Former OK state Sen. Gene Stipe’s mental competence could have significant ramifications beyond an effort to revoke his probation. A recent indictment against him on new charges also could be affected. Stipe’s competence is being questioned after a federal judge said Monday that a prison psychologist found Stipe to be…
Bristol University’s Institute of Child Life and Health is releasing a study this week which found that 9 out of 10 mothers whose babies suffered SIDS smoked during pregnancy. The study says women who smoke during pregnancy are four times more likely than non-smokers to see their child fall victim…
Maine’s Public Advocate Office has proposed conditions for a deal in which Fairpoint would acquire Verizon’s northern New England landline business. The 23 conditions were developed based on the examination by Public Advocate attorneys, their four expert witnesses, and thousands of pages of documents, and testimony in the case. Telecommunications…
Stewart Dimmock accused the British government of “brainwashing” children by requiring that Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth be shown in schools. A judge in Britain’s High Court has ruled in the case that Gore’s apocalyptic movie on climate change should come with a warning that it promotes “partisan political…
Expert witnesses, including Dr. Jay Shapiro, a cardiologist from Los Angeles, testified Wednesday in the civil suit filed against Kentucky doctor Mathew Shotwell. The late Peggy Bellamy and her sister Jacqueline Hopkins allege that 49-year-old Donald Bellamy died as a result of Shotwell’s “acts of negligence and gross negligence.” Mr.…
Massey Energy Co. hopes to reverse the 2002 $76 million judgment against them by arguing that a Virginia lawsuit previously addressed the underlying coal contract dispute. Massey attorney D.C. Offutt said the Virginia case, which ended in 2001 with a $6 million judgment in favor of Harman Mining Co., should…
The National Lung Screening Trial is tracking 50,000 smokers over nine years at a cost of $200 million. Funded by the National Cancer Institute, the study is expected to have a major impact on whether regular CT scans for smokers will become a standard of care and whether tobacco companies…
W.R. Grace & Co. will fight the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that restored criminal charges of “knowing endangerment” in the case against the chemical manufacturer and its top managers. The appellate court also reversed decisions that would have narrowed the definition of asbestos and limited the materials…
John A. Zortman, charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Sept. 2, 2006, beating-death of his landlord, was granted his sixth continuence last week. Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brownfield granted the continuence so that Zortman’s attorney would have time to acquire a crime scene…
After two days of testimony, a Duluth, Minnesota, jury found that Jammie Thomas was liable for infringing Capitol Records copyrights on all 24 of the 24 recordings at issue. The jury awarded $222,000 in statutory damages after finding that the infringement was “willful.” RIAA’s expert witness, Dr. Doug Jacobson, examined…