Free Republic

Gov. Charlie Crist’s office is “looking into” the possibility of removing embattled attorney Scott Rothstein from the state’s Judicial Nominating Committee. Rothstein has offered to surrender his license to practice law. But, he may remain a member of JNC unless, or until, he’s charged with a felony crime. Gov. Charlie Crist named Rothstein to the JNC in August 2008. “Typically, the governor would only step in when felony charges are filed against a public official,” said Sterling Ivey, Crist’s spokesman. “Whether we will act before that point in this case is not clear yet. Our legal office is looking into...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- An attorney who was a major fundraiser for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist allegedly conducted an investment scam that cost investors millions, a lawsuit alleges. A group of investors said in a suit filed against Scott Rothstein that the co-partner of the Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler law firm took part in a scheme that cost the plaintiffs more than $100 million, The Miami Herald reported Friday.

Disabled Iraq veteran, Luis Montalvan, says that he was repeatedly discriminated against at a Brooklyn McDonald's. According to Montalvan, these conflicts culminated in an assault that sent him to the emergency room. Now, Montalvan is suing McDonald's for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, discrimination, and assault and battery.

Here is a copy of the lawsuit ACORN filed in Maryland against James O'Keefe, Hannah Giles and Breitbart. I had to block out their address because this document had their personal addresses. You can see exactly what they are claiming. The Document is at link.

Eight British tourists are suing a South African safari park after they became trapped by a pride of wild lions when their tour vehicle overturned. The group are claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds for injuries and post-traumatic stress allegedly suffered when they were exposed to the “threatening conduct of the lions” at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve northeast of Cape Town. One of the animals also stole a boot from the tourists, they say. Papers lodged at Cape Town High Court claim that the injuries were due to the irresponsible actions of Natasha Van der Merwe, a park employee. According to...

Enfield (WTNH) - The ACLU of Connecticut is warning the Enfield school board to stop holding graduation ceremonies at a Bloomfield megachurch, claiming the graduates and their families are unconstitutionally being subjected to religious messages.

Application of Second Amendment to be decided by Supreme Court Journal Photo by Lauren Carroll Lawyer Alan Gura says that owning semi-automatic guns is constitutional. The man who successfully challenged a prohibition against handguns in the District of Columbia before the Supreme Court said last night during a local debate about the Second Amendment that some states have gone too far. That's what happened in the District of Columbia, which required that firearms either be equipped with trigger locks or kept disassembled, said Alan Gura, a lawyer from Alexandria, Va., who argued the Supreme Court case. "If you have a...

In a first-of-its-kind litigation, the Ecological Rights Foundation ("ERF") has alleged in a Complaint brought in federal district court in San Francisco that Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) is in violation of the Clean Water Act ("CWA") and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA"). ERF alleges that the treatment of PG&E's utility poles treated with pentachlorophenol ("penta"), a wood preservative, has resulted in contamination of groundwater and surface water throughout four counties in Northern California -- Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Francisco, including San Francisco Bay. The suit implicates all of the estimated 300,000 utility poles that...

It's natural to sympathize with the parents of Brandon Patch, the 18-year-old baseball pitcher who died after he was hit by a batted ball in 2003. Sooner or later, sympathy must yield to logic and reason, so when Brandon's parents sued the bat's manufacturer, Louisville Slugger, and a jury awarded them $850,000, they contributed to the terribly misguided notion that behind every tragedy lies a lawsuit. I haven't suffered what the Patches have suffered, and I pray that I never do. I understand that pursuing litigation gives them a sense that their son's random, pointless death was not so pointless....

Lou Dobbs' refusal to drop "birther" stories about challenges to President Obama's constitutional eligibility to hold office was a major source of contention with CNN management, leading the unconventional anchor to walk away from the network and more than $9 million, according to the New York Post. Dobbs, known for his strong stand against illegal immigration, surprised his loyal viewers Wednesday night by announcing his resignation and offering no indication of his next move. The Post, citing anonymous sources, said the beginning of the end of a long-simmering dispute came in July, when CNN President Jonathan Klein told Dobbs' staff...

