Minnesota
DOJ moves to cancel police reform settlements reached with Minneapolis and Louisville
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department moved Wednesday to cancel a settlement with Minneapolis that called for an overhaul of its police department following the murder of George Floyd, as well as a similar agreement with Louisville, Kentucky, saying it doesn’t want to pursue the cases.
Following a scathing report by the Justice Department in 2023, Minneapolis in January approved a consent decree with the federal government in the final days of the Biden administration to overhaul its training and use-of-force policies under court supervision.
The agreement required approval from a federal court in Minnesota. But the Trump administration was granted a delay soon after taking office while it considered its options, and on Wednesday told the court it does not intend to proceed. It planned to file a similar motion in federal court in Kentucky.
“After an extensive review by current Department of Justice and Civil Rights Division leadership, the United States no longer believes that the proposed consent decree would be in the public interest,” said the Minnesota motion, signed by Andrew Darlington, acting chief of the special litigation section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The United States will no longer prosecute this matter.”
The Justice Department announced its decision just before the five-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. Then-officer Derek Chauvin used his knee on May 25, 2020, to pin the Black man to the pavement for 9 1/2 minutes in a case that sparked protests around the world and a national reckoning with racism and police brutality.
However, no immediate changes are expected to affect the Minneapolis Police Department, which is operating under a similar consent decree with the Minnesota Human Rights Department.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara reiterated at a news conference Tuesday that his department would abide by the terms of the federal agreement as it was signed, regardless of what the Trump administration decided.
The city in 2023 reached a settlement agreement with the state Human Rights Department to remake policing, under court supervision, after the agency issued a blistering report in 2022 that found that police had long engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination.
New York
Pro tennis tours file motion to dismiss antitrust lawsuit by?PTPA
The professional tennis tours and two other defendants jointly filed a motion in federal court in New York to dismiss the class-action antitrust lawsuit filed by the Professional Tennis Players’ Association, a group co-founded by Novak Djokovic.
The PTPA sued the WTA women’s tour, the ATP men’s tour, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which oversees anti-doping and anti-corruption efforts in the sport, in March, calling them a “cartel.”
The players are seeking a greater share of revenues and also raised various other complaints about how tennis is structured, including limits on prize money and a lack of competition from rival tours or tournaments.
The PTPA was founded by 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil with the aim of representing players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport.
The group’s executive director, Ahmad Nassar, repeatedly has said it is not a full-fledged union, does not have members and does not collect dues — all of which are pointed to in one of Tuesday’s motions as reasons why the PTPA does not have standing as a plaintiff in the case. That motion came from all four defendants.
A separate motion, filed only by the WTA, says that the male plaintiffs — 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios, Reilly Opelka and Tennys Sandgren were among those named — should not be suing the women’s tour, and also argues that the female plaintiffs — who include Sorana Cirstea and Varvara Gracheva — should be compelled to go to binding arbitration instead of pursuing the court case.
“There is nothing surprising in their motions,” the PTPA said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We’ve researched all the issues at length, before filing our case, and look forward to responding in due course and having the judge decide.”
Alabama
Governor appoints first Black Republican on State Supreme Court
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday appointed state appellate Judge Bill Lewis to the Alabama Supreme Court. He will be the first Black Republican to serve on the court.
Lewis replaces Justice Jay Mitchell, who resigned Monday. Lewis most recently served on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Ivey appointed him to the position last year. He was previously the presiding circuit judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit in Elmore County.
“Judge Bill Lewis continues demonstrating justice and fairness under the law, as well as a willingness to serve the people of Alabama,” Ivey said in a statement. “His decades of experience will serve the Supreme Court of Alabama well, and I am confident he is the best choice.”
Lewis is the fourth Black justice to serve on the state’s highest court and the first Black Republican.
The three previous Black justices — Oscar Adams, Ralph Cook and John England — were all Democrats.
Alabama’s appellate judges run in statewide partisan elections, just like the governor, attorney general and other top officials. The court, like other statewide offices, has become dominated by Republicans. The state Supreme Court has been all-Republican for over a decade and has been comprised entirely of white justices since 2001.
A group of Black voters in 2016 filed a federal lawsuit that unsuccessfully challenged the state’s method of selecting judges, saying the statewide elections have resulted in all-white courts in a state where one in four residents is Black.
Ivey will appoint Lewis’ replacement to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals.
In his resignation letter to Ivey, Mitchell, also a Republican, said he wants to play a more active role in politics and will make an announcement about his future in the coming days.
“President Trump is moving boldly to restore the United States Constitution — and we must ensure that his agenda takes root not only in Washington, but also in the states,” Mitchell wrote.
Mitchell is best known for writing an opinion regarding frozen embryos that said couples could sue for wrongful death of a minor child after their frozen embryos were accidentally destroyed. The ruling temporarily upended IVF services in the state as clinics became concerned about civil liability.
