News and Notes

1. We previously covered the plea/sentencing that went bad in the Shahrazad Mir Gholikhan's case. She was sentenced to 29 months a week after Judge Cohn sentenced her to credit time served. Today, that plea and sentence was vacated because everyone, including the prosecutor and the judge, believed that the guidelines were 0-6 when Gholikhan pleaded guilty. The Sun-Sentinel article is here. Trial coming up in August. Bill Barzee for the defense.

2. The Sun-Sentinel also covers this shocking case here. According to the civil defendants in this case, Florida is an "anti-gay" state. Here's the intro from the article:

The family vacation cruise that Janice Langbehn, her partner Lisa Marie Pond and three of their four children set out to take in February 2007 was designed to be a celebration of the lesbian couple's 18 years together.But when Pond suffered a massive stroke onboard before the ship left port and was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital, administrators refused to let Langbehn into the Pond's hospital room. A social worker told them they were in an "anti-gay city and state."Langbehn filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday charging the Miami hospital with negligence and "anti-gay animus" in refusing to recognize her and the children as Pond's family, even after a power of attorney was faxed to the hospital within an hour of their arrival.The case raises questions about the way hospitals deal with same-sex or unmarried partners of patients, which has led to controversy in the past. Hospital industry officials say they are constrained by patient privacy laws that can restrict giving visiting access and medical information to nonrelatives, a stance that some patient advocates have branded as discriminatory.