Prosecutors in the State House vote-buying case aren’t going to put two wire-wearing legislators — including a senator who referred to black casino patrons as “aborigines” — back on the witness stand when the case goes to retrial, defense lawyers said.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that an Alabama death row inmate who missed a filing deadline thanks to a mix-up in the mailroom of a prominent New York law firm must be given another chance.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a new hearing for an Alabama death-row inmate who missed a critical appeals deadline because his lawyers at a prestigious New York law firm “abandoned” his case without telling him or court officials.

WASHINGTON — A condemned Alabama prisoner will get another chance to challenge his death sentence after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that he is not to blame for a paperwork mishap that caused him to miss a filing deadline.

Attorneys for accused UAH shooter Amy Bishop have filed a subpoena request in Madison County Circuit Court, seeking testimony from Alabama’s finance director, comptroller and the director of Alabama’s indigent defense services.

The state Supreme Court struck down another provision of Arkansas’ tort reform law today.

Gov. Mike Beebe said Wednesday that he will transfer $50,000 from his emergency fund so that trial-court administrative assistants will not have to take furloughs next month.

A disagreement today over drug court funding and adding programs caused lawmakers to postpone action on the state Department of Community Correction’s budget.

A state judge has ordered Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to fully implement a law passed by voters that allows medical-marijuana dispensaries in the state.

The state must allow medical-marijuana dispensaries and cannot restrict who operates them based on where they live or their financial history, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge has ruled.

Residents of a Chandler neighborhood were surprised last year to discover that a man living on their street was on the state’s list of registered sex offenders. No one had notified them.

A lawmaker wants to make it clear that state officials can notify licensing boards when medical professionals are suspected of improperly recommending marijuana for patients.

A federal judge will continue blocking millions of dollars in cuts to in-home care for the elderly and the disabled, parties to a lawsuit over the services said Thursday.

More than half of the disability retirements awarded to police officers under former Bell City Administrator Robert Rizzo — including those given to three police chiefs — should not have been granted, and workers’ compensation settlements for 13 officers were “exceedingly large,” an investigation has concluded.

The California Supreme Court has decided to review whether cities and counties may ban medical marijuana stores.

Before Kenneth Bryan Holcomb shot and killed a homeless man in San Mateo County in 1992, he had been in prison for burglary and drug dealing. While he was serving a 22-years-to-life sentence for the murder, he fractured his spine during a fight, which left him a quadriplegic, unable to walk, dress or bathe himself.

The California Supreme Court has agreed to review four medical marijuana cases in Riverside, Upland, Long Beach and Dana Point.

The investigation of former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick J. Sullivan is now in the hands of the Colorado Attorney General.

Sen. Scott Renfroe’s heart is in the right place, but the Greeley Republican’s bill to ban all photo traffic enforcement in Colorado unacceptably tramples on local governance.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy today will nominate six lawyers to the Superior Court, the first of what could be more than two dozen judicial appointments this year by a governor who says he intends to continue looking beyond the traditional confines of the trial bar to diversify the judiciary.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy nominated three men and three women to the Superior Court today, including Anna M. Ficeto, the legal counsel of his Republican predecessor, and Maureen M. Murphy, a civil-rights lawyer involved in the lawsuit that gave same-sex couples the right to marry in Connecticut.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Thursday nominated a diverse slate of lawyers to serve as judges on the state Superior Court, including a civil rights attorney who helped litigate the case that legalized same-sex marriage in Connecticut and the chief legal counsel to former Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

A Superior Court judge has agreed with the state police union that the state must have at least 1,248 troopers on the payroll at all times.

Legislation permanently banning the sale and possession of the designer drugs called “bath salts” is ready for Gov. Jack Markell’s signature after passing the House on Thursday.

Under the mechanics of Delaware’s death penalty, Wednesday would have been the day that Robert A. Gattis was moved from his cell on death row to one in the building where his lethal injection was to be carried out early Friday morning. Instead, the 49-year-old Gattis appeared in New Castle County Superior Court, dressed in his orange Department of Correction jumpsuit, to formally accept the conditional commutation that Gov. Jack Markell offered him on Tuesday.

Determined to cut the size of the $2 billion prison budget, legislators and Gov. Rick Scott are focused on consolidation and privatization. But as the potential disruption to state employees becomes clear, prison advocates and some lawmakers are scrambling to put the brakes on plans they say could devastate small towns that are highly dependent on prison jobs.

After years of stripping away critical protections at assisted-living facilities, Florida lawmakers are radically changing course in what could lead to one of the toughest laws in the nation against abusive caretakers.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s recent pledge to boost funding for Geor­gia’s alternative courts is welcome news in Richmond County.

