Herman Michels, a noted lawyer and the former presiding judge for administration of New Jersey's appellate courts division, has died. He was 83.

Michels death on Friday was announced by Gibbons PC, where he served as the law firm's counsel. The firm — which has offices in New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia and Delaware — did not disclose further details, including a cause of death.

The Short Hills resident was appointed to the bench in 1972. He was assigned to the appellate division two years later and became its presiding judge in 1980. He was named as the division's presiding judge for administration in 1985 and served until his retirement in September 1997.

During his time on the bench, Michels wrote more than 3,000 appellate division opinions, including 400 which were published. He was a graduate of Rutgers Law School.

After retiring as a judge, Michels spent more than 10 years with the Gibbons firm, serving as an arbitrator or mediator for hundreds of legal matters. He also was a past chairman of New Jersey's state ethics commission.

"The Judiciary has lost a great champion of the courts and the rule of law," said New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner. "For those with whom he served, it was an honor to have worked with a truly great man and mentor.

Gov. Mitch Daniels has appointed new judges in two central Indiana counties.

The governor's office says Daniels appointed J. Jeffrey Edens as judge of the Boone Circuit Court. Edens succeeds Justice Steven David, who was appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court in September. Edens has been serving as judge pro tempore since David's appointment.

Edens is a former Boone County chief deputy prosecutor and past president of the Boone County Chamber of Commerce.

Daniels also appointed David Riggins as a Shelby County Superior Court judge. Riggins succeeds Judge Russell Sanders, who announced his retirement in August.

A U.S. District Court judge said SAP AG owes Oracle Corp. interest on the $1.3 billion it has been ordered to pay Oracle for copyright infringement, Bloomberg reports.

Walldorf, Germany-based SAP said the interest works out to about $16.5 million according to the calculation ordered by U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland.

Oracle, which has its headquarters in Redwood City, says it is owed $211.7 million in interest.

A jury in November ruled that SAP should pay Oracle $1.3 billion for allowing a now-defunct subsidiary to steal Oracle-owned software in an effort to lure Oracle customers away.

The verdict was the largest jury award of 2010, the largest ever for copyright infringement and the 23rd largest of all time for any jury verdict, according to Bloomberg data.

Ohio has unveiled new disclosure requirements in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year that eased restrictions on campaign spending.

Corporations, nonprofits and labor groups will have to show the amounts they spend on independent ads for or against candidates, under rules announced Wednesday by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (BROO'-nur).

The state's outgoing elections chief says the ad sponsors also will have to provide voters with a website address in their ads.

The rules include a ban on independent ad spending by businesses that have been awarded state or federal money through Ohio during the previous year.

The rules approved by a Legislative panel give the secretary of state's office the power to pursue violators.

The state Supreme Court ruled on Friday that possession of more than 8 pounds of marijuana is a serious enough charge to warrant forcing medication on a defendant so he is competent to stand trial.

The high court's 7-0 ruling came in the case of 30-year-old Christopher Seekins of Torrington, who authorities say has been ruled incompetent to stand trial because he refuses to take psychotropic medication for bipolar disorder. Justices upheld a lower court judge's order to medicate Seekins against his will.

State law says a defendant can be involuntarily medicated if the crime is serious enough and there is an overriding law enforcement interest in determining whether the defendant is innocent or guilty. Seekins argued that possessing marijuana isn't a serious crime.

Seekins' lawyer, Richard Marquette, declined to comment on the ruling Friday through an employee at his Hamden law firm.

Seekins also made headlines in 2005 when he painted large pictures of marijuana leaves on his Winsted home with the word "hemp" beneath them after being charged with growing marijuana, saying it was in support of legalizing the drug. He later agreed in a plea bargain to remove or cover up the paintings, which caused a ruckus in town because they were visible from busy Main Street.

Justice Richard Palmer, a former prosecutor, wrote in the Supreme Court's ruling that the basis for determining whether a crime is serious is the severity of the sentence it potentially carries. Palmer noted that Seekins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison if convicted of just three of the many charges he faces.