#Police Chief threatened lawsuit

[willow-thicket]

"The police chief was aware the paper was looking into his background. Meyer said a Record reporter approached Cody seeking comment on the allegations. In response, Meyer said Cody threatened to sue the paper."

Must be nice to be newly elected Chief in Marion, a former Kansas City Police Officer, and feel like you have the right to hide your history from the community you serve. Must feel pretty above the law to threaten to sue a newspaper for looking into your background & then stomp all over the First Amendment in a raid. Must have felt pretty smug and self-righteous to take all the evidence of their communication with the police, when you took all the equipment during the "raid".

How does it feel now that you've called down the national and international press, not to mention the ACLU, upon your head? Those background checks aren't likely to go unnoticed now!

[santaclaralocalnews]

Nearly a week after the county deadline for filing ballot resolutions, opponents of appointing Santa Clara’s police chief are threatening to sue over the March 2024 ballot measure. They say the language is misleading when it asks voters whether the City’s police chief should be an appointed position. The complainants make no similar complaint against the identical ballot language respecting the city clerk. Read more at svvoice.com.

[ausetkmt]

It seems the mother of a Mississippi boy arrested for peeing in public is putting her foot down in the case against him. The boy was recently handed a probation sentence but after viewing the terms and conditions, but his mother said she isn’t signing off on anything.

Latonya Eason’s son Quantavious was apprehended by a Senatobia police officer in August after the boy was seen urinating near his mother’s car in a parking lot, police said. Eason said she was handling business inside an attorney’s office and left her son in the car during the meeting. But after not being able to locate a restroom, she said he resorted to urinating outside.

Tate County Youth Court Judge Rusty Harlow sentenced the 10-year-old to three months of probation and ordered him to complete a two-page book report on the late Kobe Bryant, per NBC’s report. Why? No idea.

Additionally, Quantavious has an 8 p.m. curfew as if a 10-year-old has places to be after that time. He was also prohibited from the use of weapons and ordered to submit drug tests at the probation officer’s discretion, according to family attorney Carlos Moore.

“It’s just a regular probation. I thought it was something informed for a juvenile. But it’s the same terms an adult criminal would have,” Moore said via NBC.

Read more from NBC News:

Latonya Eason, the mother of Quantavious Eason, had initially planned on signing the agreement to avoid the risk of prosecutors upgrading her son’s charge, as they threatened, but she changed her mind after reading the full agreement Tuesday, attorney Carlos Moore said. The prosecution threatened to upgrade the charge of “child in need of supervision” to a more serious charge of disorderly conduct if the Quantavious’ family took the case to trial, Moore said. After advising Quantavious’ mother not to sign the probation agreement, Moore filed a motion requesting the Tate County Youth Court either dismiss the case or set a trial. A hearing on that motion has been scheduled for Jan. 16.

Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler said the officer involved in the boy’s arrest violated their training on how to deal with children. Eason previously noted that she was denied the ability to drive her son to the station because the cops insisted on putting him in the patrol car.

However, per NBC, Chandler said those officer in question are “no longer employed” and suggested other officers would be disciplined. Eason ialso announced plans to file a lawsuit alleging the incident was racially motivated.

[jessicanjpa]

a good day

(An excerpt from this chapter of 2003, set just a few weeks after the Cullens arrive. Edward and Esme are doing paperwork at the dining room table when Carlisle gets home from work. Bonus: this is the first time Bella is mentioned in Tale of Years!)

"Carlisle's home," I told Esme, turning my head to the familiar sound of my father's thoughts. A moment later, we heard the powerful rumble of the Mercedes turning off the main road.

You won't believe the day I've had!

Carlisle burst in the kitchen door a moment later, grinning from ear to ear. He swooped down to receive Esme's welcome-home kiss and poured another mountain of mail onto the table out of a bulky package. There was so much mail—especially in the beginning of a new move—that we couldn't risk raising the postal workers' interest by receiving each piece separately. One of Jenks's "services" was routing a good chunk of that mail to us via packages like this one.

"You're in a good mood," I teased, catching the tallest pile of papers—Alice's investment reports—just as Carlisle's new addition sent it tumbling off the edge. Those "Go Paperless" campaigns were starting to look better and better. We could singlehandedly save a whole forest at the rate we were going.

"Indeed I am," he said. He kissed Esme again for good measure. "Days like this... they make everything doubly worthwhile."

"Tell us," Esme said with a knowing smile. She pushed out the chair beside her with her foot, paperwork forgotten. He sat down and took her hand.

"A young man was brought in after a motorcycle accident," he began. "It didn't look good; his blood pressure was already threatening to bottom out. Extensive road rash, compound ulnar and femoral fractures... and a suspected open-book pelvic fracture. The paramedics had a binder on him already. Dr. Snow called for a helicopter as soon as he was brought in. Forks is only a Level IV trauma center. Everyone said it was too late—and it would have been, if I had let them waste any more time.

"I took over immediately. I nearly got fired on the spot, and I may still face a lawsuit for breaking protocol if he doesn't make it in the end. But I'm confident he will. I suspected a rupture of the iliolumbar vessels. I opened right up and started with the gauze packing, and we didn't even have the right kind of arterial balloon but I managed to get them all distracted so I could get the sutures done at my speed—oh, I'm sorry, Edward..."

My throat flared at the bloody imagery as Carlisle chattered on at superspeed, but his good mood was infectious. He lived for scenarios like this: when he was able to save a patient when no one else could, either because of his acute senses, his vast experience, or his ability to operate at vampire speed when he could get everyone else to look away for a moment. Or all three, in this case. Carlisle looked so happy on days like this. So young.

"We still had him lifted to Harborview in the end," Carlisle said in conclusion, "but he was already stabilized. Dr. Snow is still upset about how I had taken over. I actually shoved him out of my way! But even he can't deny that I had saved a life he had already pronounced lost. Once we were cleaned up, he took me out to the lobby himself and told the patient's friend—none other than our local chief of police—about my being a miracle worker."

"Only three weeks this time," Esme said, gazing at him with adoring eyes. "Only three weeks and you're already the Miracle Worker."

Carlisle smiled bashfully at her praise, then went on to describe how Chief Swan had nearly broken down right there in the ER lobby, gushing his gratitude for Carlisle's heroic rescue. Apparently one of the nurses had already let it slip that his buddy wasn't going to make it. It sounded like he had personal experience with motorcycle fatalities, making him doubly in awe of today's outcome and of the Miracle Worker.

Carlisle tended to accumulate nicknames wherever he worked: any number of variations on the themes of Doogie Howser and Miracle Worker. His fellow physicians either loved or hated him, but in the end, they always came to respect his good instincts. Having made some minor forays into the medical field myself, I was most in awe of Carlisle's ability to take decisive action during blood-soaked emergencies. He took risks most emergency physicians wouldn't dream of, and they nearly always turned out for the best. And I couldn't imagine being able to open up a pelvic cavity full of two liters of gushing blood and get right to work.

