Free Republic

June 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a challenge to the legality of state restrictions on assault-style rifles and large-capacity ammunition magazines, passing up for now cases that offered the justices a chance to further expand gun rights. The justices turned away two appeals after lower courts upheld a ban in Maryland on powerful semi-automatic rifles such as AR-15s and one in Rhode Island restricting the possession of ammunition feeding devices holding more than 10 rounds. The lower courts rejected arguments that the measures violate the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment right to "keep and...

Two federal judges on Wednesday blocked the removal of Venezuelan nationals and alleged TdA gang members facing deportation under the Alien Enemies Act after the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case. US District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, Fernando Rodriguez, Jr., a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) through April 23 or until he issues an order. “Respondents are enjoined from transferring, relocating, or removing J.A.V., J.G.G., W.G.H., or any other person that Respondents claim are subject to removal under the Proclamation, from the El Valle Detention Center; and Respondents are enjoined from...

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to rein in lower court rulings that have prevented a ban on birthright citizenship from taking effect nationwide. Judges should not be able to govern “the whole Nation” from their courtrooms by issuing universal injunctions that block policies across the entire country while litigation is pending, the administration told the justices in its application. “District courts have issued more universal injunctions and TROs [temporary restraining orders] during February 2025 alone than through the first three years of the Biden Administration,” the application states. “That sharp rise in universal injunctions stops the...

2/ State of NY v. Trump, First Circuit Court of Appeals: Appeal from RI District Court case in which ~20 blue states challenged OMB Directive to freeze federal funding. courtlistener.com/docket/6962770… 3/ State of NY v. Trump, Rhode Island District Court, Lawsuit filed by ~20 blue states challenging OMB Directive to freeze federal funding. courtlistener.com/ docket/6958599... 4/ State of NY v. Trump, Southern District of New York, Lawsuit filed by 19 blue states challenging Trump Administration having access and giving access to DOGE of Treasury Dep't databases. courtlistener.com/docket/6962355… 5/ American Fed. of Gov't Employees v. Trump, District Court of District of...

Afederal appeals court on Friday upheld Maryland’s handgun licensing requirements, rejecting an argument from gun-rights activists the law violated the Second Amendment by making it too difficult for people to obtain guns. A majority of judges from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, affirmed a district court judge’s ruling in favor of the state of Maryland. The majority rejected the plaintiffs’ argument the state’s handgun qualification statute tramples on applicants’ Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms. The law requires most Maryland residents to obtain a handgun qualification license before purchasing a handgun. Senior Judge...

This is a major scandal. It has been more than EIGHT MONTHS since the DC appellate court heard oral arguments in the appeal of Couy Griffin's conviction for the most common J6 misdemeanor--knowingly entering restricted grounds/building. During the hearing on Dec. 4, the 3 judges (Clinton, Obama, Trump) indicated they would send the case back to Judge Trevor McFadden, who found Griffin guilty of 1752(a)(1) in March 2022. Griffin's attorney asked for either an acquittal on the sole charge or require DOJ to prove to McFadden that Griffin knew the area was restricted (he did not go inside the building)...

If you've been hoping for a solution to the spreading antisemitic protests on college campuses, help may be on the way. This is what's known as hitting them where it hurts. More than a dozen federal judges sent a notification to Columbia University Law School yesterday informing them that they will not be accepting applications from any of their graduates to be law clerks starting with the class of 2024. The judges were led by jurists from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The letter was addressed directly to Columbia President Minouche Shafik....

Last week the US Supreme Court allowed Texas to enforce its immigration law that allows police to arrest illegal aliens. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority rejected an emergency application by the Biden Regime requesting the high court block Texas’ immigration law. The high court temporarily rejected the Biden Regime’s request as litigation made its way through the courts. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals last week temporarily suspended the immigration law after the Supreme Court rejected the emergency application. A three-judge panel for the Fifth Circuit in a 2-1 ruling Tuesday night rejected ‘invasion’ claims and issued a new block...

Former President Donald Trump is ineligible under the 14th Amendment to run for president in 2024, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday -- a historic decision that sets up a battle before the nation's highest court.

