Chilling effect

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed the state's 100th lawsuit against the federal government since President Trump began his second term, reaching that milestone in just 21 months compared to 123 suits over four years during the first Trump administration. The latest suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges ICE has continued arresting people at state courthouses despite a judicial order barring the practice.

State officials cite data showing ICE detained 34 people at courthouses in June and 28 in July, after the court order took effect. California's Justice Department argues the enforcement activity has a "chilling effect," deterring victims, witnesses, and suspects from appearing in court. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero has also warned the practice undermines the administration of justice. In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring federal agents to show a judicial warrant and identify themselves before making arrests within 1,000 feet of state courthouses.

A three-person South Carolina panel held a first-of-its-kind hearing to consider whether Charleston County School Board member Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson should be removed from office by Gov. Henry McMaster. The Sept. 28 session addressed three charges stemming from an August inspector general report: improperly disclosing executive session information, sharing confidential emails with reporters and district vendors, and helping her former campaign manager, Aaron White, secure district work for his nonprofit, Circle of Life.

Dunmeyer-Roberson and attorney Kambrell Garvin argued Inspector General Brian Lamkin lacked sufficient evidence, saying she believed White sought only a volunteer meeting and had no role in the later procurement process. Lamkin countered that her introduction gave the nonprofit an unfair advantage. Garvin conceded she inadvertently forwarded some privileged emails but disputed claims involving a separate address tied to her former consulting firm. Lamkin also declined to confirm whether Dunmeyer-Roberson was the unnamed board member referenced in a related federal indictment against ex-member Kevin Hollinshead.

The panel must recommend action to McMaster by Oct. 5; removal would be the first under South Carolina's 2022 law allowing governors to oust school board members for willful misconduct.

The Rockford Board of Education in West Michigan voted at a special meeting Tuesday to censure Trustee Barbara Helms over an email the board called "offensive, unwelcome, and race-based." In the Aug. 9 email to a district staff member, Helms asked whether the employee had "an association with the Muslim Brotherhood," a transnational Sunni Islamist group whose Middle Eastern chapters have in part been designated terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

Superintendent Steve Matthews said he learned of the email after the staff member forwarded it to him, prompting consultation with legal counsel and the Michigan Association of School Boards before the censure vote. Helms admitted sending the message but called the board's action "politically motivated." Her attorney, Stephen Grimm, said she sent it on behalf of a parent and denied any racist or discriminatory intent, arguing the censure could chill free speech. Helms, absent from the meeting, said she will not resign and will finish her term, which ends this year; she is not seeking reelection.