I wrote last week about the different state and federal approaches to sealing search warrants and related documents. It was a timely topic in light of the search warrant the FBI obtained for former President Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago. That search warrant and the inventory of items seized from former President Trump’s home have already been unsealed, but the affidavit supporting the issuance of the warrant has not. This week, the magistrate judge who issued the warrant heard arguments about whether the affidavit should be made public as well. ABC11 reports here that the judge plans to release at least a redacted version of the affidavit. The Department of Justice argued that the affidavit provides a road map to its investigation. It has a week to submit proposed redactions to the court. Keep reading for more news.
Violence against law enforcement officers. The News and Observer reports here that “[s]ix North Carolina law enforcement officers have been shot, two of them fatally, in the line of duty this summer.” The story quotes Attorney General Josh Stein, as well as several law enforcement leaders, as condemning the violence and suggesting possible causes and connections. One of the officers who was fatally shot was Wake County deputy Ned Byrd, and according to ABC11, one arrest has now been made in that case with at least one more expected. ABC News reports here that more officers have been shot and killed nationally this year than at the same time in 2021.
Escapee apprehended. WRAL reports here that Michael Wayne Glover, who had escaped from the Wayne County Detention Center, was arrested in Morrisville this week. It seems that a citizen “recognized him from television news coverage and called the police.”
Former Raleigh PD officer indicted for felony obstruction of justice. Former Raleigh Police Department Detective Omar Abdullah has been indicted on felony obstruction of justice charges. The charges arise out of allegations that he “fram[ed] 23 people on fake heroin deals,” according to WRAL. Charges against the drug defendants had already been dismissed; Adbullah had already been fired; the city had already settled civil suits arising from the matter; and Abdullah had already been charged with obstructing justice in arrest warrants – but the indictment reflects another step forward in the effort to reckon with Abdullah’s apparent abuse of authority.
Ban on abortion after 20 weeks, in most cases, is the law again. A federal judge has lifted an injunction against the enforcement of North Carolina’s law criminalizing most abortions after 20 weeks. No party to the litigation sought that relief, but the court found that the basis of the injunction was undermined by the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs. WRAL has the story here. For a detailed look at the criminal law issues connected to abortion in North Carolina, check out this prior post.
Italian job fails due to lack of engineering expertise. A road in central Rome, near the Vatican, suddenly collapsed this week. A caller contacted emergency services to report that a man might be trapped under the rubble, and when firefighters responded, they indeed heard someone shouting “I beg you to get me out,” which probably sounds much more elegant in Italian. It seems that a group of would-be bank robbers had begun tunneling from beneath an empty storefront towards a nearby bank, hoping to access the vault. But they weren’t structural engineers and the tunnel, which ran under the street, collapsed. That trapped one of the men and led one of his co-conspirators to call for help. The trapped man was hospitalized but fortunately his injuries are not life-threatening. The Guardian has the full story here.