Free Republic

Just hours before a law banning foreign nationals from contributing to ballot issue campaigns was set to take effect, a federal judge blocked part of it because it violates their First Amendment rights. Judge Michael Watson has ruled that the state can’t enforce the law against foreign nationals – including lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders – who donate to ballot issue campaigns. Read the ruling here. Watson wrote that the political spending of lawful permanent residents "does not carry a risk of undue foreign influence", and noted that LPRs can serve in the military. "It would...

Ajudge in New Jersey ruled that about 1,900 mail-in ballots that were prematurely opened have to be counted and accepted in Atlantic County. Superior Court Judge Michael J. Blee ruled Friday that the prematurely opened ballots will be counted in the county's primary race. This decision could determine the outcome of the state’s 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary. [snip] One official testified that there was chaos with too many workers sorting ballots, leading to disorganization.

Judge Merchan made sure to let the jurors know who is in charge of the sham trial. Per Paul Ingrassia: Judge Merchan tells the jurors that “nothing the lawyers said is evidence” and “nothing said during the summations is evidence.” Merchan: You and you alone are the judges of the facts of this case. Merchan: I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR EXPLAINING THE LAW, NOT THE LAWYERS. YOUR SWORN DUTY AS JURORS IS TO FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS ON THE LAW, AS YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU WOULD. Alvin Bragg’s prosecutors fumed after Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche said Trump shouldn’t be sent to...

<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...

Judge Arthur Engoron is now under investigation after claims surfaced that he received unsolicited advice from a prominent New York City real estate attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey, weeks before ordering former President Donald Trump to pay a hefty $454 million judgment. This investigation by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct seeks to determine whether Engoron violated judicial conduct rules, NBC New York reported

Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday accused Trump of intimidating a juror who admitted she posted a pro-Biden video to her Facebook page. Jury selection was still underway on Tuesday in the Stormy Daniels ‘hush money’ trial after more than 50 prospective jurors were dismissed from the jury pool on Monday. One potential juror was brought in for questioning after Trump’s lawyers discovered she posted a pro-Biden celebratory video in 2020. “You had to get in the car to spread the honking cheer. it’s a full on dance party at 96th street,” the potential juror’s caption read according to Trump attorney...

A federal judge held veteran investigative reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt on Thursday for refusing to divulge her source for a series of Fox News stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington imposed a fine of $800 per day until Herridge complies, but the fine will not go into effect immediately to give her time to appeal. ... “Herridge and many of her colleagues in the journalism community may disagree with that decision and prefer that a different balance be struck, but she is...

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office sought high bail for a group of illegal immigrants accused of attacking two NYPD officers near Times Square last month after their initial no-bail release caused a national uproar. The suspects each pleaded not guilty at their arraignment on a superseding indictment Friday morning. Despite the prosecution's change in stance, one suspected Venezuelan gang member who was ordered to leave the country last year had his bail set at $1. However – it is not expected to be paid. The move allows him to avoid deportation while in custody. First up, the judge set...

The judge in former President Donald Trump’s $370 million civil lawsuit in New York—who, even before the trial began, ruled the former president liable for fraud—has sent a sharply worded email to President Trump’s attorneys defending his impartiality. Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 8 email to Trump attorney Cliff Robert chides the lawyer for questioning the judge’s objectivity. “You and your co-counsel have been questioning my impartiality since the early days of this case, presumably because I sometimes rule against your clients,” Judge Engoron wrote. “That whole approach is getting old.” The insistence on his objectivity—and rebuke of Mr. Robert for...

United States District Judge for the District of Idaho, B. Lynn Winmill, has granted a motion for preliminary injunction to block the January 1, 2024 implementation of House Bill 71, which was signed into law following the 2023 Idaho Legislative session. HB71, also called the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, was written by the Idaho Family Policy Center and sponsored by Representative Bruce Skaug. The legislation was written to stop hormone changing drugs, puberty blocking drugs, and sex-change surgeries from being prescribed for minor children in Idaho for the reasons of ‘gender dysphoria’ and transitioning children from their birth sex to...

