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Friday, August 15, 2008
NEW
YORK
(AP)
—
Former
Justice
Department
officials
will
not
face
prosecution
for
letting
improper
considerations
such
as
sexual
orientation
drive
hirings
of
government
lawyers,
Attorney
General
Michael
Mukasey
said
this
week.
Mukasey
used
his
sharpest
words
yet
to
criticize
the
senior
leaders
who
took
part
in
or
failed
to
stop
illegal
hiring
practices
during
the
tenure
of
his
predecessor,
Alberto
Gonzales.
But,
he
told
delegates
to
the
American
Bar
Association
annual
meeting,
“not
every
wrong,
or
even
every
violation
of
the
law,
is
a
crime.”
In
these
instances,
Mukasey
said,
“only
violations
of
the
civil
service
laws”
were
found.
A
recently
released
investigation
found
that
Monica
Goodling,
once
senior
counsel
to
Gonzales,
told
subordinates
in
2006
that
she
denied
extending
an
appointment
of
former
Assistant
U.S.
Attorney
Leslie
Hagen
of
Michigan
to
a
post
at
the
Justice
Department
in
Washington
because
she
disapproved
of
Hagen’s
sexual
orientation.
Maryland
high
court
to
review
challenge
of
transgender
law
ANNAPOLIS
—
Maryland’s
high
court
will
soon
determine
whether
a
transgender
rights
law
can
be
put
up
for
public
vote.
The
Court
of
Appeals
agreed
this
week
to
review
a
lower
court’s
ruling
that
the
law
must
go
to
voters
because
gay
organizations
were
“too
late”
in
their
attempts
to
block
a
referendum
that
challenges
the
law.
Gay
activists
have
noted
that
if
the
law
goes
to
voters
for
approval,
it
would
mark
the
nation’s
first
referendum
on
transgender
rights.
Passed
unanimously
by
Montgomery
County
Council
members
last
year,
the
law
bars
“discrimination
in
housing,
employment,
public
accommodations,
cable
television
service
and
taxicab
service
on
the
basis
of
gender
identity.”
It
was
set
to
go
into
effect
earlier
this
year,
but
was
suspended
after
opponents
collected
more
than
32,000
signatures
to
force
a
referendum.
The
high
court
will
hear
the
case
Sept.
8.
Alleged
killer
of
gay
teen
could
be
imprisoned
for
life
VENTURA,
Calif.
(AP)
—
A
14-year-old
boy
has
pleaded
not
guilty
to
the
murder
of
his
gay
classmate.
Brandon
McInerney
entered
the
plea
Aug.
7
in
a
Ventura
County
Superior
Court.
McInerney
is
charged
as
an
adult
with
first-degree
murder
and
a
hate
crime
for
the
Feb.
12
fatal
shooting
of
15-year-old
Larry
King
at
their
junior
high
school
in
Oxnard.
King
sometimes
wore
makeup
and
told
friends
he
was
gay.
Defense
attorney
William
Quest
said
in
court
that
he
expected
his
client
would
die
in
prison
if
convicted
on
the
severe
charges.
McInerney
faces
51
years
to
life
without
the
possibility
of
parole
if
convicted.
Prosecutors
said
they
had
no
plans
to
change
the
charge.
“We
believe
the
crime
is
charged
appropriately,”
said
Chief
Assistant
District
Attorney
James
Ellison.
McGreevey
owes
child
support,
no
alimony
following
divorce
TRENTON,
N.J.
(AP)
—
Former
New
Jersey
Gov.
James
McGreevey
doesn’t
have
to
pay
alimony
to
his
ex-wife,
a
judge
ruled
Aug.
8
in
granting
the
couple’s
divorce
after
a
tumultuous
marriage
that
crumbled
publicly
when
McGreevey
acknowledged
he
was
a
“gay
American.”
A
superior
court
judge
ruled
that
McGreevey,
the
nation’s
first
openly
gay
governor,
must
pay
$250
a
week,
or
$1,075
a
month,
in
child
support
for
his
6-year-old
daughter
with
Dina
Matos.
Matos
had
asked
for
$2,500
a
month
alimony
for
four
years
and
$1,700
a
month
in
child
support.
The
couple
share
custody
of
the
girl.
McGreevey,
now
studying
for
the
seminary,
testified
during
the
couple’s
contentious
divorce
trial
that
he
is
too
poor
to
pay
alimony.
The
couple
formally
separated
in
February
2005,
three
months
after
he
left
office.
California
judge
could
face
tough
2010
battle
to
keep
seat
SAN
FRANCISCO
(AP)
—
California
Chief
Justice
Ronald
George
has
spent
more
than
half
his
life
cultivating
an
image
of
a
cautious
jurist
and
earning
a
reputation
as
a
politically
skilled
court
administrator.
But
his
unlikely
legacy
as
a
gay
rights
pioneer
was
sealed
May
15,
when
he
heard
the
roar
of
a
crowd
gathered
below
his
office
as
his
majority
decision
legalizing
same-sex
marriage
was
announced.
Now,
the
law-and-order
supporter
of
capital
punishment
is
enduring
from
gay
marriage
foes
the
very
complaints
of
“judicial
activism”
he
has
worked
so
hard
to
avoid
during
his
17
years
on
the
high
court
and
34
years
as
a
California
judge.
He
will
likely
have
to
mount
an
aggressive
and
expensive
campaign
to
retain
his
seat
in
the
2010
election.
Political
conservatives
are
vowing
to
organize
a
campaign
to
oust
him
because
of
the
decision,
though
they
haven’t
formally
started
raising
money.
From
staff
and
wire
reports
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