Coming Soon.

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO---Judge Shirley Strickland Safford isn't biased against Erie Voices blogger Elsebeth Baumgartner.

She said so.

And there isn't any prejudice or wrongdoing in the case on the part of the People and the court---according to them.

CLEARWATER---Did you know that a judge can enter a judgment for several thousand dollars against you without you even being made a party to a lawsuit?

Did you know that a judge can bring baseless criminal charges against you, have you arrested, and bring you before him to be tried without a jury?

CLEARWATER, FLA--Sixth Circuit Court Judge Crockett Farnell finally removed himself from the case of Tampa attorney Mark A. Adams last December, 2004 after at least 10 attempts by Adams to remove Farnell for bias.

COLONIE---Teacher Sex Exclusive, the headlines screamed on the promo for Inside Edition's show on Tuesday.

ALBANY---Lt. Governor Mary Donohue will kick-off another festive holiday season in New York State on Sunday, Dec. 4 at the 2005 Holiday Tree Lighting and Fireworks Festival. This holiday tradition will take place at the Empire State Plaza in Albany. The festivities will get underway at 2 p.m., with activities inside and out, commencing with the official lighting of the trees at 5:15 p.m., followed by a spectacular fireworks show.

ALBANY-- Members of the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) will continue a holiday tradition of making this season a little brighter for needy families and children by fulfilling wish lists. Union members and their families will wrap gifts and assemble holiday baskets of food for the families of parolees who have demonstrated an honest effort to transition back into the community as responsible, law-abiding citizens.

CLEARWATER, FLA--A two and a half year long investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) in Clearwater has resulted in racketeering charges for two Pinellas County men.

ALBANY--- Assemblyman James Tedisco (R,C,I Schenectady-Saratoga) was unanimously elected the new Assembly Minority Leader Tuesday and pledged that he will be "more aggressive" than his predecessor, Charles Nesbitt of Orleans County.

NEW YORK CITY---Is the 2005-6 Judiciary Budget meeting the needs of the citizens of New York State for the efficient, timely, and fair administration of justice?

Larry Cleveland became the sheriff of Warren County when the previous sheriff, Fred Lamy, was appointed to the state Commission on Corrections by Gov. George Pataki.

However, the word circulating is that there won't be any state job for Cleveland.

SAN FRANCISCO---Standing outside a post office for 100 hours wearing a sandwich board that read "I have stolen mail. This is my punishment" is not cruel and unusual punishment, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

CLEARWATER, FLA----Indirect contempt charges filed against Tampa attorney Mark A. Adams were dismissed Monday by Sixth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Robert Beach but on Thursday, Adams begins trial in Hillsborough County on ethics charges brought against him by the Florida Bar Association. If found guilty, Adams license to practice law could be revoked.

I still have a visual of George Felos smiling and strutting so proudly as Terri Schiavo -- the delicate soul -- experienced death on demand. Death on demand, the movement that appears to be taking over the once sane, intelligent and informed citizenry of the United States. The citizenry that appears to now be willing to give up its defective to prove it's evolution into the cold hard thinking of pure logic -- the Rule of Law as some call it. However, the questions become...

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Attorney General's office has recovered $1.2 million for Florida taxpayers through a settlement in a case that involved telemarketing fraud, kickbacks and the bribery of government employees. Those who carried out the scheme have already faced individual criminal charges.

QUEENS---The indictment of eight people and one law firm for their roles in a criminal enterprise that submitted phony personal injury claims to insurance carriers has been announced by the state attorney general's office and Howard Mills, state insurance superintendent.

ALBANY--A series of efforts to protect the public and the environment from exposure to lead contained in certain children's lunch boxes has been launched by the state Attorney General's office.

The recently released 2005 Draft Open Space Conservation Plan will be subject of a public hearing Wednesday, Nov. 30 at the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation regional office in Saratoga Springs.

TALLAHASSEE - The attorney general's office has warned Floridians of a rapidly spreading electronic mail scam that tries to deceive recipients into believing a message is from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Those receiving the email are told that the FBI has monitored their internet use and determined that they are guilty of accessing illegal websites.

