Legal experts weigh in on Guyger verdict, Mayor Johnson's first 100 days: Your Wednesday morning roundup

For some legal observers, there was only one word for the Amber Guyger guilty verdict on Tuesday: Stunning.  [Morning roundup]( 10/02/2019 By Carla Solórzano and Chelsea Watkins Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌤️ Weather: Partly cloudy and hot. High of 94. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [her]( Assistant District Attorney Jason Hermus waved a photo of Botham Jean at the jury as he presented his closing arguments in Amber Guyger's murder trial Monday at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas. On Tuesday, jurors convicted Guyger, a former Dallas police officer, of murder. (Tom Fox/Staff Photographer) AMBER GUYGER TRIAL [Legal experts say Amber Guyger guilty verdict signals major shift in how juries view police officers]( For some legal observers, there was only one word for the Amber Guyger guilty verdict on Tuesday: Stunning. That's because a police officer likely never even would have been charged just a few years ago, they said. The case was far from straightforward. And portions of Guyger's tearful and regret-filled account of her shooting of Botham Jean last year put her in a positive light, some felt. But not only did the jury give prosecutors the murder conviction they wanted -- as opposed to a conviction on the lesser manslaughter charge -- they did so after less than a full day of deliberations. [Jurors convicted Guyger even after they were allowed to consider her Castle Doctrine defense]( which allows Texas homeowners to stand their ground and shoot intruders. "It's a seismic shift," said Aaron Wiley, a former state and federal prosecutor. "The Dallas that exists today is not the same Dallas that existed in 2004."  Sharon Grigsby: Guyger had every opportunity to act with sound judgment that Sept. 6 night and [instead she chose a deadly option.](   Also: On Tuesday, [the world reacted to the guilty verdict on Twitter]( with rapid speed.  ADVERTISEMENT DALLAS [100 days into the job, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson touts accomplishments, ducks controversy]( During Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson's first 100 days in office, the former state representative cultivated relationships with City Council members, formed a task force on violent crime and presided over a unanimous vote on the city's 2019-20 budget. But so far in the earliest months of his tenure, [Johnson has mostly stayed away from contentious issues](. Some council members say Johnson’s quiet, deliberative approach may help him get more done in the end. But as he closed out his first 100 days in office last week, much of Johnson’s vision for the office remains hard to define, though he seems to relish making sure the mechanics of city government run smoothly.  Crime: A man [who admitted to police that he shot a transgender woman multiple times Sept. 20]( has been released from Dallas County Jail after posting bond.    TEXAS [Texas National Guard deployment to Mexico border extended until November, but cost still unknown]( Federal immigration officials are [extending the tenure of the 1,000 National Guard troops Gov. Greg Abbott deployed to the southern border]( to help slow an influx of migrants. In June, Abbott said the federal government would pay 100% of the costs for what would be a "short-term mission" to last through Sept. 30. In mid-August, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security requested an extension through Nov. 30. The Pentagon, which is paying for the state's deployment, has approved an extension through Nov. 15, spokesman Christian Mitchell said. But it is still unclear how much the mission has cost American taxpayers. Abbott in June cited an "escalating crisis" as more than 144,000 migrants crossed the country's southwestern border the previous month, leading to overcrowding in federal holding facilities that resulted in allegations of child neglect and poor treatment by immigrants rights lawyers.  Up in smoke: Chancellor John Sharp announced Tuesday that [he's banning electronic cigarettes from all Texas A&M system campuses across the state](.   Also: The city of Ferris is facing a water shortage after [someone vandalized a fire hydrant, causing a water tower to drain](.  ADVERTISEMENT EDITORS' PICKS - Final sale: [Here's the list of Forever 21 stores closing in Texas](. - Buckle up: [DFW Airport is considering self-driving shuttles]( with some limits, in remote parking lots. - Closing shop: Here's why indie coffee shop Mudsmith [is closing on Greenville Avenue.]( Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, appeared on the Fox News Channel over the weekend and said that removing President Donald Trump from office would cause a "Civil War-like fracture in this nation from which this country will never heal." (2016 File Photo/Staff) FINALLY [What Robert Jeffress meant when he said removing Trump would cause 'Civil War-like fracture']( From city columnist Robert Wilonsky: Robert Jeffress has said profoundly offensive and troubling things about a great many people. Muslims and Mormons. Gays and Jews. Immigrants and transgender soldiers. Women who seek abortions and the "pantywaisted, weak-kneed Christians" who refused to vote for his friend Donald Trump. And, of late, Greta Thunberg, a teenager tired of watching the world burn. After writing about Jeffress for years, I find his Outrage Machine just a buzz of indecipherable bleats, whines and whirs. [But a comment uttered Sunday cut through the white noise.]( I thought nothing of it at first, just another tire tossed on the fire. But the next day, local scholars and theologians reproved my shrugged shoulders at words that many felt were tinged with violence and colored by contempt when later retweeted by President Trump. These men, who study and preach a very different gospel than Jeffress', said over and over: Those words, rooted in history books and biblical texts, carry great weight, and we should not take them lightly or dismiss them as more of the same-ol' hateful TV-talk from The Apostle of Trump. This is how I wound up on the phone with Robert Jeffress on Monday afternoon, to find out what he meant when he went on the Fox News Channel on Sunday night and fretted that "if the Democrats are successful in removing the president from office, [I'm afraid it will cause a Civil War-like fracture in this nation from which this country will never heal](  👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. Do you have feedback? 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