Part of offender-list act ruled illegal
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A federal judge has ruled that Tennessee's sex offender registration act is unconstitutional, at least as it was applied retroactively to two offenders.
Monday's ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee affects only the two men who sued, identified in court documents as John Doe #1 and John Doe #2.
U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson had already ruled in February that parts of the law violated the ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prevents people from being punished by a law passed after their crime was committed. In his latest ruling, he ordered the state to stop enforcing any part of the law against the two plaintiffs and to remove their names from the sex offender registry.
According to court records, John Doe #1 was convicted in 1994 of two counts of attempted aggravated sexual battery, for which he received a sentence of five years' probation. John Doe #2 was convicted in 2000 of three counts of sexual battery committed against a child 12 years or younger and was sentenced to six years of probation.
Under the Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration Verification and Tracking Act of 2004, both were required to register as sex offenders and regularly report to law enforcement authorities. They also faced restrictions on where they could live and work, among other things.
Abused power, ex-HUD official says
NEW YORK -- A former federal official admitted that she abused her authority in a publicity stunt that tricked New York City public housing residents into sounding supportive of former President Donald Trump, ethics oversight officials said Tuesday.
The admission by Lynne Patton came as part of a civil settlement with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel that bars Patton from holding a federal job for four years and imposes a $1,000 fine.
Patton "improperly harnessed the authority of her federal position to assist the Trump campaign in violation of the Hatch Act," said a statement released by the special counsel office.
As an administrator for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Patton got permission to live in public housing run by the New York City Housing Authority to draw attention to living conditions there. Patton had repeatedly denied that she misled the housing residents.
She used her access to do interviews with residents that were edited into a video -- shown at the Republican National Convention -- in a way designed to credit the administration for improving the conditions while slamming New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat.
Doormen fired in Asian woman's attack
NEW YORK -- Two New York City apartment building workers have been fired for failing to help an Asian American woman as she was being violently attacked on the sidewalk outside, the building's management company said Tuesday.
Surveillance video of the March 29 attack near Times Square showed that the doormen didn't step outside and approach the woman until more than a minute after the violence stopped and the assailant walked away.
The men watched from the lobby as 65-year-old Vilma Kari was repeatedly kicked and stomped, the video showed. One of the doormen closed the building's door as Kari lay on the ground seconds after the attack ended.
The building's management company, The Brodsky Organization, initially suspended the doormen pending an investigation. That investigation was completed Tuesday, the company said.
The doormen's union, SEIU 32BJ, said the workers are challenging their terminations. The union previously said the doormen waited until the attacker walked away to check on Kari and flag down a nearby patrol car because they thought he had a knife.
Utility facing 33 charges over wildfire
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A California prosecutor filed 33 criminal charges Tuesday against troubled Pacific Gas & Electric for a 2019 wind-driven wildfire that officials blamed on the utility. The charges accuse the utility of injuring six firefighters, and endangering public health with smoke and ash.
The company denied that it committed any crimes even as it accepted that its transmission line sparked the blaze.
The Sonoma County district attorney charged the utility with five felony and 28 misdemeanor counts in the October 2019 Kincade Fire north of San Francisco. The blaze burned more than 120 square miles and destroyed 374 buildings.
The 33 charges include recklessly causing a fire that seriously injured six firefighters, named only as John Does #1-#6.
The utility said it hadn't seen the report or evidence gathered by state fire investigators.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports