Her uniform appeared authentic, navy and starched and ironed crisp. The badge on her left breast was authentic, too, made with steel and etched with a three- or four-digit number. The clipped name tag on her right breast displayed a last name, same authentic font. Only the patches on her shoulder ruined the secret: Kimberly Chapman was an actor, not a real police officer.

Ms. Chapman, 47, of Wilkinsburg, was arrested by real police officers Monday, charged with impersonating a public servant and theft.

Police say Ms. Chapman, dressed as a police officer, appeared at her son's Allegheny County Family Court hearing at 9 a.m. on Monday and told the tipstaff she was an officer assigned to his case.

Her son was facing gun charges.

According to a police report, Ms. Chapman, who was detained in Judge Edward J. Borkowski's courtroom, told Tipstaff William Miller she was an officer "on the Christian Edwards case and I'm looking for the probation officer."

But when police officers questioned Ms. Chapman, she told them she was an extra in the Spike TV series, "The Kill Point," being filmed in Market Square.

A production assistant for the series, Katie Shenot, verified that Ms. Chapman worked on the set and told officers Ms. Chapman did not have permission to leave while wearing the $500 uniform. The uniform was taken into evidence, including the badge, duty belts and plastic gun holster.

On Monday morning, minutes after arriving at work, Ms. Chapman remembered her son's appointment to appear in juvenile court, her attorney said. She hustled to be there, never stopping to return her officer's uniform, a close replication of those worn by legitimate city officers.

Never, according to attorney James Ecker, did Ms. Chapman identify herself as an officer. But before she left court, she'd been arrested.

Since filming began Downtown, those on the set have noticed confusion between the real officers and their paid impersonators. Acting officers there, defenders against a faux bank robbery, wear patches saying, "Police Department." The real officers, who attend to the perimeter of the filming area, have patches saying Pittsburgh Police. One other giveaway: the actors carry cap guns or foam guns, not legitimate weapons.

"Anybody can just walk off the set and get away with it," said Jeremiah Barry, of Clairton, an extra dressed as an officer. Because at first glance, I'd say, yeah, you look like a real cop. Most people don't stare at cops, they just glance, give it a quick look.

"Nine out of 10 people, I'd say, would see the uniform and say, 'Real cop.' "

To avoid any confusion within the filming set, extras are discouraged from ending the workday in costume and leaving the area. They can't collect their paycheck for the day's work without first returning to a meeting point at PPG Place, handing in their uniforms and collecting their voucher. Extras given props begin their days, also, by leaving ID -- which is held as collateral until the props and uniforms are returned.

The sex scandal surfaced last year, shortly after Kutun was sworn in as North Miami's city attorney.

Kutun admittedly signed an affidavit in October 2006 detailing the meetings with a 16-year-old prostituted but claimed the girl pretended to be 18. The affidavit was drawn up in response to an extortion attempt against Kutun, his attorney said.

Kutun claimed the affidavit became public after it was stolen from his desk. He was briefly suspended from office and later fired. "I'm not a criminal here," he said when the allegations surfaced. Kutun was arrested in May 2006. He was charged in Miami-Dade and Broward counties with having sex with a minor.Sharpstein said those charges shouldn't have been filed.

"There was no victim. The girl's underage, but she was also performing acts of prostitution," he said. The Hollywood madam who set up Kutun's liaisons pleaded guilty to her role in the case. Roberta Orenbuch received probation.

Kutun will also receive five years of probation, which could end earlier if he continues undergoing sex-offender treatment and marital counseling.

Kutun, who wouldn't comment about his guilty plea, still faces charges in Broward County. Kutun's attorney said he is hoping for a similar plea deal there.

"Mr. Kutun believes it's in his best interests to get this over with -- the public spectacle and all the humiliation he's had to deal with," Sharpstein said.

After receiving only two Requests for Proposals for legal services, the Silver Springs Stagecoach Hospital District voted unanimously to retain the law firm of Allison, McKenzie, Russell, Pavlakis, Wright & Fagan.

The Hospital District received one other proposal from Bonnie Drinkwater of Drinkwater Law Offices.

At a previous SSSHD meeting, the Board voted unanimously to retain the Carson City firm and did not specifically name attorney Mike Pavalakis in the motion but discussion was centered on him and his work.

Back in February the SSSHD retained Pavalakis to handle a lease agreement with Eastern Sierra Medical Group and other business transactions the District was facing at that time.

Part of the meeting started out with Board member Vicki Aveiro asking how the board would be evaluating the two attorneys, to which, District General Manager Kari Larson suggested the Board review the two resumes and their qualifications.

The Board then took a five minute break to review each resume.

Once the Board was back on record board member Kay Bennett disclosed that she has had a long standing working relationship with Pavalakis and the firm for many years.

