Good morning, and welcome to the Epoch Times News Brief for Saturday, June 22, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we’ve got a variety of important stories to get to, and here’s what’s going on. The Supreme Court upholds a gun ban and also rules on expert testimony in criminal trials, and a megachurch pastor, with a sordid past, is held accountable. Also, a California mayor gets an unexpected visit from the FBI, and some issues from the 2020 election still linger on in the state of Nevada.
Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Guns for People Under Domestic Restraining Orders
The high court is upholding a federal gun control law that prevents people who are under domestic violence-related restraining orders from possessing firearms.The case of United States v. Rahimi concerns a February 2023 ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down a section of a 1994 law that prohibits a person who is subject to a domestic restraining order from possessing a gun.
The justices decided that the Second Amendment is not violated when an individual is disarmed, if a court rules that the person poses a credible threat to the physical safety of others. The ruling reversed a lower court decision that overturned a federal law.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the court’s majority opinion, saying that since the United States was founded, the country’s firearms laws have created ways to stop individuals who threaten physical harm to others by misusing guns. The law at issue in this case, he says, fits “comfortably” within this tradition.
You should know that this decision follows the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen in 2022, which recognized a constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense and also held that restrictions on guns must be deeply rooted in American history if they are to survive constitutional scrutiny.
Supreme Court Broadens Use of Expert Testimony Against Accused Criminals
The justices are siding with the government in a high-profile trial involving drug trafficking. The case was brought by Delilah Diaz, who was stopped at the U.S.–Mexico border. Officers found nearly 60 pounds of drugs hidden in the car she was driving, and she was charged with violating a law that requires showing that a defendant “knowingly” transported drugs.In her defense, Ms. Diaz argued that her boyfriend used her by luring her to Mexico, then loaned her a car to go back to the United States that, unbeknownst to her, was filled with drugs.
The government’s witness testified that drug traffickers typically don’t give a bunch of drugs to people unless the people they give them to know that they’re transporting drugs. Ms. Diaz was found guilty and appealed the case all the way up to the Supreme Court, which, this week, upheld the rulings by several lower courts.
In its 6–3 ruling, the high court said that experts can testify with regard to how “most people” think, when it comes to criminal defendants, in upholding the lower court rulings.
The defense countered that there have been prior cases involving people carrying drugs without their knowledge.
In dissent, Justice Neil Gorsuch said the court’s ruling means “prosecutors can now put an expert on the stand—someone who apparently has the convenient ability to read minds—and let him hold forth on what ’most‘ people like the defendant think when they commit a legally proscribed act.”
Megachurch Pastor Robert Morris Resigns Amid Sexual Abuse Allegation
Sixty-two-year-old Robert Morris has resigned as senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, which is about 30 miles northwest of Dallas. This followed allegations that he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s and continued the abuse until she was 17.Cindy Clemishire, who’s now 54 years old and lives in Oklahoma, says Mr. Morris first abused her on Christmas Day back in 1982, and the alleged abuse continued until 1987.
The board of elders at the church said Mr. Morris had discussed an extramarital relationship many times throughout his ministry, but they understood it to be with an adult, not a child. The board says prior to this week, they didn’t have all the facts including Ms. Clemishire’s age at the time of abuse, how long the abuse lasted, and the specific details of the abuse Ms. Clemishire suffered.
For her part, Ms. Clemishire said that’s not true, and that she has tried for years to expose the alleged sexual abuse she suffered. Ms. Clemishire says she’s disappointed that Mr. Morris was allowed to resign and that he should have been terminated.
Mr. Morris founded Gateway Church in 2000 and the church now has more than 100,000 active attendees across multiple locations, including nine congregations in the nearby Dallas-Fort Worth area.
You should know that millions of people have watched Mr. Morris’s sermons on television in 190 countries, and as of this week, Christian network “Daystar Television” has removed his programs from their network.
FBI Raids Property of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao
Federal agents just raided the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao.The mayor was escorted out of her home by FBI agents prior to their search. She was set to attend a press conference that same day, but didn’t show up for the event.
Local news outlets captured video of federal agents carrying out boxes, trash bags, and plastic bins from her Lincoln Highlands neighborhood home, but it’s still unclear as to what exactly they were searching for or what they left with.
Those same news outlets also reported that other locations were raided by the FBI, including the residence of Andy Duong, the director of the city’s garbage vendor, California Waste Solutions.
The city’s independent watchdog agency, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, has been investigating the recycling company since 2020. The investigation is over alleged campaign contributions to the mayor and other officials.
The raid happened just two days after the Alameda County Registrar of Voters announced that a petition to recall the mayor had enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
You should also know that Ms. Thao is facing the recall election in November.
Judge Dismisses Nevada Alternate Electors Case Due to Jurisdiction Concerns
A Nevada judge is dismissing the alternate electors’ case against six Republicans who were alleged to have submitted fraudulent certificates to Congress following the 2020 election.Defense attorneys contended that Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford improperly brought the case in Las Vegas, instead of Carson City or Reno, which are cities near the location where the alleged crime took place.
Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, favors Democrats in national elections, suggesting the case was brought there because the jury pool may have had a more unfavorable view of Republicans.
Clark County Judge Mary Kay Holthus, who appeared to side with the defense, says she was not convinced by the arguments made by state prosecutors that Clark County was the proper venue to hear the case since the defense attorneys claimed the certificates were signed in nearby Douglas County.
The defendants included state GOP chairman Michael McDonald; national party committee member Jim DeGraffenreid; national and Douglas County committee member Shawn Meehan; and a party member from the Lake Tahoe area. Each was charged with offering what’s called a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument—both felonies.
Nevada is one of seven presidential battleground states where slates of alternate electors certified that then-President Donald Trump had won the 2020 general election.
By the way, Nevada is also said to be a swing state for this year’s upcoming election, which is less than five months away in November.
This year’s huge national contest is one that all of us are keeping a close watch on.
Looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Saturday edition (the weekend edition) of The Epoch Times News Brief.
At some point this weekend, we hope you’ll tell some folks you know about our program, as we’re always trying to grow the ever expanding News Brief family. Thanks a bunch for being one of our highly valued family members.
Betsi Helgesen checks in to say: I enjoy your News Brief. “fair and balanced” providing succinct facts to today’s news.
We also heard from Linda Cordaro.
And Ms. Tracy writes in to say: Love your ‘Notable Quotes!’
*(Don’t forget the News Brief Motto): We’re portable, affordable, and we’re always on-demand.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap things up with a very “notable” quote:
It was Truman Capote who said: “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”
Truman Capote was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor, most well known for his novella “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas and thanks a million for spending even a small portion of your weekend with us. Enjoy the rest of your day, and we’ll see you right back next time for another edition of the Epoch Times News Brief! Have an awesome day today and bye for now.
