USDOJ Blasts FCSL's Rulebreaking Wordy Brief, Opposes Shortening Time

 FCSL lost its federal funding 3.5 months ago, DOJ said in its July 21 filing in federal court but by belated filing seeks to shorten time for the Department of Education and the Court to respond.

FCSL violated local rules on page lengths and seeks to impose on the DoEd and Court -- sandbagging --- the Justice Department argues.

Here's the filing:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA JACKSONVILLE DIVISION

FLORIDA COASTAL SCHOOL ) OF LAW, INC., ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. )

) Case No. 3:21-cv-721-MMH-JBT MIGUEL CARDONA, in his )

official capacity as ) Secretary of Education, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ________________________)

DEFENDANTS’ OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE THIRTY (30) EXCESS PAGES

On March 31, 2021, the Florida Coastal School of Law’s agreement to participate in Title IV federal student aid programs expired. Florida Coastal filed this suit on July 20, along with a motion for emergency injunctive relief that is more than twice as long as the local rules permit. In that motion, Florida Coastal represented that it would “close imminently” if its Title IV participation (which had lapsed more than three-and-a-half months earlier) was not restored, and sought a ruling “as soon as possible, but no later than July 27, 2021,” PI Mot. at 1; ECF No. 5 at 6, although under the local rules the Secretary of Education’s opposition is not due until that same day.

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Case 3:21-cv-00721-MMH-JBT Document 13 Filed 07/21/21 Page 2 of 3 PageID 361

The motion seeking relief was accompanied by a motion for leave to file thirty (30) pages over and above the twenty-five (25) pages permitted by the local rules. Florida Coastal made a conclusory suggestion that increasing its page limits while decreasing the Secretary’s time to respond “will not cause prejudice to any party.” ECF No. 4 at 2. And although Florida Coastal was aware that undersigned counsel would be representing the Secretary, see PI Mot. at 3; ECF No. 5 at 8, it represented that it had “been unable to confer and determine whether this motion [to exceed page limits] is unopposed,” ECF No. 4 at 2.

The Secretary opposes Florida Coastal’s motion for leave to file more than twice the pages permitted in support of its motion for emergency injunctive relief. The strict enforcement of page limits is especially crucial when emergency relief is sought, so that the Defendant and the Court are not burdened with extraneous argumentation on a compressed timeline. Certainly what Florida Coastal suggests—increasing its page limits while reducing the Secretary’s and the Court’s time to consider and address its arguments—should not be permitted. The Secretary respectfully requests that if Florida Coastal’s overlength brief is permitted to remain on the docket, then the Secretary should be granted adequate time to prepare his opposition before any hearing is held. Alternatively, if the case is to proceed

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Case 3:21-cv-00721-MMH-JBT Document 13 Filed 07/21/21 Page 3 of 3 PageID 362

on an accelerated timeline, then Florida Coastal should be required to comply with the page limits that apply to all motions filed in this district.

Dated: July 21, 2021

Respectfully submitted,

BRIAN M. BOYNTON
Acting Assistant Attorney General

CARLOTTA WELLS Assistant Director Federal Programs Branch

/s/ James Bickford

JAMES BICKFORD
Trial Attorney (N.Y. Bar No. 5163498) United States Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch

1100 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20530 James.Bickford@usdoj.gov Telephone: (202) 305-7632 Facsimile: (202) 616-8470

Counsel for Defendants

The biggest win for the working class in generations is within reach, by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) (The Guardian)

Bernie Sanders' vision and vigor are consistent over the decades. We are blessed to have him as Senate Budget Committee Chair.  From The Guardian:

The biggest win for the working class in generations is within reach

Bernie Sanders

If our budget passes, it would be one of the most important pieces of legislation since the New Deal. But we must fight for it

‘This legislation will create millions of good paying jobs as we address the long-neglected needs of working families and the planet.’ Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA

Wed 21 Jul 2021 06.29 EDT

• Now is the time.

  At a time when the gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing wider, when two people now own more wealth than the bottom 40% and when some of the wealthiest people and biggest businesses in the world pay nothing in federal income taxes, the billionaire class and large profitable corporations must finally start paying their fair share of taxes.