A self-proclaimed “Christmas Lawyer” faces losing his legal license after he criticized a judge who banned his festive home display, which featured a live camel and 700,000 bulbs, allegedly calling the justice “corrupt” and a “hateful anti-Christian bigot.” Jeremy Morris was informed the Idaho State Bar has “probable cause to proceed with formal charges” against him for accusing federal Judge B. Lynn Winmill of corruption following an ongoing legal battle with the West Hayden Estates Homeowners Association. “The Idaho State Bar has made it clear they’re going to protect their friends, in this case, a federal judge,” Morris told Fox...

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is on trial in Washington, D.C., this week for defaming Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss in the aftermath of the 2020 election. Giuliani, acting on behalf of former President Donald Trump, accused the mother and daughter of committing election fraud while the two were counting ballots on Election Day in Georgia's Fulton County. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in August awarded a default judgment to the two women, leaving this week's trial to determine the full scope of the damages and any penalties Giuliani will have to pay. Freeman...

'The more a party makes inflammatory statements about this case … the greater the urgency will be that we proceed to trial quickly.’ U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan warned Donald Trump and his attorney Friday that repeated “inflammatory” statements about his latest criminal prosecution would force her to speed his trial on charges related to his bid to subvert the 2020 election. “I caution you and your client to take special care in your public statements about this case,” Chutkan told Trump lawyer John Lauro during a hearing. “I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of...

A federal judge in New York has rejected former President Donald Trump's request to move his hush-money criminal case into federal court. "Trump has failed to show that the conduct charged by the Indictment is for or relating to any act performed by or for the President under color of the official acts of a President," Judge Alvin Hellerstein wrote in his ruling Wednesday. Trump has pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election. He...

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three other members of the far-right extremist group were convicted Thursday of a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol in a desperate bid to keep Donald Trump in power after the Republican lost the 2020 presidential election. A jury in Washington, D.C., found Tarrio guilty of seditious conspiracy after hearing from dozens of witnesses over more than three months in one of the most serious cases brought in the stunning attack that unfolded on Jan. 6, 2021, as the world watched on live TV. Tarrio was also convicted of obstructing Congress' certification of...

Former President Donald Trump has been banned from talking — or posting — about certain evidence uncovered in the Manhattan District Attorney’s “hush money” criminal case. Justice Juan Merchan handed down the ruling Thursday during a Manhattan Supreme Court hearing after prosecutors sought a protective order to restrict Trump, 76, from publicly revealing any evidence handed over to his legal team as the case unfolds. The judge — who insisted he was not imposing a “gag order” — said Trump was prohibited from talking about evidence specifically obtained by the DA’s Office and turned over to the defense to prepare...

Former President Trump was fined $937,000 for filing improper lawsuits against Hillary Clinton and her campaign, according to a court ruling by a judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks ruled that Trump and his legal team displayed a “continuing pattern of misuse of the courts” in order to “dishonestly advance a political narrative,” according to the court ruling.

@julie_kelly2 Judge: “This is what law enforcement is supposed to do. I don’t see anything on the entrapment front. In my mind, law enforcement deserves a pat on the back.” He claimed the FBI informants “pulled the plug early” and commended the agency for its “careful monitoring.” 🙄 This same judge has aided DOJ in this bogus case from the start, denying defense motions to present damning evidence at trial and refusing to compel testimony from FBI informants, agents for defense. His conduct in retrial was a disgrace

Three men accused of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor were convicted of all charges Wednesday, a triumph for state prosecutors after months of mixed results in the main case in federal court. Joe Morrison, his father-in-law Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar were found guilty of providing “material support” for a terrorist act as members of a paramilitary group, the Wolverine Watchmen. They held gun drills in rural Jackson County with a leader of the scheme, Adam Fox, who was disgusted with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other officials in 2020 and said he wanted to kidnap her. Jurors read...