Judge Squashes Cuccinelli Subpoena of U-Va. Records

An Albemarle County Circuit Court judge has set aside a subpoena issued by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to the University of Virginia seeking documents related to the work of climate scientist and former university professor Michael Mann.

Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. ruled that Cuccinelli can investigate whether fraud has occurred in university grants, as the attorney general had contended, but ruled that Cuccinelli's subpoena failed to state a "reason to believe" that Mann had committed fraud.

The ruling is a major blow for Cuccinelli, a global warming skeptic who had maintained that he was investigating whether Mann committed fraud in seeking government money for research that showed that the earth has experienced a rapid, recent warming. Mann, now at Penn State University, worked at U-Va. until 2005.

According to Peatross, the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, under which the civil investigative demand was issued, requires that the attorney general include an "objective basis" to believe that fraud has been committed. Peatross indicates that the attorney general must state the reason so that it can be reviewed by a court, which Cuccinelli failed to do.

Peatross set the subpoena aside without prejudice, meaning Cuccinelli could give the subpoena another try by rewriting the civil demand to better explain the conduct he wishes to investigate. But the judge seemed skeptical of Cuccinelli's underlying claim about Mann, noting that Cuccinelli's deputy maintained in a court hearing that the nature of Mann's fraud was described in subsequent court papers in the case.

"The Court has read with care those pages and understands the controversy regarding Dr. Mann's work on the issue of global warming. However, it is not clear what he did was misleading, false or fraudulent in obtaining funds from the Commonwealth of Virginia," Peatross wrote.

Additionally, the judge said Cuccinelli could only ask about one of five grants issued to Mann that the attorney general has been seeking to investigate. That's because the other four involved the use of federal, not state, funds.

In a statement, Cuccinelli said he will take the judge's ruling into account and rewrite the civil investigative demand. Spokesman Brian Gottstein said Cuccinelli is also examining the ruling to decide whether to appeal.

"While this was not an outright ruling in our favor, I am pleased that the judge has agreed with my office on several key legal points and has given us a framework for issuing a new civil investigative demand to get the information necessary to continue our investigation into whether or not fraud has been committed against the commonwealth," he said.

Mann, meanwhile, said he was pleased with the judge's ruling.

"I'm very pleased that the judge has ruled in our favor," he said in a statement. "It is a victory not just for me and the university, but for all scientists who live in fear that they may be subject to a politically-motivated witch hunt when their research findings prove inconvenient to powerful vested interests.


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Employee of Process-Serving Company Indicted

In a rare action, the office manager of an embattled process serving company was indicted Wednesday on a felony charge of filing a false notary public application with the Nevada secretary of state's office.

The charge is part of a nine-count indictment against Vilisia Coleman in the growing scandal tied to her unlicensed company, On Scene Mediations, which is accused of filing false affidavits of service in Las Vegas Justice Court.

Secretary of State Ross Miller said his notary administrator, Laura Ethridge, has never seen anyone prosecuted criminally for filing a false application during her 21 years overseeing the notary process.

"The fact that we were able to bring forward charges is significant," said Miller whose office has assisted Las Vegas police with their investigation of On Scene Mediations. "I believe that this type of notary fraud is relatively common, but undetected. We largely lack the resources to effectively enforce these statutes."

Miller said his office can seek to revoke Coleman's notary appointment, but won't take action until the criminal case concludes.

The eight other charges against the 46-year-old Coleman, which include perjury and filing false court documents, are the same as those in a criminal complaint filed against her earlier this month. That complaint will be dismissed, and Coleman, who is free on bond, will be arraigned in District Court on the new charges on Sept. 1.

The notary charge follows an Aug. 11 Las Vegas Review-Journal story that questioned whether Coleman lied about her criminal past when she filled out her application with the secretary of state. When asked whether she had ever been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude, she checked the "No" box, officials told the newspaper.