  Now is the time.

  At a time when real wages for workers have not gone up in almost 50 years, when over half our people live paycheck to paycheck, when over 90 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, when working families cannot afford childcare or higher education for their kids, when many Americans no longer believe their government represents their interests, the US Congress must finally have the courage to represent the needs of working families and not just the 1% and their lobbyists.

  Now is the time.

  At a time of unprecedented heatwaves, drought, flooding, extreme weather disturbances and the acidification of the oceans, now is the time for the US government to make certain that the planet we leave our children and future generations is healthy and habitable. We must stand up to the greed of the fossil fuel industry, transform our energy system and lead the world in combating climate change.

  As chairman of the US Senate budget committee I fought hard for a $6tn budget which would address these and other long-neglected needs. Not everyone in the Democratic caucus agreed with me and, after a lot of discussion and compromise within the budget committee, an agreement was reached on a smaller number. (Needless to say, no Republicans will support legislation which taxes the rich and protects working families.)

  While this budget is less than I had wanted, let us be clear. This proposal, if passed, will be the most consequential piece of legislation for working people, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor since FDR and the New Deal of the 1930s. It will also put the US in a global leadership position as we combat climate change. Further, and importantly, this legislation will create millions of good-paying jobs as we address the long-neglected needs of working families and the planet.

  Why is this proposal so significant?

  We will end the days of billionaires not paying a nickel in federal income taxes by making sure the wealthy and large corporations do not use their accountants and lawyers to avoid paying the massive amounts that they owe. This proposal will also raise the individual tax rate on the wealthiest Americans and the corporate tax rate for the most profitable companies in our country. Under this proposal, no family making under $400,000 a year will pay a nickel more in taxes and will, in fact, receive one of the largest tax cuts in American history.

  We will aggressively reduce our childhood poverty rate by expanding the child tax credit so that families continue to receive monthly direct payments of up to $300 per child.

  We will address the crisis in childcare by fighting to make sure that no working family pays more than 7% of their income on this basic need. Making childcare more accessible and affordable will also strengthen our economy by allowing millions more Americans (mostly women) to join the workforce.

  We will provide universal pre-kindergarten to every three- and four-year-old.

  We will end the international disgrace of the United States being the only major country on Earth not to guarantee paid family and medical leave as a right.

  We will begin to address the crisis in higher education by making community colleges in America tuition-free.

  We will address the disgrace of widespread homelessness in the United States and the reality that nearly 18m households are paying over 50% of their incomes for housing by an unprecedented investment in affordable housing.

  We will ensure that people in an ageing society can receive the home healthcare they need and that the workers who provide that care aren’t forced to live on starvation wages.

  We will save taxpayers hundreds of billions by having Medicare negotiate prescription drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry and use those savings to cover the dental care, hearing aids and eyeglasses that many seniors desperately need.

  We will rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges, water systems, wastewater treatment plants, broadband and other aspects of our physical infrastructure.

  We will take on the existential threat of climate change by transforming our energy systems away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy.

  This effort will include a nationwide clean energy standard that moves our transportation system, electrical generation, buildings and housing and agriculture sector toward clean energy.

  In the midst of the many long-ignored crises that this legislation is attempting to address, we will not have one Republican senator voting for it

  Through a Civilian Climate Corps we will give hundreds of thousands of young people good-paying jobs and educational benefits as they help us combat climate change.

  We will fight to bring undocumented people out of the shadows and provide them with a pathway to citizenship, including those who courageously kept our economy running in the middle of a deadly pandemic.

  In the midst of the many long-ignored crises that this legislation is attempting to address, we will not have one Republican senator voting for it. Tragically, many Republican leaders in Congress and around the country are just too busy continuing to lie about the 2020 presidential election, undermining democracy by suppressing voting rights, denying the reality of climate change and casting doubts about the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccines.

  That means that the 50 Democrats in the US Senate, plus the vice-president, will have to pass this most consequential piece of legislation alone. And that’s what we will do. The future of working families is at stake. The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake.

  Now is the time.

