Last week, a shooting in Annapolis, Maryland resulted in the deaths of five newspaper employees. The gunman is in custody and has been charged with first degree murder. Attorney Paul Cambria spoke to WBEN about the case and about Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement from the United States Supreme Court. For the full story, visit the WBEN website.
Annapolis shooting is “open and shut case”
Five people were killed in the newsroom at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland after being shot by suspect Jarrod Ramos. Mr. Cambria explained to WBEN that Ramos “lost a defamation case and the paper covered it in a way that upset him.” This unfavorable coverage is what led Ramos to attack the newspaper. “This is a pretty open and shut situation and it’s the kind of thing that’s going to fuel the debate on gun control,” Mr. Cambria said.
The biggest question in this case according to Mr. Cambria is how Ramos, who has been charged with first degree murder, will be sentenced. He explained that, in New York, the sentence for first degree murder is life without parole. “We’ll have to see what Maryland has and if the courts have prohibited capital punishment from that state as well,” Mr. Cambria said.
Justice Kennedy’s retirement
WBEN then asked Mr. Cambria his opinion on the announced retirement of United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. “There are a lot of people across the country who are devastated over this because Kennedy was a so-called swing vote. So even though he was a conservative justice, from time to time he would vote with either one camp or the other, meaning the conservative side or the liberal side,” Mr. Cambria responded. “[Kennedy] has been a very pivotal individual.”
“If Trump’s in a position now to replace him with a staunch conservative, now we have a court that’s going to be conservative,” Mr. Cambria went on. “The question,” he explained, “is whether or not they’re going to revisit Roe v. Wade and a number of these other cases to try to finally have them reversed.”
About Paul J. Cambria, Jr.
The chair of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria’s Criminal Defense Trials and Appeals Practice Area, Mr. Cambria advises clients on criminal trials, criminal appeals, constitutional and First Amendment law, zoning and land use, antitrust, and professional licensing defense. He divides his time between the firm’s offices in Buffalo and Los Angeles.
