Show trials and the collapse of American jurisprudence

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This is outrageous, but explicable on unanimity. The jury still has to unanimously convict Trump, but do not have to be unanimous on which crime Trump allegedly covered up with false ledger entries. The prosecution only discussed that in closing arguments and offered three theories -- one of which was a violation of federal campaign-finance law, which is outside the jurisdiction of the Manhattan DA and state courts. As long as jurors are convinced he tried to cover up one or more of the crimes, they don't have to be unanimous on which one it was.

Needless to say, this is absurdly unconstitutional. Defendants are entitled to know the clear charges against them, and prosecutors are required to prove each element of the case. In this trial, the only reason these are felonies is because Bragg insists that Trump violated other laws, but never even presented a case on any of the three theories. 

RELATED:

Rep. Stefanik slaps Judge Juan Merchan with misconduct complaint over ‘random’ assignment to Trump ‘hush money’ trial

“Acting Justice Merchan currently presides over the criminal case against President Trump brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg,” she said.

“Acting Justice Merchan also presided over the criminal trial against the Trump Organization and will be presiding over the criminal trial of Steve Bannon, a senior advisor in President Trump’s White House and a prominent advocate for President Trump,” Stefanik continued, noting that there were at least two dozen sitting justices eligible to oversee the cases, but Merchan — an acting justice — was selected for all three related to the presumptive 2024 GOP nominee for president and his allies. 

“If justices were indeed being randomly assigned in the Criminal Term, the probability of two specific criminal cases being assigned to the same justice is quite low, and the probability of three specific criminal cases being assigned to the same justice is infinitesimally small. And yet, we see Acting Justice Merchan on all three cases,” Stefanik argued.

I doubt Stefanik’s complaint will go anywhere — this is New York, after all — but it’s another illustration of our descent into a despotic banana republic. A descent cheered on by the left, unsurprisingly.

Not surprising

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7 Echo Lane as listed at $2.495 million in March, went to highest and best offer immediately, and sold today for $2,800,300. I remember the house in its 2005 and 2006 (updated) iterations and thought it was a good house back then, and Echo is a popular street that’s convenient to town. The sellers here completely redid the house and expended from around 2,000 to 3,500 square feet. The pond in the back, that is really just a wide spot in Horseneck Brook, might give a buyer pause because Horseneck does occasionally flood, but the listing includes a “LOMA” letter removing the residence itself from the FEMA flood zone, and the house has been there since 1959, so ….


Connecticut will now require all employers — even those with just one employee — to grant workers 40 hours of paid vacation

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I don't do fast food, so I was unaware of this. Wow.

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A dismal prediction about the fast food industry from the founder of Carl Jr’s

With franchise and restaurant owners confronting a delicate balancing act between higher menu prices and labor costs, one former industry leader is concerned more doors are preparing to close nationwide.

"There will be a lot of restaurants underperforming. Middle-performing restaurants are going to go away. Very good-performing restaurants will become midland or low-performing restaurants," former CKE Restaurants CEO – parent of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s – Andy Puzder said on "Varney & Co." Tuesday.

"As more restaurants close, there'll be more customers for fewer restaurants," he continued. "But people just can't afford these prices. And there's only so much you can do to reduce prices."

"I was talking to a fast food chain CEO about a week ago, and he was saying they're going to take all of their ordering at the drive-thru… [with] professional order takers in India or in the Philippines. It won't be anybody in the restaurant that takes your order," Puzder said. "They're doing anything they can to reduce costs so they don't have to raise prices. But there's so much pressure, particularly in California."

I’m more worried about the disappearance of cheap, abundant energy than I am about the demise of cholesterol pumping stations, but still ….

This will be interesting to watch — UPDATED

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37 Deepwoods Lane $2.805 million paid on $2.495 ask

Hmmm. Here’s a case where, despite the homebuyers’ hiring their own building inspector and architect to examine the house they were buying before closing, they still managed to persuade a judge to rule in their favor and find there was probable cause to believe that they’d been defrauded as to the condition of the house, and the defendant’s real property and bank accounts have been attached to the tune of $1.4 million. The case file can be found here.

SEE UPDATE, BELOW

The owner/builder, Ed McCullogh, did not necessarily have a reputation of one of our finest builders; mostly, he built moderately-priced, moderate-quality pre-fabs, but I’m still a little surprised that the buyers’ having conducted their own home inspection didn’t shield him from liability. Only deliberate deception by covering up defects and/or lying about same will strip the seller of such protection, and that’s apparently what the judge has found to have occurred here. Her decision is being appealed, so we’ll all just have to sit back, get the popcorn going, and await developments.

