Just over a week ago, former FBI Director James Comey was indicted in the Eastern District of North Carolina. This press release from the United States Department of Justice explains that Comey faces two counts. The first alleges that he “knowingly and willfully made a threat to take the life of . . . the President of the United States . . . by publicly posting an image over the internet via Instagram depicting ‘86 47’, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.” The second charge alleges that Comey “knowingly transmitted a communication in interstate commerce that contained a threat to injure the person of another, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to a person.”
It seems that Comey was at a North Carolina beach when he posted the “86 47” message, which explains why the charges were brought here. As to the merits, Professor Eugene Volokh argues in this blog post that the “prosecution is unjustified, and will get thrown out” because Comey’s post is not a “true threat” as defined by the Supreme Court and therefore is protected by the First Amendment. However, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is quoted in this Fox News article as suggesting that the prosecution’s evidence goes beyond the post itself: “You prove intent with witnesses. You prove intent with documents, with materials. . . . This is not just about a single Instagram post. This is about a body of evidence that the grand jury collected over the series of about 11 months.” Readers may recall that Comey was indicted previously for giving false testimony to Congress, and that the prosecution ended when a judge concluded that the interim United States Attorney who brought the case had not been properly appointed. Stay tuned.
Justice Thomas reaches a milestone. The AP just posted this story, reporting that “[t]he first baby boomer on the Supreme Court hit a milestone on Thursday, becoming the second-longest serving justice in history at a time when his influence has never seemed greater.” The story goes on to explain that “[t]he only justice with a longer tenure is liberal William O. Douglas. Thomas would overtake Douglas in 2028 if he remains on the court, and there is no sign he plans to retire anytime soon.” Justice Thomas is 77 and no major health concerns are publicly known.
Which Justice talks the most during Supreme Court arguments? Readers likely know that Justice Thomas talks the least, although he has spoken more in recent years as the Court has moved to a different structure for oral arguments. But the Justice that talks the most is Justice Jackson. In fact, according to this analysis of the current Term posted by Adam Feldman, if you take the number of words spoken by Justice Thomas, add in the number of words spoken by Chief Justice Roberts (the second-quietest Justice), and then further add in the number of words spoken by your favorite among Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Alito, and Barrett, you still wouldn’t reach Justice Jackson’s word count.
Update on Decarlos Brown’s criminal cases. Decarlos Brown has been charged in both state and federal court with crimes arising from the stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte commuter train last year. The Carolina Journal posted an update yesterday, reporting that his attorneys “are seeking a hearing and a finding of mental incompetence in the federal case . . . . Proceedings in the state murder case against Brown already have been delayed for six months after he was found ‘incapable to proceed’ in court.” Based on the story, it seems that experts in the federal Bureau of Prisons have also concluded that Brown is incompetent. A potential next step would be an attempt to restore his competency through medication and other treatment.
Multi-part investigative report on wandering officers. I missed this when it first came out, but Carolina Public Press recently published a three-part series on so-called wandering officers, who move from agency to agency, one step ahead of complaints and internal investigations. The introduction to the series begins: “Hundreds of law enforcement officers who have lost their jobs due to misconduct in North Carolina have ended up working for other agencies. These ‘wandering officers’ have a high rate of further misconduct, including sometimes criminal and violent actions, resulting in harm to public safety, cost to taxpayers, increased liability for agencies that hired them and decreased public confidence in law enforcement.” I will add a few editorial comments: (1) the phenomenon of moving from job to job under a cloud of suspicion is not unique to the law enforcement profession, (2) law enforcement leaders in North Carolina are aware of this issue and have implemented a number of reforms intended to address it, and (3) the process of screening and hiring officers is a human process, and humans are fallible and unpredictable. At the same time, it is likely that more can be done to address the problem.
Chief Justice Newby declares that May is Recovery Court Month. According to this press release from the AOC, in May, “recovery courts across North Carolina will join similar programs nationwide in recognizing National Treatment Court Month.” The release goes on to note that there are more than 4,200 treatment or recovery courts nationwide, of which more than 80 are in North Carolina, “providing critical treatment, accountability, and support services to individuals struggling with substance use and mental health disorders.”
49th anniversary of notorious murder. While looking around for news items for this week, I stumbled into – and was captivated by – the story told in this local article from Indianapolis. A short version is that 49 years ago this week, intruders murdered an eccentric heiress and stole over $3 million in cash that the victim had hidden in her home. Police recovered over $5 million more that the thieves had missed, “much of it stuffed in a 32-gallon trash can tucked inside a hallway closet.” Other facts recounted in the article include an earlier set of robbers throwing diamond necklaces out their car windows as they fled, and the victim ordering police off her property while brandishing a cap gun. The whole strange, sad saga is worth reading. And if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, I suggest taking the $8 million in cash you have stashed in your house and depositing it into a financial institution or two.
Faculty Coordinators
