Free Republic

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed that YouTube, a Google subsidiary, is a private platform and thus not subject to the First Amendment. In making that determination, the Court also rejected a plea from a conservative content maker that sued YouTube in hopes that the courts would force it to behave like a public utility. Put another way, had the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of Prager University—also known as PragerU—and against YouTube, it would have violated YouTube's First Amendment rights. Headed by conservative radio host Dennis Prager, PragerU alleged in its suit against YouTube that the...

A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel voted unanimously Friday to suspend an order it issued earlier in the day to block a central pillar of the Trump administration’s policy requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases wind through U.S. courts.

A federal appeals court has blocked the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy that requires asylum seekers who attempt to cross the U.S.-Mexico border to wait in Mexico while their cases are processed in the U.S. The unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated the policy conflicted with U.S. immigration law. The court blocked the Remain in Mexico policy, originally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, across the entire U.S.-Mexico border. Around 59,000 people are currently a part of the program, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan said on Thursday. Top...

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that internet giants like Google and Facebook can censor content on their platforms, rebuking arguments from conservatives who claim the tech companies violate users' First Amendment rights by removing certain messages or videos. With its unanimous opinion, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the latest court to dismiss arguments that platforms like YouTube can be sued under the First Amendment for decisions on content moderation. "Despite YouTube’s ubiquity and its role as a public-facing platform, it remains a private forum, not a public forum subject to judicial scrutiny under the First...

If it’s not “the economy, stupid,” as James Carville famously exhorted, then it’s the judiciary, smarty-pants. Those two issues turn out Republicans and conservatives more than any others in presidential elections, and it’s a sure bet the latter is why reluctant conservatives rallied to Donald Trump in 2016 — well, most of them, anyway. And Trump has delivered in both areas, but especially on judicial appointments.His biggest triumph — shared by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — could well be the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the famously far-left appellate panel. The Los Angeles Times calls Trump’s ten appointments...

  Thread A couple of days ago I wrote that the Democrats are implementing the Algerian Strategy in the United States. @realDonaldTrump knows this, of course. @SpeakerPelosi tore up the State of the Union address to signal that she's on board with the Algerian Strategy. mentions A refresher: During the Algerian Civil War of 1991-2002, the Algerian government helped the Armed Islamic Group or GIA (Groupe Islamique Armé), the most violent terrorists in human history.   mentions The GIA's motto was "No agreement, no truce, no dialogue." All they did was mass murder civilians in night raids. They cut the throats of entire villages...

Statement from the Press Secretary STATEMENTS & RELEASES  IMMIGRATION  Issued on: February 6, 2020 Today, a single, unelected, district judge in the Central District of California issued a legally groundless and sweeping injunction that—if not immediately lifted—will guarantee the release of innumerable criminal illegal aliens into our communities putting citizens at dire risk. This ruling undermines the pillars of immigration enforcement and blocks traditional and vital law enforcement cooperation that has occurred for decades. This injunction puts the health and lives of innocent Americans in direct jeopardy. Our neighborhoods are less safe today as a result of this dangerous district court ruling.     The Free...

A federal court has ruled Arizona Republicans’ ban on mail-in ballots is illegal and unconstitutional, calling it intentionally discriminatory toward people of color, who already face increased barriers to voting. The ruling is a major victory for the Democratic party, which filed the suit, and will likely make it easier for minorities to get their ballots counted in the largely red state.

A review of lawsuits on livestock grazing  Hammond grazing permits On December 20 of 2019, federal judge Michael H. Simon revoked the grazing permit for Hammond Ranches Inc., finding that former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s order renewing it earlier this year was an “abuse of discretion.'' Background: The Hammonds had 4 different grazing permits on BLM lands. In June of 2012 Steve and Dwight Hammond were convicted of intentionally setting fires on BLM land. On Oct. 30, 2012 federal judge Michael. H. Hogan sentenced Steve Hammond to 12 months and one day of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised...

