Court gives 'Crazy Joe' 11th-hour reprieve; a lawyer makes his case in the press, convincing hard-bitten editors of client's innocence

Article Abstract:

Gov Lawton Chiles of Florida granted condemned prisoner Joseph Spaziano a stay of execution on Sept 12, 1995, following intense media pressure orchestrated by his pro bono attorney, Vermont Law School Prof Michael Mello. Spaziano was tried in 1975 and convicted in the 1973 rape-torture slaying of Laura Lynn Harberts, based purely on the testimony of Anthony DiLisio. Mello brought the case to the attention of Miami Herald editor Gene Miller, and eventually DiLisio told a Herald reporter he made up the story under police pressure.

Political aspects, Biography, Media coverage, Capital punishment, Stays of execution, proceedings, etc., Stays (Law), Spaziano, Joseph

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Fla. high court OKs smoke ban; citing health care costs, it says employees' right to privacy doesn't include smoking - even at home

Article Abstract:

The Supreme Court of Florida on Apr 21, 1995, overturned an appeals court reversal of a judge's decision in favor of the city of North Miami, which does not accept job applicants who smoke at all. The city based its argument on the added costs of caring for a smoker, $4,611 per year on average, as it pays all insurance costs for its employees. The 5-2 ruling went against Arlene Kurtz, whom the American Civil Liberties Union represented. The ACLU has requested a rehearing, and the city's regulation is temporarily in abeyance.

Laws, regulations and rules, Smoking

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Judge: 37 years of school case is enough; but original plaintiffs and allies fear backsliding in long-running Florida dispute

Article Abstract:

US District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich recently ordered parties to Manning v Hillsborough County School District, filed in 1958, to take steps ending court supervision. Plaintiffs argue that only such supervision prevents backsliding into de facto segregation, and that race-conscious busing is needed to help bring white students into primarily black, inner-city schools. Judge Kovachevich's order seems to reflect Chief Justice William H Rehnquist's comments in MO v Jenkins, urging local control of districts.

United States, Management, School integration, School districts

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