Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

You Have the Right to Carry Cash Says Court; Federal Disabilities Act Covers Trans People; Criminal Records to Be Sealed After 4 Years; Gmail users to get more Spam and Other Stories: Monday Morning Memo

Heads of charities can't sue for defamation; CA Legislators mull bill to lessen sentences for special circumstance murders and to allow agencies to delete emails; San Jose to lose hundreds of cops

Los Angeles District Attorney

Los Angeles deputy DA: Gascón is creating a 'ticking time bomb' by releasing murderers back on the streets

A Los Angeles County deputy district attorney says that George Gascón's "blanket policy" of releasing inmates who were convicted of crimes such as murder as a juvenile is creating a "ticking time bomb," and says his "days are still numbered" after the recall campaign suffered a major blow on Monday. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón's office has released multiple prisoners onto the streets who were convicted of violent crimes such as murder.

Fox News

Bid to recall LA County DA George Gascón comes up short

The drive to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has once again failed, with the county clerk announcing Monday afternoon that the effort came up 46,000 signatures short. The recall campaign turned in just over 715,000 signatures. Nearly 200,000 were found to be invalid, leaving 520,000 valid signatures of registered voters living in LA County. The petition required at least 566,857 valid signatures in order to qualify for the ballot.

Courthouse News Service

LA DA Gascon claims many assistant DA's support him, were 'bullied' into supporting the recall

The drive to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has once again failed, with the county clerk announcing Monday afternoon that the effort came up 46,000 signatures short. The recall campaign turned in just over 715,000 signatures. Nearly 200,000 were found to be invalid, leaving 520,000 valid signatures of registered voters living in LA County. The petition required at least 566,857 valid signatures in order to qualify for the ballot.

Fox News

Full interview: George Gascon reflects on failed recall attempt (Video)

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon survived a second recall effort this week. He discusses the recall effort, where he goes from here and more with Elex Michaleson and Marla Telez.

Fox News Los Angeles

Death sentences lowered to life without parole for two men at DA's request

Two convicted murderers who were sentenced to death, including a Hollywood man who was convicted of using a bottle of cyanide- laced gin to poison his neighbor, have been re-sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at the request of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, court papers released Tuesday show. In a written ruling, Superior Court Judge William Ryan vacated the death sentences of James N. Blair and Anderson Hawthorne Jr. and ordered the two to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

City News Service

Courts & Rulings

Criminal case dismissed against two sheriff's deputies

A judge Thursday dismissed a criminal case against two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies who were charged with filing a false report that the prosecution contended covered up one deputy's alleged use of excessive force during a 2018 arrest in East Los Angeles. Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen found insufficient evidence to allow the case against Woodrow Kim and Jonathan Miramontes to proceed to trial, according to Kim's attorney, Joshua Ritter.

mynewsLA.com

Requiring a showing of driver's license at sobriety checkpoint is constitutional

A city did not violate the Fourth Amendment rights of motorists by instituting a policy of checking drivers' licenses of persons stopped at a sobriety checkpoint, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held yesterday. Judge Daniel P. Collins authored the opinion. It affirmed a summary judgment granted by District Court Judge Morrison C. England Jr. of the Eastern District of California in favor of the City of Vallejo in Solano County.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Federal court upholds the right to carry cash

The federal government can't use "circumstantial evidence" to permanently confiscate nearly $70,000 in cash, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday. "While it may be dubious to drive around with a large amount of cash in one's car," Judge Julius Richardson wrote for the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, "it does not create an inescapable inference of criminal activity. Not using a bank does not necessarily make one a criminal."

Forbes

Charity, project chief are limited-purpose public figures

A charity and the director of its project in Malawi are limited-purpose public figures, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held yesterday, affirming an order dismissing with prejudice their defamation action in which the District Court judge determined that statements about them were false but that actual malice had not been established.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

California Supreme Court accepts invitation to weigh in on employment arbitration agreements & PAGA

On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana that bilateral arbitration agreements governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) may require arbitration of California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims on an individual basis only. However, Justice Sotomayor's concurring opinion in Viking River Cruises also seemingly included an invitation for California's legislature and courts to clarify standing issues related to PAGA actions when an employee is required to arbitrate their individual PAGA claims in accordance with an enforceable arbitration agreement.

