Author: Micaela Watts

Just City joined a class action lawsuit yesterday against Governor Bill Haslam and the state of Tennessee alleging a 2012 law reaches too far in revoking driving privileges.

The Memphis criminal justice reform group joined the suit with The National Center for Law and Economic Justice, Civil Rights Corp., and national law firm Baker Donelson.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam

The suit says that a 2012 law passed by the state legislature gives the state of Tennessee power to revoke driving privileges for nonpayment of court debt over any number of offenses, even those that are not in any way related to driving or public safety.

According to Just City, an unintended consequence of the law has been an additional hardship on Tennessee’s most economically vulnerable. Without the legal ability to drive, commutes to and from employment are jeopardized, resulting in an inability to pay off court fines.

“There’s no mechanism to determine who can pay and who can’t,” said Josh Spickler, founder of Just City.

Spickler said that while he understands the underlying intent might have been to incentivize payment of court-related costs, a lack of discretion in determining who can and cannot pay their court fees coupled with historically underfunded transportation systems in major Tennessee cities creates a specific inequality in Tennessee court systems.

“So much about re-entry is about employment,” Spickler said. “It’s inextricably and forever linked to reentry into our society and economy. In some cases, judges demand that an offender seek employment. But, in a backwards way, employment has become that much harder to get because of this law.”

This is the second lawsuit Just City has filed since being founded in 2015. The other pending lawsuit is against Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham seeking $10 million in damages for people who have been incarcerated longer than necessary, due to failures in the criminal justice information systems.

A Texas man has plead guilty to falsely reporting a shooting threat in attempt to delay a Megabus traveling from Memphis to Dallas, according to Edward L. Stanton III, who announced the guilty plea today.

Kirk Stuart, 35, of Austin, Texas, was due to catch a Megabus to Dallas along with his girlfriend. When Stuart became concerned they would miss their ride, he hatched a scheme that he hoped would keep the Megabus stationed at the Memphis Area Transit Authority North End Terminal long enough for the two to board.

After borrowing a companion’s cell phone, Stewart called 911 operators and falsely advised them that his fictitious brother had boarded the bus and was about to do “something for Allah, a Muslim thing for Allah.”

By the time Memphis Police Department officers made it to MATA’s North End terminal, the Megabus had already departed for Dallas. After determining the bus was traveling through Arkansas, MPD advised the Arkansas State Police.

The Megabus was located and subsequently searched in Little Rock, Arkansas. Police were unable to find anybody matching the fictitious description provided by Stuart.

After investigating further, law enforcement developed Stuart as a suspect of false report. He was then interviewed by FBI agents in Dallas, and admitted to falsely reporting the incident so that he and his girlfriend could make the bus on time.

Stuart has plead guilty to one count of willfully and maliciously conveying false information. He will be sentenced on March 24, 2017 by a federal judge, and faces up to five years in prison as well as a fine up to $250,000.

The case is still under investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Micaela Watts

PPGMR reported a rise in donations since Donald Trump’s election. More than 300 supporters flocked to the Memphis clinic to show support for the organization.

Planned Parenthood of Greater Memphis Region is taking steps to brace itself against the incoming administration where federal defunding of the national women’s healthcare organization is all but guaranteed, according to PPGMR CEO Ashley Coffield.

If federally defunded, the organization will lose roughly $540 million* (edited) nationally in Medicaid reimbursements. The Memphis clinic could lose millions in reimbursements for cancer screenings, birth control, and other basic gynecological services. Low income women will be most affected, as PP is often their only affordable option.

“We’re preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. We’re not going to give up this fight,” Coffield told a crowd of media and supporters who gathered yesterday to hear how PPGMR plans to stay afloat once president-elect Donal Trump is sworn into office in January.

In 2015, Congress passed a bill to federally defund Planned Parenthood, but it was vetoed by President Obama. With Republicans in control of Congress and in the Oval Office, the fear is that PP’s safety net will take  a massive blow.

“We have no way of knowing what this administration will bring, but we can start preparing for it,” said Coffield.

Coffield announced that the organization’s Now Campaign has raised $10.5 million of its $12 million goal, as donations spiked in direct response to Trump’s election.

The Now Campaign is not meant to substitute federal funding, but it will help the organization survive as $6 million will go towards an endowment and the other $6 million towards strategic growth, which includes comprehensive sex ed, a new location, and a separate fund in case unanticipated legal challenges pop up.

“Remember the fetal tissue hoax?” asked Coffield. “That cost us tens of millions, and we had no idea it was coming.”

Coffield’s address occurred right around the time state health officials in Texas were delivering final legal notices to PP clinics in Texas that they would be stripped of $3.1 million in Medicaid reimbursements.

That’s roughly the same number that Tennessee PP clinics would lose. Though Texas’ population is considerably larger than Tennessee, PPGMR handles patients from many of Tennessee’s border states, where abortion access is often harder to come by.

Next year it may be Texas women that have to make the pilgrimage to Tennessee.

Coffield considers the move to be an attack on lower-income women, especially women of color.

“These political attacks on reproductive healthcare access in Texas stand to undo decades of work by public health advocates who have worked to address the longstanding health-care inequity for people of color in this country.”

