U.S. News Briefs
April 3, 1996
Web posted at: 2:45 p.m. ESTCarl Stokes, former Cleveland mayor, dead at 68
CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) -- Carl Stokes, the first black elected mayor of a major U.S. city, died of cancer early Wednesday. He was 68.
Stokes, who had been hospitalized for nearly a week, died at Cleveland Clinic shortly after 5 a.m., said clinic spokeswoman Holli Birrer.
As the great-grandson of a slave, Stokes defeated Seth Taft, the grandson of President William Taft, to become Cleveland's mayor in 1967. He served as mayor until 1971.
Earlier, in 1962, Stokes became the first black Democrat elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. A black Republican had been elected to the legislature in 1880. Two years ago, Stokes was appointed by President Clinton as ambassador to the Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. He was the brother of U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes, a 14-term congressman from Cleveland's east side.
Jury selection in Kevorkian case delayed
PONTIAC, Michigan (CNN) -- A Michigan Supreme Court ruling is delaying jury selection in Dr. Jack Kevorkian's third trial on assisted-suicide charges.
The Supreme Court ordered the state appeals court Tuesday to decide whether prosecutors must prove Kevorkian intended that two patients die.
Oakland County Circuit Judge David Breck had ruled that prosecutors must prove Kevorkian knew that the two patients sought to commit suicide, that he gave them the means to do so and that his intent was to help them die.
Prosecutors appealed, claiming they should not have to prove Kevorkian -- known as Dr. Death -- intended that the women die; Kevorkian's lawyers maintain his only intent is to relieve patients' pain and suffering.
Shapiro pulls no punches on Larry King Live
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live," celebrated defense attorney Robert Shapiro discussed an array of topics, ranging from O.J. Simpson's civil case to fellow Simpson attorneys F. Lee Bailey and Johnnie Cochran.
On Simpson's civil case, Shapiro said the determining factor will ultimately rest on one witness -- Simpson himself. (160K AIFF sound or 160K WAV sound)
As for Bailey, Shapiro told King he is sorry his fellow attorney is in jail, but he added, "Let's make it clear. I don't like the man."
As for Cochran, Shapiro criticized him for his closing argument.
"When you get up and ask, 'Don't convict this man because he is black,' I say that is wrong. That shouldn't done," Shapiro said.
Shapiro's appearance on the show coincides with the release of his new book, "The Search for Justice."
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