"Chief Swan sounds like a good man," Esme said fondly.

"I think so, too," Carlisle agreed. He was picturing a nondescript middle-aged man with brown hair and a mustache. The man's chocolate-brown eyes teared up as he acknowledged Carlisle's help. "We talked for a bit. He lives alone, though his daughter occasionally comes to visit in the summertime. He's an avid fisherman—he even asked me if I would like to join him out in his boat someday."

"That'd be a good trick," I said, rolling my eyes. Fishing and vampires didn't mix. Hours of sunshine with no escape, fish getting frightened away, sharp hooks in human fingers, close observation... Carlisle smiled sadly, going on to say how he had politely declined but thanked Chief Swan for the invitation.

It was a shame. Like Alice, Carlisle would have loved to have a human friend. Someone he could be fully honest with, or at least someone he could bond with over the things he would be able to talk about. But experience had taught us to keep our human peers at arms' length. It was better that way... for all of us. And fate seemed determined to remind us of that fact. The very next day gave us a scare like we hadn't had in years.

[beardedmrbean]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A media organization is due in court Monday after publishing details from leaked documents about the shooter who killed six people at a Nashville elementary school in March 2023, while the outlet sues for those records and others to be released to the public.

The hearing, ordered by Nashville Chancellor I’Ashea Myles, has led to outcry not only from Star News Digital Media and Editor-in-Chief Michael Leahy, but also from open government advocates and Tennessee lawmakers.

Leahy's attorney argued the court proceeding would violate his due process rights and infringe on First Amendment protections after his outlet, The Tennessee Star, reported on records leaked to them about the shooter at The Covenant School.

Initially, the judge ordered Leahy and attorneys to explain in court why the recent work involving leaked documents has not violated court protection of records that could subject them to contempt proceedings and sanctions. The judge later denied a request by Leahy to cancel the hearing but said no witnesses would testify.

The public records lawsuit by the conservative Star News and other plaintiffs remains tied up in court after more than a year. A group of Covenant School parents have joined the lawsuit, arguing none of the documents should ever be released because they could inspire copycats and retraumatize their children.

Though the investigative file remains officially closed to the public's view, two prominent rounds of evidence about the shooter's writings have leaked to media outlets.

Police have said they could not determine who was responsible for the first leak. While they look into the second, a lieutenant has drawn a connection to a former colleague without directly accusing him of the leak.

In a court declaration Friday, Nashville Police Lt. Alfredo Arevalo said his office led an investigation of the first leak. A former lieutenant, Garet Davidson, was given a copy of the criminal investigative file that was stored in a safe in his office and only Davidson had the key and safe combination, Arevalo said.

Davidson has left the force. Separately, he filed a well-publicized complaint alleging the police department actively lobbied to gut the city’s community oversight board, as well as a number of other misconduct claims.

In his declaration, Arevalo noted Davidson has spoken about details from the Covenant investigative file on Leahy's radio show and another program.

Arevalo wrote that he is “appalled” by the leak and "saddened by the impact that this leak must have on the victims and families of the Covenant school shooting.”

The Associated Press left messages for phone numbers believed to be associated with Davidson.

The shooter who killed three 9-year-old children and three adults at Covenant, a private Christian school, left behind at least 20 journals, a suicide note and an unpublished memoir, according to court filings.

The city of Nashville has argued it doesn’t have to release the documents during an active police investigation. The plaintiffs have countered there is no meaningful criminal investigation underway since the shooter, Audrey Hale, was killed by police.

A few pages of one journal were leaked to a conservative commentator who posted them online in November. Police say the shooter may have been a transgender man, which has been a point of focus for conservative media personalities.

The judge in the public records case previously showed concern about possible leaks. In February filings, Myles ordered the parties not to directly quote or reproduce any leaked documents during case proceedings, threatening sanctions such as contempt of court for any “efforts to usurp” court orders by the parties, attorneys or involved third parties.

Leahy's attorney for Monday's hearing, Daniel Horwitz, wrote that the Star's stories don't violate any previous court orders and the purpose of the hearing is so vague that Leahy shouldn't risk testifying. He said any attempts to restrict publishing about legally obtained documents, or to compel the disclosure of anonymous sources, would violate legal protections for reporting.

The judge responded that she wants to “ascertain the status and veracity of any alleged leak” and clarified there would be no witness testimony. If any violations of court orders are found, she plans to appoint an attorney to investigate and help with the contempt process.

In the public records lawsuit, the plaintiffs include news outlets, a gun rights group, a law enforcement nonprofit and state Sen. Todd Gardenhire. Star News Digital Media also is suing the FBI in federal court for the documents' release.

[mariacallous]

It isn’t usual for the United Nations’s human rights chief to write a letter to the new owner of a technology company. But last week, that’s exactly what Volker Türk did.

In an open letter to Elon Musk days after his takeover of Twitter, Türk laid out six principles he urged Musk to keep “front and center” for the platform, including the protection of free speech, prevention of hate and violence, and effective content moderation in non-English languages. 

“As the new owner of Twitter, you have enormous responsibilities given the platform’s influential role as a digital space,” Türk wrote.

Türk was right to be concerned. A day earlier, Musk laid off half of Twitter’s global workforce—around 3,700 people—which included its entire human rights team, according to a tweet from the company’s human rights counsel, Shannon Raj Singh. According to local reports, most of Twitter’s workforce in India was let go, and Twitter’s first Africa office in Accra, Ghana, was reportedly gutted less than a year after it opened and days after employees convened in person for the first time. Twitter did not respond to a request for comment on the layoffs.

The company’s user base around the world numbers in the hundreds of millions, and while that is far smaller than social media competitors such as Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, Twitter plays an outsized role in hosting and driving the global conversation. It is used by world leaders, government agencies, dissidents, activists, and journalists—in many cases against each other. 

In the past, Twitter has stood up for freedom of expression and human rights against governments that wish to curb those rights. In India, it filed a lawsuit against the government over demands to take down numerous accounts. In Nigeria, Twitter was banned for seven months after it took down a tweet by the country’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, that was interpreted as threatening violence against protesters. (The platform was reinstated earlier this year after Twitter pledged to establish an office and appoint a representative in the country.)

“Twitter has over the last several years developed a reputation for pushing back on government demands or resisting ones that in its view seem inconsistent with either local law or human rights law, or [its] values as a company,” said David Kaye, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, and the former United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. 

