Pharmacy Criminal Defense

State and federal laws prohibit pharmacists from filling prescriptions they know to be fraudulent, yet local police conducting sting operations are instructing pharmacists to break those laws.

Instead of arresting a suspect for passing a bogus prescription, detectives are telling pharmacists to fill the prescription while officers wait outside, ready to arrest the person carrying the pills.

Police get better evidence for court, and the suspect faces more time in prison on a more serious drug trafficking charge.

But caught in the middle are pharmacists who must balance their professional obligations as a health care provider with helping law enforcement in an action that is a crime and could put their professional licenses at risk.

As law enforcement agencies focus more resources on battling the illegal prescription drug trade, leaders in the pharmacy community are divided on what to do when asked to break dispensing laws.

The stings put pharmacists in a potentially dangerous situation that turns them from health care provider to an arm of law enforcement, the Florida Pharmacy Association says. And it may open them up to liability in a civil lawsuit if something went wrong.

The Supreme Court says the family of a now-deceased immigrant who was denied medical care for cancer while in custody cannot sue federal medical officials for damages.

Salvadoran immigrant Francisco Castaneda was denied a biopsy for a painful penis lesion while in prison in California, despite outside specialists' recommendations. He was later diagnosed with penile cancer, had his penis amputated and died.

Castaneda's family sued the U.S. Public Health Service personnel who denied the biopsy. But the government says the law gives its medical personnel absolute immunity against lawsuits.

Federal courts have refused to throw out the lawsuit. But Justice Sonia Sotomayor says the government's position is correct. She wrote the opinion for a unanimous court.

A federal jury has begun deliberating for a second day in the trial of a former Tennessee college student accused of hacking Sarah Palin's e-mail account when she was a vice presidential candidate.

The panel worked in Knoxville for six hours Tuesday, then asked District Court Judge Thomas Phillips for a definition of "access to the computer." He told jurors that's their decision.

The defense claims 22-year-old David Kernell had no criminal intent in gaining access to Palin's e-mail account while prosecutors say he was trying to derail her 2008 campaign.

Kernell is charged with identity theft, wire fraud, unauthorized access to a computer and obstruction of justice. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum possible prison sentence of 50 years.

A California appellate court on Thursday reversed a $6.2 million verdict against the city of Los Angeles in a discrimination lawsuit filed by a black lesbian firefighter.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal issued its decision in the case brought by Brenda Lee of Mission Hills, who sued the city alleging the fire department discriminated against her based on her race, gender and sexual orientation and refused to transfer her after she complained of harassment.

Lee claimed her superiors yelled and made derogatory comments about her and put her through grueling drills without proper safety precautions. She also claimed someone put urine in her mouthwash.

The 2007 jury payout was the largest in a string of settlements in cases that alleged discrimination and retaliation against women and minorities within the Los Angeles Fire Department. The cases have cost taxpayers more than $15 million since 2005.

Gov. Bob Riley's gambling task force won another victory Thursday when the Alabama Supreme Court tossed out a court order blocking a raid on the state's largest casino.

In a 7-2 decision, the court said a Macon County judge lacked jurisdiction to halt the pre-dawn raid Jan. 29.

"This is another victory for the rule of law," Gov. Bob Riley said Thursday night.

VictoryLand, 15 miles east of Montgomery, closed its casino Monday night. Shortly before the Supreme Court's ruling came out Thursday, the company closed all other facilities, including its dog track, restaurants and new luxury hotel. The closure was designed to keep the Governor's Task Force on Illegal Gambling from returning without getting a judge to approve a search warrant.

Task force commander John Tyson said last week a search warrant was not needed for the thwarted raid because the casino was open and undercover officers were inside observing the gambling machines. He declined to reveal his next step Thursday night, but said he was reviewing the complete closure of VictoryLand.