Free Republic

...District Judge John Dietz, declaring the money used to collect signatures "an unauthorized, illegal contribution," granted the Democratic Party a temporary restraining order to block Green Party candidates from being certified for the November ballot. Democrats contended that a petition drive to put Green candidates on the ballot was actually an effort to help Perry, a Republican, by diverting votes from his Democratic challenger Bill White... It had struggled earlier to get the required 43,991 petition signatures for its candidates to make the ballot. At a hearing Thursday, Green Party member Garrett Mize testified that Perry's former chief of staff,...

People called, wrote notes and went in person to offer condolences and support after a southwest Oklahoma City pharmacist was charged Wednesday in connection with last week’s shooting death of a robbery suspect, the store owner said this morning. Douglas Sizemore, owner of Reliable Discount Pharmacy at 5900 S Pennsylvania Ave., said despite a first-degree murder charge against employee Jerome Ersland, 57, the store is open and Ersland’s status as pharmacist has not changed. Ersland’s actions during a robbery attempt left a 16-year-old dead. “We’ve had tons of calls and letters from people who want to help and we are...

U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for obstruction of justice related to an investigation of a judicial misconduct complaint filed against him, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and Andrew R. Bland III, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Houston office announced. Kent, 59, a district judge in the Southern District of Texas, pleaded guilty to obstructing a special investigative committee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit during an investigation of a judicial misconduct complaint filed against him. Kent was sentenced in federal court in Houston by...

Utah's chief federal judge will not be disciplined for donating money to Barack Obama's campaign. Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robert Henry cleared U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell in a decision posted last week. He did say the donation was unethical but noted that Campbell had promised no similar donations in the future.

It would be a mistake for incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi to set aside fellow Californian Jane Harmon and give the House Intelligence Committee chairmanship to Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings. Harmon has been the ranking Democrat on the committee and an effective spokeswoman for her party's interests. But Pelosi believes she has been insufficiently partisan and has made it clear Harmon won't be chairman. Instead, Pelosi is considering appointing Hastings, who as a federal judge in 1989 was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate after Congress concluded he conspired to solicit a $150,000 bribe, lied under oath and...

ATLANTA -- A Fulton County judge ordered Georgia Tech to reinstate defensive back Reuben Houston to the team Tuesday even though Houston is facing felony drug charges and has been suspended from the team all season.The ruling from Superior Court Judge M. Gino Brogdon shocked Georgia Tech athletic director Dave Braine, who nonetheless pledged to abide by the decision.Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said Houston might play as early as Saturday, when the Yellow Jackets visit No. 3 Miami.The 22-year-old Houston, a two-year starting cornerback with seven career interceptions, was arrested June 21 in Atlanta in connection with a marijuana...

Nonaresa Montgomery was found guilty by a jury late today of perjury in a trial in St. Louis Circuit Court in the St. Louis vote fraud trial. She was found not guilty of evidence tampering. Judge David Mason gave her a two-year suspended prison sentence in an agreement that waived a jury recommendation of ger penalty. The judge added conditions that included community service work in which she would help young people understand how to properly register to vote... ... On tape, Montgomery admitted taking from 1,000 to 1,200 voter registrations to the St. Louis Board of Elections on Feb....

When Jerald R. Klein, a Manhattan housing court judge, got a call from a reporter yesterday morning, he had no idea why he was being bothered at home on the weekend. He did not know that his face was all over eBay. He did not know that he was for sale. "What are you talking about?" he said. "Yes, I am a housing court judge. But I'm not for sale." According to a posting on eBay, an online auction house, the 55-year-old judge would go to the highest bidder. After four days, the best offer was $127.50. The eBay advertisement,...