Court Digest

Virginia
Judge dismisses Amanda Chase lawsuit over nominating contest
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A judge ruled against Virginia state Sen. Amanda Chase on Friday in her challenge of the state Republican party’s plans for this year’s nominating contest.

Plans right now, which have not been set in stone, call for a statewide convention May 1 to choose nominees for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. But mass gatherings remain banned for health reasons in the coronavirus pandemic, and party leaders haven’t been able to agree on how to adjust.

Republican gubernatorial candidates have been eager to see the rules put in place so they can tailor their campaigns to whatever the nomination process will be.

Chase has advocated for a primary and was seeking a court order ruling out an assembled convention.

But a Richmond Circuit Court judge found that the candidate for governor lacks standing to bring her claim and effectively granted a motion from the Republican Party of Virginia to dismiss the case.

“We’re pleased that the judge recognized our First Amendment rights to choose the method of nomination free from government intervention,” said Chris Marston, the party’s general counsel.

Asked whether Chase will appeal, her attorney, Tim Anderson, said he had to speak with her about that.

Washington
New evidence leads to dismissed rape charge for Kirkland man
SEATTLE (AP) — Rape, kidnapping and assault charges filed against a Kirkland man have been dropped by King County prosecutors after a police detective found evidence on the man’s cellphone that led investigators to believe his sexual encounter with a young Tacoma woman was consensual.

The case was covered by media outlets after Thomas Brownlee’s arrest on Aug. 30.

The Seattle Times reports charges were dismissed in January based on electronic communications between Brownlee and the woman, according to court records and Senior Deputy Prosecutor Emily Petersen.

“The nature of those conversations is that she agreed to participate in what I would describe as a rape fantasy,” Petersen said Thursday.

Petersen said Kirkland police are not seeking criminal charges against the 18-year-old woman. She was only identified in court documents by initials because of mitigating information uncovered during the investigation and she is receiving services to address the root cause of her behavior, Petersen said.

While the woman reportedly had developmental challenges, Petersen said there was insufficient evidence to prove she was incapable of consent.

Brownlee said he’s grateful for support from family and friends and that his parents had the resources to bail him out of jail and hire his defense team. He said he feels he was treated fairly by the criminal-justice system.

Missouri
Man sues deputy for fatally shooting his daughter
SEDALIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a former sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot his daughter during a traffic stop last year.

John Fizer, the father of 25-year-old Hannah Fizer, argues in his lawsuit that her death could have been avoided if former Pettis County Deputy Jordan Schutte had followed accepted police practices, The Kansas City Star reported.

Schutte  shot Hannah Fizer five times as she sat in her car during a June 13 traffic stop in Sedalia after he pulled her over in the city about 75 miles (120 kilomters) east of Kansas City for running a light and speeding. He told Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators that she had refused to identify herself, had a gun and threatened to shoot him.

The lawsuit contends that radio traffic shows Fizer identified herself and did not record her making any threats. She did not have a gun. Despite his claim that Fizer had threatened to shoot him, Schutte did not take cover, call for help or try to deescalate the situation, according to the lawsuit.

After the shooting, Schutte kept his gun pointed at Fizer as she remained motionless until paramedics arrived about five minutes later, according to the lawsuit.

A special prosecutor said in September that the shooting was “possibly avoidable” but ruled it was justified because it could not be said that Schutte’s belief he was in danger was unreasonable.

Schutte was reinstated to the force but is no longer working for the sheriff’s office, Sheriff Brad Anders said Thursday. Schutte didn’t immediately reply to a message left at a Sedalia number listed as his.

Washington
Judge says lawyer who killed her son also tracked Justice Sotomayor
WASHINGTON (AP) — The lawyer who killed a federal judge’s son and seriously wounded her husband at their New Jersey home last summer also had been tracking Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the judge said in a television interview.

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas said FBI agents discovered the information in a locker belonging to the lawyer, Roy Den Hollander. “They found another gun, a Glock, more ammunition. But the most troubling thing they found was a manila folder with a workup on Justice Sonia Sotomayor,” Salas said in an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes.” The segment is scheduled for broadcast Sunday, but a portion of the interview aired Friday on “CBS This Morning.”

Both the Supreme Court and the FBI declined to comment Friday. “We do not discuss security as a matter of Court policy,” court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said in an email.

Authorities have said Den Hollander, a men’s rights lawyer with a history of anti-feminist writings, posed as a FedEx delivery person and fatally shot 20-year-old Daniel Anderl and wounded his father, Mark Anderl, in July. Salas was in another part of the home at the time and was not injured.

Den Hollander, 72, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound the day after the ambush. Authorities believe he also shot and killed a fellow attorney in California in the days before the attack at Salas’ home.

The AP has previously reported that when Den Hollander was found dead he had a document with him with information about a dozen female judges from across the country, half of whom are Latina, including Salas.

Salas has been calling for more privacy and protections for judges, including scrubbing personal information from the internet, to deal with mounting cyberthreats. The U.S. Marshals Service, which protects about 2,700 federal judges, said there were 4,449 threats and inappropriate communications in 2019, up from 926 such incidents in 2015.