ACORN, the criminal enterprise that has been partially funded with OUR tax money is following the advice of Jerrold Nadler, Congressman from NY and suing the government to get its funding back. It all started this past March when Heather Heidelbaugh, a Pennsylvania Attorney, testified before Congressman Jerrold Nadler's Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties subcommittee about the many criminal and fraudulent activities run by President Obama's favorite community organizing group, ACORN. Her testimony alleged violations of the election code, fraud and misrepresentation, and violations of equal protection and due process. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) was shocked at the testimony...

Mineola, NY –-(AmmoLand.com)- The Nassau County local law banning the possession of handguns mislabeled “deceptively colored” remains on hold indefinitely pending the outcome of a legal challenge by gun-rights activists. In June 2008, Nassau passed Local Law #5, criminalizing the possession and sale of “deceptively colored handguns” as a supposed danger to law enforcement. The law originally banned all handguns except for those that are “black, grey, silver, steel, nickel or army green.” It does not grandfather currently owned guns and mandates that gun owners surrender all banned guns for destruction without any compensation, and with no opportunity to sell...

As a parent of five children, I understand the responsibility I have for each of them. I am responsible for their health and welfare and everything that goes with it. I am responsible for good decision making that keeps them from danger. Which is why I find it repulsive that a father who not only allowed his eight year old son to handle an Uzi, but paid for the child's opportunity to fire it, would sue the gun fair where the child fatally wounded himself: According to the 32-page lawsuit, on Oct. 28, 2008, Charles Bizilj purchased the opportunity for...

Since it appears that the judicial branch is intent on abandoning it's duty to uphold the Constitution, perhaps it's time for the states themselves to individually pass legislation that will protect their citizens from the actions of anyone who illegally occupies the Oval office. There is nothing to prevent a state from passing a law requiring that the President must file his PROOF of meeting eligibility requirements with the state and that such a filing is open to public challenge in court. Such a law could stipulate that any legislation signed by a President who refuses or is unable to...

A former editor at the N.Y. Post says the paper is on a mission to destroy Barack Obama From the Politico Sandra Guzman, a former editor at the New York Post, has filed a lawsuit against her former employer with allegations of sexual harassment, racial discrimination and "unlawful employment practices and retaliation."

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Nov. 5 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania woman was awarded $150,000 in a discrimination suit claiming she had to wear diapers to work due to a lack of toilets. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's lawsuit against Danella Construction Corp., of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., said Lisa Drozdowski, 37, had to wear adult diapers while she was working as a flagger for the company in 2005 because officials refused to provide portable toilets, the Philadelphia Daily News reported Thursday. Drozdowski said her bathroom breaks, which involved walking a quarter mile to her car and driving several minutes to the nearest...

A law school professor has withdrawn a lawsuit accusing the legal blog Above the Law of publishing a "viciously racist series of rants" after reporting the professor's arrest for suspicion of soliciting prostitution. University of Miami School of Law professor Donald Marvin Jones dropped his lawsuit on Wednesday, nine days after he filed it pro se in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He did not respond to a request for comment.*** Above the Law Managing Editor David Lat declined comment on Thursday, but in a blog post on Wednesday wrote that there had been no...

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — A Michigan judge says a man who claims he was chased, shot and beaten by workers at a store he'd just robbed can sue the men.....The 23-year-old filed a lawsuit against the store, its owner and three employees in April. Zielinski was shot twice and claims he was excessively beaten.

There's a new SCOTUS suit you want and need to know about...case 09-6777. I'll win and when I do? YOU CAN SUE SITTING OFFICERS FOR LIABILITY THUS DISSOLVE THEM AS THE US DEFAULTED VIA FAILING TO RESPOND TO A PRIOR SCOTUS SUIT ON 11/05/08, the day after the election, lol. Actual default is the 2000 election and BVG; legal default occurred on 11/05/09. I then appealed to Roberts directly on 11/20/09 and forced direct action thus I won on paper. Now all I am doing is acting to collect my award: Hearing in person aka winning in person. You can...

The latest challenge to Prop 8 could be show on television. Ted Olson and David Boies, are suing saying Prop 8 is unconstitutional. The judge has reportedly 'hinted' that he may allow cameras..

The Democrats have beaten the Republicans to court in NY-23, obtaining an order to show cause that requires the impounding of voting machines for what is expected to be another tight congressional special election. "Most of the time, you don't bring this until the day after the election, and then only if you think the race will be close," said attorney Frank Hoare, whom I reached on his cell phone as he was driving back to Albany after filing the order in Elizabethtown. "The Republicans usually play games and start the action the day of the election; in an effort...

