Court Digest

Missouri
Governor appoints 1st Black woman to Supreme Court
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Monday appointed Missouri Eastern District Appeals Court Judge Robin Ransom to be the first Black woman to serve on the state Supreme Court.

Ransom will replace Judge Laura Denvir Stith, who was the second woman appointed to the high court. Stith retired in March.

Ransom marks a new first for the court as Missouri’s only Black female Supreme Court judge. She’s the third Black judge, and she’ll join Chief Justice George Draper as the second Black judge currently serving on the high court.

Her appointment is especially poignant in a state known internationally for the 2014 fatal shooting of unarmed, Black 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white Ferguson police officer. Brown’s death sparked months of sometimes violent protests, and Black communities continue to call for fair treatment by police and in the courts.

Ransom told reporters gathered at the Capitol that she grew up in North St. Louis, a primarily Black area near Ferguson. She said her father worked at a segregated fire station.

“I can’t cure all of the social ills and injustices that are out there, and this appointment won’t do that,” Ransom said. “What this appointment does show is that this governor has the courage to make such an appointment, that he has great vision for this state, and he knows how great this state is and what this state can be.”

She also emphasized that she is defined by more than her race.

“I have never lived by a label or by any identity that anyone’s tried to put upon me,” she said. “When I look in the mirror, I’ve always been Robin. And I’ve always lived my life to be kind to everyone and to be the best person that I can be.”

Parson noted the historic appointment but said the hard work she’s done is what earned her the position.

“She was the best qualified candidate for the Supreme Court,” Parson said, “and that’s why she was chosen for the position.”

Parson said it helped that he previously met Ransom when he appointed her in 2019 to serve as an appeals court judge. He said he wasn’t sure what day she will leave her position on the Eastern District Court of Appeals and start work at the Supreme Court in Jefferson City.

Former Republican Gov. Matt Blunt first appointed Ransom to serve as a St. Louis County circuit judge in 2008.

She was one of 25 applicants for the Supreme Court vacancy.

In Missouri, a panel of lawyers, citizens and the chief justice review Supreme Court applicants, then submit three finalists for the governor to choose from.

Unlike U.S. Supreme Court nominees, Ransom’s appointment does not need state Senate confirmation.


Louisiana
Prosecutor: Teens face adult murder charges in woman’s death
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans grand jury indicted two juveniles as adults on second-degree murder charges in the fatal shooting of a woman, according to District Attorney Jason Williams, who also acknowledged he sought the indictment despite his antipathy for trying teens in adult court.

Williams spoke out against trying juveniles in adult courts when he ran for the office last fall. But Williams said Monday his prosecutors, at his direction, obtained murder indictments against the teens in the death of Anita Irvin-LeViege, 52.

The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate  reported in January that LeViege and her dog were shot with a rifle during what police said was a suspected carjacking attempt. Both died.

“While I am deeply committed to handling juvenile matters in juvenile court, we refuse to ignore the egregiousness of their actions, and we must pursue appropriate accountability,” Williams said during a news conference.

He said a conviction in juvenile court could bring as little as four or five years in prison.

“I don’t think there’s a single person in this city that would believe that four or five years for taking a life is an appropriate accountability measure,” Williams said.

Idaho
State Legislature hires own lawyers to defend initiative
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Supreme Court has agreed to allow the state Legislature to intervene in two lawsuits that challenge the same restrictive voter initiative law, meaning taxpayers will pay for two separate legal teams in each case.

The state Legislature will be represented by the Idaho attorney general’s office in one case and private attorneys, led by William G. Myers III of the firm Holland & Hart, in the other case, the Idaho Press reported.

State lawmakers approved an additional $4 million in taxpayer funding for the Legislative Legal Defense Fund, which is split between the House and Senate. The House portion this year had dropped to a zero balance. But the Idaho Press reported that public records show Myers is being paid $470 an hour. It is unclear how much the state has paid him so far.

However, officials said the attorney general’s hourly rate for legal representation through the statewide cost-allocation system is about $58 an hour. If the office contracts with outside attorneys, it’s $88.

The money is separate from the state’s Constitutional Defense Fund, which is used to pay attorney fees for lawsuits the state lost, officials said.

“I think it’s important to realize that the Legislature is the body that passed the legislation, and therefore it has the greatest interest in it,” Republican state Senate President Pro-Tem Chuck Winder said, adding that the attorney general’s office will focus on different aspects of the law in its defense.

The law requires signatures from 6% of registered voters in each of the state’s 35 legislative districts to qualify an initiative or referendum for the Idaho ballot. Currently, the law requires 6% from 18 districts.

Reclaim Idaho, one of the groups suing over the new initiative law, is arguing the change gives residents of a single legislative district veto power to prevent any future measures from qualifying for the ballot, eliminating the constitutional rights of everyone else. The group also opposed the Legislature’s motion to intervene in the case.

“The Attorney General is vigorously representing the respondents and defending the constitutionality of the statutes challenged here,” Attorney Deborah Ferguson said. “As a practical matter, the Legislature may be better served by having the Attorney General defend the statute.”