Lawsuit claims sale of Old Greenwich home infested by mold was fraud. Buyers seek $1.4M.

GREENWICH —  A lawsuit filed against the sellers of a home found to have sustained water damage and mold — conditions that the homebuyers allege they were unaware of at the time of the purchase — could be headed for a trial or an out-of-court settlement of $1.4 million, documents show.

The case is pending against the sellers of an Old Greenwich home purchased in September 2021 by Karl Robinson and Niamh Bonus. According to the court filings, the couple bought the home from Edward and Patricia McCullogh through the Berkshire Hathaway listing agent, Michelle Nygard, who is the daughter of the McCulloghs. The lawsuit names CTRE LLC, which does business as Berkshire Hathaway Home Services in Connecticut.

The seller, the agent and the company were sued by Robinson and Bonus in the summer of 2022 after a number of problems were found in the home, including a substantial amount of black mold, flooding damage and leaks, according to the court filings. Water was leaking into the home from both chimneys, the lawsuit stated.

The home on Deepwoods Lane was purchased in late 2021 for $2.8 million, roughly $300,000 over the original price, court documents stated. The home was marketed as "built and meticulously cared for by one owner," according to the legal complaint. Edward McCullogh has built a number of homes in the area. The house in question was built in the mid 1980s.

Robinson and Bonus claim the property condition report that was filed by the sellers during the sale process did not indicate serious problems with the house, only that a leaky roof had been fixed in the past.

>>>>

According to a memorandum issued this month by state Superior Court Judge Yamini Menon, the McCullochs, Nygaard and her family were still living in the house at the time of the home inspection. The home inspection was cut short by Nygard, the filing said.

"The report that was prepared was an abbreviated and incomplete report, missing multiple sections," the judge noted.

Before closing, Robinson and Bonus had a contractor, architect and interior designer visit and inspect the property. None of them had any indication that the condition of the property was anything other than as it appeared, the suit states.

After Robinson and Bonus moved in, they hired a flooring contractor who found extensive water damage in the home. Later inspectors found mold. The house also leaked during rainstorms. The new homeowners said they found that paint had covered over sections of the house damaged by water, according to the lawsuit. 

In one of Tougias' court filings, it was noted that that a contractor, architect and interior designer visited pre-sale,  and "none of them had any indication that the condition of the property was anything other than as it appeared." 

According to the filing by Tougias, when the new homeowners found the mold, they went ahead with a substantial renovation.

"Instead of performing a relatively straightforward remediation at a relatively modest cost, plaintiffs completely gutted the property from the attic to the basement, including the wiring, appliances and mechanicals, and rebuilt it into a house that is not even remotely the same," the defendants' lawyer stated.

He called the lawsuit "an ill-advised and improper attempt by plaintiffs to recover the cost of the expansive gut renovation and reconstruction of their house." The $1.4 million being sought by the plaintiffs was an excessive amount, as well, the lawyer argued.

>>>>

Menon issued a finding this month that the case could proceed to trial. The judge ruled that a $1.4 million payment would be granted to the plaintiffs in "a pre-judgement remedy." Russell and his clients have filed an offer of compromise, offering to to settle the case with the $1.4 million payout to end the suit. Court papers note that an insurance company has the resources to pay for the defendants legal costs and potential damages associated with the case.

A court trial could still be held if the offer of compromise is rejected.

In the memorandum allowing the case to go forward, the judge said Robinson and Bonus "have demonstrated probable cause that they will be able to prove at trial that the defendants committed intentional misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment and negligent misrepresentation through their actions in the sale of the home." 

UPDATE: The Mickster has done what I should have, namely, read the actual complaint and judges opinion granting the pre-judgment remedy. I merely looked at the court docket to confirm that a PJR had been granted (never blindly trust a newspaper reporter to get judicial proceedings right) but the Mickster went to, and read the pleadings themselves. I have now done so myself, and the reasoning behind the judges decision is made clear. You can read THE COMPLAINT HERE, and the MEMORANDUM OF DECISION HERE.

The listing broker was the owner/builder’s daughter, and her assurances to to buyers as to the quality of her father’s work, and the lack of structural problems in this particular house clearly raised the judge’s hackles. But the real problem for the defendants is the judge’s finding of at least a strong claim of deliberate covering up and hiding critical structural deficiencies, and deliberately lying on the property disclosure form, required by state law, that the McCulloughs gave to the buyers. Fraud will get you nowhere good, even when, as here, a home sale contract claims to be selling the property is “as is” condition.

