Georgia
Appeals court restores ballot access rule for 3rd parties
ATLANTA (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling and restored a hefty signature requirement for third-party candidates seeking to run for certain offices in Georgia.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled that requiring third-party candidates for non-statewide offices to submit a petition signed by at least 5% of registered voters doesn’t violate constitutional protections, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. No third-party candidate for U.S. House has ever been able to collect enough signatures to appear on the ballot, the newspaper reported.
A 1943 state law sets a 1% signature threshold for third-party candidates seeking statewide office such as governor or U.S. senator, but raises the signature requirement to at least 5% of registered voters for other offices such as U.S. House or state legislative seats.
Nominees from the Republican and Democratic parties automatically appear on the ballot.
U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May had ruled in March that Georgia’s requirements for third-party candidates were “overbroad” and unconstitutional. In September she ruled that the state must allow third-party candidates for non-statewide offices to appear on the ballot if they collect the signatures of 1% of registered voters.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had appealed May’s ruling.
Arizona
State plans to seek warrants for 1st executions in 7 years
PHOENIX (AP) — Prosecutors told the Arizona Supreme Court on Wednesday that they intend to seek execution warrants soon for two death-row inmates in what would be the state’s first executions in seven years.
Nine months ago, the Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office made a similar request of the high court to set a briefing schedule before filing execution warrants for both condemned men, Clarence Dixon and Frank Atwood.
But the schedules were thrown out after prosecutors revealed the shelf life of Arizona’s lethal injection drug was 45 days, which was half as long as they previously thought.
The state said it has since done specialized testing on the pentobarbital to be compounded for the executions and determined its shelf life to be at least 90 days.
“It is our solemn duty to fulfill these court-ordered sentences on behalf of the victims, their loved ones, and our communities,” Brnovich said in a statement.
Dale Baich, one of Dixon’s lawyers, said he was eager to see the results of the state’s tests.
Dixon and Atwood are the first death row prisoners in Arizona to be eyed for execution since the 2014 death of Joseph Wood, who was given 15 doses of a two-drug combination over two hours.
Joseph Perkovich, an attorney for Atwood, said Brnovich’s office has “provided no evidence that the state of Arizona can be relied on to carry out an execution without repeating the abomination that resulted in its last killing, in 2014.”
States including Arizona have struggled to buy execution drugs in recent years after U.S. and European pharmaceutical companies began blocking the use of their products in lethal injections. Last year, Arizona corrections officials revealed that they had finally obtained a lethal injection drug and were ready to resume executions.
Dixon was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1977 killing of Deana Bowdoin, a 21-year-old Arizona State University student.
Atwood was convicted and sentenced to death for killing 8-year-old Vicki Lynn Hoskinson in 1984. Authorities say Atwood kidnapped the girl, whose body was found in the desert northwest of Tucson.
Arizona has 112 prisoners on death row.
Kentucky
Lawmakers advance bill to extend filing deadline
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers quickly advanced legislation Wednesday that would push back this year’s filing deadline for candidates seeking political office.
The measure would shift the filing deadline from this Friday to Jan. 25.
The move coincides with the Republican-led legislature’s ongoing work to redraw the state’s congressional, legislative and Supreme Court maps in response to population changes.
The House passed the filing deadline measure on an 84-12 vote Wednesday. The vote came after procedural moves allowed the accelerated action on the second day of the 2022 legislative session.
The measure now goes to the Senate, where it could receive a vote as soon as Thursday and be sent to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
Republican legislative leaders are hoping to wrap up redistricting work by Saturday. Redistricting measures cleared House and Senate committees Wednesday.
California
Man pleads guilty in $50M internet scheme
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A California man pleaded guilty Wednesday to running a $50 million fraud scheme using fake websites that advertised high returns on certificates of deposit.
Allen Giltman, 56, pleaded guilty by videoconference to wire fraud conspiracy and securities conspiracy. His sentencing is scheduled for May 10.
The multistate scheme was prosecuted by the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey because some of the more than 70 victims are from the state.
Nina Marino, a Los Angeles-based attorney representing Giltman, declined comment.
Investigators say that over the span of eight years, Giltman, of Irvine, California, and others used fake websites offering high returns on certificates of deposit to lure investors. Some of the websites were set up to resemble legitimate financial institutions.
To hide their involvement, the co-conspirators purchased the website domains with prepaid gift cards and used virtual private networks, or VPNs, to disguise their digital footprint, according to prosecutors. Investigators identified at least 150 of the websites and more than 70 victims in New Jersey and elsewhere.
Money wired by victims was routed to accounts in Russia, the Republic of Georgia, Turkey and Hong Kong and not used to purchase the CDs.
Giltman was ordered to forfeit about $100,000 as well as a few dozen pieces of jewelry and several luxury watches, according to court documents. He also faces a civil complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
