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The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against several thousand acres of land in South Texas on Monday in an effort to move forward with construction of the controversial and long-stalled border wall.

Submitted on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the lawsuit names 5,934 acres of land, more or less in Hidalgo County as well as Mary Francis Chupick Bennett as the defendants in the eminent domain action.

Presented as a complaint in condemnation, the lawsuit is a typical Department of Justice (DHS) filing used to condemn private property in order for the government to forcibly gain control, access and title when the landowner refuses to sell the real estate in question.

Declarations of takings were originally permitted and limited by the Bill of Rights via the Fifth Amendment and later further elaborated upon via the Federal Declaration of Taking Act, both which provide that any such taking is conditioned on the government providing just compensation for the property sought by the state.

Per that statute, such information includes:

(1) a statement of the authority under which, and the public use for which, the land is taken; (2) a description of the land taken that is sufficient to identify the land; (3) a statement of the estate or interest in the land taken for public use; (4) a plan showing the land taken; and (5) a statement of the amount of money estimated by the acquiring authority to be just compensation for the land taken.

Here, the DOJ is relying on a 2017 defense appropriations bill for the statutory authority necessitated by the act. The Trump administration has consistently broadcast their intent and argued their authority to reallocate traditional military funds for the purpose of constructing the 45th presidents long-promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border due to Congress generally refusing to directly fund the project.

The lawsuit also describes the intent of the proposed seizure: The public purpose for which said property is taken is to construct, install, operate, and maintain roads, fencing, vehicle barriers, security lighting, cameras, sensors, and related structures designed to help secure the United States/Mexico border within the State of Texas.

Also contained are the necessary land descriptions and maps of the property the government is trying to claim for its own.

The just compensation outlined in the proposal looks to be a decided bargain for the federal government. For the nearly 6,000 acre plat, the DOJ is suggesting the landowners are only entitled to $113,202. That equates to roughly $19.08 per acre.

The average market value of rural acreage in Texas is just shy of $3,000 per acre, according to Texas A&M Universitys Real Estate Center. The government clearly believes they are entitled to an exponential discount on the would-be land grab.

Assistant United States Attorney Manuel Muniz Lorenzi signed the lawsuit on behalf of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Ryan K. Patrick.

Perhaps curiously, or perhaps not, complaints in condemnation generally contain a jury demand instruction. Patricks filing on behalf of DHS, however, expressly disclaims that typical request.

[image via Joe Raedle/Getty Images]

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Trump Admin Files Lawsuit Against 5,934 Acres of Land, More or Less in Order to Build the Wall - Law & Crime

Chico celebrated Juneteenth on Friday with back-to-back events. The first focused on building better relations with Chico police while the second included speakers seeking to defund the police and demanding justice.

The Orion covered the second event, Juneteenth: Gathering for Justice and Healing, organized by the Justice for Desmond Phillips campaign. The event sought to honor the lives of people of color killed by police across the country.

Speakers strongly advocated for holding Butte County and Chico Police officers accountable. They also sought to educate citizens in Chico about the killings of Desmond Phillips and Marc Thompson, two cousins both killed in Butte County.

Desmond Phillips was a Black man who was shot dead in his home after having a PTSD attack on March 17, 2017. When his father David Phillips called an ambulance to diffuse the situation. Chico police arrived and tased Desmond, then shot him multiple times.

For over three years, father David Phillips has been speaking out against police brutality, advocating for police accountable and organizing events in hopes of seeing justice for his son Desmond Phillips and Desmonds cousin, Marc Thompson.

This is a peaceful event, Phillips said. And you will hear the truth, the real story in the capital murder of Desmond Phillips as well as the murder of Marc Thompson.

Thompson was a Chico State student. His body was found in his burned car 28 miles northeast of Oroville on Sept. 3, 2014. Almost six years later police have not made any arrests.

