Iowa
State agrees to speed up access to court cases as part of lawsuit settlement
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The state of Iowa will provide “contemporaneous” access to newly filed civil court cases to settle a lawsuit that accused the state of violating the First Amendment by delaying access to those filings, the Des Moines Register reported Monday.
The newspaper publishing company Lee Enterprises, based in Davenport, Iowa, and Courthouse News sued the state’s court administrator in May, seeking quicker access to newly filed lawsuits. On Wednesday, parties in the lawsuit notified the court of a settlement.
In the era of paper court records, newly filed petitions were available for public review at a county court clerk’s office. As electronic court filings became the norm, new petitions in Iowa have first gone to a nonpublic database to await processing by court staff. Those administrative steps can take several days, delaying public access through the website Iowa Courts Online.
The settlement calls Iowa’s judicial branch to create a new access option to see civil petitions even before official processing is complete. The state also will pay $80,000 to cover plaintiffs’ attorney fees, but admitted no wrongdoing.
The lawsuit had argued that there was no reason for the delay, noting that even federal courts make new filings automatically available online before official processing is complete. It also cited a “qualified” First Amendment right for the media to view and report on the documents.
The new link to pre-processing filings will be available to those who complete user agreements on Iowa Courts Online. The parties told the judge it could take about a month to set up the new system.
Courthouse News Editor Bill Girdner said in a statement that Iowa’s “willingness to wrestle with and rectify the harm posed by the delays in public access experienced under the previous system is laudable. Iowa’s system will now be a model of openness and public access for other states in the region and across the country.”
Courthouse News settled a similar lawsuit with Missouri in February and has cases pending in other states, the Register reported.
Washington
Supreme Court extends block on Texas law that would allow police to arrest migrants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday continued to block, for now, a Texas law that would give police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S. while the legal battle it sparked over immigration authority plays out.
A one-page order signed by Justice Samuel Alito indefinitely prevents Texas from enforcing a sweeping state immigration enforcement law that had been set to take effect this month. The language of the order strongly suggests the court will take additional action, but it is unclear when.
It marks the second time Alito has extended a pause on the law, known as Senate Bill 4, which the Justice Department has argued would step on the federal government’s immigration powers. Monday’s order extending the stay came a few minutes after a 5 p.m. deadline the court had set for itself, creating momentary confusion about the measure’s status.
Opponents have called the law the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since an Arizona law more than a decade ago, portions of which were struck down by the Supreme Court. The court battle is unfolding as immigration emerges as a key issue in the 2024 presidential race.
The office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said the state’s law mirrored federal law and “was adopted to address the ongoing crisis at the southern border, which hurts Texans more than anyone else.”
Arrests for illegal crossings along the southern border hit record highs in December but fell by half in January, a shift attributed to seasonal declines and heightened enforcement by the U.S. and its allies. The federal government has not yet released numbers for February.
The Biden administration sued to strike down the Texas measure in January, arguing it’s a clear violation of federal authority on immigration that would hurt international relations and create chaos in administering immigration law.
Critics have also said the law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.
A federal judge in Texas struck down the law in late February, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals quickly stayed that ruling, leading the federal government to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court in 2012 struck down key parts of an Arizona law that would have allowed police to arrest people for federal immigration violations, often referred to by opponents as the “show me your papers” bill. The divided high court found then that the impasse in Washington over immigration reform did not justify state intrusion.
The battle over the Texas immigration law is one of multiple legal disputes between Texas officials and the Biden administration over how far the state can go to patrol the Texas-Mexico border and prevent illegal border crossings.
California
2 men plead guilty to killing wild burros in Mojave Desert
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Two men who used high-powered rifles to kill three wild burros in Southern California’s Mojave Desert more than two years ago pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges related to the shootings, prosecutors said.
The men wore tactical gear including night vision goggles as they targeted the burros in a remote area northeast of Barstow on Nov. 6, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
John Feikema of Yorba Linda, California, and Christopher James Arnet of Loveland, Colorado, each pleaded guilty to one felony count of possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle and one misdemeanor count of maliciously causing the death of a burro on public lands, the statement said.
Wild burros are protected under federal law. They are also an iconic symbol of the American Southwest, dating to their days as pack animals during California’s Gold Rush.
Feikema, 36, fired at least four shots, while Arnet, 32, fired at least five, investigators said.
“One burro was shot near its spine towards its hind legs, which paralyzed the burro’s hind legs and caused the animal severe pain before it died. A bullet removed from that burro was fired from Arnet’s firearm,” the statement said.
The weapons, unregistered “AR-style” rifles, were seized at each man’s house, prosecutors said. As part of their plea agreements, Arnet and Feikema agreed to surrender the guns, over 4,000 rounds of ammunition, night vision goggles and other tactical gear.
At sentencing set for July 8, each defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for the firearm violation and up to one year for the burro deaths, according to prosecutors.
