Defendant in 4 Calif. killings now wants lawyer
National News
The man charged with killing four Northern California women with matching first and last initials has asked for a court-appointed attorney to help him defend himself.
Seventy-seven-year-old Joseph Naso is currently acting as his own attorney. But he told a judge Wednesday his incarceration at the Marin County Jail has limited his ability to conduct legal research and has scared away attorneys who could help him.
He asked Judge Andrew Sweet to appoint an attorney to his case. Sweet is expected to continue hearing arguments about the request Thursday.
District Attorney Ed Berberian says Naso has enough money to hire his own attorney and doesn't need one appointed by the court.
Naso is accused of murdering four prostitutes in the 1970s and 1990s throughout Northern California. He has pleaded not guilty.
Related listings
-
Mich. man sues, wants Chevron stock at '04 price
National News 07/04/2011A former lawyer intrigued by the global demand for energy says he chose to invest $100,000 in oil giant Chevron Corp. back in 2004, a smart stock bet that now would have doubled seven years later. But Perry Christy has a big problem: He says Chevron'...
-
Toyota class action suit to start with Utah case
National News 06/24/2011The first lawsuit to go to trial in a massive class action against Toyota Motor Corp. over acceleration problems that led the company to recall 14 million cars will involve a crash that killed two people in western Utah, a federal judge said Friday. ...
-
Strauss-Kahn said he had diplomatic immunity
National News 06/17/2011Dominique Strauss-Kahn declared he had diplomatic immunity and complained that his handcuffs were too tight after he was taken into custody on allegations he tried to rape a Manhattan hotel maid, court documents show.The documents filed Thursday by p...
Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.