Rep. Kip Smith spent the hours before his DUI arrest last week with two other state lawmakers being entertained by three lobbyists, including one for brewer Anheuser-Busch, state records show.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has endorsed recommendations for improving Hawaii’s criminal justice system prepared by a working group that has studied the issue.

Legislation seeking to create a “blue alert” system when a public safety officer is killed or hurt – similar to the Amber alert notification when a child goes missing – to help capture a fleeing perpetrator likely won’t move forward this session but backers say the idea could still have life via executive order.

Gov. Terry Branstad said Wednesday he would sign legislation to ban traffic-monitoring devices if the General Assembly sent him a bill this session.

Iowa lawmakers are being asked to crack down on hosts who provide alcohol to minors and under-age drinkers who consume alcoholic beverages.

It didn’t take long for the opportunists in the Statehouse to take full advantage of a crisis. On Wednesday, the Idaho Supreme Court handed them a crisis. The court voted 4-1 to throw out the map dividing Idaho into a new batch of 35 legislative districts.

Idaho’s Supreme Court overturned the state’s new legislative redistricting plan Wednesday, ordering a citizen commission back to work and throwing into doubt the state’s schedule for its May primary election.

Indiana House Democrats got a boost Thursday when a judge temporarily blocked the collection of $1,000-a-day fines imposed on them for their legislative boycott over the contentious right-to-work bill, and their leader said they might return to the House chamber Friday to vote.

A bill debated Wednesday in an Indiana Senate committee seeks to prevent alcohol-related deaths among minors.

After heated debate, an Indiana Senate committee approved a measure Tuesday that defines when residents can use force to prevent a police officer from entering their homes, but not before amending the bill.

The Indiana Constitution likely does not allow the General Assembly to make a state law contingent on approval by Hoosier voters, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.

Indiana House Democrats are seeking a restraining order against the $1,000-a-day fines they face for their legislative boycott over the right-to-work bill.

Secretary of State Kris Kobach was both the defendant and his own attorney Wednesday in a lawsuit now before a federal appeals court over how Kansas deals with small political parties.

Arthur Laffer, the supply-side economist who was hired by Gov. Sam Brownback to help shape the governor’s tax overhaul, is being sued in Texas for allegedly being part of a Ponzi scheme, according to reports.

CATLETTSBURG, Ky. –There will be Democratic primaries in the races for Commonwealth’s Attorney and Boyd County Circuit Clerk, but so far only Chuck Charles has filed as a non-partisan candidate for Ashland mayor.

People settling oil spill claims against BP who are not also involved in lawsuits will not have to set aside 6 percent of the settlement to pay lawyers, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

The head of the state’s soon-to-be-formed gaming commission warned yesterday that corruption in the casino lic-ensing process will be hard to detect and challenging to stop.

Video chats for inmates and their loved ones as an alternative to staff-intensive family visits is one of Gov. Deval Patrick’s envelope-pushing ideas for streamlining state and county corrections that the president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association said yesterday he commends.

The state’s already overcrowded prison system would have 12,000 fewer beds than needed to handle the inmate population by 2020 without major policy changes and expanding regional facilities to treat female, mentally ill and elderly prisoners, state officials said Thursday in releasing a new master plan for the Department of Correction.

Gov. Deval Patrick wants to build two to three assisted-living centers with bars for golden-ager inmates to serve their time in comfort, as part of an ambitious overhaul of the state’s prison system due to be released today, the Herald has learned.

Federal authorities will recommend closing 366 pending immigration cases in Baltimore after the Department of Homeland Security used the city as a pilot for how to expedite the review of backlogs. If the court agrees with the recommendation, the 366 won’t face prosecution and deportation as illegal aliens. But their legal status won’t change; they will be no more eligible for legal residency than they were before.

Hypodermic needle exchange programs in Maine, which collected more than a quarter-million syringes during the year ending last Oct. 31, are in serious financial straits.

A legislative committee is holding hearings on a pair of bills requiring notification to authorities when a child is missing. Both bills before the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Thursday afternoon are modeled after “Caylee’s Law,” which is being considered in Florida.

Gov. Rick Snyder called Wednesday for stricter ethics, lobbying and campaign finance laws, including tighter controls on officials who leave state government jobs to work for contractors they dealt with in their official capacities.

Some attention-grabbing remarks from Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State Address: Snyder heralded Michigan’s declining rate while noting that four of the 10 most dangerous cities in America are in Michigan.

