Federal Judge Lets New York Attorney General Try to Sue Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman for $2.75 Million Adam Klasfeld
Facing criminal prosecution in two states, hard-right hoaxers
Jacob Wohl and
Jack Burkman had their civil liabilities dramatically expand on Wednesday, with a federal judge giving the green light to New York Attorney General
Letitia James’s (D) effort to stick them and others with a $2.75 million fine for robocalls allegedly designed for voter suppression.
“There is no doubt that the NY AG has a strong interest in stopping Defendants’ allegedly discriminatory efforts to impair New York citizens’ voting rights,” U.S. District Judge
Jacob Wohl and
Jack Burkman had their civil liabilities dramatically expand on Wednesday, with a federal judge giving the green light to New York Attorney General
Letitia James’s (D) effort to stick them and others with a $2.75 million fine for robocalls allegedly designed for voter suppression.
“There is no doubt that the NY AG has a strong interest in stopping Defendants’ allegedly discriminatory efforts to impair New York citizens’ voting rights,” U.S. District Judge
Victor Marrero found in a 14-page order.
The ruling means that the attorney general will join the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and a little more than a half-dozen voters in their lawsuit accusing Wohl, Burkman, their companies, and unnamed alleged accomplices of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act by scaring thousands of New Yorkers about the effects of voting by mail.
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From Lawline
Judges stepped in in hundreds of instances to clarify the laws that were constitutional and to strike down laws that violated the Constitution. As with any legal issue that affects the nation, judges had differential roles based on their geographic locations. This post looks at pre-election voting related litigation by analyzing the major players and the hotbeds of litigation. It also looks at where the next epicenters in voting rights litigation may be located.
Many of the voting rights cases did not lead to straightforward outcomes, and judges needed to fashion remedies that account for both the promulgated laws and the rights of individual voters. One of the most active judges in litigation, Judge Eleanor Ross from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, provided an example of balancing such interests with her opinion in Coope
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Two conservative activists authorities allege organized thousands of robocalls aimed at discouraging voters ahead of the 2020 presidential election have lost an appeal to toss the case against them, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Friday.
In October, Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl were bound over to Wayne County Circuit Court on multiple felony charges, including voter intimidation and conspiracy to commit an election law violation.
The pair filed a motion to have it dismissed; Circuit Court Judge Margaret VanHouten denied it on Feb. 23, records show.
Burkman and Wohl appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals in March. Their application was denied Thursday, meaning the case heads trial, Nessel said in a statement.