But records show that she was sentenced to three years of probation for felony cocaine possession in 2006 and was ordered to undergo drug treatment.

She also has a gross misdemeanor conviction for attempted grand larceny at a Walmart in 2001. In that case, she was charged with violating her two-year probation in 2003 and ordered to spend eight months behind bars at the Clark County Detention Center.


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Virtual Service of Process

YouTube is going to the Guggenheim, and Twitter and Facebook could be the future avenues for service of process.

Service of process has traditionally been a person to person exchange, a hand delivery of legal documents. Doctors do not make house calls, but lawyers do via sheriffs’ deputies or authorized process servers.

It is not always the easiest job to deliver lawsuits, especially if folks do not want to receive them, even when it is in a person’s best interest to be well-informed. Singapore’s top court is considering use of social media to get the job done. Facebook and Twitter are already serving legal documents in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Just as YouTube is trying to grow up into a sophisticated age of arts and culture, social networking sites could become legal avenues of service, finding folks where footwork is less effective.


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Court Server Leaves Gun in Viera Walmart

After falling ill, a 65-year-old Brevard County court process server left his loaded 9-mm handgun at the sink of a Walmart restroom in Viera on Monday, but the sidearm was secured about a half-hour later without injury to anyone.

According to a report by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, Ronald Kostin of Viera, an independent process server, felt sick around 9 a.m. Monday and went into the men’s restroom of the Walmart Supercenter at 8500 N. Wickham Road.


Under a concealed-weapons permit, Kostin carries a silver-and-black Makarov 9-mm, a Hungarian-made weapon most notably used in the former Soviet Union’s military. On Monday, it contained a clip with eight rounds.


“He placed his handgun on the sink in the handicap stall of the men’s restroom,” the case report said. “After he felt better, Mr. Kostin left in a hurry to go serve someone at Kennedy Space Center. He accidentally forgot the gun.”


Kostin drove northward to KSC, where he remembered the weapon and called the Walmart and the sheriff’s office. A manager went into the bathroom and secured the gun more than a half-hour after it was misplaced.


No customers came into contact with the firearm, according to the sheriff’s office.


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Oksana's Lawyers Set To Subpoena Mel Gibson's Ex-Wife

Oksana Grigorieva's lawyers want to question Mel Gibson's ex-wife Robyn about her claims the Braveheart star was not violent during their marriage, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.
Team Oksana is poised to sensationally subpoena Robyn Moore Gibson to appear before a deposition; Robyn, of course, is the same woman who the actor left for the Russian musician after 28 years of marriage.

As RadarOnline.com was first to report, Oksana has told law enforcement that Mel once admitted hurling a television at his former wife.

The actor's ex-girlfriend also said she personally witnessed him hitting his youngest son, Tommy.

The legal move adds yet another twist in the bitter battle between the Mel and Oksana and could result in Robyn being forced into the witness stand to be questioned.

Oksana's legal advisors want to probe Robyn about the sworn affidavit she submitted to the court stating Mel was not ever abusive to her or his children.

"Mel never engaged in any physical abuse of any kind toward me before, during, or after our marriage," Robyn reportedly told the judge overseeing the case.

Robyn's support of Mel raised eyebrows within Oksana's camp who want to question her motivation for doing so, said a source familiar with the case.

She filed for divorce from the Oscar-winning Braveheart star last year, citing irreconcilable differences.

The decision triggered one of Hollywood's most expensive divorces, because the pair reportedly had no pre-nup and she was able to secure half of the star's $850 million fortune.

Robyn, 54, is the mother of Mel's seven children - six of whom are adults.

Specifically Oksana's lawyers want to investigate what supposedly happened during one allegedly brutal confrontation throughout their marriage.

"Mel was telling several times how he threw a TV into her (Robyn) once when they were arguing," a source has claimed.

"Thank god he missed and the TV fell out a second story window."

Oksana also alleges that Mel hit Tommy in the head while at a hockey game at Los Angele's Staples Center two-and-a-half-years ago.