The Michigan Court of Appeals lifted this afternoon a lower court order which had temporarily blocked implementation of new time limits on the receipt of state welfare benefits.

Missouri’s chief justice urged lawmakers Wednesday to make changes to the state’s probation and parole systems to potentially save the state millions of dollars.

State prison trusties are no longer working at the Governor’s Mansion under Gov. Phil Bryant, a decision that could mark the end of the decades-long practice in Mississippi. Bryant told The Clarion-Ledger that Thursday was the last day a trusty would work at the downtown Jackson landmark.

Mississippi officials are correct to add to the penalties for cell phone use in state prisons – to deter illegal enterprises behind bars.

The furor over the pardons I recently granted as governor of Mississippi initially focused on numbers. I would like to set the record straight.

Recently the Montana Supreme Court overturned an earlier victory for free speech rights won in Helena district court by American Tradition Partnership, Montana Shooting Sports Association, and Champion Painting, Inc.

Three judges will decide whether those who sued over Republican-drawn boundaries for legislative and congressional districts are likely enough to win their case that North Carolina’s primary should be delayed for two months.

A state lawmaker wants to make sure Nebraska’s attorney general doesn’t get involved with enforcing a federal law aimed at replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescents.

Although New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s plan to slash income taxes has stolen the show lately, he is also pushing the most sweeping criminal-justice proposal of his tenure, calling for mandatory treatment for all low-level drug offenders.

Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex) Thursday asked the state attorney general’s office to investigate a report concert promoters were secretly paid $3.4 million to book acts at the Meadowlands.

Sometimes, a person has to stretch the truth a bit for a higher purpose, so have mercy on poor Christopher Cerf, the acting education commissioner.

A day after rejecting a bill meant to clarify how investigators decide whether a child has been abused, Gov. Chris Christie’s administration Wednesday proposed an alternative to achieve the same goal. Some experts, however, said it could make the job more confusing for child protection workers.

IRVINGTON, N.J. — Gov. Chris Christie received a warm if somewhat wary reception today from the hundreds who packed Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington, Essex County.

SAYREVILLE, N.J. — Not in my backyard? Try not in my state. A long legal battle to shut down a nude juice bar in Sayreville took a new turn Thursday when the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the availability of strip clubs in neighboring states could be used as part of an argument for keeping them out of local communities here.

Prominent defense attorney William Buckman, well known for the State Police racial profiling case in the 1990s, is prepping a civil lawsuit against the state health department for delaying New Jersey’s medical marijuana program.

Days off that state employees negotiated with former Gov. Jon Corzine in return for pay raise deferral and furloughs are not like unused vacation time and can be carried from year to year indefinitely, a state appellate court panel ruled today.

A state legislator proposes reinstating the death penalty in New Mexico, but allowing voters to decide whether that should happen.

Republicans tried unsuccessfully Wednesday to derail a legislative appeal of a court-ordered plan for drawing new district boundaries for the state House of Representatives.

SANTA FE, N.M. — It is legislative season in New Mexico, which means it is time once again to debate whether illegal immigrants should be granted driver’s licenses.

Synthetic drugs known by the street name “bath salts” are now illegal in Nevada. The Nevada Board of Pharmacy approved an emergency order Thursday that prohibits the drugs from being made, sold, purchased or consumed in the state.

Former Nevada secretary of state candidate Rob Lauer has filed a libel and defamation lawsuit against a woman who had accused him of battery.

Longtime Southern Nevada lawyer Kermitt Waters has filed a lawsuit that challenges a state law limiting petitions to a single subject, with a goal of then circulating a petition that would fundamentally change taxation and how money is spent by the Legislature.

As district attorneys nationwide try to cope with shrinking state budgets, Oklahoma prosecutors have seized on a novel—and increasingly controversial—money raiser: running their own probation programs.

Former state Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher was jailed Wednesday on a contempt of court charge after an appearance in Tulsa County District Court.

Pennsylvania State University’s trustees, facing heightened criticism from alumni over their handling of a sex-abuse scandal, tried to shift blame to the school’s former president, Graham Spanier.

A candidate for Pennsylvania attorney general on Thursday said he doesn’t believe prosecutors should accept any plea deals in the case of accused child sex abuser Jerry Sandusky.

Jerry Sandusky’s attorney, Joe Amendola, filed a 21-page request for the names, ages, and addresses of every victim and witness, along with the exact dates and locations for every crime alleged against his 68-year-old client.

Jury selection was completed in Dauphin County Court today for the trial slated to begin Monday for former state House Speaker Bill DeWeese, who is facing public corruption charges.

