A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned a death sentence for a western Michigan man who was convicted of drowning a young woman in a remote lake to prevent her from pursuing a rape case against him.

The court upheld Marvin Gabrion's conviction, but said the sentencing phase of his extraordinary 2002 trial in Grand Rapids federal court must start from scratch.

Gabrion's lawyers should have been allowed to tell jurors that he would not have faced a possible death sentence if prosecuted in state court because Michigan doesn't allow capital punishment, the appeals court said.

U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell barred Gabrion's defense team from making that pitch during the sentencing phase. It may not have made a difference in the ultimate result, but the appeals court said it's a legitimate argument to make to jurors, who unanimously chose the death penalty.

Rachel Timmerman's body was found in a lake in the Manistee National Forest in Newaygo County in 1997. The U.S. attorney's office had jurisdiction because the victim was found in a portion of the lake that is federal property.

During the sentencing phase, prosecutors blamed Gabrion for the disappearance of four other people, including Timmerman's daughter. The body of one, Wayne Davis, was found floating in another lake a few months after the trial. No charges have been filed.

Some city lawmakers in Buffalo want a local law firm to stop running a television commercial that was filmed inside the Common Council Chambers.

The Buffalo News reports that the ads touting the Cellino and Barns law firm were filmed in the chambers on a Saturday in June after the building was closed to the public. The city prohibits commercials from being filmed in City Hall.

Common Council President David Franczyk says he never was informed of any plans to film a commercial in the ornate chamber. Majority Leader Richard Fontana told the newspaper he wants the firm to stop running the ads.

The firm's chief operating officer says they'll continue airing the commercial, which was shot while a filmmaker was inside the building shooting scenes for a movie about Buffalo.

The confessed killer in Norway's twin terror attacks that claimed 77 lives has presented a long list of "unrealistic" demands, including the resignation of the government and that his mental condition be investigated by Japanese specialists, his defense lawyer said Tuesday.

Geir Lippestad told the Associated Press his client has two lists of demands. One consists of requests common among inmates such as for cigarettes and civilian clothing. The other is "unrealistic, far, far from the real world and shows he doesn't know how society works," Lippestad said by telephone.

Lippestad said 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik links this second list to his willingness to share information about two other alleged terrorist cells that Breivik has mentioned during questioning.

"They are completely impossible to fulfill," Lippestad said, adding that although Breivik has agreed to be examined by local psychiatrists, he also wants to be investigated by Japanese specialists.

"He claims the Japanese understand the idea and values of honor and that a Japanese (specialist) would understand him a lot better than any European would."

A month-long notice has begun for massive layoffs in state court clerks' offices.

The Birmingham News reports that court officials say about one-third of the 750 employees in clerks' offices statewide will be laid off effective Aug. 31.

The officials say the layoffs are timed so the 255 workers will be off the state payroll before the court system's new, leaner budget takes effect Oct. 1.

The Jefferson County clerk's offices, which handle more than 75,000 filings per year, will be down to 48 full-time clerks and three temporary workers after the layoffs.

Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb has ordered clerks' offices statewide to be closed to the public for 10 hours weekly starting in August to give the workers time to catch up on processing court documents.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has agreed to hear a former state senator's request to dismiss a bribery charge against her and scheduled oral arguments for September.

Former Sen. Debbe Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City, faces bribery charges along with Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore. Prosecutors say Terrill offered Leftwich an $80,000-a-year job at the state Medical Examiner's Office in exchange for Leftwich not running for re-election and clearing the way for Republican Rep. Mike Christian of Oklahoma City to run. Christian has not been charged a crime and is expected to be a witness.

Leftwich's attorney, Robert McCampbell, filed a motion to dismiss the charge that maintains Leftwich is exempt from prosecution for alleged wrongdoing in the performance of her professional duties under the speech and debate clause of the Oklahoma Constitution.

The court scheduled oral arguments from her defense, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and attorneys for the Oklahoma Senate for Sept. 13, according to an entry posted Thursday on the Supreme Court's website. The entry also says Leftwich's case is on hold until the court makes a decision.

The Senate's attorneys also will have a chance to express lawmakers' concerns about language in a recent Court of Criminal Appeals decision denying Leftwich's motion to dismiss, the entry said.

New Jersey's Supreme Court has upheld the censure of a retired Superior Court judge.

Steven Perskie was disciplined in March for not recusing himself in a timely fashion from a case involving his former campaign treasurer. A state Supreme Court committee also found Perskie was not forthcoming in his remarks to a Senate committee about the incident when he was facing re-appointment.

Today's ruling found Perskie shouldn't have rejected a request during a 2006 case that he recuse himself. He later recused himself for different reasons.

The court also found that Perskie didn't intentionally mislead the Senate committee when he answered questions about the incident.

Perskie served on the Superior Court in Atlantic County and retired in January 2010. He also served as a state legislator.