National Roundup

Virginia
Ex-federal worker pretended to be CIA agent to steal millions
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A former public affairs officer for the Drug Enforcement Administration has pleaded guilty to pretending to be an undercover CIA agent to persuade companies seeking business with the agency to give him millions of dollars.

At a plea hearing Thursday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, Garrison Courtney admitted he enlisted multiple public officials to lend legitimacy to his scheme by telling them they had been selected to participate in a classified CIA program.

Courtney cheated multiple companies out of more than $4 million between 2012 and 2016 by convincing them to put him on his payroll, according to plea documents.

Courtney told companies he was affiliated with a cover CIA operation called Alpha-214, and that he needed to be placed on their payroll to cover up the fact that he was a government agent. He said the companies would be reimbursed in the form of lucrative government contracts.

He leaned on his time as a former public affairs officer with the DEA to enlist public officials to give generic briefings that lent legitimacy to his business dealings with the various companies.

He pleaded guilty to a single county of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced.

South Dakota
Case against airman accused of killing infant transferred
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — The case against an Ellsworth Air Force Base airman accused of fatally injuring his infant son will be transferred from state court to the military justice system.

James Cunningham, 26, is charged with second-degree murder in the March death of the five-month-old baby at their Rapid City home.

Lara Roetzel, chief deputy at the state’s attorney office, says the Air Force has the power to take jurisdiction in cases involving its personnel, even if the crime happened off base.

Roetzel said military court is comparable to civilian court, while military prisons are tougher than South Dakota institutions.

Air Force Lt. Joshua Sinclair tells the  Rapid City Journa l that Cunningham was transferred from the Pennington County Jail to Ellsworth and if convicted would be sent to a military prison.

Cunningham is charged with murder under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for engaging in an act that is “inherently dangerous to another” and shows a “wanton disregard of human life,” said Sinclair.

He said the maximum punishment upon conviction is life in prison without parole, a dishonorable discharge, reduction to the lowest enlisted grade and forfeiture of all pay. Cunningham, if convicted, would have faced a mandatory punishment of life without parole under South Dakota law.

Sinclair said Cunningham can use a military defense lawyer or hire his own civilian attorney.

Kentucky
Lawsuit by ex-school board members to regain seats dismissed
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday filed by former members of the Kentucky Board of Education, who felt they weren’t given due process when they were fired by Gov. Andy Beshear before their term ended.

Judge Greg Van Tatenhove ruled that Beshear’s action weren’t illegal because the board members don’t have a right to the appointed seats, news outlets reported. Van Tatenhove’s ruling echoed his February decision to not reinstate the old board.

Van Tatenhove previously said while Beshear’s action may seen unfair to board members, who had time left on their appointments, doesn’t mean his actions can be overturned in court.

Beshear delivered on a campaign promise to teachers when he overhauled the board by disbanding it on his first day in office. He appointed 11 new members and soon after, Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis resigned.

On Wednesday, Beshear said the issue was behind him and that Kentucky now had “dynamite” candidates for a new education commissioner.

Steven Megerle, the former members’ attorney, said the ousted members were disappointed with the ruling and may appeal.

Megerle also said it was “interesting” that Beshear is waiting for member terms to expire as opposed to disbanding other boards since the lawsuit was filed.


Maine
State Supreme Court to focus on racism prevention in legal system
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Citing recent “horrific deaths” of black people, Maine’s Supreme Court announced Wednesday it’s undertaking an effort to ensure racism and discrimination haven’t crept into the state’s legal system.

The six justices will include the “wider public” while listening and gathering information in a “continuing and redoubled effort” to fight racial inequities, they said in a statement.

“The courts have a direct and fundamental responsibility to dispense justice without any hint or even appearance of racism or other bias in all of their insidious forms,” they wrote. “Freedom from disparate treatment based upon race is not only a constitutional right — it is a basic human right.”

The statement comes amid national furor and protests over law enforcement treatment of black people following George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. Floyd, a black man, died on May 25 after a white police officer placed his knee on Floyd’s neck despite his pleas that he couldn’t breathe.

“The horrific deaths of African Americans in Minneapolis, Louisville, and Atlanta in recent weeks have driven home a stark and heartbreaking reminder to all Americans that racism continues to be a pervasive blight upon our constitutional republic and the world at large,” the court wrote.

The court said its mission is to administer an impartial system “that serves the public interest, protects individual rights and instills respect for the law.”

“Bearing in mind that we must learn in order to lead, we have begun to reach out to people and resources that can help us better understand, identify and address racism in all its forms and its insidious effects upon attitudes and behavior,” the court said.

The justices said there would be additional training for judicial officers and court staff, and added that the court will work toward integrating additional measures “to prevent racism and other forms of discrimination from affecting the justice process.”