NATION IN BRIEF : ALASKA : Immunity Studied for Skipper in Spill

An Alaska judge is expected to rule today in Anchorage on whether to dismiss criminal charges against Joseph Hazelwood, skipper of the Exxon Valdez supertanker in the nation’s worst oil spill. Superior Judge Karl Johnstone heard arguments from Hazelwood’s lawyers who want six state felony and misdemeanor charges dropped on the grounds their client has legal immunity because he alone reported the spill from the tanker after it ran aground on March 24. The state has held Hazelwood, 43, of Huntington, N.Y., criminally responsible for the 11-million-gallon spill, which fouled more than 1,000 miles of Alaska shoreline, killing thousands of birds and other wildlife. If convicted, the captain would face up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.