National Roundup

Connecticut
Ex-cop loses appeal in case of targeting judge in tax scheme
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A federal appeals court rejected the appeal Monday of a former Connecticut police officer convicted of trying to get the judge in his home foreclosure case in trouble with the IRS through a bogus tax filing.

A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York dismissed the arguments of Raymond McLaughlin, who said the federal court system had no jurisdiction over him.

The judges called McLaughlin’s argument consistent with the “Sovereign Citizen” ideology in which proponents believe the federal government is illegitimate and its laws not binding.

“McLaughlin’s argument here goes to the very heart of our authority to hear Federal criminal cases,” the ruling said. “It raises an issue that warrants a clear statement from this Court, to deter future litigants from making similar claims.”

A federal jury in Hartford convicted McLaughlin, a former Windsor police officer, in July 2018 of making a false statement on a federal tax form. He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and appealed his conviction to the 2nd Circuit court.

Federal prosecutors said McLaughlin, 46, of East Hartford, sent documents to the IRS in 2014 falsely stating that he had paid Judge Robert Vacchelli and the court system about $332,000, with the apparent goal of getting the judge in trouble with the IRS for not paying taxes on that income.

If the IRS had treated that filing as true, the judge would have been assessed an additional $110,000 in taxes and his pending reappointment could have been placed in jeopardy, prosecutors said.

In 2012, Vacchelli issued a foreclosure order against McLaughlin and his wife for failing to pay their mortgage for six years. After the order, McLaughlin filed about 44 motions seeking to vacate, reopen or set aside the judgement, all of which Vacchelli rejected.

A federal judge called McLaughlin’s motions “meritless and often incoherent.”

McLaughlin, who represented himself in the appeal, lost his police job after he started espousing “sovereign citizen” views, stopped writing traffic tickets and demanded Windsor officials stop withholding taxes from his pay, the Journal Inquirer has reported.


Florida
Ex-judicial candidate disciplined for anti-Muslim comments
MIAMI (AP) — A retired Florida lawyer and former judicial candidate has been disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court for making disparaging comments on social media about Muslims and the LGBTQ community.

The court, which handles discipline against lawyers and judges, handed Donald McBath a 91-day suspension from practicing law, according to the Florida Bar, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The Bar documented 15 comments that McBath made on Facebook or Twitter, including anti-Muslim remarks (“never trust a Muslim”), homophobic remarks (“Abstain, if you really have that mental illness. It’s not love”), comments against abortion, and comments supportive of President Donald Trump’s travel ban (“They’re leaches on our system.”)

The Bar also noted McBath’s Twitter profile stated: “100% Trump supporter #MAGA; #KAG; proud DEPLORABLE; Pro-God; Christian; Pro-Life; Pro-Gun; Anti-Sharia; Constitutional Conservative; Former Major US Army.”

McBath ran for judge last year in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, which comprises Pinellas and Pasco counties. He lost in the primary to former prosecutor Doneene Loar.

During his candidacy, McBath told the newspaper the comments were his, but said they wouldn’t prevent him from treating a Muslim or LGBTQ citizen fairly if one appeared before him as a judge.

West Virginia
Child advocates ask judge not to dismiss foster care lawsuit
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Child advocates who filed a federal lawsuit alleging West Virginia’s overwhelmed foster care system has failed to protect children have asked the judge to reject a motion to dismiss the case.

In filings last week, attorneys for national foster child advocacy organization A Better Childhood, Disability Rights of West Virginia and the Shaffer and Shaffer law firm argue that the state’s foster care system is “in a state of chaos,” The Journal reports.

“The opioid epidemic toppled what was already a collapsing system,” they argue. “By willfully disregarding the continuing failures of West Virginia’s child welfare system, (the state has) jeopardized the safety and well-being of the 6,800 foster children.”

The advocacy groups filed the suit on Sept. 30 on behalf of 12 children in West Virginia’s foster care system. The suit alleges that the Department of Health and Human Resources houses children in hotels, shelters, institutions or out of state and that the children are subject to abuse and neglect.

The state last month filed a motion to dismiss the class-action case, with DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch saying the state continues to make substantive changes to its system.

The state argued in court filings that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia has no jurisdiction over county circuit court decisions regarding placement of children in foster care.

According to the complaint, West Virginia led the nation in removing children from families in 2018, institutionalizing 71 percent of children between the ages of 12 and 17, and sending more than 300 children out of state.

Recent legislative audits also found that DHHR’s Child Protective Services is unable to meet required timeframes for investigating abuse and neglect cases due to high employee turnover. DHHR’s Bureau of Children and Families also doesn’t make sure social workers maintain their licenses and doesn’t conduct background checks for social workers, the audits state.

The state settled a 2015 complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding DHHR’s treatment of foster children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, but the advocacy groups argue that the settlement is weak and unenforceable. They also put little faith in a new contract between DHHR and Aetna Better Health to manage foster care medical and behavioral health services.