Free Republic

A federal appeals court on Wednesday stopped the federal government from destroying a fence of razor wire that Texas installed along the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass to deter migrants from entering the country illegally. The ruling, criticized by activists, came hours before Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum told President-elect Donald Trump that immigrants headed to the U.S. are being “taken care of” in her country. Texas had placed more than 29 miles of wire in the Eagle Pass area by last September when Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration over Border Patrol agents’ alleged illegal destruction of state...

A federal judge ruled Monday that a member of the San Jose State women’s volleyball team, who’s been at the center of a transgender controversy, can participate in the Mountain West Conference tournament that begins Wednesday, according to The New York Times. Judge S. Kato Crews, an appointee of President Biden to the U.S. District Court in Colorado, made the decision amid a national transgender controversy over Blaire Fleming, a redshirt senior who joined the Spartans in 2022. “San José State University will continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms,” the university said in a statement...

BREAKING: Chuck Schumer just confirmed another lifelong federal judge with a vote of 50-48. Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Braun didn't show up to block the confirmation by making it 50-50. Kamala is currently in Hawaii, so she couldn't have cast the tie-breaking vote. Senator JD Vance is our VP-elect and still took time out of his busy schedule to show up & vote. Where were Ted Cruz and Mike Braun? We could've stopped this nomination or, at the very least, slowed down Schumer. If Republicans were the ones speedrunning confirmations like Schumer, every Democrat Senator would be in...

Chuck Schumer just confirmed another lifelong federal judge by a vote of 50-49 because Republican Senator Mike Braun did not show up to vote. This judge will now forever serve on the D.C. court. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is voting with the Republicans to block the nomination, and Kamala Harris is out of town and can't cast the tie-breaking vote. Yet we still can't get Republicans to stand up and fight. ... Senator Mike Braun knows exactly what he’s doing with his absence. He’s voting as a Democrat. ... So why is RINO Braun in the Republican party since...

The rapper's defense attorneys denounced the prosecutors for "outrageous conduct"This Friday, November 22, a third bail hearing is scheduled for rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs. For this hearing, the judge in charge of the case hinted that he would not consider the evidence obtained during the search of his cell, which represents a victory for the rapper. Judge Arun Subramanian also ruled that the prosecution must destroy its copies of the 19 pages of notes obtained as a result of the raid. Combs appeared in court on Tuesday, apparently more relaxed than in previous hearings Diddy receives order to grant...

This morning, I woke up, for the first time in days not stuffed up or coughing, only to view as my first sight with clarity the pale light of Trump's victory's and it's hollow aftermath. The Republican Party which is now poised to assume control of key branches of government after the election has once again demonstrated a distressing proclivity for squandering authority even before the new government arrives. This time, not in the name of Trumpian populism, but in deference to indifference itself. What should have been a decisive rebuke of a judicial nominee, ensuring the opportunity for conservatives...

A federal appeals court has upheld an Indiana law banning the use of puberty blockers and hormones for transgender children under the age of 18, one of numerous such laws passed by Republican-controlled states. The 2-1 decision from the seventh US circuit court of appeals on Wednesday comes as the US supreme court prepares to hear a challenge to a similar law in Tennessee, which may ultimately determine whether all such state laws around the country can be enforced. The seventh circuit had already allowed the law to take effect in February while it considered the challenge by families of...

A federal judge in Virginia on Friday ordered the commonwealth to place non-citizens back on its voter rolls. The judge ruled that removing the registered voters from the rolls violated federal law, WRIC reported. The Justice Department sued Virginia earlier this month over removing non-citizens from its rolls ahead of the Nov. 5 elections. The suit was against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Virginia State Board of Elections, and the Virginia Commissioner of Elections for allegedly violating the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The NVRA prevents states from using systematic programs to remove ineligible voters from voter rolls within...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WRIC) – A federal judge has ordered Virginia to put people back on the state’s voter rolls after they were removed under a state program that the Justice Department and advocates claim illegally took them off too close to the election. Lawsuits from the Justice Department and advocacy groups allege that part of an executive order from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin systematically removes alleged noncitizens from the rolls too soon to the Nov. 5 presidential election in violation of federal law. The law — the National Voter Registration Act — requires Virginia and other states to stop systematically...