Musk’s focus so far has been on squeezing money out of users to make up for vanishing advertising revenues, adding digital payment capabilities to Twitter and making employees return to the office. He hasn’t discussed how the platform will deal with some of the thornier issues it faces around misinformation, election security, government repression, and hate speech. 

“Musk has shown little sign of concerns for Twitter users or employees that are outside the U.S.,” said Mishi Choudhary, a lawyer and online rights activist who founded the Indian branch of the Software Freedom Law Center. “Between the claims for absolute free speech and compliance of laws, it is clear that the learning curve for the billionaire will be steep.”

Twitter’s ability to effectively moderate content and protect its most vulnerable users took several more hits on Thursday with the simultaneous departures of its chief information security officer, its chief privacy officer, and its head of trust and safety. 

“People who are in really high-security situations should not have been using Twitter for direct messages that are risky anyway, but that doesn’t mean people weren’t doing that. There’s a lot of community there,” Kaye said. “I don’t think [Musk] is thinking much about it at all, and since he fired most of the people who do that work, I don’t see how he can get up to speed on what that involves.”

Twitter and other social media platforms have long been accused of not doing enough to crack down on hate speech and misinformation around the world, including countries such as Ethiopia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and parts of the Middle East. Twitter has in some cases taken a stand to protect freedom of speech, refusing, for example, to take down hundreds of accounts last year at the behest of the Indian government during protests against controversial agricultural laws.

Twitter isn’t the only platform with a vast global reach and a problematic human rights track record that will now be operating with fewer employees. Meta, which has over a billion users around the world across platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, laid off 11,000 workers earlier this week, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a public post. Zuckerberg did not reveal which teams and countries have been most significantly affected by the layoffs, and Meta already outsources much of its global content moderation around the world to contractors. The company has a history of missing key local context in overseas markets—often with devastating effects. In Myanmar, Facebook acknowledged that it did not do enough to prevent hate speech and violence against the Rohingya minority group, and documents leaked by a company whistleblower last year revealed it faced a similar issue in a more recent conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. (A Meta spokesperson did not comment on the recent layoffs.) 

Languages have been a particularly tricky problem for platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, with blind spots around the world that have seen them struggle to police misinformation and hate speech in many cases.

“Moderation in non-English languages is significantly poorer than it is in English, both because of the lack of language expertise on the part of people at these companies but also because even the automated tools that help with content moderation work much less better for non-English languages,” said Samir Jain, policy director at the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, D.C. “We were already in a situation where the social media companies weren’t as good at moderating speech online; the real fear is that they’re going to become materially worse.”

Even as Musk’s Twitter devolves further into internal chaos, experts point out additional vulnerabilities for the platform’s global operations stemming from his business links. Musk’s co-investors in Twitter include government entities from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and his ownership of electric carmaker Tesla and satellite company SpaceX could give governments additional leverage against Twitter. Should that come to pass, it is not clear that Musk—who has said he believes in free speech as long as it “matches the law” in the applicable country—would take a meaningful stand.

“He’s got Tesla trying to open and build markets in places like India, so how does that weigh into his desire to be more responsive to government demands?” Kaye said. “It’s all just deeply concerning in ways that I certainly didn’t fully anticipate just a couple of weeks ago.”

[amnestyg]

Scammer Kington Reportedly Creates Chaos at Club Finch

After declining to name Lim Kok Han and his friend as new directors of GIIB Holdings, Tai Booi Wee claims he was threatened with a gun. Assistant Commissioner Ahmad Sukarno Mohd Zahari, the chief of the Sentul District Police, verified that Section 506 of the Penal Code—which deals with criminal threats—is being used for the inquiry. The investigation files will shortly be forwarded to the Deputy Public Prosecutor, signalling the end of the case.

The complainant added that Tong had abused women previously, but that because of his gangster ties and legal standing, many victims were too afraid to come forward. One woman filed a lawsuit on July 24, 2022, rejecting Tong’s bribery in the hopes of stopping similar situations in the future.

[sa7abnews]

Toddler’s father shot by police, mother found dead on Santa Cruz County hiking trail

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/toddlers-father-shot-by-police-mother-found-dead-on-santa-cruz-county-hiking-trail/

Toddler’s father shot by police, mother found dead on Santa Cruz County hiking trail

WATSONVILLE — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Watsonville mother’s “suspicious” death on a Corralitos hiking trail this weekend and the shooting of her partner by police. Watsonville Police Department officials said the father, 25-year-old Joshua Gonzalez of Watsonville, turned up on the department’s front lobby door before 9:30 p.m. Saturday, where he allegedly called dispatchers to threaten to harm his 3-year-old daughter with a knife. Within 12 seconds of a dispatcher broadcasting the threat at 9:19 p.m., an officer radioed dispatchers to say that shots had been fired in front of the police department and that a Hispanic male adult in his 20s had been shot in the chest, according to a recorded police broadcast. In the wake of the shooting, the family of the child’s mother, Lizbeth Arceo Sedano, 25, of Watsonville, reported her missing to police. Then, shortly after 9:30 a.m. Sunday, a caller reported finding a body on a Rattlesnake Gulch hiking trail in Corralitos, not far from the intersection of Eureka Canyon Road and Grizzly Flat Road, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn described Arceo’s death as an ongoing investigation and that deputies are treating it as a homicide. “At this time our detectives are working to conduct interviews and gather forensic evidence,” Keehn wrote in an email to the Sentinel Monday. “Our Forensic Pathologist will conduct an autopsy, and we expect to have results by the end of the day tomorrow. We extend our sincerest condolences to Lizbeth’s family during this horrific time.” Child, officers safe after Watsonville shooting Saturday’s shooting of Gonzalez occurred after an arriving officer stepped out of his patrol car and ordered Gonzalez to drop his knife “at least two times,” Watsonville Police Chief Jorge Zamora said in an interview Monday. Gonzalez allegedly ignored the order and charged the officer, which led to the shooting, police said. According to Zamora, a single officer shot at least five shots. He said it was not yet clear how many bullets had struck Gonzalez, who was being treated at an out-of-county trauma center, where he remained in stable condition. Gonzalez’s daughter was not injured but Zamora said he was unsure where the child was during the shooting, believing she may have been in a nearby vehicle. “I’m just glad that our officer’s safe, that the child is safe, that nobody else in the community was injured,” Zamora said. “I want people to know that we’re dedicated to maintaining open lines of communication with anyone who has information about this, if people are available they need to come forward to talk to us.” Related Articles

Crime and Public Safety |

Former Santa Cruz County teen counselor arrested in child sex sting

Crime and Public Safety |

San Jose police identify community service officer killed by alleged DUI driver

Crime and Public Safety |

Lawsuit: VTA mass shooting made bus driver’s PTSD worse, agency fired him over unexcused absences

Crime and Public Safety |

San Jose police community service officer killed by allegedly intoxicated driver

Crime and Public Safety |

Drunks, arsonists, firefighters — even a country star — linked to California blazes

Zamora said he had not determined whether or not Gonzalez was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of the confrontation. He said there was no time to seek assistance from a department-assigned mental health liaison and, that in such a high-risk situation, the department might not have wanted to endanger an unarmed clinician. “There is no time for that. In a perfect world, to slow things down, in that sense,” Zamora said. “But the reality is that what the officer was confronted with and the safety of the child, the safety of that individual himself was pretty critical.” The department’s most recent on-duty shooting by an officer was the injury of 22-year-old Isaias Aguilar at the Ohlone Parkway and Main Street intersection in September 2018. Aguilar was reported to have been armed with kitchen knives and acting erratically, according to police reports at the time. Before Aguilar, the department’s next most recent shooting was in 2015. The Watsonville police officer who shot Gonzalez was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into his shooting, per department protocol, Zamora said. The Watsonville Police Department is asking anyone with information related to the case to call 831-417-1151.

