NEWS OF THE DAY
1 _ Leak case: The retrial of a former CIA software engineer charged with leaking secrets to WikiLeaks in an espionage case will begin June 7, a judge said Wednesday. U. S. District Judge Paul Crotty set the date for Joshua Schulte over the objections of a defense lawyer who said it would be impossible to properly prepare for a trial that started before August. Earlier this year, a jury deadlocked on the most serious espionage charges alleging that Schulte stole a massive trove of the agency’s hacking tools and gave it to the organization that publishes news leaks. Schulte, who worked as a coder, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
2 _ Murder trial: The murder trial of a northern Indiana woman accused of killing her stepdaughter ended in a mistrial after at least four people involved in the proceedings came down with COVID19. Amanda Carmack, of Gas City, faces charges of murder, neglect, domestic battery and strangulation in the death of her 10yearold stepdaughter, Skylea Carmack, whose body was found hidden in a shed behind the family’s home last year.
3 _ Foster parent dispute: The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to side with a Catholic social services agency in a dispute with Philadelphia over the agency’s refusal to work with samesex couples as foster parents. The case is a big test of religious rights on a more conservative court thanks to the addition of three conservative appointees of President Trump. Catholic Social Services, which is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, says its religious views keep it from certifying samesex couples as foster parents. And it says it shouldn’t be shut out of a contract with the city to find foster homes for children. Philadelphia says it requires all the foster care agencies it works with not to discriminate as part of their contract. Two lower courts sided with Philadelphia.
4 Dead man’s seat: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has no authority to appoint a coal company executive to fill a state House seat won by a Republican candidate who died before the election, the attorney general said Wednesday. Burgum announced Wednesday that he was appointing BNI Energy President Wade Boeshans to the seat won Tuesday by David Andahl, who died last month from COVID19. North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said in a statement that Burgum’s appointment on the day following the election “is both inaccurate and untimely.” Burgum defeated Stenehjem in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2016. Andhahl, 55, had been sick with COVID19 for several days before he died on Oct. 5.
5 _ Prosecutor ousted: A Georgia prosecutor who was criticized for her office’s response to the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery has been ousted by voters, who elected an independent candidate who had to collect thousands of signatures to get on the ballot. District Attorney Jackie Johnson, a Republican, lost her reelection bid Tuesday after serving a decade as the top prosecutor in Brunswick Judicial Circuit. Johnson said she believes Arbery’s slaying, and what she says are false allegations blaming her for a long delay before arrests were made, played a big role in her defeat.