Amy Weirich

Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich announced a new geographically based approach to prosecuting criminals during a community meeting at the Ed Rice Community Center in Frayser.

Weirich wants to keep prosecutors and judges consistent within certain areas of Memphis, so they are able to gain a better understanding of the community they serve.

“The goals I envision include shifting a focus of crime prevention and intervention to the communities where the crimes are occurring,” said Weirich. “Prosecutors with background knowledge of a community, established partnerships in the community and the trust of the community will bring better results for the community.”

The program will begin on January 3, with Assistant District Attorney Carrie Shelton’s assignment to the Memphis Police Department’s Old Allen Precinct in Frayser, where the surrounding area is under the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department’s jurisdiction. Shelton’s assignment will be supported by a team of prosecutors, victim-witness coordinators, and support staff at 201 Poplar that will oversee every arrest made in the area surrounding the Old Allen Precinct.

“We chose this Frayser-Raleigh area because of its high crime rates and because the area is home to diverse, grassroots community organizations that are working daily to bring a better way of life to this area,” said Weirich. “The community prosecutor will be building relationships with law enforcement, neighborhood watch groups, schools, businesses and other community-based organizations.”


Weirich also said a similar plan is in the works for the MPD Tillman Station Precinct and its surrounding area.

The plan to keep prosecutors and judges consistent in high-crime areas is one of 16 objectives under a Operation: Safe Community, a comprehensive five year plan announced by the Shelby County Crime Commission last month.

The SCCC’s plan also calls for increased trust through community policing and more interaction between law enforcement and the public.

The announced objectives for increasing trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve occurred right as the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing is beginning what could be a two year review of MPD’s community policing and use of deadly force policies.

After hearing reports that detainees of the Shelby County Juvenile Court detention center had inadequate clothing to guard against frigid temperatures outside and inside, criminal justice reform advocacy group Just City dropped off 80 sweatshirts for the facility’s 80 or so residents.

Just City’s founder, Josh Spickler, said he learned through attorneys that the underage detainees often spoke to their legal representatives through chattering teeth, while wearing only short-sleeved teeshirts.

Spickler decided his organization would donate as many sweatshirts as they could. Bluff City Sports pitched in and donated additional garments to fill the gap.

“I don’t have any information that would suggest that the building’s HVAC controls aren’t working,” said Spickler, “but regardless, I think we all know that large buildings are difficult to heat and cool on a consistent level. These kids should have more than a short-sleeved shirt.”

Temperatures in Memphis dropped drastically in the early hours of Sunday, and have remained below freezing for the duration of today’s daylight hours.

Just a few months ago, temperature control at the detention center was under scrutiny as media learned the detention center was without air-conditioning during the sweltering heat of late August and early September.

“Keeping them comfortable and providing basics like consistent temperatures should not be too much to expect,” Spickler added.

Chief Kirk Fields of the juvenile detention center, who was on hand to receive the clothing donations, maintained that the building was adequately heated for its occupants.

Responding to the assertion that attorneys for the minors reported inadequate clothing paired with subpar heating, Fields said that he was not aware of such reports.

“I’m appreciative of Josh for the donation,” said Fields. “Around this time of year, we receive donations from a lot of nonprofit agencies, just bringing Christmas cheer to the kids. So, I’ll take this as another one of those holiday donations.”

The Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County has just announced that Roger Henderson has been appointed as the nonprofit’s new executive director.

In a released statement, Interim Executive Director Amy Howell said, “Roger brings a lot to the table in terms of operational experience and energy,” adding that Henderson has the experience necessary to understand the nonprofit’s operations on all organizational levels, including working with external donors.

“He just seems to fit in with what we want to accomplish,” said Howell.

Henderson, who holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Union University has tenured experience working within the Shelby County Government. He also brings experience from retail management and banking, and has volunteered his time to other nonprofits both local and national.

Henderson said he is ready for the challenge.

“For many of us, our animal companions are our closest family members,” said Howell, while adding that “there are those who don’t treat these companions well. Our job is to provide healing and help create a second chance.

The HSMSC has been rescuing neglected and abused animals since 1933 in the Memphis area, and has pulled five dogs out of abusive situations in the last six days.

Officials with the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County Office of Criminal Investigations responded to a call on Baltimore Street in the Beltline neighborhood late Tuesday afternoon.

The investigators found four malnourished dogs in the backyard, with no access to clean drinking water.

HSMSC criminal investigator J. Morgret swore in an affidavit that the dogs were malnourished to the point where “their ribs, hips, and spine were clearly visible”.
HSMSC

HSMSC seized four malnourished dogs today, all in various states of starvation like the dog seen above.

The Memphis Police Department issued suspect Myron Nelson a misdemeanor citation for four counts of animal cruelty, each count punishable by a $2500 fine or 11 months, 29 days in jail.

All four dogs are now in custody of HSMSC where they will receive food and veterinarian care until they are well enough to be adopted.

Officials with HSMSC report that this is the third arrest for animal cruelty in the past six days.

“Every companion animal deserves adequate nutrition and clean water,” said Morgret. “Sadly, based on the number of animals seized last week, it just doesn’t always happen that way.”

Anyone wishing to report animal cruelty to the HSMSC can call 901-937-3910 or can use the “Report Cruelty” tab on their website.