Free Republic

A Texas judge who gained national attention for displaying a pride flag in her courtroom now faces felony charges after allegedly ordering a defense attorney handcuffed and held in a jury box. Bexar County Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez turned herself in Thursday on charges of unlawful restraint and official oppression, the New York Post reported. The 60-year-old became the first openly LGBTQ judge elected in the county when she took office in 2019. “I’m a proud public servant, I’m LGBTQ, I own a gun, I’m bilingual, I’m an American citizen — and I have every right to defend myself,” Gonzalez...

On Saturday, a federal judge refused Minnesota’s bid to halt the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement operation in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, leaving in place the deployment of thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents. Minnesota state officials had asked the court for an emergency injunction to stop “Operation Metro Surge,” a surge of roughly 3,000 federal immigration officers that they argued went beyond lawful federal authority and violated state sovereignty. They had accused the administration of using enforcement as political leverage against the predominantly Democratic state, alleging civil-rights violations and disproportionate targeting.

A New York federal judge on Friday dismissed murder and weapons charges against alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione, a major blow to prosecutors that means Mangione no longer faces a possible death penalty if convicted. Mangione, 27, previously pleaded not guilty to murder, weapons and stalking charges for allegedly gunning down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in Midtown Manhattan in 2024. Public officials condemned the shocking killing, but Mangione became a folk hero of sorts to some Americans who decry steep healthcare costs and insurance practices. U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in Manhattan said she dismissed the murder and...

While talking to reporters about the shooting on Tuesday, Trump said: “You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns. It’s a very unfortunate thing.” The NRA later posted on X: “The NRA unequivocally believes that all law-abiding citizens have a right to keep and bear arms anywhere they have a legal right to be.” There have been repeated clashes between guns rights groups and some members of the Trump administration. FBI Director Kash Patel said on Sunday: “You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want.” The National Association for...

(Jan. 26, 2026) — INTRODUCTION As dedicated P&E readers are well aware, there is now pending in the Supreme Court the case of Trump v. Barbara. The case involves a challenge to President Trump’s Executive Order 14160 regarding the meaning of “birthright citizenship” under the 14th Amendment. Following a post by the intrepid P&E Editor here, your humble servant addressed the issue here. The Supreme Court granted certiorari review as to one of the two cases where President Trump had petitioned for review on Dec. 5, 2025. Now, the matter is proceeding before the Court through briefing of the merits...

In 1998, Wisconsin concluded the lengthy process to amend the state constitution to add an amendment protecting the right to keep and bear arms. The amendment passed by a super majority, 74% to 26%. The amendment is straightforward.The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose.The amendment was codified in the Wisconsin state constitution as section 25 of Article I. Court cases challenging Wisconsin laws that infringed on rights protected by section 25 began fairly quickly.In July of 2003, the Wisconsin Supreme Court found the state ban on the...

The Supreme Court released opinions in three cases this morning.The first case is by Justice Jackson in Barrett v US, a case about whether a defendant who commits a single act that violates two separate provisions of 18 USC 924 can be convicting under only one provision or the other, or instead can be convicted under two.The court holds that Congress did not clearly authorize convictions under both.Barrett opinionNext in Case v. Montana, by Kagan, the Court ruled:"The court holds that the "objective reasonableness" standard for warrantless entries to render emergency aid applies "without further gloss." And it was satisfied...

During college, one of my professors in Political Philosophy said that the only real revolutions in modern Western civilization were the French and the Russian. He was right, but I didn’t quite get it at the time. I do now. While the American Revolution was ostensibly a revolution, in reality, it was more of a divorce where the kids kept the same parents, they just lived with their Mom. Their Dad was still their Dad, but they didn’t have much to do with him. In contrast, the French and Russian revolutions were basically the children taking their parents out back...

VIDEODiosdado Cabello of Venezuela gave an impassioned speech revealing why the founders of the American Republic insisted on including the Second Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue opinions this morning at 10:00 a.m. There is some speculation that the tariff opinion will be issued but that isn't a sure thing.Scotusblog will be liveblogging the opinion release and we will be following along.Here is the link to the pending cases for this term. Pending cases Of note from the oldest heard cases (the October sitting), are:The conversion therapy case, Chiles v Salazar Issue(s): Whether a law that censors certain conversations between counselors and their clients based on the viewpoints expressed regulates conduct or violates the free speech clause of the First...

