Washington
Judge: Release photos of tattoos on cop charged with murder
SEATTLE (AP) — A judge has ordered the release of 78 photographs of tattoos that cover the body of a suburban Seattle police officer charged with murder, but said prosecutors must redact about half after finding them “inflammatory” and saying their release could jeopardize the officer’s right to a fair trial.
King County Superior Court Judge Nicole Gaines Phelps on Wednesday said the release of 38 photographs of Auburn Police Department Officer Jeff Nelson’s extensive body art does not endanger his defense or violate his right to privacy, The Seattle Times reported.
The rest — taken by prosecutors as they build their case against Nelson in the 2019 on-duty shooting death of Jesse Sarey — must be redacted and cannot be seen in their entirety by the public.
The redactions include “visible wording” inked on his stomach, chest, neck and legs, according to an exhibit filed by the judge after the hearing.
The Seattle Times had filed a public disclosure request seeking all photos, and its attorneys tried to persuade the judge that their release was in the public interest, given that Nelson is the first police officer in King County in decades to be charged with homicide for the use of deadly force while on duty.
“The court is redacting the information … because the court finds that the photographs if put into the public domain at this point in the proceedings, the information is more likely than not of a nature that would elicit inflammatory responses, emotional responses,” the judge said.
That would make it difficult for the court, she added, to “be able to effectively and efficiently select jurors that don’t have those biases or have been affected by pretrial publicity.”
The judge also said it was likely that portions of a pretrial hearing where attorneys will argue the admissibility of the photographs in Nelson’s trial could be closed to the public — a rare move in criminal proceedings.
Seattle Times Executive Editor Michele Matassa Flores said the newspaper is considering an appeal of the judge’s ruling.
The judge allowed King County prosecutors to photograph Nelson’s tattoos after they argued that the body art was relevant and potentially key evidence in his upcoming murder trial. Nelson’s attorneys have argued that the tattoos have “no bearing whatsoever” on Nelson’s decision to shoot and kill 26-year-old Sarey outside an Auburn market on May 31, 2019.
Nelson, who joined the Auburn Police Department in 2008, shot Sarey while trying to arrest him on suspicion of disorderly conduct in an interaction that lasted just 67 seconds.
Nelson has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and assault.
The case was the first filed against an officer since voters in Washington passed legislation in 2019, which was amended by the Legislature, that makes it easier to prosecute police for using deadly force.
Wisconsin
Judge refuses to bar 3 incumbents from 2022 ballot
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge in Milwaukee has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to bar Republican U.S. Reps. Scott Fitzgerald and Tom Tiffany as well as Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson from the 2022 ballot because they supported Donald Trump leading up to the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The Capital Times newspaper in Madison reported Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman dismissed the case on Friday. He said the lawsuit wasn’t “procedurally proper.”
The lawsuit alleged the three Republicans violated the “Disqualification Clause” of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The clause prohibits anyone from holding federal office who has taken an oath to protect the Constitution but also has engaged in insurrection against the United States. The provision was enacted after the Civil War to prevent members of Congress who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress.
Tiffany and Fitzgerald were among 121 House Republicans who voted to object to counting Joe Biden’s presidential electors from Arizona on Jan. 6, 2021. Tiffany and Fitzgerald also were among 138 Republicans who voted to object to Biden’s Pennsylvania electors.
Johnson was one of eight U.S. senators who signed an objection to counting Arizona’s electors, but he ultimately voted to accept them after the riot on the Capitol.
Ten Wisconsin citizens filed the lawsuit in March. The effort was funded by the liberal Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC. It was similar to one rejected by a federal judge earlier that month seeking to keep U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina from seeking reelection this fall.
Adelman said the plaintiffs lacked standing in federal court and the challenge would be more appropriate in front of the state elections commission.
Oregon
Private companies in state’s jails must serve inmates equally
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that private companies providing services to people in Oregon jail custody must abide by federal laws prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations.
The ruling last week came in a case involving a deaf man who filed a federal discrimination lawsuit, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. It notches a victory for civil rights advocates, who argued that people with disabilities have borne an outsized burden when seeking medical care while incarcerated.
“This decision will save lives,” said Emily Cooper, legal director for Disability Rights Oregon.
State lawmakers in 2013 made correctional facilities exempt from laws requiring equal treatment in accommodation, citing as an example that jailers might need to segregate people for safety reasons.
The ruling stems from a 2016 lawsuit filed by Andrew J. Abraham, who alleged Corizon Health Inc. had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to treat him while he was held at the Clackamas County Jail.
Corizon stopped operating in Oregon in 2018, according to spokesperson Morgan Hook, the same year a $10 million settlement was approved to the family of a woman who died after the company’s employees failed to keep her hydrated while she detoxed at the Washington County Jail.
Writing for the majority, Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters noted that while jails themselves are exempt from certain public accommodation laws, the for-profit companies operating behind bars must serve everyone equally.