What's the cost of not showing up to court? For PepsiCo Inc., it's a $1.26 billion default judgment. A Wisconsin state court socked the company with the monster award in a case alleging that PepsiCo stole the idea to bottle and sell purified water from two Wisconsin men. Now the company is scrambling to salvage the situation. The damages award was handed down on Sept. 30. PepsiCo filed motions to vacate the order and dismiss the claims on Oct. 13, saying it wasn't even aware of the lawsuit until Oct. 6....

John Satawa's family has displayed a nativity scene on a street median in Warren, Mich., virtually every Christmas season since 1945, but following an intimidating letter sent by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Satawa's county has put stop to the 63-year-old tradition. The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation proclaims its purpose in the letter to the Road Commission of Macomb County was to "protect the fundamental constitutional principle of separation of church and state." But Satawa contends there's nothing unconstitutional about his privately owned and maintained Christmas display. With the help of the Thomas More Law Center, Satawa has filed...

After King County Superior Court Judge Gregory Canova awarded Microsoft an $8.7 million judgment in a 2008 lawsuit involving unpaid software licenses, he might have been surprised to learn that Microsoft isn’t actually in the software licensing business in Washington – or at least that’s what it reports to the state Department of Revenue. For tax purposes, Microsoft reports that it’s earned its estimated $143 billion in software licensing revenue in Nevada, where there is no licensing tax. However, for legal purposes, Microsoft executes its licensing contracts so they are governed by and rely on the protections of Washington law...

Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way. Albert Freed (pictured) won a trip to Hawaii (not pictured). As part of the vacation celebration, Mrs. Freed bought her husband some new Hanes brand briefs. But Mr. Freed is a husky gentleman, and apparently the new trunks couldn’t contain all of his junk. He sued Hanes, claiming they made “defective” underwear.

The “innocent until proven guilty” concept is at the very heart of our legal system. Government ought not be able to exact punishment for a crime until proof has been established, beyond a reasonable doubt, by a jury of one’s peers.But this foundational principle of justice has been tossed out the window in recent years, at least in one realm, that of civil or asset forfeiture. Civil forfeiture allows police to seize more than $1 billion worth of property each year — cash, cars, boats, etc. — that is alleged to have been used in the furtherance of a crime.The...

Tremayne Durham still wants his money back. Three years ago Durham killed one man and held another hostage in an unsuccessful attempt to get back $18,000 he thought he was due. He is now serving a life sentence in the Oregon State Penitentiary, but he hasn't given up trying to collect. Today, he's using the courts instead of a .357 magnum -- and so far, he's having more success. Durham has filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court against Rob Chambers, whom he paid nearly $18,000 to build a soft-serve ice-cream truck in December 2005. Durham changed his mind a...

Disney's Sorry It Couldn't Make Your Kid Smarter Blame Disney for your kid's poor test scores. The giant entertainment conglomerate Friday said it will offer refunds on its "Baby Einstein" serious of videos, conceding in a lawsuit that the video exercises didn't increase infants' intelligence despite claims it would. Lawyers threatened Disney last year that it would sue unless Disney offered a full refund -- $15.99 per video -- to customers who wished to cash in on their "Baby Einstein" stash, the New York Times reported Friday. Customers can get a discount coupon, exchange the video for a different title,...

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Cameras don't lie, so how do you argue with a picture that shows you breaking the law? A Clarksville attorney is going to try. A Redflex camera caught Mark Burton running a red light, and for the first time in middle Tennessee, the issue is being taken to court. At around 5:30 a.m., Burton ran a red light and a Redflex camera caught him the act. Still, Burton's attorney Greg D. Smith said there's no way his client should receive a ticket. "If you're on the road in the middle of the night, and you're not hurting...

High school student Chad Farnan, 17, speaks at a campaign fundraiser for Shawn Black, a GOP candidate for the 70th Assembly District, earlier this month. The legal group that represents Farnan, Advocates for Faith & Freedom, has been ordered to pay $19,688 in legal fees. SANTA ANA – In a legal twist that challenges the notion of what a prevailing party is, a federal court clerk on Friday awarded $19,688 in court-related fees to the attorneys who represented high school teacher James Corbett, sued two years ago for making anti-Christian comments in class. Milli Borgarding, the deputy in charge of...

