Ky Law News Weekly Wrap-up: Sept. 17-23 , 2007

Top Legal Stories this past week from Kentucky

• Former Beshear firm paid $100,000 for ethics investigation
  The law firm where Steve Beshear once worked paid more than $100,000 to cover the costs of an ethics investigation into its work related to the liquidation of Kentucky Central Life Insurance, a newspaper reported on Saturday.  The firm, Stites & Harbison, paid the bill even though none of its lawyers ever saw the 1995 report containing the probe's final conclusions, the law office's managing partner told the Lexington Herald-Leader.  Kennedy Helm III also said Friday that regardless of what the report may say, the firm's work was ethical.
• Girl's recovery slow after feet severed on thrill ride

  The parents of a 13-year-old girl whose feet were severed on a Louisville theme park ride say her recovery three months later remains slow.
• Execution on hold; community remembers pain of lawmen's slaying

  As Ralph Baze awaits decisions on appeals for his life, a quiet community along the foothills of Appalachia is still waiting for his death.
• Execs: We were never warned

  In the two days before Louise Ogborn was strip-searched and sexually abused at the Mount Washington McDonald's, two regional supervisors were in the store, grading employees to ensure that customers were served quickly and that food was handled safely.
• Jurors in hoax case see video of ordeal

  One juror appeared to wipe a tear from her eye and a couple of others shook their heads yesterday as they watched a security video showing Louise Ogborn being sexually abused at the Mount Washington McDonald's in 2004.
• Fen-phen judge won't step down
A federal judge will not step down from a case in which he ordered three suspended lawyers to jail while they await trial on charges that they bilked former clients out of millions of dollars.
• Hoax victim testifies in civil lawsuit against McDonald's

  Louise Ogborn sat on the witness stand, at times in tears. She answered questions about being stripped, searched and sexually assaulted for more than three hours in the manager's office of a McDonald's restaurant in Mount Washington, sometimes speaking in detail. She talked about her life in the three years since that incident. "I lost my faith on April 9, 2004," Ogborn said Thursday. "I prayed and prayed, and it kept getting worse."
• Strip search leaves scars, psychiatrist testifies

  A 21-year-old woman suffers from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder after being strip-searched at a McDonald's in 2004, a psychiatrist testified yesterday. Dr. Stuart Grassian of Boston said Louise Ogborn's symptoms stemming from the incident will never fully go away.  "What you see right now is pretty much what you're going to get," Grassian said. 
• Psychiatrist testifies hoax victim still suffering

  A psychiatrist from Boston has testified at the civil trial against McDonald's in Bullitt County that strip search victim Louise Ogborn is suffering from chronic post traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Stuart Grassian also said Ogborn was severely depressed after the incident, but has recovered from that.
• Assistant manager's case next for McDonald's

  Update on the McDonald's phone hoax case in Shepherdsville.
• Judge jails man for wearing 'inappropriate' shirt to court
  A western Kentucky man spent the night in jail for wearing an inappropriate T-shirt to court. McCracken District Judge Chris Hollowell said he was conveying a message Tuesday when he sent James Hinman to jail for wearing what he felt was an obscene shirt to court.

Other Kentucky legal headlines

• Ky. Supreme Court lets stay of execution stand
• E. Kentucky Power to pay $11.4 million penalty in clean air case
• Rowan's display OK; Garrard's isn't
• Harrison County may pay $30,000 in federal lawsuit
• Breastfeeding not popular in Kentucky
• Patron asked to move is suing the Bristol
• Ky. public defenders taxed by caseloads, official warns
• 'Intent' affects display rulings

Local law blog postings

• When is business litigation like making stew? When all else failed: Bluegrass business law blog
• More On Evolving Paternity Law DIV. LAW JOURNAL
• Courts - More on "Transcripts of Federal Court Proceedings Nationwide To Be Available Online" IND. LAW BLOG
• Courts - "Transcripts of Federal Court Proceedings Nationwide To Be Available Online" IND. LAW BLOG
• Appeals Court Discusses Jurisdiction over Nonresidents and Forum Non Conveniens KY TORT AND INS. LAW BLOG
• John G. Prather, Sr. War Hero and one of states Leading Lawyers Passes On. LAWREADER
• Speaker Richards Prefiles New DUI Bill to Toughen Penalties LAWREADER
• Is an Attorney that Commits Legal Malpractice Entitled to a Credit POPPE LAW BLOG