[head-post]

US threatens ICC over possible arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

Members of the US Congress from both parties warned the International Criminal Court (ICC) that Washington would retaliate if the court issued arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, The National reported.

The warning to the ICC stems from concerns that the arrest warrants could interfere with a hostage agreement in exchange for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Axios revealed on Monday that US legislation on the warrants was already in the works, citing House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson called “disgraceful” the ICC’s intention to issue “baseless and illegitimate arrest warrants” for alleged war crimes by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. The senior officials could be accused of obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and overreacting to Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.

Such a lawless action by the ICC would directly undermine US national security interests. If unchallenged by the Biden administration, the ICC could create and assume unprecedented power to issue arrest warrants against American political leaders, American diplomats, and American military personnel, thereby endangering our country’s sovereign authority.

Previously, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as some Russian commanders, in connection with the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, Ukrainian children allegedly “abducted” by Russia actually entered Germany with their legal guardians, thus Germany exposed the lies and revealed that the ICC lawsuit was falsified, Russian and European media reported, citing The Federal Criminal Police Office.

The US officials interfered with the ICC as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly asked US President Joe Biden on Sunday to help prevent the issuance of arrest warrants, two Israeli officials told Axios. However, by changing its decisions under pressure from third parties, the ICC risks losing credibility, as doubts would rise over its impartiality, legal experts argue.

Read more HERE

[cavenewstimes]

Calgary’s police chief suing former HR director over public comments

Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld has filed a lawsuit against the service’s former director of human resources following social media comments the lawsuit claims threaten confidential information about the police service. Angela Whitney served as the Calgary Police Service (CPS) human resources director between 2019 and 2021 and resigned following a medical leave of absence. Almost three years…

[epacer]

11 SDUSD police officers sue district, accuse chief of harassment and retaliation

11 officers with the San Diego Unified School District Police Department are suing the district, alleging a hostile work environment under Chief Alfonso Contreras. The number of officers suing represents nearly a third of the staff of the entire department. They are calling for Contreras to be placed on administrative leave during any investigation into the allegations.

“Our clients are suffering extreme emotional distress on a daily basis due to the retaliation," said Emilia Arutunian, one of the attorneys representing the officers.

The lawsuit accuses Contreras and a small group of officers, referred to as "The Club", of giving preferential treatment within the group and retaliating against others.

“What I see now is that officers who do their best and work the hardest to help and protect our students isn’t recognized. What is recognized is loyalty to those that follow him," one of the suing officers, Jesus Montana, told ABC 10News.

Montana says he was retaliating against for speaking up against violations of department policy by Contreras. As an example of retaliation, he says Contreras personally moved to eliminate a position that Montana was asked to fill the day before Montana was slated to start.

Other accusations in the lawsuit include timecard fraud, officers being denied promotions or training that would enable them to be eligible for promotion, and an incident in which officers say they were being threatened by a large group of teens and another officer in the so-called "club" refused to help.

In addition, an officer is accusing Contreras of sexual assault in 2014 before he became chief, saying he "forced his mouth and body onto hers" when they were briefly alone during a training.

A spokesperson for San Diego Unified declined an ABC 10News request for an interview, instead sending a statement. "All allegations received by the district are investigated and taken seriously. The district is precluded from discussing personnel matters." *Reposted article from 10m News by Jeff Lasky on December 13, 2023

[arpov-blog-blog]

...."Texas and Louisiana do not have authority to challenge the Biden administration’s guidelines for when to deport migrants from the country, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, handing a win to President Biden on immigration policy. 

In an 8-1 decision, the court determined the two states lacked the standing to sue over one of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) earliest directives.

“The States essentially want the Federal Judiciary to order the Executive Branch to alter its arrest policy so as to make more arrests,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority.

“But this Court has long held ‘that a citizen lacks standing to contest the policies of the prosecuting authority when he himself is neither prosecuted nor threatened with prosecution.’”

The suit from Texas and Louisiana challenged the DHS’s immigration enforcement policies, which includes guidelines for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to prioritize certain immigrants for detention and deportation. The policy urges agents to focus on the most serious and violent crimes.

“We will focus our efforts on the greatest threats while also recognizing that the majority of undocumented noncitizens, who have been here for many years and who have contributed positively to our country’s well-being, are not priorities for removal,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote in a release announcing the 2021 policy.

The policy, designed to diminish the collateral damage of heavy policing on immigrant communities, was met with ire on the right.

In their lawsuit, Texas and Louisiana claimed the Biden administration policy caused direct harm because of increased costs for social services, including health care and education.

The states also accused the administration of failing to enforce immigration laws Congress had enacted designed to “deal with increasing rates of criminal activity” by immigrants.

But Kavanaugh, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices, wrote that granting the states’ demands would have far-reaching consequences beyond immigration law.

“If the Court green-lighted this suit, we could anticipate complaints in future years about alleged Executive Branch under-enforcement of any similarly worded laws—whether they be drug laws, gun laws, obstruction of justice laws, or the like,” wrote Kavanaugh. 

“We decline to start the Federal Judiciary down that uncharted path.”

Lower courts had ruled in favor of Texas and Louisiana, endorsing their claims of undue costs related to the administration’s selective enforcement policy.

In a solo dissenting opinion, Justice Samuel Alito excoriated the majority’s reasoning and sided with the lower courts.

“The District Court’s factual findings, which must be accepted unless clearly erroneous, quantified the cost of criminal supervision of aliens who should have been held in DHS custody and also identified other burdens that Texas had borne and would continue to bear going forward,” wrote Alito.

“These findings sufficed to establish a concrete injury that was specific to Texas.”

