It's unclear when the state's high court will rule.

But the federal court's Chief Judge Tena Campbell said Gardner failed to prove he could not get a "fair and impartial hearing" before Utah's Board of Pardons and Parole.

A two-day hearing before the board is set to begin on Thursday.

In court papers filed in U.S. District Court late Tuesday, attorney Andrew Parnes argued that the board's process was tainted because lawyers that represent the board work for the Utah attorney general's office — the same entity that sought Gardner's death warrant. Those state attorneys will also argue against the board commuting Gardner's death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Peter Erlinder pleaded not guilty to the charges in court last Friday and asked to be granted bail so he could return home for medical treatment.

The U.S. lawyer is accused of violating Rwanda's laws against minimizing the genocide in which hundreds of thousands of Rwandans, the vast majority of them ethnic Tutsis, were massacred by extremist Hutus in 100 days. Erlinder doesn't deny massive violence happened but contends it's inaccurate to blame just one side.

"The medical report which Erlinder presented to court only shows that he was hospitalized twice but it does not convince court that his hospitalization was a result of detention," said Judge Maurice Mbishibishi

He said Erlinder will remain in detention for 30 days and can appeal the bail decision in five days time. His lawyers said they are going to appeal it immediately in Rwanda's High Court.

Across the ideological spectrum, Kagan's confirmation is a ripe opportunity for groups to push their agendas, mobilize their supporters and raise money. The organizations are pumping up the volume in the debate, knowing that their influence is measured largely by the intensity of their support or opposition.

"Ensure Elena Kagan gets a fair hearing," blares a headline on the website of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "The future of women's access to abortion hangs in the balance," the group tells visitors to the site, asking them to urge senators to inquire about Kagan's stance on the Roe v. Wade decision that established abortion rights.

While they're at it, visitors are asked to give their names, mailing and e-mail addresses — and their cell phone numbers, which NARAL says it will use to send "urgent" text messages.

When he tried to sell the GPS to its owner, an argument ensued, and a bystander called police. He has been taken into custody by judicial marshals.

Peno was being held on $25,000 bail and is to be arraigned Thursday on charge of burglary, larceny and breach of peace. A court clerk says Peno is not yet represented by a lawyer.

He says other insurers that Appleton had policies with between 1978 and 1986 have reached confidential settlements for their portion of the cleanup, which is expected to cost $600 million or more.

Appleton's corporate predecessor dumped chemical pollutants known as PCBs into the river for years as a byproduct of carbonless paper production.

A 15-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in a Seattle bus tunnel beating of another girl that was captured on surveillance video.

The Seattle girl who entered her plea Tuesday had been charged with first-degree robbery in the Jan. 28 attack. However, the King County prosecutor's office says there wasn't enough evidence to prove that count.

Friends and relatives of six people arrested in the attack say the 15-year-old defendant and the now-16-year-old victim had a long-standing dispute. Two other juveniles have pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault. Three adults await trial on robbery counts.

The widely viewed video showed uniformed security guards doing nothing to stop the beating. The attack prompted changes in bus tunnel security, including allowing security guards to intervene in tunnel fights rather than merely "observe and report."