One of Madonna's New York neighbors says the superstar's loud music and frequent dance sessions are causing a commotion. Karen George, of Manhattan, lives above Madonna in a building on Central Park. She said in a lawsuit filed Friday against the building's co-op board that the Material Girl is using her apartment as a rehearsal studio, forcing neighbors to endure "blaring music, stomping and shaking walls," for up to three hours each day.

NEW YORK (AP) - The Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday threatened to sue conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh for writing in a column that the civil rights leader played a role in two New York race riots. In a column published by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday about his derailed bid to become part-owner of the St. Louis Rams, he accuses Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson of making comments that helped get him booted from a group that was trying to buy the NFL team. Limbaugh derided Sharpton as having played "a leading role in the 1991 Crown...

Say you're sorry, Rush - or the the Rev. Al Sharpton is suing. The civil rights activist, angered by a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece written by Rush Limbaugh, threatened a defamation lawsuit Saturday against the conversative talk radio host. "Unless Mr. Limbaugh apologizes and clarifies his statements, attorneys for Rev. Sharpton will move forward with a lawsuit," said a statement from Sharpton. Limbaugh lashed out at Sharpton over his failed attempt to purchase a piece of the St. Louis Rams. Sharpton "played a leading role in the 1991 Crown Heights riot (he called neighborhood Jews 'diamond merchants') and 1995...

WASHINGTON – A judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the case of a former lobbyist caught up in the Jack Abramoff affair, the biggest setback in the government's long-running prosecution of the influence-peddling scandal. The jury deadlocked over allegations that Kevin Ring lavished thousands of dollars worth of tickets and meals on employees of then-Republican Reps. John Doolittle of California and Ernest Istook of Oklahoma and on Justice Department officials in return for congressional appropriations and other assistance for Abramoff's clients. The panel of seven women and five men also was unable to reach a verdict on another count, on...

A statement emerged tonight from AP concerning its long battle with artist Shepard Fairey over his use of an AP photo as the basic image for his famous Obama campaign poster. AP claims that Fairey's attorneys admit he tried to destroy some evidence, faking others and that his attorneys have sought to get off the case. Statement from Srinandan R. Kasi, VP and General Counsel, The Associated Press, follows. * Striking at the heart of his fair use case against the AP, Shepard Fairey has now been forced to admit that he sued the AP under false pretenses by lying...

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal judge has ruled that Virginia violated the voting rights of military service members and other Americans overseas when officials failed to mail more than 2,100 absentee ballots in time for last year's presidential election. U.S. District Judge Richard Williams also ordered Friday that the Virginia Board of Elections count and certify the absentee ballots. The ballots from military service members and others living outside the state were the focus of a lawsuit filed by Republican candidate John McCain's campaign, which alleged that they weren't mailed in time for overseas voters to return them before the...

Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- A nonprofit group filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking a decision about whether to grant added protections for the delta smelt. The Council for Endangered Species Act Reliability alleges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to make a timely decision about the tiny silver fish. It filed suit in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. Executive director Craig Manson said the federal agency should classify the threatened smelt as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

What was billed as Italy's first gay cruise took place last month, and by all accounts it was a resounding success. There was just one small hitch: Somehow a heterosexual couple ended up on board -- and they're not happy about it. News outlets in Europe this week are all atwitter over the story of the Italian couple, who now are suing the cruise line after reportedly being flummoxed by the experience. The UK's Daily Mail today reports the middle-aged husband and wife, who have not been named, said they booked the trip directly with the line and claim they...

Today, I offer evidence suggesting Ben Barnes, lobbyist for the plaintiff in a lawsuit that could cost San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron $27 billion, has been reading this blog. It takes a while to explain, but I think you’ll find it offers worthwhile and relevant information about the Chevron lawsuit now being tried in a thoroughly-corrupt Ecuadoran legal system.

A federal judge refused today to dismiss a lawsuit challenging California's ban on same-sex marriage, setting the stage for the nation's first trial on the constitutionality of a law allowing only opposite-sex couples to wed. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, in a ruling from the bench in San Francisco, said a trial was needed to resolve crucial issues, including whether gays and lesbians are persecuted minorities entitled to judicial protection from discriminatory laws. He has scheduled the trial for January. Sponsors of Proposition 8, approved by 52 percent of the voters in November, argued that the initiative was clearly...

