Minnesota
Minneapolis to police: No uniforms at political events
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A new policy from Minneapolis police barring officers from being in uniform at political events or advertisements has outraged President Donald Trump’s supporters in the department because of his upcoming visit to the city.
The head of the police’s officers’ union says the timing of the policy makes him suspect political partisanship because it came a day after Trump announced a rally at the Target Center on Oct. 10. The Star Tribune reports the new policy takes effect Tuesday.
Union President Lt. Robert Kroll told Fox News in a Sunday interview his members “are outraged” because they want to be at the rally and meet the president.
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said in a statement the policy is aimed at strengthening public trust.
Missouri
Family alleges that illegal jailing led to amputation
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union alleges in a lawsuit that a Missouri judge illegally jailed three relatives after a custody hearing, resulting in one of them, a diabetic man, undergoing a partial foot amputation.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court in Springfield. It says Texas County Associate Judge Douglas Gaston ordered grandparents Norma and Arthur Rogers and their son-in-law, William Hale, to jail for drug testing after they appeared before him without attorneys in June 2017.
Hale and Norma Rogers spent eight hours in jail, most of the time cuffed to a metal bench. The suit says Gaston accused Arthur Rogers of giving him a “look” and ordered him held overnight. The suit says Hale’s cuff caused an ulcer, which led to an infection and amputation.
Gaston said in an email that he couldn’t comment.
New Jersey
Judge tosses defecating superintendent’s mug shot lawsuit
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former New Jersey school superintendent who pleaded guilty to defecating on another high school’s track.
Thomas Tramaglini claimed Holmdel police violated his constitutional rights by taking his mug shot and releasing it after he was issued summonses last year.
The judge found the mug shot did not reveal any information that was not already public and Tramaglini failed to address any connection between its distribution and his alleged injury.
Tramaglini eventually paid a $500 fine on a charge of relieving himself in public, which he blamed on a medical condition.
Tramaglini resigned as superintendent of the Kenilworth schools.
His attorney told NJ Advance Media a “new complaint is forthcoming in state court.”
Kansas
Federal judge reprimanded over harassment
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge in Kansas was publicly reprimanded Monday after acknowledging that he sexually harassed female employees and had an extramarital affair with an offender.
The Judicial Council for the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order sanctioning U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia, who is based in Kansas City, Kansas. The order said Murguia also was reprimanded for being “habitually late” to meetings and court proceedings for years.
Murguia was appointed to his federal judgeship in 1999 by then-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, after serving as a Kansas district court judge in Kansas City. He was the first Hispanic federal judge appointed in Kansas.
He issued a statement Monday apologizing and saying that he took responsibility for his “inappropriate actions.” But he also said his actions “have not and will not interfere with the fair administration of justice.”
“As a result of this process, I have deeply reflected on my actions and have implemented self-imposed corrective measures, both personally and professionally,” Murguia said. “I am truly sorry and am committed to ensuring that such conduct is not repeated.”
The council’s order said there was no evidence that Murguia’s misconduct continued after he was notified of a complaint against him. But 10th Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich wrote in the order that Murguia was “less than candid” after being confronted with the allegations.
“He tended to admit to allegations only when confronted with supporting documentary evidence,” Tymkovich wrote. “His apologies appeared more tied to his regret that his actions were brought to light than an awareness of, and regret for, the harm he caused to the individuals involved and the dignity of his office.”
Tymkovich appointed a special committee in August 2018 to investigate a complaint against Murguia, and it interviewed 23 people, according to the council’s order. A public reprimand as “the most severe sanction available” to the council, the order said.
The order said that female employees said that Murguia made sexually suggestive remarks and sent inappropriate texts to female employees and had “excessive, non-work-related contact” with them. It said the employees were “reluctant” to tell Murguia to stop “because of the power he held as a federal judge.”
“One of the employees eventually told him explicitly to stop his harassing conduct, but he continued,” the order said.
The order also said Murguia carried on a “years-long” extramarital sexual relationship with a “drug-using individual” who was on probation but was later imprisoned for probation violations.
“Judge Murguia placed himself in such a compromised position that he made himself susceptible to extortion,” Tymkovich wrote in the order.
Iowa
Judge questions U. of Iowa’s response to Christian lawsuit
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge is questioning the University of Iowa’s decision to deregister dozens of student organizations following a lawsuit by a Christian student group that accused university officials of discrimination.
U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Rose said in a ruling Friday that the university can’t selectively deregister student organizations.
The group InterVarsity Christian Fellowship sued the university after administrators deregistered its local chapter along with a dozen other religious groups.
Rose says she “does not know how a reasonable person could have concluded this was acceptable” given her previous ruling in a related case.
Another faith-based group, Business Leaders in Christ, sued the university for kicking it off campus following a complaint that it wouldn’t let an openly gay member seek a leadership post.