The plaza stage doubled as an altar. Pictures, candles, signs and flowers were placed at the foot of the stage to honor Desmond Phillips and other Black citizens killed by the police. The stage featured two large posters of Desmond.

The rest of the event focused on educating the public on Black history, the significance of Juneteenth and knowing ones rights when encountering law enforcement.

The crowd honored the memory of George Floyd with eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence while three on-stage drummers played a slow cadence symbolizing George Floyds heartbeat.

David Phillips teared up on stage as he began talking about his son. He told the audience of the warnings he gave to emergency responders. He accused Chico Police of entering his home unannounced. He said his grandchildren were in their rooms while Desmond suffered from a PTSD attack and grabbed two knives from the kitchen. Seeing his son dead literally brought him to his knees, Phillips said.

The bullet holes from that night are still scattered throughout his living room, David Phillips said. He shared a picture of his son taken moments after his death.

The Justice for Desmond Phillips team again called for Chico Police officers Alex Fliehr, Jeremy Gagnebin and Sgt. Todd Lefkowitz to be arrested. David Phillips claimed to be in contact with the FBI and expressed deep frustration and anger with the former Chico Chief of Police Mike OBrien and District Attorney Mike Ramsey.

David Phillips wasnt the only person to appear on stage. Other family members and community organizers shared their personal stories, history lessons and poetry.

Lesa Johnson, assistant professor of sociology at Chico State, provided a history lesson on the Emancipation Proclamation

The Bethel AME church had a Juneteenth celebration this time last year, said Johnson. We did research on President Lincoln and the true nature of the emancipation proclamation, the fact that it did not free all slaves, it only freed slaves in states that he needed to negotiate with.

The second lesson concerned the racist legacy of some Northern California orchards.

We also did research on the heritage of some of the orchard owners, Johnson said. The history here is that there were descendants of slave owners who settled in Northern California.

Johnson shared these lessons because she feels her students and the general public often have an inaccurate perception of U.S. history.

It is always important to understand our history, Johnson said. I find that so many of our students do not understand the true history of the places where we live or of the United States. If you cant understand the history of where you are then you dont understand the nature of the relationships between the racial and ethnic groups there. So we have to be able to go back into history and understand where all of this started.

Another session focused on teaching citizens their rights, such as the right to record police or the right to walk away if you are not being detained or arrested. They shared ways to hold police accountable for their actions. Rain Scher, another event organizer who has hosted Cop Watch events in the past, shared her advice and opinions.

This entire event is happening because of the police, Scher said. If it werent for police violating peoples rights and killing people, we wouldnt have this event in the first place. We want to make sure anyone that is interested in supporting people who are affected by police violence know what their rights are and know how to support other people in asserting their rights.

Scher presented a recap on citizens rights when encountering police and provided handouts of Chico police officers involved in fatal shootings.

Scher recommended recording footage of police encounters using the American Civil Liberties Union app. The footage is automatically sent to the ACLU database for review.

One of the most important rights Scher mentioned during an encounter with the police is the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

A lot of people get bullied and intimidated into talking and incriminating themselves, even saying things that arent true, Scher said.

Chico State student Cami Tillman found out about the event throughout the Justice for Desmond Phillips Facebook page.

Tillman presented her poem Rotating States in Cycles in front of the large audience. The piece focused on the struggles that Black people face through events like the killing of George Floyd.

It was about the different emotions we and Black people are feeling as we navigate all the different deaths and trauma that has been going on consistently, Tillman said. Just having to continue to play the game even though there is so much more being stacked on constantly.

Julian Mendoza can be reached on Twitter @JulianMTheOrion or at [emailprotected]

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Juneteenth rally for justice and healing in Chico - The Orion

J. Layne Smith, Ask Judge Smith Published 1:53 p.m. ET June 13, 2020

Judge J. Layne Smith(Photo: Judge J. Layne Smith)

The British Navy deprived Americans of their liberty by kidnapping them, placing them on British ships, and forcing them to serve the Crown or walk the plank. The British Army deprived Americans of their property by occupying their homes and eating their food without permission or compensation. These abuses served as catalysts for the Third Amendment, regarding the quartering of soldiers, and the Fifth Amendment, regarding of due process of law.

