Ayanna Pressley and Other Massachusetts Puppeticans Introduce Legislation to End Qualified Immunity, the Law of the Jungle Legal Standard for Police in their Relations with Citizens

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From [HERE] Massachusetts lawmakers in Congress have reintroduced legislation which would allow people to sue police officers and other state and local government officials.

The Ending Qualified Immunity Act would eliminate the doctrine created by the Supreme Court, which protects police officers from individual liability for violating a person's constitutional rights.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said the bill ensures police, and all officials, are held accountable for their actions.

"It makes no sense that the very people responsible for enforcing the law face no consequences for breaking it," Pressley contended.

The bill was first introduced in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, and Pressley argued it provides the families of those abused by police with the healing they deserve. Supporters of qualified immunity said officers should not have to fear lawsuits when dealing with potentially dangerous suspects.

More than 1,000 people in the U.S. were killed by police last year, a record high, according to the nonprofit Mapping Police Violence.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said for decades, qualified immunity has shielded officers who use excessive force, far too often suffered by Black and brown Americans.

"There will be no true justice until there is racial justice," Markey asserted. "And there will be no racial justice until we end qualified immunity."

Markey added victims and their families are due their day in court against those officials who violate their civil rights. At least forty lawmakers have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.

Puppeticians Push to Reopen Abusive Pittsburgh Juvenile Youth Prison to Put Black Teens in Greater Confinement

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From [HERE] In 2021, Pittsburgh’s Shuman Juvenile Detention Center was closed after an investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services uncovered numerous instances of abuse and neglect of children at the facility. Now, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and members of the Allegheny County Council are pushing for a reopening of the facility to address an alleged spike in youth crime. County funds for the youth prison have since been reallocated, and politicians are now looking to reopen the center under the auspices of private shareholders instead of the county government.

Situated in the primarily Black neighborhood of Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar, Shuman Center’s nearly 50-year history had been marred with controversy. Years of allegations of mistreatment by staff culminated in a heroin overdose occurring in the facility in August 2021 that was not treated for nearly an hour before paramedics arrived. The center had been operating under provisional licenses since 2015 due to the large number of complaints it received, and it continued to see an increase in violations before the license was fully revoked shortly after the overdose. The center acted as a punitive measure against impoverished youth and youth of color, often as the beginning of a long cycle of incarceration. Similar trends have been seen across the United States, the country with the highest youth incarceration rates in the world. 

Since its shutdown, local politicians and business owners have complained that Shuman’s absence has led to an uptick in violent crime amongst youth downtown. The mayor of Pittsburgh, Ed Gainey, and his administration see this carceral philosophy totally in line with their recently unveiled “Plan for Peace,” a campaign to reduce violent crime in the city of Pittsburgh. So far, the campaign has primarily resulted in a tripling of police presence in downtown, low-income and predominantly Black neighborhoods, and strict curfews proposed for youth in these same areas. At a news conference on a triple homicide shooting in October, before the information of any suspects had been released, Gainey inexplicably blamed the closure of the former Shuman Center. He stated, “We should have never closed Shuman without a plan.”

Recent Gallup Poll Shows Media Confidence Ratings at Record Lows

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • 16% of Americans have a great deal/quite a lot of confidence in newspapers

  • 11% have some the degree of confidence in television news

  • Democrats' confidence low but higher than Republicans', independents'

From [HERE] Americans' confidence in two facets of the news media -- newspapers and television news -- has fallen to all-time low points. Just 16% of U.S. adults now say they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers and 11% in television news. Both readings are down five percentage points since last year.

Gallup has tracked Americans' confidence in newspapers since 1973 and television news since 1993 as part of its annual polling about major U.S. institutions. The latest readings are from a June 1-20 poll that saw declines in confidence ratings for 11 of the 16 institutions measured and no improvements for any.

Television news and newspapers rank nearly at the bottom of that list of institutions, with only Congress garnering less confidence from the public than TV news. While these two news institutions have never earned high confidence ratings, they have fallen in the rankings in recent years.

