UpFront Ridley-Thomas Defense Files Motions Seeking New Trial, Acquittal

The defense team for Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas filed two motions earlier this week with Judge Dale S. Fischer arguing he deserves a new trial because the government’s star witness, FBI Agent Brian Adkins, gave false testimony on at least three occasions. In their second filing the defense team outlined multiple instances where the government failed to present sufficient evidence on the charges and in some cases “a total failure of proof” which should lead, according to the filings, to an outright acquittal of the jury’s conviction.

On March 30, 2023, the jury acquitted Ridley-Thomas of all fraud counts related to Probation University and Vermont Street Reentry Center, as well as all counts related to the USC admission, scholarship, and Professor of Practice appointment of his son, former Assemblymember Sebastian Ridley-Thomas.

In all Ridley-Thomas was found not guilty on 12 of the 19 charges brought against him by the government. The jury convicted Ridley-Thomas on conspiracy, bribery, honest services mail fraud and four counts of honest services wire fraud, but an examination of the record shows that the government failed to make an evidentiary showing on key elements of those counts.

The motion for the new trial, referred to as a Rule 33 motion, argues that the jury’s decision to convict Ridley-Thomas was likely driven by Agent Adkins and his false or misleading testimony. During his testimony Adkins falsely testified about a Telehealth contract extension and incor- rectly misrepresenting an interview by the FBI with John Sherin, former head of the County’s Department of Mental Health.

“Agent Adkins’ false statements therefore created the only pathway for the jury to infer that support for the Telehealth amendment was it genuine, which bears directly on Dr. Ridley-Thomas’s intent,” according to the filing. The defense team also called out the government’s improper behavior, improperly “vouching” for Agent Adkins and elicited improper testimony concerning his opinion of RidleyThomas’ guilt.

The second motion, Rule 29, provides that “the court on the defendant’s motion must enter a judgment of acquittal of any offense for which the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction”. The defense team argued in its filing that the government didn’t present the evidence it needed to support a conviction.

Prosecutors chose not to call a single

Black Teen Sets Record, with $10M in Scholarship Offers

through the process, the numbers just started increasing.”

Barnes and school counselor Denise James worked to shatter the $8.7 million record after Barnes realized he was close. The record is even more impressive because there are no third-party scholarships. Instead, all his offers came directly from the schools.

While Barnes says he spent many hours applying to schools around the country, school, and extracurriculars took precedence over his pursuit.

“I was still doing other things,” Barnes said. “I did incorporate it into my schedule one way or another, but I just did it whenever I had time.”

MICHAEL BUSTAMANTE Contributor

witness from the County of Los Angeles. It subpoenaed no documents from the County and presented no evidence that Ridley-Thomas received any financial benefits, simply relying on speculation to prove corrupt intent. According to the filing, Prosecutors failed to make the case about the value of the County’s Telehealth contract. In fact, the inflated, multi-million-dollar amount prosecutors alleged was rebuffed by documents as well as testimony from a senior USC representative who indicated that the revised contract amount remained the same and would provide no additional revenue to USC.

The government’s key witness, FBI Agent Brian Adkins, could not recall how the money worked with the Telehealth contract and did not know the specifics of how the county process worked for approval of county items. Adkins did not speak to anyone to try to understand it. He did not know if the normal process was followed with respect to each of the county items at issue.

Instead, Adkins relied on a review of “some” of Ridley-Thomas’ subpoenaed emails (only his AOL account, not his county email) to understand “generally how that may have worked.” The government presented no evidence that RidleyThomas pressured anyone to support any legislative item.

Prosecutors have until May 22 to file their response to the defense team’s motions. A hearing before Judge Fischer is scheduled for June 26 where she will consider both motions.

Michael Lawson To Step Down as President/CEO of the L.A. Urban League

Michael A. Lawson has announced that he intends to step down as President and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League by the end of this year. A former partner with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom with a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law, Lawson was heading into retirement after serving as an ambassador in the Obama administration when he was called to lead the organization in 2018.

Egypt Decries Casting of Cleopatra as Black in Upcoming Netflix Series from Jada Pinkett Smith

Egypt is not happy with Netflix. Its Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) is accusing the network of misrepresenting history with its casting of a Black woman as Cleopatra in its upcoming docudrama, Queen Cleopatra, which is narrated and executive produced by Jada Pinkett Smith.

Adele James–a British actress of mixed ancestry–was cast as the lead in the miniseries that is set to debut on May 10, sparking backlash in Egypt and calls for Netflix to be banned. A Stop the Cleopatra Documentary on Netflix due to historical falsification” has racked up over 40,000 signatures.

“The Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities confirms that Queen Cleopatra had light skin and Hellenistic (Greek) features,” the SCA said in a statement posted online.

“The appearance of the heroine is a falsification of Egyptian history and a blatant historical fallacy, especially since the film is classified as a documentary film and not a dramatic work, which requires those in charge of its production to investigate accuracy and rely on historical and scientific facts to ensure that history and civilizations are not falsified,” said SCA Secretary General Mostafa Waziri.

“The rejection experienced by the film before it comes out is sparked out of defense of the history of Queen “Cleopatra VII”, which is an important and authentic part of the ancient history of Egypt, and far from any ethnic racism, with full respect for African civilizations and for our brothers in the African continent that brings us all together”.

Waziri points to statues of Queen Cleopatra are the best proof that Cleopatra was white, though legend has left the color of her skin open to interpretation.

The producers of the show say that her ethnicity is not the focus, but it continues, “we did intentionally decide to depict her of mixed ethnicity to reflect theories about Cleopatra’s possible Egyptian ancestry and the multicultural nature of ancient Egypt.” ixteen-year-old Dennis Barnes is believed to have set a new record, earning more than $9.7 million in scholarship offers from 170 colleges and universities.

Barnes, a senior at International High School in New Orleans who goes by his middle name, Maliq, has shattered the previous record of $8.7 million, and believes he may top out with more than $10 million in scholarship offers.

Barnes told the New Orleans NBC News station, “I started to apply to schools, and as I’ve gone

Barnes’ participation in track and basketball and serving as the National Honors Society executive president made him a well-rounded applicant.

He has a 4.98 GPA and speaks Spanish through an immersion school. That primary school foundation was imperative in his decision to attend International High School.

“That school was very important for me and my journey,” he told the network. “They set a strong foundation for me going into high school, and I think that’s a big reason I could say I am where I am today.”

In the five years since, Lawson has led the organization through a series of historic challenges from which it has emerged with a solid financial foundation and an ambitious programmatic vision.

“Leading the Los Angeles Urban League has been an extraordinary honor,” said Mr. Lawson. “I have had the pleasure of working with an exceptional team of dedicated individuals who have consistently outperformed expectations. As our impact grows and having just sold out our annual Whitney M. Young Jr. Awards Dinner with a record setting amount of funds raised, I am confident that this organization is on a path to a strong future.”

“Working with leading historians and experts including Shelley Haley (Professor of Classics and African Studies, Hamilton College) and Dr. Sally-Ann Ashton (Cleopatra scholar), we explore Cleopatra’s story as a queen, strategist, ruler of formidable intellect as well as a woman whose heritage is the subject of great debate,” read the statement posted by Netflix.

In a Twitter post, James said, “If you don’t like the casting, don’t watch the show.”