Settlement of $3.9 million for unpaid wages to be given to California workers

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/06/2007 -- The total amount of payment include the penalties for waiting time of the employees due to Wal-Mart's late payment of their final wages. Specifically according to the terms stipulated in the settlement agreement, the waiting time penalties will be given for employees who are no longer in the employ of the company but have left without receiving their overtime payments yet.

Many have already been provided with their checks including the overtime payments and interests. Remaining payments are yet to be issued, as stipulated in the agreement, in 45 days time.

As part of the agreement, Wal-Mart also agreed to pay civil penalties to the state government of California amounting to $198,900. The payments concern every worker from California that was employed at Wal-Mart from February 1, 2002 to January 19, 2007.

According to Commissioner Bradstreet, she was quite pleased with the results or turn out of the settlement agreement. She declared this, "On behalf of the 50,000 workers who were inadvertently underpaid overtime and other wages."

Furthermore, she ensured that all of the workers from California are compensated fully and completely on all of the payments in overtime, penalties and interests owed by Wal-Mart to them. They are seeing to it that all of the pending payments will be provided for, as agreed upon.

It was during the early months of 2005 when Wal-Mart advised the State of California Labor Commissioner in a voluntary manner that it has experienced errors in the payroll processes. This has resulted in underpayment of its employees' overtime and the other wages due.

Along with the notification, Wal-Mart also assured that it has serious intentions of correcting the problems they have been encountering in the payroll calculation. It is also committed to pay all of the workers that have been affected by such problems for every penny they have failed to pay.

Commissioner Bradstreet enthused that they have always encouraged voluntary observance with the labor laws of California. She added, "By its actions in this case, Wal-Mart has set a positive example for other employers who may be out of compliance because it illustrates how they can work with us to properly compensate workers as well as meet legal requirements."

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An assembly of reporters, together with members of their family, filed charges against Hewlett-Packard Co. and its two former executives. These journalists and their families have been subject to the technological giant's boardroom surveillance system. As part of the spying scheme, HP obtained their confidential telephone records in secret.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/05/2007 -- On Wednesday, five individual lawsuits were filed by the reporters and their families in the San Francisco Superior Court. The suit claimed of "illegal and reprehensible conduct" by the Hewlett-Packard Palo Alto Office, former Chairwoman Patricia Dunn and former chief in ethics, Kevin Husaker.

Three reporters of News.com, from the online media firm, CNET Networks Inc. namely Dawn Kawamoto, Stephen Shankland and Tom Krazit together with one The Assciated Press reporter and Shankland's wife, Rachel Konrad form the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Other plaintiffs were John Kawamoto, Kawamoto's husband, Thomas, and Rebecca Shankland, Shankland's parents.

Both of the said former HP executives were ousted from the company a year before. This is due to their separate involvement in HP's investigations regarding unauthorized leaks seeping out to the media.

The said investigations instigated by the top PC-seller in the world turned out to become a national scandal. It had developed coarsely so that congressional hearings and criminal investigations were undergone with regards to HP investigator's utilization of identification numbers issued by the Social Security Administration and other personal/confidential information just to deceive phone companies and compel them to hand over private call records.

The journalists and their family members' lawsuits charged the defendants with unfair business practices, deliberate infliction of emotional anguish and invasion of privacy. They are seeking for a trial with jury present. They have not determined the damages to be sought.

One of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, Kevin Boyle gave a statement to the media that they filed the lawsuits in order to ensure that circumstances such as those allegedly done by the HP and its executives never happen again.

According to a statement made by HP concerning the lawsuits, they have issued sincere apologies to the people who had been affected by the spying scheme. Along with the apology, they also offered a "substantial" offer for settlement.

However, they also issued a statement regarding the lawsuit, saying that they were disappointed of the reporters' actions and they will have to defend the company.

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In an attempt to engender the federal government's liability in its failure to prevent the September 11 terrorist attacks, the airline companies being sued by victims filed complaints seeking testimonies from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/04/2007 -- The separate complaints all seek for the testimony to be made by two members of the U.S. CIA unit, which was in charge of the investigation on Osama Bin Laden.

Likewise, they also seek for five former and current agents of the FBI who have been in charge on the al Qaeda investigations.

The seven airline companies, including the American Airlines and United Airlines, are facing charges made by several relatives of the 9/11 attack victims. The American Airlines is under the management of AMR Corp. and the United Airlines, UAL Corp., respectively.