She said, "I was responsible for bringing the firm Allison, MacKenzie to Carson Tahoe Hospital and I use the firm Alice and MacKenzie on other matters for my personal business. I don't feel I have a conflict in how ever I would vote on this issue. I would not have any financial or fiduciary benefit."

Board Chairman Mike Langevin added he did see how Bennett would profit or influence the outcome of the Board's vote and he said of her participation in the vote, "I'd say you're good with us."

He then asked fellow board members if they had a problem with Bennett voting on the matter.

Langevin spoke favorably of Pavalakis and reported when called the Carson City attorney on SSSHD matters, Pavalakis responded within a day or within 1-2 hours. "I know what I've dealt with. I'd like to stay with them (Allison, MacKenzie, et al), and have them represent us our board."

Board member Susan Wells remarked that unlike Pavalakis' proposal, Drinkwater did not list her fees. She noted that Pavalakis included his hourly rate, his associate's hourly rate, paralegal fees and other fees.

"I have been impressed with Mike (Pavalakis). I feel he's a straight forward person. He's knowledgeable and willing to help us," she said.

Larson reported to the Board that Pavalakis has given the district $1,979 in free service and that he did not charge the Board for his attendance at the March meeting, but only charged for his assistant's fee.

During discussion the Board did not disclose Pavalakis' fees or any financial impacts it many have on the budget.

A disciplinary arm of the Ohio Supreme Court has temporarily suspended the law license of a Cincinnati attorney who was addicted to marijuana and cocaine.

Ken Lawson has handled many high-profile civil rights cases in Cincinnati.

He acknowledges that he was addicted to drugs for years and that it affected his job performance. Several clients have sued him, accusing him of mishandling their cases and failing to show up for court dates.

The Supreme Court's disciplinary counsel is reviewing a complaint filed by the Cincinnati Bar Association. The case could take months to complete.

The court could decide to revoke Lawson's license permanently.

Lawson says he's been clean since February First and is participating in a rehab program.

"We obviously asked leadership not to call the bill," said Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

"The bottom line is we certainly had a lot more votes than what we've had, but it's not a majority and quite a few people we've talked to in the last week or so said personally they'd support it and sooner or later it will pass, but it's too soon."

Lawlor said he was slightly surprised that the so-called gay marriage bill won easy passage in his committee, recalling that in 2003 the civil union legislation that was signed into law in 2005 was defeated in the Judiciary panel.

"At this moment the marriage-equality bill seems to be going in the right direction," Lawlor said. "People are saying 'we're getting there, give us a little more time, we want to discuss it a little more.' "

He said that the effort for the legislation ended Friday in part to clear the table for the Supreme

Court hearing Monday. A possible option for the court, Lawlor said, would be to send the entire issue back to the General Assembly to review the rationale for providing the expanded civil rights for gay couples, while calling it something other than marriage.
"I think we'd have a hard time explaining it a second time around," said Lawlor, who is gay.

Anne Stanback, president of the umbrella gay-rights group called Love Makes a Family, said Friday that she had "mixed emotions" about pulling the bill from floor debate.

"We are disappointed that after coming so far we did not quite have the votes we needed in the House to advance the bill this session," Stanback said in a statement.

"However, we can't help but feel encouraged by the significant progress we have made in the two years since the civil union law passed," she said. "We still must win those remaining votes in the Legislature, as well as convince Gov. Rell that treating all Connecticut families fairly is the right thing to do."

Sen. Andrew J. McDonald, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, agreed that support is growing for the marriage-equality bill.

"We achieved an incredible benchmark this year by passing the bill out of committee — a step that many believed we would not be able to accomplish," said McDonald, who is gay, recalling the 27-15 vote of April 12.

The lawmakers' decision came the same day that opponents of gay marriage, led by the Family Institute of Connecticut, announced a push to combat "anti-family activists" and an anticipated vote next week in the House.

"They are trying to push this through quickly before people find out and make their voices heard," the Family Institute announced in an e-mail message.

Later Friday, Brian S. Brown, executive director of the Family Institute, called the withdrawal of the legislation "a massive victory for marriage protection."

The group has scheduled a May 23 rally against same-sex marriage outside the Capitol at 10 a.m.

A series of emails released by the Department of Justice in March revealed that Rove originally suggested firing all 93 US Attorneys in January 2005, contradicting earlier assertions by the White House that the idea first came from former White House counsel Harriet Miers. The same month, the Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Rove, Miers, and Sampson, rejecting Bush's interview offer. The House Judiciary Committee later subpoenaed Rove, Miers, and several aides to testify in a concurrent investigation. The Department of Justice is currently investigating whether Gonzales' former White House liaison Monica Goodling considered political affiliation in hiring replacement US attorneys in violation of federal law.