LexBlog

Appeals court won't accord anonymity to criminal defendant

The Third District Court of Appeal on Friday spurned a request that a criminal defendant who wants to withdraw his guilty plea to a sex crime be identified by his initials only. There's no authority for doing so, Acting Presiding Justice Elana Duarte declared in an opinion that affirms an order denying the bid of Andrew Lawrence Gregor, a naturalized citizen from Australia, pursuant to Penal Code §1473.7(a)(1).

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Sexual assault case against former Joint Chiefs Vice Chair gets green light from appeals court

A federal appeals court has ruled that a civil sexual assault case filed by former Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser against retired Air Force Gen. John Hyten can proceed, rejecting the government's arguments about immunity from lawsuits. The ruling not only allows a lawsuit that seeks thousands of dollars in damages from a man who was once one of the highest-ranking officers in the military, it could also smooth the way for future, similar lawsuits.

Military.com

After deadly LA car crash, California's controversial fetal homicide law is back in the spotlight

Guttered votives, wilted sunflowers and a menagerie of pristine plush creatures marked the blackened corner where Armani Lester's life ended before he took his first breath. Six bodies were found by the coroner at the Aug. 4 crash site in the Windsor Hills neighborhood of L.A. County. Six murder charges were filed against the driver of the Mercedes-Benz that barreled through the intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues. The fiery collision was so violent, L.A. County Coroner spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani said, that it tore Armani from his mother's womb.

Los Angeles Times

Federal appeals court says Americans with Disabilities Act protections cover 'gender dysphoria,' handing a win to trans people

A federal appeals court said Tuesday that the Americans with Disabilities Act covers individuals with "gender dysphoria," handing a win to trans people in a case concerning a former inmate who alleged discrimination at a Virginia prison. In a majority opinion issued by a three-judge panel with the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the court wrote, "In light of the 'basic promise of equality ... that animates the ADA,' we see no legitimate reason why Congress would intend to exclude from the ADA's protections transgender people who suffer from gender dysphoria."

CNN

Conservative groups that successfully challenged San Francisco's noncitizen voting law file suit against Oakland

The conservative groups that successfully challenged San Francisco's law allowing noncitizen parents to vote in local school board elections have sued Oakland to remove a similar proposal from the city's November ballot. The Oakland City Council voted 6-0 on June 21 to place a measure on the ballot that would enable the city to authorize about 13,000 noncitizen parents or guardians of school-age children to vote in elections for the city's seven school board members.

San Francisco Chronicle

Prosecutors

Jury convicts man linked by DNA to Montclair, Burbank cold case murders

A man described by prosecutors as a serial killer was convicted Thursday of murdering two young women whose bodies were found in Montclair and Burbank in the 1980s. Horace Van Vaultz, Jr., 67, showed no reaction as the clerk of the court read the verdicts. The jurors also found true the special circumstances of multiple murders and that the murders were committed during rapes.

NBC4 Los Angeles

Man gets 5 life terms for killing 5 in the San Fernando Valley in 2014

An ex-convict from Sylmar who carried out a shooting rampage in 2014 that left five people dead in the San Fernando Valley, including three on the same day, was sentenced Thursday, Aug. 18, to five consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole. Superior Court Judge Stephen A. Marcus said from his downtown Los Angeles courtroom that Alexander Hernandez "should never be released."

City News Service

Prosecutors have asked to hold nurse charged in fatal Windsor Hills crash with no bail

In a motion to oppose bail release the DA's office cited information provided by Nicole L. Linton's defense attorneys that said Linton, who has been working as a traveling nurse, had been involuntarily committed to mental health treatment and had hurt herself more than once. "The Defense has disclosed a number of prior incidents which appear to be increasing in severity, ranging from the defendant jumping on police cars to jumping out of apartment windows," a deputy DA wrote in the motion filed ahead of a bail review hearing Monday.

NBC4 Los Angeles

A$AP Rocky charged with assault over November shooting

A$AP Rocky has been formally charged with assault with a firearm after the Harlem-born rapper was arrested in April over allegedly shooting his friend during a disagreement in Los Angeles last November. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced the charges for assault with a semiautomatic firearm with allegations of personally using a firearm on Monday ahead of the rapper's arraignment on Wednesday.

