Portland, Maine Civil Litigation Attorneys

William S. Kern, a Baltimore Police instructor, was handed a 60-day jail stay, for shooting Raymond Gray, a police recruit, while they were doing exercises.

Kern, who has been in service for 19 years, told the court during his trial that he had brought a live gun to the exercises and he had accidentally used it instead of the training weapon.

Gray was hit in the head and was blinded in one eye when Kern fired his gun through the window to show the recruits the danger of lingering near the door, the window or the hallway.

Kern said that he brought his gun to the training for the safety of the recruits because the facility where they were having their exercises is not secure.

Baltimore defense attorney Shaun F. Owens had argued for Kern's release saying that his client's eventual dismissal from the service would already be enough of a punishment.

Kern is on a 60-day suspension while the Baltimore Police conducts an investigation within its ranks.

Gray's family, who expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence, has also filed a civil lawsuit in relation to the incident and is being represented by Baltimore litigator A. Dwight Pettit.

A jury rejected a negligence lawsuit brought by Katherine Jackson, the mother of Michael Jackson, against AEG Live LLC, the This is It concerts promoter of the King of Pop.

Katherine Jackson's lawyers claimed that the promoter erred when it failed to verify if Dr. Conrad Murray was qualified when it hired him as the singer's doctor.

AEG denied the allegation but said that Murray was hired by Michael Jackson himself.

Murray is already serving a jail sentence for the death of the popstar.

Los Angeles lawyer Marvin S. Putnam, AEG's lead defense counsel, said the jury made the right decision.

The Jackson lawyers had pointed out that the promoter was only after its own profits thus it did not bother to make sure that Murray was a qualified physician.

Putnam and his defence team claimed Murray's hiring was the singer's choice and that if their client had known about what Murray and Jackson were up to they would not have gone on with the series of concerts.

A settlement has been reached by the Pennsylvania State University and one of the victims who was sexually abused by Jerry Sandusky, the school's assistant football coach.

This was confirmed by Philadelphia attorney Tom Kline whose client is known as "Victim No. 5".

Kline's 25-year-old client was sexually assaulted by Sandusky in the shower of the campus.

It is the first settlement of 26 claims filed against the university after Sandusky was found guilty of abusing boys for 15 years.

Victim No.5 was molested by Sandusky a few months after a graduate student had reported to the officials of the university that he had seen Sandusky sexually abused a boy in the showers.

Kline said his client was reassured with the development as he had not sought what had happened.