A memorial for the victims of the shooting at Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church, including 26 white chairs each painted with a cross and rose, is displayed in the church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Photo: Eric Gay/AP
The United States must pay $5,000 in sanctions for discovery abuses in a case brought by Sutherland Springs mass-shooting plaintiffs who allege that failures in the national background check system allowed the church shooter to buy weapons illegally.
A Nov. 22 sanctions stipulation shows the $5,010 sanction covers the attorney fees of 12 plaintiffs attorneys, at hourly rates ranging from $250 to $300, to attend a 90-minute sanctions hearing in late September. At that hearing, Judge Xavier Rodriguez of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio had harsh words for the government for failing to disclose the names of Air Force personnel and supervisors who should have entered convictions and mental health treatment of the gunman, a dishonorably discharged Air Force veteran, into the background check system. The government has denied the allegations.
Judge Xavier Rodriguez of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Photo: Carmen Natale/ALM
