Court Digest

California
Court reverses former U.S. rep’s conviction of lying to federal officials
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An appellate court on Tuesday reversed a 2022 federal conviction against former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, ruling that he should not have been tried in Los Angeles.

Fortenberry was convicted in March 2022 on charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser. He resigned his seat days later following pressure from congressional leaders and Nebraska’s GOP governor.

In its Tuesday ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote that the trial venue of Los Angeles was improper because Fortenberry made the false statements during interviews with federal agents at his home in Lincoln, Nebraska, and in his lawyer’s office in Washington.

“Fortenberry’s convictions are reversed so that he may be retried, if at all, in a proper venue,” the decision said.

A federal jury in Los Angeles found the nine-term Republican guilty of concealing information and two counts of making false statements to authorities. He vowed to appeal from the courthouse steps.

Fortenberry and his wife, Celeste Fortenberry, praised the court’s decision.

“We are gratified by the Ninth Circuit’s decision,” Jeff Fortenberry said in a statement. “Celeste and I would like to thank everyone who has stood by us and supported us with their kindness and friendship.”

Thom Mrozek, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, noted that the appellate court left a path open for future proceedings against Fortenberry.

“The ruling does not preclude a retrial on the charges that then-Congressman Fortenberry made multiple false statements to federal agents,” Mrozek said in a statement. “We are evaluating potential next steps before deciding how best to move forward.”

Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, declined to comment on the ruling’s potential impact for federal prosecutors in Washington.

“We cannot comment on matters where we don’t have charges filed,” she said in an email Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nebraska did not immediately return a phone message.

Fortenberry was charged after denying to the FBI that he was aware he had received illicit funds from Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent.

At trial, prosecutors presented recorded phone conversations in which Fortenberry was repeatedly warned that the contributions came from Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent. The donations were funneled through three strawmen at the 2016 fundraiser in Los Angeles.

The case stemmed from an FBI investigation into $180,000 in illegal campaign contributions to four campaigns from Chagoury, who lived in Paris at the time. Chagoury admitted to the crime in 2019 and agreed to pay a $1.8 million fine.

It was the first trial of a sitting congressman since Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio, was convicted of bribery and other felony charges in 2002.


Arizona
Widower of ex-county prosecutor suspected of killing 2 women
PHOENIX (AP) — The widower of metro Phoenix’s former top county prosecutor was suspected of fatally shooting a woman he was in a relationship with and her mother on Christmas Eve before taking his own life.
Phoenix police say 47-year-old David DeNitto is believed to have killed 47-year-old Maryalice Cash and 83-year-old Cynthia Domini after an altercation at a home where there was a holiday gathering. An investigation into the deaths is underway.
DeNitto was previously married to former Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel, who died in late April 2022 of health complications that weren’t specified. Adel, the first woman to be elected Maricopa County attorney, served in that position from October 2019 until her resignation in March 2022.
She resigned amid criticism of her performance, including the dismissal of 180 misdemeanor cases because charges were not filed before the statute of limitations expired. She also faced scrutiny over whether an acknowledged alcohol abuse problem had affected her ability to do the job.
County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, who succeeded Adel, said in a statement that it was “impossible to comprehend a tragedy such as this. Words cannot adequately express the flood of sorrow. I ask the community to join me in praying for the families affected and, most especially, Allister’s children.”

