Court Digest

Alabama
Judge tosses Roy Moore’s lawsuit over interview
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed failed U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore’s $95 million lawsuit targeting comedian Sacha Baron Cohen filed after Moore complained he was tricked into an interview that lampooned sexual misconduct accusations against him.

Judge John Cronan wrote that Moore signed a clear disclosure agreement that prohibited any legal claims over the appearance. He added that the absurd segment — in which the comic demonstrated a so-called pedophile detector that beeped when it got near Moore — was “clearly a joke” and no viewer would think the comedian was making factual allegations against Moore.

“The court agrees that Judge Moore’s claims are barred by the unambiguous contractual language, which precludes the very causes of action he now brings,” Cronan wrote.

The lawsuit centered on Moore’s unwitting appearance on the comic’s “Who is America?” show. The segment ran after Moore faced misconduct accusations that he had pursued sexual and romantic relationships with teens when he was a man in his 30s. He has denied the allegations.

Moore, a Republican sometimes known as the Ten Commandments judge known for hardline stances opposing same-sex marriage and supporting the public display of Ten Commandments, faced the accusations during his 2017 race for U.S. Senate. The accusations contributed to his loss to Democrat Doug Jones, the first Democrat to represent Alabama in the Senate in a quarter-century.

Moore had been told he was receiving an award for supporting Israel. But in the segment, Baron Cohen appeared as a faux counterterrorism instructor “Col. Erran Morad,” discussing bogus military technology, including a supposed pedophile detector. In the segment, the device beeped repeatedly as it got near Moore, who sat stone-faced.

The judge noted the absurdity of the segment in dismissing Moore’s lawsuit, which sought $95 million in damages.

“In light of the context of Judge Moore’s interview, the segment was clearly a joke and no reasonable viewer would have seen it otherwise,” the judge wrote.

Court records indicate Moore and his wife, who also was a plaintiff in the suit, are appealing.

“Of course we will appeal — this Court used words like “tricked and Joke” in describing Cohens behavior but will still do nothing to rein in his fraudulent misconduct,” Moore said in a statement texted to The Associated Press.

Baron Cohen has for years lured unwitting politicians into awkward interviews. He has faced past lawsuits over similar pranks, but those were tossed out because the individuals had signed releases.

Nebraska
Judge who nixed same-sex adoption target of filing
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Former state Rep. Ernie Chambers is known for seeking the censure of Nebraska judges he believes have acted outside the bounds of fairness. Now, Chambers is targeting a judge in the state’s northeastern corner who saw the Nebraska Supreme Court overturn his denial of an adoption petition to a same-sex couple.

In a complaint filed last week with the Nebraska Judicial Qualifications Commission, Chambers accuses Dixon County Judge Douglas Luebe of violating state law requiring judges perform their duties fairly and impartially and without bias, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Luebe described himself as “old-fashioned” in denying an adoption petition for a same-sex married couple last year. He denied the petition based not on state law, but on the legal definition of “wife” that he pulled from a law dictionary. Luebe said the married women who sought to adopt had listed themselves in their petition as “wife and wife.” He balked, saying a law dictionary defined “wife” as “’a woman who has a lawful living husband.’”

Nebraska’s highest court overturned  that denial in March, ruling that the plain language of state adoption law does not preclude same-sex married couples from adopting.

In his complaint, Chambers called Luebe a “scalawag in judicial robes,” and said the judge warranted discipline under the Nebraska Constitution because he acted unlawfully and had inflicted “extreme mental anguish on a family.”

“His contemptuous conduct is so blatantly inhumane, cruel and devoid of ordinary human compassion that the Angels of impartial justice and judicial rectitude droop their pinions and blush in mortification,” Chambers wrote.

Luebe did not respond to the World-Herald’s request for comment about the complaint.

Connecticut
High court order delays hearing in Yale student killing case
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut judge on Tuesday delayed a review of the $20 million bond set for a man accused of killing a Yale graduate student, citing a state Supreme Court order to another judge to explain why the bail is so high.

A bail hearing for Qinxuan Pan was scheduled for Tuesday in New Haven Superior Court, but Judge Gerald Harmon pushed it back to July 28. At the request of Pan’s lawyer, the Supreme Court on June 29 ordered Judge Brian Fischer to explain by this Thursday why he set bail at $20 million.

Pan, who was a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MIT graduate, is charged with murder in the shooting death of Kevin Jiang on a New Haven street on Feb. 6.

Pan’s lawyer, William Gerace, has called the bail amount “a record” in the state that has the same effect as an order denying bail. He has said bail of about $1 million would be appropriate.

Prosecutors had asked for bail to be set at $50 million, saying Pan’s family is wealthy and he is a flight risk. Pan eluded authorities for three months before being arrested in Alabama with $19,000 in cash, his father’s passport and several cellphones, police said.

Jiang, 26, an Army veteran who grew up in Chicago and was engaged to be married, was a graduate student at Yale’s School of the Environment. He was shot multiple times at close range shortly after leaving the apartment of his fiancee, Zion Perry.

Police have not disclosed a motive for the shooting.

