Latest news with #RandallMiller
Reuters
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Ex-Trump lawyer Eastman loses round in fight to keep California law license
June 16 (Reuters) - A California judicial panel has upheld a recommendation that attorney John Eastman should be stripped of his law license for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump. The Friday ruling, opens new tab from the State Bar Court of California's appeals division tees up Eastman's case for final review by the California Supreme Court, which has the final say on attorney disciplinary matters in the state. Eastman violated California attorney ethics rules against misleading courts and making false public statements, the bar court's Review Department found in a 103-page ruling. "Whether in the courts, to former Vice-President Pence and his staff, or to the public, Eastman consistently failed to be honest," the Review Department said. Randall Miller, a lawyer for Eastman, said they would appeal Friday's decision to the state's high court. Eastman had argued to the bar court's Review Department that his rights to free speech and due process were violated by state bar prosecutors, and complained that he was singled out for punishment by the judge who heard his case. George Cardona, the State Bar of California's chief trial counsel, praised the ruling in a statement on Friday night, calling it "a powerful and timely reminder that whoever they are and whoever they represent, attorneys must remain true to the ethical rules that govern their conduct and respect the rule of law." A judge on California's State Bar Court recommended Eastman's disbarment in a March 2024 decision that said his plan to derail Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 election victory "was unlawful and lacked any factual or legal support." Eastman's license was suspended after he was recommended for disbarment. Eastman separately has been indicted in Arizona and Georgia state courts for his efforts to overturn Biden's election victory in those states. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases. A former law professor at Chapman University in California, Eastman drafted legal memos suggesting then-Vice President Mike Pence could refuse to accept electoral votes from several swing states when Congress convened to certify the 2020 vote count. Pence rebuffed his arguments, saying he did not have legal authority to do so under the Constitution. Trump was also represented by Eastman in a long-shot lawsuit at the U.S. Supreme Court that sought to invalidate votes in four states where the Republican former president had falsely claimed evidence of widespread voter fraud. Eastman repeated many of those claims at a rally outside the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, after which a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and delayed congressional certification of the election.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Midnight Rider' director Randall Miller exonerated 11 years after fatal on-set train crash
'Midnight Rider' director Randall Miller completed his probation this week — 11 years after a camerawoman was killed by a train on his movie set. Miller was granted a court order this week that completely wiped out his involuntary manslaughter conviction from his record, according to documents obtained by TheWrap. The motion was made under the Georgia First Offender Act, which is available for first-time criminals who complete their probation without violations. 'I am so grateful that this day has finally come. With this exoneration my record has been cleared,' Miller said in a statement. Miller completed 10 years of probation, during which time he was prohibited from filmmaking. He was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison but was released after spending just one year behind bars. He had pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing resulting in the tragic death of camera assistant Sarah Jones, who was just 27, on the very first day of filming 'Midnight Rider,' a movie about singer Gregg Allman. The movie's executive producer, Jay Sedrish, also pleaded guilty and got 10 years on probation. The pair were deemed responsible for the horrifying Feb. 20, 2014 incident after they knowingly filmed on a railroad bridge in rural southeast Georgia without permission from owner CSX Transportation. The crew assumed no more trains would pass that day and were attempting to film actor William Hurt, in the role of Allman, in a hospital bed placed on the tracks when a train came barreling down the bend. Traveling at 55 mph, the train smashed into a metal-framed bed on the tracks, sending shrapnel flying as crew members scrambled for safety and clung to the bridge's metal railing high above the Altamaha River. Jones was hit by the edge of the fuel tank, sending her onto the train's path, where she was run over. She died instantly. Miller's prosecution was the most recent high-profile case against a filmmaker until Alec Baldwin, who was acting and serving as a producer, accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of 'Rust' in 2021. Charges against Baldwin were ultimately dropped. The movie's armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Hutchins' death inspired a California project that would grant $1.5 million in tax incentives to filmmakers for hiring a safety supervisor on set. Miller is set to benefit from the pilot program for this upcoming independent feature film 'Supercrip,' about a quadriplegic Uber driver who meets an egotistical movie star.