Q. Judge Smith, what is due process of law? Jules

A. Jules, a fundamental difference between the United States and other nations is our adherence to the rule of law and due process of law. Its not exaggerating to suggest we owe our many freedoms and national development to these twin pillars of the law.

The rule of law is a simple concept. The laws enacted by Congress and the state legislature apply to everyone, and no one is above or below the law. Now, lets focus on due process of law.

The original 13 colonies were founded by people who immigrated here in search of opportunity and religious freedom, and to escape over-reaching by the government. Agriculture dominated the economies of the colonies, so consider how much nerve, blind faith, and work ethic it took to establish homes, plant and harvest crops, and survive in the wilderness with no safety net.

Given these immense challenges, the people expected the government to protect their property interests rather than confiscating them. Likewise, the people expected to live free from undue government interference with their lives and liberty. Our guarantee that the government fulfills these expectations is due process of law.

Due process of law is so important that its the only substantive phrase repeated in the U.S. Constitution. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, respectively, prohibit the federal government and state governments from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. In this context, life involves death penalty cases, liberty involves involuntary confinements, and property involves uncompensated takings.

Before the government can take peoples lives, liberty or property, they must be put on notice and provided with an opportunity to be heard. Diligent-good-faith efforts must be made to find people and service of notice on them should be hand delivered when practical. The opportunity to be heard includes the right to counsel and a fair and impartial process. The goal is to reach just decisions on the merits.

Think of due process as a floor and not a ceiling. It provides the minimum level of protection that must be afforded. Although, perhaps we could do more, we can do no less. Every day, in courtrooms throughout America, judges safeguard the peoples right to due process of law. When courthouses reopen to the public visit one and see for yourself.

The Honorable J. Layne Smith is a Leon County Judge and author of the international bestselling book Civics, Law, and JusticeHow We Became U.S. Email your questions to askjudgesmith@gmail.com.

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J. Layne Smith's bookCivics, Law, and Justice How We Became U.S. is available on Amazon. It's currently ranked No. 1 on 13 of Amazon's bestseller lists. It's 99 cents for the ebook and $10 for the paperback.

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Notice and an opportunity to be heard are part of due process of law | Ask Judge Smith - Tallahassee Democrat

Portlands anticipated final vote on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year has been kicked to next week after a surprise no vote by Commissioner ChloeEudaly.

The vote came amid a national movement to defund police departments. Many Portlanders had been pushing for the city to cut at least $50 million from the Portland Police Bureaus budget. The most recent budget proposal had over $244 million going toward thepolice.

Thousands of people took to the streetsto protest police brutality on May 31, 2020, in Portland, Ore. The protests ultimately ended with police using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd gathered around the Justice Center in downtownPortland.

JonathanLevinson/OPB

After a national outcry over the killing of George Floyd, the commissioners hammered out amendments to the budget related to police reform. These changes would stop money from the cannabis tax flowing into the police bureau, pull armed officers from schools, stop Portland police from being used as law enforcement on TriMet, dissolve the Gun Violence Reduction Team, and cuteight positions from the Special Emergency ReactionTeam.

All told, these amendments would cut the police bureau budget by more than $15 million, according to a tally by the City BudgetOffice.

But Eudaly, while supportive of these changes, said she felt the cuts were low-hanging fruit and didnt go far enough to address the dramatic shift in policing that so many areseeking.

I cant swallow another bitter budget pill in good conscience, she said. I voteno.

Eudaly had proposed her own amendments Thursday, but only the one redirecting cannabis funds won the support of her colleagues. Eudaly and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty have been vocal in their belief that money from the cannabis tax should go to people harmed by the war on drugs and not thepolice.

