Indiana
State’s ban on trial courtroom broadcasts lifted
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Supreme Court is lifting the longtime statewide ban on cameras for trials and other hearings in county courtrooms.
An order issued Wednesday will give local judges the option on whether to allow news media to broadcast, record or take photographs of courtroom proceedings. The new rules take effect May 1.
Cameras were first allowed in state Supreme Court hearings in 1996 and those proceedings started being streamed online a few years later. But previous attempts to convince officials to allow cameras in trial courts have failed to win approval before a four-month pilot project by five local judges started in December.
“This is the culmination of years of work and pilot projects with discussion and evaluation,” Chief Justice Loretta Rush said in a statement. “Trial court judges are in the best position to determine how to balance the importance of transparency while protecting the rights of people involved in a court matter.”
The Supreme Court’s order limits the use of cameras and recording to news media staff and prohibits images of violent crime victims, minors, jurors and those witnesses with safety concerns.
Illinois
Grand jury indicts father of July 4 parade shooting suspect
CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois grand jury on Wednesday formally indicted the father of a man charged with fatally shooting seven people at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago, the Lake County State’s Attorney Office said.
The indictment charges Robert Crimo Jr., 58, with seven counts of reckless conduct. Prosecutors have said he helped his son, Robert Crimo III, obtain a gun license years before the shooting in Highland Park, even though the then-19-year-old had threatened violence.
Sara Avalos, a spokesperson for the prosecutors office, confirmed the grand jury indictment and said the father will be arraigned Thursday.
Robert Crimo Jr. was arrested in December, also on seven felony counts of reckless conduct, one for each person killed. Each count carries a maximum 3-year prison term. The longtime resident and well-known figure in Highland Park was released after his arrest on a $50,000 bond.
At a brief hearing last month, prosecutors had told Judge George Strickland at a Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, north of Highland Park, they needed more time to present evidence to the grand jury.
In a brief statement released by his office later Wednesday, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said the grand jury agreed the case against the father should move forward.
“Parents who help their kids get weapons of war are morally and legally responsible when those kids hurt others with those weapons,” Rinehart said.
George M. Gomez, the father’s Chicago-area attorney, said Wednesday evening that he couldn’t comment because he hadn’t yet seen the indictment. But he earlier called the accusations against his client “baseless and unprecedented.”
Rinehart has previously said the accusations against the father are based on his sponsorship of his son’s application for a gun license in December 2019. Authorities say Robert Crimo III attempted suicide by machete in April 2019 and in September 2019 was accused by a family member of making threats to “kill everyone.”
“Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenagers should have a weapon,” Rinehart said after the father’s arrest. “In this case, the system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son. He knew what he knew and he signed the form anyway.”
Authorities say Illinois State Police reviewed the son’s gun license application and found no reason to deny it because he had no arrests, no criminal record, no serious mental health problems, no orders of protection and no other behavior that would disqualify him.
Legal experts have said it’s rare for an accused shooter’s parent or guardian to face charges — in part because it’s difficult to prove such charges.
In one notable exception, a Michigan prosecutor in 2021 filed involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of a teen accused of fatally shooting four students at his high school. A trial date was delayed while the state appeals court considers an appeal.
A grand jury indicted Robert Crimo III in July on 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing the seven people killed and dozens wounded in the attack at the holiday parade in Highland Park.
Robert Crimo Jr. has shown up at several of his son’s pretrial hearings, nodding in greeting when his son entered the courtroom shackled and flanked by guards. The father is a familiar face around Highland Park, where he was once a mayoral candidate and operated convenience stores.
Michigan
July trial set in Jan. 6 case for ex-candidate
ALLENDALE, Mich. (AP) — A judge set a July 31 trial date Wednesday for a former Republican candidate for Michigan governor who is charged with misdemeanors for his presence at the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Ryan Kelley’s case in Washington has been slowed down a few times to consider possible plea deals, among other reasons, but no deal has been reached.
Kelley, who supported then-President Donald Trump, is accused of disruptive conduct, injuring public property and entering restricted space without permission on Jan. 6, 2021.
Kelley has said he was lawfully protesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.
His arrest last summer suddenly improved his name recognition in a crowded field of Republican candidates for governor, but Kelley finished fourth in the GOP primary in August.
Louisiana
Judge acquitted of tax fraud charges
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans judge facing federal tax-fraud charges has been acquitted in the case.
2nd City Court Judge Ernestine Anderson-Trahan had been charged with four counts of falsifying her taxes, allegedly failing to report income for legal work and for officiating weddings. But after her November trial ended with a hung jury, her attorneys filed a motion to acquit, which U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown granted Tuesday, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported.
Brown’s reasons — as well as the attorney’s motion for acquittal and the government’s opposition — will remain under seal until later this week, officials said.
“To put it shortly, it’s a good day for her,” defense attorney T.C. Wicker told the newspaper.
After her indictment, the Louisiana Supreme Court suspended Anderson-Trahan from the bench. It was unclear when she would be reinstated to the court, which handles small claims and evictions in Algiers.
“I’m thrilled for Judge Trahan,” Wicker said. “She’s maintained her innocence throughout the whole process. To receive this order from the court, which was thorough and well-reasoned, was huge for her.”
