Washington
Judge rejects claims that generative AI tanked political conspiracy case against rapper
WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge rejected a push for a new trial in a multimillion-dollar political conspiracy case against rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of the Fugees on Friday.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found his defense attorney’s use of a generative AI program during closing arguments and other errors during the Washington D.C. trial didn’t amount to a serious miscarriage of justice.
Michel was found guilty of 10 counts after a jury heard testimony from witnesses ranging from actor Leonardo DiCaprio to former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the top charges. He is free ahead of sentencing, which has not yet been set.
The Grammy-winning rapper was accused of funneling money from a now-fugitive Malaysian financer through straw donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, then trying to squelch a Justice Department investigation and influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration.
The defense argued Michel got simply bad advice as he tried to support himself while reinventing himself in the world of politics.
His defense attorney David Kenner, well known for his previous representation of rappers like Suge Knight and Snoop Dogg, later pleaded guilty to leaking grand jury information to reporters.
Michel got a new attorney who argued Kenner had made a series of mistakes, including using an “experimental” generative AI program that bungled closing arguments by misattributing a lyric from his client’s influential 1990s group.
Michel failed to show, though, that Kenner’s handling of the case prejudiced the jury, Judge Kollar-Kotelly said.
She acknowledged some of the errors Michel cited had some validity, but found that they didn’t neutralize the prosecutors’ voluminous evidence against him or make the nearly month-long trial unfair.
A representative for Michel did not have immediate comment on the ruling.
Florida
State lawmaker indicted on felony charges related to private school
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Republican state representative in central Florida has been indicted on felony forgery charges related to her administration of a private Christian school that she helped run with her family.
Carolina Amesty, 29, turned herself in to authorities at the Orange County Jail on Thursday and was booked on four felony counts. That is after a grand jury found that Amesty forged a man’s signature on a document that she notarized in 2021 while working as an administrator at her family’s Central Christian Academy, according to State Attorney Andrew Bain. The alleged forgery happened before Amesty was elected to the Florida House of Representatives.
Each of the charges are third-degree felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines.
The indictment of Amesty — who is currently running for reelection in her district west of Orlando — follows investigations by the Orlando Sentinel into Amesty’s background, financial practices and role in the family-run school.
Reached by phone, Amesty declined to answer questions from The Associated Press but pointed to a statement posted to the social media platform X.
“This prosecution, initiated just a few weeks prior to absentee ballots being dropped, is based on misleading reports from a partisan newspaper about a notarization of an employee verification background report,” reads the statement from Amesty’s campaign. “Rep. Amesty calls for a speedy trial, looks forward to her day in court, and is confident of her public vindication.”
First elected to the Florida House in 2022, Amesty touted herself as a successful businesswoman and staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, winning a competitive district that represents parts of Orange and Osceola counties, including Walt Disney World.
Following the indictment, the Florida Democratic Party called on Amesty to resign.
“Carolina Amesty can’t effectively represent the people of House District 45 while defending herself from felony charges,” party Chair Nikki Fried said. “She should resign from office immediately, and if she refuses to take responsibility for her actions, we demand that the Florida House of Representatives expel her from membership.”
Hawaii
Maui judge agrees to ask state Supreme Court about barriers to $4 billion wildfire settlement
HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Supreme Court will be asked to weigh in on an issue that threatens to thwart a $4 billion settlement in last year’s devastating Maui wildfires.
Judge Peter Cahill on Maui agreed Friday to ask the state high court questions about how insurance companies can go about recouping money paid to policyholders.
Insurance companies that have paid out more than $2 billion in claims want to bring independent legal action against the defendants blamed for causing the deadly tragedy. It’s a common process in the insurance industry known as subrogation.
But Cahill ruled earlier this month they can seek reimbursement only from the settlement amount defendants have agreed to pay, meaning they can’t bring their own legal actions against them.
The settlement was reached on Aug. 2, days before the one-year anniversary of the fires, amid fears that Hawaiian Electric, the power company that some blame for sparking the blaze, could be on the brink of bankruptcy. Other defendants include Maui County and large landowners.