Pro-life activist and mother of a young daughter, Bevelyn Beatty Williams, announced on Tuesday that her stay of appeal request has been denied by the judge who sentenced her on charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act), and that she is to report to federal prison in Alabama on Thursday. She will be in prison for at least a month as her attorney appeals the decision. “I wanted to give you all an important update,” she wrote. “My legal team worked tirelessly to submit a stay of appeal so I could be home on...

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (August 23, 2024) and the Supreme Judicial Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (August 27, 2024) reached opposite opinions on whether bladed weapons qualify as arms mentioned in the text of the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment reads: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.In 2008, the Supreme Court examined the meaning of the words in the amendment. Heller found the meaning of “arms” to be the same at...

Two recent court decisions could have far-reaching impacts on oil and gas projects. The Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, and other anti-fossil fuel groups recently sued the National Marine Fisheries Service, claiming the agency’s “biological opinion” failed to properly assess the risks that offshore oil and gas drilling poses to endangered species. Last month, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:From Michigan Fair ElectionsLawmakers claim standing to sue state government for infringing on their constitutional rights when it used ballot initiatives to change election laws.July 2, 2024. Yesterday eleven Michigan Legislators filed their principal brief in an appeal to the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, claiming their constitutional rights have been violated. Under the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 4, (“Elections Clause”), state legislatures are given the constitutional power and authority to regulate the time, place, and manner of federal elections.In 2018 and 2022 amendments to the Michigan Constitution altered election laws through a process that...

UPDATE: Federal court grants Biden DOJ request to move $30 million Ashli Babbitt wrongful death lawsuit from Ashli's home in San Diego to Washington DC. The case was just assigned to Judge Jia Cobb, who was appointed to the bench by President Biden in 2021.

<p>The former top prosecutor in Baltimore, convicted of fraud for lying about financial hardship during the pandemic in order to buy a beach house with money from the federal government, will serve no prison time.</p><p>Marilyn Mosby, 44, was sentenced to 12 months of house arrest, 100 hours of community service and three years of supervised release Thursday, Erek Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland announced.</p>

Convicted fraudster and former Baltimore District Attorney Marilyn Mosby will avoid jail time for perjury and mortgage fraud after facing up to 40 years in prison. U.S. District Court Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby said the fact that Mosby is a mother of two daughters helped motivate her decision to sentence the former prosecutor to 12 months of home detention, three years of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service in lieu of prison, WBAL TV reported. Though Mosby has maintained her innocence, she was found guilty of taking advantage of the CARES Act — the first coronavirus relief bill...

Officials tried to use a novel interpretation of tax law to expand the reach of Title IX regulations. This ruling put a stop to that. . A federal court of appeals ruling last month protects nonprofits (including private schools and homeschools) from federal overreach in the context of Title IX regulations. Schools that receive government money have to abide by Title IX, but the court found that having 501(c)(3) status is not enough to put a private school into that category. The ruling means private schools cannot be subject to Title IX solely because of their status with the IRS....

Brian Murphy (Senate Judiciary Committee/Twitter) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Senate Democrats hailed President Joe Biden’s pick for the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts as a committed advocate for criminal justice. As a defense attorney, Brian E. Murphy defended rapists and violent criminals while leading a firm that touted its ability to protect the "reputation" of convicted sex offenders. Murphy & Rudolf, a criminal defense firm Murphy founded in 2011, touts its "notable case results," including a dismissal of charges for clients accused of rape, child rape, and murder. In one post on its website, Murphy & Rudolf touts its "50 years of combined...

On Tuesday a 2-1 Democrat majority of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit invalidated a good West Virginia law protecting girls’ sports against invasion by male-bodied transgender students. The Richmond-based tribunal held that West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act violates the federal Title IX law, which was enacted to protect girls’ sports, and also that West Virginia’s protection of girls’ sports may further violate the Constitution. The Biden-appointed judge who wrote this absurd decision repeatedly used the propaganda term “sex assigned at birth,” as if sex were arbitrary and merely “assigned” to a newborn. On the contrary,...

A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned the West Virginia law banning transgender girls from playing on girls' sports teams, finding that it violates Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools. The ruling comes amid a wave of anti-trans legislation cropping up across the country, as well as efforts to fight back against it. The ban in West Virginia was originally signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice in 2021, and introduced as the "Save Women's Sports Act." It required that any official or unofficial school-sanctioned event involving athletics determine each athlete's participation in...