0:36 VIDEO AT LINK. PRIVATE PROPERTY ESSENTIALLY NO LONGER EXIST IN NYC...................

n Monday, Nicaragua’s ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) initiated an overhaul of the country’s constitution that will codify the rule of longtime dictator Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, as “co-presidents.” The reform follows an escalating campaign of persecution against the Catholic Church, the last bastion of opposition against the Ortegas, who nonetheless claim that their regime is a beacon of “Christian socialism.” Days prior, they had celebrated the New Year by expelling all Catholic nuns from the country. Nicaragua’s attacks on the Church and broader descent into tyranny culminates the stunning fall from grace of an erstwhile...

(Dec. 29, 2025) — New York State resident and registered voter Montgomery Blair Sibley, who challenged the claimed “natural born Citizen” status of former Vice President Kamala Harris, reported Monday on his Substack and website that the U.S. Supreme Court has docketed his petition for a Writ of Certiorari in his long-running “eligibility” case. The action came after Sibley appealed a dismissal from the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. ... continue reading at: https://www.thepostemail.com/2025/12/29/scotus-dockets-harris-eligibility-case/

Birthright citizenship — the idea that anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen, with full right to receive all benefits and vote when they come of age — has been a fixture of the administration of the laws in this country for my entire lifetime. But does the text of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution make the birthright citizenship rule apply to all cases, even the most extreme? Under the 14th Amendment, properly interpreted, do children born of illegal aliens subject to a deportation order really qualify for birthright citizenship? How about children born of an...

The National Popular Vote (NPV) plan is the latest in a long line of schemes designed to replace the Electoral College. Imbued with the ideals of this nation’s Founders, the Electoral College has proved itself both effective in providing orderly elections for President and resilient in allowing a stable transfer of power of the leadership of the world’s greatest democracy. Therefore, while it would be a mistake to replace the Electoral College, replacing this system with the NPV would be a disaster. The NPV would devalue the minority interests that the Founders sought to protect, create electoral administrative problems, encourage...

During the oral argument over Trump v. Slaughter at the Supreme Court, Justice Elena Kagan got seriously exercised. “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government!” Trump’s solicitor general, John Sauer, wisely declined to respond. She went on. “Where else have we so fundamentally altered the structure of government?” Indeed. The 1934 Humphrey’s Executor case did exactly that as the New Deal got into high gear during FDR’s reign. The Constitution defines three, not four, branches of government. Article I defines all the bits and pieces about the legislative branch. In particular, Section 8 lists the things that Congress...

Can Congress create federal agencies with power to enforce the laws and prosecute crimes, but which agencies are outside the control of the President? In a 1935 decision called Humphrey’s Executor, the Supreme Court held that it could. I first wrote about this subject in a post back in December 2016 titled “Can The Separation Of Powers Of The Federal Government Be Righted?” December 2016 was immediatey after Donald Trump had first been elected President, but before he had taken office. The backdrop of the post was the issue of the extent to which the newly-elected President Trump would be...

Why do we have a constitution? How and why did it come into existence? Just what, exactly, prompted the calling of the Constitutional Convention, which gave birth to it? Most Americans believe, logically enough, that after we sent His Britannic Majesty packing, it was time to create a new government. This is false, and it entirely overlooks the fact that we already had a functioning government at the time of the Convention. That government had been in effect for the entirety of the Revolution and for six years following the final British defeat at Yorktown. No, the Convention was prompted...

The only word that fits when describing the Framers’ attitude toward protecting your property is “obsession.” Therefore, the first thing we must do, right now, is define exactly what the Framers meant by the word “property.” It absolutely and positively does not merely mean land, as many believe. Let us check with James Madison in a vitally important quotation that we will examine in full a bit later. A man’s land, or merchandise, or money, is called his property. Money is property…If you want some modern confirmations of that formulation, a Google search will reveal the truth of this in...

CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE .... Article 1 Ukraine is a sovereign and independent, democratic, social, law-based state. Article 2 The sovereignty of Ukraine extends throughout its entire territory. Ukraine is a unitary state. The territory of Ukraine within its present border is indivisible and inviolable. .... Article 9 International treaties that are in force, agreed to be binding by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, are part of the national legislation of Ukraine. The conclusion of international treaties that contravene the Constitution of Ukraine is possible only after introducing relevant amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine. Article 10 The state language of...