Attorneys: More to tell in Georgia killing
DECATUR, Ga. -- The new attorneys for two white men accused of pursuing and killing a black man in Georgia said Thursday that their clients have been vilified and cautioned against a rush to judgment in a case that has drawn national attention.
Gregory and Travis McMichael, a father and son, are charged with aggravated assault and felony murder in the Feb. 23 death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. The case stirred anger after a video of Arbery's final moments surfaced online last week. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to take over the seemingly stalled investigation and the McMichaels were arrested less than 48 hours later.
The attorneys for 34-year-old Travis McMichael -- Bob Rubin and Jason Sheffield -- said at a news conference Thursday that while the shooting itself was captured on video, much remains unknown about events leading up to the killing.
"Right now we are starting at the end," Sheffield said outside their metro Atlanta law office. "We know the ending. What we don't know is the beginning."
Laura and Frank Hogue, a husband and wife criminal-defense team based in Macon, said they have been hired to represent Gregory McMichael, 64.
Attorneys for Arbery's family have said a man shown on security video Feb. 23 inside a house that was under construction was Arbery -- and that the footage shows him committing no crimes. Arbery was killed a short time later.
According to a report by Glynn County police, Gregory McMichael said he and his son armed themselves and chased Arbery in a pickup after seeing him run down their street. Gregory McMichael told police he suspected Arbery was a burglar, and said Arbery attacked Travis McMichael before he was shot in a struggle over the gun.
Minnesota's mail-vote rules draw suit
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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A group of Minnesota senior citizens is joining counterparts in at least four other states by legally challenging their state's absentee-voting rules during the coronavirus outbreak.
A lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund in Ramsey County District Court seeks to stop the state from requiring a witness signature on mail-in ballots, as well as a postmark deadline.
The plaintiffs say because they are self-quarantined, seeking a signature from a witness could put them at risk of contracting the virus, the Star Tribune reported.
Also, the group says the U.S. Postal Service may not be able to deliver mail-in ballots on time if there is a dramatic increase in absentee voting this fall.
The lawsuit follows similar legal actions by Alliance for Retired Americans chapters in Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon's office declined to comment on the litigation.
Fired Florida officer set to get job back
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A Florida sheriff's sergeant fired because he sat in a parked car during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will get his job back along with back-pay, according to a statement from the union that represents deputies.
The arbitrator dismissed the case against Brian Miller after finding that his due-process rights were violated when Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony terminated him, the South Florida SunSentinel reported.
A former student, Nikolas Cruz, is accused of gunning down 17 people and injuring 17 others when he entered the Parkland, Fla., school on Valentine's Day with an assault-style rifle. He is currently awaiting trial in Broward County.
Miller, who earned around $137,000 a year in 2018, was the first supervisor on the scene of the shooting, arriving in time to hear three or four shots, records show. A state commission that investigated the shooting found that Miller "failed to coordinate or direct deputies' actions and did not direct or coordinate an immediate response into the school."
College to pay $175,000 in records case
ST. LOUIS -- The University of Missouri has agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by an animal-welfare group over a public-records request.
Four years ago, the Beagle Freedom Project sought public records pertaining to cats and dogs used for research at the university. University officials tried to charge the group $82,222 to fulfill the request.
The Beagle Freedom Project sued, arguing the university's charge was so high it essentially prevented the records' release.
The California nonprofit won in court in November, when Boone County Judge Jeff Harris ruled the university had knowingly violated the Sunshine Law.
The settlement was approved this week. At one point, Dan Kolde, an attorney for the Beagle Freedom Project, had publicly offered to settle the dispute for $1 and policy changes at the university, St. Louis Public Radio reported.
A University of Missouri spokesman said the school officials continue to believe the university did not violate the open-records law but is pleased to have reached the settlement.
A Section on 05/15/2020