  
  

PLEA BARGAIN NEAR in United States v. DONALD DONAGHER, JR. and PENN CREDIT CORP. --- 2019 Federal Grand Jury Indictment Alleged HUNTER CONRAD PAID $8000 Intended as Bribe for Government Contracts

A "complex" plea bargain is near with DONALD DONAGHER, JR., the owner of PENN CREDIT CORP., who allegedly bribed Illinois and Florida officials and candidates to get government contracts.

DONAGHER allegedly paid $8000 to HUNTER SINCLAIR CONRAD ("Clerk E" in the indictment), which was allegedly intended as a bribe.  

A change of plea hearing is expected to be set in some 30 days.

Controversial young Republican HUNTER SINCLAIR CONRAD, who has an accounting degree from a Bible college and a law degree from for-profit Florida Coastal Sch9ol of Law -- was appointed irregularly as Clerk by Governor RICHARD LYNN SCOTT over the career deputy, who had been appointed by the Chief Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit to replace Cheryl Strickland,

Governor SCOTT and then endorsed CONRAD, 29, who was then elected St. Johns County Clerk of Court and Comptroller in 2016.

After the DONAGHER indictment but before any local news stories about it here, HUNTEr CONRAD resigned November 19, 2019 and did not seek re-election.

CONRAD was rewarded for his omertà with an even higher paying job (+$225,000/year) created specially for him by St. Johns County Commission, when they abruptly fired County Administrator MICHAEL DAVID WANCHICK (2007-2019), possibly violating Florida legal requirements. (WANCHICK never challenged his firing and fled like a thief in the night, never to be heard from again),

More here:

Friday, August 26, 2016

$104k+: Developers, Lobbyists, Schnooks Support HUNTER CONRAD for Clerk: FOLLOW THE MONEY

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2016/08/104k-developers-lobbyists-crooks.html

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Illegally Closed Primary Elects Gov. RICK SCOTT's Boy, HUNTER CONRAD, as Court Clerk and Comptroller

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2016/08/illegally-closed-primary-elects-gov.html

Wednesday, February 03, 2021

Florida CFO announces probe into court clerks’ ties to collection agency snared in bribery case. (Orlando Sentinel)

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2021/02/florida-cfo-announces-probe-into-court.html

Wednesday, February 03, 2021

United States of America v. DONALD DONAGHER, JR. & PENN CREDIT CORPORATION (Docket, from pacer.gov)

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2021/02/united-states-of-america-v-donald.html

Wednesday, February 03, 2021

Owner of Debt Collection Service Charged for Corruptly Providing Benefits to Obtain Business from Cook County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office. (USDOJ press release)

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2021/02/owner-of-debt-collection-service.html

Wednesday, February 03, 2021

Federal Indictment: St. Johns County Administrator HUNTER SINCLAIR CONRAD took $8k from alleged bribe payer

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2021/02/federal-indictment-st-johns-county.html

Wednesday, February 03, 2021

Will St. Johns County Administrator HUNTER SINCLAIR CONRAD take leave of absence over $8000 contributions from alleged bribe payer?

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2021/02/will-st-johns-county-administrator.html

Thursday, February 04, 2021

Debt collector indicted on charges he tried to bribe court clerk offices - including Brevard County. (Florida Today)

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2021/02/debt-collector-indicted-on-charges-he.html

Thursday, February 04, 2021

U.S. DEPT. OF JUSTICE MUST INVESTIGATE St. Johns County Discrimination and Corruption. Now.

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2021/02/us-dept-of-justice-must-investigate-st.html

Monday, February 08, 2021

Brevard to re-examine active contract with Penn Credit after indictment. (Florida Today)

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2021/02/brevard-to-re-examine-active-contract.html

Here's the July 19, 2021 status report from the U.S. Attorney in Chicago, and counsel for DONALD DONAGHER, JR.:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

v.

DONALD DONAGHER, et al.

No. 19 CR 240 Judge John Z. Lee

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS 

EASTERN DIVISION

JOINT STATUS REPORT1

The parties jointly submit the following status report:

1. Status of Discovery: Understanding its ongoing discovery obligations, the government has complied with Rule 16 and tendered discovery.

