Family sale, get an extra 25 off with coupon. Plus, find hundreds of doorbusters. Like sweat earls for the family. Mens flannel. Boots for her. And fashion silver jewelry. Jc pen nooe. When it fits, you feel it. If you suffer from constipation, youll likely also suffer from gas. Introducing new dulcogas. Which starts working to eliminate gas bubbles in minutes. Nothing releaves gas faster. Number one in just 60 seconds. Good evening. In america, justice is supposed to be blind. Impartial and fair. But the case were going to show you tonight raises questions about influence and americas courts. Youre about to enter a world of big money and private jets in one of the countrys poorest states, and one judge that doesnt want to talk about any of it. Heres abcs brian ross, for our series, nightline investigates. Reporter this is a story about powerful corporate interests. Wealthy lawyers with private jets. And youre getting rich. We are making money. Yes. Reporter and what we discovered about one of the countrys top judges. Im Justice Robin davis. Reporter something Justice Davis had never disclosed. And im asking you, sir, why should i . Reporter and it all takes place in a state Whose Supreme Court has become for some a symbol of justice gone wrong. West virginia. Well, the West Virginia Supreme Court is a circus masquerading as a court. Reporter the story begins with a lawsuit against the Manor Care Nursing Home in West Virginia over the death of an elderly woman. She came out of the facility with multiple bruises, wounds, bed bound, almost in a comatose state. Reporter Michael Fuller has made millions of dollars as a lawyer, suing Nursing Homes that are part of big National Chains like manor care. Bed sores, bruises, broken bones. Reporter he uses Television Ads like this one to recruit his clients. Is that a kind of ambulance chasing, to do that . No, its a form of educating the public. We have a talent with these cases. We do. Weve been doing it for years and years. Reporter fuller is based in hattiesburg, mississippi. But he and his associates fly in and out of West Virginia on a regular basis in his private jet. And in 2011, fuller won his biggest case yet against the manor care home. A record 91. 5 million verdict in a state that puts a half Million Dollar came on most medical mall practice lawsuits. This woman died because people wouldnt pour her a glass of water and help her drink it. Reporter even so, 90 million plus . Thats what the jury decided. Reporter but both sides knew the huge verdict meant it was certain the case would end up in front of the fivemember West Virginia Supreme Court. West virginia is my home, as it always will be. Reporter within months, the cheech justice of the court, robin davis, began to run for reelection. And fuller became a major fundraiser for her campaign. How much did you raise for chief Justice Davis . I dont know. I dont know. I mean, theres a limit as to what individuals can donate. I think we maxed out at that limit. I think the limits 1,000. Reporter but he helped to raise a lot more than that. According to state campaign records, Justice Davis received more than 37,000 from people with ties to fuller. Many of them residents of fullers hometown of plant city, florida, who, despite their modest homes, gave 1,000 each for a judicial election in another state more than 700 miles away. Fuller acknowledged he encouraged his friends to contribute, including his pilot. Absolutely, yes. Reporter you dont see a problem with that, when you have such an important case pending before her . No. Reporter but it turns out fuller also had a private business relationship with the judges husband, scott seigle, seen with his wife here in this campaign ad. And what is your relationship with him . Weve talked. Ive helped one of his associates with some cases. And thats about it. Reporter thats all . We dont do any other work together. Reporter what fuller left out was the hardly minor detail discovered by abc news that he bought his private jet from the chief justices husband. The price . More than 1 million. Did you buy an airplane from him . We did. Reporter why did you buy an airpla from him, of all people . It was a deal that we found and we thought was a good deal on a plane. Reporter did it raise an appearance of a conflict . I dont think so. Reporter Justice Davis never disclosed the Million Dollar plus jet sale when fuller later appeared before her. Its a huge problem. The lack of disclosure here is a pattern in West Virginia. Reporter first coming to National Attention six years ago, in another multiMillion Dollar case. This one, involving the toughtalking ining coal compa don blankenship. Youre going to start how are you doing . Abc news. Sir dont touch my camera. Reporter blankenship raised more than 3 million to elect one justice. And was caught meeting with another justice, the then chief justice, on the french riviera. The u. S. Supreme court castigated the West Virginia court in a land mamark ruling, saying, there was here a serious, objective risk of actual bias. And it has developed a reputation as being a court where impart yallty is highly questioned. And now james sample, who worked on the case on the side opposite of blankenship, says the Million Dollar private jet transaction should have been disclosed when fullers case reached the court. Absolutely, no question. Its proper to disclose and it similar prop improper not to disclose. Reporter but getting Justice Davis to respond was no easy matter. She dodged our cameras for two days until she finally emerged from chambers to say there was no reason to disclose the airplane sale or to recuse herself. Let many be abundantly clear. The plane is owned by my husband. It was sold through a broker, an airplane broker and i understand that abc has spoken to my husband and to the broker. Other than that, i have nothing else to say. Have a great day. Do you think you should have disclosed the relationship, judge . Why . Why . Im just asking whether you feel it should have been and im asking you, sir, why should it . Might it be reasonable to question her impartial yallty here . If the answer is yes, its a slam dunk and it calls for reaccusal. Reporter not every legal expert agrees. And in the end, Justice Davis wrote the decision herself, deciding the half Million Dollar cap did not apply and awarding fullers clients 42 million. The cut for the lawyers . 