Eudalys other amendments the most significant of which would cut thepolice budget by an additional $4.6 million were met with silence. By the time she read her fifth amendment out loud, the commissioner appearedemotional.

The budget was being treated as an emergency ordinance, which meant, to pass, it needed four votes. Eudalys no vote meant it failed. The budget will now be voted on next week, when it will only need three votes topass.

After the vote, Hardesty released a statement calling Eudalys no vote performative allyship. She said, last year, she proposed half of what is currently on the table, including defunding the Gun Violence Reduction Team, and received no support for anyone on the Council, including Eudaly.

While we are making strides in realigning our budget with our values, this no vote does nothing to materially support our BIPOC communities, she wrote. All this does is delay the much-needed relief for ourcommunities.

Eudalys office responded saying the commissioner stands with the tens of thousands of Portlanders who have demanded bold action andwill work with the Council to achieve abudget that reflects these calls forreform.

Many in the community had been pushing for a larger cut to the police bureaus funding. Advocacy groups, including Unite Oregon and the Portland African American Leadership Forum, had created a list of demands they were urging the Council to consider amid a national uprising over police brutality. Chief among them: redirecting at least$50 million fromthe $244 million slated for the policebureau.

Those calls were echoed in two hours of testimony Thursday in the lead up to the vote. Many called for police budget cuts of $50 million, if not more, citing a need to drastically rethinkpolicing.

The foundation of our country, our state, and our city policing is racist historically used to control people of color. Its foundation is so outdated. Its rotten, said Ashley Oakley, a resident of Northeast Portland, who said they work with organizations including Native American Youth and Family Center, Self Enhancement Inc, and The Coalition of Communities ofColor.

Any sort of reframing, retraining installation or inspections we try to build on, theyre not working. We need to defund the police and build a new foundation. Personally, Ive never felt protected or served by police in Portland nor any city Ive ever livedin.

In a meeting held with reporters before the budget vote, Hardesty, a vocal advocate for police reform for three decades, expressed skepticism that this figure was the right startingpoint.

Im not sure that $50 million is based on facts, she said. If I was an advocate outside, I would be giving a big number aswell.

Hardesty noted that this is not the last time the city will be looking at the budget, and said she is willing to look at other ways to reduce the need for police. She said she expects to see this reduction with the Portland Street Response, a new pilot program for the city that will have unarmed first responders address calls concerning people experiencinghomelessness.

Hardesty also said that, unlike some of the demonstrators, she does not believe abolition of the police bureau is the answer to the systemic issues within policing. In a call over the weekend with community organizers, she stated clearly she was not anabolitionist.

Im old enough to know some people deserve to be in jail. Thats just my personal opinion. Im never going to support the total abolition, she said. What I do believe is that police are doing way too much. Theyre not mental health professionals. Theyre not housing experts. Theyre not social workers. And weve allowed them to expand their mission to the point that they think they do everything foreverybody.

As part of her budget changes, Hardesty unveiled a series of amendments that would curb the responsibilities of police. These included ending the citys agreement with TriMet, so Portland police officers would no longer serve as law enforcement on public transit; disbanding the Gun Violence Reduction Team, which investigates shootings in the city; ending the school resource officer program, so armed police no longer work in schools; and eliminating eight positions within SERT, a police team that responds to emergencyincidents.

All Hardestys amendments were supported by the Council and added to the budget. During the hearing Thursday, Hardesty thanked the thousands who have taken to the street each night for making ithappen.

I want to start by thanking the young people who have taken to the street for over two weeks, she said. I want to thank you for elevating this conversation to the point where there was no doubt that we wouldact.

Hardesty has asked that nearly $5 million from the police bureau go to the Portland StreetResponse.