"Oksana told authorities about Mel's 'angry outbursts' toward his own family and friends," said a source familiar with the Mel Gibson investigation.


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Sheriff Won't Serve Himself Summons

A hearing regarding the validity of Gov. Bob Riley’s appointment for sheriff of Greene County had to be delayed on Tuesday because the man whose qualifications were being questioned didn’t appear.

The plaintiffs contend the reason he was never served a summons to appear was because he didn’t serve himself.

The sheriff’s attorney, however, contends that he never needed to appear in the first place.

George Cook was appointed sheriff of Greene County by the governor on June 18. Three days later, two county residents — current coroner and former interim Sheriff Ronald K. Smith and former County Commissioner Garria Spencer — filed court action to determine whether Riley’s selection complied with state law.

They contend that Riley’s choice was improper because Cook was a Tuscaloosa County resident working as an enforcement agent for the Alabama Beverage Control Board and not a registered Greene County voter at the time of the appointment. That same day, an entire courtroom full of people turned out to agree with them during an organized protest the appointment at the Greene County Courthouse.

Prince Darius Chestnut, who is representing the plaintiffs but also serves as the Greene County Commission’s legal counsel, accused Cook and his legal team on Tuesday of trying to stall the case until at least January 2011, when Cook’s interim role as sheriff ends, and the county’s newly elected sheriff — most likely Jonathan “Joe” Benison, who won the Democratic primary and faces no Republican opposition in the November general election — will take over.


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Johnson and Johnson Discloses More Subpoenas Over Consumer Recalls

TRENTON, N.J. — Johnson and Johnson disclosed Wednesday that the health products giant has now received multiple subpoenas from federal prosecutors related to repeated recalls of Tylenol and other consumer health products.

The grand jury subpoenas request "documents broadly relating to" both the recent recalls of products made by McNeil Consumer Healthcare and inspections of two of the unit's factories.

One of the plants, in the Philadelphia suburb of Fort Washington, Pa., has been shut down since April due to multiple problems and is expected to remain shut until at least next summer.

The other, in Lancaster, Pa., is operated by a joint venture called Johnson & Johnson/Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co. Food and Drug Administration inspectors noted many severe problems after spending a dozen days there, from not following rules for manufacturing quality to poor record-keeping.

Johnson & Johnson mentioned the grand jury subpoenas, filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, in its quarterly financial filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The disclosure follows one made by a company official on July 20, when J&J reported its second-quarter results, that it had received a single subpoena related to the recalls. J&J gave no details about that subpoena at the time, but said that the recalls and plant closure would cost the company $600 million this year alone.

The maker of Band-Aids, birth control and biotech drugs said it is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's Office in responding to the subpoenas.

"The company and its subsidiaries are vigorously contesting the allegations asserted against them and otherwise pursuing defenses to maximize the prospect of success," J&J said in the quarterly filing.

Those allegations also include demands for documents from "multiple State Attorneys General Offices relating to the same issues," according to the SEC filing. The filing also noted that multiple lawsuits seeking class-action status have been filed against the company related to the recalls. The company gave no further details.

Company officials declined further comment.

Patricia Hartman, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia, said she could neither confirm nor deny any investigation.

New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J has been under scrutiny by Congress, FDA officials and others for eight recalls since September covering tens of millions of bottles of pain reliever Tylenol and other popular nonprescription medicines. That includes some liquid medicines for children.

The series of recalls covered products made at the Fort Washington plant and another in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. They have involved problems ranging from contamination with bacteria and a nauseating smell on containers to possible problems with the wrong amount of active ingredient and liquid medicines that may contain tiny metal shavings.

In May, an FDA official told Congress the agency had turned the case over to its Office of Criminal Investigations. No one has been charged.

