National Roundup

Florida
DeSantis picks 2nd Miami appeals judge for Supreme Court
MIAMI (AP) — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday chose a second Miami appeals judge for a seat on the Florida Supreme Court, continuing to move the state’s highest court in a more conservative direction.

DeSantis announced Monday that Robert Luck is his latest choice. Luck, 39, a former Miami federal prosecutor and circuit court judge, most recently served on the 3rd District Court of Appeal.

DeSantis last week picked another judge on that court, Barbara Lagoa, for the Supreme Court.

Luck said he agreed with DeSantis that courts should not overreach and essentially become legislative bodies that create law. He said his priority would be to adhere closely to the Florida Constitution.

“The Constitution, not the judiciary, is supreme. I have taken an oath to make the Constitution and not the judiciary supreme. I swear to you governor I will keep that oath today, tomorrow, and God willing, for the next 35 years,” Luck said.

DeSantis said Luck clearly stood out on the list of 11 finalists for three spots on the Supreme Court that opened when justices reached mandatory retirement age just as the new governor took office last week. The announcement was held at the Jewish Scheck Hillel Community School, where Luck’s children attend and where he went to kindergarten. A large Israeli flag was displayed behind the lectern at the announcement.

“He will be a formidable force on the Florida Supreme Court,” DeSantis said. “Everybody loves this guy. Nobody says anything bad. Really across the board people know him, like him and respect him.”

Luck attended the University of Florida as an undergraduate and got his law degree in 2004 from Florida. As a federal prosecutor, Luck focused on gun violence, Medicare fraud, and investment fraud, rising to become deputy chief of the major crimes section. Luck was a circuit judge in Miami from 2013 to 2017, when Gov. Rick Scott elevated him to the appeals bench.

Earlier, Luck clerked for Judge Edward E. Carnes on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.

Luck presided over about 70 jury trials as a Miami-Dade circuit judge and has written 70 opinions in less than two years as an appellate judge. DeSantis noted one occasion where Luck was attacked in court by a defendant, got back on the bench and recited for the record what happened, then stepped aside from the man’s case.

“Not many of us would have the coolness to do that,” the governor said.

DeSantis did not say when he would choose his third Supreme Court justice.

Georgia
Photographer sues Kemp ­campaign, ­Georgia GOP over photo use
ATLANTA (AP) — An Atlanta-based photographer is suing the campaign of Georgia’s incoming governor and the state Republican party, saying a copyrighted photo he shot was used in a campaign ad without authorization.

Kevin Liles, who regularly shoots photos for national news outlets, filed the federal lawsuit last week in Atlanta.

The lawsuit says a photo Liles shot of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in 2017 was used without his permission in a negative campaign ad. The lawsuit says Liles had licensed the photo to The New York Times, which published it with a May 2017 story.

A campaign spokesman for Republican Gov.-elect Brian Kemp and a lawyer for the state Republican party did not respond to emails seeking comment Monday.

Kemp was scheduled to be sworn in as governor Monday afternoon.

Oklahoma
Inmate convicted in child’s death killed in prison
McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma officials say a man convicted of murder in the 1997 disappearance of his 8-year-old neighbor has been killed in prison.

The Oklahoma Department of Correction says Anthony Palma was found unresponsive in his cell Friday night. Investigators believe his cellmate killed him.

Palma was serving a life sentence for the presumed death of Kirsten Hatfield. The girl was kidnapped from her Midwest City home, though her body has never been found.

Palma was convicted 20 years after Kirsten’s disappearance. He was arrested after new DNA testing linked him to blood found on the girl’s bedroom windowsill.

Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes tells Oklahoma City TV station KWTV that Palma “probably met his justice” but that authorities had hoped Palma would one day lead them to Kirsten’s body

Kentucky
Police: Woman drove drunk to ‘teach her son a lesson’
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky woman charged with drunken driving told police she did it “to teach her son a lesson.”

News outlets report 48-year-old Sunita Jairam was arrested early Sunday on charges including endangering the welfare of a minor.

Her arrest citation says she told police she “drank a bunch of beer” and drove at 150 mph (241 kph). It’s unclear what lesson she was trying to impart.

The son told police he tried to get out of the BMW subcompact several times, but the door was locked. News outlets didn’t list his age.

Booking records show Jairam’s blood alcohol content was 0.161, twice the legal limit. Records show she was previously charged with public intoxication and speeding.

It’s unclear whether she has a lawyer.

Ohio
Judge in opioid suits won’t ­sanction ‘60 ­Minutes’ ­commenters
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge overseeing lawsuits related to the opioid crisis won’t take up a request to sanction Ohio’s incoming governor and two other lawyers for statements they made in recent television interviews.

Several drug manufacturers targeted in the lawsuits argued that comments by Republican Attorney General and Gov.-elect Mike DeWine and the others on CBS’ “60 Minutes” were calculated to taint potential jury pools.

They were part of a Dec. 16 segment on litigation over the role of pharmaceutical companies in the deadly opioid crisis.

Cleveland.com reports U.S. District Judge Dan Polster wouldn’t take up the manufacturers’ request to sanction DeWine and others. A court docket entry dubbed the request moot, noting that Polster gave attorneys some “direction” during a private phone conference. It didn’t specify what he said.