National Roundup

Nebraska
Court upholds Omaha man’s convictions in 2015 murder
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the convictions of a 62-year-old man who killed another man during an argument outside an Omaha apartment.

James Cotton is serving a life sentence for the August 2015 shooting death of 24-year-old Trevor Bare. In his appeal, Cotton argued, among other things, that his trial court wrongly allowed evidence obtained in a search that went beyond the scope of the warrant. He also argued that his trial attorney was ineffective.

Cotton’s attorney was criticized during the trial for temporarily hiring a witness in the case.

On Friday, the high court found Cotton’s arguments without merit, noting that when presented with evidence that his attorney may have an ethical conflict, Cotton told the judge he wanted to continue with the trial with the attorney.

Ohio
State says keep ex-high school athlete on sex offender list
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A man convicted as a juvenile of raping a 16-year-old girl has consistently tried to minimize his involvement in the crime and should remain on Ohio’s sex offender registry, state prosecutors argue.

At issue is a request by former Steubenville High School football player Ma’Lik Richmond to be removed from the list with his prison time and parole completed.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office says Richmond tried to escape responsibility for his actions from the beginning when he lied to police about not having a cell phone. Only a search of other phones led to evidence of Richmond’s guilt, the state said.

“Richmond has sought to minimize his involvement and avail himself of the absolutely least amount of personal accountability for his actions,” Angela Canepa, an assistant Attorney General working as a special prosecutor, said in a Feb. 22 filing in Jefferson County juvenile court.

Richmond has portrayed himself as a victim of the criminal justice system and sought the lowest possible punishment for his actions, including categories on the sex offender list, Canepa said.

Richmond, now 21, was convicted in 2013 of raping the West Virginia girl at a party that followed a football scrimmage the previous year. He served nine months in detention, nine months on parole, and later rejoined the Steubenville football team. He went on to play at Youngstown State University.

After his conviction, Richmond was ordered to register his address every six months for the next 20 years. In 2014, Judge Thomas Lipps agreed to reclassify him so that he has to register only once a year for the next decade.

Lipps heard arguments from both sides at a Thursday hearing, with a decision expected in the next few weeks.

Richmond’s attorneys say he successfully served his punishment and parole and is fully rehabilitated.

They said Richmond earned the respect of detention staff, mentors, treatment providers and community members along the way, and nothing in his record suggests he’ll commit another crime.

Richmond’s “progress reflects that the juvenile system has accomplished exactly what it is supposed to in this case — rehabilitation,” state public defenders Brooke Burns and Katherine Sato argued in a March 19 court filing.

The 2012 case drew international attention because of the role of social media publicizing the assault, initial allegations of a cover-up by local authorities and frustration that more football players weren’t charged.

Last year, Youngstown State sidelined Richmond after getting backlash about his playing football. After Richmond sued, a settlement with the university allowed him to stay on the active roster.

As that controversy played out, Richmond’s father, Nathaniel Richmond, was killed in August 2017 in an unrelated confrontation when he shot a judge in a courthouse parking lot and a probation officer returned fire. The judge had been overseeing a wrongful death lawsuit the father filed against a housing authority.

Utah
Federal appeals court orders businessman resentenced
ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — A federal appeals court upheld the conviction of a once-prominent Utah businessman imprisoned for lying to banks, but said he should be resentenced.

A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled Thursday that a judge in Salt Lake City erred in tallying prison term guidelines before sentencing St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson to 11 years in 2016.

Johnson was convicted of eight charges of making false statements to banks to benefit his online business, iWorks.

Jurors cleared him of other charges including conspiracy and fraud.

Johnson also was a central figure in pay-to-play allegations that led to criminal charges against former Utah state attorneys general Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow.

Charges against Shurtleff were dropped in 2016, and a jury acquitted Swallow in 2017.

California
Judge in Stanford rape case says his recall won’t help
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A California judge who faces a recall vote for his handling of a sexual assault case involving a Stanford University swimmer says ousting him won’t help the movement to improve how sexual assault victims are treated.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky adds in an interview with the Mercury News editorial board that there should be criminal justice reform “where it’s smart to do so.”

Persky drew criticism after he sentenced former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner in 2016 to six months in jail for sexually assaulting a woman who had passed out behind a trash bin.

The sentence ignited debate over judicial treatment of sexual assault victims.

Organizers of the recall effort have collected enough signatures to place the question on the June 5 ballot.