The Fort Washington factory makes nonprescription pain relievers, allergy medicine, sleeping pills and heartburn tablets. The recalled products include liquid Tylenol for infants and children, Tylenol arthritis caplets, Motrin, Benadryl, Rolaids, St. Joseph's aspirin and Simply Sleep.

The manager of the Fort Washington plant has since been fired, 300 of the 400 workers there will lose their jobs shortly and the fiasco led Johnson & Johnson to sharply reduce its 2010 profit forecast.

Then a July 21 FDA report on inspections at the Lancaster, Pa., factory in the past month indicates a pattern of ignoring rules for manufacturing and quality, failure to investigate problems that could affect the composition of products, carelessness in cleaning and maintaining equipment, and shoddy record-keeping. In some cases, medicine batches made during equipment failures were not checked for quality. That factory makes nonprescription heartburn medicines Mylanta and Pepcid, plus Imodium for diarrhea.

In trading Wednesday, shares fell down 93 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $58.50, as the broader markets also declined.

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Probe to Focus on how Felon Became Notary, Process Server

Vilisia Coleman is a felon, but that didn't stop the second suspect arrested in a growing Clark County court scandal from becoming a state-approved notary public and unlicensed process server.

State regulators are investigating how Coleman slipped under the radar.

Coleman, 46, who police say was a process server and office manager for On Scene Mediations, the unlicensed company at the center of the scandal, was sentenced to three years of probation for felony cocaine possession in 2006 and ordered to undergo drug treatment, records show.

She also has a gross misdemeanor conviction for attempted grand larceny at a local Walmart in 2001, records show.

In that case, she was charged with violating her two-year probation in 2003 and ordered to spend eight months behind bars at the Clark County Detention Center.

Coleman, back in custody Tuesday, is now charged in what authorities call a sweeping scheme to file false court affidavits that allowed payday loan and debt collection companies to get default judgments in Las Vegas Justice Court.

Also charged is Maurice Carroll, 41, a former Las Vegas police officer who owns On Scene Mediations. He is free on $35,000 bond.

Because of her criminal history, Coleman by law cannot receive a notary appointment from the state or be a licensed process server.

But Secretary of State Ross Miller said Coleman obtained a notary appointment from his office in June 2009. When she applied to become a notary, she filled out a form that asked if she had ever been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude. She checked the "No" box, said Miller, who has ordered an investigation.

He would not discuss his investigation further but said state agents have spoken with Las Vegas police, who are spearheading the criminal investigation.

Miller said that in November 2009, several months after Coleman received her notary appointment, she reported to Las Vegas police that her notary stamp had been stolen. He said Coleman got a new stamp from his office in January, and the old stamp never surfaced.

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White House Gate Crashers Served With Court Papers

'Real Housewives of DC' star Michaele Salahi and her husband were presented with court papers from PR firm Brotman-Winter-Fried Communications during their own private party Thursday at EFN nightclub, The Washington Post reports.

The company alleges the White House gate crashers owe more than $15,000 in unpaid fees from a 2008 polo event. "It was an affidavit for debtors interrogatory," Steve Winter, president of BWF, said (via RadarOnline.)

"It means they'll have to appear in court to discuss their financial means -- how they are capable of paying off the debt."According to one BWF employee, when Michaele's husband was handed the documents and dropped them on the floor.

When the process server tried to deliver them again, Tareq dropped the papers a second time and called security.Last week, Salahi accused Whoopi Goldberg of manhandling her during 'The View.'

Goldberg confronted the D.C. housewife backstage, using obscene language to drive home her disgust."I think I started crying," Salahi said on NBC's 'Today' on Thursday, "because now I have someone that I don't even know, I'm a guest of their show, and they're berating me" with expletives.

When Wednesday's broadcast was over, Goldberg said, "I was told that she thought I hit her. So I went up to her and I told her that she KNEW I didn't hit her. And yeah, you know how I said it: choice words."During the ruckus, Salahi's husband began filming the scene with his cell phone.