NOW VOTING: Confirmation of Executive Calendar #534 Lawrence Vandyke to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit 4:08 PM · Dec 11, 2019

A San Diego federal prosecutor was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday to a seat on the influential 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a 53-40 vote, Patrick Bumatay became the 49th circuit appointee to be confirmed under the Trump administration, part of a steady drive by Republicans to remake the federal bench with conservative jurists. It is an especially sweet victory for the administration given the 9th Circuit’s liberal lean, which has made it a prime spot for the president’s foes to challenge his policies. President Donald Trump has often complained about being treated unfairly by the nation’s largest...

California Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris lashed out at the White House after President Trump, under pressure from conservative activists, re-nominated two conservative California judges to the Ninth Circuit federal appeals court over their opposition. “We are deeply disappointed that the White House has chosen to re-nominate Daniel Collins and Kenneth Lee to the Ninth Circuit,” Feinstein and Harris said in a joint statement late Wednesday. “We made clear our opposition to these individuals and told the White House we wanted to work together to come to consensus on a new package of nominees.”

A traditionally liberal federal appeals court has ruled once again that the Little Sisters of the Poor have to pay for abortions under their health insurance plan under the Obamacare mandate. Over the past three years the Supreme Court has twice protected the Catholic nuns, but pro-abortion state officials have filed new lawsuits trying to force the Catholic order to pay for abortions in their health care plan. Today, a 3-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued a decision. The panel’s ruling invalidated the new pro-life rules the Trump administration put in place to...

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held yesterday that a Los Angeles Police Department officer is entitled to qualified immunity in an action based on his nonfatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy who was in a group of four youths in an alley, one of whom was perceived by the officer to be holding a gun on one of the others. Officer Miguel Gutierrez fired his weapon, grazing the back of Jamar Nicholson Green, who was the boy believed to be holding a weapon (which was actually a toy pistol with an orange cap). Gutierrez participated in the decision...

Depriving a transgender inmate with severe gender dysphoria of sex reassignment surgery is a form of “cruel and unusual punishment,” a federal appeals court ruled Friday, affirming a lower court ruling. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the state of Idaho to provide the surgery for trans inmate Adree Edmo. The ruling is the first time an appeals court has ordered a state to provide gender-affirming surgery to a prisoner, and the decision is at odds with a ruling issued earlier this year by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Idaho's Republican governor, Brad Little, vowed to...

No UN-recommended census question on citizenship, no ending of the arbitrary Obama DACA executive order (which had been rejected in Congress), no measly $6 billion for a border wall to stop a border surge of more than a million expected illegal invaders, no ability to even change one's legal team. The leftist courts up until now have always found merit on the thwart-Trump side, saying yes to any activist request, including the really stupid one from the Sierra Club, with the Supreme Court ruling that yes, the Sierra Club has a right to enjoy its scenery so President Trump can't...

The 9th Circuit has ruled for the Trump Administration, allowing them to refuse money for cities that do not comply with federal immigration enforcement.

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that the Trump administration can proceed with its overhaul of the Title X family planning program, setting aside demands to halt a recent decision allowing the administration to enforce a "gag rule" for abortion referrals. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against emergency petitions that sought to block the rule from taking effect while the changes are being challenged in court. That means the administration can enforce the rules, which block abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from the Title X program and bans providers in that program from referring women for...

<p>The Senate on Tuesday confirmed another of President Trump’s nominees to the California-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, increasing the number of Republican-appointed judges on what is widely considered the country’s most liberal appellate court.</p> <p>Daniel Bress received party-line support in the 53-to-45 vote.</p>

A San Francisco-based federal appeals court ordered a judge Friday to reconsider her ruling against President Trump’s decision to ban transgender people from the military. In a unanimous, unsigned order, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals told a federal district judge in the state of Washington to take into account executive privileges in reweighing her decision. The U.S. Supreme Court put a hold on the judge’s nationwide injunction in January, allowing the ban to take effect while the government appealed to the 9th Circuit. Friday’s decision continued that hold. Gay rights lawyers who brought the...