The Supreme Court declined on Monday to take up a case brought against Dominion Voting Systems and Facebook after the 2020 election by a group of voters who claimed the companies illegally “influenced or interfered with” the contest. Lower courts had previously rejected the case, ruling that the eight voters lacked the procedural threshold – known as standing – needed to bring the suit against parties including the Center for Tech and Civic Life, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. “The court’s refusal to take up this case is no surprise; the lower courts threw it out...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge on Thursday struck down key provisions of a 2021 Florida election law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and, in a remarkable move, ruled the state must get court approval for the next 10 years before it enacts further changes in three areas. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, in a blistering 288-page decision, said the law placed restrictions on voters that were unconstitutional and discriminated against minority citizens. Those included limits on drop boxes used for mail-in voting, on giving items to voters waiting in line and new requirements placed on voter registration groups....

The Pennsylvania judge who ordered Tuesday to remove five elected school directors from the nine-member West Chester Area School board, reinstated them Friday. But the saga is not over; they could be booted again. The five were removed on a technicality. There was a dispute over how much time the school had to respond to a petition filed by West Chester Area School District parent Beth Ann Rosica. In that petition, she calls for the removal of five school board members—Sue Tiernan, Joyce Chester, Karen Herman, Kate Shaw, and Daryl Durnell—for not representing constituents. Initially, Judge William P. Mahon in...

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to block a New York regulation that requires health care workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine without any religious exemptions.The vaccine mandate for health care workers, which went into effect in August, allows only for medical exemptions but not religious ones. The Supreme Court turned away two applications from doctors and nurses in the state for injunctive relief to allow religious exemptions while litigation continues in the lower courts over the mandate's constitutionality.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday turned away healthcare workers seeking a religious exemption to Maine's COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the latest battle over vaccination to reach the justices. The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, rejected a request made by nine unnamed plaintiffs who identified themselves as healthcare workers who object to receiving the shots on religious grounds. The court previously rejected challenges to vaccine mandates in New York and Indiana, though those cases did not involve religious objections. The justices were divided, with three conservative members saying they would have granted the request. In...

JUST IN - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett refuses to block Indiana University’s vaccine mandate for students. She acted alone and gave no explanation. https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1425929920610541568

RENO — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused a rural Nevada church’s request to enter a legal battle over the government’s authority to limit the size of religious gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic — after the church won an appeals court ruling last month that found Nevada’s restrictions unconstitutional. Attorneys general from 19 other states had recently joined in support of the unusual request from Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley east of Reno. They were urging the Supreme Court to rule on the merits of the Nevada case to help bring uniformity to various standards courts across the country have...

Washington — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that it is illegal for an employer to fire someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, delivering a major victory in the fight for civil rights for LGBT people. The court's 6-3 ruling extends the scope of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion, to include LGBT people. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch, who authored the majority's opinion, joined the liberal wing of the bench in ruling that "an employer who fires an...

Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from imposing restrictions on individuals seeking asylum in the United States, just hours after a judge in Washington had decided to let the rule stand while lawsuits play out in court. The rule, published in the Federal Register last week, required people seeking asylum to apply first in one of the countries they cross on their way to the U.S. -- with certain exceptions. It targeted tens of thousands of Central Americans who have crossed Mexico each month trying to enter the U.S. The rule was met quickly with a legal challenge from advocacy groups,...

Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday said he has noticed a troubling trend of nationwide injunctions issued by lower courts that have taken their toll on President Trump’s agenda and threaten the political process for future administrations. Barr, who has been accused by Democrats of protecting Trump after the release of the Mueller report, told the American Law Institute that there is a new trend of judicial "willingness" to review executive action, which injects courts into the political process... ...Vice President Mike Pence recently said the administration will ask the Supreme Court to bar them.... ...Barr said nationwide injunctions violate...

A federal judge in Alaska has ruled an executive order by President Donald Trump allowing offshore oil drilling of tens of millions of acres in the Arctic Ocean is "unlawful and invalid." The ruling on Friday from US District Court Judge Sharon Gleason means a drilling ban for much of the Arctic Ocean off of Alaska will go back into effect. On April 28, 2017, Trump issued an executive order reversing three memoranda and one executive order in 2015 and 2016 by then President Barack Obama withdrawing about 125 million acres of the Arctic Ocean from oil leasing. The Obama...