Louisiana news briefs

Port Allen murder-for-hire trial postponed a week
PORT ALLEN (AP) — The murder-for-hire trial of Monique O. Kitts, accused of hiring a contract killer to murder her husband, has been continued until Nov. 17.
Defense attorneys for Kitts and Karl Michael Howard were expected to resume their cases Monday. But state Judge J. Robin Free postponed the trial proceedings due to a personal issue for one of the jurors and several pre-scheduled court hearings.
For the past two weeks, jurors have heard testimony from witnesses surrounding the death of Corey Kitts, who was shot in 2010.
Prosecuting attorneys have portrayed Monique Kitts as a greedy woman who hired Howard to kill her husband so she could collect more than $800,000 from his employment benefits and life insurance.

Judge refuses to fire
Gulf oil spill claims chief
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP’s call for the ouster of the administrator of damage settlement claims arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was rejected Monday by a federal judge.
BP lawyers had said Patrick Juneau should be removed for a variety of reasons, among them that he had a conflict of interest because he once represented Louisiana in talks setting up the claims process and had pushed for favorable terms for those with claims. They also said he had made misleading statements about that work before being named claims administrator. And they said Juneau improperly expedited claims for some people represented by the plaintiffs’ steering committee.
But U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said in Monday’s ruling that BP clearly knew of Juneau’s previous consulting work for the state. “Mr. Juneau himself disclosed this information to BP and at least six of its attorneys or representatives before he was selected by the parties,” the judge wrote.

Parish president pleads
not guilty to stalking
COVINGTON (AP) — St. Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta has pleaded not guilty to stalking his ex-wife.
He entered the plea Monday in Covington.
Sharon Schaefer filed the complaint in St. Tammany Parish, where she lives.
A grand jury charged Peralta with stalking her by sending threats over the Internet after she accused him of raping her while they were married.
A St. Bernard Parish grand jury has charged Peralta with sexual battery. A judge has ruled that trial must be moved because it would be hard to find an unbiased jury in St. Bernard Parish.
Peralta says he’s innocent of both charges. Both are being prosecuted by the state Attorney General’s Office.
The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify alleged victims of sexual assault. However, Schaefer has spoken publicly about the case and her lawyer has publicly identified her.

New polices from new coroner on in-custody deaths
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Orleans Parish Coroner has unveiled a series of new policies regarding autopsies performed on people who die in jail or in police custody.
Dr. Jeffrey Rouse issued a statement on the new policies Monday. The new procedures will require the coroner or his chief investigator to report to the scene of any death that occurs at the hands of police or in the jail.
Bodies won’t be removed from a scene until all parties involved with the investigation are notified about the death.
Autopsies will be performed at most 24 hours after someone dies. Outside investigative agencies will be permitted to watch as autopsies are conducted.
Rouse succeeded Dr. Frank Minyard as coroner earlier this year.

PAR urges oversight changes for insurance program
BATON ROUGE (AP) — A government watchdog organization suggests Louisiana’s state worker health insurance program shouldn’t be overseen solely by the governor’s office.
The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana says a third-party committee, similar to the one that oversees state retirement programs, should decide premium rates for the Office of Group Benefits.
Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration is under fire for its handling of the Group Benefits plans that cover state employees, public school workers and retirees. It is rewriting benefit packages, with higher out-of-pocket costs for active employees, to keep the program from draining its entire reserve and going broke.
PAR says an actuarial committee should set the target range for the reserve fund and set premiums to keep that fund on track — rather than letting the governor’s office determine premium rates.

Tobacco danger report
75th anniversary conference
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ochsner Health System is holding a conference about tobacco to honor the 75th anniversary of its founder’s groundbreaking publication linking lung cancer to smoking.
Drs. Alton Ochsner and Michael DeBakey first suggested such a link in 1939, in a journal called “Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics.”
The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living is co-sponsoring the conference Friday at the Sheraton Hotel on Canal Street in New Orleans.
Ochsner’s son, Dr. John Ochsner, will open the conference by talking about his father’s breakthrough research and his lifelong campaign to educate the community about the dangers of tobacco.
Organizers say the conference will also summarize current and proposed federal regulations on tobacco and describe new research about tobacco use, quitting tobacco, and the genetics of smoking and nicotine dependence.

Woman accused of throwing child across room
SHREVEPORT (AP) — Shreveport police have arrested a 25-year-old woman for allegedly throwing her 17-month-old child across the room while drunk.
Cpl. Breck Scott says Gabrielle Kirkendoll was arrested early Monday on a charge of cruelty to a juvenile.
Scott says hospital staff found that the child wasn’t injured from being thrown but found that the child was neglected because of hygiene, hunger and a “saturated diaper which had not been changed in hours.”
Child Protective Services took custody of the child after the baby was released from the hospital.
It was unclear whether Kirkendoll as an attorney.