Free Republic

A Cook County judge is facing harsh criticism from the Cook County Sheriff and the teamsters union that represents deputies and jailers. *snip* [Judge] Lyke held them in contempt after they would not comply with his order to unshackle an inmate so he could hug a family member present in the courtroom. That inmate has a track record of being dangerous and unpredictable.

The highest court in Massachusetts on Thursday issued a public reprimand against a district court judge who was accused of allowing an immigrant to escape US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The case dates back to 2018 when Judge Shelley Joseph was accused of colluding with the immigrant’s attorney and a court officer to allow him to escape out a back door of the courthouse after a hearing on charges that included drug possession. The decision by the Supreme Judicial Court follows a recommendation for the reprimand by a hearing officer for the Commission on Judicial Conduct. It concluded that...

An MS-13 gang member convicted in a savage execution-style murder is out of federal custody in California after a federal judge ordered his immediate release, igniting fury from the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta ordered the release of David Antonio Aviles Perez, 35, aka "the witch," after finding that immigration officials held him for five months without giving him a bond hearing or determining whether he posed a danger to the public or a flight risk. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused the Biden-appointed judge of putting the public in danger by ordering Aviles Perez’s...

A machete-wielding MS-13 executioner known as “the witch” has been cut loose by an “activist” federal judge in California despite facing an aggravated murder warrant in El Salvador. David Antonio Aviles Perez, 35, was captured by ICE agents in San Diego in April on an international warrant accusing him of aggravated murder. He had been held in federal custody pending his removal from the US. But before authorities could arrange for his extradition, Aviles Perez was released last Wednesday by federal Judge Jinsook Ohta, who ordered his release from a southern California ICE detention facility by 5 p.m. the following...

WASHINGTON — A federal judge pumped the brakes on President Trump’s latest effort to rein in birthright citizenship through executive order, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling against his first attempt. Maryland-based US District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday temporarily blocking Trump’s scaled-down executive orders last month to stop birth tourism. “The 2026 Executive Order is almost certainly unconstitutional … for the simple reason that the Supreme Court in Barbara already decided that the children in the class are citizens at birth,” Boardman, a Biden appointee, wrote in the opinion — referring to the Supreme Court case, Trump...

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the Postal Service from inserting itself into the election process while litigation continues. ================================================================ A federal judge Thursday blocked a Postal Service regulation that would exert control over mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections in the latest setback on the issue for President Donald Trump. The recently finalized measure would implement a key provision of Trump’s executive order on mail-in ballots that would add a new level of bureaucracy to the elections process, which is typically administered by states. The executive order directed the U.S. Postal Service to, among...

A federal judge in Texas struck down a 2023 state law Tuesday that sought to restrict drag shows, ruling it was unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge David Hittner, a Reagan appointee, said the measure, known as Texas Senate Bill 12, improperly restricted speech, violating the First Amendment of the Constitution. The ruling prevents state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the Senate, from enforcing the law and denies his motion for a new trial. In the ruling, Hittner also had advice for “those who find such activities as described in this case offensive.” “The solution is relatively simple ......

A judge has denied Karmelo Anthony's request for a new trial in the murder of Austin Metcalf after his new defense team called for it in the wake of his conviction earlier this summer. Judge Michael Chitty rendered his decision Saturday after testimony stretched into Friday evening. The decision could have a major impact on how people perceive the justice system in Texas. Anthony was convicted of murdering 17‑year‑old Austin Metcalf after stabbing him during a Frisco ISD track meet in April 2025. A Collin County jury rejected his self‑defense claim and found he intentionally stabbed Metcalf during an altercation.

District Court Judge Nasser Abu Taha has requested to relocate from his home in southern Israel to northern Israel and serve as a judge there due to threats and a hostile atmosphere created by criminal elements in Arab society, i24NEWS reported Wednesday evening. According to the report, some of the suspects and defendants whom Abu Taha has judged over the years hold him responsible for the punishments imposed on them and the "damage" they suffered as a result of his rulings. Against this background, they are demanding that his family compensate them. The request to relocate to northern Israel was...

The black judge overseeing the gang-rape cases of slain White LSU student Madison Brooks is the mother of a convicted serial rapist. Judge Gail Ray’s son, Nelson Taylor (also black), pleaded guilty in 1997 to multiple forcible rapes of teenage girls. SHE WAS HIS DEFENSE ATTORNEY. Now she’s set to decide the fate of the black men accused of raping 19-year-old White girl Madison before she was dumped on a highway and killed. Louisiana Supreme Court refused to remove her. This is not a conflict of interest. This is a disgrace. Justice for Madison. How fast do you think she’d...