They are facing personal injury and wrongful death claims and may become liable to pay for damages, thus their intent to direct culpability to the federal government.

According to the airlines' arguments, as they seek for the FBI and CIA's testimonies, "the inability of the federal agencies to detect and stop the plot is a more significant causal circumstance of the terrorist attacks than any allegedly negligent conduct of the aviation parties."

Furthermore, the complaints also noted that both U.S. agencies have previously given public statements regarding intelligence information that their agents in charge of the 9/11 investigations are aware of. Recently, however, they are preventing said agents from being subject to questionings.

The complaints also argue the fact that the air carriers have less intelligence information regarding the suspected hijackers being in the country as compared to the advanced knowledge of FBI and CIA.

Both agencies failed to warn the airlines of the names of two 9/11 hijackers, being potential threats then. They also failed to make an important reminder for the airlines to mark the names Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi, the suspected hijackers, on any of the "no-fly" lists.

FBI's Special Agent Richard Kolko and CIA's spokesperson George Little gave statements that they would not offer any comment regarding ongoing litigations, though.

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A steady increase in the number of accounted dog bite incidents has been noted during the recent years in Hawaii. The number has reached up to more than 1,000 dog bite cases annually. This condition raised the potential of more lawsuits to be filed against citizens who are dog owners. It is noted that in Hawaii, lawsuits involving dog bites have already generated awards of more than $350,000 from out-of-court settlements.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/27/2007 -- In the national level, records show that dogs have bitten a total of 4.7 million or more people. From this number, a dozen were killed from the dog rabies and around 800,000 have sought medical attention every year. This is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Particularly in Hawaii, there were 1,179 people who were treated in the previous year, a number which showed an increase from the 966 people last 2003. The state's Department of Health reported this apparent increase.

During the past sixteen years, three people have been killed due to a dog bite.

During a recent survey by the Hawaiian Humane Society, in Oahu, about 225,000 dogs abound, which may be a huge factor that most cases of dog bites in the state occur in this area. However, the rate of dog bites occurring among residents is much higher on the Big Island and Kaua'i. This was taken from statistics as compiled by Dan Galanis, an epidemiologist of the state's Department of Health.

The judiciary has not segregated the dog bite lawsuits. This may account for the difficulty in determining the percentage of dog bite lawsuits among the 653 suits that involves non motor vehicle persona injuries filed during the last fiscal year at the Circuit Court.

A rough estimate was given by Robert Kawamura, a lawyer from Honolulu with significant experience in representing dog bite victims and dog owners, declaring that dog bite cases account to about 3 percent of all the cases in personal injury.

There are differences among the states in the handling of dog bite lawsuits.

In a 1986 landmark court decision, the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals rejected the "one-free-bite" rule, which is being implemented in about 18 states in the country. It also rejected the rule imposing strict liability for the dog owners. This means that the dog owner will always be held liable for any bites made by his or her dog. This concept was rejected because the owner may not be held responsible in case his or her dog bites a trespasser.

The court also noted that although a strict liability is imposed for owners of animals that are known by their nature or species to be dangerous, dogs are not included in such category since the court maintained, "Dogs are not wild, dangerous or vicious by their species or nature."

The court also ruled that the dog bite victim does not need to show that the owner knew of his or her dog was vicious. This decision aims to determine whether there was negligence on the part of the dog owner in preventing or controlling his or her dog from biting unsuspecting people.

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In a whistle-blowing case in Miami, Florida, certified neurosurgeon, Linda I. Bland and the hospital administration where she was employed agreed to reimburse the government with the outstanding amount of $1.275 million for their illicit medical performances on several Medicare patients.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/24/2007 -- The U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami has revealed, last Thursday, that the Federal Government has indeed received a the $1.275 million worth of settlement by Bland and the hospital.

Whistleblower Thomas Gayeski filed a case against Linda I. Bland for performing over 150 unwarranted surgeries to spinal cord injury patients under the Medicare program. Gayeski also ascertained the name and location of the hospital where Bland performed her unnecessary acts and the period when these happened.

The whistle-blowing case was considered as a very unusual feat by a medical practitioner accusing his colleague of her misdeed, stated by Kenneth W. Goodman, the bioethics program director of University of Miami. Goodman further affirmed that there was actually some reluctance in identifying these threats.

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said in his prepared report that these unnecessary surgeries are not fraudulent, but unconsciously exposed patients to needless medical risks.

