Free Republic

We have been following a slew of defamation lawsuits by political figures over the last few years. (See, e.g., here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). For torts scholars, it has been a bonanza of interesting issues touching on every element of defamation law. There is now an important ruling out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that could have enormous implications not just for the media but anyone who retweets stories or claims. The appellate panel ruled unanimously for Rep. Devin Nunes against journalist Ryan Lizza...

Fireworks won’t fly at Mount Rushmore July 4 weekend despite a lawsuit against the Biden administration from Kristi Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota.Judge Roberto A. Lange called the idea of an Independence Day celebration at the iconic national monument “appealing.”“However this Court is not called upon to determine whether such a fireworks display is a good idea,” he said in his 36-page ruling, posted on yourbasin.com.Lange said the country could “use a good celebration of its foundational principles of democracy, liberty, and equal protection of the law” after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol...

The college will keep fighting a Biden administration rule that 'requires private religious colleges to place biological males into female dormitories and assign them as females’ roommates.'May 24, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – A federal district court has rejected the Missouri-based College of the Ozarks’ request to temporarily block the Biden administration from imposing a slate of new requirements on the Christian school to recognize and accommodate the “gender identity” of gender-dysphoric students. One of President Joe Biden’s earliest acts was signing an executive order declaring the “policy of my Administration to prevent and combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity...

One of Joe Biden’s first orders of business was to make sure demented, perverted men could be allowed to share shower spaces with women. Biden signed an executive order in January titled, “Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.” "Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.” Biden’s order said. One Christian college in Missouri filed a lawsuit against Joe Biden claiming the overreach was victimizing women, girls and people of faith. The College of...

Judge: Biden's co-ed dorm mandate trumps religious freedom A district judge rejected a challenge to the Biden administration's order to force co-ed bathrooms and dorms on a Christian college over the school's religious objections. In February, the Department of Housing and Urban Development directed colleges to eliminate single-sex facilities. The directive came after President Joe Biden issued an executive order in January directing federal agencies "to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity," which would mean targeting religious institutions that maintain single-sex accommodations. The College of the Ozarks, a small Missouri Christian college, challenged the Biden administration for...

8th Circuit Overrules Minnesota Supreme Court — State must reject all absentee ballots received after 8 pm on Election Day  BREAKING: The 8th Circuit appeals court is forcing Minnesota to reject all absentee ballots received after 8 pm on Election Day.— Kambree (@KamVTV) October 29, 2020   The US Circuit #CourtofAppeals for the #EighthCircuit has ruled that mailed-in ballots in #Minnesota must be received by elections officials no later than #ElectionDay. It's the latest last-minute judicial #ballot ruling impacting a #battleground state pic.twitter.com/AKmK6KJ99F— Tina Kim (@TinaKimCNN) October 30, 2020

https://twitter.com/amyklobuchar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1321946313563508737%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F100214389037

A federal appeals court has overturned a judge’s ruling and allowed the state of Arkansas to ban abortions under an order to stop medically unnecessary procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arkansas is one of several states that included elective abortions in its restrictions on non-essential medical procedures during the pandemic. Earlier this spring, the state Department of Health ordered a halt to procedures “that can be safely postponed” except for instances to prevent the death, permanent physical damage or disease advancement of a patient. State leaders included the killing of unborn babies in abortions in their order. However, the Little...

<p>LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Arkansas’ order preventing the state’s only surgical abortion clinic from performing the procedure during the coronavirus pandemic.</p> <p>The decision came as health officials announced that at least 1,498 people in the state have been infected with the coronavirus, an increase over the 1,410 reported a day earlier. Two more people died because of the virus, bringing the state’s death toll to 32.</p>

arlier today, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutional order, limited the reach of expansive nondiscrimination laws, and protected a Christian couple from having to choose between their business and their conscience. The facts of the case are simple. The plaintiffs, Carl and Angel Larsen, are videographers who create “commercials, short films, and live-event productions.” While they work with anyone of any race, sex, sexual orientation, or religion, they will not produce videos that advance viewpoints that violate their Christian beliefs. That includes videos that “contradict biblical truth; promote sexual immorality; support the destruction of unborn children; promote...