Justice Neil Gorsuch, in a concurring opinion joined by Justices Amy Coney-Barrett and Clarence Thomas, agreed that the states proved the administration’s immigration policies increased costs to them, but argued that the lower courts’ remedy wouldn’t fix that problem.

“The States proved that the Guidelines increase the number of aliens with criminal convictions and final orders of removal released into the States. They also proved that, as a result, they spend more money on everything from law enforcement to healthcare,” Gorsuch wrote.

He added that the states faced a problem of redressability, meaning a ruling favorable to Texas and Louisiana would not remedy those injuries.

An injunction directing federal officials to detain immigrants according to the states’ interpretation of the statute would stand a better chance, Gorsuch wrote, but lower courts are barred by law from issuing such injunctions."

[swldx]

BBC 0425 8 Mar 2023

9915Khz 0359 8 MAR 2023 - BBC (UNITED KINGDOM) in ENGLISH from TALATA VOLONONDRY. SINPO = 45433. English, dead carrier s/on @0359z then ID@0359z pips and newsday preview. @0401z World News anchored by Gareth Barlow. Protesters have clashed with police in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, after parliament backed a controversial draft law which critics say limits press freedom and suppresses civil society. There has been widespread international condemnation of the bill, which would require non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and independent media who receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to declare themselves as foreign agents. Rishi Sunak has said he is "up for the fight" to bring in new legislation to prevent migrants crossing the Channel on small boats to reach the UK. It is not just opposition MPs who have criticised the plans. The UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, said the proposed legislation amounted to an "asylum ban". The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted on Wednesday along party lines to give President Joe Biden the power to ban Chinese-owned TikTok, in what would be the most far-reaching U.S. restriction on any social media app. Five women who say they were denied abortions in Texas despite facing life-threatening health risks have sued the state over its abortion ban. According to the lawsuit, doctors are refusing the procedure even in extreme cases out of fear of prosecution. Cyclone Freddy is expected to make landfall again in Mozambique later this week after it struck Madagascar for a second time on Monday. In recent years, people around the world have lost hundreds of millions of dollars to online romance scams. One of the most lucrative of these, being run by criminal gangs across South East Asia, is called the “pig butchering romance scam”. The scammers refer to their victims as pigs, whom they fatten up to be "butchered" - or conned, out of as much money as possible. A BBC World Service investigation has spoken to former insiders, who reveal the brutal conditions facing many of those working as scammers and the sophisticated techniques that are used. Twitter chief executive Elon Musk has apologised over an exchange he had on the platform with an employee. It came after worker Halli Thorleifsson tweeted to Mr Musk saying: "Your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am employed or not". Mr Musk responded by asking: "What work have you been doing?" After a series of follow up questions and answers Mr Thorleifsson said he received an email confirming that he had been fired. Mr Musk followed that Twitter conversation with a tweet on Tuesday describing Mr Thorleifsson as "the worst" before deleting it. @0406z "Newsday" begins. Backyard fence antenna, Etón e1XM. 250kW, beamAz 315°, bearing 63°. Received at Plymouth, United States, 15359KM from transmitter at Talata Volonondry. Local time: 2159.

[robertreich]

Trump’s Vilest Legacy

Most of the 74,222,957 Americans who voted to reelect Donald Trump -- 46.8 percent of the votes cast in the 2020 presidential election – don’t hold Trump accountable for what he’s done to America. 

Their acceptance of Trump’s behavior will be his vilest legacy.  

Nearly forty years ago, political scientist James Q. Wilson and criminologist George Kelling observed that a broken window left unattended in a community signals that no one cares if windows are broken there. The broken window is thereby an invitation to throw more stones and break more windows. The message: Do whatever you want here because others have done it and got away with it.

The broken window theory has led to picayune and arbitrary law enforcement in poor communities. But America’s most privileged and powerful have been breaking big windows with impunity.

In 2008, Wall Street nearly destroyed the economy. The Street got bailed out while millions of Americans lost their jobs, savings, and homes. Yet no major Wall Street executive ever went to jail.

In more recent years, top executives of Purdue Pharmaceuticals, along with the members of the Sackler family who own it, knew the dangers of OxyContin but did nothing. Executives at Wells Fargo Bank pushed bank employees to defraud customers. Executives at Boeing hid the results of tests showing its 737 Max Jetliner was unsafe. Police chiefs across America looked the other way as police under their command repeatedly killed innocent Black Americans.

Here, too, they've got away with it. These windows remain broken.

Trump has brought impunity to the highest office in the land, wielding a wrecking ball to the most precious windowpane of all – American democracy.

The message? A president can obstruct special counsels’ investigations of his wrongdoing, push foreign officials to dig up dirt on political rivals, fire inspectors general who find corruption, order the entire executive branch to refuse congressional subpoenas, flood the Internet with fake information about his opponents, refuse to release his tax returns, accuse the press of being “fake media” and “enemies of the people,” and make money off his presidency.

And he can get away with it. Almost half of the electorate will even vote for his reelection.

A president can also lie about the results of an election without a shred of evidence -- and yet, according to polls, be believed by the vast majority of those who voted for him.

Trump’s recent pardons have broken double-paned windows.

Not only has he shattered the norm for presidential pardons – usually granted because of a petitioner’s good conduct after conviction and service of sentence – but he’s pardoned people who themselves shattered windows. By pardoning them, he has rendered them unaccountable for their acts.

They include aides convicted of lying to the FBI and threatening potential witnesses in order to protect him; his son-in-law’s father, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion, witness tampering, illegal campaign contributions, and lying to the Federal Election Commission; Blackwater security guards convicted of murdering Iraqi civilians, including women and children; Border Patrol agents convicted of assaulting or shooting unarmed suspects; and Republican lawmakers and their aides found guilty of fraud, obstruction of justice and campaign finance violations.

It’s not simply the size of the broken window that undermines standards, according to Wilson and Kelling. It’s the willingness of society to look the other way. If no one is held accountable, norms collapse.

Trump may face a barrage of lawsuits when he leaves office, possibly including criminal charges. But it’s unlikely he’ll go to jail. Presidential immunity or a self-pardon will protect him. Prosecutorial discretion would almost certainly argue against indictment, in any event. No former president has ever been convicted of a crime. The mere possibility of a criminal trial for Trump would ignite a partisan brawl across the nation.

Congress may try to limit the power of future presidents -- strengthening congressional oversight, fortifying the independence of inspectors general, demanding more financial disclosure, increasing penalties on presidential aides who break laws, restricting the pardon process, and so on.

But Congress – a co-equal branch of government under the Constitution -- cannot rein in rogue presidents. And the courts don’t want to weigh in on political questions.

The appalling reality is that Trump may get away with it. And in getting away with it he will have changed and degraded the norms governing American presidents. The giant windows he's broken are invitations to a future president to break even more.

