Tag: judges

Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rule

A federal judge in Kentucky has struck down a Biden administration rule that required states to measure and report the greenhouse gas emissions from any vehicles traveling on the national highway system.

“With this victory in court, we’re slamming the brakes on the Biden Administration’s politics that make no sense,” said Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, who led a coalition of 21 state attorneys general in suing the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) over the rule that sought to force states to cut carbon dioxide emissions on their roads.

Multiple states that sued over the rule argued that it could dampen job creation and eliminate future economic development.

Judge Benjamin Beaton of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky blocked the FHWA rule in a 26-page order and opinion issued on April 1, calling it “invalid” and “a statutorily unsupported and substantively capricious exercise of the [FHWA] Administrator’s rulemaking authority.”

Judge Beaton only blocked the rule in the 21 plaintiff states, not nationwide. He also asked the parties to file supplemental briefs “on the proper remedy” within three weeks in light of potentially conflicting requirements from other courts.

Asked for comment on the ruling, an FHWA spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the agency is reviewing the decision and determining next steps, while remaining committed to supporting the Biden administration’s climate goals.

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Judge Quashes Felony Murder Charges Against Former Houston Cop Whose Lies Led to a Deadly 2019 Drug Raid

It has been more than five years since Houston police officers killed Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, a middle-aged couple falsely implicated in drug dealing, after breaking into their home on Harding Street. That raid was based on a fraudulent search warrant affidavit in which veteran narcotics officer Gerald Goines described a heroin purchase that he later admitted never happened. Efforts to hold Goines accountable for his lethal dishonesty hit another roadblock last week when a Harris County judge dismissed two felony murder charges against him.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office charged Goines with two counts of felony murder in August 2019, seven months after the Harding Street raid. According to its complaint, Goines committed “the felony offense of Tampering with a Government Record, and while in the course of and [in] furtherance of the commission of said offense did commit an act clearly dangerous to human life”—i.e., “making forcible entry into a residence by armed peace officers through the use of a ‘no knock’ search warrant based on false information provided knowingly by the defendant,” thereby causing the deaths of Tuttle and Nicholas.

A grand jury backed those charges in an indictment issued on January 15, 2020, and District Court Judge Frank Aguilar declined to dismiss them. But District Court Judge Veronica Nelson, who took over the case this year after Aguilar was suspended because of a domestic violence arrest, was persuaded by Goines’ claim that the charges did not adequately specify the underlying felony.

Prosecutors cited Section 37.10 of the Texas Penal Code, which makes it a third-degree felony to tamper with a government record in any of six ways. Because the indictment did not say exactly how Goines had violated that statute, his lawyers argued, it impaired his ability to mount a defense. “It doesn’t give us adequate notice of what it is specifically that we have to defend against,” said Mac Secrest, one of Goines’ attorneys.

“The Harris County District Attorney’s office is shocked and tremendously disappointed  that a judge would choose to revisit this issue, knowing that her predecessor had already ruled the defendant’s position meritless,” the office said in response to Nelson’s ruling. “The office is considering all its options, including amending the indictment, with an eye towards trying this case as soon as possible to ensure justice for the victims of these crimes.”

The state case against Goines had been scheduled for trial in June. Nelson’s decision could delay the trial by a year or more, depending on how long it takes to appeal the ruling and/or seek a new indictment. Goines also faces federal civil rights charges in connection with the Harding Street raid, but there has been no apparent movement in that case since the indictment was announced in November 2019.

Two other defendants in the federal case have pleaded guilty. Patricia Ann Garcia, a neighbor whose phony tip prompted Goines’ investigation of Tuttle and Nicholas, pleaded guilty to making false reports in March 2021 and was sentenced to 40 months in prison. In June 2021, former Houston narcotics officer Steven Bryant, who had backed up Goines’ fictional account of arranging for a confidential informant to buy heroin from Tuttle, pleaded guilty to falsifying records and obstructing the resulting federal investigation. He has not been sentenced yet.

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INSANITY: El Paso Judge Orders Release of Illegal Immigrants Who Stormed the Border and Rioted Against National Guard

On Easter Sunday, El Paso Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta ordered the release of a large group of illegal immigrants accused of participating in a violent encounter with National Guard troops along the Rio Grande.

The incident, which took place on March 21, has been described by authorities as a “border riot,” during which illegal immigrants, predominantly men from Venezuela, overwhelmed security measures and clashed with National Guard forces.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that hundreds of illegal aliens from Africa, Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela made a rush for the border in El Paso, Texas after they were pushed south of the concertina wire in the middle of the night by the National Guard.

The illegals breached the concertina wire, overwhelmed National Guard members, and made a rush for the border.