It was growing late on the night of Nov. 9, 2011. John P. Surma, the chief executive of U.S. Steel and the vice chairman of Penn State University’s board of trustees, sat at a rectangular table at the Penn Stater Hotel. Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania was on the speaker phone. Other trustees were present, many emotionally spent.

Critics say Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin should step down from the bench in light of news reports that she is the target of a criminal investigation.

On trial accused of fueling his campaigns with taxpayers’ dollars, Rep. Bill DeWeese lashed out at Gov. Tom Corbett on Wednesday, saying he assigned 14 people to investigate DeWeese while attorney general and devoted only one investigator to claims that former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky sexually abused kids.

PITTSBURGH — The public corruption retrial of Pittsburgh-area state Sen. Jane Orie and her sister, Janine, has been pushed back two weeks because the senator’s attorney expects to be busy defending House Speaker Bill DeWeese in a separate corruption trial.

State Rep. Bill DeWeese will be going it alone when his corruption trial begins Monday.

One month after a Spartanburg County senator pre-filed a legislative amendment to give repeat offenders more time behind bars, Rep. Eddie Tallon, R-Spartanburg, has introduced a similar bill in the South Carolina House of Representatives.

South Dakota’s top 100 delinquent taxpayers could be listed on the Internet if the Revenue Department gets its way.

Twenty-five residents are suing South Dakota’s secretary of state and other government officials to extend the early voting period in Shannon County, claiming current provisions violate the Constitution.

Lawyers on both sides in the capital murder case of inmate Rodney Berget hammered out final details Wednesday in the run-up to the weeklong hearing that will determine whether he lives or dies.

Gun nuts in the Tennessee state legislature have declared civil war on New Yorkers — saying they will retaliate for the prosecution of a woman who was carrying an illegal pistol at the 9/11 Memorial. A resolution winding its way through the Tennessee legislature warns New Yorkers not to drive through their state — because the Highway Patrol is “gunning” for us.

One of the world’s largest drugmakers Thursday agreed to pay the State of Texas $158 million to settle a lawsuit that accused Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries of Medicaid fraud.

A federal judge in Lubbock on Thursday threw out the National Rifle Association’s move to overturn a Texas law prohibiting 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying concealed handguns.

WASHINGTON — An architect of Texas redistricting told a panel of federal judges Wednesday that efforts to create a new Latino congressional district between San Antonio and Austin resulted in changes to another district, held by Rep. Francisco Canseco, which is at the heart of discrimination challenges under the Voting Rights Act.

At the moment, Marc Rosenthal’s legal career is like a dose of hemlock: It’s giving an odor of untimely demise.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff on Thursday stood behind John Swallow — the man he is endorsing to take his place — knowing if Swallow wins election, Utah’s run as a national model of state-based comprehensive immigration reform is likely coming to an end.

Chief deputy Utah attorney general John Swallow wants his boss’ job. But he won’t manage the office like Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has for nearly 12 years.

Utah’s immigration enforcement law passes constitutional muster and should be allowed to go into effect, the Utah Attorney General’s Office argues in a new federal court filing.

Rapists who prey on children would get life in prison and repeat drug dealers would get 5- and 10-year minimum sentences under public safety bills pushed by Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (

The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant can continue to operate beyond March, a federal judge ruled Thursday, slapping down a state law that tried to shut down the facility. The ruling, which all sides saw as a victory for Vermont Yankee and a defeat for the state, still leaves some decisions about the plant’s future in the hands of the state Public Service Board, legal experts said.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday blocked Vermont from forcing the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor to shut down when its license expires in March, saying that the state is trying to regulate nuclear safety, which only the federal government can do.

The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant can continue to operate beyond March, a federal judge ruled Thursday, slapping down a state law that tried to shut down the facility.

The Washington State Patrol is requesting a law to help troopers control inappropriate behavior on state ferries.

A Wisconsin judge has delayed a decision on whether to let a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s new voter identification law to proceed.

In his 2013-14 budget, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin not only wants a $166 million base budget for the Division of Corrections — up $14.4 million from its current budget — but an extra $26.5 million of supplemental appropriations, much of which would go to pay higher costs caused by overcrowded state prisons.

State lawmakers will once again debate a bill designed to curb methamphetamine production in West Virginia.

When the news broke that children had been sexually abused and assaulted for decades under the noses of powerful people at Penn State University, it wasn’t really a surprise to Jetta Bernier and her Boston colleagues.

The question of whether Wyoming Secretary of State Max Maxfield must be listed as an official defendant in Maxfield’s lawsuit challenging term limits for statewide elected officials now rests with a district judge.