Last week, the Department of Defense announced that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and two co-defendants had reached plea deals. Generally, the defendants would plead guilty to various charges before the military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay and accept life in prison, and in exchange would be spared the death penalty. Then the Department of Defense announced that the deals are off. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued a memo revoking the deals and reserving to himself the authority to enter into plea agreements. Some families of 9/11 victims have cheered Austin’s decision while others support the deals. The defendants assert that a deal’s a deal and that Austin can’t nix them. Litigation is sure to ensue, further extending cases that have lasted more than two decades already. Keep reading for more news. eCourts expansion continues. Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation may recall the Borg, an alien civilization that consumes its adversaries and incorporates them into its hive mind. When encountering new cultures, the Borg typically informs them that “resistance is futile” and that “you will be assimilated.” I’m not suggesting that anyone would want to resist eCourts expansion – though some may be uneasy about it given early challenges with the rollout – but resistance definitely appears to be futile. The remaining counties (plus the Business Court) will be assimilated into eCourts in 2025 according to this press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts. DA finds deadly force justified in Charlotte shooting. ABC News reports here that [...]
Faculty Coordinators