A majority of Americans have expressed confidence in newspapers only once -- in 1979, when 51% did. But there is a wide margin between that and the second-highest readings of 39% in 1973 and 1990. The trend average for newspapers is 30%, well above the latest reading of 16%, which is the first time the measure has fallen below 20%. The percentage of Americans who say they have "very little" or volunteer that they have no confidence is currently the highest on record, at 46%.

Confidence in television news has never been higher than its initial 46% reading in 1993 and has averaged 27%, considerably higher than the current 11%. This is the fourth consecutive year that confidence in TV news is below 20%. And for just the second time in the trend, a majority of Americans, 53%, now say they have very little or no confidence at all in TV news.[MORE]

Elite Racists at CNN Terminate Showcase Black Don Lemon because All Showcase Blacks are Disposable and Replaceable in the System of Racism White Supremacy

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SOUR Don Lemon SQUEEZED OUT at CNN. Given a Bag of Nachos and Told ‘We’re Nacho Employer No Mo.’ Don Lemon is simply a showcase Black - a celebrity “auto-coon” creation of elite racists, rewarded and punished by them. They do with him whatever they want. Elite racists who run CNN fired him.

Neely Fuller correctly states that in the system of racism white supremacy Black people are subject to the direct and indirect power of elite racists in all areas of activity including Economics, Education, Entertainment, Labor, Law, Politics, religion, Sex and War.

In the area of “entertainment” the dependent media, “a segregated white-owned enterprise with billions of dollars at their disposal,” makes great use out of Showcase Blacks to control the behavior and thinking of Black and other non-white people. Said auto-coons have priceless value to racists in the system of racism white Supremacy.

Showcase Blacks are “coin-operated,” high-profile blacks that are constantly paraded before the public. They may be political dignitaries, pro athletes, entertainers, educators, business people, judges or elected officials. In general, their real purpose is to mask the REALITY of being black in America. [MORE]

Showcase Blacks are literally the creation of elite racists who launch and promote their careers on various platforms they own and control. Elite racists (liberal or republican) are the deciders, choosers and creators for the success or failure of showcase Blacks; they select and groom the potential celebrity as they see fit. Most have no independent power or ability to have the same success without the backing of elite racists. As such, said coin-operated Blacks are compromised sambos and SNiggers paid to do as their white masters direct them. Showcase Blacks are rewarded handsomely for their activities and their created personas are a career investment. But they are also disposable and easily replaceable.

Bear in mind that elite white supremacists/racists control the show. Showcase Blacks are not showcasing themselves, they are being showcased by white supremacists to promote some aspect of RSW. [MORE]

Showcase Blacks are tools for mind control and a necessary illusion of the racism/white supremacy system. Elite racists have created an army of these rolebotic, celebrity Blacks. FUNKTIONARY explains, “A role-bot merely plays the role of the mask - the personae - society issued and approved.” A main function of showcase blacks is to control the spectrum of ideas discussed by Blacks, control the parameters of dissent, parameters of political discussion and define what kinds of ideas or activities are "proper" and "reasonable" for Blacks to discuss or engage in. Through showcase blacks, elite whites present a numerous array of “black” personalities and characters in movies, tv, social media programming whom are obedient citizen-subjects to authority, pliable and in general compatible with the white supremacy dynamic and the servant role in a white over Black system. Showcase Blacks thus function as rolebots to Black viewers who mimic and integrate said characters into their own personality and falsified Afrikan consciousness. “People see, people do.” Such “black” characters generally are SNiggering, dancing, singing, begging, emotional, joking, always non-serious, thug, nigger/ho/bitch, ongoing smiling face, sambo characters and reactionary personas who would never be fit to neutralize the system of racism white supremacy or destroy the master/servant relationship.

