Star Tribune
Minnesota Supreme Court upholds conviction of shooter in 2021 road rage incident
The Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a Chicago man in a 2021 road-rage incident in which he fatally shot a youth baseball coach on his way home from a game with his son.
Jamal Lindsey Smith is serving life in prison for his Hennepin County District Court murder convictions in the death of Jay Boughton, who was shot on Hwy. 169 in Plymouth while driving with his teenage son Harrison. After the shooting, it took two months to find and arrest Smith in Illinois after a frantic search for the SUV.
In the opinion written by Justice Margaret Chutich, the court brushed aside all defense claims on appeal, including ineffective assistance of counsel and a lack of Black residents in the pool of prospective jurors. The court also said it was appropriate for Judge Nicole Engisch to allow into evidence the alleged prior crimes of the defendant.
Chief Justice Natalie Hudson joined Chutich’s opinion along with Justices Anne McKeig and Gordon Moore. Justices Paul Thissen wrote and Justice Karl Procaccini signed a concurrence that highlighted a lack of representative diversity in jury pools.
“Ensuring that people of color serve as jurors is essential to the fair resolution of cases and to the public’s trust in our legal system,” the majority opinion read.
But in Smith’s case, the court rejected his claim that the jury pool lacked proportional representation of Black residents.
In a footnote, Chutich wrote that the Legislature can make jury service “more tenable” for residents of all races and lessen the need for recusals by increasing juror pay. The court asked the 2024 Legislature to increase the daily pay from $20 to $100 to offset lost wages, child care and related costs.
Thissen and Procaccini sounded more concerned about jury diversity and wrote that when a specific group, such as people of color, fails to consistently show up for jury duty, and the state fails to consider remedies, “that failure becomes systematic exclusion at some point.”
Thissen and Procaccini’s concurrence also cited a pilot study in San Francisco that found increasing participation from poor residents and people of color compared to white residents when juror pay was increased from $15 to $100 a day.
“The state of Minnesota can only ignore such evidence for so long,” Thissen’s concurrence said.
Justice Sarah Hennesy, who recently joined the court, did not participate in the decision.
Walz previously said he was in Hong Kong in May 1989 before the massacre, MPR News reported. He also said he was in Hong Kong the day the massacre happened on June 4 during a 2019 radio interview, CNN reported.
However, a photo taken on May 16, 1989 put him in the United States working at the National Guard Armory in Alliance, MPR reported. And a story published in a Nebraska newspaper on Aug. 11, 1989 quoted him as saying he would leave for China that Sunday, more than two months after the Tiananmen Square massacre.
“To watch what happened at the end of the day on June 4 was something that many of us will never forget, we pledge to never forget, and bearing witness and accurate telling of history is absolutely crucial for any nation to move forward,” Walz said during a 2009 congressional hearing to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the massacre.
Walz has also misstated the number of times he’s visited China. The campaign previously said he visited the country more than 30 times. However, MPR reported the campaign now says he was there closer to 15 times.
The discrepancy in Walz’s timeline comes as Republicans have been raising questions about whether Walz’s ties to the country, which has become one of the United States’ top adversaries, is influencing his decision making. The GOP-led House Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into his time there and has asked both the FBI and now the Department of Homeland Security via a subpoena for any relevant information the agencies have on Walz.
Walz on shooting his son witnessed and viral “friend with school shooters” moment
The event, hosted by CBS News, provided another chance for Americans to listen to the candidates ahead of Election Day in November. It also provided ample opportunities for memorable and meme-able moments.
Here are five highlights:
In a challenging moment for Walz, the Minnesota governor was asked to clarify his previous remarks about the time he spent in China in 1989. He’s said he was in Hong Kong during the spring Tiananmen Square massacre, yet MPR and other outlets have reported that he did not visit until later that year. Walz conceded somewhat, saying he hasn’t been perfect and added: “I’m a knucklehead at times.”
At one point in the debate, Vance took issue with a clarification debate moderator Margaret Brennan issued about his remarks on Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. After Vance blamed “illegal immigration” for many of the Midwest city’s woes, Brennan said many Haitian immigrants in Springfield have legal protected status. To that, Vance said: “The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact check.”
Moments later, both candidates had their mics cut.
While debating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and its aftermath, Vance said former President Donald Trump peacefully gave power to President Joe Biden two weeks later. Walz asked if Trump lost the election and Vance answered by saying he’s more concerned about administrative censorship on social media platforms.
“Tim, I’m focused on the future,” Vance said.
At the Aug. 6 meeting during which the board agreed to put the proposal on the ballot, Marcia Howard, president of the teacher chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, sounded a cautionary note to board members: “Some people right now are saying: ‘$8 a household, we can’t even afford that right now.’”
Howard also drew a connection to the broader district transformation discussions, saying people were prepared to partner with the board if it governed with a strong hand.
“Trust is gonna be essential,” she said. “We need to trust y’all are going to boss up.”
Talk of transformation picked up anew last week with a top administrator outlining plans for board members and others to conduct walkthroughs of buildings beginning Oct. 9.
Video of Kentucky judge being shot to death shown at hearing for ex-sheriff charged in his murder
How much would a $75,000 home equity loan cost per month after rate cuts?
Coast Guard seizes $4.3 million of cocaine from boat off coast of Puerto Rico
Video of Kentucky judge being shot to death shown at hearing for ex-sheriff charged in his murder
How much would a $75,000 home equity loan cost per month after rate cuts?