Tag: judges

Jussie Smollett’s conviction for racist, homophobic attack hoax tossed in stunning reversal

Disgraced actor Jussie Smollett had his conviction for lying about a fake racist and homophobic attack in downtown Chicago thrown out by the Illinois Supreme Court on a technicality.

In a shocking twist, the court found that the former “Empire” actor had his Fifth Amendment rights violated by a special prosecutor’s decision to try him after initial charges against him were previously dropped.

It’s the latest turn a case that has captivated the country for nearly six years. Smollett’s lead attorney, Nenye Uche claimed that the devision to prosecute Smollett in the first place was a “travesty of justice.”

Smollett, 42, who is black and gay, claimed two men in Make America Great Again hats assaulted him in the dead of night in January 2019, approaching him out of nowhere in the darkness and declaring “this is MAGA country” before the attack.

According to Smollet, the men yelled homophobic and racial slurs, put a noose around his neck and doused him with bleach, leading to a massive search for suspects by Chicago police that cost the city more than $130,000. 

However, investigators quickly unraveled the elaborate self-victimization ruse, revealing the actor actually hired two brothers, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, to stage the attack in a ploy to boost his profile and burnish his tough guy credentials.

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Not So Fast! Judge Halts Infowars Sale To Onion Due To Shady Auction Procedures

A US judge overseeing Alex Jones’ bankruptcy expressed skepticism over Thursday’s purported sale of Jones’ website Infowars to satire publication The Onion, according to the Associated Press.

While reports claimed Infowars was sold at auction to The Onion, US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez at an emergency hearing Thursday said he was concerned over how the auction was conducted, considering one of the parties bid $3.5 million while a court-appointed trustee admitted The Onion’s was not the highest bid.

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Fulton Judge Overturns Seven Election Rules, Declares Them Unconstitutional

In a decision that has sent shockwaves through Georgia’s political landscape, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox struck down seven key election rules established by the Georgia State Election Board (SEB). The ruling, delivered just weeks before the 2024 election, nullifies several measures designed to enhance election security, citing them as “illegal, unconstitutional, and void.”

The SEB rules, which were put in place in response to concerns over election integrity, required measures such as hand-counting ballots, signature verification for absentee ballots, and video surveillance of ballot drop boxes. These rules were introduced to ensure transparency and security in the election process, particularly around absentee ballots. However, Judge Cox’s ruling has effectively dismantled these efforts, sparking controversy and raising concerns about the potential impact on the upcoming election.

The case was brought forward by Eternal Vigilance Action, Inc., a conservative group, along with two Republicans: former state representative Scot Turner and Chatham County election board member James Hall. The plaintiffs argued that the SEB had overstepped its legal authority by implementing rules that exceeded the boundaries set by Georgia’s Election Code. They contended that these rules not only violated state law but also created unnecessary barriers to the voting process.

Judge Cox agreed with the plaintiffs, ruling that the SEB lacked the authority to enforce these new rules. In his decision, Cox stated that the SEB rules were “unsupported by Georgia’s Election Code” and were in conflict with both the state and U.S. constitutions.

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Shocking Video Footage of Kentucky Sheriff Gunning Down Judge Played in Court — Horrifying Moment Unfolds After Sheriff Sees ‘Something’ on Judge’s Cellphone

Chilling surveillance footage of the moment former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines shot and killed District Judge Kevin Mullins in his chambers was played during a preliminary hearing Tuesday.

Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines, 43, fatally shot District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, last month.

Stines turned himself in without incident and was charged with first-degree murder.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Sheriff Stines was deposed in a federal lawsuit for failing to investigate claims that Ben Fields, a deputy who worked as a jailer at the courthouse, sexually assaulted two female inmates inside of the judge’s chambers.

Ben Fields was indicted on seven felony counts and one misdemeanor for sexually assaulting at least two women. Fields was sentenced to 7 years but will only spend 6 months in jail and the other six and a half years on probation for rape, sodomy, perjury, and tampering with a prisoner monitoring device.

“The women claimed Fields told them he would not make them pay for the monitoring if they would do him “a favor.”

Fields disabled the devices, told the monitoring company that bail conditions had been changed so the devices were not required, and then used threats of arrest to force the women to have sex with him. When Letcher Circuit Judge James W. Craft II asked Fields for GPS coordinates for one of the subjects for a court appearance, Fields said he couldn’t locate her and filed an escape charge against her, court records show,” The Mountain Eagle reported.

On Tuesday, Stines appeared before the court dressed in a jail uniform, hands cuffed, as prosecutors presented key evidence linking him to the murder of his long-time friend, Judge Mullins.

Stines, who officially resigned from his position as sheriff just one day prior, is accused of gunning down the district judge in what the defense is suggesting was an act of “extreme emotional disturbance” rather than premeditated murder, CNN reported.

Defense attorney Jeremy Bartley admitted that Stines did shoot Mullins but claimed the former sheriff was not in a rational state of mind at the time.

“I think they’ve established probable cause for manslaughter first, but not murder,” Bartley argued.

A chilling 20-second surveillance footage was played in the court. Judge Mullins was seen crouching behind his desk in an attempt to shield himself as Stines fired multiple rounds.

In a final, devastating moment, Stines, who had begun to leave, returned and fired additional shots upon noticing movement from Mullins under the desk.

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A Florida Judge Blocked a Newspaper from Publishing Video of a Jail Death

A Florida newspaper reports that video of a mentally ill man’s violent death in a county jail contradicts the sheriff office’s narrative of what happened. But the public may never get to see what really happened.

Florida Circuit Judge James R. Baxley ruled last month that the Ocala Gazette could view, but not publish, jailhouse footage of the 2022 death of Scott Whitley, a mentally ill man who died in the Marion County Jail after deputies pepper-sprayed, dogpiled, and tased him. Publishing the footage, Baxley ruled, would raise safety concerns.

