Bombshell: Staff Writing Legal Opinions for Charlottesville Judge Norman Moon Hold Egregious Conflicts of Interest

lawclerks.png

New information uncovered by Jason Kessler reveals that the judiciary clerks drafting opinions for Western District of Virginia federal Judge Norman Moon are directly linked to parties in cases he is presiding over. 

The above image, obtained from Facebook, shows two clerks currently working under Moon, Hutton Marshall (left) and Joshua LeFebvre (right, circled in blue), posing with Elizabeth Ann Sines (center). Beneath the image is a captioned comment from Sines referring to the group as “BEST OF FRIENDS.”

Sines is the lead plaintiff in Roberta Kaplan’s Sines v. Kessler, which Judge Norman Moon and staff members Marshall and LeFebvre are overseeing, demonstrating a shocking conflict of interest. Kaplan has in the past implied that she has special access to the court. She is currently touring the country with Sines to build publicity for the suit Moon’s court has pushed through to trial. 

According to information on LinkedIn, in 2017 Marshall also interned with Amy Spitalnick, the lead counsel in Sines v. Kessler, when she was Communications Director at the Office of the New York State Attorney General. A screenshot of Marshall’s friends list shows links to self-admitted members of “antifa.” 

Lefebvre is named in a 2017 article published by the University of Virginia School of Law as an intimate friend of Sines, who was with her immediately after the car incident that killed Heather Heyer. Aside from his close friendship with Sines, Lefebve may actually be a witness in the case he is helping rule on. Both Marshall and LeFebvre have long histories of radical left-wing activism. 

95% of federal judges task their clerks with ghostwriting and researching legal opinions. It is doubtful that 84-year-old Moon, who has been seen falling asleep during proceedings, is an exception to the rule.

Last month, Moon and his clerks issued a ruling in Sines v. Kessler calling for defendant Elliot Kline to be thrown in jail for “contempt,”  almost unheard of in civil cases, over forgetting the password to a three year old e-mail address and not handing over two cellphones that the Plaintiffs later “lost.” 

Israeli Authoring Legal Opinions in Moon’s Court

Moon’s office has handled most of the high profile civil and criminal cases relating to nationalists and Donald Trump supporters in Charlottesville. His rulings consistently suggest extreme political prejudice against defendants. His clerks in previous years may also be to blame. 

According to a document uncovered by National Justice, the clerk helping author important opinions deciding the fate of accused “white nationalists” and “anti-Semites” for Moon during the 2018 term was Dascher Pasco, an Israeli citizen who is active in Jewish nationalist causes and has previously been employed by the Israeli government. 

Pasco has made all of her social media pages private. Her LinkedIn is open, but omits her stint as Judge Moon’s clerk. This is unusual behavior, federal clerkships are coveted among law students as the most prestigious experience you can put on a resume. 

A biography published by an organization promoting Israel called iTrek states that Pasco has led numerous BirthRight trips and is “very involved” in the Jewish Law Students Association. Pasco states that her main motivation for obtaining a law degree is to engage in explicit Jewish ethnic activism and work in the state of Israel. A separate record of Pasco’s activities shows that she was once directly employed by the Israeli government through Masa Israel Journey.  

Kaplan and Integrity First for America have repeatedly pitched their lawsuit as a specifically Jewish ethnic crusade to crush nationalism in the Trump era. Pasco should’ve recused herself from cases involving individuals viewed by Jewish groups she belongs to as enemies, but instead took an active role in not just Sines v. Kessler, but related controversial criminal prosecutions that have been thrown out as unconstitutional by Moon’s equivalents in other districts. 

While Pasco’s Jewishness on its own is not evidence of bias, her heavy engagement with Jewish nationalist causes and ties to foreign governments require a second look into every dubious ruling emanating from Moon’s court.  

Relevant players have indicated that they will be taking legal action based on this new evidence. This will compel higher courts to either codify this brazen corruption or uphold the most minimum standards of law. 
 

Get our articles by email

Featured

<div class=”views-lazy-load”>Loading…</div>

<div class=”views-lazy-load”>Loading…</div>

<div class=”views-lazy-load”>Loading…</div>