Washington
Report: Thomas sold real estate to donor, didn’t report deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative mega-donor Harlan Crow purchased three properties belonging to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his family, in a transaction worth more than $100,000 that Thomas never reported, according to the non-profit investigative journalism organization ProPublica.
The 2014 real estate deal shines a new light on Thomas’s decades old relationship with Crow, a real estate magnate and longtime financier for conservative causes. That relationship and the material benefits received by Thomas have fueled calls for an official ethics investigation.
ProPublica previously revealed that Thomas and his wife Ginni were gifted with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of annual vacations and trips by Crow for decades — including international cruises on his mega-yacht, private jet flights and stays at Crow’s invitation-only resort in the Adirondacks. But the 2014 real estate deal is the first public evidence of a direct financial transaction between the pair.
Citing state tax documents and property deeds, ProPublica reported that one of Crow’s companies paid $133,363 for the home in Savannah, Georgia where Thomas’ mother was living, along with two nearby vacant lots that belonged to Thomas’ family members.
Thomas mother remained living in the home, which soon underwent tens of thousands of dollars in renovations.
Federal officials, including Supreme Court justices, are required to disclose the details of most real estate transactions with a value of over $1,000. Thomas would not be required to report the purchase if the property was his or his spouse’s primary personal residence, but this stipulation does not apply to this purchase, which Thomas did not report.
Both Thomas and Crow have released statements downplaying the significance of the gifts, with Thomas maintaining that he was not required to disclose the trips. Crow responded to the latest disclosure with a statement to ProPublica saying that he approached Thomas about the purchase with an eye on honoring his legacy.
“My intention is to one day create a public museum at the Thomas home dedicated to telling the story of our nation’s second black Supreme Court Justice,” the statement said. “Justice Thomas’s story represents the best of America.”
California
Church must pay $1.2M for defying COVID regulations
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A California church that defied safety regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic by holding large, unmasked religious services must pay $1.2 million in fines, a judge has ruled.
Calvary Chapel in San Jose was fined last week for ignoring Santa Clara County’s mask-wearing rules between November 2020 and June 2021.
The church will appeal, attorney Mariah Gondeiro told the San Jose Mercury News.
Calvary was one of several large California evangelical churches that flouted state and local mask-wearing and social distancing rules designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during its deadliest period.
That has led to a tangled web of court rulings and challenges.
Calvary Chapel sued the county, arguing the health orders violated its religious freedom. Various courts have ruled either in favor the church or the county.
The church and its pastors were previously held in contempt of court and fined for violating limits on indoor public gatherings. But a state appellate court reversed those decisions last year, saying that the restrictions on indoor worship services were stricter than for secular activities such as going to grocery stores.
The county continued to seek fines for violations of mask-wearing regulations.
“It should appear clear to all — regardless of religious affiliation — that wearing a mask while worshiping one’s god and communing with other congregants is a simple, unobtrusive, giving way to protect others while still exercising your right to religious freedom,” Superior Court Judge Evette D. Pennypacker wrote in the April 7 ruling imposing the fines.
The church, she said, flouted public health orders “and urged others to do so ‘who cares what the cost,’ including death.”
County Counsel James Williams said the ruling showed the court “once again saw through Calvary’s unsupported claims and found them meritless.”
“The county’s response to the pandemic, including the health officer’s public health orders and enforcement against entities that refused to follow the law, saved thousands of lives and resulted in one of the lowest death rates of any community in the United States,” Williams said.
More than 101,000 Californians have died from COVID-19, according to state public health figures. Death and infection rates have fallen since the height of the virus’ spread, and Gov. Gavin Newsom officially ended the state’s coronavirus emergency several months ago.
Last week, the California Department of Public Health ended masking and coronavirus vaccination requirements in high-risk settings, including health care facilities and prisons.
Florida
Post-Parkland, state OKs easier path for capital punishment
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will soon no longer require unanimous jury recommendations for judges to impose death-penalty sentences under a bill the Legislature approved Thursday, a reaction to the life sentence handed to the man who massacred 17 people at a Parkland high school.
The House passed the bill on a 80-30 vote. It now goes to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for final approval. It will allow the death penalty with a jury recommendation of at least 8-4 in favor of execution. DeSantis supports the proposal.