RollingStone

L.A.'s Eastside Playboys gang target of massive sweep by FBI, LAPD

The FBI and Los Angeles police joined other law enforcement agencies in a predawn gang sweep Thursday, arresting 28 members of the Eastside Playboys gang as part of racketeering, narcotics and firearms cases that name about 40 of the gang's leading members. Heavily armed FBI agents and police officers fanned out across L.A. and into various surrounding communities, arresting those named in federal criminal court documents as being part of a scheme that sold narcotics, assaulted foes and sometimes led to murder.

Los Angeles Times

Third person charged with murder in Downey slaying of off-duty officer

Three people have been arrested and now charged with murder in the shooting death of Gardiel Solorio, a 26-year-old Monterey Park police officer who was killed in a LA Fitness gym parking lot in Downey while off duty on Monday. Gerardo Magallanes, an 18-year-old, was charged with one count of murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle and unlawful possession of a firearm while on probation, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

NBC4 Los Angeles

Long Beach woman charged with hate crime after making racist threats against neighbors

A Long Beach woman accused of making racist threats against her neighbors is facing multiple felony charges, as well as hate crime allegations. Lorrene Mae Lake, 58, "allegedly threatened and hurled racial epithets at several of her neighbors " at an apartment complex on East 2nd Street in July, as well as on Friday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said in a news release

.KTLA Los Angeles

Policy/Legal/Political

ADDA Vice President Siddall Lambastes Garcetti, Krinsky, Chemerinsky over op-ed piece

The vice president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys yesterday unleashed an attack on former Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti, former County Bar Association President Miriam Krinsky, and UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, accusing the three of spewing lies in an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times in which they faulted a Court of Appeal opinion critical of District Attorney George Gascón.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

California advances broadest US law sealing criminal

California would have what proponents call the nation's most sweeping law to seal criminal records if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs legislation sent to him Thursday by state legislators. The bill would automatically seal conviction and arrest records for most ex-offenders who are not convicted of another felony for four years after completing their sentences and any parole or probation.

AP

U.S. Department of Justice reverses course, won't seek execution of alleged Sureño accused of three Bay Area murders

More than two years after indicating they would seek death against an alleged Bay Area gang member charged with murdering three people, federal prosecutors have reversed course, filing court papers that say execution is no longer on the table. In December 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice indicated that Michael "Gallo" Rebolledo, 33, would be the lone defendant to face a potential death sentence out of 10 alleged Sureño gang members charged with a total of seven murder counts and several other shootings.

Bay Area News Group

California's new 'Bounty-Hunter' gun law

On July 22, California enacted S.B. 1327 - gun legislation explicitly modeled after Texas' controversial "fetal heartbeat" abortion bill (S.B. 8) that is enforced exclusively through private actions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) previewed the law last December, after a majority of the US Supreme Court largely agreed with Texas that its law prevented federal pre-enforcement lawsuits against state officials because they did not have authority to enforce S.B. 8 (other than certain licensing board members).

Bloomberg Law

When law enforcement wants your social media content, do data privacy laws hold up?

Even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, as states took aggressive steps to make abortions more difficult to access, abortion-rights advocates started to warn that private online activity could be used to target, discourage or punish those seeking abortion services. Now, critics said that was far-fetched, but those concerns are already playing out in court.

NPR

California bill aiming to reduce LWOP sentences headed to Assembly for final vote

A bill that would expand judicial discretion to judges, allowing them to order a sentence other than the death penalty or life in prison without parole (LWOP) for "felony murder special circumstances" cases passed the Assembly appropriations committee last Thursday.