Perry and Pan had met while they both attended MIT, but Perry told authorities they never had a romantic or sexual relationship, according to court documents. Perry said she and Pan were just friends, but she believed Pan was interested in her romantically, the documents say.

California
‘Marrying Millions’ TV personality pleads not guilty to raping teen
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Developer and reality TV personality William Hutchinson pleaded not guilty Tuesday to raping an unconscious 16-year-old girl at his Southern California vacation home.

The 63-year-old, who is free on $100,000 bail, declined to comment after the hearing in Orange County Superior Court, telling reporters: “Have a nice day, no thank you” as he got into a car, the Orange County Register reported.

Hutchinson is known for his two seasons on the Lifetime series “Marrying Millions,” which followed his romance with 23-year-old fiancee, Brianna Ramirez. Hutchinson owns Texas-based Dunhill Partners, a commercial real estate company that develops, leases or manages shopping centers and other properties nationwide.

Prosecutors accused Hutchinson of taking two 16-year-old girls on several trips this year to his vacation home in Laguna Beach and giving alcohol to one girl in April before raping the unconscious teen. He is accused of sexual battery of the second teen in May.

Hutchinson also is charged in Texas with sexual assault tied to allegations of groping a 17-year-old girl at his Dallas-area home in May. He is the teen’s legal guardian, court documents say.

Hutchinson, who has denied wrongdoing, surrendered to police in Highland Park, Texas, last week and is free on $30,000 bond in that case.

In California, Hutchinson pleaded not guilty to a felony count of rape of an unconscious person and five misdemeanor counts of sexual battery. If convicted, he could face up to eight years in state prison and 2 1/2 years in county jail.

Missouri
Man accused of participating in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man from the St. Louis area has been charged with participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday that 31-year-old Joshua David Dressel of Festus is the fifth person from the St. Louis region charged in connection with the riot. Dressel appeared in federal court in St. Louis via videoconference Tuesday to hear four misdemeanor charges, including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Dressel did not enter a plea to any of the charges.

More than 500 people, including 11 from Missouri, have been charged in connection to the riot.

Virginia
Appeals court: Dealers can sell handguns to 18-year-olds
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A federal law that for more than 50 years has banned licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to young adults between age 18 and 21 is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

In a 2-1 opinion, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond overturned a lower court ruling upholding the law.

Judge Julius Richardson, a Trump appointee, wrote that the right to bear arms is a “cherished constitutional right” that vests at age 18.

“(W)e refuse to relegate either the Second Amendment or 18- to 20-year-olds to a second-class status,” Richardson wrote.

It is unclear whether the ruling would have any immediate impact. A different appeals court, the 5th Circuit, ruled in an opposite manner on the same issue several years ago.

Also, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which is named as the defendant in the lawsuit, could seek an appeal before the full 4th Circuit panel. The three-judge panel that ruled Tuesday had a 2-1 majority of GOP-appointed judges, but the 4th Circuit as a whole has a narrow majority of Democratic-appointed judges.

The ATF referred questions to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond Tuesday to a call and email seeking comment.

Richardson, in his ruling, cites recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent, particularly the 2008 Heller decision, which declared that the Second Amendment applies to individuals and not just those connected to militia service.

He also cites historical references to the time of the Founding Fathers, noting that 18-year-olds typically served in the militia at age 18.

In a dissent, Judge James Wynn, an Obama appointee, accused his colleagues of breaking “new ground by invalidating a modest and long-established effort to control gun violence.”

“But the majority’s decision to grant the gun lobby a victory in a fight it lost on Capitol Hill more than fifty years ago is not compelled by law,” Wynn wrote.

Tuesday’s ruling was prompted by a lawsuit by 19-year-old Natalia Marshall, a University of Virginia student who said she wanted a handgun as protection from an abusive ex-boyfriend.

A federal law, enacted in 1968, bars federally licensed dealers from selling handguns to persons under age 21. But those age 18 and over are still permitted under federal law to purchase handguns from a private party. They also are allowed to buy long guns from a dealer.

The National Rifle Association said it applauded the decision.

“The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recognized today that millions of young adults must be allowed to exercise their fundamental constitutional right,” said Amy Hunter, the NRA’s director of media relations, in an emailed statement.


Kansas
Man who skipped sentencing last week gets prison
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A week after missing his first sentencing hearing, a Kansas man was hauled into a federal courtroom in Kansas City, Missouri, in shackles and sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for carrying out a phony debt-selling scam involving millions of dollars.

Joel Tucker, 52, of Prairie Village, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty last year to transporting stolen money, bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion. He was also ordered to pay more than $8 million in restitution to the IRS.

Tucker had been set to be sentenced last week, but did not show up for the hearing, and an arrest warrant was issued for him. His lawyers said Tucker was in Colorado dealing with a family matter.

Most of Tucker’s charges stemmed from his selling phony consumer information to debt collectors, who then tried to get consumers to pay debts they didn’t owe. In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission obtained a $4 million judgment against Tucker for the same scam.

Tucker’s brother, former professional race car driver Scott Tucker, is serving a nearly 17-year sentence in federal prison for running an illegal payday loan operation in Overland Park that federal authorities said exploited more than 2 million borrowers.