The McLane Law Firm with offices in Manchester, Portsmouth, and Concord, and Woburn, Mass., announced that the firm has absorbed the Colucci Norman Law Firm, of Beverly, Mass.

John Colucci, William Norman, Larry Plavnik, all corporate lawyers and Andrew Botti, a litigator, join McLane's business-focused firm of more than 90 attorneys, 44 of whom actively serve Massachusetts businesses in some capacity.

The addition of these attorneys and associate support staff necessitates the second office space expansion within a year at the TradeCenter, McLane's fourth location.

Days after Florida Republicans assaulted President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms, the state's Democrats launched a political counter-attack Thursday aimed squarely at the GOP's front-runner for governor: Attorney General Bill McCollum.

First, Senate Democrats tried legislative tactics to slow down McCollum's lawsuit filed Tuesday against the national healthcare law. Then, House and Senate Democrats called on Republican legislative leaders to audit McCollum's office to examine its use of staff time.

And capping it all: A Washington Democratic leader accused McCollum of skirting state law by failing to go through the proper channels before filing his lawsuit, a charge McCollum denied.

Though the efforts to audit McCollum and stop the suit failed Thursday, the Democrats' onslaught signaled the heightened sense of partisanship in an election-year legislative session.

Leading the anti-McCollum charge: Sen. Dan Gelber, a Miami Beach Democrat running for attorney general who said the incumbent's ``frivolous'' lawsuit is an ``ideological escapade'' that won't survive in the courts. ``This is nothing other than a political frolic,'' he said. ``We have incredible challenges in our state. . . . We want our chief law-enforcement officer spending his time protecting our citizens.''

Lawyers for Billy Joe Magwood want to argue that Alabama law was changed to make Magwood's crime a capital offense after it had already been committed.

Defendants aren't allowed to appeal using arguments that could have been brought in the original case, but Magwood's lawyers say that since he was sentenced to die a second time, he should be able to use a new argument in his second round of appeals.

"If it's the second time around, then it's just barred," Justice Anthony Kennedy said.

"Well, it shouldn't be barred. Because it's a new judgment, the defendant should be able to get relief the second time around," said Jeffrey L. Fisher, Magwood's lawyer.

Magwood, 58, has been on Death Row since 1981 for the shooting death of Coffee County Sheriff Neil Grantham in 1979. He got that death sentence thrown out, but then was resentenced to death.

The state was the first to legalize medicinal marijuana use, with voters passing it in 1996. Since then, 14 states have followed California's lead, even though marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

"This is a watershed moment in the decades-long struggle to end failed marijuana prohibition in this country," said Stephen Gutwillig, California director for the Drug Policy Alliance. "We really can't overstate the significance of Californians being the first to have the opportunity to end this public policy disaster."

California is not alone in the push to expand legal use of marijuana. Legislators in Rhode Island, another state hit hard by the economic downturn, are considering a plan to decriminalize possession of an ounce or less by anyone 18 or older.

A proposal to legalize the sale and use of marijuana in Washington was recently defeated in that state's legislature, though lawmakers there did expand the pool of medical professionals that could prescribe the drug for medicinal use.

And a group in Nevada is pushing an initiative that marks the state's fourth attempt in a decade to legalize the drug.

The California secretary of state's office certified the initiative for the general election ballot Wednesday after it was determined that supporters had gathered enough valid signatures.

Boyd was accused of forcing the girl to have sex in 2006 at Fraser High School, where he was a substitute teacher and track coach. The now-19-year-old woman testified they had consensual sex at least six times.

Roseville District Court Judge Marco Santia ruled Wednesday there wasn't enough evidence to support the charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

The 38-year-old Boyd still faces a case involving a now 16-year-old girl who testified he offered her $5,000 to have sex but gave her only $200.

In that case, he's charged with first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct and accosting a minor for immoral purposes.

Three High Court judges will sit in the tribunal, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed told reporters, without specifying when trials would begin. The government also appointed six retired civil, police and military officials to investigate war crimes charges.

The government has already barred about 50 war crimes suspects mostly belonging to the country's main Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, from leaving the country. Jamaat-e-Islami had sided with Pakistani troops against whom Bangladesh fought the independence war.

On March 26, 1971, Bangladesh — then East Pakistan — declared its independence from West Pakistan, following years of perceived political and economic discrimination.

Bangladesh official figures say Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed an estimated 3 million people, raped about 200,000 women and forced millions more to flee their homes during a bloody nine-month guerrilla war. With help from neighbor India, Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation on Dec. 16, 1971, with the surrender of the Pakistani army in Dhaka.

An amnesty was declared after the war for collaborators who were not directly involved in heinous crimes. It did not cover those who had specific charges or evidence of crimes against them.

A Law Ministry statement said the tribunal will conduct quick trials under a 1973 act outlining prosecution and punishment for people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under international law.

An affidavit filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday says the FBI and U.S. Marshals searched Frank Calabrese Sr.'s home Tuesday. The document says the stash was found in a basement wall, hidden behind a family portrait.

Calabrese is serving a life sentence and has been ordered to pay millions after being convicted in a racketeering conspiracy that included more than a dozen murders.

Calabrese's attorney says he doesn't know who stashed the items, and his client hasn't lived in the home since the mid-1990s. The U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI and U.S. Marshal's Service declined comment.