Mistrial

Mar 29 2013

Aaron Shannon Jr. was showing off his Spider-man costume

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Jurors deadlocked today in the trial of a reputed gang member charged in the 2010 Halloween killing of a 5-year-old South Los Angeles boy who was shot while showing off his Spider-man costume in his backyard.

Superior Court Judge Bob S. Bowers declared a mistrial after the jury’s foreman said the panel was not able to reach a unanimous verdict in Leonard Hall Jr.’s trial.

Mar 29 2013

Young boy was holding a toy cap gun

A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday on the issue of whether a sheriff’s deputy acted with malice when he shot a 15-year-old boy who was holding what turned out to be a toy cap gun when he was wounded in Palmdale nearly four years ago.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ernest Hiroshige said he saw no point in requiring jurors to ponder the case further because they sent a note stating that they unanimously agreed further deliberations would be fruitless.

Sep 13 2010

New trial set for onetime GOP congressional candidate

SANTA ANA - Federal prosecutors said today they will retry a former congressional candidate on obstruction of justice charges for alleging thwarting an investigation into a campaign letter sent to 14,000 immigrant voters, warning they could be prosecuted if they cast ballots.

A mistrial was declared Aug. 27 when a jury failed to reach a verdict in the first trial of Tan Duc Nguyen, who has twice failed to unseat Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”