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Transgender judge seeks leave to intervene in UK court case over legal definition of ‘woman’

The UK’s first transgender judge is seeking leave to join the litigation in a crucial supreme court case that could significantly affect legal protections for transgender women, the Guardian has learned.

Victoria McCloud, a senior civil judge who became the youngest person appointed as master of the high court in 2010, will make an application to intervene in the supreme court appeal brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland about the legal definition of “woman”. Interveners can put a case without being among the main parties to the litigation.

For Women Scotland is challenging whether Scottish government legislation aimed at improving gender balance on public boards should include transgender women.

The Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 has been the subject of a long-running court action by the group, which most recently resulted in a ruling by Lady Haldane at the court of session that it was lawful to extend the definition of “woman” to transgender women with a gender recognition certificate.

McCloud, who transitioned in the late 1990s and subsequently changed her legal sex under the 2004 Gender Recognition Act, is supported in her application by the Good Law Project.

She is concerned about the effect of a successful appeal – which would affect the whole of the UK – on her legal recognition.

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Judges improperly enhanced sentences of more than 100 Jan 6 rioters, appeals court rules

Judges may have improperly applied federal sentencing guidelines to more than 100 people convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol, a federal court ruled Friday. 

A three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Justice Department’s argument that convicted rioters merited lengthier prison sentences for interfering in the “administration of justice” when they stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election win. 

“[T]he phrase ‘administration of justice’ does not encompass Congress’s role in the electoral certification process,” Judge Patricia Millett wrote in the court’s unanimous ruling. 

“[T]ext, context, and commentary show that ‘administration of justice’ refers to judicial, quasi-judicial, and adjunct investigative proceedings, but does not extend to the unique congressional function of certifying electoral college votes,” she added. 

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JULIAN ASSANGE JUDGE PREVIOUSLY ACTED FOR MI6

One of the two High Court judges who will rule on Julian Assange’s bid to stop his extradition to the US represented the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and the Ministry of Defence, Declassified has found.  

Justice Jeremy Johnson has also been a specially vetted barrister, cleared by the UK authorities to access top secret information.

Johnson will sit with Dame Victoria Sharp, his senior judge, to decide the fate of the WikiLeaks co-founder. If extradited, Assange faces a maximum sentence of 175 years.

His persecution by the US authorities has been at the behest of Washington’s intelligence and security services, with whom the UK has deep relations.

Assange’s journalistic career has been marked by exposing the dirty secrets of the US and UK national security establishments. He now faces a judge who has acted for, and received security clearance from, some of those same state agencies.

As with previous judges who have ruled on Assange’s case, this raises concerns about institutional conflicts of interest.

Exactly how much Johnson has been paid for his work for government departments is not clear. Records show he was paid twice by the Government Legal Department for his services in 2018. The sum was over £55,000. 

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Police: Pennsylvania Judge Shoots Ex-Boyfriend in Head, Shot Ex-Husband 5 Years Earlier

A Pennsylvania judge is accused of shooting her ex-boyfriend in the head while he slept — just a few years after being cleared of criminal intent for shooting her ex-husband.

Michael McCoy, 54, is now blind in one eye after being shot in his Harrisburg-area home on February 9, reports the New York Post. 

Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight, 57, was arrested Thursday and has been charged with first-degree attempted murder and aggravated assault, court records show.

A Susquehanna Township Police arrest affidavit obtained by the outlet stated that McCoy had made “numerous” attempts to end the year-long relationship with his live-in girlfriend when she allegedly tried to kill him. 

“McCoy had returned home from a tavern to find McKnight relaxing on his couch in her pajamas and again told her she needed to leave, saying he would enlist the help of her mother to get her out of his home if he had to,” the Post reported of that Friday’s events. “She allegedly agreed to go.”

“Michael McCoy stated that it was like she finally understood that it was over,” police said in the affidavit.

McCoy then went to bed around 11:00 p.m. with the understanding that McKnight realized that the pair were broken up.

Sometime later that night, he woke up with a “massive head pain” and could not see.

While he screamed in pain, McKnight reportedly came into the bedroom and asked, “Mike, what did you do to yourself?” 

The judge called 911 shortly before 1:00 a.m. reporting McCoy’s injuries, but police said she “could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming.”

A gunshot wound to McCoy’s right temple that had exited his left temple was found after first responders rushed him to the hospital.

The bullet left him blind in his right eye.

The affidavit also stated that a gun registered to McKnight was discovered at the scene, and her hands were positive for gunshot residue.

McCoy also asserted multiple times that he had not shot himself.

The ex-lovers both said that no one else was home at the time of the incident. 

