Agents sent letters criticizing the concept to teachers and school-board members, and one agency hired a lawyer who questioned the process on multiple grounds, prompting the district to retrace some steps, according to Mr. Lloyd and public documents.

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The lawyers for suits in several of those states have filed a petition for all the cases nationwide to be heard in a court in their district, according to Catherine Odenbreit, a lawyer representing multiple plaintiffs in several state and federal suits filed in California.

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Karen Steinhauser, a criminal-defense lawyer and former prosecutor in the Denver District Attorney's Office, said the state often files multiple murder charges if the nature of a crime matches more than one definition under state law.

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