Anon explains that ‘showcasing prominent Blacks; deceives the black collective about the realities of racism, neutralizes the legitimate claims of racism by blacks and offers a pressure relief valve for the explosive build-up of frustration and rage within the black collective. If blacks believed they had nothing to gain, the nation would be at risk from millions of blacks who had nothing to lose. In reality, the high visibility of Showcase Blacks actually confirms just the opposite. The more prominent the Showcase Blacks — who are just a tiny percentage of the black population — the worse things are getting for the black masses. In other words, the need to increase deception should serve as a warning to the black collective.’

All About Ratings or Controlling the Message? According to AdWeek Tucker Carlson Had the Highest Ratings By Far, Dominating All Cable News Shows

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Ratings chart is from Adweek. His last show, which was not announced as his last show, drew 2.65 million viewers.

All About Ratings or Controlling the Message? Elites Terminate the Most Popular TV News Show. According to AdWeek Tucker Carlson Had the Highest Ratings By Far, Dominating All Cable News Shows

Disturbing Master's Peace: Tucker Carlson Had to Go After Helping Expose Pfizer's Ongoing Gain of Function Research and Undercutting the False Depiction of the Unarmed Jan 6 Honkey Kong “Insurrection”

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[MORE]

An actual “journalist,” racist suspect Tucker Carlson actually challenged government narratives. As a member of The Dependent Media Tucker misunderstood his role: the goal is to conceal reality not reveal it. According to FUNKTIONARY:

television – mind control—an electronic conduit telling lies to disrupt and distort your vision. 2) the warlock’s glass ball. 3) Home Propaganda Network. It is the most insidious form of mind-control that’s ever been invented. Television, as a passive addiction, cripples people’s ability for self-observation, introspection and self-remembering. It veils us from our true selves by offering an inverse projection of our hyper-active disposable culture and its anti-cathartic audio-visual anti-depressants. Television is called a medium and rightly so because it isn’t rare and it’s never well-done—and that’s the message. Technologically, television appears as the art of the surface, as opposed to the old cinema—the illusion of depth. Physiologically, the pulsing light of the television screen after dark—viewed over time—fries one’s pineal gland by eroding melatonin secretion. Even skin cells read light to your pineal gland. Wear rose-tinted glasses at night when watching T.V. to block out green light. It’s best to remove the television from your bedroom—if you can’t stomach removing it entirely from your house—and rest in total darkness. Get me off…camera. T.V.? C’mon, better watch it now! “Television is for appearing on, not looking at.” ~ Noel Coward. Be more mindful. Be more careful. (See: Mind Control, Introjection, TV, Pineal Gland, Programming, Mindfulness, Diet, Melanin, Looking, Seeing, Explosure, Illuminati, The Media, Subconscious Mind, Televisionary, Conditioning, MEDIA, Crap & Televidiot)

The Media – the Spectacle-Cabal who love freedom of the press, but abhor freedom of speech. The Media is the Fourth Estate of Government (created, owned, administered and controlled by Pathocrats). It is one of the most essential arms of “government.” They couldn’t give you their Matrix Reality without it—likewise they couldn’t keep you imprisoned in it without it. The News Anchor holds down the Ship of State at the Port of Lies. How is it that shareholders of Media conglomerates also sit as anchors and bring you their master’s views as if it could ever be objective or news? “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” ~ Malcolm X. (See: Television, Perception, MEDIA, Senses, CON, Normal, Pathocracy, NEWS, Corporate Media, Control, COG & Pixelated People)

Dependent Media – Establishment (dependent) media is both unwilling and incapable of reporting events truthfully, accurately, or without extreme bias. News coverage is just that—covering-up-(masking) and distorting the events and those wielding the power behind the events (those reported and deliberately unreported). News coverage has simply become “disinfotainment” with the sole purpose of perception and knowledge containment as well as reality concealment. You report in the interests of those who paying you to do so. (See: MEDIA, NBC & NEWS)

Promotion of the Ongoing Smiling Face Pays Off for SNigger Chahls: Elite Racists Reward CoinOperated Negro Barkley w/Prime Time Show w/Negropolitan Gayle King (Racists and NGHRS Both Love Negrosis)

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THE REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS OF WHITE SUPREMACY “CBS Mornings” anchor Gayle King and former National Basketball Association player Charles Barkley will host a weekly primetime show on CNN starting this fall, the network said Saturday.