Earlier this week, Mayor Ted Wheeler promised a series of reforms, including cutting the police specialty units and making a $7 million cut to the Portland Police Bureau. Wheeler said he was not offering those amendments on Thursday as similar ones were being offered by hiscolleagues.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz added amendments that made money available for a tribal liaison position with the citys Office of Governmental Relations and put more funding toward the Civil Rights Title VI Program in the Office of Equity and HumanRights.

Both Wheeler and Fritz said they approved of Hardestys amendments, which are estimated to cut $15 million from the policebureau.

Although this doesnt go as far as the communitys been asking us, it does make a significant difference, Fritzsaid.

Wheeler framed the budget as a middle ground between the call to reduce police spending by roughly one-fifth and his earlier proposal that would have pulled $7 million, roughly 3% of the policebudget.

Its not the 50, he said. But its not theseven.

The Council expects to vote on the budget again nextWednesday.

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Portland Poised To Cut $15 Million From Police Budget, Commissioner Chloe Eudaly Says It's Not Enough - OPB News

Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, is representing two business owners in lawsuits against Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, over the governors COVID-19 executive orders.

Linda Park, a restaurant owner in Fredericksburg, and Jon Tigges, a wedding venue owner in Northern Virginia, are suing Northam over the restrictions he put in place in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Representing them is Petersen, a centrist Democrat and lawyer who has been outspoken against the restrictions.

These people are going to go out of business unless theyre allowed to reopen and unless the governors orders are repealed, amended, whatever it takes, Petersen said during a news conference in Richmond on Tuesday. They werent enacted by constitutional means.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Mark Herring said he has successfully defended Virginias COVID safety measures against numerous legal attacks, and we expect to do so again.

This year, Petersen voted against several gun control bills Northam backed. He also blocked an effort from Northam to move municipal elections scheduled for May to November because of COVID-19.

Tigges owns Zion Spring, a winery in Loudoun County that hosts social gatherings, including weddings and other private events. The business had scheduled 16 weddings for this spring and summer, representing more than half of its expected revenue for the year.

Because of the executive orders, those events have been canceled, the lawsuit says. Northams executive orders have barred large social gatherings.

Unlike restaurants and venues in other parts of the state, Tigges, located in a rural corner of Loudoun County, has not been allowed to carry on his business amongst those persons who choose to attend an event there, the complaint reads. As a direct result of the Executive Orders, the Tigges have been deprived of the beneficial use of their property, while Mr. Tigges has had his business taken.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, said Northam went beyond his authority as governor and violated Tigges constitutional rights, specifically a clause in the Fifth Amendment that says a person should not be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

The governors action was taken under color of state law and has been enforced by officials in his administration, the complaint says. It is plainly unconstitutional.

A separate lawsuit from Park and Tigges, filed with the Supreme Court of Virginia, challenges the fact that the General Assembly was not part of the states COVID-19 restrictions.

Parks restaurant, Fujiya House in Fredericksburg, has hibachi-style dining, and the local health department has not allowed it to serve food that way, leading the restaurant to close indefinitely. Other restaurants in Virginia have been allowed to open at 50% capacity under the states Phase Two guidelines.

This closure is based solely on the meaningless distinction that the food is prepared on a hibachi grill and not in a kitchen, the lawsuit reads. Cases like Fujiya House show the ... arbitrary nature of the regulations that the governor and (State Health Commissioner Norm Oliver) are unlawfully propagating.

Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, commended Petersen in a statement.

Its quite telling for a well-respected elected member of the Democratic Party to break ranks and say enough is enough, Newman said. Businesses and families all across the commonwealth have suffered under the rule of a single individual for the last three months. This is unacceptable and it is my hope that Senator Petersen prevails in his lawsuit, so that this governor and all future individuals who hold that office understand the limitations of their powers.

Del. Dave LaRock, R-Loudoun, attended the news conference with Petersen, Park and Tigges.

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WATCH NOW: Democratic senator represents business owners suing Northam over COVID-19 restrictions - Richmond.com