Court Roundup

Louisiana
4 State Police troopers charged for exercising excessive force
The Louisiana State Police on Monday arrested four troopers accused of using excessive force, deactivating their body-worn cameras and making false statements about two arrests in 2019 and 2020.

The charges followed a monthslong internal investigation into use of force incidents in the northern part of the state — a probe begun amid mounting scrutiny of the agency's Troop F, which patrols the Monroe area and the surrounding parishes.

Federal authorities separately are investigating troopers from the same troop in the 2019 case of Ronald Greene, a Black man whose death in State Police custody still has not been explained. An attorney for Greene's family has said that body-camera footage — which the state refuses to make public — shows troopers choking and beating the man, repeatedly jolting him with stun guns and dragging him face-down across the pavement.

One of the four troopers arrested Monday, Dakota DeMoss, 28, also was involved in Greene's arrest and the high-speed chase that prompted a federal civil rights investigation.

He and two other troopers, George Harper, 26, and Jacob Brown, 30, face state charges of simple battery and malfeasance in office in connection with a May 2020 police chase in Franklin Parish.

All three troopers used excessive force while handcuffing a motorist who exited a vehicle and "immediately laid on the ground in a compliant position," State Police said in a news release. They also are accused of turning off their body cameras.

Brown is charged with falsifying use of force and arrest reports and failing to "indicate and provide video evidence," according to the news release.

It was not immediately clear whether the troopers had defense attorneys who could comment on the allegations.

State Police also booked Brown on new charges in a July 2019 drug arrest that followed a traffic stop on Interstate 20 in Ouachita Parish.

Brown and another trooper, Randall Dickerson, 34, used "excessive and unjustifiable force on the handcuffed driver, deactivated body worn cameras and reported untruthful statements regarding the alleged resistance by the suspect," State Police said in the news release.

Brown had been arrested in December on battery and malfeasance charges in yet another incident  involving a man who says authorities followed him to his house, dragged him from his car and beat and kicked him, breaking his ribs.

The newly appointed State Police superintendent, Col. Lamar Davis, said that unjustified use of force is "inexcusable and tarnishes the exemplary work of our dedicated men and women."

"Although we once again face a situation that will undoubtedly bring negative public attention to our agency, we must remain committed to holding each other accountable," he told rank-and-file troopers in an internal email obtained by The Associated Press.

Arizona
State high court says cities must benefit from subsidies
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona cities, counties and the state Legislature must ensure the public actually receives a real benefit in exchange for subsidies the government provides to lure businesses or they violate the state constitution's gift clause, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.

In a case that has wide ramifications for governments that have increasingly felt compelled to cut deals to lure new business, the high court said that providing subsidies must do more than provide greater economic activity, they must bring the city some real return on its investment or they are illegal.

The case decided Monday involved a $2.6 million subsidy the city of Peoria provided to the private Indiana-based Huntington University to open a campus in the city's Arrowhead district. Some of the money went to Huntington and some to the private company, Arrowhead Equities, that renovated an existing building to meet its needs.

Peoria had adopted an economic development plan designed to lure specific businesses into the city, including education providers. They agreed to a deal with Huntington in 2015 where the university would get subsidies for opening a campus and agreeing not to do so anywhere else in the state.

But Peoria got nothing more than greater business activity from its investment, neither a stake in the buildings its money helped renovate nor other consideration.

The high court, in a unanimous opinion written by Vice Chief Justice Ann Timmer, said that doesn't cut it.

"In effect, HU and Arrowhead's promises are no different than hamburger chain promising to operate in Peoria in exchange for monetary incentives paid by the City in hope of stimulating the local economy," Timmer wrote.
"A private business will usually, if not always, generate some economic impact and, consequently, permitting such impacts to justify public funding of private ventures would eviscerate the Gift Clause."

The case was brought by the Goldwater Institute on behalf of a group of taxpayers.

"Today's unanimous ruling sends a powerful reminder to government officials across the state that they can't spend taxpayers' hard-earned money on sweetheart deals for select private businesses, but can only purchase goods and services that truly benefit the public," the Goldwater Institute said in a statement.

The city said in a statement that is has long championed economic development and the agreements it had with Huntington and Arrowhead "were developed using clearly defined performance criteria that were based on previously established law and legal precedents regarding the gift clause."

That's no longer the case, the city acknowledged.

"While this disappointing ruling may have a chilling effect on economic development programs across the state, the city will continue to ensure it is promoting positive economic development efforts within the legal framework as clarified by the court," the city said.

South Dakota
Judge rejects amendment legalizing marijuana
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota judge on Monday struck down a voter-approved constitutional amendment that legalized recreational marijuana after Gov. Kristi Noem's administration challenged it.

Circuit Judge Christina Klinger ruled the measure approved by voters in November violated the state's requirement that constitutional amendments deal with just one subject and would have created broad changes to state government.

"Amendment A is a revision as it has far-reaching effects on the basic nature of South Dakota's governmental system," she wrote in her ruling.

