Sex crimes and the city
A trio of trials in the Big Apple are keeping the press pool busy.
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. Or so I’ve heard.
My New York City colleagues and I are each following trials that involve allegations of sexual impropriety. You’re probably familiar with the two in Manhattan.
Jury selection kicked off Monday at the federal sex trafficking against music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, with Josh Russell on the scene. It’s taken all week; the panel will be finalized on Monday, followed by opening statements.
In state court, Harvey Weinstein‘s retrial is been rolling along as Erik Uebelacker. While most of the women testifying against him also did so in his first criminal trial, the lone new accuser — Polish model Kaja Sokola — took the stand this week. She said she was just 16 years old when Weinstein groped her in a New York City bathroom. Four years later, in 2006, he forcibly performed oral sex on her in a Manhattan hotel, she testified.
“My soul was removed from me,” she told the court.
And in Brooklyn, I’m covering a trial against two former leaders of OneTaste, a Bay Area business that sold customers on a practice that involves stroking women’s genitals, branded as “orgasmic meditation.” Founder Nicole Daedone and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz face one count each of forced labor conspiracy.
The first government witness, a former sales employee named Becky, testified that she lost her sense of reality while part of the OneTaste “cult.” She said she took on thousands of dollars in debt to pay for coaching courses and underwent daily verbal abuse that escalated to unwanted sexual touching by Cherwitz, her boss.
We’ll keep you posted as each of these trials unravel. In the meantime, lots more Courthouse News right below.
Here’s what else happened in court this week:
A federal judge in Vermont ordered Turkish Ph.D student Rümeysa Öztürk to be released from ICE custody. She was detained after co-writing a pro-Palestinian op-ed — a violation of her First Amendment right and due process rights.
Separately, the DOJ invoked the state secrets privilege to withhold information about why it hasn’t delivered on the court-ordered return of Kilmar Abrego García, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. The press is demanding answers.
Meanwhile, the administration asked SCOTUS to revoke humanitarian parole for half a million migrants from countries like Cuba and Venezuela. [Josh Russell, Erik Uebelacker, Kelsey Reichmann]
I Spy: Meta won $168 million in damages from Israeli spyware firm NSO Group, whose tech hit more than 1,400 WhatsApp users’ phones in a May 2019 attack. [Matt Simons]
Guns: The feds say machine guns aren’t protected by the Second Amendment; Virginia gun owners are fighting a ban on firearms in public parks; the First Circuit ponders whether immigrants lacking permanent legal status have the same right to bear arms. [Kevin Koeninger, Steve Garrison, Josh Russell]
Cruel and unusual: Prisoners in a New Mexico penitentiary filed a class action challenging long-term solitary confinement as a state constitutional violation. [Joe Duhownik]
Tribal rights: A coalition of western Apaches hope to block a copper mine that would destroy a 2,400-acre holy site in the Tonto National Forest. Meanwhile, a non-Native lender is pushing for tribal immunity from a $44 million judgment. [Joe Duhownik, Joe Dodson]
Healthcare: Shareholders sued UnitedHealth claiming its financial projections didn’t adjust for change to its corporate practices following the high-profile killing of top executive Brian Thompson in December. [Josh Russell]
Plea: President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin pleaded not guilty to the murder of his parents in Wisconsin. [Destiny DeVooght]
In-flight announcement: A Fifth Circuit panel partially overturned a jury's ruling that Southwest Airlines engaged in religious discrimination by firing a flight attendant for sending anti-abortion messages via Facebook to the president of the airline's flight attendants' union. [Christina Van Waasbergen]
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Top 8: What you’ve been reading
Red Power Ranger actor avoids prison for role in $3.5 million PPP scam
Judge loses bid for seat on North Carolina Supreme Court bench
Agreeing with California, judge says state law doesn’t apply to federal immigration facilities
Democratic states sue Trump administration for blocking wind energy projects
Press pushes back against sealed records as Abrego Garcia’s return hits standstill
Ninth Circuit denies Elizabeth Holmes’ request for rehearing
The DOJ and Google laid out opposing visions for how to restore competition to the online advertising marketplace. The tech giant was convicted in April of operating part of its ad business as a monopoly. [Joan Hennessy]
In a separate trial over Google’s monopolistic search engine, a top exec said the DOJ’s proposed breakup of Google — forcing it to sell off Chrome — would “deeply undermine user trust,” and another said AI could replace the need for iPhones within a decade. [Ryan Knappenberger]
Rulings on our radar 📡
» Northern District of Illinois: The court granted class certification in a complaint brought by investors who say grain companies collaborated to manipulate wheat prices.
» Eastern District of Virginia: Cuban state-owned cigar company Cubatabaco prevailed in its three-decade-long trademark battle with Delaware’s General Cigar Company over the name Cohiba.
» Northern District of Texas: A jury’s award to American Airlines stands in its copyright infringement case against Skiplagged, a travel website that helped buyers order longer itineraries than they intended to travel.