Florida
Disney lawsuit says government failing to release public records
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney has filed a lawsuit claiming that the oversight government for Walt Disney World, which was taken over by appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year, has failed to release documents and properly preserve records in violation of Florida public records law.
Disney said in the lawsuit filed Friday that the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, often referred to as CFTOD, has been so slow in fulfilling its public records duties that it has failed to respond completely to a request the company made seven months ago when it paid more than $2,400 to get emails and text messages belonging to the five district board members appointed by DeSantis.
Disney, DeSantis and the DeSantis appointees already are battling for control of the government in two pending lawsuits in federal and state court.
The public records lawsuit is asking a judge to review any documents that the district claims are exempt from being released, declare that the district is violating state public records law and order the district to release the documents that Disney has requested.
“CFTOD has prevented Disney from discovering the actions of its government through public records requests, in violation of Florida law,” said the lawsuit filed in state court in Orlando. “The Court should grant Disney relief.”
An email was sent to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District seeking comment.
The new lawsuit claims that the district is failing to follow public records laws in other ways, such as allowing the DeSantis-appointed board members to use personal email addresses and texts for district business without a process for making sure they are preserved and failing to make sure board members don’t auto-delete messages dealing with district business.
The feud between DeSantis and Disney started last year after the company publicly opposed the state’s so-called don’t say gay law, which bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. The law was championed by DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. In retaliation, DeSantis and Republican legislators took over the district Disney had controlled for more than five decades and installed five board members loyal to the governor.
Around 50 out of about 370 employees have left the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District since it was taken over in February, raising concerns that decades of institutional knowledge are departing with them, along with a reputation for a well-run government.

Alabama
Judge: Lawsuit challenging state’s transgender care ban for minors will move forward
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge declined Tuesday to pause litigation challenging Alabama’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors as similar cases wind upward toward the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. District Judge Liles Burke said no to a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to put the Alabama case on hold until appellate courts decide if they will hear related petitions on whether states can enact such bans. The Justice Department asked for the stay because, “this exceptional legal landscape is quickly evolving.”
Burke wrote that the case will move forward for now. He said a stay might be appropriate later if those petitions are granted.
Transgender young people and their families have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appellate court decision that allowed bans in Kentucky and Tennessee to remain in effect. In the Alabama case, families with transgender children have asked the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a decision that would let the Alabama law take effect.
The Alabama case is scheduled to go to trial in April.
At least 22 states have enacted laws banning or restricting gender-affirming care for minors and most of the bans are being challenged in court.
The Alabama ban makes it a felony — punishable by up to 10 years in prison — for doctors to treat people under 19 with puberty blockers or hormones to help affirm a new gender identity. The law remains blocked by injunction until the 11th Circuit appeals court issues a mandate in the case.

Illinois
Woman sentenced in straw purchase of gun used to kill police officer
URBANA, Ill. (AP) — A woman has been sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison after taking part in the straw purchase of a handgun that was used to kill one central Illinois police officer and wound another during a shootout.
Regina Lewis, 28, of Normal, Illinois, engaged in a conspiracy to buy and transfer a firearm and a conspiracy to engage in misleading conduct, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois said Tuesday in a release.
Lewis was sentenced Friday. She previously admitted to conspiring with Ashantae Corruthers and Darion Lafayette to buy the gun in 2020 at an Indianapolis gun store for Lafayette, Lewis’ cousin, who was a convicted felon and could not legally buy a firearm.
Corruthers falsely certified on a form for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that she bought the gun for herself. She later reported to Indianapolis police in 2021 that the gun had been stolen.
Lafayette fatally shot Officer Christopher Oberheim and wounded Officer Jeffrey Creel on May 19, 2021, after they responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at an apartment complex in Champaign.
Lafayette was also fatally shot.
Corruthers, who is from Indianapolis, pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to defraud the government by buying and transferring the gun to Lafayette and covering up the transaction by falsely reporting its theft. Her sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 12, 2024.

Mississippi
Man pleads guilty to bank robbery
in his hometown
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man faces up to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to robbing a bank in his hometown in Mississippi.
Curtis Lee Williams, 21, robbed the BankPlus branch in Durant on July 7, 2022, while wearing sunglasses, a wig, and no shoes, according to court documents and statements made in court during his plea hearing Thursday.
Within hours of the robbery, a $50 bait bill from the bank was used to buy three firearms from a pawn shop in Kosciusko, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) east of Durant, U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Jermicha Fomby, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Jackson office, said in a news release. Williams was arrested later that day after a traffic stop in Durant, they said.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 29.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Durant Police Department.