A separate lawsuit challenging the same law was filed by Michael Gilmore, a retired former deputy Idaho attorney general, who filed his lawsuit as an individual, the Idaho Press reported.

Democratic state House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, an attorney, said it was “frustrating” to see taxpayer dollars being used twice.

Winder defended the decision, saying Myers is highly qualified and it’s worth the price “as long as you win.”

Myers is the former solicitor for the U.S. Department of Interior and has previously worked for the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Justice.

Oregon
Court order would allow 15-year-old to sign with NSWL
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order that allows a talented 15-year-old player who already trains with professionals to sign with a National Women’s Soccer League team.

The order issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut comes in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Olivia Moultrie that is challenging the league’s rule prohibiting players under 18. The lawsuit alleges that the rule violates antitrust law and hinders Moultrie’s career development and chances of reaching the U.S. national team.

Immergut’s order will be in place for 14 days. It is unclear whether any NWSL team will sign Moultrie, who currently trains with the Portland Thorns but does not play in games.

Immergut wrote that Moultrie “has shown that the ten teams that make up the NWSL have agreed to impose the NWSL’s age restriction which excludes female competitors from the only available professional soccer opportunity in the United States because they are under 18, regardless of talent, maturity, strength, and ability.

“Defendants have not presented any compelling procompetitive reasons to justify this anticompetitive policy, nor have they shown that eliminating the Age Rule will cause any nonspeculative injury to the NWSL. Defendants have offered no legitimate procompetitive justification for treating young women who want an opportunity to play professional soccer differently than young men.”

The judge also wrote that Moultrie showed that each day the age rule is in place “represents a missed opportunity for her potential professional soccer career.”

In the lawsuit filed May 4, Moultrie’s attorneys asked for a preliminary injunction that would her allow to play in the league. Lawyers for Moultrie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moultrie, who signed a sponsorship deal with Nike when she was 13, can’t join a team overseas under FIFA rules, meaning the NWSL is the only pro league available to her.

The league on Monday reiterated its previously stated position that terms and conditions of employment should be addressed during ongoing negotiations for a a collective bargaining agreement.

“As we said when this action was filed, the NWSL is in the midst of collective bargaining negotiations with the NWSL Players Association over all terms of employment, including the age rule,” the league said in a statement. “We continue to believe that is the appropriate place for a decision on this topic and are evaluating our options with respect to the district court’s order.”


Washington
Man gets 20 months for plan to burn Seattle police precinct
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge sentenced a 20-year-old Alaska man Monday to 20 months in prison for trying to set fire to a Seattle police precinct during last summer’s racial justice protests — less than half the prison time sought by prosecutors.

Desmond David-Pitts, of Anchorage, pleaded guilty to a federal arson conspiracy charge in January, acknowledging he set a fire to trash piled outside an East Precinct sally-port door late on Aug. 24 while others tried to bar a door to keep officers from leaving.

David-Pitts was identified and arrested within an hour, thanks in part to his distinctive pink-camouflage pants. He told investigators he had had bad experiences with police and that he was angry.

“A handful of people bent on destruction, by committing arson and threatening the safety of our community, also drowned out the important message of those who peacefully protest injustice,” Acting Seattle U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said in a news release after the sentencing.

David-Pitts had arrived in Seattle just a few days earlier, amid months of demonstrations that followed the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

He was seen on surveillance video speaking with black-clad participants who used a metal rod and quick-drying cement try to bar the door, and who tried to set other fires at the building. Police nevertheless managed to get outside and join Seattle firefighters in extinguishing the fires.

Prosecutors acknowledged that David-Pitts had suffered mistreatment as a child and that he had mental health and substance abuse issues. But they asked U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour for a sentence of just under four years, saying they had already shown leniency by reaching a plea deal that helped David-Pitts avoid a five-year mandatory minimum.

California
Grand jury indicts ex-UCLA doctor on 21 sexual abuse counts
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A grand jury indicted a former gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles on 21 counts of sexual abuse offenses Monday in a case where he is accused of sexually assaulting seven women, court documents say.

Dr. James Heaps faces multiple counts each of sexual battery by fraud, sexual exploitation of a patient and sexual penetration of an unconscious person by fraudulent representation, according to a copy of the indictment, which was unsealed Monday.

The indictment includes offenses that allegedly took place between 2009 and 2018. No new victims were listed in the court documents. He had previously faced 20 counts.

Heaps was taken into custody Monday on $1.19 million bail after the indictment was unsealed. He was arrested in June 2019; his medical license has been suspended by court order.

Heaps has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.

Scores of patients have accused Heaps of sexual assault and sexual misconduct between 1983 and 2018, when he worked at the UCLA student health center and UCLA Medical Center. Accusations
include making sexually inappropriate comments to patients, touching women sexually during exams without wearing gloves and simulating intercourse.

The University of California system in November agreed to a $73 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit, under which more than 6,600 patients of Heaps could receive a payout, even if they have not accused him of abuse.

More than 100 of Heaps’ former patients have filed individual lawsuits. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a measure allowing a one-year window — all of 2021 — for victims to file legal claims against Heaps and UCLA that could otherwise have been too late under an existing statute of limitations.