The lead story this week is the sentencing of former U.S. senator Bob Menendez on Wednesday to 11 years in prison, per this report from the Washington Post. Menendez, 71, a longtime New Jersey lawmaker, was convicted last year in federal court of bribery and extortion, among other charges. He is the first public official in the United States to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent. Menendez has given notice of appeal. Read on for more criminal law news.
news roundup

News Roundup
As one of his first acts as in office, President Trump issued sweeping pardons and commutations for the people convicted of crimes stemming from their involvement in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Most of the defendants received full and unconditional pardons, while fourteen people convicted of seditious conspiracy received commutations of their sentences, according to this report by the AP. The President has also directed the U.S. Attorney General to dismiss the remaining pending prosecutions of January 6th defendants (around 450 cases). This sweeping grant of relief serves as a rejection by the executive branch of the outcomes of what was “the largest investigation in Justice Department history,” according to the story. Supporters of the move praised the President’s actions as undoing what they consider politically motivated prosecutions, while detractors have categorized the relief as a blow to the justice system, pointing to the hundreds of defendants duly convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers and other serious crimes. At least one defendant convicted of a misdemeanor relating to January 6th is attempting to refuse her pardon, although the legal support for such a move is unclear, according to this story. Additionally, President Trump issued a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an online marketplace for drugs and other contraband. Ulbricht was convicted of various drug, conspiracy, and computer offenses in 2015 and was sentenced to life without parole. Read on for more criminal law news.
News Roundup
This morning, President Biden announced that he will commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates serving long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses. The commutations are for offenders who received harsher sentences for drug crimes than they would have under current law and practice. Over the past two decades, Congress has passed legislation to rectify sentencing disparities and practices that disproportionately affected Black people and fueled mass incarceration, such as the now-discredited distinction between crack and powder cocaine. In his statement, Biden said “as Congress recognized through the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it is time we equalize these sentencing disparities.” The commutations are the latest use of clemency power by President Biden, following the full pardon of his son Hunter, commuting the sentences of nearly all federal death row prisoners, and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals moved to home confinement during the pandemic. Read on for more criminal law news.
News Roundup
The top story this week is the arrest on Monday of Luigi Mangione, 26, accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4. Multiple news outlets, including ABC, BBC and CBS, have reported on the investigation, noting that Mangione’s fingerprints matched prints found near the crime scene, that the gun Mangione was carrying when arrested matched shell casings from the crime scene, and that handwritten pages he possessed appear to claim responsibility for the shooting. Read on for more criminal law news.

News Roundup
According to this story, the CEO of United Health Care, Brian Thompson, was walking through Manhattan on his way to conference when a masked gunman fired multiple shots from a 9 mm handgun, striking Mr. Thompson from behind and killing him. The suspect fled the scene and remains at large at the time of this writing. Authorities believe the shooter was specifically targeting Thompson, a belief reinforced by the discovery that shell casings at the scene were inscribed with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose.” Police were able to obtain surveillance footage showing an image of the suspect from a local hostel. Thompson’s wife reported that he had received threats recently, but did not offer specifics. In addition to his wife, Thompson leaves behind two sons. Read on more for more criminal law news.

News Roundup
A 23-year-old NC State University student was charged with felony assault last Friday after a week-long flurry of rush-hour shootings along I-40 and near I-440. Andrew Graney’s arrest came after Raleigh police scrambled to find the shooter who fired into eight cars and four houses, all in southwest Raleigh along I-40 between last Monday and Thursday. Raleigh Police Chief announced Thursday two “persons of interest” were detained Thursday afternoon. The second person detained was released and not charged.
Police found Graney after surveillance camera captured footage of a gray Hyundai Sonata at the scene of one of the residences hit by gunfire. Search warrants showed police seized a laptop computer, a .45-caliber Llama handgun and case with live ammunition, spent shell casings, and a box of ammunition from Graney’s home and car. Graney faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling or vehicle. He is being held without bond in the Wake County jail.

News Roundup
In the aftermath of the widespread destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene, federal and state officials have begun providing relief assistance to affected residents in western North Carolina. These efforts have been complicated by widespread misinformation regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and others. This past weekend, someone called 911 to report that an armed man near a FEMA relief center was allegedly threatening to harm relief workers and who supposedly spoke of “truckloads of militia members” in the area. According to this report, FEMA took the threat seriously, suspending door to door visits with residents and temporarily scaling back relief efforts in response. The man in question was found with an assault rifle and a pistol and was charged with going armed to the terror of the public. The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department ultimately determined that the man was acting alone and that the report of armed militias in the area was untrue. The Governor’s office, FEMA, and other agencies have denounced this incident and other instances of misleading and inaccurate information about disaster relief efforts. My colleague, Kristi Nickodem, recently published a blog post over at Coates’ Canons addressing what local governments can do to combat misinformation in this context, which you can read here. Read on for more criminal law news.
News Roundup
Our hearts remain with the communities in Western North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Helene. On Wednesday, lawmakers unanimously passed “The Disaster Recovery Act of 2024” allocating $273 million to meet immediate needs and begin the recovery process. The bill also contains provisions for a recovery fund for Brunswick County and the Carolina Beach area after major flooding during a storm in September, and a similar fund for Rocky Mount to assist with recovery after a tornado caused by Helene damaged buildings and caused injuries. Notable provisions of the bill expand eligibility for serving as a volunteer poll worker and for submitting absentee ballots, and authorize the Governor to waive certain DMV fees, such as duplicate license/identification card fees and late fees for motor vehicle registration renewals. Additionally, the bill temporarily extends the deadline for preliminary hearings for post-release supervision and parole violations once a supervisee has been arrested from seven to twenty-one working days. Governor Roy Cooper signed the bill into law Thursday morning. Read on for more criminal law news.

News Roundup
Our hearts are with our clients and others who have been affected by Hurricane Helene. Expertise among faculty and staff of the School of Government may be valuable to local governments in the aftermath. That expertise list can be accessed here. Additionally, the School has an Emergency Management website available, which lists various state and federal resources for local governments impacted by Hurricane Helene. More on the Chief Justice’s Emergency Order can be found in this blog, posted earlier this week.
Keep reading for your weekly dose of criminal law news.