2. Status of Briefing on Unresolved Motions: There are no unresolved motions pending.

3. Plea Negotiations: The parties are engaged in plea negotiations, which are more complex than in the ordinary case. The parties have made significant progress since the filing of the previous status report, but several issues remain to be resolved. The parties anticipate that, within the next 30 days, they will be in a position to file a status report or to contact the courtroom deputy with proposed change of plea dates.

4. Proposed Schedule: There are no scheduled court dates, but the parties respectfully request another 30 days to resolve outstanding issues in their plea negotiations.

1 The Court ordered the parties to file a joint status report by July 16, 2021. Dkt. 87. Through an oversight, this filing is one business day late, and the parties apologize for its late filing.

     

Case: 1:19-cr-00240 Document #: 88 Filed: 07/19/21 Page 2 of 2 PageID #:597

5. Agreed Action by Court: None.

6. Need for Telephonic or In-Person Hearing: There is no need for a hearing

at this time. The parties expect that within the next 30 days, they will be able to request a date for a change of plea hearing.

7. Exclusion of Time: The defendants agree, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161(h)(1)(d) and (h)(7)(A), to the exclusion of time until and including the next court appearance scheduled by the Court. In the event that the Court is simply setting a date for the parties to submit a follow-up status report, defendants agree to the exclusion of time through August 31, 2021. The parties ask the Court to find that the exclusion of time is without objection and in the interests of justice, to allow the parties to continue ongoing plea negotiations.

  

July 18, 2021

Respectfully submitted,

JOHN R. LAUSCH, JR. United States Attorney

ANKUR SRIVASTAVA CHRISTOPHER PARENTE Assistant United States Attorneys 219 South Dearborn Street, 5th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60604
(312) 353-3148

16 white supremacists, including some from Jacksonville, ID'd in violent racketeering scheme (Dan Scanlan Florida Times-Union)

My late friend and mentor, Wm. Stetson Kennedy, who infiltrated the KKK, was asked in 2005 what happened to the men who threw bricks at the Black people protesting for civil rights in St. Augustine.  He replied, "A lot of them are still around," some working for the City of St. Augustine and St. Johns County,  

In 2008, County Commission Chair Ben Rich, Sr. told Folio Weekly Magazine that St. Johns County was one of the "last bastions of the Ku Klux Klan," a fact demonstrated by the County's July 21, 2021 time capsule for our 200th anniversary 

From Florida Times Union -- notice the alleged nicknames of the alleged White Supremacists:

16 white supremacists, including some from Jacksonville, ID'd in violent racketeering scheme

Dan Scanlan

Florida Times-Union

View Comments

Sixteen members of a Florida white supremacist group, including two from Jacksonville and another from Orange Park, have been indicted on charges of assault, kidnapping and other violent crimes as part of a racketeering scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The 19-page indictment also said those 16 members and associates of the group Unforgiven also tried to use corrupt law enforcement officers and state employees to gather information about the investigation and impending prosecution of its members and more.

"The indictment charges each of the 16 defendants with committing at least one violent act in aid of Unforgiven, including kidnappings, conspiracies to commit assault, threats of violence and assaults with deadly weapons," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

One charge involves assaulting protesters at a Peace Walk for Black Lives on June 5, 2020.

In 2018 a long-term federal investigation dubbed “Operation Blackjack” saw 39 members of Unforgiven and The United Aryan Brotherhood charged with various federal firearms and drug violations in Pasco County, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. 

Capitol riot:Florida emerges as a cradle of the insurrection as Jan. 6 attack arrests keep piling up

Local:'OK' sign at Jacksonville City Council meeting sparks look at white supremacist gestures

In other news:UNF Interfaith Center hosts candid conversation on antisemitism on campus after Passover Incident

The federal indictment, unsealed Thursday, said the Unforgiven wanted to propagate its Aryan philosophy and preserve and expand its power, territory and reputation through recruitment and indoctrination of white supremacist ideology.

It wanted to keep its rivals in fear of its members and associates "through threats and acts of violence" as well as enrich its members through the "distribution of weapons, narcotics and contraband," the indictment states.

Members were rebelling against a perceived "constant and almost brutal victimization of whites," the indictment said. The Unforgiven also protected its members by concealing or destroying evidence of any threats or retaliation against them, the indictment said.