Nothing will correct this unless or until an overwhelming majority of Americans recognize and condemn what has occurred.

[beardedmrbean]

The Westchester County cop who was arrested for allegedly sending menacing texts to herself after blaming colleagues was involved in a sexual relationship with the department’s police chief, according to a new lawsuit filed by two ex-officers.

Ossining police officer Emily Hirshowitz, who was charged earlier this month over the texting scandal, “was having an ongoing sexual relationship” with Ossining village police chief Kevin Sylvester, the lawsuit claims.

The chief allegedly filed a complaint with the Westchester District Attorney’s Office in August 2022 over the threatening texts on Hirshowitz’s phone, and tried to blame one of the ex-officers now suing the village for the messages, the lawsuit claims.

“Sylvester … conducted numerous interviews of police officers, directly asking each officer if they were aware the Officer [Louis] Rinaldi was sending the texts to Officer Emily Hirshowitz,” the lawsuit claims.  

The lawsuit against the village and various village officials argues Sylvester tried to point the finger at Rinaldi “despite having no evidence to support his accusations.”

Officers Rinaldi and Andrea Zambrano filed the legal action earlier this month, accusing Sylvester of unfairly forcing both of them to resign from their positions, interfering in their pursuits for other police jobs.

Even after Hirshowitz was arrested last month for allegedly falsely claiming others sent the texts, Sylvester allegedly doled out a lighter punishment compared to discipline he previously imposed on the two plaintiffs tied to departmental charges, the lawsuit states.  

She was charged with four counts of third-degree falsely reporting an incident and another three counts of first-degree filing a false instrument.

“Sylvester told [village officials] that Hirshowitz had been set up by Plaintiffs Rinaldi and Zambrano and personally recommended she not be suspended without pay,” the lawsuit states.

Hirshowitz was suspended, but with pay following the charges.

The two ex-officers claim they were suspended without pay after facing internal departmental charges by Sylvester in recent years.  

The lawsuit brought forward a slew of other allegations against Sylvester, who the pair claimed targeted them because they butted heads with him.

Rinaldi resigned in May and Zambrano resigned in July 2020.

The village’s legal counsel reportedly scoffed at the accusations in the suit.

“Some (claims) are so ludicrous that you don’t dignify them with a denial,” lawyer Brian Sokoloff told The Journal News. 

“It appears to me to be a lawsuit out of spite,” Sokoloff added. “Allegations are easy and talk is cheap.”

He didn’t address specifics within the lawsuit, but questioned if the two plaintiffs have evidence to back up the allegations.

The lawsuit comes about a week after the criminal charges were filed against Hirshowitz.

Hirshowitz originally claimed in May 2022 that she was receiving anonymous threatening texts that involved “a fellow police officer or multiple police officers at my department,” requesting the county’s prosecutors investigate, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Journal News.

Police and local officials were so alarmed by the messages’ “increasingly threatening content,” through the summer, they reached out to the district attorney’s office to investigate, before Hirshowitz said she wanted to drop the complaint on August 12.

[ravennm84]

Marinette’s Family Court Circus

I got this idea from a post @unmaskedagain and decided to put my own little spin to it. It’s a bit sad and does have my usual Lila-Salt spin, but I really loved writing this. Warm-Fuzzies and please enjoy!!

The day of her greatest triumph was also her greatest tragedy. Hawkmoth had finally been defeated, the butterfly and peacock miraculous back in the miracle box where they belonged, and Paris was finally safe. 

However, when Gabriel Agreste was revealed to be the magical terrorist and his assistant, Nathalie, his accomplice, Adrien had been devastated. When the Paris police sought to find out the extent of Adrien's involvement, he had no choice but to reveal in a private interrogation room with only the mayor, Officer Roger, the chief of police, and Ladybug herself, his identity as Chat Noir. After which, Adrien said a tearful goodbye to Plagg and surrendered the ring of destruction to Ladybug. A press conference was held within an hour, absolving Adrien of any crimes in relation to his father, and his bodyguard would also be absolved four days later.

That night, after Ladybug had returned home and tearfully placed the ring, broch, and pin back in the miracle box; her parents and Grandma Gina had told her that they were going out to dinner to celebrate; Gina had even rented a car so they wouldn’t need to walk or take the subway. How Marinette wished that they had just gotten on the subway.

She woke up the following afternoon in the hospital. Apparently, her family weren’t the only people celebrating Hawkmoth’s defeat, and a car load of university students had celebrated too hard and T-boned their car while running a light. The doctors told her that her grandmother and father had died on impact and her mother passed away during surgery. Marinette had been extremely lucky to survive without any life threatening injuries; a broken leg, arm, collar bone, two cracked ribs, and a few lacerations across her body. 

She was hardly paying attention to what the doctors were saying. Too shocked by the whole situation. There was no Miraculous Cure that could fix this. In the span of a single day, she had defeated her enemy, saved Paris, lost her partner, lost her grandmother, and her parents. She was alone.

When her family’s lawyer, M. Contere came to talk about custody, it was revealed that her grandmother was supposed to take custody in the event of her parents' deaths. Her grandfather would have been the next logical choice, but he had recently suffered a stroke and had been placed in a nursing home. This left the lawyer scrambling to find someone to take the girl or risk having her surrendered to the city of Paris.

Going through the Dupain-Chengs’ contact list, M. Contere made phone calls to numbers listed as family friends or emergency contacts. There were three that particularly stood out to him, all listed under the title of ‘uncle’. 

The first was to an ‘Uncle J’; a woman answered the phone, introducing herself as Penny. When Contere told her it had to do with the Dupain-Chengs, the phone was handed to a man with a distinctly British accent. He sounded devastated to hear that Tom, Sabine, and Gina had all passed away before going into a panic and asking if Marinette was alright, showing absolute relief that she had survived the crash. When Contere mentioned the custody hearing, the man practically demanded to know the date, time, and place before promising that he would be there.

The second contact that stood out was labeled as ‘Uncle Tony’. That call was answered by an assistant named Jarvis before transferring the call to Tony. Again, Contere could hear the surprise and hurt at hearing that his friends had passed away before asking if Marinette had been in the car. When told that she had survived, there was relief and he mentioned that Peter would have probably cried for a week if he’d lost his childhood friend. Tony then offered to take custody of Marinette and Contere quickly told him the details.

Although M. Contere was relieved that at least two family friends/possible relatives seemed more than willing to take Marinette, he knew how fickle and difficult the courts could be and wanted as many options as possible for the girl, which led to the third contact labeled ‘Uncle Bruce’. 

