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In a court filing, the state attorney general’s office says that it has found new account transfers by members of the family that owns Purdu

“States like New York are seeking to find the sources of the Sackler fortune, hoping to reclaim portions of it, particularly in the event that a Purdue bankruptcy could constrain payouts to litigants.”

Justice is Not a Game

“Justice is not a game. It is an important and dead serious cornerstone of the American way of life. Law is a calling, a profession, not a job. Our work is about justice, about truth.”

I particularly like this quote from eDiscovery attorney Ralph C. Losey in Florida. He stresses the quality of the search for discoverable information to get to the truth of a matter in litigation. In making his case for using technology to overcome the problems of technology, he stresses the core role of lawyers and judges in helping society to find and learn the truth.

I would extend this truth finding function to fellow citizens who perform their patriotic duty to serve as jurors in judgment of their fellow citizens. Whether it be a civil case or criminal case, I have never known jurors to see their calling as anything but a solemn duty to their fellow citizens, their community and to the litigants.

Because of this, a judge when conducting a jury trial becomes a partner with the jury while at the same time becoming a facilitator in helping to determine the truth--what are the facts, what are the rules for determining them, what can be considered in determining the facts and how will the law apply to those facts? I have seen numerous jurors in tears at the end of an emotionally wrenching or even horrifying trial. They took their charge with the utmost seriousness and drove the meaning of the word “conscientious” to heights nearly unimaginable.

As a judge I’ve had to provide comforting words to a jury after a trial. Jurors often need affirming words for the role they have just played in supporting our community and in doing so, demonstrating respect for the rule of law. I have never seen a juror treat his or her pivotal democratic role as a game, nor would I label the process a game.

Justice is serious and it revolves around truth. Whether the truth concerns the taking of a life, self-defense, the lawful or unlawful detainment of another by arrest or incarceration, or damage or pain or loss of life, limb, money, property or even companionship, the truth is deadly serious. And to those charged with guiding the justice system to find that truth, justice must never be a game.

#justice #truth #game #jury #role of judge

Judges and Justice

“I don't believe we need a good conservative judge, and I don't believe we need a good liberal judge. I subscribe to the Justice Potter Stewart standard. He was a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. And he said the mark of a good judge, good justice, is that when you're reading their decision, their opinion, you can't tell if it's written by a man or woman, a liberal or a conservative, a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian. You just know you're reading a good judicial decision.“

From a former Secretary of State, John Kerry

#conservative justice #liberal justice #judges #judicial decision #Potter Stewart #John Kerry #Jennifer Brunner #Ohio Supreme Court

Words to live by: You can't recycle glitter.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays. And since green is a Christmas color . . . 🎄

Court Ballot Initiatives in the Midterm Elections

This in from the National Center for State Courts:

Court-related initiatives didn't exactly grab the headlines during this week's mid-term election, but voters decided several important initiatives. Here are a handful of them:

Georgia voters created a statewide business court, the first such court created by a constitutional amendment. Nearly seven of 10 voters approved it. Its judges, unlike others in the state, will be appointed by the governor, with the approval of the Senate Judiciary Committee and its House counterpart.

Florida voters approved an increase in the state's mandatory judicial retirement age, from 70 to 75.

North Carolina will not change the way interim judicial vacancies are filled. About two-thirds of its voters rejected the North Carolina Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment, which would have given state lawmakers more power over the judicial selection process.

West Virginia lawmakers control the judicial budget after voters overwhelmingly -- 422,411 to 146,349 – approved West Virginia Amendment 2.

Louisiana voters approved an amendment to eliminate a Jim Crow-era law that allowed non-unanimous juries in felony trials. After the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment forced states to include black people on juries, Louisiana, which required juries at the time to reach unanimous decisions, didn't want a single black person on a jury to have the power to keep someone out of jail or to hang a jury, so it began allowing non-unanimous juries to convict felony defendants. This change will take effect on Jan. 1, leaving Oregon as the only state that allows non-unanimous juries in felony trials.

