#TalkRadio – May 21: Continuing Supreme Court Misconduct and Texas Governor Abbott’s Pardon Debacle

SPEAKERS:

Rep. Ron Reynolds: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Texas State Representative of House District 27 who serves as Chair of the Black Caucus for the state of Texas; the first African American elected as state representative in Fort Bend County since Reconstruction; Leader of the Black Legislative Caucus in Texas; Former Associate Municipal Judge for the City of Houston, Past President of the Houston Lawyers Association; and Past President of the Missouri City & Vicinity NAACP

Judge Alexander Williams: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Immediately following law school, in 1973, Judge Williams served as law clerk to the Honorable James H. Taylor of the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Maryland. He engaged in private practice at various times from 1974 to 1986. Judge Williams performed in other capacities during this period, including municipal attorney for Fairmount Heights, 1975-87; part-time substitute juvenile master for Prince George’s County Circuit Court, 1976-77; assistant public defender for Prince George’s County Public Defender’s Office, 1977-78; part-time special counsel and hearing examiner for Prince George’s County Board of Education, 1978-87; and municipal attorney, Glenarden, 1980-87. Judge Williams was a Professor of Law at Howard University School of Law from 1978-89. From 1987 to 1994, Judge Williams served as the elected State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, Maryland. On August 3, 1993, Judge Williams was nominated by President Clinton for a vacancy in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on August 17, 1994, and Judge Williams received his commission on August 18, 1994. Judge Williams elected senior status on May 8, 2013 and retired from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on January 3, 2014. In addition, he is the founder, member and first president of the J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association, as well as a member of the National and Prince George’s County Bar Associations. Some of Judge Williams’ professional associations include a member of the Commission on Medical Discipline, 1980-85; member of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, 1983-87, and chair, 1986-87; member of the State’s Attorneys Coordination Council, 1987-89; member of the Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, 1984-86; and member of the Handgun Roster Board, 1992-94.

Rev. Chauncey Brown: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Transformative Justice Coalition Alumni; A servant of God, Civil Rights activist, serves the Second Baptist Church of Maywood; Current Special Assistant to the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr. and Director of the 1000 Churches Connected at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition

INTRODUCTION:

The Igniting Change Radio Show on Tuesday, May 21st, 2024, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time, entitled, “Continuing Supreme Court Misconduct and Texas Governor Abbott’s Pardon Debacle”, will be live with Radio Show Co-Hosts and Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) Co-Leaders Attorneys Barbara Arnwine, Esq. and Daryl Jones, Esq. and will feature special guests Rep. Ron Reynolds, Judge Alexander Williams, and Rev. Chauncey Brown.

On May 17th, 2024, the New York Times published an article revealing that Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito had flown for 6 days an upside down American flag associated with the “#StopTheSteal” Movement at his home in January 2021, one week after the January 6th Insurrection and 3 days prior to President Joe Biden’s Inauguration. This has led to a major firestorm of criticism of the Justice for this controversial and partisan action, as Supreme Court Justices are ethically bound to be non-partisan and to do everything in their power to be unbiased. At the time of this flag being displayed symbolically at his home, the Supreme Court was undertaking reviews involving the January 6th Insurrection. This matter is appearing before the Court. Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/17/us/justice-alito-flag-reactions.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Many have responded to this ethical lapse by calling for Justice Alito to recuse himself from future cases involving Trump’s immunity, #StopTheSteal, and related matters. And others have called for Justice Alito to resign from the Court.

Igniting Change will fully explore with the guests the impact of this latest judicial misconduct exposé and its effects on the public confidence in the Supreme Court’s decision making.
Other articles about this case:

• Lindsey Graham Chastises Samuel Alito Over Upside-Down Flag
• Evidence Is Building That Samuel Alito’s Brain Is Filled to the Brim With Right-Wing Internet Chum
• Alito’s flag shows the US supreme court is neither honorable nor functional any more

