Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 17, 1994 TAG: 9412190074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RICHMOND - Attorney General Jim Gilmore, who usually defends state agencies, filed legal papers Friday opposing the University of Virginia in its funding dispute with a student-run Christian magazine.
In a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, Gilmore argued that UVa's refusal to financially support Wide Awake magazine ``distorts the ideal of free inquiry and open debate to which the university was dedicated by its founder,'' Thomas Jefferson.
Gilmore said that although the university is a state-supported institution and ordinarily would be his client, state law allows the attorney general to act independently to uphold the Constitution.
The university will continue to be represented by its counsel, James J. Mingle.
- Associated Press
Derailed passengers sued for legal costs
NEWPORT NEWS - Many of the passengers injured in a 1992 Amtrak train derailment still are paying medical bills. Now, Amtrak wants them to help pay the railroad's legal bills.
The 60 injured passengers sued Amtrak, but lost their court case and walked away with no compensation. Amtrak has billed the plaintiffs in the lawsuit a total of nearly $10,000 to recoup part of the defense costs.
``We're not trying to be mean,'' Amtrak attorney David C. Bowen said. ``Any business that doesn't attempt to recoup its costs when it is entitled to is not a very good business. We're not in business to lose money.''
But to passengers, Amtrak's demand seems heartless.
- Associated Press
Man arrested after in-flight disturbance
NORFOLK - A New York man was arrested after he declared he was God and tried to open the door of an American Airlines plane while it was en route from New York City to Puerto Rico.
Jose Antonio Torres, a resident alien from the Dominican Republic, was arrested Thursday by FBI agents shortly after the plane made an emergency landing at Norfolk International Airport.
Torres was charged with interfering with flight personnel, a federal offense with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to the FBI, Torres attacked another passenger and attempted to open an exit door while the plane was in flight. He was calmed down by flight attendants and passengers.
At a preliminary hearing Friday, a federal magistrate ordered Torres to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
- Associated Press
by CNB