"Needless to say, I really went off, then. And there was even more, choicer words. I mean, they were so choice you could have cut'em with a knife and eaten them," Goldberg added.

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Subpoena for Toyota Over Defects in Steering

A federal grand jury in New York has subpoenaed Toyota Motor, seeking information on steering-related defects in its vehicles. The move could widen an investigation into the automaker’s handling of a recall in 2005.

In a short filing on Tuesday with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Toyota said the subpoena, received by subsidiaries in the United States on June 29, had demanded documents about defects in steering relay rods in the company’s cars.

Toyota intended to “cooperate earnestly” with investigations, the filing said. Toyota had already received two subpoenas this year, one from a grand jury in February for documents related to sudden acceleration and braking and one from the Michigan attorney general in March for information on recalls.

It was not immediately clear what defects — or which models or production years — the latest subpoena concerned. Ririko Takeuchi, a spokeswoman for Toyota based in Tokyo, said the automaker was still clarifying details of the subpoena.

Earlier this year, American regulators said they were investigating a 2005 Toyota recall — for a steering-related problem in vehicles including 4Runners — in connection with a possible breach of rules for alerting the authorities about flaws.

The Transportation Department said in May that it was investigating the timing of the September 2005 recall for steering relay rod defects after an October 2004 recall in Japan for the same flaw. Under American law, carmakers have five days to report safety problems to regulators.


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Subpoenas Continue For Terri Horman's Friends

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Another friend of Terri Horman has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury this week as the investigation into 7-year-old Kyron Horman's disappearance reached its 61st day.

Chelsea Aleshire, who identified herself as a close friend to Terri Horman, said she will appear in court Thursday. Aleshire spoke to Terri Horman on the day Kyron disappeared from Skyline School, but at the time they spoke, Aleshire was not aware that Kyron was missing, she said.

She has not spoken to Terri Horman since then, she said.

Aleshire is at least the second of Terri Horman's friends to have been subpoenaed. Eight days ago, DeDe Spicher appeared before the grand jury. Sources have said Spicher did not answer any questions. Kyron's birth parents, Kaine Horman and Desiree Young, have suggested she's not cooperating with the investigators.

Jim McIntyre, a former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney who is not involved in the case, said the grand jury is a tool for investigators to question people under oath.

"In Oregon, you can talk to police officers all day long and as long as you're not providing them with false information about date of birth, you can lie. And it's not a crime," McIntyre said. "But put somebody in front of a grand jury and put them under oath, then if they start to lie, there starts to be some serious consequences."

In Multnomah County, McIntyre said grand juries are comprised of seven people selected from the jury pool. They listen to witness testimony and can issue an indictment if at least five of the seven agree.The grand jury proceedings are secret, and details about the subject of discussion are unknown.

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Arrest Warrant Issued for Process Server

LAS VEGAS -- An arrest warrant has been issued for a process server accused of falsifying paperwork in dozens of cases and potentially hundreds more, in what police called a scheme to defraud the courts.

Former Las Vegas Metro police officer Maurice Carroll is wanted by police for 35 counts of perjury, false filing of paperwork and obtaining money under false pretenses. Metro says he said he served people with legal papers, but didn't.

Carroll runs On Scene Mediations out of a North Las Vegas home. The criminal complaint said he admitted to officers he lied on affidavits and falsified work. That has caused problems in an unknown number of cases at the Regional Justice Center and potentially in District Court.

Defendants lost cases because they had not been notified could try to overturn judgments.

One of those already going through that trouble is Alan Wood. He's racked up $20,000 fighting what amounted to be a $700 charge for a medical bill. All it seems because of improper paperwork.

The fallout even reached his work. "My payroll department called me one day and said, 'Hey, you know, we just got a judgment and a garnishment against you,' and I said, 'That's impossible. I've never been to court,'" he said.

These mistakes can continue until keen-eyed workers at the court sort through the hundreds of old and pending cases trying to see if Carroll's firm had anything to do with them.

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