DOJ moves to cancel police reform settlements reached with Minneapolis and Louisville
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department moved Wednesday to cancel a settlement with Minneapolis that called for an overhaul of its police department following the murder of George Floyd, as well as a similar agreement with Louisville, Kentucky, saying it doesn’t want to pursue the cases.
Following a scathing report by the Justice Department in 2023, Minneapolis in January approved a consent decree with the federal government in the final days of the Biden administration to overhaul its training and use-of-force policies under court supervision.
The agreement required approval from a federal court in Minnesota. But the Trump administration was granted a delay soon after taking office while it considered its options, and on Wednesday told the court it does not intend to proceed. It planned to file a similar motion in federal court in Kentucky.
“After an extensive review by current Department of Justice and Civil Rights Division leadership, the United States no longer believes that the proposed consent decree would be in the public interest,” said the Minnesota motion, signed by Andrew Darlington, acting chief of the special litigation section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The United States will no longer prosecute this matter.”
The Justice Department announced its decision just before the five-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. Then-officer Derek Chauvin used his knee on May 25, 2020, to pin the Black man to the pavement for 9 1/2 minutes in a case that sparked protests around the world and a national reckoning with racism and police brutality.
However, no immediate changes are expected to affect the Minneapolis Police Department, which is operating under a similar consent decree with the Minnesota Human Rights Department.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara reiterated at a news conference Tuesday that his department would abide by the terms of the federal agreement as it was signed, regardless of what the Trump administration decided.
The city in 2023 reached a settlement agreement with the state Human Rights Department to remake policing, under court supervision, after the agency issued a blistering report in 2022 that found that police had long engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination.
New York
Pro tennis tours file motion to dismiss antitrust lawsuit by?PTPA
The professional tennis tours and two other defendants jointly filed a motion in federal court in New York to dismiss the class-action antitrust lawsuit filed by the Professional Tennis Players’ Association, a group co-founded by Novak Djokovic.
The PTPA sued the WTA women’s tour, the ATP men’s tour, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which oversees anti-doping and anti-corruption efforts in the sport, in March, calling them a “cartel.”
The players are seeking a greater share of revenues and also raised various other complaints about how tennis is structured, including limits on prize money and a lack of competition from rival tours or tournaments.
The PTPA was founded by 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil with the aim of representing players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport.
The group’s executive director, Ahmad Nassar, repeatedly has said it is not a full-fledged union, does not have members and does not collect dues — all of which are pointed to in one of Tuesday’s motions as reasons why the PTPA does not have standing as a plaintiff in the case. That motion came from all four defendants.
A separate motion, filed only by the WTA, says that the male plaintiffs — 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios, Reilly Opelka and Tennys Sandgren were among those named — should not be suing the women’s tour, and also argues that the female plaintiffs — who include Sorana Cirstea and Varvara Gracheva — should be compelled to go to binding arbitration instead of pursuing the court case.
“There is nothing surprising in their motions,” the PTPA said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We’ve researched all the issues at length, before filing our case, and look forward to responding in due course and having the judge decide.”
Alabama
Governor appoints first Black Republican on State Supreme Court
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday appointed state appellate Judge Bill Lewis to the Alabama Supreme Court. He will be the first Black Republican to serve on the court.
Lewis replaces Justice Jay Mitchell, who resigned Monday. Lewis most recently served on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Ivey appointed him to the position last year. He was previously the presiding circuit judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit in Elmore County.
“Judge Bill Lewis continues demonstrating justice and fairness under the law, as well as a willingness to serve the people of Alabama,” Ivey said in a statement. “His decades of experience will serve the Supreme Court of Alabama well, and I am confident he is the best choice.”
Lewis is the fourth Black justice to serve on the state’s highest court and the first Black Republican.
The three previous Black justices — Oscar Adams, Ralph Cook and John England — were all Democrats.
Alabama’s appellate judges run in statewide partisan elections, just like the governor, attorney general and other top officials. The court, like other statewide offices, has become dominated by Republicans. The state Supreme Court has been all-Republican for over a decade and has been comprised entirely of white justices since 2001.
A group of Black voters in 2016 filed a federal lawsuit that unsuccessfully challenged the state’s method of selecting judges, saying the statewide elections have resulted in all-white courts in a state where one in four residents is Black.
Ivey will appoint Lewis’ replacement to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals.
In his resignation letter to Ivey, Mitchell, also a Republican, said he wants to play a more active role in politics and will make an announcement about his future in the coming days.
“President Trump is moving boldly to restore the United States Constitution — and we must ensure that his agenda takes root not only in Washington, but also in the states,” Mitchell wrote.
Mitchell is best known for writing an opinion regarding frozen embryos that said couples could sue for wrongful death of a minor child after their frozen embryos were accidentally destroyed. The ruling temporarily upended IVF services in the state as clinics became concerned about civil liability.
