In the culmination of a nomination process that divided the nation, Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice on Saturday night. As USA Today reports, the final Senate vote was 50-48, with Joe Manchin the lone Democrat voting in favor of Kavanaugh’s appointment and Lisa Murkowski the lone Republican voting against. Kavanaugh was sworn in shortly after the vote by Chief Justice John Roberts and retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy in a private ceremony. Kavanaugh once served as a law clerk for Justice Kennedy, as did Justice Neil Gorsuch. In another overlap, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh each attended high school at Georgetown Preparatory School.
Christopher Tyner
News Roundup
As the New York Times reports, seven law enforcement officers from Florence, South Carolina, were shot on Wednesday as they attempted to serve a search warrant. One officer was killed. Many of the details of the incident were unclear at the time of this writing, but it appears that the suspect, Fred Hopkins, opened fire with a high powered rifle from a tactically advantageous position, requiring that officers in the line of fire be rescued with a hardened military-style vehicle. The Charlotte Observer says that the officer who was killed, detective Terrence Carraway, spent 30 years with the Florence Police Department, was an Air Force veteran, and was known among his colleagues as the bravest officer on the force. Keep reading for more news.
News Roundup
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the allegations of sexual assault leveled against Judge Brett Kavanaugh by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was the major news of the week. Both Kavanaugh and Blasey Ford testified before the committee, with Kavanaugh flatly denying the alleged assault and Blasey Ford declaring that she was certain that Kavanaugh attacked her. Republican committee members ceded their time for questioning to Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell while Democrats questioned Blasey Ford directly. That approach resulted in an unusual proceeding that sharply alternated in five minute segments between a trial-like examination of Blasey Ford and a more traditional Senate committee hearing. Keep reading for more news.
News Roundup
As all North Carolinians know, Hurricane Florence brought torrential rain to the eastern part of the state, causing widespread flooding and other damage. At the time of this writing, Wilmington remained largely inaccessible, with the Department of Transportation saying Thursday morning that there was “no safe, stable or reliable route” of public access into or out of the city. Many other communities along the coast and in southeastern North Carolina are in similarly challenging situations. The North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund is accepting contributions to help with immediate unmet needs of Hurricane Florence victims. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the storm. Keep reading for more news.
News Roundup
This News Roundup was written on Wednesday prior to UNC’s closure on Thursday and Friday in anticipation of the arrival of hurricane Florence. Our thanks go out to all of the state and local officials, law enforcement agencies, and emergency response personnel who are working to keep North Carolinians safe during the storm. Keep reading for more news.
News Roundup
This week it was widely reported that federal investigators have issued subpoenas to the North Carolina State Board of Elections as well as to elections boards in 44 counties in the eastern part of the state requesting the production of millions of voter records. The Associated Press says that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina issued the subpoenas on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, suggesting that the underlying investigation concerns illegal voting by people who are not citizens. The AP piece notes that two weeks ago the Eastern District U.S. Attorney announced charges against 19 foreign nationals arising from alleged illegal voting activities. Keep reading for more news.
News Roundup
As WRAL reports, former Wake County Register of Deeds Laura Riddick pleaded guilty late last week to felony embezzlement charges arising from her years-long practice of diverting funds from the office for her personal use. Under the terms of Riddick’s plea agreement, she repaid $926,615 that she had taken from the office and will serve a five to seven year prison sentence. The WRAL report says that three other former employees of the deeds office have been charged in connection with the case. Keep reading for more news.
News Roundup
As the Daily Tar Heel reports, this week a group of protesters on UNC campus used ropes to pull down the controversial Confederate monument known as Silent Sam; the protesters then covered the statue in dirt before it was removed by heavy equipment from McCorkle Place. Chancellor Carol Folt explained in a statement that the monument “has been divisive for years” but criticized the “unlawful and dangerous” act of vandalism. Time magazine published a story about the history of the statue that recounts decades of protests involving Silent Sam and includes excerpts of the speech delivered at the dedication of the statue in 1913 by Julian Carr. Carr’s full remarks, including a personal anecdote where he boasted of violently assaulting a black woman within 100 yards of the site of the monument, are available here. Keep reading for more news.
News Roundup
This week a Pennsylvania grand jury released a report of an investigation into six of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses which says that there is credible evidence that more than 300 “predator priests” sexually abused more than 1000 children over decades. The report further alleges that the church orchestrated a sophisticated cover-up of the sex crimes. The New York Times has an overview of the report here, and the full report, thorough and unflinching, is available here. The statute of limitations has expired for the majority of the crimes detailed in the report. Keep reading for more news.
News Roundup
As USA Today reports, Sunday is the one-year anniversary of the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that began with torch-bearing marchers parading through the campus of the University of Virginia chanting racist slogans and ended with a participant killing a counter-demonstrator. In the aftermath, Charlottesville law enforcement agencies were criticized for their limited efforts at ensuring public safety. An anniversary rally reportedly is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., and Charlottesville has preemptively declared a state of emergency. Keep reading for more news.