Don't call it theft, or looting, use the UN's term employed to describe Hamas's interception of food aid for Gaza: "self-distribution of assets"

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As Civil War Consumes Black Lives Matter, $8.7 Million Goes Missing

The left-wing dark money giant Tides Foundation raised more than $33 million on behalf of the national Black Lives Matter group during the George Floyd riots in 2020. Now, Black Lives Matter is suing Tides over its refusal to hand the funds back. There’s just one problem—nearly $9 million of those funds have seemingly disappeared.

From 2020 through 2022, Tides transferred $8.7 million from the fund to Black Lives Matter Grassroots, an offshoot of the national Black Lives Matter group led by Melina Abdullah, a longtime activist and professor. But Black Lives Matter Grassroots reported to the IRS that it never received that money, and no one involved in the transactions will say what became of the funds. These discrepancies have left charity watchdogs mystified, while legal experts say they could lead to massive fines and penalties.

Having released wolves into the western range, Denverites now step up the plate themselves

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Bon Appétit!

Colorado livestock ranchers are none too happy about the predation of wolves on their cattle (Livestock attacks become flashpoint in wolf restoration effort) , but the population of mountain bike-riding urbanites on the state’s Eastern Slope far outnumbers voters further west, so deal with it, buster.

Still, and to give the out-of-state immigrants their due, they’ve shown that they’re willing to inflict pain on themselves, and not just cowboys, by inviting in their own form of punishment to atone for their sins agains POC and Mamma Gaia and lessen their sense of white guilt.

Denver Writes the Book on How to Make Your City Migrant Friendly

David Strom, HotAir:

Denver has been groaning under the weight of the Biden Border Crisis. It has slashed police, fire, and every city service out there to pay the freight for illegal immigrants flooding their city. 

It has worked so well that city bureaucrats have put together a playbook on how they have turned Denver into a migrant paradise where border crossers can suck down public resources efficiently. 

Denver is providing food and housing, along with other assistance to "newcomers" to ensure that everybody who entered the country and found their way to Denver feels especially welcome. 

Since December 2022, Denver has welcomed and assisted nearly 42,000 newcomers from the U.S. southern border, providing them with essential services and resources. Our efforts include helping people with onward travel as needed, offering temporary shelter, facilitating the search for permanent housing, and providing vital support in terms of medical and mental health, work authorization, legal assistance, school enrollment, and more.

In April 2024, Denver introduced the new Denver Asylum Seekers Program. This program will open its doors to approximately 1,000 people currently in our newcomer shelter system. We will connect newcomers to housing assistance options for up to six months from the date of their asylum application. Additionally, newcomers will be connected with an innovative pre-work authorization readiness program called WorkReady. They will be able to collaborate with case managers to ensure they are moving on the right track and be connected with workforce training opportunities via partnership with nonprofits, local businesses, educational institutions and training organizations. The program also includes access to language instruction, career pathway explorations, industry-recognized credential training and work-based learning opportunities.

Strom: “It's good to see that Denver has solved all the problems that its own residents have. Not many places are so wealthy and have so few problems of their own that they can do so much for citizens of other countries that just show up on their doorstep. 

“Denver has decided not to use nasty words like illegal alien or even migrant, as these may have negative connotations. They have chosen "newcomer" instead because it sounds very nice and friendly. Generally when there is a newcomer to your neighborhood, you do your best to make them feel welcome, and Denver is certainly rolling out the red carpet. 

“Not every city wants to cut its police force, but then again, Denver has solved all its problems. 

“A few notable things stand out in the playbook, but the one that caught my eye was the fact that every "newcomer" gets a concierge to guide them through the free stuff cornucopia.” 

Step 12: Assign a case manager to each family and individual

For individuals and families who are new to the U.S., understanding and navigating the various processes required for success can be overwhelming. To ensure everyone has the support they need to succeed, it is important to provide a case manager to each family and individual. This case manager will help their assigned guests in accessing legal resources, medical, dental, and mental health services, onward travel, potential workforce resources, and housing options.

Here are some things to consider:

Will one organization provide this support, or will there be several?Identify who will coordinate and organize all resources and entities to ensure all sheltered individuals have equitable access to support.Assess whether the resources being provided to guests have the capacity to support the potential volume of individuals and families seeking assistance.

"Guests." That's even better than "newcomers."