The new show, “King Charles,” will start this fall and will air on Wednesdays. Ms. King, 68, is a well-known national news figure who will bring broad experience to CNN’s lineup. She will continue her responsibilities at CBS while hosting the CNN show.

Mr. Barkley is already part of the Warner Bros. Discovery WBD -1.81%decrease; red down pointing triangle family as one of the hosts of the popular “Inside the NBA” program on its TNT channel. He is outspoken on a range of issues beyond basketball.

The show is CNN Chief Executive Chris Licht’s latest experiment in primetime, as the network struggles to find a formula that can boost ratings. Last month, CNN posted its lowest ratings in at least three decades among viewers 25 to 54 years old, according to Nielsen, and its average of 535,000 primetime viewers in the first quarter as of March 24 was down 35% from a year earlier. [MORE]

A major part of white supremacy is the annihilation of Black self respect. Dr. Amos Wilson stated, "the most powerful obstacle against the liberation of Afrikan peoples from White domination and exploitation is not the ability of Whites to use superior military or police firepower or their threat to use it against Afrikan insurgency, but is their ability to engage in unrelenting psychopolitical violence against the collective Afrikan psyche." [MORE] 'Their devastatingly ingenious use of it against the minds of Afrikan peoples which represent the greatest threat to Afrikan survival.' [MORE]

FUNKTIONARY explains that social relations between Blacks and whites are mediated by false images and narratives within The Spectacle. In this constructed reality the totality of the messaging and images presented are the actual materialization of the ideology of racism white supremacy. Dr. Blynd states The Spectacle is “the mirrorization of the noumenon into the phenomenal universe without understanding or overstanding it as such an objectivization in duality.” Relentless propaganda helps to maintain the cooperative master servant relationship between Blacks and whites and has kept Black people in a "continuous state of checkmate” and a “losing streak that is centuries long.” [MORE]

The master-servant relationship must be destroyed, not updated and refined. Nevertheless, niggers [here meaning those who indulge in master-servant relations] only want master “to do the right thing” or seek better master servant relations.

Doc Blynd observes, “The thing about a nigger is that you won’t know one when you see one (unless you’ve become one or sporadically act as one), rather you will only see one when you really ignore one—that’s when a real nigger will appear (show up and show out). A nigger never really arrives anywhere—a nigger simply “comes out” (exposing himself by imposing himself on others) with unstoppable insistence and unflappable persistence when various situations precipitate its manifestation. Niggers are not born—they are made in the likeness of the prevailing confluence of psychological states and socio-economic conditions (e.g., mentacide, self-hatred, drug addiction, and double-consciousness—due exclusively, or at least primarily, to racism white supremacy), and the level (or state) of consciousness present in their upbringings and current surroundings. Have you observed in general that most niggers exhibit a need to get out, but don’t desire going anywhere in particular? Niggers amplify the intrigue tied up between man and being, having and not having, accountability and no-countability, needing and wanting, and being and doing. Not all niggers are blacks; not all blacks are niggers—the tacit commonalities are not confined to race or localities, but to complicit modalities. That’s why niggers act the same regardless of their locale or game.”

According to FUNKTIONARY

Niggeroe – one who seeks to create or profit from degrading and distorted images of all-things-Afrikan, dark, or black.

