Free Republic

altimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby has a campaign fundraiser with tickets ranging from $250 to $1,000 scheduled for Sept. 16 — just days after key pre-trial hearings in her case against the police officers charged in Freddie Gray's arrest and death.The fundraiser's timing has sparked criticism, coming as it does after a judge is asked to rule on major issues such as whether the closely watched case should be tried outside the city, or even dismissed. Circuit Judge Barry Glenn Williams will hear motions Wednesday and on Sept. 10, and city officials have been preparing for any protests or unrest...

NEW ORLEANS - A jury began deliberating Monday in a lawsuit accusing New Orleans' first black district attorney of racial discrimination for dismissing dozens of white employees upon taking office. In closing arguments, lawyers for District Attorney Eddie Jordan said he had a right to hire and fire whomever he wanted, and was motivated not by racism but by a desire to make his office more reflective of the mostly black city. Eight days after taking office in January 2003, Jordan fired 53 of 77 white non-lawyers - investigators, clerks, child-support enforcement workers and the like - and replaced them...