The U.S. Supreme Court issued rulings Thursday in unrelated cases from Kentucky and Indiana.In the Kentucky case, the court ruled 5-4 that the state's retirement system does not discriminate against older workers.The case involved an employee who became disabled while also eligible for retirement benefits. He filed suit after the state would give him only his retirement pension and not disability payments. The high court reversed a lower court ruling that said the worker was deprived of the disability benefit because of his age. In the Indiana case, the court ruled in favor of a trial judge who wouldn't allow a defendant to act as his own attorney, even though he was declared competent to stand trial. That case involved a man with a history of mental illness who was being tried for a shooting at an Indianapolis department store.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.