Acosta added that they would assert all their efforts to indict those health care professionals who would be caught ordering and performing unnecessary medical routines that jeopardized the health and safety of the public and steal from the government's insufficient Medicare system funds.

On the other hand, Gayeski said that he has previously filed a complaint to the hospital board before bringing the case in court. However, the hospital administrators have disregarded his plea. "Bland's performance of unwarranted spinal surgeries evolved into a routine custom, pattern and practice," he declared.

The hospital's lawyer, Gabriel Imperato, contradicted this statement by affirming that the hospital administration has no prior knowledge of these unnecessary surgeries. If such complaint, regarding to Bland's actions, was made, Gayeski failed to include the unnecessary procedures undergone by the accused. He even took part frequently on these surgeries and he has only decided to file charges upon his separation from the hospital, added by Imperato.

Nevertheless, the case has lead to a fair settlement wherein the Bland and the said hospital paid $350,000 and $925,000 respectively. This does not include Gayeski's professional fees that cost $40,000, which should be paid by the wrongdoers. In addition, Gayeski has gained $230,000 in financial rewards for revealing such illegal acts.

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As of this date, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has set a record backlog on disability appeals filed by members. It is said that an outstanding number of unresolved cases has reached 745,000. Moreover, the waiting period for the approval of a disability claim has increased to 17 months prior to the filing date. These lengthy waits for the social security disability claimants may be one of the causes that lead to unpleasant circumstances in their lives. The delay in social security disability benefits caused bankruptcies, foreclosures of properties, addiction to drinks and drugs. Others, also suffered from depression, couples underwent divorce due to financial troubles and some even attempted suicide due to the succession of long waits and denials.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/23/2007 -- Alarmingly, the SSA explained that this backlog in expected to double in a period of six years. It could increase to a million by the year 2010. In some other states and cities, the applicants must wait for more than a two and a half year period before the agency hand over its initial decision on their appeals.

Among the 2.5 million annual disability claimants who filed their initial petitions to the SSA, more or less 65% are denied. A little less than two thirds of this number will be granted finally, according to the most recent statistics.

Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue affirmed that most of the disabled claimants have died even before their scheduled hearing. However, he expressed intent to make the process of filing of disability claims easier for the members. He is going to introduce an advancing simpler system for significant cases, especially cancer patients.

Furthermore, to widen the coverage of the Social Security services offered, the able commissioner is implementing a program update and expansion of the list of illnesses covered to be eligible. He is also setting up a national office where advanced electronic based hearings can be made. This method, he says, will ease the backlogs in some of the greatly affected states in the country, particularly in Atlanta.

In his attempt to push through with these helpful programs, Astrue declared that the U.S. Congress fell short on giving budget to the agency for the past six years. Their financial resources are limited, $1 billion less than what was desired by the president. He also admitted that he could not tell straight to the Congress that they are doing well, at this time, as they are supposed to do.

Astrue announced that these actions are not sufficient to break off the increasing backlog due to our aging population. "Social Security projects cases to grow about 90,000 annually over the next five years. That means that the backlog could hit one million in 2010," he stated. He also believes that there is no easy way to resolve this issue.

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In his statement released yesterday, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. asked the public to examine their vehicle tires carefully and see if there are damages on it. He said that a Chinese tire manufacturing company, Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd., have distributed their allegedly substandard products tagged as Compass, Vesta, Westlake, YKS, Telluride, Milestone or Goodride. These tires were said to be assembled between 2002 and 2004 and distributed across the United States.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/22/2007 -- According to the reports that were filed by the Foreign Tire Sales, Inc. and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, some of the tires that were sold in the market do no not meet the set product standards and specifications. These tires, they affirmed can cause serious dangers to the lives of the motorists utilizing it.

Among the 450,000 imported tire pieces that were distributed all over the United States, it is said that around 270,000 have been proven deficient or lacking in what they call as "gum strips". This vital tire component prevents tire threads from separating. Thus, Brown reiterated his call for the people to check their tires for possible thread separation and be ready for future recall of these defective tires early this month.

The following tire sizes and specifications have been detected with serious damages. It is highly recommended to check them with your dealers, said Brown.

LT225/75R-16 CR 861
LT235/75R-15 CR861 CR857
LT235/85-16 CR 860 CR861 CF857
LT245/75R-16 CR860 CR861 CR857
LT265/75R-16 CR860 CR861 CR857
LT310X10.5-15 CR861 CR857

To be certain about tire specifications, it is necessary to check the side of the product. There will be an indication of the tire's DOT number and brand name, and its size and model. The public is also encouraged to visit FTS's web site for further information.