The Gazette reported on September 25, after finally being able to view the footage, that Whitley “exhibited no physical violence toward Marion County Jail detention deputies before he was rushed to the floor, restrained and hit with a Taser 27 times over 12 minutes.” Furthermore, “Contrary to initial reports from the sheriff’s office that claimed Whitley refused to comply with guards’ orders, the footage shows the inmate sitting as ordered and, when he sees the guards rush towards him, he raises his hands in defense and pleads ‘no’ and ‘wait’—to no avail.”

The order is the latest development in a two-years-and-running transparency fight over records related to Whitley’s death.

Whitley, 46, was booked into the Marion County Jail on November 16, 2022, on charges of resisting an officer with violence and violating a protective order filed by his elderly parents to remove him from their home because of his deteriorating mental health. He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was placed on suicide watch in the jail. According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), he was combative during his arrest and continued to be uncooperative and aggressive at the jail.

On November 25, Whitley refused to put his hands through his cell to be handcuffed during a routine cell inspection. Guards sprayed him with pepper foam, and after a few minutes they ordered Whitley to sit on the toilet. When he did, deputies rushed his cell and forced him to the ground.

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‘Stain on our community’: Texas judge indicted in ‘Fake Racism’ scandal used bogus Facebook name to target opponent, prosecutors say

A Texas judge and his former chief of staff have been indicted for allegedly making racist posts against the judge’s political opponent through fake Facebook profiles using the name “Antonio Scalywag.”

Fort Bend County Judge Kyle Prasad “KP” George was indicted on a misdemeanor charge of misrepresenting identity as a candidate, court documents show. George is accused of working with his former chief of staff, Taral Patel, to post racist remarks during the 2022 election that pretended to be targeting George, a native of India and the first person of color to serve in the role when he was first elected in 2018.

Law&Crime has previously reported about Patel’s arrest for fake comments he allegedly made about himself. He was a candidate for county office who allegedly impersonated racists online — attacking himself with racist and xenophobic posts — to bring attention to his campaign. Frank Yeverino, an attorney for Patel, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime.

George, a Democrat, was running in his reelection against Republican Trever Nehls, who said the judge “weaponized racism.”

“The fact that our current county judge allegedly conspired to spread fake racist posts, not only to smear my character but also to manipulate voters and distort the truth, is a stain on our community and our political process,” Nehls said in a statement, the Houston Chronicle reported. “This is not only an attack on me personally but an attack on every voter who deserves a fair and transparent election.”

Fort Bend officials are calling for George to resign.

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Judges in TikTok Case Seem Ready to Discount First Amendment

A US circuit court panel appears ready to uphold a federal law that would effectively ban the popular social media network TikTok because it’s owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. The legal attacks on the video platform—which FAIR (8/5/20, 5/25/23, 11/13/23, 3/14/24) has written about before—are entering a new phase, in which judicial interpreters of the Constitution are acting as Cold War partisans, threatening to throw out civil liberties in favor of national security alarmism.

Earlier this year, despite widespread protest (Guardian, 3/7/24), President Joe Biden signed legislation forcing TikTok’s owner “to sell it or face a nationwide prohibition in the United States” (NBC, 4/24/24). Advocates for the ban charge that data collection—which is a function of most social media networks—poses a national security threat because of the platform’s Chinese ownership (Axios, 3/15/24).

Given that TikTok is a global platform, with 2 billion users worldwide, demands that ByteDance sell it off are in effect another name for a ban; an analogy would be Beijing allowing Facebook to operate in China only if Meta sold the platform to a non-US company.

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Judge Forces Indiana to Pay for Sex Change Operation for Convicted Trans-Identifying Baby Killer

In a landmark ruling, a federal judge has ordered the state of Indiana to provide gender transition surgery for a trans-identifying inmate convicted of murdering an infant. 

The decision, handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Young, deems the denial of such surgery as “cruel and unusual punishment.”

The Post Millennial (TPM) reported that Autumn Cordellioné, born Jonathan C. Richardson, is currently serving a 55-year sentence for the 2001 murder of an 11-month-old girl. 

The inmate, who began identifying as transgender while incarcerated, will now receive state-funded gender reassignment surgery following a successful lawsuit backed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

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Retired Judge Stewart Rosenwasser kills self at Orange County home as FBI arrive to arrest him

A former prosecutor and retired judge in Orange County, NY killed himself Tuesday as the FBI arrived at his home to arrest him.

Authorities arrived at Stewart Rosenwasser’s home in Campbell Hall to arrest him as part of a corruption case, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Rosenwasser had been under investigation for taking bribes.

“I was standing by the front door, my friend went outside the front door and they screamed at us to get in the house,” said Orange County resident Linn Cartagena.

It appears there was an exchange of gunfire at the suspect’s home, according to the FBI, which the following statement:

“The FBI is reviewing an agent-involved shooting that occurred earlier this morning in Campbell Hall, NY. The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBI’s Inspection Division. As this is an ongoing matter, we have no further details to provide.”

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Judge in South Carolina Shocks Leftists with Bombshell Ruling: Voter Rolls Are Public Record Under Federal Law

In a landmark ruling, a federal judge in South Carolina has declared that voter rolls are public records and must be made available for inspection by election integrity advocates, a decision that could set a precedent nationwide.

The ruling, issued by Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to election integrity.

PILF sought access to the South Carolina Statewide Voter Registration List under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993, which mandates that states maintain accurate voter rolls and make records available for public inspection.

The SEC initially denied the request.

The SEC argued that South Carolina law only permitted access to these records by qualified electors of the state, not by out-of-state organizations like PILF.

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