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Two former investors are suing the Securities and Exchange Commission for $2.4 billion in damages, claiming the agency acted with negligence while examining Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff's investment business. The 63-page complaint, filed by Phyllis Molchatsky and Dr. Steven Schneider, claims the agency engaged in "serial, gross negligence" over the course of 16 years. It alleges that because the SEC's negligence occurred during the course of its regular functions, rather than when crafting policy, the agency is not shielded by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. .....

Dear Diocesan Family, A panel of the Virginia Supreme Court will hear our petition for appeal on October 21 and, while it is unfortunate that these legal proceedings were necessary, I trust that this hearing will bring us one step closer to resolution. I am proud that the Diocese of Virginia and the Episcopal Church have chosen the path consistently to defend loyal Episcopalians, and to safeguard and to protect the Church's legacy and the Church from unwarranted governmental and legislative interference. It is with the same determination to stand by the people, traditions and legacy of our diocese that...

Singer Carly Simon is suing Starbucks Corp., saying the coffee company's now-defunct music venture didn't adequately promote her 2008 album, dooming the record before it was even released. The singer, whose biggest success came during the 1970s and '80s with hits like "You're So Vain" and "Anticipation," is seeking unspecified damages related to the release of the 14-track "This Kind of Love" in April 2008.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The mother of a 7-year-old boy with autism and a severe peanut allergy has filed a lawsuit claiming a teacher tossed her son a peanut-filled Mr. Goodbar candy bar in hopes of sickening him and keeping him from going on a zoo field trip. The boy didn't eat the candy bar, but Anita Young said her son suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his teacher, and filed a lawsuit in Marion County against her son's Indianapolis school. Young also wants criminal charges filed against teacher Trinda Barocas.

(NaturalNews) Health freedom attorney Jim Turner is filing a lawsuit in Washington D.C. mid-day Friday in an urgent effort to halt the distribution of the swine flu vaccine in America. On behalf of plaintiffs Dr. Gary Null and other licensed health care workers of New York State, the lawsuit charges that the FDA violated the law in its hasty approval of four swine flu vaccines by failing to scientifically determine neither the safety nor efficacy of the vaccines. "The suit will seek an injunction against the FDA from approving the vaccine," attorney Jim Turner told NaturalNews on Thursday evening's Natural...

The Supreme Court joined in a fight between the ACLU and the federal government over a World War I memorial in the shape of a cross. While neither legal team hit the ball over the fence, the majority seems inclined to save this cross in what will be the first religious liberty case of the new Court. On Oct. 7, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Salazar v. Buono. This case is a decade-long fight over the so-called Mojave cross, pitting Obama Solicitor General Elena Kagan against the ACLU’s Peter Eliasberg. (This doesn’t mean Barack Obama necessarily wants to protect...

Prince William County decided not to join Arlington County in its lawsuit against high-occupancy toll lanes on Interstates 95 and 395, citing what it characterizes as race-baiting and class warfare in the suit. The county considered joining the suit because it shared concerns about the HOT lanes’ proceeding without a proper environmental study and their effect on traffic, but Board Chairman Corey Stewart, R-At large, said the board unanimously agreed Arlington’s suit raised too many concerns. “The board had a closer look at the suit and there are allegations in there about Pierce Homer, the secretary of transportation, and about...

Deep in the heart of the Mojave National Preserve in California stands a five foot cross carefully disguised in a plywood box. The U.S. Park Service was forced to cover the cross until the Supreme Court decides whether the cross can remain in its place as a monument to fallen soldiers during World War I, or whether it must come down because its presence violates the Constitution. The case is the latest in a recent flurry of challenges to religious symbols placed on public property. The cross was constructed more than 70 years ago by the Veterans of Foreign Wars....

By Alan Keyes October 7, 2009Loyal to Liberty  I just received a call from Orly Taitz, my attorney in the case seeking proof of Obama's eligibility for the Office of President of the United States. Judge Carter has released a statement declaring that the dates he set for the hearing and trial on the eligibility issue are confirmed, and it will move forward as scheduled. Apparently he was not swayed by the Obama lawyer's arguments.Loyal to Liberty ...