AG Brown also calls the dealers to impart free inspections on their tires for the safety and interest of the people. He further stated that the vehicle owners must do their part and avoid long distance travel and overloading.

For inquiries in case of inspected tire damages, people may call Attorney Brown's Public Inquiry Unit at (800) 952-5225. Moreover, to report accidents that incurred injuries, particularly caused by unsafe tires, dial the NHTSA's toll-free hotline at 1-800-424-9153.

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A new study on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was released by the New England Journal of Medicine or NEJM showing results in the use of some antidepressants in the course of pregnancy. According to the study, the use of these antidepressants during certain stages in pregnancy, like in particular, the "selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors or widely known as the SSRIs, have not significant effect on the increase in risk of having birth defects.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/21/2007 -- The study was entitled "Use of Selective Serotonin-Reuptake Inhibitors in Pregnancy and the Risk of Birth Defects." It has discovered that there are few or no significant increase involved in the threats of acquiring most birth defects during the time all of the SSRIs have been studied simultaneously.

The findings of the study includes birth defect risks like congenital heart disease, which was once associated with the use of SSRI in earlier studies. However, researchers have also found out that there were associations between the use of SSRI and three definite defects in birth. These defects involve the brain, one kind of abnormality in development of the skull and in the gastrointestinal organ.

According to CDC's epidemiologist, Jennita Reefhuis, the overall results of their studies were generally encouraging, especially regarding the issue of antidepressants use for the duration of pregnancy. Reefhuis is also among the group of authors that spearheaded the study.

Reefhuis further stipulated that it is known that the mother and infant both benefit once the pregnant women who has critical depressive illness manages to stay with certain treatment. The threats have differences according to various SSRIs and categorization of women.

Reefhuis stated that it is important for the pregnant women to discuss the benefits and risks of SSRI medication during the time of their pregnancy. She also noted that even if their study have found some association between the increased threat of having three explicit birth defects associated with SSRI use, the increase are actually minimal and were not discovered previously on studies concerning same issue.

A second SSRI study in connection with birth defects that was published by NEJM on June 28 that has not found any such association with overall birth defects. On the other hand, it found important connections between certain SSRIs and a number of birth defects.

Reefhuis declared that for every pregnancy there is a 3 percent risk of having defects during birth, without regard to exposures to antidepressants. There is a lifetime risk for women to acquire major depression by 10 – 25 percent. The highest prevalence of this is when they are in their childbearing years of during 18 – 44 years old.

The CDC has intentions of continuing their study the associations of SSRI and risks of birth defects in order to shed light on whether there is a true risk existing with the antidepressant use while pregnant.

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The issue of clergy sexual abuse was again fired up in Los Angeles after a former priest of the Roman Catholic sect was arrested on charges of child molestation last Tuesday. This is incidentally five years after the previous allegations of sexual abuse have been thrown out due to a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court canceling a statute of limitations extension in California for such cases, as prosecutors have claimed. Sixty-nine years old George Miller was charged with alleged sexual abuse of a boy during the period of March 1988 up to March 1991. These incidents happened when Miller had been assigned as priest in Pacoima's Guardian Angel Church, Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/20/2007 -- The following facts of the case was released through a statement from the district attorney's office.

Miller's arrest came approximately a week following the $660 million civil settlement on the claims of 500 and more alleged clergy abuse victims, made by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Upon announcing Miller's arrest, the District Attorney Steve Cooley declared that they their promised investigations regarding the alleged sexual abuse or molestations of minors committed by priests are already underway.

According to the prosecutors, the victim was just a boy of 5 years old when Miller had met him. The boy's mother was befriended by Miller and resulted to the frequent visits of the priests in the home of the boy's family. Eventually, the friendship and familiarity that developed made way for the priest being able to take the victim out for overnight trips.

The charges on Miller were three counts of felony for lewd acts on a child and three counts of sodomy of a person under the age of 14. He was also held on a bail bond of $600,000. Miller would likely face 18 years imprisonment once he becomes convicted for all of the charges.

The arraignment on the case was scheduled on Wednesday in the San Fernando Superior Court.

Steven Cron, Miller's attorney did not supply immediate information or declaration regarding the case. He also did not return a message by phone during Tuesday when sought for comments regarding his client's arrest.

The alleged victim was given high praises and ensured with support by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Their spokesperson, Barbara Dorris also said that they are hoping to encourage and inspire others to speak up, avail of help and have the law weigh down upon those guilty for such incidences.