State agrees to speed up access to court cases as part of lawsuit settlement
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The state of Iowa will provide “contemporaneous” access to newly filed civil court cases to settle a lawsuit that accused the state of violating the First Amendment by delaying access to those filings, the Des Moines Register reported Monday.
The newspaper publishing company Lee Enterprises, based in Davenport, Iowa, and Courthouse News sued the state’s court administrator in May, seeking quicker access to newly filed lawsuits. On Wednesday, parties in the lawsuit notified the court of a settlement.
In the era of paper court records, newly filed petitions were available for public review at a county court clerk’s office. As electronic court filings became the norm, new petitions in Iowa have first gone to a nonpublic database to await processing by court staff. Those administrative steps can take several days, delaying public access through the website Iowa Courts Online.
The settlement calls Iowa’s judicial branch to create a new access option to see civil petitions even before official processing is complete. The state also will pay $80,000 to cover plaintiffs’ attorney fees, but admitted no wrongdoing.
The lawsuit had argued that there was no reason for the delay, noting that even federal courts make new filings automatically available online before official processing is complete. It also cited a “qualified” First Amendment right for the media to view and report on the documents.
The new link to pre-processing filings will be available to those who complete user agreements on Iowa Courts Online. The parties told the judge it could take about a month to set up the new system.
Courthouse News Editor Bill Girdner said in a statement that Iowa’s “willingness to wrestle with and rectify the harm posed by the delays in public access experienced under the previous system is laudable. Iowa’s system will now be a model of openness and public access for other states in the region and across the country.”
Courthouse News settled a similar lawsuit with Missouri in February and has cases pending in other states, the Register reported.
Washington
Supreme Court extends block on Texas law that would allow police to arrest migrants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday continued to block, for now, a Texas law that would give police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S. while the legal battle it sparked over immigration authority plays out.
A one-page order signed by Justice Samuel Alito indefinitely prevents Texas from enforcing a sweeping state immigration enforcement law that had been set to take effect this month. The language of the order strongly suggests the court will take additional action, but it is unclear when.
It marks the second time Alito has extended a pause on the law, known as Senate Bill 4, which the Justice Department has argued would step on the federal government’s immigration powers. Monday’s order extending the stay came a few minutes after a 5 p.m. deadline the court had set for itself, creating momentary confusion about the measure’s status.
Opponents have called the law the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since an Arizona law more than a decade ago, portions of which were struck down by the Supreme Court. The court battle is unfolding as immigration emerges as a key issue in the 2024 presidential race.
The office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said the state’s law mirrored federal law and “was adopted to address the ongoing crisis at the southern border, which hurts Texans more than anyone else.”
Arrests for illegal crossings along the southern border hit record highs in December but fell by half in January, a shift attributed to seasonal declines and heightened enforcement by the U.S. and its allies. The federal government has not yet released numbers for February.
The Biden administration sued to strike down the Texas measure in January, arguing it’s a clear violation of federal authority on immigration that would hurt international relations and create chaos in administering immigration law.
Critics have also said the law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.
A federal judge in Texas struck down the law in late February, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals quickly stayed that ruling, leading the federal government to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court in 2012 struck down key parts of an Arizona law that would have allowed police to arrest people for federal immigration violations, often referred to by opponents as the “show me your papers” bill. The divided high court found then that the impasse in Washington over immigration reform did not justify state intrusion.
The battle over the Texas immigration law is one of multiple legal disputes between Texas officials and the Biden administration over how far the state can go to patrol the Texas-Mexico border and prevent illegal border crossings.
California
2 men plead guilty to killing wild burros in Mojave Desert
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Two men who used high-powered rifles to kill three wild burros in Southern California’s Mojave Desert more than two years ago pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges related to the shootings, prosecutors said.
The men wore tactical gear including night vision goggles as they targeted the burros in a remote area northeast of Barstow on Nov. 6, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
John Feikema of Yorba Linda, California, and Christopher James Arnet of Loveland, Colorado, each pleaded guilty to one felony count of possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle and one misdemeanor count of maliciously causing the death of a burro on public lands, the statement said.
Wild burros are protected under federal law. They are also an iconic symbol of the American Southwest, dating to their days as pack animals during California’s Gold Rush.
Feikema, 36, fired at least four shots, while Arnet, 32, fired at least five, investigators said.
“One burro was shot near its spine towards its hind legs, which paralyzed the burro’s hind legs and caused the animal severe pain before it died. A bullet removed from that burro was fired from Arnet’s firearm,” the statement said.
The weapons, unregistered “AR-style” rifles, were seized at each man’s house, prosecutors said. As part of their plea agreements, Arnet and Feikema agreed to surrender the guns, over 4,000 rounds of ammunition, night vision goggles and other tactical gear.
At sentencing set for July 8, each defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for the firearm violation and up to one year for the burro deaths, according to prosecutors.