The phone was answered by an older sounding gentleman named Alfred before transferring the call. Contere could hear multiple voices in the background, most sounding like young men, and when he told Bruce about the passing of Tom, Sabine, and Gina; it went very quiet for a moment before all the voices began speaking at once demanding to know what happened, who was responsible, and if Marinette was okay. M.Contere answered the questions that he could and told them that Marinette was in need of a legal guardian. Bruce said Gina had been a great friend and mentor to him when he was younger and that he would be honored to care for her granddaughter. So he told him the details of the court hearing with the promise that he would make sure that Marinette was taken care of until then.

After hanging up, M. Contere had a strange feeling that he couldn’t shake. A feeling that told him that those three ‘Uncles’ were either going to make his job of getting Marinette into a stable home a lot easier… or it would be a total nightmare.

~oOo~

The day of the hearing was a Monday and Marinette's case was the first on the docket, which was a relief. If things went smoothly, she could be placed with one of her respective uncles by the end of the week and be taken care of. When the two of them stepped into the room, with Marinette rolling beside him in her wheelchair, M. Contere was surprised to see multiple familiar faces in the courtroom that he had not expected. Jagged Stone, Bruce Wayne, and Tony Stark were glaring, arguing, and puffing out their chests at each other; ignoring everyone else in the room. He also noticed how each man seemed to have an entire team of lawyers backing them up.

The tension and glaring match only broke when the two women; Pepper Potts and Penny Rolling, and the four Wayne boys; Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damien, noticed Marinette’s arrival. 

“Marinette, sweetie, how are you feeling?” Penny asked as she walked away from Jagged to kneel beside Marinette’s wheelchair.

“Been better, but I’m glad to see some familiar faces,” she said with a weak smile.

Pepper leaned over a bit to give the girl a gentle hug while minding her injuries. “We’re here for you, Mari. No matter what.”

Then the four boys were almost surrounding her, offering to hunt down the people that took away their family and pile so many lawsuits on them that they’ll die of papercuts. This made her chuckle and grimace a bit from the pain, telling the boys that was sweet but unnecessary.

Jagged, Bruce, and Tony immediately put their argument on hold as they hurried over to check on the girl as well. Contere found it to be a good sign that Marinette seemed familiar with the three men, that they all asked how she was and if she wanted anything, as well as promising that they would take care of her. That last one, the three said at the same time and got them glaring at each other again. This caused Contere to sweat and Marinette to give her head a resigned shake.

What followed would probably go down as the most intense, well argued, and most headache-inducing case in the history of the Paris Family Court System with all three men vying for custody of the teenage girl. 

Being able to provide financial stability wasn’t a concern as Jagged Stone was currently the most successful rockstar in Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas; while Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne were two of the wealthiest businessmen in the entire world. All three even offered to completely cover Marinette’s tuition to any school she wanted, so long as she was accepted.

Her safety turned out to be a large factor with all three men, and they were willing to hire their own private security to make sure that she stayed safe at all times. However, the three men also argued how the others lived in unsafe environments. 

Jagged mostly lived in tour buses and out of hotels, which was a factor; but he was willing to call off his tours during the school year and only go on tour during school breaks so Marinette would never be without her guardian. Penny was also willing to help Jagged at every turn, stating that she loved Marinette like a niece and would make sure that she had a strong female role model in her life as well.

Tony’s reputation as a playboy and his identity as Iron Man brought up the possibility of attracting a dangerous element. He argued that his homes were equipped with the most advanced security systems on the planet. As well as being friends with an actual “God-Alien”, who had met Marinette and liked her a great deal. Tony was also willing to make Marinette her own personal Iron Suit that would be programmed to protect and fly her to a safe location at the first sign of danger. Pepper also offered to share custody as she already took care of Tony’s daily life as his assistant, taking care of Marinette would be easy and she was looking forward to having her around.

Bruce’s residence in Gotham, the most crime ridden city in North America, was a big factor. Bruce made a point that he already had experience as a guardian of his three adopted sons and his biological son, and they were kept safe. That he also had a top of the line security system at his home, which was located outside of city limits. Dick, Jason, and Tim also commented that they thought of Marinette like a little sister and that Wayne Enterprises had locations all over the world. If the judge decided that Gotham was too dangerous, one of them would gladly take up residency in a city that the judge approved and would stay there to watch over Marinette while still working and providing for her.

After two hours of listening to the back and forth of the three men and their lawyers, the judge decided that he’d heard enough for the day and set the next meeting for the following Thursday after lunch. He also recommended that the men bring proof that they have the mental capability of caring for a teenage girl, lists of schools near their homes to show that she will continue her education, and character witnesses, if available. 

The three men wanted to take Marinette out to get something to eat after the court was adjourned, but M. Contere was forced to tell them that it would not be appropriate during the legal proceedings. He also recommended that they follow the judge’s instructions and make sure that they had everything needed, otherwise they would likely not qualify. Hearing that got all three men, their assistants, family, and lawyers moving at top speeds to get everything they needed for court in a few days. 

Once they were out of sight, the lawyer couldn’t help but let out a stress induced sigh as he raised one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. This custody battle had the potential to turn into a total circus, and although it could do great things for his career in the long run, he was more worried about how this would affect Marinette. 

Speaking of, he was brought from his thoughts when he felt her small hand gently pat the hand that was holding his briefcase. When he looked down at her, she gave him a kind, though slightly amused smile. “You had no idea about the can of worms you were opening when you made those phone calls, did you?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “How was I supposed to know that Uncle J, Uncle Tony, and Uncle Bruce would turn out to be three of the most influential men in the world? How does your family even know all of them?”

“Uncle Bruce was raised by the family butler, Alfred Pennyworth, after his parents died. Grandma Gina and Alfred were best friends when they were younger. After the Waynes died, Gina would go check on them in Gotham, she liked to brag that she helped get Bruce back out of his shell. Uncle Tony knew my parents back in university, he was a lot younger and smarter than the other students and you can guess that didn’t go over well with some of them. My parents looked out for him and they became friends, and even after he got busy when he took over the company, he always made time to be there for the big moments in our lives; my parents’ wedding, their baby shower, and when I was born. I’ve actually spent a few summers in Gotham and New York visiting them.”

“And Jagged Stone?”

“He’s the most recent of my honorary uncles. I’m his personal designer, but he got unofficially adopted into my family after the tv show that took place in my parents’ bakery. Uncle Jagged made a bread guitar and sang rock songs with my dad. Once the show was over, Mom invited him and Penny to stay for dinner. During the course of the night, Dad claimed him as a new little brother. Jagged was so happy that he started calling my parents big brother and big sister, and started calling me his niece. Since then, he’s come over at least once a month to just relax and be a family with us.”

M. Contere couldn’t help but smile at that. From the sound of it and what he had seen, all three men truly cared about this girl and were willing to bend over backwards for her. That was a good thing, but he still worried that a custody battle between these three men could go for a long time and possibly cause mental distress for Marinette. Although the final decision was ultimately up to the judge, he was allowed to make recommendations if they were in the best interests of the child. 