17 million. Business relationship with the lawyer before i have no business relationship with him then nor now. Have a great day. Reporter for nightline, brian ross, abc news, charleston, West Virginia. Coming up next here on nightline, whats such a little girl doing with such a big gun . The controversy yial new trend tonight. And later on nightline, the big money business of ugly holiday sweaters. [ male announcer ] take zzzquil and sleep like. The kids went to nanas house. For the whole weekend [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] zzzquil, the non habit forming sleep aid that helps you sleep easily and wake refreshed. Because sleep is a beautiful thing. Abe hat helps you sleep easily and wake refreshed. Get in punch it let quicken loans help you save your money. With a mortgage thats engineered to amaze some 10yearold girls like to play with barbies. Others, apparently, prefer berettas. Youre about to meet the poster child for the pink gun pink ammo set, as americas red hot gun industry sets its sights on a new target market. Females. Sometimes very, very young females. Heres abcs reena ninan. Reporter 10yearold Cheyenne Roberts loves pink and purple. Pink and purple gun us, ths, th. Yes, he wie yes, she wields an ar15 like a pro. Over 20 gun sponsors give her ammunition and semiautomatic wells to compete with nationally. What kind of gun is this . A beretta 1301. Reporter the gun is actually bigger than you. A little bit. Reporter and this holiday season, it seems that guns are on a lot of santa lists. This years black friday shopping frenzy led to one of the highest gun sales in recorded history. With more than 175,000 background checks, according to the fbi. Nearly three times the daily average. And the newest customer profile might surprise you. Women and young girls. A trend that the industry is happily catering to with feminine touches. It makes sense, consideri ining Women Participation in shooting sports has surged over the last decade. Indeed, this is no longer just a mans game. Or an adults game, for that matter. For so long, people thought guns are more of a boys thing. Not really for girls. Girls can do whatever boys can do. Reporter cheyenne started shooting when she was just 5 years old. Now, shes one of the shooting worlds youngest Rising Female stars. With her own Facebook Fan Page and youtube channel. Her biggest fan and supporter is, of course, her father, dan. Is that a brand new 13 and one . Yeah, yeah. Happy . Yeah. Reporter when did you realize that she had talent . Probably when she was 6 1 2, 7 years old. When they start calling their shots and they tell you where its going to hit, thats usually a pretty good sign they know what theyre doing. Reporter cheyenne enjoys all the normal skid stuff, too. But by far, her favorite pastime is this. It seems like a lot for a little girl to handle. This is my. 9 millimeter. It does have a little bit of recoil, so, it does come up a little bit. Jimmy all. Reporter this all makes me very nervous. Is it okay that i feel a little anxious about this . A little bit. I mean, yes, it is scary when youre going into guns that are very powerful. Reporter yeah. You learn how to handle them right and not hurt yourself, its not scary. Reporter roberts says his daughters safety is his first priority. You teach them early that it can be a very dangerous thing. Empower them to know what to do and what not to do and you cut down these accidents trasicily. Were on our way to georgia right now for my big match. Reporter we followed her to the lady threegun challenge in georgia. The First National womens competition of its kind. 2 0 00 william shooteomen shoot from around the country to participate in the event. Cheyenne is the youngest, but not the only girl there. Tom stewart and his 12yearold daughter maddie drove all the way from wisconsin. I cant go play soccer. This is one of the few that we can actually compete together and against each other. Reporter this is one of the top women shooters in the country. Like cheyenne, she started competing at just 8 years old. And she says thats not too young at all. I dont think you can establish an age on it. Because no child is the same maturity. Reporter but some gun Safety Advocates think there should be more age restrictions. When we met up with cheyenne the night before her final match, she showed us her bruises. Shotgun gave me a huge bruise starting here and ends here. Theyre not adults. They dont have the physical strength, necessarily the coordination to handle very, very powerful weapons. Reporter kids and guns are a bad, potentially dangerous mix. She blames the industry for the trend towards younger shooters. Theyre trying to market them to children. Theyre trying to market them to women and theyre doing this for a very simple reason. Profit. Reporter accidents do happen, even with proper training. In 2008, an 8yearold boy fires an uzi and it recoiled an killed him. Just four months ago, a shooting instructor in arizona was killed when a 9yearold girl seen here shot a fully automatic machine gun under close supervision. There is no federal law prohibiting children from ranges. Do you think, though, there should be any red lines . The arizona situation was a tragedy, but that had nothing to do with the child. That was the instructor. He made significant safety errors. What did you think about that story . Its very devastating. I wouldnt give up my sport just because she did that. If she had the right training and if he w standing in the right position, that wouldnt have happened. Reporter there is no minimum age for possession of a long gun, which is a rifle or shotgun. 