NEW YORK---The New York Civil Liberties Union and a group of civil rights lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight to enjoin the NYPD's policy of taking photographs and videotapes of lawful political protest activity in New York City without restriction, and retaining those images indefinitely.

COLONIE----The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has accepted a stipulation from former Colonie town justice Richard T. DiStefano that he will neither seek nor accept judicial office at any time in the future.

FONDA---It's déjá vu in Montgomery County.

Judge Felix Catena's jurisdiction and title to office is being challenged.

Latham attorney Matthew Mann, attorney for Thomas DeVito whose conviction for child molestation was overturned in August by the Appellate Division, is arguing in state Supreme Court that Catena does not hold the office of Montgomery County court judge because he failed to properly file his oath of office within 30 days of the commencement of his term, creating a vacancy in the office ipso facto back in January, 2000.

The New York State Consumer Protection Board and other consumer protection agencies have released the Top Ten "Consumer Turkeys" -- a list of widespread scams hurting consumers today.

The state Attorney General's office has launched a statewide program to help protect older New Yorkers against common frauds. The Attorney General's new "Scam Stopper" program will inform seniors, service providers, clergy and others on how to recognize, thwart and report con artists and other scammers.

TALLAHASSEE-Friday, Dec. 2 is the deadline for applications from persons seeking to fill a county judge vacancy in the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida that will be created by the retirement of Pinellas County Judge Karl B. Grube, the Sixth Judicial circuit's longest-serving county judge.

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY---The Grinch from Pinellas County in Florida has apparently trekked north.

FORT MYERS, FLA---A former participant in the Big Brother-Big Sisters Program in Southwest Florida has been arrested on child pornography charges.

ALBANY--Superintendent of Insurance Howard Mills has announced that the New York State Insurance Department has levied its latest round of fines against health insurers and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) for violating New York's Prompt Pay Law. In all, 22 companies were fined a total of $178,600 for failing to pay undisputed claims within a reasonable timeframe. The fines are for complaint files that were closed by the Insurance Department between Oct. 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005.

MANCHESTER, NH---It wasn't the Hamburglar who was arrested at the local Wendy's early Monday morning, charged with stealing money from the store safe.

"...On 19 July 1991, Theresa was transferred to Sable Palms skilled care facility. Periodic neurological exams, regular and aggressive physical, occupational and speech therapy continued through 1994..." Jay Wolfson

CLEARWATER, FLA---Tampa attorney Mark A. Adams is headed back to court Monday, Nov. 28 for a hearing on his motion moving to vacate the contempt charges which were brought against him last January by Sixth Judicial Circuit Court judge Crockett Farnell and attorney Timothy Weber of the politically connected Battaglia, Ross, Dicus and Wein law firm of St. Petersburg.

We have visited The North Country Gazette and the account of the injustice being inflicted on Floridian lawyer Mark Adams fills us with indignation. It is exemplification of the wayward, ex parte use of power by the judiciary, nowadays routine.

AKRON, OHIO-The age for consensual sex in Ohio is 16 but high school science teacher Stephen Pandur, 25, faces up to 15 years in prison for having consensual sex with an 18-year-old female student.

First there's Black Friday and then there's Cyber Monday.

As millions of Americans return to work Monday and turn on their office computers, their focus won't be on that unfinished report or letters for the boss, but using the Internet to browse or buy gifts online.

OAK RIDGE, TENN---Students at an eastern Tennessee high school are going to get a firsthand education in the First Amendment and freedom of the press.

WHITE PLAINS----Two Westchester brothers who owned more than two dozen Dunkin Donuts franchises have pleaded guilty in White Plains federal court to tax fraud and other charges for evading paying more than $1.5 million in payroll and income taxes.

ROCKAWAY BEACH-The New York Civil Liberties Union is charging a private Catholic school with discriminating against an unmarried, Catholic school teacher by firing her because she became pregnant.

