Free Republic

As the post-election legal battle forges on, 10 Republican Attorneys General from several states are urging the Supreme Court to get involved in the state of Pennsylvania. =========================================================================== As the post-election legal battle forges on, 10 Republican Attorneys General from several states are urging the Supreme Court to get involved in the state of Pennsylvania. Led by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Attorneys General from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court concerning the mail-in ballot lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a...

A total of 15 Republican state attorneys general, led by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, filed an "amicus" brief in support of former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Monday, Fox News has learned. The filing stated that the court needed to grant the DOJ’s motion to dismiss the case without commentary immediately “because such punditry disrobes the judiciary of its cloak of impartiality.” The short brief also elaborated on the problems that the court created by “inserting itself into the Justice Department’s exercise of prosecutorial discretion.” On the recommendation of U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen, who served as an FBI...

The former top commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, retired four-star Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, criticized President Donald Trump's behavior and handling of the presidency, saying the commander-in-chief is dishonest and immoral. “I don’t think he tells the truth,” McChrystal said in an exclusive interview on “This Week” when asked by Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz if he believes the president is a liar. “Is Trump immoral, in your view?” Raddatz asked. “I think he is,” he said.

The House voted Thursday to add its voice to the Supreme Court case seeking to stop President Obama’s deportation amnesty, escalating the stakes in what’s shaping up as a major re-calibration of presidential powers. Speaker Paul D. Ryan pushed the vote, saying he wanted the entire House to go on record defending its powers against encroachment by the executive branch. “This is not a question of whether or not we are for or against any certain policy,” Mr. Ryan said. “Members who are making immigration policy arguments are missing the point here. This comes down to a much more fundamental...

Republican members of Congress have taken aim at the Obama administration with their latest move involving a highly-contentious fight between gun rights advocates and the State Department. Filing an amicus brief on behalf of Defense Distributed Thursday, congressional Republicans came to the defense of a non-profit firearms manufacturing company currently entangled in a legal battle with the State Department. In Defense Distributed v. U.S. Department of State, the Obama administration is citing the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) in an effort to curb Defense Distributed’s effort to publicly post online blueprints of 3D printable firearms. Noting that "it could...

Signers include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sens. Susan Collins and Mark Kirk and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie BakerMore than 300 veteran Republican lawmakers, operatives and consultants have filed a friend of the court brief at the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage late Thursday. The amicus brief, organized by former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, was filed for the four same-sex marriage cases the Court will hear on April 28 that could legalize the unions nationwide. In 2013, Mehlman marshaled a similar effort for the case that overturned California’s Proposition 8, which had banned same-sex marriage...

Group asks High Court to affirm the limits on the executive branch’s ability to disregard federal statutes, reaffirm separation of powers (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that on December 24, 2014, it filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the IRS and the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Treasury over a decision by the agencies to ignore a key provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The lawsuit seeks specifically to prevent the IRS from providing refundable tax credits to individuals who purchase health care coverage through...

A group of influential Christian theologians and pastors announced on Wednesday their support of businesses like Hobby Lobby who are fighting against the HHS contraception mandate. In a 46-page amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), they argued that the mandate violates the First Amendment rights of Christians who believe that all work is sacred. The list of 38 signatories includes pastor Rick Warren, Bishop Harry Jackson, theologian Wayne Grudem, author Ravi Zacharias, and other Christian influencers. The convening organizations listed on the brief includes Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Coalition of African American Pastors, and...

IN THE Supreme Court of the United States ____________________ DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ET AL., PETITIONERS, v. DICK ANTHONY HELLER, RESPONDENT. ____________________ On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ____________________ BRIEF AMICUS CURIAE OF GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA, INC., GUN OWNERS FOUNDATION, MARYLAND SHALL ISSUE, INC., VIRGINIA CITIZENS DEFENSE LEAGUE, GUN OWNERS OF CALIFORNIA, INC., LINCOLN INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, AND CONSERVATIVE LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENT ____________________ HERBERT W. TITUS* WILLIAM J. OLSON JOHN S. MILES JEREMIAH L. MORGAN WILLIAM J. OLSON, P.C. 8180...

Last week, the Bush administration put troubling distance between itself and principled Second Amendment defenders. We refer to the amicus brief that Solicitor General Paul Clement filed Friday in support of the plaintiffs in District of Columbia v. Heller — the D.C. gun-ban challenge, widely expected to be the court's most significant gun-rights case in 60 years when a decision is reached. The brief sides with the D.C. plaintiffs seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights, but it then expends much effort worrying that an end to gun bans like the District's would mean an end to most types of...

Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) has sent the following letter to the White House asking them to undo the huge harm they have caused the Second Amendment with the brief they filed in the DC gun ban case. ------------------------------------- January 22, 2008 President George W. Bush The White House1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington DC 20500 Dear President Bush: Your Solicitor General has just filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the D.C. v. Heller case arguing that categorical gun bans of virtually all self-defense firearms are constitutional if a court determines they are "reasonable" -- the lowest standard of constitutional...

If the justices accept that advice when they hear the case in the spring, it could mean additional years of litigation over the controversial Second Amendment and could undo a ruling that was a seminal victory for gun rights enthusiasts. Some were livid. One conservative Web site said the administration had "blundered in catastrophic fashion," and another turned Clement, usually a pinup for conservative legal scholars, into a digital dartboard. Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), the Republicans' chief deputy whip, called the brief "just outrageous," and Republican presidential candidate and former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) accused the Justice Department of...

As the date for Supreme Court argument in District of Columbia v. Heller approaches, the filing of briefs has begun. The District filed its brief last week. In addition, various “amicus curiae” (friend of the court) briefs were filed with the court.

FROM THE SECOND AMENDMENT SISTERS 900 R.R. 620 S Suite C101, Box 228 Lakeway, TX 78734 World Wide Web: http://www.2asisters.org ============================== FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/20/07 ============================== For additional information contact: Genie Jennings, SAS Spokesperson Phone: 877-271-6216 E-mail: saspress@2asisters.org ============================== Lakeway, TX – SAS ANNOUNCES AMICUS BRIEF IN HELLERSecond Amendment Sisters is pleased and proud to announce that we are joining South East Legal Foundation in filing an amicus brief in the Supreme Court hearing of Washington, D.C. v. Heller. We are particularly interested in the benefits of firearms in self-defense for women, the elderly and the disabled. SAS has...

Conservative legal scho;ars have long warned that judges' reliance on foreign opinions might undermine the mechanism for setting domestic policy under the Constitution. Now, for the second time, a friend of the court brief has been submitted to the Supreme Court by foreign politicians in a case relating to detainees at Guantánamo, suggesting that constitutional control over foreign policy could be similarly jeopardized. The case is Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, challenging the administration's military commissions for trying Guantánamo detainees. In the course of the litigation, a shifting group of "current and former members of the United Kingdom and European Union Parliaments"...

In response to a decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals made on July 15, 2005 (joined by Judge John Roberts) which upheld the constitutionality of the military tribunals, terrorist Salim Hamdan has filed a plea motion to the US Supreme Court to reconsider this case and overturn the previous ruling. This petition was filed August 8, 2005 in the case entitled Hamdan vs Rumsfeld. David Remes Joining the terrorist in his petition as amici curiae (friendly briefs) are a host of interesting anti-American characters. Chief among them is David H. Remes, a staunch anti-pledge of allegiance attorney and...

The Democratic National Committee's appointed religion adviser has resigned after a Catholic group criticized her for supporting an atheist's claim that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson stepped down as the DNC's senior religion adviser, telling the Religion News Service that "it was no longer possible for me to do my job effectively." "The only question now is whether [Democratic presidential candidate] John Kerry and the DNC have finally got the message. When we exposed Mara Vanderslice as a Left-wing activist who cavorts with anti-Catholics, the Kerry camp silenced her as...

On July 23, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Terry McAuliffe announced the appointment of Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson as the Senior Advisor for Religious Outreach; she is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Commenting on her selection is Catholic League president William Donohue: “Terry McAuliffe says that the appointment of Rev. Peterson as the new Senior Advisor for Religious Outreach ‘reflects the DNC’s commitment to reaching all people of faith’; he also notes that she ‘will act as liaison to religious organizations.’ Upon learning of this appointment, we decided to find out who this woman is....

WASHINGTON — The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday denied Sen. Edward Kennedy's petition to file an amicus brief in three cases in order to challenge the constitutionality of Judge William Pryor's recess appointment. Kennedy, however, has vowed to keep challenging Pryor's appointment. "It's disappointing that the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit declined to consider, at least for now, the constitutionality of President Bush's recess appointment of William Pryor to that court in February," Kennedy said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the city of Terrell, Texas, after the city's ban on religious activities on city-owned property prompted a local church to file a lawsuit, according to the Liberty Legal Institute. As WorldNetDaily reported, the legal group helped Purpose Life Church sue the city in March after officials ousted the congregation from the Kaufman County YMCA. The church had been leasing space at the Y for church services. Though the YMCA leases the facility from the city, municipal regulations still apply in the building. The church held services at the Y for...