Latest news with #6thU.S.CircuitCourtofAppeals
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What to know about Trump's pardon of ex-Cincinnati City Councilman PG Sittenfeld
Former Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, who was convicted of federal bribery and attempted extortion charges, was pardoned May 28 by President Donald Trump. Sittenfeld's convictions derailed a promising political career, in which he had once been the frontrunner for mayor. He was arrested months after announcing his campaign for Cincinnati mayor in 2020. The president's decision to grant clemency to Sittenfeld came as an unexpected move, considering the ex-councilman had voiced disapproval of Trump. Here's what we know and don't know about Sittenfeld's pardon. Trump signed an "executive grant of clemency" directing the U.S. Attorney General to sign and grant a "full and unconditional pardon" to Sittenfeld. "The Attorney General shall declare that her action is the act of the President, being performed at my direction," it reads. However, the document does not list any specific reasons why Trump would grant such a pardon. The case against Sittenfeld centered on donations to his political action committee, which prosecutors said he solicited from an informant for the FBI and FBI agents posing as developers of a downtown Cincinnati project. Prosecutors said Sittenfeld's actions went beyond campaign fundraising and crossed the line into bribery. A jury found him guilty in 2022. After a lengthy post-conviction legal battle, Sittenfeld was sentenced to 16 months in prison, although he only served about four and a half months at a facility in Ashland, Kentucky. In May 2024, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals released him while his appeal was pending. Earlier this year, the 6th Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, upheld the convictions. At that time, all three Trump-appointed judges appeared to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. Sittenfeld has taken his case to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his convictions. It's not clear if Sittenfeld will continue to challenge his convictions. It remains unclear how Sittenfeld, a Democrat who once called Trump a 'buffoonish carnival barker," was able to garner favor with the Republicn president's administration. More: Trump's pardon of Sittenfeld stunned many in Cincinnati, but the move fits a pattern Trump has complained repeatedly about what he describes as the 'weaponization' of the legal system against him and others. He's also granted clemency to other public officials convicted of corruption charges, although most of those pardons have gone to Republicans or to people who've publicly praised Trump. Ultimately, the president doesn't have to explain his reasons for pardoning anyone, including Sittenfeld. The pardon power requires no Congressional oversight and no judicial review. Sittenfeld wasn't the only person Trump deemed fit to grant clemency for federal convictions. The moves were part of a fresh wave of pardons by Trump on May 28, according to USA TODAY. Other prominent people who received a pardon from Trump include: Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, who pleaded guilty in late 2004 to one count of conspiring to commit tax fraud and depriving the public of honest service. Louisiana-born rapper NBA YoungBoy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, who pleaded guilty to a federal gun charge in 2024. Larry Hoover, a Chicago gang leader who co-founded the Gangster Disciples and was convicted of murder in 1973. Hoover is still serving state sentences. Former New York Rep. Michael Grimm, a Republican who resigned after being convicted of tax fraud. Former 1st Lt. Mark Bashaw, who was discharged from the U.S. Army after his 2022 conviction at a special court martial for refusing to follow COVID-19 safety measures. Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley of "Chrisley Knows Best" fame, who were found guilty in 2022 of conspiring to commit tax evasion and defraud Atlanta banks, as well as the IRS. Enquirer staff writers Kevin Grasha, Dan Horn and Scott Wartman contributed to this report. USA TODAY also contributed. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: PG Sittenfeld pardon: What to know about Trump's order to grant clemency
CBS News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Michigan court says no rights violated when school told girl to remove hat with image of a gun
A Michigan school did not violate the free-speech rights of a third-grade student who was told to remove a hat that had an image of an AR-15-style rifle and the message "come and take it" in capital letters, a federal court said Friday. The principal at Kerr Elementary School in Durand said the hat could be disruptive and perceived as threatening, especially because the school in 2022 had new students from Oxford, a district that was the site of a school shooting just a few months earlier. The school's "actions were readily defensible," the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 3-0 opinion. "The record demonstrates that school officials relied on their knowledge of the student body to make a reasonable forecast of a substantial disruption in school activities, and therefore did not violate the First Amendment by asking C.S. to remove her hat," the court said. Kerr School had allowed students to wear hats during a week dedicated to showing kindness. The student's hat belonged to her father, and she wore it because it made her feel safe, according to a summary of the case. The father subsequently filed a lawsuit claiming a violation of his daughter's First Amendment rights. The appeals court affirmed a decision in favor of the school by U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg.
