Sept. 17 OHIO: KSU Professor Sues Court For Information----Professor Seeking Information Considered Public Record A Kent State University professor has sued the top trial judge in Cleveland and the clerk of courts to force release of information on jurors who served in death-penalty cases. Thomas Brewer, a justice studies professor, filed the lawsuit Thursday with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. He asked the 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals in Cleveland to order Presiding Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge Richard McMonagle and Clerk of Courts Gerald Fuerst to release juror names and other information about them for a research project. State and U.S. constitutions clearly establish that the information is public record, Brewer's suit said. Brewer and a team of graduate students plan to ask scores of Ohio jurors who served on cases involving the death penalty to take part in three-hour interviews about their experience. Researchers have pledged to keep participating jurors anonymous. Among other things, the researchers will look for differences in the way white and nonwhite jurors view the process and reach verdicts. The Ohio Commission on Racial Fairness is among the study sponsors. Chief Justice Thomas Moyer of the Ohio Supreme Court sent letters to judges asking them to cooperate. Every court Brewer contacted has cooperated except Cuyahoga, he said. McMonagle said he hadn't seen the lawsuit and would leave it up to the prosecutor's office, which serves as the local court system's attorney, to file a response. (source: The Associated Press) NEW JERSEY: Hoffman faces death penalty trial The death penalty will be sought against a 43-year-old Vineland man after a grand jury came back with a 6-count indictment Wednesday charging him with fatally shooting his wife and stepdaughter. These charges against Kurt Hoffman stem from a Sept. 1, 2003, incident where he allegedly shot Joyce Hoffman and her 22-year-old daughter, Beth Rychlicki. "In this case, the grand jurors looked at this and thought the death of (Hoffman's wife) was done to prevent apprehension," Prosecutor Ronald Casella said Thursday. "The death of the stepdaughter was found to be in an inhumane manner." It used to be up to the prosecutor's office to determine if the death penalty would be sought, but a state Supreme Court ruling back in February decided to leave that decision in the hands of the grand jury. Grand jurors determined this week that Kurt Hoffman allegedly committed the murder of his wife to "escape detection, apprehension, trial, punishment or confinement with another offense committed by the defendant." In the other death, they ruled Hoffman, "committed the murder of Beth Rychlicki while the defendant was engaged in the commission of ... the murder of Joyce Hoffman." They also determined he committed the murder in an "outrageously" or "inhuman manner," according to the indictment. "We know that the grand jury certainly considered its duty very seriously," Casella said. "It's a very solemn matter to have to consider the factors which lead to determination of a capital case." Police responded to a 9-1-1 call from the family's Diamond Drive home last year after Hoffman's wife stated her husband threatened her with a gun, according to Casella. "While she was talking to the dispatcher, a gunshot was heard in the background and then silence," Casella stated. Vineland Police surrounded the home and eventually convinced Hoffman to put the .32-caliber handgun down, Casella said. His wife died at the scene as a result of 2 shots to the head and Rychlicki died a short time later at Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center after suffering a single gunshot wound to the head. "We take all cases of domestic violence extremely seriously," Casella said. "Unfortunately, this case is the ultimate case of domestic violence, which led to the death of 2 individuals." Besides 2 counts of 1st-degree murder, Hoffman was indicted for 2nd-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, 3rd-degree terroristic threats and 2 counts of 4th-degree aggravated assault. Hoffman is the 3rd person in Cumberland County currently facing the death penalty, with the other 2 also involving alleged cases of domestic violence. A 4th one originally considered a capital murder case has not been re-presented to the grand jury since the Supreme Court ruling. Hoffman remains in Cumberland County Jail in lieu of $500,000 cash or bond bail. (source: Bridgeton News) SOUTH CAROLINA: Attorneys say man on death row for killing York Co. deputy not competent to drop appeals Attorneys for a man on death row for killing a York County Sheriff's deputy say the man is not competent to drop his remaining appeals. Mar-Reece Hughes, 38, was convicted in 1995 of killing York County Sheriff's Deputy Brent McCants during a traffic stop in 1992. Hughes' death penalty sentence was later upheld by the Supreme Court. 2 years ago a judge found him competent to decide to drop all appeals and be executed. Teresa Norris with the Center for Capital Litigation in Columbia says Hughes' mental condition has deteriorated in the past 2 years. Norris says Hughes should be evaluated again to determine if he is competent. She says even if he was competent in 2002, it doesn't mean he is competent now. (source: Associated Press)