Brendan Johnson, who sponsored the amendment and represented a pro-marijuana group in court, said it was preparing an appeal to South Dakota's Supreme Court.

Two law enforcement officers, Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Rick Miller and Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom, sued to block legalization by challenging its constitutionality. Miller was effectively acting on behalf of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who had opposed the effort to legalize pot.

Klinger was appointed as a circuit court judge by Noem in 2019.

"Today's decision protects and safeguards our constitution," Noem said in a statement. "I'm confident that South Dakota Supreme Court, if asked to weigh in as well, will come to the same conclusion."

Thom also praised the ruling, saying it "solidifies the protections" of a 2018 constitutional amendment that required further amendments to stick to one subject.

In her ruling, Klinger said that marijuana legalization would have touched on business licensing, taxation and hemp cultivation. The amendment would have given the state's Department of Revenue power to administer recreational marijuana, but Klinger ruled that by doing so, it overstepped the authority of the executive and legislative branches of government.

Lawyers defending legalization had cast the lawsuit as an effort to overturn the results of a fair election. About 54 percent of voters approved recreational marijuana in November.

Possessing small amounts of marijuana would have become legal on July 1, but that will not happen unless a higher court overturns the ruling.

Marijuana has become broadly accepted around the United States, with a Gallup Poll in November showing 68% of Americans favored legalization. South Dakota was among four states that month to approve recreational marijuana, along with New Jersey, Arizona and Montana. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have done so.

Supporters have argued that legalization creates jobs and raises tax money for governments that badly need it. Opponents have argued that marijuana leads to use of harder drugs, and may also lead to more impaired driving and other crimes.

New York
State's high court ends state case against Manafort
NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Manafort won't face mortgage fraud charges in New York after the state's highest court declined to revisit lower court decisions that barred prosecuting Donald Trump's former campaign chairman on double jeopardy grounds.

The New York Court of Appeals decision last week closed the door on charges against Manafort in the matter and came less than two months after then-President Trump pardoned him in a similar federal case that had put him behind bars.

Manafort's lawyer, Todd Blanche, said he was pleased with the ruling.

"This is a case that should never have been brought because the dismissed indictment is a clear violation of New York law," Blanche said, echoing his stance since the state charges were brought in March 2019.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s decision to charge Manafort was widely seen as a hedge against the possibility Trump would pardon him for federal crimes. Trump's pardon does not cover state offenses.

Vance's office declined to comment.

Manafort was convicted in federal court of tax and bank fraud charges involving allegations he misled the U.S. government about lucrative foreign lobbying work, hid millions of dollars from tax authorities and encouraged witnesses to lie on his behalf.

Less than a year into his nearly 7½-year sentence, he was released to home confinement in May because of concerns about the coronavirus.

Trump pardoned him just before Christmas.

Vance, a Democrat, filed the state charges minutes after Manafort's sentencing in the federal case. The Manhattan case alleged Manafort gave false and misleading information in applying for residential mortgage loans from 2015 to 2017; he was also charged with falsifying business records and conspiracy.

Manafort's lawyer quickly raised the double jeopardy claim, saying the New York case was essentially a copy of the federal one.

Vance's office contended its case was exempt from state double jeopardy protections because the charges involved different aspects of some of the offenses covered in the federal case.

A trial court judge, and then an intermediate appeals court, disagreed.

Vance's office appealed to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, in November.

The state's chief judge, Janet DiFiore took on the matter herself and issued a one-page decision denying Vance's office an opportunity to pursue its appeal further, effectively ending the case.

The New York Times was first to report the news of DiFiore's decision.

Missouri
St. Louis circuit attorney to investigate conditions at jail
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner on Monday launched an investigation into conditions at the City Justice Center, a large downtown jail that was the site of a massive disturbance  over the weekend.

More than 100 detainees on Saturday were able to get out of their cells, smash windows and set fires. A corrections officer was injured and hospitalized but is expected to recover.

Advocates for inmates on Sunday said the uprising was "an act of courage" that was necessitated by inmates' basic needs not being met, including a lack of personal protective equipment to help stave off a coronavirus outbreak.

Gardner, in a statement, called the weekend incident and other recent protests inside the jail "deeply troubling" and said her office's investigation will focus on the circumstances that led to the actions.

She cited concerns raised by relatives of detainees, public defenders and advocates about conditions, "including whether or not appropriate protocols have been followed to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

Earlier Monday, Mayor Lyda Krewson announced the appointment of a task force to examine issues at the jail that has had three inmate uprisings since December.

Krewson's office said the task force will be chaired by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Wolff, who also is a professor and dean emeritus at St. Louis University School of Law.

 An advocate for inmates, Tracy Stanton of Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing St. Louis, said the inmates rioted in part because they lack adequate heat in cells and personal protective equipment to protect against COVID-19.

City officials say there are no positive cases among the general population, and that inmates are provided with adequate PPE and are tested upon request.