MIAMI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida's Greater Miami Chapter has filed three lawsuits charging that officers of the Miami, Miami-Dade and Broward police departments used excessive force to intimidate and unlawfully arrest innocent bystanders and protesters who were exercising their free speech rights during the November 2003 Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) ministerial meetings in downtown Miami.

WASHINGTON - Michael Newdow, who previously brought a lawsuit against the Pledge of Allegiance, has once again filed a suit challenging the national motto, "In God We trust."

RICHMOND, VA - Government lawyers in Fairfax County have agreed to drop their case against Tariq Khan, a George Mason University student who was arrested while protesting the presence of military recruiters on campus.

Editor's Note: Virtually every day we receive comments about published articles, information about ongoing cases and story ideas. Below are several of the comments recently received. Readers are encouraged to participate and may send letters to the editor for consideration or submit feedback by using the contact form on the site. Please include your name and a verifiable email address. We will not publish the address.

Good Ole Boys

Regarding your story about Attorney Mark Adams (Tampa, Fla), I can relate with him about the good ole boys network.

For 12 years, 82-year-old Frances Mirowski has begun each morning the same way---feeding bread crumbs and peanuts to the birds and squirrels in her yard---its relaxing, entertaining and yes, gives her a purpose in life, something to look forward to every day.

In a 8-2 decision almost certain to be challenged before the Court of Appeals, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has voted to remove Queens Supreme Court Justice Laura D. Blackburne for directing a court officer to escort a defendant out of the courthouse through the judge's private entrance in order to elude a detective who was waiting to arrest the defendant.

TALLAHASSEE---Media outlets in Florida have won the right to inspect crime scene and autopsy images of 11-year-old murder victim Carlie Brucia but the Second District Court of Appeals has given attorney general Charlie Crist until Monday to ask the Florida Supreme Court to review the decision.

JACKSONVILLE, FLA---Florida attorney Jeffrey R. Hill was employed by the Jacksonville law firm, Farah, Farah & Abbott, PA, in 2004 when he says he discovered the firm was regularly charging and collecting clearly excessive costs from its personal injury clients without their knowledge.

"Your story is (sic) Elsebeth Baumgardner (sic) is false and bizarre", the feedback form to The North Country Gazette said, submitting a comment on a story.

The author of the comment was referring to the article which appeared Monday entitled "Fair Trial Rights An Issue in Ohio Free Speech Case".

Taking pleasure in the pain of others isn't the Christian thing to do. But conservative churches may be forgiven for feeling a bit of schadenfreude after the revelation this month that the Internal Revenue Service is threatening to revoke the tax-exempt status of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif. - one of the nation's largest liberal congregations.

"...PVS is a clinical diagnosis, not one that can be proven by autopsy alone and you cannot prove a negative.

Terri was evaluated and diagnosed as being in PVS by every doctor who examined her, save for those hired by the Schindlers and supplied by the RTL, who testified the way the Schindlers wanted them to and this diagnosis was made long before the medmal trial, long before the fight over the medmal award and long before the final judgment was made in favor of Terri's decision to refuse unwanted medical treatment..."

Toys should provide a creative and happy outlet for children; yet too often they bring pain and sometimes death. According to the most recent data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), at least 16 children, none older than nine years old, died in 2004 playing with toys. Moreover, of the estimated 210,300 persons treated in hospital emergency rooms in 2004 for toy-related injuries, 72,800 (35%) were under five years old.

Whether it's cutting taxes, eliminating unnecessary regulations or reducing workers' compensation costs, we know that lowering the cost of doing business is a proven way to create new jobs and that's exactly what we've done in New York during the past 11 years. But we must continue to do more to improve New York's business climate, expand the State's job-creation efforts and keep New York business competitive in the global marketplace.

ALBANY--In the midst of a political firestorm set off by the U.S. Supreme Court decision on eminent domain (Kelo v. New London), and calls by Congress to withhold federal funding from localities that use eminent domain for commercial gain, New York State Bar Association President A. Vincent Buzard of Rochester has appointed a task force to provide legal analysis of the issue and to make recommendations about appropriate legislative and regulatory considerations.