Those indicted from Northeast Florida and their charges

• Ryan McLaughlin, aka Pretty Boy, 35, Jacksonville, two counts of conspiracy to commit assault. 

• William Walker, aka The Duke, 38, Jacksonville, conspiracy to commit assault.

• Ryann Howard, aka Auto, 39, Orange Park, two counts of conspiracy to commit assault. 

• Levi Sharp, aka Sketch, 38, Satsuma, kidnapping and assault in the aid of racketeering. 

• Joshua Williamson, aka Chain Gang, 36, Live Oak, assault in aid of racketeering.

Protests: Counter-protester denies inciting crowd at Jacksonville protest

Archives: UNF lifts suspension of white supremacist student, but campus ban still in effect

Members were required to study Aryan philosophy and commit acts of extreme violence as a prerequisite to membership. Members and associates had to be "battle-ready at all times" and promote a climate of fear in non- or non-conforming members through threats and acts of violence, the indictment said. And those who violated its constitution were labeled as traitors who would "be dealt with in the most extreme form."

The indictment said members and associates of the Unforgiven created a political branch called Route 21 to disguise the white supremacist roots of its political activity and attempted to smuggle contraband to jailed inmates as they tried to obstruct justice by tampering with witnesses by "intimidation, threats and acts of violence," the indictment said.

Mandated demonstrations of loyalty to the group included committing acts of violence that earned members "patches" — tattoos bearing a swastika, iron cross and S.S. lightning bolts.

Others indicted across Florida and their charges

• Steve Anderson, 28, Bristol, two counts of conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering activity.

• George Andrews II, aka Shrek, 51, Pensacola, assault in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering.

• Jarrett Arnold, aka Jit, 31, Zephyrhills, kidnapping in aid of racketeering activity and assault in aid of racketeering.

• Joshua Fisher, aka Hammer, 27, Brooksville, three counts of conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering activity, assault in aid of racketeering and kidnapping in aid of racketeering activity.

• Joshua Hall, aka K9, 42, Wildwood, kidnapping in aid of racketeering activity, assault in aid of racketeering.

• David Howell, 35, Loxahatchee, two counts of conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering activity and assault in aid of racketeering.

• Maverick Maher, aka Saxon, 39, Pensacola, four counts of conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering activity, threats of violence in aid of racketeering activity and threats of violence in aid of racketeering 

• James Mapoles, aka Matt Mapoles and Matt Criston, 40, Panama City, three counts of conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering activity and threats of violence in aid of racketeering activity.

• Scott Marshall, aka Solo, 45, Port Richey, kidnapping in aid of racketeering activity and assault in aid of racketeering.

• Darrin Terranova, aka Nova, 51, Beverly Hills, conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering.

• Brandon Welch, aka Scumbag, 34, Milton, assault in aid of racketeering.

On the rise: 150 years into existence, Ku Klux Klan leaders say membership is rising

More:White supremacist propaganda spreading, anti-bias group says

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, St. Petersburg Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

EXPOSED: Does St. Johns County's 200th Anniversary Time Capsule Participant List Reveal White Supremacy, Discrimination, Insensitivity?

Controversial St. Johns County Administrator HUNTER SINCLAIR CONRAD and the all-white, all-male and all-Republican St. Johns County Commission showed their ineptitude today with their hopelessly provincial and monochromatic list of time capsule participants.

This secretive group eschewed public participation and has yet to provide any documents on this frivolous celebration, which falsely claimed "200 Years of Excellence." More like 200 Years of Mediocrity and Mendacity.

The First, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments were violated by omitting Native Americans, NAACP, Jews, Protestants, Minorcans, Greeks, Bar Association, Medical Association, Council on Aging, labor unions, women, teachers, academics, environmentalists, LGBTQIA+ people, St. Johns River State College, St. Johns County's Civic Roundtable, Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County, St. Augustine Airport, St. Augustine Port, Waterway and Beach District, the St. Johns River Water Management District, and other governmental and non-governmental groups.

I've asked controversial St. Johns County Commission Chairman JEREMIAH RAY BLOCKER for an explanation and to cure this latest bumptious blunder -- part of a pattern of louche lawbreaking?