While McKnight claimed to police that she did not leave the house that night, this was disputed with footage from a neighbor’s security camera showing the judge leaving the home at some point.

According to McCoy, his ex-girlfriend may have followed him to the tavern before he returned. 

McKnight has since been suspended from her judiciary duties and is being held at the Dauphin County Prison with a $300,000 bail.

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North Carolina Judge Bans People With The ‘Odor Of Marijuana’ From Entering Courts

Anyone who “has the odor of marijuana” will be banned from entering the North Carolina Superior Courts of Robeson County from here on out under an order signed by a judge on Wednesday.

The order says that smelling like cannabis will be grounds for removal from the courthouse, and the sheriff will be directed to “ask you to leave and come back without the odor owns [sic] your persons.”

A “findings of fact” section states that “the Robeson County Courthouse is a government facility open to the people for the purpose of conduction official business for the State of North Carolina.”

“The public is free to enter the courthouse during normal hours of operation to conduct business and the courthouse should be readily and reasonably accessible to the public in such a fashion that the safety and health of those entering the courthouse to conduct business, as well as those who work in the courthouse on a regular basis, are not threatened or impaired,” the order from Senior Resident Superior Court Judge James Gregory Bell says.

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Girlfriend charged with murder of former Texas judge who died of fentanyl overdose

Authorities in Texas have arrested the 35-year-old girlfriend of a former judge for allegedly supplying him with fentanyl that led to his overdose death late last year. Kami Ludwig was taken into custody on Monday and charged with the murder of 47-year-old former Associate Tarrant County Judge William Shane Nolen.

The murder charge is the result of a novel interpretation of a new law that Gov. Greg Abbott signed in June 2023 and went into effect on Sept. 1, 2023, classifying the supplying of fentanyl that results in death as murder. The law was enacted to combat the thousands of Texans who die annually from fentanyl poisoning, but appeared to primarily target drug dealers who distribute the deadly substance.

According to a news release from the Grapevine Police Department, officers at about 4:45 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2023, responded to a call regarding a deceased male — later identified as Nolen — at a residence located in the 4100 block of Mapleridge Drive. Ludwig placed the initial 911 call and identified herself to the dispatcher as Nolen’s girlfriend.

Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they found Nolen deceased in his bedroom “with signs consistent with an opioid overdose.” Authorities on the scene said they also recovered “several” additional pills from inside the home.

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‘Unprecedented in American judicial history’: Oldest federal judge vows to ‘continue to fight’ to be reinstated on bench after fellow judges have her suspended for ‘overwhelming evidence’ of decreased mental capacity

A 96-year-old federal appellate court judge whose co-workers say has been habitually confused and belligerent scored a partial win in court Monday against the panel of fellow judges she sued after being suspended. That suspension was upheld last Wednesday, and the judge is still not permitted to retake the bench.

Ronald Reagan appointee U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman is the oldest judge on the federal judiciary. Newman served for nearly four decades on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit until she was suspended in September by the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into her mental capacity.

Newman’s mental health and fitness to serve was called into question after colleagues complained that her docket dragged woefully behind an appropriate timeline, and raised concerns about the judge’s inappropriate behavior. Ultimately, an investigation was conducted at the behest of the committee and investigators found “overwhelming evidence” of Newman’s memory loss, lack of comprehension, and confusion, and said the judge was often “frustrated, agitated, belligerent, and hostile towards court staff.” They provided numerous examples of Newman’s problematic behavior, ranging from threatening to have her own staff arrested to incoherent and paranoid rambling.

Last September, the committee issued a lengthy written decision in which is said that although Newman “served with distinction” and was “the most beloved colleague on our court,” that it had “increasing doubts” as to whether the nonagenarian could properly fulfill her duties on the bench.

The committee directed Newman to undergo a 30-45-minute interview with a neurologist and a full neuropsychological examination with hours of cognitive testing, but the judge refused. Newman also refused to provide the committee with medical records from the prior two years dealing with cognitive deficiencies and fatigue. Instead, Newman offered her own medical experts, who she said would examine her for a much shorter period of time. The committee responded with a suspension.

After Newman was informed that she would no longer be assigned new cases over which to preside, lawyers filed a federal lawsuit on her behalf in which Newman sued Chief Circuit Judge Kimberly A. Moore and all the other Federal Circuit judges on the committee over their handling of the complaints about Newman’s mental capacity. In the lawsuit, Newman challenged not only the actions taken against her, but also the legal provisions that allowed the judicial committee to issue the suspension order.

Newman was represented in the lawsuit by New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a public-interest law firm that focuses on the “administrative state.” The same firm also represented Newman in a direct challenge of the committee’s ruling on her suspension, which is proceeding separately.

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