to move forward with the resentencing process. May 14, 2025: Jesic resentences Erik and Lyle to 50 years in prison with the possibility of parole. The brothers have spent 35 years behind bars. At the hearing, they expressed remorse for killing their parents during the hearing, and took full responsibility for their actions, which Hochman previously demanded as a condition of their resentencing. "I take full responsibility. I killed my parents. I made the choice to kill my mom and dad in their own home," Lyle said. "I made the choice to make a mockery of the justice system. I offer no excuse and I don't blame my parents. I'm deeply ashamed for what I did." Menendez Brothers Resentenced As Experts Blast 'Indefensible' Bid For Killers' Freedom Erik then spoke. "I have profound sorrow for the tragedy I created," he said. "I took the lives of my mom and dad. My actions were criminal, cruel, and cowardly. I have no excuse or justification for what I did and I was the one who convinced Lyle we couldn't escape." "I fired all five rounds at my parents and went back to reload. I lied to police. I lied to my family. I'm truly sorry," he said. "This crime should have never happened. I know my parents should be alive and aren't because of me." Newsom's June 13 parole board hearings are planned to go on as scheduled, and the board will have the opportunity to free the brothers. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Erik and Lyle Menendez "will likely be freed in a matter of months," adding that he does not expect "the parole board or Governor Newsom" to block their release. Clemency from Newsom is also still a possibility. Fox News' Michael Ruiz, Audrey Conklin, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Stepheny Price contributed to this report. Original article source: Menendez brothers resentencing: Timeline of killers' fight over freedom in parents' murders
Miami Herald
08-05-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Pigeons, rodents infesting prison are sickening incarcerated women, NM suit says
Women incarcerated in New Mexico are suing the state corrections department, saying little has been done to address 'filthy' kitchen conditions at their prison where an infestation of pigeons and other pests have contributed to an ongoing health crisis. According to the lawsuit brought by five women at Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Cibola County, more than half of the female inmates have been sickened by H. pylori, a contagious bacterial stomach infection as the result of 'abhorrent and dangerous food safety issues.' Those who've tested positive for H. pylori have 'experienced severe gastrointestinal symptoms, including stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and acid reflux,' a complaint filed March 20 in Santa Fe County District Court says. The outbreak is exacerbated by several factors, including meals prepared in an unsanitary kitchen that are then served in chow halls 'overrun with pigeons, rodents and cockroaches,' according to the complaint provided to McClatchy News. 'The entire prison grounds are infested with pigeons,' the complaint says. Attorney Parrish Collins, who's representing the lawsuit, said in a statement to McClatchy News on April 6 that 'this a major health crisis created by contaminated food and it is ongoing.' Alongside the New Mexico Corrections Department, the complaint names the state, the prison's contracted food provider, Summit Food Service Management, and contracted health care provider, Wexford Health Services, as defendants. Brittany Roembach, the public information officer for the corrections department, said in a statement to McClatchy News on April 4 that 'our food services are prepared in strict adherence to health and safety codes.' Roembach declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said state corrections facilities are inspected by the New Mexico Environment Department each year. 'Notably, the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility successfully passed its most recent inspection in January, with flying colors,' Roembach added. Wexford Health declined McClatchy News' request for comment on April 6, as it doesn't comment on litigation, according to Wendelyn R. Pekich, the organization's vice president of marketing, strategic communication & proposal development. Summit Food Service said in an emailed statement to McClatchy News on April 9 that 'Summit Food Service, alongside our client, is committed to food safety and has consistently passed comprehensive health inspections at this facility.' 'Though we have not been served with a lawsuit related to these allegations, we will continue to monitor the situation,' the company added. The organization self-describes the company as a 'national leader in corrections food and commissary services.' Lack of medical care At the prison, located about an 80-mile drive west of Albuquerque, the women sickened by H. pylori have still experienced symptoms following antibiotic treatment, according to the lawsuit. Medical employees are accused of failing to provide follow-up care. 'Medical staff routinely ignored or dismissed inmate complaints about foodborne illnesses, often offering only basic over-the-counter medication, such as Pepto Bismol or Simethicone, instead of conducting thorough medical evaluations,' the complaint says. Considered a chronic infection more likely found in developing countries, H. pylori mostly spreads through the 'fecal–oral route,' according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's 'the major cause of peptic ulcer disease and gastritis worldwide,' the agency says. Those infected with H. pylori have an increased risk of developing associated cancers, according to the CDC. Food safety issues In the prison's chow halls, the complaint says meals are served to inmates on trays that have been exposed to pigeons and the birds' fecal matter. With a pigeon infestation problem inside the prison, pigeons have landed and defecated on trays, according to the complaint. 'The food trays are not properly cleaned so there is prior day's food on the trays along with fresh and stale pigeon feces,' the complaint says. The complaint also details multiple issues involving the facility's kitchen, including its lack of cleaning capabilities. The kitchen has gone without a working dishwasher and hot water, preventing proper disinfection, the complaint says. Additionally, according to the filing, the kitchen has been found to have mold and rats. The kitchen's staff are accused of failing to follow basic hygiene standards. Of the inmates who have dietary or religious restrictions involving food, the complaint says these women 'were routinely denied appropriate meals' by staff and were forced 'to eat contaminated or nutritionally inadequate food.' Retaliation following complaints Those who've complained about the prison's food quality have faced retaliation, the complaint says. In April 2024, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico sent a letter to the prison's former warden, Rick Witten, expressing concern over the facility's H. pylori cases, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, which first reported on the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, the then-warden promised the issue was 'under control' in a response dated April 10, 2024. Since then, the five plaintiffs have been infected with H. Pylori. Parrish told McClatchy News that 'the food issues go far beyond the issues addressed in this lawsuit.' 'The food puts not just inmates at risk but correctional officers and medical personnel,' Parrish said. 'The costs to taxpayers goes far beyond the prison gates.' Parrish has represented dozens of related lawsuits filed since early 2018, including a case brought by state correctional officers over conditions at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility, he said. More plaintiffs will join the five women who are suing over the conditions at Western New Mexico Correctional Facility, according to Parrish, who will be filing an amended complaint. Their lawsuit argues court intervention is needed. 'Plaintiffs and the women at WNMCF generally are suffering ongoing harm,' the complaint says. They are at 'great risk of the most serious outcomes of H. pylori.' With their lawsuit, the women are asking for a judgment that declares their constitutional rights have been violated, relief including compliance with state and federal food safety regulations, transparency, oversight and more.
