Tag: jury

Commentary: The ‘Jan. 6 Jurisprudence’ About to Be Unleashed on Trump

RealClearWire

Defense attorneys have coined the term “January 6 Jurisprudence” to describe the treatment received by the more than 1,200 defendants arrested so far in connection with the events of Jan. 6, 2021. This carve-out legal system involves the unprecedented and possibly unlawful use of a corporate evidence-tampering statute; excessive prison sentences and indefinite periods of pretrial incarceration; and the designation of nonviolent offenses as federal crimes of terrorism.

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Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter

Admin

A jury announced Wednesday that they believed Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people in a targeted attack against Pittsburgh Jews in 2018, should receive the death penalty, according to multiple reports.

A jury determined in July that Bowers was eligible for capital punishment despite his defense team arguing that he suffered from mental disorders that prevented him from understanding the weight of his actions. The jury deliberated for over ten hours during the course of two days before issuing its verdict that Bowers should be put to death for deliberately going after Jewish worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue, according to various reports.

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Ramaswamy Says Carroll Case Verdict Against Trump Another Attempt to Attack Establishment’s ‘Chief Political Virus’

M.D. Kittle

Former President Donald Trump’s political rivals weighed in Tuesday on a Manhattan jury’s finding that Trump is liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll in a civil lawsuit brought decades after the alleged abuse took place. 

Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who declared his campaign for president in February, agreed with critics of the lawsuit who believe it’s another politically charged attempt to diminish the GOP presidential frontrunner ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

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Arizona Oath Keeper Described as ‘Cooking for Protesters’ on January 6 Convicted of Seditious Conspiracy

Rachel Alexander

A jury convicted Arizona Oath Keeper Edward Vallejo of seditious conspiracy and other charges on Monday for his involvement with the protest on January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol. Three other Oath Keepers were also convicted of that and other lesser offenses. The 63-year-old Army veteran’s defense attorney, Matthew Peed, said he plans to appeal.

“Ed brought 30 days of food with him, not just for himself but for a group, and he believed he was going to a campground where he would set up a food kitchen and cook for protesters,” Peed described Vallejo’s role during opening statements. “And it would be kind of a, kind of like a festival.”

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Juror Dismissed in Gov. Whitmer Kidnapping Trial for Alleged Flirting with a Defendant

Just the News

A female juror was dismissed during the trial of three defendants charged in an alleged plot to kidnap the Democratic governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. The juror was allegedly flirting with one of the defendants, Fox News reports.

Jackson County Judge Thomas Wilson made an announcement on Friday that the female juror was removed from the jury because attorneys raised concerns over too much “nonverbal communication” with defendant Paul Bellar, according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

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Julie Kelly Commentary: Fair Trials Are Impossible for January 6 Defendants

Admin

Odds are jurors in Douglas Austin Jensen’s trial took longer to fill out the verdict forms than they took to decide his fate.

After only a few hours of deliberations on Friday, 12 residents of the nation’s capital found Jensen guilty on seven counts related to his involvement in the Capitol protest on January 6, 2021. Jensen, an alleged QAnon follower, infamously confronted Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman inside the building that afternoon; he potentially faces decades in prison for convictions on impeding law enforcement officers and obstruction of an official proceeding, a dubious nonviolent felony punishable by up to 20 years in jail.

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Jury Finds Derek Chauvin Guilty on All Counts in the Death of George Floyd

The Center Square
Derek Chauvin

Less than a year after the death of George Floyd in police custody, a jury found former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

Anger from the tragic death in police custody  on May 25, 2020, was fueled by a bystander filming part of the arrest, showing Floyd pinned under Chauvin’s knee for 9 minutes and 45 seconds, while he pleaded “I can’t breathe.” Floyd was declared dead later that day.

The video caused protests worldwide and pushed discussion of police accountability and proper levels of force for minor crimes, as Floyd was arrested for allegedly attempting to spend a fake $20 bill.

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Court Panel Eliminates Tennessee Limit on Punitive Damages

Jason M. Reynolds

A Tennessee statute capping punitive damages is unconstitutional, a panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit has ruled. The Sixth Circuit panel ruled 2-1 on Dec. 21 that state case law shows an award of punitive damages is a “finding of fact” that is allowed by jurors, Courthouse News Service reported. The case involved a dispute between Tamarin Lindenberg, individually and as guardian for her minor children, and Jackson National Life Insurance Co., which had a $350,000 life insurance policy on Lindenberg’s ex-husband. The panel’s ruling is available here. The panel cited the Tennessee Constitution of 1796 and its relation to the constitution and common laws of North Carolina when Tennessee adopted the document. The panel found that a right to jury trials and punitive damages existed at the time. The panel’s ruling states: Defendant Jackson National Life Insurance Company (“Defendant”) appeals from the district court’s judgment enforcing a jury trial verdict of $350,000 in actual damages, $87,500 in bad faith damages, and $3,000,000 in punitive damages in favor of Plaintiff Tamarin Lindenberg (“Plaintiff”), individually and in her capacity as natural guardian of her minor children, ZTL and SML. Plaintiff cross-appeals, challenging a statutory cap that the district…

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