Negropolitan – a $nigger who spreads the lie that “Blacks that work against other Blacks do not exist.” 2) a Sambo who comes in a variety of colors with many flavors. 3) a very confused Black man or woman who is pink (communist or socialist) by ideology, white (by cultural conditioning or colonized mindset), and brown (skin pigmentation). (See: Rentellectual, Niggeroe, Niggermarole, Strawboss, Colonization, Racism White Supremacy, Double-Consciousness, Self-Hate, $nigger & Samboism) 

Negrosis – the psychological disease affecting and afflicting native Black Americans, Afrikans, Afrikan-Americans, Negroes and all other people of Afrikan genetic heritage characterized by double-consciousness resulting from the falsification of Afrikan consciousness, history and applied spiritual sciences. (See: Double-Consciousness & Asili)

sniggering – the modus vivendi of opportunist (sell-out) compromises. 2) the actions of SNiggers. (See: Coin-Operated)

NY Times Claims "Crime-Scene Investigators Saw the Unimaginable” at Sandy Hoax [but They Still Can’t Show Us Any Proof . . Sandy Hoax Wasn’t Real but the Default Judgments against Alex Jones Were]

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[MORE]

According to FUNKTIONARY

Sandy Hook – a staged CAPSTONE false flag media psy-ops event. Medical personnel and first responders turned away from the crime scene where 26 people allegedly were murdered. Sandy Hook never happened. Sandy Hoax did.

Average US Taxpayer Spent $1,087 on Pentagon Contractors in 2022

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From [HERE] The average U.S. taxpayer in 2022 spent over four times as much on Pentagon contractors than on primary and secondary education, according to the annual Tax Day analysis published in recent days by the Institute for Policy Studies’ National Priorities Project.

NPP found that, on average, American taxpayers contributed $1,087 to Pentagon contractors, compared with $270 for K-12 education. The top military contractor—Lockheed Martin—received $106 from the average taxpayer, while just $6 went to funding renewable energy.

According to the analysis, the average 2022 U.S. taxpayer:

  • Paid $74 for nuclear weapons, and just $43 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

  • Spent $70 on deportations and border control, versus just $19 for refugee assistance;

  • Contributed $20 for federal prisons, and just $11 for anti-homelessness programs; and

  • Gave $298 to the top five military contractors, and just $19 for mental health and substance abuse.

“The main message? Our government is continuing to invest too much in the military, and in militarized law enforcement, and not nearly enough on prevention, people, and our communities,” NPP said.

The annual analysis shows how individual income taxes—the portion withheld from workers’ paychecks—were spent in 2022. It does not include corporate or individual payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare. To determine what constitutes the average tax bill, NPP divided the total amount of federal income tax collected by the number of applicable returns filed.

NPP’s analysis comes just over a month after the White House released President Joe Biden’s $1.6 trillion budget request for fiscal year 2024. More than half of that amount—$886 billion—would go to the military.

Responding to the $886 billion request, NPP program director Lindsay Koshgarian said last month that “this military budget represents a shameful status quo that the country can no longer afford.”

“Families are struggling to afford basics like housing, food, and medicine, and our last pandemic-era protections are ending, all while Pentagon contractors pay their CEOs millions straight from the public treasury,” Koshgarian noted.

“A responsible budget would restore the Pentagon’s spending to previous reduced levels from just a few short years ago, and reinvest that additional money at home where we need it the most,” she added.

Mike Pompeo - "I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. It’s – it was like – we had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment.”

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April 15 2023 — On this day three years ago, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo participated in a Q&A discussion at Texas A&M University. Pompeo could not resist telling his audience how proud he is to have served as Director of the CIA

“What’s the cadet motto at West Point? You will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do. I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. It’s – it was like – we had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment.”[MORE]

Red Cross delegate: Guantanamo inmates show signs of ‘accelerated aging’

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From [HERE] A top International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegate Friday said that inmates held by the US at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center are experiencing “symptoms of accelerated [aging].” Patrick Hamilton, the head of the ICRC’s US and Canada delegation, visited Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in March and says that the inmates’ symptoms are consistent with those he observed at Guantanamo in 2003. 

The US started holding terrorism suspects, designated enemy combatants, in 2002.  Since the detention camp’s establishment, it has attracted widespread criticism for its conditions, lack of due process rights for detainees and the use of torture.

Hamilton said that the accelerated aging symptoms he witnessed were “worsened by the cumulative effects of [detainees’] experiences and years spent in detention.” He called for authorities to adopt a healthcare approach that would “[account] for both deteriorating mental and physical conditions,” which would include changes in infrastructure, detention rules, and contact with families. 

