Ernest Ametistov, 64; Russian Judge

Ernest Ametistov, 64, Russian judge who defended democratic freedoms and spearheaded legal reforms. Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Ametistov graduated from Moscow State University’s law school and started working as editor for a state publishing house. He later joined research centers dealing with legal studies and specialized in international law. His father was arrested and executed in the purges of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Before the Soviet collapse, Ametistov joined the Memorial human rights group, which supported democratic reforms and publicized details of abuses carried out during the Communist era. Ametistov was elected a judge of the Constitutional Court in 1991 and became known for his persistent efforts to streamline and liberalize the Soviet-era legal system. On Monday in Moscow of cancer.

MaryAnne Kasica-Scheff; TV Writer

MaryAnne Kasica-Scheff, 58, television writer who penned episodes of “Moonlighting” and “Murder, She Wrote.” After graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, N.J., Kasica-Scheff began her career as an actress playing ingenue roles in summer stock. In 1966 she was named executive director of the “Friends of Lincoln Center” and helped organize fund-raising events supporting theater. She became a stockbroker on Wall Street and transferred those efforts to Los Angeles when she married television writer and executive Michael Scheff in 1970. Kasica-Scheff earned a master of arts in drama at Cal State Los Angeles and acted again in such television series as “Marcus Welby, M.D.” As an actress with “Theatre East,” she began writing one-act plays as audition material, earning a UCLA Playwright’s Award in 1975. She also co-wrote the top-selling novelty book, “The Pushbutton Telephone Songbook.” With her husband, she shared writing credits for the television movies “Topper” and “Tall, Dark and Deadly.” She also wrote episodes for “Hart to Hart” and “Magnum, P.I.” as well as “Moonlighting,” “Murder, She Wrote” and other comedy-tinged detective shows. Kasica-Scheff earned a CINE Golden Eagle award for producing the short film “Welcome to IA.” She chaired the Writer’s Guild Women’s Committee for the past two years. On Saturday in Los Angeles of a brain tumor.