ALBANY--Raymond P. Martinez, state Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and chair of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, has urged drivers to avoid parking illegally in spaces designated for people with disabilities, including access aisles.

NEW YORK----New York State Supreme Court Judge Jane S. Solomon ruled Tuesday to allow for three complaints from the lawsuit against the "three men in a room" over dysfunctional legislative practices to move forward. The complaints that were sustained include the unequal funding of member resources, unequal member items and abuses of messages of necessity.

TAMPA----In stark contrast to the New York teacher who was sentenced Monday to serve six months in jail for having sex with an underaged student, Florida teacher Debra Lafave has avoided jail time and will instead serve three years of house arrest followed by seven years of probation.

How do you spell railroad in Ohio?

B-A-U-M-G-A-R-T-N-E-R/D-U-B-O-I-S

ALBANY---Albany County Court Judge Stephen Herrick stunned the courtroom Monday during the sentencing of the former CBA English teacher charged with raping one of her male students when he said that the 16-year-old in the case is a victim in the statutory sense only.

MANHATTAN---A $790,000 settlement with three former officials of a Praxis Housing Initiative (Praxis), a Manhattan-based not-for-profit that provides housing and services to people living with AIDS/HIV, has been reached according to the state Attorney General's office. The settlement funds will be returned to Praxis so that the agency can continue providing housing and services at its facilities in New York City.

BROOKLYN---Americare Certified Special Services, Inc. (Americare), a Brooklyn based certified home health agency, has agreed to pay $7 million as part of a resolution of a state investigation whether it had improperly billed Medicaid for services rendered to residents in adult homes. Home Health Agencies such as Americare provide health care to persons living in their own homes, and also in "adult homes" which are residential facilities that do not provide skilled nursing care.

QUEENSBURY--Queensbury residents have 128 new moderately-priced apartments thanks to a $6.7 million investment by the New York State Common Retirement Fund and its partner, the Community Preservation Corporation.

ALBANY--Personal health-care spending in New York State rose 77% from 1990 to 2000, increasing from $53.50 billion to $94.76 billion, according to an analysis of data published earlier this year by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

MALONE---A corrections officer at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester County has been charged with trying to smuggle marijuana into the Upstate Correctional Facility in Malone.

ALBANY---Twenty-six grants totaling more than $1.8 million to expand and improve New York's child care facilities have been announced by Gov. George Pataki. The grants will enhance safety at existing child care facilities, create 620 new child care slots for New York's families, and further improve child care opportunities across the State.

There is much difficulty putting Terri Schiavo to rest with the barrage of news reports detailing other peoples' circumstances in the United States in similar situations; put to death daily, either by state sanctioned euthanasia, hospital sanctioned euthanasia, or family sanctioned euthanasia.

ALBANY--Sandra "Beth" Geisel could be home for Christmas.

The former English teacher at Christian Brothers Academy, charged with raping one of her willing underage male students, will be sentenced Monday, Nov. 21 in Albany County Court by Judge Stephen Herrick.

PAINESVILLE, OHIO---The mother of three children and two step-children has been sentenced to spend a night alone in the woods for abandoning 40 kittens in two parks.

Everything has a price.

Especially the health care services for an elderly man.

Especially if his daughter is a "controversial" newspaper publisher, judicial activist, legal reformer and coordinator of the NYS Oaths Project.

ALBANY---A temporary stay on a Supreme Court justice's order to release 12 sex criminals from psychiatric hospitals is in place after Gov. George Pataki's filed an appeal of that order on Friday.