Guantanamo Bay has been called a constitutional “enigma” as detainees were classed as “enemy combatants” and held outside of the US, raising questions as to which constitutional rights they do and do not have. Some groups, like the Center for Constitutional Rights, claim that Eighth Amendment protections apply to detainees, which would guarantee them access to adequate healthcare during their detentions. Multiple Supreme Court cases have also ensured the right of US and non-US detainees to challenge their detention and designation as enemy combatants or terrorism suspects that the president “has authority to detain.”

US President Joe Biden’s administration has transferred five detainees out of Guantanamo so far in 2023. This is largely a result of former President Barack Obama’s Executive Order 13567, which established the Periodic Review Board to periodically examine whether detainees remain a threat to the United States.

Amid repeated calls for Guantanamo’s closure, 30 detainees remain, with 16 eligible for transfer.

DeSantis is Pro-Death Also: Florida Governor Signs Bill Eliminating Unanimous Consent of Jury for the Death Penalty [FLA Death Row is 38% Black but the State is Only 17% Black]

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From [HERE] Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Thursday signed a bill into law that allows juries to recommend the death penalty without unanimous consent.

For a jury to recommend the death penalty under Florida law, the jury must unanimously confirm there was an “aggravating factor” present to warrant capital punishment. Aggravating factors include if the crime was especially cruel or heinous, if it was committed for money, or if the victim was under the age of 12, among others. Then, the jury can make the decision whether to recommend the defendant receives the death penalty. Previously, there had to be unanimous consent to recommend the death penalty. Under the new law, only eight out of twelve jurors must favor capital punishment. If this margin is not met, the defendant will receive life in prison without the possibility of parole.

DeSantis said of the bill:

A few months ago, we endured another tragic failure of the justice system. Today’s change in Florida law will hopefully save other families from the injustices we have suffered. I’m proud to sign legislation that will prevent families from having to endure what the Parkland families have and ensure proper justice will be served in the state of Florida.

This bill became a focus for the Florida legislature after a jury convicted the 2018 Parkland shooter of 17 counts of first-degree murder and received a sentence of life in prison after three jurors voted against the death penalty.

This comes after the Death Penalty Information Center called 2022 the “Year of the Botched Execution” in a report highlighting racial disparities, problems administering lethal injections, and other issues with the capital punishment process in the US.

Maryland Judge Quietly Obtained Prosecutor Job While Hearing Criminal Cases

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From [HERE] At least four cases handled by a Maryland judge are being challenged after he presided over a series of hearings and did not reveal he was in talks to accept a job in the office of local prosecutors (article available here(link is external)).

For more than six weeks, according to court documents and recorded proceedings, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David Boynton never disclosed he had discussed, negotiated and accepted a position with the State’s Attorney’s Office as chief of the Felony Trial Division. Boynton started that high-ranking job in February, days after retiring from the bench.

One sentencing in question includes the high-profile case of a Magruder High School (link is external)student who shot and nearly killed another teen in a bathroom. In that hearing, Boynton ruled from the bench as the state attorney himself, his current boss, sat in the front row of the gallery.

Defense attorneys say the way Boynton and McCarthy handled the job switch contradicts Maryland rules (link is external)designed to promote “public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary.”

National experts on judicial ethics also voiced concerns.

“It’s pretty shocking this would happen. I’ve never heard of something like this,” Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor who served as the chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said in an interview. “He should have recused himself just as soon as he started discussing the job with prosecutors. It’s the only ethically responsible thing to do.”

The Bar Association of Montgomery County, MD which has nearly 2,000 members, said in a statement that it “was not aware of Judge David Boynton’s job discussions with the State’s Attorney’s office or his acceptance of the job.” The local public defender’s office, with 30 attorneys, said it was never told.

The Washington Post could not find any disclosures in court to defense attorneys who came before Boynton after he expressed interest in the job over that time, according to recordings and documents of 18 criminal hearings he held. The matters included five sentencings in which Boynton imposed terms of six to 20 years.