NewsBreak

Los Angeles County/City

Alleged killer of Monterey Park officer spent 1 day in jail after burglary, domestic violence conviction

A 20-year-old man charged this week with killing an off-duty Monterey Park police officer during a botched robbery attempt in Downey spent just a day in custody following a March conviction for burglary and felony domestic violence, according to Los Angeles County court and jail records. Carlos Daniel Delcid of San Pedro, accused of shooting Officer Gardiel Solorio, 26, five times Monday in a parking lot outside an LA Fitness gym, has been charged with murder, attempted robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Orange County Register

Women remain underrepresented in LAPD's higher ranks

Women remain underrepresented among the higher ranks of the LA Police Department, according to an LAPD report discussed Tuesday at the Board of Police Commissioners meeting. Female officers accounted for over one fifth of the 770 promotions since 2018, exceeding the 18% mark of female officers in the department. But just 13.1% of captains and commanders in the LAPD are women, down from 18.9% last year.

City News Service

LAPD media sergeant settles suit over alleged Spanish speaking ban

A Los Angeles Police Department sergeant who alleged he was wrongfully prohibited from speaking Spanish in his role as a media spokesman has tentatively settled the lawsuit he filed against the city for discrimination, retaliation and harassment. Lawyers for plaintiff Sgt. Frank Preciado filed court papers on Wednesday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark V. Mooney stating that a "conditional" settlement was reached and that a request for dismissal of the case will be filed by Jan. 6.

City News Service

Injured LAPD officer settles suit alleging discrimination, retaliation

A longtime Los Angeles Police Department officer has settled her lawsuit against the city in which she alleged she suffered retaliation, including an unwarranted internal affairs investigation, after speaking out against disability discrimination experienced by herself and other officers. Attorneys for Officer Kathy Simpson filed court papers on Tuesday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael P. Linfield stating that a "conditional" settlement was reached.

mynewsLA.com

Accusing a cop: One woman's journey through the LAPD's secretive discipline system

Kelsie Mathews thought she'd finally won a little bit of justice. She had worked with Los Angeles police investigators for months to prove that her former boyfriend, an LAPD officer, had sexually assaulted her and acted inappropriately with other women and arrestees. Then, in September, she received a letter saying they had corroborated her claims.

Los Angeles Times

Accused cops have rights too; such a disappointment at the L.A. Times

We return once again to a never-ending source of material for these columns, that of the Los Angeles Times's penchant for stories presenting the Los Angeles Police Department in an unfavorable light. The latest example appeared in the prime journalistic real estate above the fold on the front page of Sunday's print edition, running under the headline, "Cop still on the job despite assault claim." The sub-headline is no less sensational: "Ex-girlfriend alleges sexual abuse; LAPD corroborates it, then quietly backtracks."

PJ Media

This former L.A. politician took cash in envelopes. Now he's been fined $79,830

Five years ago, Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander took a fateful trip to Las Vegas with a clutch of businessmen and city staffers, accepting a free hotel room, expensive liquor and an envelope containing $10,000, among other things. That trip eventually led to criminal charges, a guilty plea and a 14-month prison sentence for Englander. But the Vegas saga has yet another chapter: a fine from the city's ethics watchdog.

Los Angeles Times

L.A.'s blistering political battle over a suspended councilman expands into new fronts

For months, the Los Angeles political class and we who watch them closely have witnessed a blistering political and legal fight between suspended District 10 City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas and a clutch of our city leaders. Now, somehow, the situation may intensify as a City Hall crew that just lost one big battle faces the risk of taking another shellacking.

Los Angeles Magazine

Sheriff's deputy defends taking photos of Kobe Bryant crash site

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy told the court he has no regrets over the photographs he took of human remains from the 2020 helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others. "I know I didn't do anything wrong," Sheriff's Deputy Douglas Johnson testified in federal court on Friday.

Courthouse News Service

Cooley, Logan clash over signature-verification laws

Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley has criticized County Registrar-Recorder/Clerk Dean C. Logan for refusing to allow monitors to view the counting of signatures on petitions calling for an election to determine if District Attorney George Gascón should be recalled, but Logan insisted yesterday that he was following the dictates of a statute.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Crime/Public Safety

WATCH: Good Samaritan in Hollywood stops attack, robbery on elderly man

Shocking video shows a good Samaritan coming to the rescue of an elderly man being attacked and robbed in Hollywood. Surveillance video shows a person sucker punch an elderly man getting tackled by a business owner. Tim Ratcliff ran down the wannabe thief after he took the victim's phone and wallet.

