National Roundup

Delaware
Backlog of jury trials could take months or more to resolve
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Delaware’s Chief Public Defender says the state’s current backlog of jury trial cases will take months or more to resolve.

The Delaware State News reported Tuesday that trials are scheduled to resume this month following a nearly seven-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chief Public Defender Brendan O’Neill said the challenge will be how to balance the interests of justice for defendants and everyone’s safety in a courtroom.

“As we resume jury trials, it is important to remember that every single one of our clients is innocent until proven guilty and has the right to a fair, speedy and public trial by jury,” O’Neill said.

The first trial calendars are set for next week in Kent and New Castle counties and Nov. 9 in Sussex. Trials were halted in March 16.

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said her department is up to the task of meeting the upcoming workload.

“The pandemic has created new challenges for our office — as it has across our country — but we have been hard at work and are ready to resume jury trials,” she said.

Ohio
Man accused of killing wife, children wants trial by judges
LONDON, Ohio (AP) — Opening arguments have been made in the murder trial of a man charged with killing his wife and two children in an arson fire at their Ohio home in 2008.

Peter Romans, 60, of London, has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated murder, murder and aggravated arson. He opted to have a three-judge panel hear his case, rather than a jury, and he could face the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors maintain Romans set the fire that killed his wife, their 12-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter. Romans has maintained his innocence, saying the fire was caused by a faulty part on his 2001 Ford Expedition SUV, which was parked next to the house. The part was under recall at the time.

Dan Kasaris, who is prosecuting the case on behalf of the Ohio Attorney General’s office, said in his statement Tuesday that Romans poured kerosene in the SUV and set the blaze inside the vehicle, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Kasaris suggested that Romans was especially desperate because he had previously spent a long stretch out of work and the family’s finances had collapsed.

Defense attorney Sam Shamansky called the whole case a sham built on nothing but speculation and said he would dismantle it “piece by piece.” He said no crime was committed, noting that his client “lost everything in the world that mattered to him the most ... It was all taken from him in an instant.”


Washington
King County undersheriff wants detective fired over posts
SEATTLE (AP) — The King County undersheriff has recommended firing a detective who was criticized for Facebook posts that appear to mock Seattle protests against police violence and racial injustice.

Undersheriff Patti Cole-Tindall specified eight posts that the department had received complaints about in a memo to Det. Mike Brown, KING-TV reported Tuesday.

“I also consider your ability to be effective as a law enforcement officer, given the ample material now available to discredit and undermine you and our work for this agency in court processes and beyond. The blow to the department’s integrity was staggering,” Cole-Tindall said in the statement. “The damage to your integrity and ability to continue to serve as a law enforcement officer cannot be repaired.”

Sgt. Ryan Abbott said Brown has the right to meet with Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht to present his side before Johanknecht determines the final disciplinary decision.

It was not immediately clear whether Brown had a lawyer. The King County Police Officers Guild did not immediately return a voicemail seeking comment.

An investigation revealed the eight posts were made between June 1 and July 4, when there were daily protests and the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone, known as CHOP, was created.

One of the posts displayed a sticker with the illustration of people struck by a vehicle with the words “All lives splatter.” The post came shortly after a protester was killed and another was injured after being struck by a car on a Seattle highway.

Cole-Tindall said the investigation cleared Brown from an accusation of discrimination because he was off duty when he made the posts, but found evidence he violated the department’s social media policy.
Abbott said an investigation into other office employees who reacted to Brown’s posts on social media is ongoing.


Washington
Trump lawyers ask Supreme Court to halt tax record turnover
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to put on hold an appeals court ruling that Trump’s accountant must immediately turn over tax records to a New York state prosecutor, setting up a decision from the high court that could come before Election Day.

The court could allow the immediate enforcement of a subpoena issued by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. or block it temporarily. Even if the court rules against Trump, however, the records would normally not be made public but turned over to Vance’s office.

This is the second time the records issue has reached the high court. The court previously prevented the records from being turned over while the case proceeded.

The justices in July rejected Trump’s argument that he is effectively immune from investigation while he holds office. Trump’s two Supreme Court nominees, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, joined that decision.
But the high court returned the Vance case and another, similar case involving records sought by Congress to lower courts to allow Trump’s attorneys to make additional arguments.

In August, a district court judge rejected Trump’s attorneys’ renewed efforts to block Vance’s access to the records. And last week, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed, saying the records should be turned over. But the rulings have been on hold while the president’s attorneys appeal.

Vance is seeking more than eight years of the Republican president’s personal and corporate tax records as part of an investigation his office is conducting. Part of that probe involves an investigation related to payoffs to two women — porn actress Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal — to keep them quiet during the 2016 presidential campaign about alleged extramarital affairs with Trump. Trump has denied the affairs.