10th Circuit Dismisses Suit Over Wrong Prison Classification that Endangered a Hmong Inmate who was Misclassified as a Latino Gang Member

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From [HERE] Oklahoma prison classifies inmate as a member or associate of the Sureños prison gang, which has primarily Hispanic membership. As a result, he's placed with the gang in administrative segregation. Inmate: My name is Ong and I am a member of the Hmong people of Southeast Asia. So, can I be moved back to my normal cell now, because these people are trying to stab me? Prison: Well, no. For now you stay, because we found your name on a list of gang associates that we will not show you. Tenth Circuit (unpublished)(link is external): Prison sucks, man. What do you want us to do about it?

The case is Vue v. Dowling, et al.(link is external), No. 22-5062 (10th Cir. Apr. 12, 2023).

Justice Dept Presses Local Courts to Reduce Fines. Says Exorbitant Court Fees are a Violation of the 8th Amendment

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The Justice Department is stepping up pressure on state and local judges to reduce fines and fees charged in their courts, practices that leave the poor, juvenile offenders and people of color disproportionately saddled with debt.

Many localities around the country use revenue from fines and the surcharges imposed by judges in criminal, civil and juvenile court to pay for court expenses, even judge’s salaries, or to supplement state or local government budgets.

Officials across the political spectrum have long acknowledged that the practice is damaging and discriminatory, with wide-ranging consequences in conservative and liberal states alike.

The Justice Department’s third-highest-ranking official, Vanita Gupta, informed local judges and juvenile courts on Thursday that imposing fines and fees without accounting for a person’s financial status violated constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

Doing so “may erode trust between local governments and their constituents, increase recidivism, undermine rehabilitation and successful re-entry, and generate little or no net revenue,” Ms. Gupta, the associate attorney general, wrote in a letter.

To Americans able to pay their debt to government agencies, such penalties, which can range from a few dollars to hundreds, are a minor nuisance. To the poor and to new immigrants, it can lead to catastrophe, “including escalating debt, being subjected to changes in immigration status, and loss of one’s employment, driver’s license, voting rights, or home, among others,” Ms. Gupta added. [MORE]

Racist Man Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison for Hate Crimes Targeting Black Lives Matter Supporters with Nooses and Felony Threats

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From [HERE] A Michigan man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington to 10 months in federal prison and one-year supervised release for a series of hate crimes he committed in June and July of 2020.

According to court records, Kenneth D. Pilon, 62, previously pleaded guilty to willfully intimidating and attempting to intimidate citizens from engaging in lawful speech and protests in support of Black Lives Matter. Specifically, Pilon admitted to calling nine Starbucks stores in mid and southeast Michigan and telling the employees answering his calls to tell Starbucks employees wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts that “the only good n***er is a dead n***er.” Pilon also admitted to telling one employee, “I’m gonna go out and lynch me a n***er.” Additionally, over the course of the next month, Pilon left four nooses in parking lots and a fifth noose inside of a 7-Eleven store. Pilon attached each noose to a handwritten note, reading: “An accessory to be worn with your ‘BLM’ t-shirt. Happy protesting!”

“The nooses, the threat letters, and the calls to Starbucks were all intended to terrorize the targeted victims solely because of their race,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will always stand up to race-based threats of violence, which have no place in civilized society.”

“A noose is a symbol of hatred that evokes the darkest days of our country’s past.  Its placement is meant to terrorize a part of our community, but we will not tolerate these race-based threats. Our office stands ready to vigorously investigate and prosecute criminal violations of our civil rights laws,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan.

“Pilon’s hateful conduct, motivated by racial intolerance, was intended to intimidate the victims as well as create fear within the African-American community,” said Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will ensure that if a crime is motivated by bias, it will be investigated as a hate crime and the perpetrators will be held accountable for their actions.”

The FBI Detroit Field Office investigated the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Turkelson for the Eastern District of Michigan and Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case