Republicans and Democrats agreed that the reason they were considering the bill was because a divided 9-3 jury spared Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz from capital punishment for the 2018 massacre. He instead received a life sentence with no parole.
But Democrats argued that the state shouldn’t make it easier to impose a punishment that can’t be reversed just because of the Cruz decision.
“We have this bill her today because of one case,” Democratic Rep. Daryl Campbell said. “More people will be sentenced to death whether they are innocent or guilty because the Legislature decided that human life can be ended by majority.”
Only three states out of the 27 that impose the death penalty do not require unanimity. Alabama allows a 10-2 decision, and Missouri and Indiana let a judge decide when there is a divided jury.
Florida has executed two convicted murderers this year, including one on Wednesday, and another execution is scheduled in three weeks. DeSantis, who is a likely presidential candidate, hadn’t overseen an execution since 2019 before signing the three death warrants this year.
Barring any stays, it will be the shortest period that three executions have been carried out in Florida since 2014 under former Gov. Rick Scott, also a Republican.
For decades, Florida had not required unanimity in capital punishment. The state previously allowed a judge to impose capital punishment as long as a majority of jurors were in favor of the penalty. But in 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out state law, saying it allowed judges too much discretion.
The state Legislature then passed a bill requiring a 10-2 jury recommendation. But the state Supreme Court said such recommendations should be unanimous, prompting lawmakers in 2017 to require just that.
Three years later, the state Supreme Court, with new conservative jurists appointed by DeSantis, rescinded its earlier decision and ruled that a death recommendation does not need to be unanimous. Florida’s unanimity standard has remained untouched until now.
Florida
Man sentenced for role in Jan. 6 Capitol attack
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida man was sentenced Thursday to eight months in federal prison for his role in the insurrection and storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Howard Adams, 62, of Edgewater, Florida, was sentenced in federal court in the District of Columbia, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in January to a felony charge of interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder.
Adams was arrested in Edgewater in March 2021.
According to court documents, Adams joined with others in objecting to Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over then-President Donald Trump. A mob attacked the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying election results for Biden over the Trump, a Republican, authorities have said. Five people died in the violence.
According to the criminal complaint, Adams unlawfully approached the U.S. Capitol after rioters pushed through a line of United States Capitol Police officers. Adams eventually entered the Rotunda and then went through Statuary Hall, officials said. Prosecutors said Adams went to the House chamber doorway, where he joined a group chanting, “Break it down!” and “Stop the steal!”
Unable to break down the door, Adams returned to the Rotunda, investigators said. Adams ignored orders from law enforcement officers to exit the building and made contact with an officer who attempted to push him toward an exit door, officials said. Adams eventually left the building about an hour after entering.
Since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for alleged crimes related to the Capitol breach, officials said. More than 320 people have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Florida
Judge who sentenced Cruz removed from other case
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The judge who oversaw the sentencing of the Parkland massacre gunman was removed from another death penalty murder case Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court, which agreed she showed unfair sympathy for prosecutors in the Parkland school shooting case.
The court removed Judge Elizabeth Scherer from overseeing any post-conviction proceedings for Randy Tundidor, who was sentenced to death for the 2019 murder of his Broward County landlord and is appealing his case.
Justices cited Scherer’s chummy interactions with prosecutors who were seeking the death penalty against Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz during sentencing.
“Immediately after sentencing Cruz, Judge Scherer left the bench and, while still in her judicial robe, exchanged hugs with the victims’ families and members of the prosecution team,” the justices said in their unanimous decision.
Judges are supposed to remain neutral during trials and sentencing.
One of the prosecutors in Tundidor’s case was also on the team that prosecuted Cruz.
Scherer had no choice but to sentence Cruz to life in prison with no parole after the jury couldn’t reach a legally-required unanimous decision on recommending the death penalty.
The state Legislature passed a bill later Thursday that will allow the death penalty when at least 8 of 12 jurors recommend it. The measure was filed as a response to the Parkland case. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis supports the bill.
The Supreme Court said Scherer also engaged in heated exchanges with Cruz’s lawyers, accused one of threatening her children, and told two members to “go sit down.”