California net neutrality bill clears key hurdle - "California's net neutrality debate is being closely watched by advocates around the country, who are looking to the home of Silicon Valley to pass sweeping net neutrality provisions that could drive momentum in other states or create pressure for Congress to enact nationwide protections."

India's Forgotten Child Brides - National Geographic "Despite a plunge in the rate of child marriages over the past decade, there are more underage brides in India than any other country in the world. More than a quarter of Indian girls are married by the age of 18, according to the organization Girls Not Brides."

"DHS officials said Nielsen had not yet signed off on the Nepal decision, but the internal documents indicate the agency is preparing to make its announcement in coming days. The DHS secretary is required to make a decision 60 days in advance of the TPS expiration date. In Nepal’s case, that deadline falls on the anniversary of the earthquake, which is Wednesday."

"Two of the three judges — Eugene E. Siler Jr. and Helene N. White — ruling on the case were appointed by Republican presidents, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, respectively. The other judge, Eric L. Clay, was appointed by Democrat Bill Clinton." The decision was unanimous.

"Deputy Chief Counsel Gioia said in a press conference that the Farak case is a "reflection of how a misguided War on Drugs turned into a war on poor people and people of color" and emphasized the positive outcomes of Farak's conviction."

How Democrats became captured by the myth of the wholesome “community bank” - Mic "The more we deregulate [community banks], the more they merge,” Baradaran said. “The only reason we’ve had the [It’s a Wonderful Life] George Bailey community bank model for so long, and [why] it was so healthy for 70 years, is because of heavy state regulation. We had geographical restrictions, we had activity restrictions. You couldn’t merge. You couldn’t be[come] Bank of America. And all of a sudden, we deregulated and that was the death of community banks. They just ate each other alive.”

Trump Clears the Way for Release of Secret Republican Memo - The New York Times "The White House also allowed officials from the nation’s intelligence agencies to review the document, but the Senate Intelligence Committee’s earlier request to see the memo was declined by House Republicans."

Lawsuit seeks to stop Medicaid work requirements - CNN Money "The 79-page complaint was filed on behalf of 15 Kentucky residents who are on Medicaid and would be harmed by the state's new rules, according to the advocates. It cites a 62-year-old man who suffers from diabetes, arthritis and high-blood pressure and is unlikely to be able to comply with the work requirement or purchase coverage on his own. "Without Medicaid going forward, his health would be in jeopardy," the groups say."

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday struck down the boundaries of the state’s 18 congressional districts, saying they violate the state constitution and granting a major victory to a group of Democratic voters who argued the districts were unconstitutionally gerrymandered to benefit Republicans.

The Democratic-controlled court issued a brief order giving the Republican-controlled Legislature until Feb. 9 to pass a replacement and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf until Feb. 15 to submit it to the court. Otherwise, the justices said they will adopt a plan in an effort to keep the May 15 primary election on track.

Bannon’s value to Mueller might be greater than Trump thinks "In front of the special counsel, Bannon likely will not be able to assert executive privilege (otherwise he gets dragged before the grand jury). As the first person in Trump’s inner circle to be questioned by Mueller, Bannon will serve as a guide for the special counsel as he pursues the case."

POLITICO BREAKING NEWS BREAKING NEWS: DOJ to appeal ruling that blocked Trump's DACA wind-down Published: 01/16/18 02:18 PM EST The Justice Department on Tuesday announced plans to appeal a judge's ruling that blocked President Donald Trump from shuttering a program that gave protections and work permits to some people who entered the U.S. illegally as children. In a ruling last week, San Francisco-based U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ordered the administration to resume accepting renewal applications for the Deferre d Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA. “It defies both law and common sense for DACA...to somehow be mandated nationwide by a single district court in San Francisco,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement Tuesday.

Donald Trump Renominates Court Picks Rated 'Not Qualified' To Serve "Charles Goodwin and Holly Teeter are among those in the president’s renominations. The ABA concluded in December that Goodwin, Trump’s nominee to a lifetime seat on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, is unqualified to fulfill the demands of a federal judge given his “work habits.” The ABA concluded in November that Teeter, Trump’s nominee to a lifetime seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, is not qualified based on her lack of trial court experience."

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