This show will also discuss the highly disturbing actions of Texas Governor Greg Abbott who, on May 16th “pardoned a man convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester in the summer of 2020. Daniel Perry was serving a 25-year prison sentence for the murder of Garrett Foster, an armed white man who was attending a racial justice protest with his Black fiancee. Abbott had faced pressure to issue the pardon from conservative media figures. Stephanie Sy reports.” Read the Source and learn more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-led-texas-governor-to-pardoning-man-convicted-of-killing-black-lives-matter-protester

QUESTIONS:

• [LAST WEEK’S SHOW UPDATE: Last week’s show discussed the legal fight over racial gerrymandering in congressional redistricting in Louisiana. Earlier this year, after years of federal litigation under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 challenging racial discrimination in redistricting following the 2020 Census, the Louisiana State Legislature finally voted to adopt a congressional map which created a second majority Black district. However on April 30th, 2024, a different federal court ruled in favor of White plaintiff’s that the newly created Congressional map is unconstitutional as it improperly prioritized race in violation of the 14th Amendment. On May 1st, 2024, The NAACP LDF filed a notice of appeal of this decision with the Supreme Court of the United States. Additionally, on May 8th, 2024, LDF filed an emergency stay application asking the Supreme Court of the United States to stay the District Court’s opinion in Callais v. Landry.
• On May 15th, the United State Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision granted the Legal Defense Fund’s and Dr. Press Robinson’s motion for a stay, meaning that the decision of the 3-judge panel is no longer active and that this new second Majority Black District will be the law of the land for the 2024 elections. Our congratulations to all the litigation team, the plaintiffs in this case, and to the people of Louisiana.]
• Judge Williams, welcome back to Igniting Change. And yes, we are talking again about the Supreme Court’s continuing ethical controversies and misconduct. When you first heard about Justice Alito’s upside down flag that is used to symbolize the #StopTheSteal Movement, what did you think?
• Judge Williams, please describe to our audience why this violates normal judicial ethics.
• Rep. Ron Reynolds, what did you think about Justice Alito’s excuse that “his wife did it because she was emotionally upset about their neighbor’s anti-Trump sign which was close to a school bus stop because the sign contained an expletive”?
• Let’s talk some more about the “wife” excuse. As has been revealed, the school district was actually closed at the time and there was no busses or students to witness the anti-Trump sign.
• Also, in any event, could the action of flying an upside down flag that they should of known was symbolic of the #StopTheSteal Movement for 6 whole days be in any way argued to be unbiased?
• Rev. Chauncey Brown, as a young leader, how do you feel this controversy about Justice Alito’s actions affect you in Chicago?
• Judge Williams, What do you think would be the appropriate actions that Chief Justice Roberts should take here?
• According to public data, public confidence of the Court has eroded to an all time low. If this Court continues to show that it cannot regulate itself, what should be done by Congress and any others?
• Rep. Ron Reynolds, Texas Governor Abbott has done some pretty offensive things during his administration, but his latest outrage is when, on May 16th, he pardoned a man convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester in the summer of 2020, Daniel Perry, who was serving a 25-year prison sentence for the murder of Garrett Foster, an armed white man who was attending a racial justice protest with his Black fiancee. Abbott had faced pressure to issue the pardon from conservative media figures like Tucker Carlson. This possible pardon had been spoken about for several months and it was known to be unpopular; yet, Abbott granted it anyways. What were your thoughts when you first heard that he had taken this action?
• Rep. Ron Reynolds, isn’t it true that Perry had only served one year of his sentence?
• The Texas State Parole Board, whose members are appointed by the governor, unanimously recommended the release of convicted killer Perry and the restoration of his firearm rights. He walked free just hours after the pardon was issued. This action has been criticized because the Parole Board offered no legal rationale for this recommendation. Abbott has publicly stated that he was honoring Texas’ “Stand Your Ground” Law, but Perry was in a car and the jury found that he had purposefully sought out this confrontation. What do you think about the use of the Stand Your Ground law justification?
• Was the Governor’s pardon yet another nod to White Supremacy?
• Rep. Ron Reynolds, as Chair of the Black Caucus for the state of Texas, how are you responding to Gov. Abbott’s Pardon?
• How can our listeners get involved with the push for Supreme Court reform?
• What are your one-minute final thoughts to our listeners?
• Thank you for all of your hard work. How do our listeners get in contact with you?