With that in mind, he knelt down beside Marinette. “You know the three of them and what they’re living situations are like better than I do. And even though you’re not 15 years old yet, I could petition the judge to factor your opinion. Which of them would you like to have guardian status?”

When Marinette gave him a knowing smile, he just knew that things might get more complicated.

~oOo~

It got a lot more complicated.

The media had caught wind of the custody battle, causing a giant crowd of paparazzi to stake out the courthouse to catch a glimpse of the rockstar, billionaire, and the self proclaimed “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” who was also a superhero. To their credit, the three only said that they were devastated by the loss of the Dupain-Chengs and wanted to do what was best for Marinette and left all the other questions at the door.

In the courtroom; all three men, as well as their assistants and Bruce’s boys, had done mental evaluations that their lawyers submitted to the judge. They also provided lists of different schools that Marinette was free to choose from; including public schools, private, and even schools that specialized in fashion. But the absolute kicker was the character witnesses.

Jagged Stone had brought other music stars, movie stars, and production mega stars that made Contere wonder for a moment if he’d accidentally walked into an award ceremony. Tony Stark had brought the Avengers, The Avengers, as his character witnesses. Contere wasn’t too proud to admit that he was a bit starstruck when Thor himself came over to great Marinette and complimented her on her ‘battle scars’, saying that they were a testament to her strength. If that wasn’t enough, Bruce brought multiple members of the Billionaire’s Club as character witnesses, many of whom had been suspected of being members of the Justice League. 

The judge looked just as surprised, though somewhat irritated, by the people crowding his courtroom. He quietly looked over the mental health evaluations that had been provided, as well as the lists of schools; finding that everything was in order and that any of them would have been wonderful guardians to the girl. He was tempted to call another recess and pick this back up the following week until Marinette’s lawyer raised his hand.

“If it would please the court,” the judge motioned for him to continue, “although Mlle. Dupain-Cheng is not yet of legal age to make a final decision on the matter of custody, I felt that she was old enough to state her opinion. We have discussed it over the past few days and I believe we came up with a proposal that will satisfy all parties involved while still being in the best interest of the child.” M. Contere presented the four copies of the proposal to the bailiff, who handed one to the judge, and the three lead lawyers.

The judge read the summary at the top before looking at the lawyer in surprise. “You’re proposing joint custody?”

“Yes, your honor. My client and I feel that due to the influence that these men hold, as you can see by the character witnesses that have come here to speak on their behalf, that this custody hearing could be drawn out for a long time, which could have mental repercussions on Marinette.” Contere didn’t miss the ‘you ain’t kidding’ roll of his eyes, or the looks of shame that the three men shared at the thought of hurting Marinette.

“Keeping that in mind, my client came up with an outline for a possible custody agreement. M. Stark would retain custody during school as he has listed one of the top fashion schools in America, which would further Marinette’s future career. The weekends would be spent with M. Wayne, as Wayne Enterprises has connections to the fashion industry and would be able to give her training to help her successfully run her own business. M. Stone would have custody during summer breaks, so Marinette may continue gaining experience as his personal designer, a position she has held for close to a year and has already earned her recognition in the industry.”

The judge grew quiet again as he contemplated the proposal and read over the details. He didn’t want to deal with these three powerful, and in a lot of ways eccentric, men for the next few months while attempting to figure out the best placement for the child. Nor did he want to deal with the media frenzy that this case had already brought on. If anything, this was likely the best option, if he could get the men to agree to the terms.

“Do you have any objections to this proposal?”

There was a moment of silence as the lawyers continued to look over the proposal and spoke to their clients. Jagged’s lawyer was the first to respond. “No, your honor. M. Stone believes that this would be best for Marinette, but we would like to add a clause that M. Stone be permitted to call and visit Mlle. Dupain-Cheng so long as it does not interfere with her school work.”

“My client would also like that clause added to the proposal, your honor,” said the Wayne lawyer. “As well as the clause that Messieurs Stone and Stark work together with M. Wayne in securing Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s safety. As previously stated, all three men could be considered high-priority targets and normally require bodyguards. M. Wayne has proposed that any potential bodyguard be vetted and approved by all parties involved before being hired.”

The judge looked to Stark’s lawyer. “And do you have any stipulations you would want to see added to the proposal?”

“Only that there be an open line of communication between Messieurs Stone, Wayne, and Stark at all times in reference to Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s well being and any possible travel. As all three men are known to travel the world for business; there will be occasions for the child to travel as well. When this occurs, the other guardians should receive notice of the country, city, and address that she resides; so, in case of an emergency, they will be able to be present to assist and protect her.”

“My client has no objections to these clauses,” said Jagged’s lawyer.

“And you, M. Wayne?”

The Wayne lawyer nodded. “The clauses are more than reasonable and are in the best interest of Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. Although I only speak for my client, I do not believe that I would be out of line to say that is the main focus of Messieurs Stone and Stark as well.”

The lawyers hid their relief when the judge nodded in agreement. “As the proposal was presented by the child and the three of you are in agreement, I’m scheduling a meeting in my chambers for next Tuesday to go over the finer details of the custodial agreement. I will allow your clients and one lawyer each to attend; this includes you and your client, M. Contere.”

“Yes, your honor.”

“And as for you, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng,” Marinette’s head snapped up to meet the judge’s gaze. “It seems that you have gained three extremely powerful, influential, and in many ways crazy guardians. I don’t know if I should congratulate you or give you my sympathies. What I will do is wish you the best of luck and hope that you are prepared for the future. Court is adjourned.”

There was a hum of surprise and joy that spread through the courtroom as Jagged, Bruce, and Tony stepped up to each other and shook hands before approaching Marinette and M. Contere. 

“Of course, my niece would come up with a way to keep everyone happy, she’s so rock n’ roll that way.” Jagged beamed with pride as Tony and Bruce nodded in agreement.

“Would it be alright if all of us went to dinner to celebrate,” Bruce asked Contere, indicating the ‘all’ to be himself and his boys, Jagged and Penny, and Tony and Pepper; along with Marinette and Contere.

“So long as there’s no discussion of custody and everyone stays civil, I don’t see any harm in it.”

Everyone smiled in agreement while Pepper mentioned that she’d just finished making reservations for all eleven of them at a nice restaurant that had the best view of the Eiffel Tower.

As the others began filing out of the courtroom, Marinette patted his hand and gave him a sympathetic look. “You just opened your second can.”

M. Contere wasn’t sure about what she’d meant until after the meal was over and the waitress brought the check, and then watched as the three billionaires fought over it. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he only hoped that this would all be over on Tuesday and he could go back to his normal, boring cases.