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The dock clerks of the United States' biggest port complex came to a tentative agreement with their employers regarding a new employment contract on Thursday. Even if it was just provisional, the contract had served as a measure to prevent a strike to occur. If the employee's had staged a strike due to dead end in negotiations, it could have caused such crippling effects on the nation's shipping activities. If a strike would happen on this principal port, billions of dollars would be lost, according to a negotiator in the agreement.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/17/2007 -- Steve Berry, member of the negotiating panel representing the shippers said that the employers were gratified that the port workers' union acknowledged the sizeable investment made by the employers. Consequently, this became a major reason for their acceptance of the employers' final wage proposal.

The local union's president, John Fageaux Jr., seconded this statement of Berry. He signified his satisfaction of the agreement that is still open to further considerations.

A news conference was held with port workers present. They cheered and clapped as indication of their approval to the initial agreements reached by the two negotiating parties.

In this same conference, Fageaux gave a brief recall about the past days when they had practically negotiated non-stop with the panel of their employers. Those talks have almost ended without both parties reaching a sort of compromise. Earlier, the union of port clerks has threatened their employers of going on strike by July 16 if the negotiations failed to reach a deal of sorts.

According to Fageaux, they were prepared for the strike have it came to that point. However, the negotiations continued even after the union's deadline.

The provisional agreement reached by the two parties applies only to about 600 full time and 850 part-time workers' contracts in 14 companies.

On their previous contract that expired on June 30, the full-time port clerks were given around $37.50 per hour or $78,000 per year. Included in the package is 20 holidays with pay every year, benefits for health care that does not include premiums and pension.

The conditions of the provisional deal reached on Thursday were a grant of 7% increase in wage throughout the three years contract. An agreement has also been reached for the employers to provide payment of $3.4 million, which will give way for a workers' trust fund to be established. This trust fund will manage the pension, health and welfare plans.

Aside from the raise, the port clerks were also granted with the permit of monitoring whether or not their company is outsourcing the particular duties in their job description.

Fageaux stated that he was expecting the members of the union to cast their votes on he tentative agreement on the following week. Fageaux recognized the fact that both of the negotiating parties fought hard for each of their positions but came to recognize each other's positions and needs.

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According to the Committee on American Academy Actuaries Social Insurance, women are receiving lower Social Security benefits due to the differences concerning gender in the work culture of America. The said actuaries committee issued these observations in their brief's new issue, "Women and Social Security." In this issue, the actuaries cited several points behind their observation. They detailed that the wage history differences, the greater possibilities of surviving longer than the spouse, the occurrence of still being single during retirement, and the greater probability for the women not to be included in the workforce, albeit temporarily are the indications of differences causing women's benefits to shrink smaller as compared to that of the men folk. This even if the benefit from Social Security follows rules of gender-neutral calculations.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/10/2007 -- Furthermore, the issue brief of the Academy attests to the fact that the women become more dependent upon the Social Security's benefits since on average they are more inclined to receive inadequate and unsatisfactory income for their retirement years.

According to specified data in the issue brief, 40 percent and more of females with the age of 62 and older solidly rely on Social Security programs to cover almost 90% of their retirement income. These statistics are distinctly in contrast with facts that only 28 percent of males with the age of 62 and above are relying on Social Security benefits for their income.

Furthermore, among the subgroups in the country that has one of the highest poverty rates are the single women of 65 years and older.

According to Ron Gebhardtsbauer, Senior Pension Fellow of the Academy, the public policymakers must not only evaluate and find various alternatives in reforming the system and flow of the Social Security. They should also not just find solutions to the financial predicaments besetting the administration of it. Aside from these widely known issues, they also must put substantial attention and importance to the fact that most women consider the Social Security as their main source of retirement income.

Gebhardtsbauer implied that before the policymakers adopt proposals, they must be circumspect in studying and modeling how it would affect the families and other beneficiaries in several particular situations.

Moreover, according to the Academy's issue brief the women have a higher probability to reduce their savings for retirement years, considerably due to the fact of their longer life span. Statistics prove that men have shorter life expectancy once they reach the age of retirement, 17 years only compared to women whose life span can extend up to 20 years upon reaching the age of 65.

There is also a discussion regarding the comparative disadvantage of couples who are both earning wages to couples with only one breadwinner. The dual earning couples are mostly receiving lower benefits from Social Security. They are subject to these conditions even though their contributions do not differ among others, or may have even contributed much larger amounts to certain programs without a bit or any additional benefit for them.

