National Roundup

Tennessee
Judge apologizes for ‘regular white man’ comment
LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — A white Tennessee judge has apologized after saying in open court that he was “going to work like a regular white man” and not “a slave.”

The Tennessean reports that Judge Haywood Barry made the comment while scheduling a hearing for a black defendant.

Barry apologized Thursday for what he said, The Tennessean reported.

“I’m not working second shift,” Barry can be heard telling an attorney in an audio recording obtained by the newspaper. “I’m going to work like a regular white man, as they used to say. ... I’m not going to be a slave.”

The Wilson County general sessions judge told the Tennessean in a phone interview that he was frustrated with scheduling when he made the comment Tuesday.

“It was probably a very inappropriate statement. I’m sorry I made it. I’m ashamed of the fact that something like that would even come out of my brain,” Barry said.

The Tennessee code of judicial conduct prohibits judges from employing bias, prejudice or harassment based upon race. It was unclear whether Barry would be reprimanded by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct, which handles complaints about judges, the newspaper reported.

Pennsylvania
Cop killer’s mother convicted of hindering his apprehension
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The mother of a man convicted in the shooting death of a Pennsylvania police officer has been convicted of helping him elude police in the days after the 2017 shooting.

Sherry Holt, 49, of Pittsburgh, was found guilty Thursday of hindering apprehension following a nonjury trial. She faces up to seven years in prison when she’s sentenced April 23.

Her son, Rahmael Sal Holt, was sentenced to death last year after he was convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of New Kensington officer Brian Shaw. He was fatally shot after an attempted traffic stop on Nov. 17, 2017.

Prosecutors contended Holt was an armed drug dealer who had planned to rob the driver of the SUV that Shaw attempted to stop in Old Kensington in Westmoreland County on the night of the shooting. Holt has maintained that he wasn’t the person who fired.

Rahmael Sal Holt was arrested after a four-day manhunt.

His cousin, Marcel Mason, 30, of Pittsburgh, was convicted last year on a hindering charge and was sentenced to 15 to 30 months in prison.

Mason’s girlfriend, Aysa Benson, 32, also of Pittsburgh, is expected to stand trial this year on a hindering charge.

Virginia
Former FBI translator gets probation for doctored transcript
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A former FBI translator was sentenced to probation Friday after he admitted doctoring transcripts when his own name came up on intercepts of phone calls placed by a terrorism suspect.

Abdirizak Wehelie of Burke, Virginia, also received a $1,000 fine at his sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

Wehelie, 68, pleaded guilty in November to making false statements. He admitted he marked himself down as an “unidentified male” when a target of FBI surveillance left a message on Wehelie’s cellphone in 2012, while Wehelie was working as a contract linguist for the FBI. The person who called Wehelie was under investigation at the time for helping a person join al-Shabab, a militant Somali group designated as terrorists by the U.S.

Sentencing guidelines called for a term of zero to six months.

Utah
Ruling opens door for some immigrants to become lawyers
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Supreme Court approved a rule change enabling residents who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children to become attorneys.

The court ruling that took effect Wednesday applied to those who have qualified for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA.

The administrative program does not convey legal status but allows temporary protection from deportation and permission to legally work. Opponents say it rewards people for breaking the law, encourages illegal immigration and hurts American workers.

The Utah ruling will allow people who receive deferred action status under DACA or another policy to be eligible for admission to the Utah State Bar if they meet all other admission requirements.

Two women identified as Jane and Mary Doe in court filings brought the case before the court last year. They were brought to the United States as children and have been granted DACA status.

One of the women attended Brigham Young University and the other attended the University of Utah. Both passed California’s bar exam but could not practice law in Utah.

Attorneys for the women wrote they “lacked the intent” to violate immigration laws. The women would be eligible to take Utah’s bar exam, except for their immigration status.

A section of U.S. code prohibits people who are not lawfully present in the country from receiving certain government benefits, including professional licenses. But the same code section allows states to “opt out” if a state enacts a law to contradict the federal code, a statement by the Utah Supreme Court said.

Utah’s high court proposed a rule change in December and took 100 public comments from lawyers, public officials and citizens who were largely supportive of the change.

New York and Pennsylvania have enacted similar rules, the court statement said.

Maine
Man pleads guilty in beating death caught on Facebook video
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A man charged in the brutal beating death of a Maine musician that was captured on video pleaded guilty Thursday.

Donna Galleck, 30, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in the 2018 death of Jason Moody, the Bangor Daily News reported.

Facebook Messenger video captured by the phone in Galleck’s shirt pocket showed him punching the victim and pounding his head on a street.

Galleck accidentally sent the video to a female friend, who told police the video appeared to show the victim throw the first punch and then apologize.

The video was not saved or downloaded, however, so it could not be presented to a jury as evidence. The defense said that because of that, the woman who claimed she viewed the death live could not be called to testify about what she saw.

Galleck’s plea agreement calls for a recommended sentence of eight years in prison and restitution of nearly $2,400  for funeral expenses.