Hollywood's having a dreadful time of things, and these collegiate researchers know why

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political police squad to the rescue

From amusement palace to lecture hall: yeah, that’s the ticket!

Some curmudgeons out in the potential-viewers pool blamed the studios for remaking films whose primary appeal was to adolescent 14-year-old boys and replacing the male leads with females: Ghost Busters, for instance, flopped both anatomically and at the box office, Karate Kid was savagely chopped by the critics and ignored by audiences, Mad Max — Hot Flash in the Desert — is going nowhere, and if the rumors of James Bond becoming Jamine Bond are true, we can expect bad things.

But that’s not the real problem, a band of self-proclaimed experts has discovered; it’s the melting ice cubes in viewers’ drink cups — “no one’s mentioning the melting ice cubes!”

Aquaman might not mind if the oceans rise, but moviegoers might.

That’s one of the takeaways from a new study conducted by researchers who set out to determine if today’s Hollywood blockbusters are reflective of the current climate crisis. The vast majority of movies failed the “climate reality check” proposed by the authors, who surveyed 250 movies from 2013 to 2022.

The test is simple — the authors looked to see if a movie presented a story in which climate change exists, and whether a character knows it does. One film that passed the test was the 2017 superhero movie Justice League, in which Jason Momoa’s Aquaman character says, “Hey, I don’t mind if the oceans rise” to Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne.

But most movies fell short — fewer than 10 percent of the 250 films passed, and climate change was mentioned in two or more scenes of fewer than 4 percent of the films. That’s out of touch with a moviegoing public that wants “to see their reality reflected on screen,” said Colby College English professor Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, lead researcher on the study.

“The top line is just that the vast majority of films, popular films produced over the last 10 years in the United States, are not portraying the world as it is,” Schneider-Mayerson said. “They are portraying a world that is now history or fantasy — a world in which climate change is not happening.”

Researchers at Maine’s Colby College published the study in April along with Good Energy, a Los Angeles-based environmental consultancy. The results were peer reviewed, and the authors are seeking publication in scientific journals. The researchers view the test as a way for audience members, writers and filmmakers to evaluate the representation of climate change on screen.

Some results were surprising. Movies that at first glance appear to have little overlap with climate or the environment passed the test. Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach’s emotive 2019 drama about the collapse of a relationship, passed the test in part because Adam Driver’s character is described as “energy conscious,” Schneider-Mayerson said.

The 2022 whodunnit Glass Onion and the 2019 folk horror movie Midsommar were others to pass the test. Some that were more explicitly about climate change, such as the 2021 satire Don’t Look Up, also passed. But San Andreas, a 2015 movie about a West Coast earthquake disaster, and The Meg, a 2018 action movie set in the ocean, did not.

The study is “valuable for marketing purposes, informational purposes, data accumulation,” said Harry Winer, director of sustainability at the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Winer, who was not involved in the study, said it could also help serve as an incentive to connect audiences with climate stories.

“The audience will be more open to hearing a dialogue about what is right and what is wrong,” Winer said. “It’s a conversation starter.”

“I do worry that screenwriters might do it in a kind of rote way, which could be counterproductive, just like rote ‘strong female characters’ are,” [Alison] Bechdel said. “But injecting an awareness of our communal plight into the stories we ingest seems like a no-brainer.”

A breathless world awaits.

So, were you thinking that at least the Ivy League's hard science departments were immune to the ongoing self-demolition? Think again.

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building bridges (snicker)

JOANNE JACOBS: Yale wants science profs to ‘promote DEI through teaching.’

Yale wants biophysics and biochemistry professors to place “DEI at the center of every decision,” according to its website, Sailer writes. Every job advertised links to a rubric that tests candidates’ “knowledge of DEI and commitment to promoting DEI,” their “past DEI experiences and activities,” and their “future DEI goals and plans.”

The “exceptional” candidate will have a “clear and detailed plan for promoting DEI through teaching,” he notes. Anyone who expresses doubts about microaggressions, implicit bias and systemic racism need not apply.

“Diversity statements raise serious issues about free expression, and they also signal an ill-advised shift in priority — away from disciplinary excellence and toward social activism,” writes Sailer.

Cornell’s DEI policies are “corrupting” its science, math and engineering hiring, according to a report by the Cornell Free Speech Alliance, writes Carl Campanile in the New York Post. Twenty-one percent of applicants in a recent faculty search in a hard-science field were rejected because their views were deemed ideologically suspect, according to the alliance.