"…It is the Schindlers who are lying about the facts of this case, not Mike…they, along with the religious right and greedy politicians eager to please the RTL voting base so as to remain in power, have exploited Terri and continue to do so to this very day by pollyparroting the lies on their websites and in books and worse, selling those videos for $100 apiece. Mike respected Terri enough to stick by her side and follow her wishes while the Schindlers were about one thing and one thing only---money---the minute the couldn't get their mitts on Mike's loss of consortium award they have the nerve to try and take money out of Terri's trust fund and for what…because Bob Schindler was in debt to the IRS…." http://journals.aol.com/justice1949/JUSTICEFORTERRISCHIAVO/entries/1245

NEW ORLEANS---A prominent New York law firm, a Washington-based civil rights legal organization, and a California not-for-profit legal organization, together with a Louisiana law professor filed a class-action suit this week in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana to force the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide timely aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina living in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

MICHIGAN---The attorney for "Dr. Death" is asking Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to grant a pardon and/or commutation of sentence for his client to allow him to "die with some dignity by being free".

COLUMBUS--- The gravy train for retired visiting judge Richard Markus and other private judges may be about over if Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge Nancy Russo has her way.

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO---Former attorney and pharmacist Elsebeth Baumgartner has been released from the Cuyahoga County Jail after being incarcerated three days.

TALLAHASSEE - The president of a Winter Garden medical equipment company has been charged by the Florida Attorney General's office for defrauding the Florida Medicaid program.

BAYSHORE, LI-----A Bayshore, Long Island, man has been charged with stealing more than $2.7 million from the estate of an 80-year-old Forest Hills attorney for whom he had been named as executor.

MANHATTAN---Manhattan art gallery owner Helen Fioratti and her corporation have pleaded guilty to failing to collect sales taxes from 1999 to 2004.

ALBANY---The New York State Police have kicked off New York's latest zero tolerance seat belt enforcement blitz, intended to save lives by reminding motorists and their passengers to buckle up. Beginning next Monday and continuing through Sunday, Nov. 27, police will set up checkpoints and dedicated patrols to ensure compliance with New York's seat belt law. They'll be joined by police agencies across the state in the effort, which is part of the ongoing Buckle Up New York Campaign.

MIAMI---Miami-Dade County Judge Ana Marie Pando told the Florida Supreme Court that no certain date was given her for the payment of a $25,000 fine assessed against her by the court for improper campaign contributions and improper certification of campaign finance reports.

The recent revelation that for the past four years the CIA has operated a "covert prison system" in Eastern Europe for the interrogation of terrorism suspects has prompted angry demands for investigations - not of the interrogation prisons but of the leak of classified information that brought the system to light.

TALLAHASSEE - Two South Florida caregivers have been arrested in separate cases for alleged abuse or neglect of elderly residents of patient care facilities. One of the incidents of neglect is believed to have led to the death of a resident at a Miami assisted living facility.

40 of New York's 62 counties have been surveyed and better than 80% of our elected officials are in violation of what seems to many, as a minor legal technicality to file their oaths of office and obtain their surety bonds as required by law. This can only be seen as a minor, trivial and arcane technicality because despite the unprecedented ease and affordability of mass communications and access to education available today, most of us have forgotten what is at stake.

Don't sigh, fidget or turn your back in the courtroom of Nassau County Family Court judge Richard S. Lawrence or he'll find you in contempt.

TALLAHASSEE - Attorney General Charlie Crist filed an emergency motion Thursday to stay a Second District Court of Appeal ruling in favor of plaintiffs who wish to view crime scene and autopsy photos and videotapes of Carlie Brucia. The court overturned the original ruling of the trial court which prohibited access to the photographs and tapes.

The New York State Office of Court Administration has issued a new booklet, "A Guide To Small Claims in NYS City, Town and Village Courts. http://www.nycourts.gov/ea/ResourceCenter/small-claims/small-claims-guide_2005.pdf

The New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Aging will conduct public hearings next month to examine ways for the state to expand and improve upon caregiver support/respite services for caregivers of older New Yorkers.

In New York State, family members have no legal authority to consent or object to medical treatment for a patient who lacks decision-making capacity. Although hospitals and other providers customarily turn to close family members for agreement, only courts, court-appointed guardians and health care agents (i.e. persons appointed by a health care proxy) have real legal authority.

FREEPORT---Convicted embezzler Robert Washko has been sentenced to a term of one to three years imprisonment provided that he makes full restitution of the nearly $400,000 that he stole from the Wonder Bra Company, Bronx district attorney Robert Johnson said Thursday.

