New York
Lawyers: Trump tweets should nix death for bike path attack
NEW YORK (AP) - President Donald Trump's tweets were cited Thursday by lawyers for a man charged with fatally mowing down eight people on a New York City bike path as reason to disqualify the death penalty as a trial possibility.
The lawyers wrote in a court submission that Trump's tweeted demands for death and his "politicizing" of the Justice Department should eliminate the option as punishment if Sayfullo Saipov is convicted at a trial scheduled for October 2019.
"A decision not to seek death would expose the decision-maker to a blaze of public scorn and ridicule as well as the possible loss of employment. That taint on the charging process cannot be tolerated," they said.
Prosecutors had said that they would know by September whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions had authorized the death penalty if conviction is secured against the 30-year-old Paterson, New Jersey, resident. A prosecutor's spokesman, Nicholas Biase, declined comment.
Saipov was arrested at the scene of the Oct. 31 truck attack near the World Trade Center that left eight people dead and many more injured. He has been incarcerated since.
In papers in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers said a Monday tweet by Trump shows that he believes Sessions' charging decisions "should be governed by nakedly political considerations."
In the tweet, a reaction to recent federal charges against two Republican congressmen, Trump said: "Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressman were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff......"
The lawyers also noted that Trump had repeatedly demanded, including in a tweet sent the day after the attack, that Saipov be killed by the government.
In a Nov. 1 tweet, Trump said: "NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!"
The following day, Trump tweeted: "...There is also something appropriate about keeping him in the home of the horrible crime he committed. Should move fast. DEATH PENALTY!"
The lawyers also said Trump had used a tweet to describe Saipov as a "degenerate animal."
They argued that Trump's tweets had made it impossible for Sessions to "fairly and independently decide whether to seek the death penalty against Mr. Saipov," who has pleaded not guilty.
The lawyers urged U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick to rule out death as an option. Otherwise, they said, he should appoint an independent prosecutor to determine whether death should be sought.
The attorneys said it defies reality to believe Sessions could truly independently decide whether Saipov should face the death penalty, "knowing that a decision not to seek death would inevitably trigger a 'tweetstorm' of ridicule and scorn from the President and might well lead to the loss of his job."
Illinois
Cook County judge convicted of fraud drops her retention bid
CHICAGO (AP) - An Illinois judge who lost a bid to overturn her fraud conviction has dropped her attempt to seek retention in November.
Cook County Circuit Judge Jessica O'Brien was convicted earlier this year of fraudulently obtaining mortgages for Chicago investment properties and illegally pocketing more than $300,000.
U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin on Tuesday denied several motions made by defense lawyers for O'Brien, including those seeking an acquittal or a new trial.
O'Brien filed the notice to end her retention bid with the Illinois Secretary of State's Office late Wednesday. She said she was bowing out of the race "in light of the federal court's ruling in my case" on Tuesday.
New York
NYC prosecutor's plan could wipe out 20,000 pot convictions
NEW YORK (AP) - Tens of thousands of low-level marijuana convictions could be erased with the OK of Brooklyn's top prosecutor, under a new plan for wiping records clean of offenses no longer being prosecuted in parts of the nation's biggest city.
District Attorney Eric Gonzalez is inviting people to request conviction dismissals. He expects prosecutors will consent in the great majority of a potential 20,000 cases since 1990 and an unknown number of older ones.
To Gonzalez, whose office has stopped prosecuting most cases involving people accused of having small amounts of pot, it's only right to nix convictions that wouldn't be pursued now.
Several states have laws allowing for expunging or sealing marijuana convictions in certain circumstances. And prosecutors in San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle - all in states where pot is now legal - have taken steps toward clearing marijuana convictions en masse. California lawmakers approved a measure last month that would require prosecutors to erase or reduce an estimated 220,000 pot convictions. It's awaiting action from Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown.
The Brooklyn initiative envisions a case-by-case wipeout of thousands of convictions obtained under a law that still stands.
New York allows marijuana-derived medications for some conditions, but recreational pot remains illegal, although Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has appointed a panel to draft legislation that could legalize it.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. decided this year to decline to prosecute most misdemeanor pot possession and smoking cases. The men oversee prosecutions in two of the city's five boroughs.
The DAs said the prosecutions did little for public safety but sometimes a lot of harm - jeopardizing job opportunities, housing, immigration status and more - in the lives of defendants who were overwhelmingly black and Hispanic.
District attorneys in the other three boroughs still pursue such cases, however. All five DAs are Democrats.
Under Gonzalez' new initiative, people already convicted of pot possession misdemeanors or violations in Brooklyn can ask a court to dismiss the cases. Legal groups are ready to help people with the paperwork.
The DA's office will oppose requests from people with additional convictions for drug sales, certain violent felonies or sex offenses, for instance. But Gonzalez expects those cases to be few.
"This is really a relief that I think we can provide, and we do it in a way that is safe," he said.
A dismissal will ultimately be up to a judge. In general, judges often dismiss cases when prosecutors consent to it.
Published: Mon, Sep 10, 2018
