Law Enforcement & Legal
Senior Oklahoma Supreme Court judge to retire Dec. 31
Written by Dick Pryor Wednesday, 01 September 2010 20:31
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Rudolph Hargrave has announced plans to retire at the end of the year. Hargrave said in a letter Tuesday to Gov. Brad Henry that his last day will be Dec. 31. Hargrave is 85 and was appointed by then-Gov. David Boren in 1978. He is the state's most senior judge.
Hargrave received his law degree in 1949 from the University of Oklahoma. He served as a county judge in Seminole County, as a Seminole County Superior Court Judge and as a district judge before being appointed to the state Supreme Court. The governor will appoint a replacement from among three applicants submitted by the Judicial Nominating Commission.
Wanted con artist arrested in Deadhorse
Written by Dick Pryor Monday, 30 August 2010 17:37
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Fairbanks police say a convicted con artist with a history of impersonating Army officers has been arrested in Deadhorse. William Clark was cited for trespassing earlier this week and let go. Police learned later that the 37-year-old has outstanding warrants in other states. The authorities found Clark at a Deadhorse hotel Friday after getting a tip from a hunter. He is expected to be returned to Fairbanks in a few days.
Back in 2002, Clark identified himself as an Army captain at the scene of a fatal bridge accident in Oklahoma. He spent more than two days giving orders to FBI agents before his con was discovered. Shortly after leaving prison for that ruse, he called a Russian embassy claiming to be part of a U.S. Special Forces squad planning to assassinate Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Oklahoma City bomber challenges ruling on diet
Written by Dick Pryor Monday, 30 August 2010 17:35
DENVER (AP) - Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols ischallenging dismissal of his lawsuit over his prison diet and wants the judge disqualified.
Nichols filed motions Thursday in federal court in Denver, claiming that U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello should be disqualified because of bias toward him. He says she may have known someone who was injured or died in the 1995 bombing of the federal building that killed 168 people.
Nichols also objects to Arguello's ruling that a lack of unrefined grains, fresh food and insoluble fiber doesn't violate his right of freedom of religion and the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Nichols is serving life in the federal Supermax prison in southern Colorado for conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter.
Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and executed.
Three captured fugitives enter pleas to Arizona charges
Written by Dick Pryor Tuesday, 24 August 2010 20:06
KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) - Two men who escaped from a northwestern Arizona prison and the woman accused of helping them have pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault and armed robbery. John McCluskey, Tracy Province and Casslyn Welch were arraigned Monday in Kingman, where they are being held on a $1 million bond. The charges against the trio stem from the hijacking of atractor-trailer shortly after McCluskey and Province fled from the state prison in Kingman on July 30 allegedly with Welch's help.
The trio also faces charges in the deaths of an Oklahoma couple in New Mexico. McCluskey and Welch were captured Thursday in eastern Arizona after a three-week manhunt. Province was caught in Wyoming on Aug. 9. A third escaped convict, Daniel Renwick, was arrested Aug. 1 in Colorado.
Okla. Supreme Court overturns Medicaid fee
Written by Dick Pryor Tuesday, 24 August 2010 18:37
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Supreme Court has overturned a state law intended to raise revenue for the state's Medicaid program. The ruling posted on the court's website Tuesday said the measure violates the state Constitution. It comes a day after justices heard oral arguments in the case. State Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland asked the court to overturn the law. It set a 1 percent fee on claims paid by private health insurers and companies with self-insured health care plans.
Insurance Department attorney Michael Ridgeway argued that the bill failed to get a required three-fourths vote when it passed the House and Senate late in the legislative session. Phone calls to the Insurance Department and the Attorney General's office - which argued in support of the law - were not immediately returned.
