The impact of jury race in criminal trials

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A former chief of staff to Delaware State Auditor Kathy McGuiness admitted during testimony in her criminal corruption trial Thursday that he lied under oath to a grand jury that was investigating McGuiness. Thomas Van Horn acknowledged under cross-examination by the defense that he told the grand jury in April 2021 that McGuiness had fired him a month earlier because of “disagreements” they had. In fact, McGuiness asked Van Horn to resign because he had been in a sexual relationship with a subordinate staffer. Van Horn also acknowledged that he never volunteered information to prosecutors and investigators about his relationship with Rachael King, who also is expected to testify. Instead, he claimed that he was terminated because McGuiness had heard a “potential rumor of a sexual relationship” with someone in the office, and that he might be a victim of “defamation.” “When you said it was a rumor, that was a lie, because it was a true story, wasn’t it?” … [Read more...] about Ex-aide admits lied to grand jury in auditor corruption case

The uncovering of Jeffrey Epstein 's sex abuse scandal sent shock waves across the world when it was revealed in July 2019. Also implicated in Epstein's crimes was Ghislaine Maxwell , a British socialite who was accused of helping him procure girls, including a 14-year-old, who were subject to sexual abuse. Epstein took his own life in his New York prison cell in August 2019 as he awaited trial and sadly for his victims, they never got to see justice served. However, some justice has prevailed among the horrors of Epstein and Maxwell's crimes with Maxwell, 60, recently standing trial for several sex trafficking offenses she committed between 1994 and 2004 with Epstein at his homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico. In December 2021 she was found guilty of recruiting and grooming teenage girls to have sexual encounters with Epstein after 40 hours of jury deliberation. Who is Ghislaine Maxwell? on Starz is a three-part documentary that looks into the rise and fall of … [Read more...] about “Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?” on Starz: Where is Ghislaine Maxwell now?

The evidence gathered by the Jan. 6 committee and in some of the federal cases against those involved in the Capitol attack poses for Attorney General Merrick Garland one of the most consequential questions that any attorney general has ever faced: Should the United States indict former President Donald Trump? The basic allegations against Mr. Trump are well known. In disregard of advice by many of his closest aides, including Attorney General William Barr, he falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent and stolen, he pressured Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to count certified electoral votes for Joe Biden during the electoral count in Congress on Jan. 6, and he riled up a mob, directed it to the Capitol and refused for a time to take steps to stop the ensuing violence. To indict Mr. Trump for these and other acts, Mr. Garland must make three decisions, each more difficult than the previous and none with an obvious answer. First, he must … [Read more...] about Prosecute Trump? Put Yourself in Merrick Garland’s Shoes.

San Francisco courts will not be forced to lift COVID restrictions that have delayed criminal trials past their normal legal deadlines. As coronavirus cases rise in the Bay Area, health experts in the region say predicting the peak of the current surge will be more difficult than ever. But antiviral drugs now widely available hold out the promise that the coronavirus will no longer be a killer. Latest updates: Wachter says 1 in 20 San Franciscans could be positive without knowing Caveat emptor, wrote Bob Wachter, the chief of medicine at UCSF, in a tweet on Friday. The influential doctor published internal figures from the medical center showing that amid an overall 7-day rolling test-positivity rate of 8.4% — where nearly 22% of people experiencing COVID symptoms tested positive — a remarkable 4.8% of asymptomatic people also showed evidence of coronavirus infection. The test population, he explained, are mostly pre-operative patients at UCSF undergoing routine … [Read more...] about COVID in California: Wachter says 5% in S.F. could be positive without knowing it

One of the problems with many tech company founders, entrepreneurs and salespeople is that they start off convincing too soon. When that happens, rather than "buying in" to what you're saying, too often, the people you're speaking to smile politely and pull away. That's because when you start off trying to convince or persuade people of something before you gained their attention, you take away their freedom to choose to listen to you and replace it with having to listen to you. And that's something people increasingly resist. To reverse that, you want to be compelling to open people's minds so that you'll then gain the opportunity to convince them to take action. The key to doing that is to tap into the universal states of mind that will cause people to buy into what you're saying, then try it, then continue to act by doing. To practice what I'm preaching, rather than convince you , let me see if I can compel you to open your mind and want to hear more. To do that, I'd … [Read more...] about Achieving the User Experience Trifecta: From “Buy-In” to “Trying” to “Doing”

