Court Digest

Tennessee
Ex-Pilot president wants Black federal judge replaced for 2nd trial
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The white former president of Pilot Co., the nation’s largest fuel retailer, wants a Black federal judge to recuse himself from overseeing the retrial of a fraud case against him.

In court filings last week, Mark Hazelwood claimed the judge appeared biased against him after hearing a recording of Hazelwood making racist remarks at the first trial, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

Hazelwood was convicted in February 2018 of conspiring with the sales team he supervised to cheat trucking companies out of millions of dollars and trying to intimidate his secretary so she wouldn’t testify against him.

A federal appeals court, in a split decision, vacated Hazelwood’s conviction last October, finding that the judge should not have allowed the jury to hear a recording of Hazelwood making racist remarks during a work retreat for Pilot executives. The appeals court said it would not be necessary to assign a different judge.

Hazelwood and his attorneys filed a motion last week asking U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier to recuse himself anyway and not oversee the second trial.

“A reasonable observer would question whether the Court’s exposure to the Recordings caused it to harbor at least an implicit bias against Mr. Hazelwood,” his attorneys wrote. “At every stage after being exposed to the Recordings, the Court’s rulings gave the appearance it was taking on the role of advocate, the antithesis of impartiality.”

The jury heard secret recordings of Hazelwood using racial slurs and profanely criticizing his board of directors and his boss’s football team and fans. Hazelwood later apologized for his language.

Hazelwood’s attorneys also accuse Collier of bias against white collar criminal in general and suggest that he should step down even if he is not biased in order to avoid the appearance of bias.

Pilot is the 10th largest private company in the U.S., according to Forbes, with more than 26,000 employees and revenue of about $29.5 billion per year.

The company is controlled by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The Haslams have not been charged with any wrongdoing. The former governor has not been involved with the company in recent years.

Hazelwood’s court filings suggest that his attorneys will try to drag the Haslam family into the case at the new trial.

“We note that, for various reasons, the retrial will focus much more on members of the Haslam family than in the original trial,” one filing reads. It cites social functions that were attended by both Collier and Bill Haslam and asks the judge to “consider whether any relationship or connection between the court and Gov. Haslam merits recusal,”

Fourteen former Pilot Flying J employees pleaded guilty in the scheme and the company earlier agreed to pay an $85 million settlement to defrauded customers and a $92 million penalty to the government.


Arkansas
White supremacist leader sentenced to 35 years in jail
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The leader of a violent white supremacist gang that began in Arkansas’ prisons was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday for his role in a racketeering and drug conspiracy.

Wesley Gullett, the president of the New Aryan Empire, pleaded guilty in federal court in February to conspiracy to commit racketeering and conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
In his plea agreement, Gullett also admitted to solicitation to commit murder and attempted murder along with other violent acts.

U.S. District Judge Brian Miller on Wednesday also sentenced Gullett to five years of supervised release.

Prosecutors say New Aryan Empire began as a prison gang in the 1990s and later engaged in narcotics trafficking, witness intimidation and violent acts. Indictments originally returned in 2017 accused 44 gang members of drug and gun crimes, but additional members were accused in 2019 of involvement in violent crimes committed by the group.

Gullett escaped from a local Arkansas jail in 2019, along with another prisoner, but was later captured.

Three remaining defendants in the case against the gang are awaiting trial, which is set for Sept 7. One defendant is still a fugitive, while the other remaining defendants have all pleaded guilty.


Tennessee
Judge dismisses ‘Let’s Make a Slave’ lesson lawsuit
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed last fall against the Metro Nashville Public Schools and a teacher over an elementary school assignment called “Let’s Make a Slave.”

The Nashville Tennessean reports the lesson was given to a fourth grade class at an elementary school, Waverly Belmont, in February 2020. It focused on a 1700s speech given by plantation owner to white Virginia colonists on how to keep their Black slaves under control.

The family of the student, referred to as “John Doe,” said in the suit that the “wild graphic and inappropriate” lesson caused physical and emotional harm to their child, who is Black and has autism. The student said he was afraid he could be sold as a slave or that his family could be separated, according to the newspaper.

In the lawsuit, the family said the school district was indifferent to repeated acts of racial harassment directed toward the student by peers and adults.

U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger dismissed the case on Monday.

“While the lesson in question may well have been especially inappropriate for John Doe as a student with a known disability, and even developmentally inappropriate for all fourth graders, that does not mean that its educational content constituted actionable harassment on the basis of race,” the judge wrote.

According to legal precedent set by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, teasing has to be “systematic” or “pervasive” to be considered harassment. Trauger said the extent of the teasing wasn’t made clear in the complaint.

Outrage ensued after the assignment drew wider public attention. Community and city leaders asked for stronger oversight and policies in the district with a student body that’s majority Black and children of other minorities, according to The Tennessean.

The student-teacher from Vanderbilt University who led the lesson was dismissed by the school district, the newspaper reported. Andrew Herman, the teacher who supervised the assignment, was placed on administrative leave but has returned to his job.

“We appreciate the court’s finding that the district acted reasonably in addressing the unsanctioned actions by a student teacher in providing that lesson,” said Sean Braisted, spokesperson for Metro Nashville Public Schools, in a statement Tuesday.

The statement added, “As a district, we will continue to work with teachers to provide approved lessons and professional development necessary to educate students on difficult and complex historical and current events in the appropriate way.”

Educators and lawmakers have recently been debating how topics such as slavery and racism are explained in the state’s schools. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, said earlier this month that race shouldn’t be taught in a “divisive” way.

Wisconsin
Judge jailed after appearing on child porn charges
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin juvenile court judge accused of possessing and distributing child pornography was taken into federal custody after making his initial appearance in court Wednesday.

The lawyer for Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Brett Blomme, charged in federal court with two counts of distributing child pornography, said Blomme decided on his own not to seek release. Defense attorney Chris Van Wagner called it a “strategic, tactical” decision and said that Blomme is seeking a plea deal.

“We are going to make a concerted effort to resolve the matter,” Van Wagner told U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker.

Blomme, 40, of Cottage Grove, was first charged in Dane County Circuit Court on March 17 with seven counts of possession of child pornography. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges and had been free on a signature bond. He also pleaded not guilty Wednesday in federal court, the Journal Sentinel reported.

The state complaint said the investigation against Blomme began in February after officials received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that the judge had uploaded child pornography through a messaging app 27 times in October and November.

The state Supreme Court in March suspended Blomme from his job without pay. He had been on the bench since August after his election in April 2020.

Delaware
Man receives 6 months for role in Fargo protest
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to six months in the Cass County Jail for participating in violent protests in downtown Fargo after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Califf McClain, of Wilmington, Delaware, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal mischief for his role in a clash between protesters and law enforcement officers in late May 2020.

Prosecutors say McClain threw rocks toward the police line and was among people who forced their way into a restaurant, KFGO radio reported. He was seen trying to open a cash register, which had already been emptied.

East Central District Judge Wade Webb ordered McClain to pay $1,500 for damages and serve one year of probation after he’s released.

Floyd, who was Black and handcuffed, died in May 2020 after Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck as Floyd said he couldn’t breathe. Floyd’s death set off protests around the world.