Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 6, 1993 TAG: 9310060085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RICHMOND - A judge must reconsider a ruling in which he barred a couple from anonymously suing a fertility specialist who artificially inseminated women with his own sperm, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stopped short of ordering U.S. District Judge Albert Bryan of Alexandria to allow anonymity.
Instead, the panel told Bryan to reconsider whether the couple should remain anonymous because of the unique circumstances of the case.
Using the pseudonyms John and Mary James, the couple filed a malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Cecil Jacobson. Their two children are among as many as 75 who may have been fathered by Jacobson, who impregnated women with his own sperm while telling patients he was using anonymous sperm donors.
Jacobson was convicted in March 1992 on 52 counts of perjury and fraud stemming from his operation of a clinic in northern Virginia. He was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $116,805 in fines and restitution. The federal appeals court upheld the convictions last month.
John and Mary James, who testified at Jacobson's criminal trial, have not told their children that Jacobson almost certainly is their biological father. They have said they would drop the malpractice lawsuit if forced to go public with their identities.
Judge Karen J. Williams said the appeals court should have ruled that the couple could keep the pseudonyms because of "the risk of substantial harm to these innocent third parties who are minor children."
- Associated Press
\ Guard feeling tremors of defense cutbacks
RICHMOND - The Virginia Air National Guard will trim 95 positions, 7 percent of its personnel, as part of defense cutbacks.
Twenty-one positions are held by full-time Guard employees who will be cut through attrition, said Col. Bill Jones, commander of the 192nd Fighter Group.
As for the rest, he said, "it's a little early to say we can make that through attrition for sure, but I feel pretty confident" that turnover will account for the reductions.
Among those cut will be mechanics, crew chiefs, technicians and pilots.
- Associated Press
\ Virginia is for singles, according to survey
ALEXANDRIA - Four Virginia cities are premier spots for singles, according to U.S. Census figures.
Alexandria ranks third in the nation in the percentage of one-person households, the statistics show. More than 40 percent of the city's households are composed of just one person, and more than 60 percent of the city's adults are single.
Among U.S. counties and cities, only Kalawao County, Hawaii, population 130, and Manhattan in New York City have a higher percentage of one-person households than does Alexandria.
Washington, D.C., ranks fourth with 41.5 percent of its households composed of one person, and Arlington County ranks seventh with 39.3 percent. Lexington was No. 9 with 36.4 percent, and Richmond was No. 10 with 35.9 percent.
- Associated Press
\ 12 counties added to disaster relief area
RICHMOND - Twelve more Virginia counties have been declared drought disaster areas, making farmers eligible to apply for low-interest federal loans, Gov. Douglas Wilder's office said Tuesday.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy has approved disaster designation for 22 of the 40 localities that have applied. Damage in the 40 localities has been estimated at $149 million.
The counties approved Tuesday are Buckingham, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Highland, James City, Louisa, Northumberland, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince George, Richmond and Westmoreland.
Farmers in counties bordering those 12 also will be eligible for the low-interest loans.
- Associated Press
by CNB