A man accused of driving his SUV through a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee last year, killing six people and injuring dozens more, this week served notice he will try to persuade a jury that he was mentally ill during the incident and if convicted should go to an institution instead of prison. But Darrell Brooks Jr.’s new insanity defense could be a tough sell in Waukesha County, which is still recovering from the horrors of that November day. WHAT ARE THE CHARGES? Court documents allege Brooks beat the mother of his child just before the parade began in downtown Waukesha on November 21 because she hadn’t bailed him out of jail several days earlier. He had been arrested for running her over with his SUV. He then drove the vehicle into the parade route, ignoring police orders to stop, according to a criminal complaint. He crashed into people head-on and ran them over as they lay on the ground, the complaint said. He finally turned off the parade route, left his vehicle … [Read more...] about NEWS 18 EXPLAINS: How US Christmas Parade Crash Insanity Plea Will Work

Follow live updates on the House committee hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled on Monday that former President Donald J. Trump and a lawyer who had advised him on how to overturn the 2020 election most likely had committed felonies, including obstructing the work of Congress and conspiring to defraud the United States. The judge’s comments in the civil case of the lawyer, John Eastman, marked a significant breakthrough for the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The committee, which is weighing making a criminal referral to the Justice Department, had used a filing in the case to lay out the crimes it believed Mr. Trump might have committed. Mr. Trump has not been charged with any crime, and the judge’s ruling had no immediate, practical legal effect on him. But it essentially ratified the committee’s argument that Mr. Trump’s efforts to block Congress from certifying Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s Electoral … [Read more...] about Federal Judge Finds Trump Most Likely Committed Crimes Over 2020 Election

close Video Verdict reached in Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial Fox News correspondent Mark Meredith details the reactions from Johnny Depp and Amber Heard following the conclusion of the defamation trial on 'Special Report.' NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! Johnny Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez is being hailed as "Wonder Woman" after she rushed to the aid of a passenger on American Airlines who collapsed mid-flight, according to a report. Vasquez, 37, helped Depp secure a $10.35 million judgement against his ex-wife Amber Heard in his blockbuster defamation trial earlier this month in Fairfax, Virginia. HOW JOHNNY DEPP VERDICT COULD IMPACT PETITO FAMILY LAWSUIT AGAINST BRIAN LAUNDRIE'S PARENTS The celebrity lawyer was on a flight from Los Angeles to New York June 20 when an attendant yelled for help after a man, in his 70s, fell and hit his head, TMZ reported. Johnny Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez … [Read more...] about Johnny Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez helps airline passenger who hit head

Democratic lawmakers and candidates unleashed a torrent of angry, defiant statements Friday, promising to make abortion rights a decisive issue for voters in November, as Republicans celebrated their victory in a decades-long fight for the Supreme Court to end the constitutional right to an abortion. Since a draft opinion leaked in early May indicating that the court was prepared to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, advocates for reproductive rights have looked ahead to the midterm elections as their only chance to have those rights restored. Democrats believe that by overturning the landmark decision, the Supreme Court just handed them an issue to mobilize voters, particularly suburban women, in an otherwise difficult political climate. And some Republicans are concerned about a backlash in the midterms, particularly from suburban women swing voters. President Joe Biden, speaking at the White House on Friday, called on Congress to codify abortion into law. If there aren't … [Read more...] about As Republicans celebrate end of Roe, Democrats vow revenge at polls

L egend says the diver drowned retrieving the pearl. Trapped in a giant Tridacna clam, his body was brought to the surface by his fellow tribesmen in Palawan, a province of the Philippines, in May 1934. When the clam was pried open, and the meat scraped out, the local chief beheld something marvelous: a massive pearl, its sheen like satin. In its surface, the chief discerned the face of the Prophet Muhammad. He named it the Pearl of Allah. At 14 pounds, one ounce, it was the largest pearl ever discovered. To hear more feature stories, see our full list or get the Audm iPhone app. A Filipino American, Wilburn Dowell Cobb, was visiting the island at the time and offered to buy the jewel. In a 1939 article that appeared in Natural History magazine, he recounted the chief’s refusal to sell: “A pearl with the image of Mohammed, the Prophet of Allah, is earned by devotion, by sacrifice, not bought with money.” But when the chief’s son fell ill with malaria, Cobb used … [Read more...] about Chasing the Pearl of Lao Tzu