Legislation named for Salas’ son that would make it easier to shield judges’ personal information from the public failed to pass the Senate in December, but could be reintroduced this year.


California
Former judge admonished for rude behavior in court hearings
OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A former California judge was publicly reprimanded Thursday for being harsh and rude to parents, social workers and attorneys in her courtroom during dependency hearings in 2019 and 2020.

Judge Barbara L. Roberts, who retired from the Butte County Superior Court in October, also yelled at court staff and another judge, the Commission on Judicial Performance, a state watchdog group, said in a statement.

In one instance in 2019, Roberts rolled her eyes, shook her head and argued with a couple who were expressing concern their mentally ill child could end up in an out-of-state placement. In another hearing in 2020, she expressed dismay at a father’s failure to appear in court and told the parties that she wanted the father to “face the music.”

Roberts said that she used a “tough love” approach in dependency cases to compel parents to realize the harm they were causing their children and to change their behavior.

But the commission said in its public admonishment that “belittling and demeaning litigants is not appropriate in any court” and violates the Code of Judicial Ethics.

Roberts acknowledged her mistreatment of staff, her misconduct in the courthouse, and her discourtesy to the assistant presiding judge. She said she sincerely regrets her lack of composure on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, 2020, and recognizes that her behavior was not appropriate, the commission said.

Roberts retired in October after 22 years on the bench. She served as the presiding judge of Butte County’s juvenile court from 2001 to 2005 and again between 2016 and 2020.


Ohio
Dark money group pleads guilty to racketeering in bribery case
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A political dark money group that authorities say was used as part of a $60 million bribery scheme to pass nuclear bailout legislation in Ohio pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering charge on Friday.

Generation Now Inc. also agreed in federal court in Cincinnati to forfeit $1.5 million from two bank accounts.

Jeffrey Longstreth, a co-defendant in the case who previously pleaded guilty to racketeering for his involvement in the scheme, represented Generation Now during Friday’s hearing.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Black delayed a pre-sentence investigation and sentencing until after cases for all of the defendants are resolved.

Federal investigators say former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, Longstreth and three others used the nonprofit Generation Now as a conduit for $60 million secretly provided by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. The money was allegedly used to secure Householder’s power, elect allied lawmakers and gain legislative approval for $1 billion bailout of two nuclear power plants operated by a FirstEnergy subsidiary.

The five men were indicted in July on racketeering charges. Householder has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial. He was stripped of his leadership post but remains a state representative, rankling elected officials from his heavily Republican district who have pushed for his removal.

Also Friday, the vacancy created when a former regulator touched by the scandal resigned inched closer to being filled.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Nominating Council sent the names of four new finalists for the vacancy created by then-PUCO Chair Sam Randazzo’s resignation in November to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.

They were:

— Jenifer French, an attorney who lost a reelection bid for Franklin County Common Pleas Court in November

— Virginia King, an assistant general counsel at Findlay-based Marathon Petroleum Corp. focused on the company’s sustainability efforts

— Daniel Shields, who spent 30 years at the PUCO, including as federal energy advocate, and the past seven years at the Office of Consumer’s Counsel

— Melissa Shilling, a 17-year member of the state’s Environmental Review Appeals Commission

In a rare move, DeWine rejected the first list he was sent on Jan. 27, telling the panel in a letter that, while the candidates were all “appropriate,” he preferred “to consider additional capable candidates” before making his decision. The move drew swift criticism from consumer advocates, who viewed at least one of the candidates as highly qualified.

The second list of semifinalists contained no duplicate names from the first list DeWine rejected.

Randazzo has not been charged in the bribery investigation. His resignation came days after his Columbus townhome was searched by the FBI and FirstEnergy revealed  that former executives had paid $4 million to the firm of an Ohio official meeting Randazzo’s description to terminate a purported consulting contract. The payment was made just before DeWine appointed Randazzo as PUCO chair.

Oregon
Ex-cop gets life sentences for murder of couple
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A former Lebanon police officer has been sentenced for shooting and killing an ex-girlfriend and a man who was with her in her house.

Brenton Wade Richmond, 50, was sentenced Thursday on two counts of second-degree murder following a three-day hearing in Albany in the deaths of Tammy Hopper and Erik Jacobs, The Statesman Journal reported.

He will serve back-to-back lifetime prison sentences and must serve 25 years before he is eligible for parole.

Richmond pleaded guilty to the lesser charges in January. He was initially charged with aggravated murder and other charges that were dropped as part of a plea agreement.

Linn County District Attorney prosecutors said Richmond broke into Hopper’s house on Feb. 7, 2019 and fatally shot the couple.

Lebanon police found Hopper, 42, and Jacobs, 48, dead two days later. A day after that, Richmond was caught in Southern California as he tried to enter Mexico.

Linn County prosecutors said Richmond and Hopper were in a relationship on and off for nine years. Weeks before the murders he threatened to put her in a body bag if he found her with another man, prosecutors said.

Investigators testified they were able to trace Richmond’s steps from the night of the murders with help, in part, from neighbors’ video surveillance, his iPhone, and Hopper’s internet router.