Fox News Los Angeles

'Flash mob of looters' ransacks LA 7-Eleven - and everybody's caught on video

Authorities sought the public's help in finding the members of a "flash mob" of looters who swarmed into a 7-Eleven store in the Harbor Gateway area of Los Angeles as part of a street takeover earlier this week. The incident occurred about 12:40 a.m. Monday at Figueroa Street and El Segundo Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

City News Service

Suspect arrest in armed robbery targeting $60,000 Rolex at 99 Ranch Market

A little more than a month after a violent attack and robbery in Rowland Heights, authorities have made an arrest. The individuals involved got away with a $60,000 Rolex in the parking lot of a 99 Ranch Market. Cell phone video showed a man and woman attacked and held at gunpoint in the parking lot.

NBC4 Los Angeles

San Jose expected to lose hundreds of cops

The San Jose Police Department should expect a mass exodus of officers in the next three years, union leaders said. A survey conducted by The San Jose Police Officers' Association shows more than 200 officers are planning to resign - with more than 150 wishing to do so in the next 36 months. Among those planning to leave, four out of five officers cited the lack of support from the city as the reason. Officers said issues such as salary and benefits also contribute to their departure plans.

San Jose Spotlight

Hate crimes in Los Angeles rising at record-setting pace

In 2021, Los Angeles recorded 596 hate crimes, the highest number ever reported. This year, the city is on pace to surpass that figure. From Jan. 1–June 30, 349 hate crimes were reported to the Los Angeles Police Department. That is a 16.7% increase from the first half of 2021, and is more than double the equivalent period in 2020.

Crosstown

Consumer

Gmail users can expect to receive more political spam emails

Gmail is the world's most popular email provider, with almost 2BN users, and a big reason for that is its spam filter. For nearly 20 years, Gmail has succeeded where rivals have struggled in keeping spam where it belongs. But now Google risks undoing all that good work. In June, an Axios report revealed Google's intention to allow emails from political campaigns to bypass Gmail's spam filter.

Forbes

California/National

FBI, Homeland Security warn about threats to law enforcement after Trump search

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are warning of an increase in threats to federal law enforcement following the FBI's court-authorized search last week of former President Donald Trump's Florida home. The agencies issued the joint intelligence bulletin on Friday, days after federal agents executed a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Palm Beach, Fla., according to a person familiar with the document.

NPR

The mayor of San Francisco's long fight to get her brother out of jail over armed robbery that turned fatal

On Monday morning, a California man named Napoleon Brown woke up in a San Francisco jail cell after more than two decades in state prison. He was in the city to seek a reduced sentence for his role in an infamous robbery-carjacking in 2000 that led to the death of his then-girlfriend on the Golden Gate Bridge. He's already been in prison more than 22 years, and is set to stay another 22 more under a plea deal he reached with prosecutors.

The Independent

California takes up law firm ownership fight after ABA sidesteps

The fight to overhaul law firm ownership limits is moving to California after the American Bar Association sided against major changes. State lawmakers are set to vote before the end of the month on legislation that would allow the California bar to test new legal service models to make them more affordable.

Bloomberg Law

California state agencies free to delete emails after legislators kill retention bill

California state agencies will be able to keep deleting emails and other documents as soon as officials see fit after legislators killed a records retention bill on Thursday. Assembly Bill 2370 would have required the agencies to preserve records for at least two years, applying the same standard California imposes on cities and counties.

Sacramento Bee

Evidence ties the son of the suspect in the New Mexico Muslim killings to the crimes, authorities allege

The son of the man suspected of killing at least two Muslim men in New Mexico in recent months may also have played a role in the crimes, authorities alleged in court documents filed last week. In a preliminary hearing on Monday, Judge John F. Robbenhaar elected to detain Shaheen Syed, a son of Muhammad Syed, pending trial after listening to evidence brought against him by federal prosecutors.

NBC News

California lawmakers use secretive process to kill would-be laws: 'Where good bills go to die'

Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, went into the last month of California's legislative session somewhat hopeful about prospects for his biggest bill. Cunningham co-authored a law that would have allowed prosecutors to sue big social media companies for addicting children and teens to their online platforms.

