Local prosecutors in Minneapolis say they have received evidence from federal authorities pertaining to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in January. For months since the killings, evidence was withheld from local law enforcement, preventing state investigators from conducting a thorough review. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit seeking access. It appears that progress was made after the federal authorities sought evidence from the state authorities pertaining to another shooting incident involving ICE agent Christian Castro, who has been charged by state prosecutors. The parties reached an agreement for reciprocal sharing. Ellison stated that he remains “deeply troubled” that information was withheld for more than six months.
Meanwhile, local prosecutors in Houston have expressed similar concerns about the federal government’s refusal to share evidence related to the shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo last week. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare stated that he does not know the identities of the ICE agents involved.
Read on for more criminal law news.
Executions of the elderly in Florida. Florida has conducted 10 of 16 nationwide executions this year. In recent weeks, Florida proceeded with the executions of two 74-year-olds, and plans are in place to execute an 80-year-old later this month. In contrast to other states, where the scheduling of executions is largely controlled by the courts, in Florida, the governor appears to have significant discretion over the scheduling process. The oldest person previously executed by the state of Florida was 72.
U.S. takes aim at ICC. Last year, the U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors from the International Criminal Court in apparent retaliation for declared “transgressions against the United States and Israel.” Now, the Trump Administration is escalating the attack on the court by announcing efforts to “systematically dismantle” the ICC, “brick by brick.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in justifying this plan, pointed to concerns about the ICC investigating American soldiers and taking actions against Israel. Some have noted that the ICC has little practical power to prosecute Americans given its lack of a police force. More than 100 countries have signed agreements promising not to surrender Americans to the court, and court rules state that local investigation divests the ICC of jurisdiction.
The relationship between the U.S. and the ICC is long and complex, with the U.S. having never ratified the Rome Statute (the treaty creating the judicial body). Though President Bill Clinton signed the Rome Statute in 2000, he did not send it to the Senate for ratification.
New student discipline laws. The recently enacted North Carolina budget contains two new provisions relating to the discipline of students at public colleges and universities.
The first provision stops students who are convicted of assaulting officers or state employees from receiving in-state tuition rates and prevents them from receiving state-funded grants or scholarships.
The second provision prevents the public from viewing disciplinary records containing personal information. A 2020 lawsuit on behalf of the Daily Tar Heel and other news organizations culminated in a decision from the North Carolina Supreme Court that disciplinary records of students who committed sexual assault were public. However, the new law shields such records from the public.
The provision is titled the Protect Campus Survivors Act, and advocates such as the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault celebrated the passage of the new law. Advocates pointed out that under the previous rules, a victim’s name might be released without the victim’s approval, sometimes inadvertently.
Aggregated data and summaries of disciplinary records that do not contain private information would still be subject to public release.
License plate readers throughout NC. The budget legislation also contains new provisions allowing the North Carolina Department of Transportation to enter into agreements with the State Bureau of Investigation to place automatic license plate readers on state-owned land. More than 100 cameras are already in operation as part of a three-year pilot program. 32 law enforcement agencies were involved in the pilot, including those in large metropolitan areas such as Charlotte and Raleigh. Initial plans focused on entry points into the state, but the program will now expand elsewhere.
Current state law mandates that data be preserved no longer than 90 days except in specific cases involving search warrants or ongoing criminal investigations. Some advocates are concerned that the readers will cast too broad a net and lead to mass surveillance. They argue that data retention periods should be shortened and that additional safeguards are necessary to prevent misuse. Lawmakers who support the program point to examples of recovered vehicles, investigative leads, and felony arrests facilitated by the new technology.
Have a good weekend and see you on Monday.