A Clinton-appointed federal judge in Florida has died just days after he controversially released a Cuban plane hijacker who was awaiting deportation. Judge John E. Steele, 77, passed away, according to a law clerk for Chief Judge Marcia Morales Howard of the Middle District of Florida — where Steele served. A legal source in Miami also confirmed Steele’s sudden death. The circumstances of his passing were not immediately clear. Steele came under criticism for his July 8 ruling to release Cuban plane hijacker Maikel Guerra Morales from ICE custody.

A Florida federal judge in a scathing order Monday said President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service “for an improper purpose” — to gain the appearance of “judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.” That controversial out-of-court settlement with the IRS and Department of Justice in May briefly led the DOJ to create a since-abandoned $1.8 billion “lawfare” fund to compensate purported victims of prosecutorial overreach by the department. It also led to Trump, his family members and related business entities being granted effective immunity from audits,...

A former New York Supreme Court justice and a Brooklyn real estate developer have been charged in an alleged $6.5 million investment fraud scheme tied to a purported New Jersey commercial real estate deal, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed in the Eastern District of New York. Federal prosecutors said former Kings County Supreme Court Justice Edward Harold King and developer Sam Sprei, also known as Yechiel Sprei, Shimon Sprei and Eli Shapiro, conspired to defraud investors by falsely claiming their money would be securely held in escrow for a bankruptcy-related property auction in Freehold, New Jersey. According to...

A California immigration judge has filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Justice, alleging she was terminated because she is a registered Democrat, a woman over 40, fluent in Spanish, and had ties to immigrant-rights groups. Kyra Lilien had been in the San Francisco Immigration Court since 2023, before transferring to the Concord Immigration Court in 2024. Last July, Lilien was notified that her two-year probationary period would not be converted to a permanent appointment. The 14-page lawsuit, filed this week, names the DOJ and Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche as defendants. Lilien claims she met or exceeded...

The latest man charged with trying to assassinate President Donald Trump received an apology from the judge in his court appearance Monday. Attorneys for Cole Allen claimed in filings revealed during the hearing that the suspect had been wrongfully placed on suicide watch and denied access to a Bible. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui gave the government until the next day to update the court on where Allen would be held at the Washington, D.C., jail. "Whatever you've been through, I apologize for the prior week," the judge said to Allen, according to USA Today. "I'm sorry," the judge said...

A federal judge was adamant Monday that the Trump administration must give proper notice before renovating the East Potomac Golf Links, warning of “serious consequences” if it fails to do so. US District Judge Ana Reyes voiced concerns that the administration will follow the White House ballroom playbook and proceed with construction first and then deal with the legal fallout later. “Let’s just say, given some issues around the District recently, I would have a particular concern that we not act first and ask forgiveness later,” Reyes said during a Monday hearing, per the Washington Post. “Because that’s not going...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge must end his “intrusive” contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to comply with an order turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador last year, a divided appeals court panel ruled Tuesday. Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion in forging ahead with criminal contempt proceedings over the March 2025 deportation flights, according to the majority opinion by a three-judge panel from U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. President Donald Trump’s administration has a “clear and indisputable” right to the termination of the contempt proceedings, Circuit Judge...

Judge Roger T. Benitez, also known as “Saint” Benitez by supporters of the Second Amendment, has retired from federal service as of April 2, 2026. Judge Benitez was born in December 1950 in Havana, Cuba. He fled the Castro regime in Cuba in 1960 with his brother, speaking only Spanish at the time. His family was reunited and eventually settled in the Imperial Valley of California. Judge Benitez graduated from the Central Union High School in El Centro, California, then obtained an Associate’s degree from Imperial Valley Community College in 1971, a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Diego State...

A federal judge has rejected a desperate attempt by a former Wisconsin state judge to overturn her federal felony conviction after she helped an illegal migrant escape through her courtroom back door. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman on April 6 denied a motion from Hannah C. Dugan seeking an acquittal or a new trial after a federal jury found her guilty in December of obstructing a federal proceeding In his ruling, Judge Adelman said the federal government presented sufficient evidence that Dugan took deliberate steps to hinder federal officials from attempting to carry out an administrative arrest tied to immigration...

Elon Musk is demanding a Delaware judge step aside from a high-stakes Tesla case after she allegedly “supported” a LinkedIn post mocking a $2 billion verdict against him in a separate California case. Lawyers for Musk and Tesla filed a motion in Delaware’s Court of Chancery seeking the recusal of Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick from overseeing consolidated shareholder lawsuits, arguing her conduct “create[s] a perception of bias” that taints the proceedings. The explosive filing centers on activity tied to McCormick’s LinkedIn account following a federal jury verdict in California that found Musk liable over tweets he posted in 2022...