Preventing insurers from going after the defendants is a key settlement term.
Lawyers representing individual plaintiffs in hundreds of lawsuits over the deaths and destruction caused by the fires filed a motion asking the judge to certify certain legal questions to the state Supreme Court.
“Given Judge Cahill’s previous orders, his ruling today is appropriate and we look forward to putting these questions into the hands of the Hawaii Supreme Court,” Jake Lowenthal, one of the attorneys representing individual plaintiffs, said after the hearing.
One of those questions is whether state statutes controlling health care insurance reimbursement also apply to casualty and property insurance companies in limiting their ability to pursue independent legal action against those who are held liable.
Lawyers representing the insurance companies have said they want to hold the defendants accountable and aren’t trying to get in the way of fire victims getting settlement money.
Individual plaintiffs’ attorneys are concerned allowing insurers to pursue reimbursement separately will subvert the deal, drain what is available to pay fire victims and lead to prolonged litigation.
It’s a “cynical tactic” to get more money out of the defendants, Jesse Creed, an attorney for individual plaintiffs, said in court of the insurance companies.
The insurance companies should be the ones who want to take the matter directly to the state Supreme Court, he said, but they haven’t joined in the motion because they know it would facilitate the settlement.
Adam Romney, an insurance attorney, disagreed, saying that they just want a resolution that works for all parties.
“While we wait to see if the Hawaii Supreme Court will take this matter up, we will continue to work towards a fair settlement through mediation for all parties concerned,” Vincent Raboteau, another attorney for the insurance companies, said in a statement after the hearing.
California
LA to pay $9.5M in settlement over 2018 death of woman during police shootout
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The city of Los Angeles will pay $9.5 million to settle a lawsuit by relatives of a woman fatally shot by LA police during a shootout with a gunman at a Trader Joe’s store six years ago, the family’s attorneys said Friday.
The father and brother of 27-year-old Melyda Corado sued in November 2018, alleging civil rights violations and wrongful death.
Corado was an assistant manager at the store in the Silver Lake neighborhood on July 21, 2018, when a gunman, who was being chased by police, got into a shootout as he ran inside. Police said Corado was caught in the crossfire.
Investigators said the gunman had shot his grandmother and kidnapped his girlfriend. He took dozens of people hostage in the store but later surrendered.
Neil Gehlawat, an attorney for Corado’s family, said her death was preventable if the officers had followed their training.
“Officers must look at the dangers posed to bystanders when using deadly force, and the officers here failed to do that,” Gehlawat said in a statement.
The City Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately respond Friday to an email seeking comment on the settlement.
The Los Angeles Police Commission determined the officer who fired the fatal shot didn’t violate police department policy. A report said officers acted reasonably because they believed the gunman presented an immediate threat of injury or death.
Georgia
Jury acquits officials of bid-rigging charges in a Atlanta suburb
DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Three elected officials in a suburban Atlanta county have been acquitted on charges that they tried to illegally steer a contract for janitorial work at a county building.
Jurors on Friday returned verdicts of not guilty on the charges against Douglas County Commission Chairwoman Romona Jackson Jones, County Commissioner Henry Mitchell, Douglas County Tax Commissioner Greg Baker and businessman Anthony Knight, WAGA-TV reported.
Prosecutors had alleged that the three officials in 2018 had tried to influence a contract that benefitted S&A Express, a business owned by Knight.
Jones and Mitchell had been suspended from office by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2023 and will now resume their posts. Baker was never suspended because a panel that looked into the charges against him recommended to Kemp that he remain in office while charges were pending.
Jones described the verdict as “amazing.” She has been running for reelection this year despite her suspension and said the verdict improves her chances of beating a Republican opponent.
“It certainly changes the game,” Jones told the television station. “I believe the voters will speak in November and they will speak loud and clear because they know who I am now.”
Prosecutors declined to comment.
Both the former county administrator and a former county purchasing director had testified against the officials in a trial in recent weeks. The former purchasing director, Bill Peacock, was initially charged and later granted a separate trial and immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony. Peacock told jurors he felt pressured by commissioners to award the contract to Knight’s company.