The Satanic Temple is appealing a lawsuit against the State of Missouri on behalf of a woman who says her rights were violated when she was forced to wait 72 hours for an abortion and was required to read religious material that asserts life begins at conception. It claims the material provided is designed to produce shame over her decision and is contrary to science. According to the organization, the appeal is based on a 1989 decision handed down by the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals "which explicitly states that the life of each human being begins at conception...

She’s not a senator, but Cynthia Nance plays an enormous role in shaping the debate over some of President Trump’s judicial picks. Ms. Nance, former dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law, handles the American Bar Association’s judicial ratings for nominees to federal courts in North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas, which make up the federal 8th Circuit. The ABA’s role is one the more opaque parts of the process, but Republicans are pushing it into the light, accusing her of allowing personal bias, particularly a fealty to abortion rights, to color her ratings....

Two Christian filmmakers appeared before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul Tuesday to challenge Minnesota state law which they say illegally forces them to produce and create films expressing messages that contradict their core beliefs. Telescope Media Group owners Carl and Angel Larsen have already been threatened with hefty fines and up to 90 days in jail if they choose to disregard the law. The Larsens want to enter the wedding industry. However, the state's Human Rights Act stipulates if the couple creates films celebrating their Christian beliefs about marriage – that marriage is between one man...

A federal appeals court on Tuesday said printing “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency is constitutional, citing its longstanding use and saying it was not coercive. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul, Minnesota rejected claims by 29 atheists, children of atheists and atheist groups that inscribing the national motto on bills and coins violated their First Amendment free speech and religious rights.

Senate Republicans are set to confirm three more of President Donald Trump’s appeals court picks this week, a push that will help set a record for the most such appointments in a president’s first year in office. The Senate is expected to confirm Steve Grasz for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, and James Ho and Don Willett for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, over the objections of Democrats who question whether they can be unbiased. That would mean at least a dozen Trump appointees would join the nation’s appeals courts — which...

Cloture on 8th circuit nominee Leonard Grasz. The vote has been 47-47 for 45 minutes. Where the shell are the missing 5 republicans?? And after this (if the nominee gets through cloture), they have to wait 30 hours to vote. This is why they don't get much done.

Court ruling makes it harder for EEOC to pursue discrimination cases in the Midwest, maybe nationally CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- They were learning to become truck drivers, but wound up in a nightmare. In detailed accounts to a federal agency, dozens of female employees of one of the nation's largest trucking companies told of being propositioned, groped and even assaulted by male drivers during cross-country training rides. "I was beaten, I was fondled, I was humiliated and I was taught nothing," one trainee, Ramona Villareal, said in a deposition. But rather than leading to a workplace discrimination judgment, the Equal...

He garnered some sympathy from two lower courts, but a three-judge appeals panel isn't letting a Minnesota lawyer off the hook from repaying his massive student loan debt. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a bankruptcy court and a district court and found that attorney Mark Allen Jesperson could not discharge more than $360,000 in student loan debt in a Chapter 7 proceeding. The two lower courts had found that repaying the "shockingly immense" debt would create an undue hardship for Jesperson. But the appeals court on Wednesday determined that his "self-imposed limitations," which resulted in a gross...

"Machine guns are not in common use by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes and therefore fall within the category of dangerous and unusual weapons that the government can prohibit for individual use. Furthermore, Fincher has not directly attacked the federal registration requirements on firearms, and we doubt that any such attack would succeed in light of Heller."

Sioux Falls, SD -- Monday was the first day that Planned Parenthood, which operates the only abortion business in South Dakota, had to comply with a new state law telling women the truth about abortion. Rather than tell women abortion kills children and has numerous risks, Planned Parenthood closed its doors. The state law, which the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld last week, required abortion practitioners to inform every woman that she is terminating the life of a human being. It requires giving her information about the mental health complications such as a high risk of depression and suicide...