Free Republic

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday ruled there would be no prison time for a former Alaska Airlines pilot who had taken psychedelic mushrooms days before he tried to cut the engines of a passenger flight in 2023 while riding off-duty in the cockpit.U.S. District Court Judge Amy Baggio in Portland, Oregon, sentenced Joseph Emerson to time served and three years’ supervised release, ending a case that drew attention to the need for cockpit safety and more mental health support for pilots. Federal prosecutors wanted a year in prison, while his attorneys sought probation.“Pilots are not perfect....

A federal conspiracy charge against 25 occupiers accused of stopping federal officers from doing their work at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is constitutionally vague and has the potential to "chill the most crucial First Amendment activity"-political dissent, defense lawyer Amy Baggio argued Monday. The charge provides a "sphere of protection" for federal employees, but it's so broadly worded that it could restrict free speech and assembly designed to criticize the federal government and how its employees exercise their duties, Baggio said. "This statute can chill, it can threatened not only First Amendment expression but the Second Amendment right to...