Judge rejects claims that generative AI tanked political conspiracy case against rapper
WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge rejected a push for a new trial in a multimillion-dollar political conspiracy case against rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of the Fugees on Friday.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found his defense attorney’s use of a generative AI program during closing arguments and other errors during the Washington D.C. trial didn’t amount to a serious miscarriage of justice.
Michel was found guilty of 10 counts after a jury heard testimony from witnesses ranging from actor Leonardo DiCaprio to former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the top charges. He is free ahead of sentencing, which has not yet been set.
The Grammy-winning rapper was accused of funneling money from a now-fugitive Malaysian financer through straw donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, then trying to squelch a Justice Department investigation and influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration.
The defense argued Michel got simply bad advice as he tried to support himself while reinventing himself in the world of politics.
His defense attorney David Kenner, well known for his previous representation of rappers like Suge Knight and Snoop Dogg, later pleaded guilty to leaking grand jury information to reporters.
Michel got a new attorney who argued Kenner had made a series of mistakes, including using an “experimental” generative AI program that bungled closing arguments by misattributing a lyric from his client’s influential 1990s group.
Michel failed to show, though, that Kenner’s handling of the case prejudiced the jury, Judge Kollar-Kotelly said.
She acknowledged some of the errors Michel cited had some validity, but found that they didn’t neutralize the prosecutors’ voluminous evidence against him or make the nearly month-long trial unfair.
A representative for Michel did not have immediate comment on the ruling.
Florida
State lawmaker indicted on felony charges related to private school
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Republican state representative in central Florida has been indicted on felony forgery charges related to her administration of a private Christian school that she helped run with her family.
Carolina Amesty, 29, turned herself in to authorities at the Orange County Jail on Thursday and was booked on four felony counts. That is after a grand jury found that Amesty forged a man’s signature on a document that she notarized in 2021 while working as an administrator at her family’s Central Christian Academy, according to State Attorney Andrew Bain. The alleged forgery happened before Amesty was elected to the Florida House of Representatives.
Each of the charges are third-degree felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines.
The indictment of Amesty — who is currently running for reelection in her district west of Orlando — follows investigations by the Orlando Sentinel into Amesty’s background, financial practices and role in the family-run school.
Reached by phone, Amesty declined to answer questions from The Associated Press but pointed to a statement posted to the social media platform X.
“This prosecution, initiated just a few weeks prior to absentee ballots being dropped, is based on misleading reports from a partisan newspaper about a notarization of an employee verification background report,” reads the statement from Amesty’s campaign. “Rep. Amesty calls for a speedy trial, looks forward to her day in court, and is confident of her public vindication.”
First elected to the Florida House in 2022, Amesty touted herself as a successful businesswoman and staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, winning a competitive district that represents parts of Orange and Osceola counties, including Walt Disney World.
Following the indictment, the Florida Democratic Party called on Amesty to resign.
“Carolina Amesty can’t effectively represent the people of House District 45 while defending herself from felony charges,” party Chair Nikki Fried said. “She should resign from office immediately, and if she refuses to take responsibility for her actions, we demand that the Florida House of Representatives expel her from membership.”
Hawaii
Maui judge agrees to ask state Supreme Court about barriers to $4 billion wildfire settlement
HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Supreme Court will be asked to weigh in on an issue that threatens to thwart a $4 billion settlement in last year’s devastating Maui wildfires.
Judge Peter Cahill on Maui agreed Friday to ask the state high court questions about how insurance companies can go about recouping money paid to policyholders.
Insurance companies that have paid out more than $2 billion in claims want to bring independent legal action against the defendants blamed for causing the deadly tragedy. It’s a common process in the insurance industry known as subrogation.
But Cahill ruled earlier this month they can seek reimbursement only from the settlement amount defendants have agreed to pay, meaning they can’t bring their own legal actions against them.
The settlement was reached on Aug. 2, days before the one-year anniversary of the fires, amid fears that Hawaiian Electric, the power company that some blame for sparking the blaze, could be on the brink of bankruptcy. Other defendants include Maui County and large landowners.
