Free Republic

The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday began representing a man accused of setting off bombs in New York and New Jersey and injuring more than 30 people. After judges in both states denied attempts by public defenders to represent Ahmed Khan Rahami, a lawyer for the organization’s New Jersey chapter entered a notice of appearance in his case in federal court in Newark on Monday. Rahami has been hospitalized since he was caught following a shootout with police in Linden last week. He has not made an initial court appearance. …

A playground in Missouri is becoming a political minefield. "Only one religious freedom case is currently before the Supreme Court this upcoming term: Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley," the Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF) notes. "Trinity Lutheran is a case about a religious preschool that was rejected from a state program that provides reimbursement grants to purchase rubberized surface material (tire scraps) for children’s playgrounds." "The preschool was ultimately denied the grant for its playground solely because the playground belongs to a religious organization." The ADF is a national network of lawyers who undertake religious liberty cases. The...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Nestled under the dominating silhouette of Mt. Shasta in northernmost California is a bustling community of Vietnam War refugees and Hmong-Americans seeking solitude in normally tranquil Siskiyou County. Hundreds of newly settled Hmong residents sought calm in the mountainous terrain, but many say they have collided with a sheriff hell-bent on restricting their voting and property rights. Alleging systematic voter suppression in the June primary and subsequent racial profiling by Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey, 10 Hmong property owners sued the sheriff and Siskiyou County on Monday in Federal Court. "I remember the panic and the...

The New Jersey ACLU is slamming the city's police department for a sting operation that netted 13 prostitution-related arrests this weekend, arguing that the department is wasting its time targeting "consenting" adults. The arrests, according to a lengthy statement from ACLU-NJ Executive Director Udi Ofer, "raise concerns yet again about Newark's embrace of failed and destructive 'Broken Windows' policing strategies." "Using our criminal justice system to harass, arrest and incarcerate consenting adults who agree to exchange sex for money is a poor use of the NPD's limited resources," he said.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio and a Double Standard of Justice The ACLU’s and DOJ’s war on a brave patriot. August 31, 2016 John Perazzo    Joe Arpaio has been the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes the city of Phoenix and is near the Mexican border, for 23 years. He is up for re-election this year and has just emerged victorious in a challenging primary against three rivals. In the general election for sheriff, however, polling data indicate that he would be trailing Democrat opponent Paul Penzone by several percentage points. Arpaio's foundering poll numbers are due, in large measure, to...

Amber Heard gives Johnny Depp's $7m divorce settlement to two charities Amber Heard is to donate her $7m (£5.3m) divorce settlement from Johnny Depp to two charities that work with abused women and ill children. Heard will give half to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to prevent violence against women, and half to the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. The actress said she hoped to "help those less able to defend themselves". She earlier accused Depp of striking her and throwing a mobile phone during a fight. He denied the allegations.

A group of refugees is suing a Central Pennsylvania school district, saying the academy they were put in after their arduous journey to America is not up to snuff. Represented by the Pennsylvania branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, the six refugees sued Lancaster schools in federal court, saying they were dumped in a disciplinary school and are being denied access to a quality education. The students range in age from 17 to 21, and hail from Somalia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burma. “[The] Plaintiffs are refugees who have fled war, violence, and persecution from their native...

SPRINGFIELD — Hoping to stem the flow of illegal guns into Illinois, lawmakers have sent Gov. Bruce Rauner a bill that would punish traffickers with up to 30 years in prison. The proposal comes as Chicago is seeing another violent year, with shootings contributing to 381 homicides as of July 31. The city has a strict gun policy that requires permits to screen for criminal records and other disqualifiers, and investigators say most of the firearms recovered at crime scenes in recent years were bought in other states where it's easier to buy guns, including neighboring Indiana.

Republican political consultant Mike Madrid isn't used to getting calls from the ACLU, and yet he has found himself working with the civil liberties group because some practices are so egregious that Republicans and Democrats should have no trouble finding common cause. The issue is civil asset forfeiture -- also known as "policing for profit." The federal government can seize your property, and the only way you can get it back is to prove you are not guilty of a crime. California law prohibits local authorities from permanently seizing most property without a conviction, but there's a loophole in the...

Winning the White House has been mission impossible for Republican presidential candidates who can’t win Ohio. No GOP ticket has ever made it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue without planting a victory flag in the Buckeye State. But it is also a critical state for Democrats. None of their presidential candidates have gone to the White House without claiming victory in Ohio since 1960. […] U.S. District Judge George C. Smith rejected a lawsuit June 29 that attempted to block the Ohio secretary of state from purging Ohio’s voter rolls of people who had not cast a ballot in the past...