Sacramento Bee

Convictions/Pleas/Sentences

LAPD officer pleads no contest in videotaped beating of homeless man

A Los Angeles police officer who was caught on video repeatedly punching a homeless man in Boyle Heights two years ago pleaded no contest to assault Thursday, authorities said. Frank Hernandez, 51, will not serve time in prison for the crime. He was sentenced to two years of probation, 80 hours of community service and a year of anger management classes under the terms of a plea agreement announced during a hearing in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

Los Angeles Times

Rehab doctor Randy Rosen pleads guilty to insurance fraud

The surgeon who was accused of building a luxurious life on the backs of often-desperate drug users eager to make a buck - even if it meant enduring unnecessary surgeries, getting unnecessary lab tests and receiving unnecessary injections for inflated prices - pleaded guilty to several charges in two separate cases on Friday, Aug.12, according to court records.

Press-Telegram

Corrections

S.C. deputy accused of sexually assaulting inmates, showing them porn

A sheriff's deputy is accused of sexually assaulting two female inmates on multiple occasions at a California jail, officials said. Arcadio Rodriguez, 30, who worked at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange, was arrested, and his employment with the department is pending termination, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said in a news release on Friday, Aug. 12.

Corrections1

Parole granted to last 1976 California school bus hijacker

The last of three men convicted of hijacking a school bus full of California children for an attempted $5 million ransom in 1976 - in what a prosecutor called "the largest mass kidnapping in U.S. history" - is being released by the state's parole board. Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the board to reconsider its decision to parole Frederick Woods, 70, on Tuesday.

AP

Articles of Interest

Two lawsuits continue California's tax wars

When California voters passed Proposition 13, the state's iconic property tax limit, in 1978, it was merely the opening salvo of a decades-long political war over curbing the ability of state and local governments to impose taxes. The latest of many battles over tax limits occurred just two years ago, when voters rejected an effort to modify Proposition 13 by making it easier to raise taxes on commercial property.

Cal Matters

Convicted murderer Scott Petersen fights for retrial, citing juror misconduct

Convicted murderer Scott Peterson - who made national headlines in the early 2000s when he was convicted of killing his wife and unborn son in Central California - spent five hours in court Thursday as prosecutors and defense attorneys argued over whether he should be retried due to jury selection errors and juror misconduct.

Courthouse News Service

U.S. appeals court rejects GM racketeering suit against Fiat Chrysler

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday upheld a 2020 ruling that tossed out a racketeering lawsuit filed by General Motors Co against rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, now part of Stellantis NV, and former executives. GM filed the racketeering lawsuit in November 2019, alleging FCA bribed United Auto Workers union officials over many years to corrupt the labor contract bargaining process and gain advantages, costing GM billions of dollars.

Reuters

Roy Moore wins defamation case against Democratic PAC, jury awards him $8.2M

A federal jury awarded Republican Roy Moore $8.2 million in damages Friday after finding a Democratic-aligned super PAC defamed him in a TV ad recounting sexual misconduct accusations during his failed 2017 U.S. Senate bid in Alabama. Jurors found the Senate Majority PAC made false and defamatory statements against Moore in one ad that attempted to highlight the accusations against Moore.

Fox News

Is it a funding issue? Economic impacts of the proposed City of Los Angeles Transfer Tax for Housing and Homelessness

At an estimated $860 million per year, the proposed transfer tax would become the City's second largest tax source, behind only the general property tax. The measure would result in a 27.3% increase in property taxes and a 14.0% increase in total taxes charged by the City. Single family residences on average would pay only 28% of the proposed tax. Multifamily residences (rental properties) would pay about 25% of the proposed tax.

California Center for Jobs & the Economy

LIV Golf's Patrick Reed suing Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee for defamation

LIV Golf's Patrick Reed has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Golf Channel and analyst Brandel Chamblee for "misreporting information with falsity and/or reckless disregard of the truth." Reed alleged in Tuesday's filing that the Golf Channel, Chamblee and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan conspired against him for the past nine years in an effort to "destroy his reputation, create hate and a hostile work environment for him," per Reuters (via ESPN).

BR

For more ADDA news and information, visit http://www.laadda.com.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 12/01/2024 23:34