Preventing insurers from going after the defendants is a key settlement term.
Lawyers representing individual plaintiffs in hundreds of lawsuits over the deaths and destruction caused by the fires filed a motion asking the judge to certify certain legal questions to the state Supreme Court.
“Given Judge Cahill’s previous orders, his ruling today is appropriate and we look forward to putting these questions into the hands of the Hawaii Supreme Court,” Jake Lowenthal, one of the attorneys representing individual plaintiffs, said after the hearing.
One of those questions is whether state statutes controlling health care insurance reimbursement also apply to casualty and property insurance companies in limiting their ability to pursue independent legal action against those who are held liable.
Lawyers representing the insurance companies have said they want to hold the defendants accountable and aren’t trying to get in the way of fire victims getting settlement money.
Individual plaintiffs’ attorneys are concerned allowing insurers to pursue reimbursement separately will subvert the deal, drain what is available to pay fire victims and lead to prolonged litigation.
It’s a “cynical tactic” to get more money out of the defendants, Jesse Creed, an attorney for individual plaintiffs, said in court of the insurance companies.
The insurance companies should be the ones who want to take the matter directly to the state Supreme Court, he said, but they haven’t joined in the motion because they know it would facilitate the settlement.
Adam Romney, an insurance attorney, disagreed, saying that they just want a resolution that works for all parties.
“While we wait to see if the Hawaii Supreme Court will take this matter up, we will continue to work towards a fair settlement through mediation for all parties concerned,” Vincent Raboteau, another attorney for the insurance companies, said in a statement after the hearing.
California
LA to pay $9.5M in settlement over 2018 death of woman during police shootout
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The city of Los Angeles will pay $9.5 million to settle a lawsuit by relatives of a woman fatally shot by LA police during a shootout with a gunman at a Trader Joe’s store six years ago, the family’s attorneys said Friday.
The father and brother of 27-year-old Melyda Corado sued in November 2018, alleging civil rights violations and wrongful death.
Corado was an assistant manager at the store in the Silver Lake neighborhood on July 21, 2018, when a gunman, who was being chased by police, got into a shootout as he ran inside. Police said Corado was caught in the crossfire.
Investigators said the gunman had shot his grandmother and kidnapped his girlfriend. He took dozens of people hostage in the store but later surrendered.
Neil Gehlawat, an attorney for Corado’s family, said her death was preventable if the officers had followed their training.
“Officers must look at the dangers posed to bystanders when using deadly force, and the officers here failed to do that,” Gehlawat said in a statement.
The City Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately respond Friday to an email seeking comment on the settlement.
The Los Angeles Police Commission determined the officer who fired the fatal shot didn’t violate police department policy. A report said officers acted reasonably because they believed the gunman presented an immediate threat of injury or death.
Georgia
Jury acquits officials of bid-rigging charges in a Atlanta suburb
DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Three elected officials in a suburban Atlanta county have been acquitted on charges that they tried to illegally steer a contract for janitorial work at a county building.
Jurors on Friday returned verdicts of not guilty on the charges against Douglas County Commission Chairwoman Romona Jackson Jones, County Commissioner Henry Mitchell, Douglas County Tax Commissioner Greg Baker and businessman Anthony Knight, WAGA-TV reported.
Prosecutors had alleged that the three officials in 2018 had tried to influence a contract that benefitted S&A Express, a business owned by Knight.
Jones and Mitchell had been suspended from office by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2023 and will now resume their posts. Baker was never suspended because a panel that looked into the charges against him recommended to Kemp that he remain in office while charges were pending.
Jones described the verdict as “amazing.” She has been running for reelection this year despite her suspension and said the verdict improves her chances of beating a Republican opponent.
“It certainly changes the game,” Jones told the television station. “I believe the voters will speak in November and they will speak loud and clear because they know who I am now.”
Prosecutors declined to comment.
Both the former county administrator and a former county purchasing director had testified against the officials in a trial in recent weeks. The former purchasing director, Bill Peacock, was initially charged and later granted a separate trial and immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony. Peacock told jurors he felt pressured by commissioners to award the contract to Knight’s company.