On the other hand, single wage earner families still receive benefits that extend to the spouses who are not working.

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As an additional provision to the Tobacco Legislation waiting for approval in the tables of the Senate Committee, cigarette packs need to display more harsh warnings regarding the risks to our health that smoking induces. The warnings must be as graphically issued as possible in order to convey a vivid illustration of the smoker's doom. As a model, the graphic warnings being utilized in Canada and some other countries would be mimicked by the cigarette packs intended for the U.S. market.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/08/2007 -- According to Mike Enzi, a Republican Senator, who shows opposition to the bill on cigarettes and smoking, the warnings to be issued express the truth in unquestionable terms. Nevertheless, Enzi says that the Tobacco legislation is not doing enough in order to support the programs on smoking cessations.

The amendment or addition was acknowledged as a part of the general legislation giving the FDA or Food and Drug Administration the necessary authority in regulating the market of cigarettes and most of the other products connected with tobacco. This would be the first time that the FDA would take over such regulation.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions considered the bill on Tobacco on Wednesday. However, they were not able to finalize their actions because of inability to form a quorum on that day. It was Thursday when they had composed a final action.

The Tobacco legislation has received wide support from the U.S. Senate. Overall, fifty Senators signed their name with it, indicating that they were co-sponsors. Edward Kennedy, a Senator for the Democratic Party claimed that they have become acceptable to the fact that it is quite essential to allow FDA the authority in regulating tobacco products. This grant of authority is necessary in order that the health crisis connected with tobacco products can be addressed effectively.

Still, some of the lawmakers addressed their opposition of the said legislation. They counteracted that the added responsibility might become an overload for the FDA, which is already busy with myriad responsibilities.

According to them, the FDA may not perform on an optimum level on such huge responsibility as tobacco products regulation. Orrin Hatch, a Republican Senator claimed that the FDA is already struggling with their current responsibilities to be able to handle the new task with efficiency. However, Hatch's proposed amendments regarding the bill, which conceals his opposition, was defeated by votes of 12 – 9.

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Charles Foti, attorney general of Louisiana, on Wednesday, requested a judge to issue an official permission for hospital documents to be unsealed in order to support his claims on the patient murder by a doctor of a New Orleans hospital. As alleged by Foti, the doctor has murdered patients of his a few days after the Hurricane Katrina happened. Earlier, Foti was not granted with an indictment against the said doctor.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/03/2007 -- This request of Attorney General Foti, was declared by legal experts as a peculiar move. It was obviously issued in order to justify his determination to press charges against the New Orleans doctor, Anna Pou. Earlier on Tuesday, the grand jury refused to indict Dr. Pou.

Law professor, Dane Ciolino of the Loyola University, draws a conclusion saying that Attorney General Foti might be wishing to receive controversial attention by issuing such demand for the sake of his personal political interests. Furthermore, it is quite apparent that he was seeking to be exonerated in the eyes of the public on account of his actions.

On January 2006, Judge Calvin Johnson had agreed to seal the subpoena requests, search warrants and other pleadings released by Attorney General Foti. The judge, with the aim of considering the prosecutor's office request to unseal such records, scheduled a hearing on August 6.

Julie Cullen, the assistant Attorney General, backed up Foti's demand. She declared that the documents must not be excluded anymore from the public since there are no pending criminal charges nor is here a criminal investigation being conducted. Cullen had been a participant during the proceedings by the grand jury. She was present along with the prosecutors from the office of District Attorney Eddie Jordan.

Rick Simmons, the lawyer defending Dr. Pou issued several criticisms regarding Foti's request for the release of documents. According to Simmons, the request is equivalent to character assassination without them having the power or opportunity for cross-examination or defense.

To recall the events leading to the recent developments, last summer, Dr. Pou, along with two nurses from the Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans was arrested after Foti proclaimed conclusions that they let four patients drink "lethal cocktails" a few days after the Hurricane Katrina hit the country on August 2005.

Foti pointed accusations of murder to the trio and that they were "playing God." The three denied the accusations with their colleagues rallying to support their contention.

Earlier during the present year, the two nurses were obligated by the grand jury to proclaim their testimonies. Consequently, the cases against them were dropped.

Still, Foti has declared that there were errors of judgment on the part of the grand jury. Thus, the demand he had made to unseal significant documents heretofore barred from public view.

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