Workers who filed a class-action lawsuit against a Kansas slaughterhouse for unpaid wages and overtime have asked a federal judge to bar Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from discovering their immigration status during the litigation.

The employees have asked U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren for a protective order prohibiting the Arkansas City meatpacker from receiving from the named plaintiffs — or any other workers who opt into the lawsuit — any information pertaining to their present names or any other names they may have used.

They also seek to avoid having to disclose their place of birth, Social Security number and any present or prior addresses. The plaintiff's motion also seeks an order protecting the workers from having to turn over to Creekstone Farms any tax returns or any other tax forms filed under any of their identities or having to disclose the dates and times of entry into the United States. They also want to avoid turning over all identification documents likely to lead to the discovery of their immigration status.

Their attorney, Mark Kistler, told The Associated Press Tuesday that the courts already have decided that these types of information which could lead to discovery of immigration status should be protected from discovery during a lawsuit.

A federal appeals court ruling could lead to even more spending in Wisconsin's recall elections.

A 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled Monday that the state's $10,000 annual contribution limit on so-called "super PACs," or political action committees that do not coordinate with specific candidates or their campaigns, can't be enforced while a lawsuit from one of the groups is pending.

The lawsuit was brought by Wisconsin Right to Life's political action committee, and the group's attorney said it will immediately begin soliciting big-dollar donations to spend in the recalls targeting six Republicans and two Democrats.

"They will raise money in excess of the limits," said Right to Life attorney James Bopp, Jr.

To date, Wisconsin Right to Life's PAC reported spending only $325 on telephone calls in support of Republican Sen. Randy Hopper and against his Democratic challenger, Jessica King.

The appeals court said the donation limit can be exceeded while the underlying lawsuit is pending. Wisconsin Right to Life argues that the limits are an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.

Oral arguments were tentatively planned for September, after both the Aug. 9 elections targeting six Republican state senators and elections a week later involving two Democratic incumbents.

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.