MANHATTAN---A Manhattan apartment rental agent has pleaded guilty to using offshore bank accounts to evade income taxes.

QUEENS---A Queens judge who placed a litigant in contempt, claiming that the litigant had tried to intimidate the court has instead been found to have engaged in judicial misconduct himself.

Federal district court trials and appellate arguments could be televised at the discretion of the presiding judge under an amendment passed on a 375-45 vote in the House of Representatives Wednesday. Republicans voted 221-1 in favor of the bill, with Democrats voting 153-44, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

QUEENS---A Queens construction contractor was arraigned Wednesday on 99 felony and 30 misdemeanor charges stemming from a scheme that forced employees to "kickback" wages to him on five New York City Housing Authority painting contracts. The felony complaint charged Georgios Begakis with falsifying business records to conceal the "kick-backs" as well as grand larceny from the Housing Authority for receiving the payments under false pretenses.

ALBANY---Citing the need for greater accountability and transparency in the State's public authorities, State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi issued sweeping draft regulations that will require more transparent, timely and accurate financial reporting by the 215 public authorities in New York State that are statewide in scope or have regional significance.

JAMICA--A janitor employed by a Fort Totten Army base subcontractor has been charged with stealing the personal identities of over 150 United States Army reservists -- many deployed in the Middle East -- in a credit card fraud scheme in which over $2,700 in Internet orders for clothing and other merchandise were placed with various retail stores.

I have never been one to beat around the bush. If I have something to say I just say it. I have been thinking a lot about the Terri Schiavo case, and about some strange occurrences during the two years I worked with others to save Terri's feeding tube from being pulled.

MANHATTAN--Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau has brought criminal charges in seven unrelated cases involving lawyers, disbarred or suspended lawyers or people pretending to be lawyers on charges of stealing from clients and committing other crimes.

SARANAC LAKE---Without giving any reason, Saranac Lake village justice Roy Kristofferson has resigned the position effective Nov. 24. He had been village justice since April, 1986.

ALBANY--State Health Commissioner Antonia C. Novello, has announced that today, Nov. 17 marks the 29th anniversary of The Great American Smokeout and encouraged all New Yorkers who smoke to join with the millions of smokers worldwide who will quit smoking for one day with the hope of stopping forever.

ALBANY--For the second consecutive year, New York State has received a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Adoption Incentive Award for the state's efforts to move children in the state's foster care system into permanent, loving families.

DIXIE COUNTY, FLA-- teacher aide at a private school in Dixie County has been arrested following an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into allegations that she had sex with several students at the school.

TALLAHASSEE---The State of Florida launched a partnership between the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and the Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) to educate Florida Medicare participants about the upcoming federal Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit program. AHCA will work to help educate more than 407,000 dually-eligible Medicaid and Silver Saver participants in Florida about the new Medicare Part D drug benefit. DOEA will reach out to the 3.1 million Florida seniors who are currently Medicare beneficiaries through its SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) counseling program.

BROWARD COUNTY, FLA---The Town of Davie's suspended town administrator is being sought for arrest on warrants filed by special agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement after investigators alleged the town official had stolen more than $360,000 in Town of Davie funds.

QUEENSBURY---State Sen. Betty Little (R,C,I-Queensbury) is sponsoring legislation that would require chemical blood tests for operators of public vessels to determine if alcohol or drugs are a factor in accidents in which serious injury, death or disappearance occurs. Gov. George Pataki proposed the bill last month in response to the Ethan Allen boating accident on Lake George which claimed 20 lives.

Governor Pataki seems to be making extraordinary efforts to make New York state a safer place for women and children. This in concert with increased pressure from a handful of people in the media to protect some of our most vulnerable from some of those most addicted to preying on them.

Gov. George Pataki's order to hold 12 sex criminals in psychiatric hospitals even though they have completed their prison sentences was ruled illegal Tuesday by a Manhattan judge.

OSWEGO---You can't beat city hall.

Oswego city attorney Edward Izyk found that out firsthand when he got his mail this week.