Afternoon Briefs: Alaska attorney general resigns over text messages; lawsuit claims racial bias in concussion deal
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Alaska attorney general resigns after text messages disclosed
Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson has resigned after a news investigation found that he sent more than 550 text messages in March to the cellphone of a younger employee. The texts invited the woman to Clarkson’s home, told her that she was beautiful, and included dozens of kissing face emojis, according to the investigation by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica. In his resignation letter, Clarkson characterized the texts as “G-rated” but acknowledged that the messages created an “uncomfortable workplace environment” for the employee. (The Anchorage Daily News, the Washington Post)
Class action suit claims racial bias in concussion deal
A proposed class action lawsuit filed Tuesday claims that the NFL’s concussion settlement is being administered in a discriminatory way. The suit says when being evaluated for impairment, Black former players are assumed to have started with worse cognitive functioning than white former players. As a result, if Black and white retired players receive the same score on tests, the Black retiree is assumed to have suffered less impairment. (Thomson Reuters Legal, Law.com, the lawsuit)
Judge is accused of trying to dissuade judicial candidate
The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission is recommending a public reprimand for a judge for allegedly trying to persuade a judicial candidate to run against a different judge than the incumbent. The judge facing ethics charges is Richard “Ric” Howard of Citrus County, Florida. According to the commission, Howard was recommending that the judicial candidate run against a different judge he thought to be weaker and more vulnerable in an election. (Law.com, the Citrus County Chronicle, the commission recommendation, the notice of charges)
