Featured Legal News (Jan. 9 - Jan. 10, ‘07) Judge Gives God Thumbs Up for VA Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 Groups advocating the separation of church and state have had their share of legal victories in recent years, but they suffered a set back today in Wisconsin. U.S. District Judge John Shabaz ruled that the Department of Veterans Affairs' can use religion when treating patients so long as it's done on a voluntary basis. "The choice to receive spiritual or pastoral care, the choice to complete a spiritual assessment, and the choice to participate in a religious or spiritually based treatment program always remain the private choice of the veteran," the judge wrote. The ruling dismissed a lawsuit filed by Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is based in Madison, Wisc. The group criticizes the Department of Veterans Affairs' method of incorporating "spirituality assessments" in veterans' care. The group plans on appealing Shabaz's decision to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Tell us what you think by visiting our comments page. Send any news items to news@lawdragon.com. Man Not Ditching Grab for Estate Posted on Tuesday, January 9, 2007 U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins didn't buy a Utah man's claim that he was a rightful heir to the Howard Hughes estate. Melvin Dummar claimed that Hughes left him millions — $156 million to be precise — in a handwritten note because he had rescued Hughes from a ditch in Nevada in 1967. Jenkins concluded that Dummar had already lost his case in a 1978 case in Las Vegas. Dummar reopened the case based on what he said was new evidence, including a pilot who corroborated parts of his story. Apparently at the first trial, witnesses testified that the reclusive Hughes never left the Desert Inn during the supposed time of his 1967 desert accident. Dummar's wife was quoted as saying that they would take the case back to Nevada federal court. "We've only just begun. This time we know we're right." Tell us what you think by visiting our comments page. Send any news items to news@lawdragon.com. Page: 1 of 1 pages for this article
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