20 states and the district of columbia set their own laws, ranging from 14 in montana to 21 in illinois. In the remaining 21 states, it is legal for a child to possess a long gun. Do you think the guns were too big, too powerful for you . No. Reporter why do you feel so confident about that . If you lean into it, its not going to have that much recoil. Reporter bruised up. Yes. Reporter how do you feel about fully automatic weapons . I would like to try one. Reporter you would . Yes. Reporter cheyenne has been advocating for fewer gun restrictions. Guns dont do anything by themselves. Reporter and has testified before the new jersey state legislature, vocalizing her stance. I think parents say this about soccer games or football or dance competitions. Its the same thing. Reporter but were talking about guns. So what . Reporter i dont think kids dying with a soccer ball we were at a match, there were 650 firearms present and there wasnt a paper cut. Reporter cheyenne didnt win the competition in the end, but she said she enjoyed being with the pros and is looking forward to her next match. Kids and guns dont always mean bad things and im trying to reinforce that kids can shoot if they get caught the right way. Reporter for nightline, im reena ninan in new jersey. Coming up here next on nightline, hate the ugly christmas sweater . Bridget jones did, too, but they are now flying off the shelves. Why retailers are going allin on the seasonal trend this year. [ shutter clicks ] hi there [ laughs ] im flo i know im going to get you your rental car. This is so ridiculous. Were going to manage your entire repair process from paperwork to pickup, okay, little tiny baby . Your car is ready, and your repairs are guaranteed for as long as you own it. The Progressive Service center a real place, where we really manage your claim from start to finish. Really. Easy as easy can be bye celebrate whats new, the bigger, better menu at red lobster with more of what you love try our newest woodgrilled combination maine lobster, extra jumbo shrimp, and salmon so hurry in and sea food differently. You know i tried one of those but the roll just disappeared. Bounty is 2x more absorbent so one roll lasts longer. Bounty. The long lasting picker upper finally tonight, turns out you can make a pretty penny on ugly clothing. Im not talking about the weird fashion forward gear they make the models wear on the runways. Im talking about ugly, cheesy, corny holiday sweaters. They are big business now, apparently, and heres abcs ryan owens. All right. One, two, three, get ugly. Reporter from jingle bells to pom poms. There is no garnish too garish for an ugly christmas sweater. Sold its my christmas sweater. Reporter on modern family and Bridget Jones bow. The new ugly sweater is uglier than ever before. But if you think this extreme seasonal wear is just for laughs, think again. Now, more little guys expect to make big profits. Jeremy turner considers himself an expert in kitschy christmas couture. He opened this dallas popup store and has a jingle on youtube. Turner says hes on track to sell out of merchandise this season. Nearly 10,000 sweaters. If it has anything thats 3d, like, my shirt has a beard. Reporter the more crap hanging off it, the better. Yeah. Reporter his customers cant get enough. I kind of like this one. You have big santa on the front. Reporter oh. And a furry nice beard, too. Reporter but this year, turner has plenty of competition. They say its ugly, i say, thank you. Thats what i intended. Reporter meet the queen of ugly sweaters. She started this popup shop in l. A. After demand skyrocketed on her website, shopuglysweaters. Com. Looking at this, you might think, totally, im going to wear this. Going to be this is not enough. Reporter want to make your own . She says, dont forget to stimulate the seasonal senses. Flip on the lights, crank up the sound and spice it up with some sparkle. It will glow in a very specific area. Reporter im ryan owens for nightline in dallas. Yet another trend i will be skipping entirely. Thanks for watching nightline. As always, tune into gma first thing in the morning. And we are, of course, online 24 7 at abcnews. Com. Thanks again for watching and good night. Oh, great youre all here. I was just thinking that myself. I have some exciting news your blue ox came home . Ray ha ha ha thats funny. Whats goin on, robert . I just got a call from the fbi. The fbi . Oh, gosh my captain has connections there, and he recommended me today, special agent Thomas Garfield called to set up a Job Interview oh, robert that is fantastic yeah, i know, i cant believe it we have a meeting tomorrow morning this is gonna be great im gonna get a good shave, im gonna put on my lucky suit, and ma, whaddya say ill come over early and youll make me breakfast . Im thinkin funnyshaped pancakes. Of course, dear. Im just surprised about all this. I thought you were gonna do your 20 years and then retire. Yeah, i know, but ma, this is the fbi i meanthis is like a whole new phase in my life. You know, robert barone, part two. This time hes fatter ha ha ha ha
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