Associated Press
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Court says no rights violated when Michigan school told girl to remove hat with image of a gun
DURAND, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan school did not violate the free-speech rights of a third-grade student who was told to remove a hat that had an image of an AR-15-style rifle and the message 'come and take it' in capital letters, a federal court said Friday. The principal at Kerr Elementary School in Durand said the hat could be disruptive and perceived as threatening, especially because the school in 2022 had new students from Oxford, a district that was the site of a school shooting just a few months earlier. The school's 'actions were readily defensible,' the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 3-0 opinion. 'The record demonstrates that school officials relied on their knowledge of the student body to make a reasonable forecast of a substantial disruption in school activities, and therefore did not violate the First Amendment by asking C.S. to remove her hat,' the court said. Kerr School had allowed students to wear hats during a week dedicated to showing kindness. The student's hat belonged to her father, and she wore it because it made her feel safe, according to a summary of the case. The father subsequently filed a lawsuit claiming a violation of his daughter's First Amendment rights. The appeals court affirmed a decision in favor of the school by U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump makes first judicial nomination since returning to White House
By Nate Raymond (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump announced late on Thursday his first judicial nomination since returning to the White House as he moved to appoint a lawyer serving under Tennessee's Republican attorney general to a seat on a federal appeals court. Trump said in a social media post that he is nominating Whitney Hermandorfer, who has clerked for three members of the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority, to fill a vacancy on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The seat became available for him to fill after Democratic President Joe Biden's own nominee to the 6th Circuit failed to secure confirmation before he left office, following fierce opposition from Tennessee's two Republican senators. Trump made 234 judicial appointments during his first term in office, including three members of the U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kim Davis will appeal to SCOTUS in marriage equality case
Kim Davis, then the Rowan county clerk, waved to supporters at a rally outside the Carter County Detention Center on Sept. 8, 2015 in Grayson. Davis was ordered to jail for contempt of court after refusing a federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. (Photo by) Former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis plans to ask the United States Supreme Court to weigh in on whether she was protected by the First Amendment when refusing same-sex marriage licenses a decade ago, her lawyer announced Monday. This comes after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused a request to re-hear her case, saying the panel of judges who ruled against Davis in March already considered the case fully. Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of conservative legal group Liberty Counsel, said in a statement that the nation's highest court is 'the next step to give Kim Davis justice in this case since the emotional distress damage award against her in her individual capacity is barred by the First Amendment.' Davis is fighting a federal jury's decision that she should pay $100,000 to a couple she denied a marriage license in 2015. But her lawyers also want the case to result in same-sex marriage rights being revoked. 'This case underscores why the U.S. Supreme Court should overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, because that decision threatens the religious liberty of many Americans who believe that marriage is a sacred institution between one man and one woman,' Staver said. 'The First Amendment precludes making the choice between your faith and your livelihood.' The move is expected. Staver, who argued on Davis' behalf in Cincinnati in January before a 3-judge panel in the 6th Circuit, said at that time he intended to use her case to try and overturn marriage equality. Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that guaranteed same-sex couples marriage rights, is 'on the same shifting sand' that doomed Roe v. Wade, Staver said. 'I think … it's not a matter of 'if,' it's a matter of 'when' Obergefell will be overturned,' Staver told the Lantern in January. 'I have no doubt that Obergefell will be overturned, and the issue will be returned back to the states as it was before 2015.' Davis, then the Rowan County clerk, made national headlines in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to several same-sex couples based on her religious beliefs. In 2015, U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Davis to jail for five days for contempt for refusing to comply with a court order. In 2024, Bunning ordered Davis to pay $260,104 in fees and expenses to attorneys who represented one of the couples she refused a marriage license. Bunning earlier ordered Davis to pay the couple, David Ermold and David Moore, $100,000 in damages for violating their constitutional rights. Liberty Counsel has unsuccessfully fought Bunning's decisions. Davis lost her bid for reelection as Rowan County clerk in 2018. Her lawyers have argued she acted within her First Amendment rights when she refused to issue the licenses, though judges don't agree. In March, the 6th Circuit refused to strike down the jury judgement against her on those grounds, saying she 'cannot raise a Free Exercise Clause defense because she is being held liable for state action, which the First Amendment does not protect.' Liberty Counsel said the case raises the question 'of whether a government official sued in an individual capacity and stripped of governmental immunity may assert a personal First Amendment defense to monetary damages.' The group wants the Supreme Court to take up the case to 'answer the question of 'first impression,' resolve any conflicts with Supreme Court precedent, and ensure that former government defendants standing before the Court in their personal capacity do not lose First Amendment protections.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