People without photo identification will be able to vote in November's general election by signing an affidavit stating they could not obtain identification, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman issued a preliminary injunction order on Tuesday in a case challenging the state's law requiring voters to have photo identification, granting a request from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU's request called for an affidavit option for voters who face a "reasonable impediment" to obtain a valid photo ID.

This is killer Gavin Long a/k/a Cosmo Setepenra's list of books. http://convoswithcosmo.com/man-datory-reading-list/ Note this one - the only one listed related to American race issues: "The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander This is the title I immediately and robotically recite anytime someone is looking for a book recommendation. By far the most infuriating book I’ve read, but vital for anyone that’s looking to understand why the #BlackLivesMatter movement exists. Why Black people are angry. And why the black father is absent in most Black homes (done so intentionally via the system of White Supremacy). It’s an unrelenting and exhaustively...

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a 28-page report Friday arguing most of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s governing agenda is unconstitutional, and promises to keep a running tally of all Trump’s policy goals that run afoul of the Constitution. Titled “The Trump Memos,” the analysis encompasses the New York billionaire’s proposals on immigration, torture, libel, abortion, and government surveillance. It effectively serves as a blueprint for the legal arguments the ACLU would marshall when challenging Trump’s initiatives if elected president. “Donald Trump’s proposed policies, if carried out, would trigger a constitutional crisis,” ACLU Executive Director Anthony...

ACLU of Minnesota wants St. Paul to drop all charges against 46 people who shut down Interstate 94 Saturday night during a protest of Philando Castile’s death. Mayor Chris Coleman characterized the demonstration as a riot after it turned violent, leaving 21 officers injured. “These charges appear to be based on the actions of what most parties, including a St. Paul police spokesperson, agree were outside agitators,” said ACLU Minnesota’s executive director, Charles Samuelson, in a written statement Tuesday

Mohamud is appealing his 2013 conviction on grounds that he was entrapped by undercover federal agents posing as al-Qaida members and the warrantless surveillance of his foreign communications violated his constitutional rights. It marks the first time a federal appeals court is considering whether the National Security Agency’s foreign surveillance programs — the same ones that came under scrutiny after the Edward Snowden leaks a few years ago — violate the Fourth Amendment rights of criminal defendants. Stephen Sady, Mohamud’s public defender, and another attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union urged the court for a new trial on grounds...

CLEVELAND – The relaxation of rules on protest marches during the upcoming Republican National Convention and the shrinking of a designated event zone downtown is an "important victory" for free speech rights, a civil rights group said Wednesday. A federal judge said last week that the city's regulations for the four-day convention, which starts July 18, were unconstitutional and ordered city attorneys to negotiate new rules with the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. The ACLU of Ohio had sued the city on behalf of two groups planning protests and rallies the first day of the convention and a homeless...

U.S. District Judge George Smith struck down a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Ohio challenging the secretary of state’s authority to strip inactive voters from the registry.

A federal judge on Thursday struck down rules set for protesters at next month’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Ohio’s branch of the American Civil Liberties Union brought the suit last week against the city of Cleveland, arguing that restrictions on protesters within the “event zone” around Quicken Loans Arena are unconstitutional. Those restrictions would ban certain items, including large backpacks, tape and string, and limit where within the 3.5 square mile zone demonstrators can speak and hold a parade.

Democrats’ recent efforts to secure votes on gun control measures in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida have stoked criticism not just from Republican leadership but from some on the left. The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday sent a letter to senators laying out its opposition to the latest legislation up for consideration, a proposal by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) that would bar anyone on certain federal government watchlists from buying guns. “The ACLU strongly urges you to vote against the Collins Amendment because it uses the errorprone and unfair watchlist system, along with vague and...

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the city of Cleveland, site of next month's Republican National Convention, accusing the city of illegally restricting areas where protesters and residents can congregate. The suit, filed this week on behalf of the city's homeless, objects to the 8.5-square-kilometer "event zone," a secondary security area outside the stricter security perimeter that will circle the convention site, Quicken Loans Arena. The lawsuit contends that security restrictions and rules regarding public demonstrations in the event zone are "arbitrary, unnecessary and unjustifiable." The plaintiffs also include Citizens for Trump, an activist group backing presumptive Republican nominee...