Free Republic

A federal judge in Oklahoma on Tuesday struck down a key provision supporting the Affordable Care Act, in yet another judicial move that threatens to derail President Obama’s vision of national health care reform. US District Judge Ronald White said in a 20-page opinion that the Internal Revenue Service lacked the authority to enact a regulation that allows the federal government to provide tax credits to qualified health care policyholders through health care exchanges in every instance. At issue in the lawsuit was whether the IRS regulation conflicted with the clear language of ACA, also known as Obamacare, which appears...

Allen tried to avoid a trial and jail time by applying to a pre-trial intervention program in New Jersey for first-time offenders. Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens running back who knocked his then-fiancee unconscious during an altercation in Atlantic City in February, was accepted into the program in May.

Insufficient IRS explanations cause Judge to order sworn answers from IRS about Lois Lerner’s hard drive and emails. Judicial Watch has sued over missing IRS emails in the federal district court in D.C., pursuant to its FOIA request for such documents.The IRS was ordered to provide explanations as to missing emails, particularly Lois Lerner.The IRS provided explanations, but those were not good enough for the Judge, who launched his own inquiry into the matter, as Judicial Watch explained in a statement posted on its website: Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton made the following statement in response to today’s order...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office isn’t the only federal authority that has taken a stance against the name of the Washington Redskins. A federal judge in Maryland issued a ruling last week that purposely did not contain the team’s name, which has been described as an offensive slur against Native Americans. U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte, who is presiding over a lawsuit that former New York Giants linebacker Barrett Green brought against the Redskins, issued a 21-page ruling with this footnote on the first page: “Pro Football’s team is popularly known as the Washington ‘Redskins,’ but the Court...

A federal judge ordered the IRS Thursday to explain under oath how it lost a trove of emails to and from a central figure in the agency's tea party controversy. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan gave the tax agency a month to submit the explanation in writing. Sullivan said he is also appointing a federal magistrate to see if lost emails can be obtained from other sources. Sullivan issued the order as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group. He said the IRS declaration must be signed, under oath, by the...

French authorities say they foiled an Islamic terrorist plot reportedly targeting the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and a nuclear power plant last year. The revelation comes as the country unveiled new anti-terror rules which included a proposal to ban terror suspects from leaving the country if it is thought they intend to fight abroad, The Telegraph reported. French authorities revealed they arrested a 29-year-old Algerian butcher living in southern France June 2013, after they found coded messages between him and a high-ranking Al Qaeda member discussing how “to conduct jihad in the place you are currently,” according to Le Parisien....

Richard Kopf, a senior United States district judge in Nebraska, thinks the Supreme Court needs to learn when to "stfu." Kopf made the recommendation in a post on his personal blog July 5, where he argued the recent Hobby Lobby ruling demonstrated the high court's need to stay away from "hot button cases."

If you want proof that Caddell had a unique personality and slightly skewed sense of humor, consider this: Many of those robes also carried stickers showing a winged pig. [....] McGrady warned the other judges not to get any ideas from the following examples, but then he read the top 13 "Caddellisms":

The Kurdish judge who sentenced former Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein to death has himself been captured and executed by ISIS. Raouf Abdul Rahman, was killed by militants in retaliation for the killing of the former Iraqi dictator, according to Al-Mesryoon. Jordanian Member of Parliament Khalil Attieh wrote on his Facebook page that: “Iraqi revolutionaries arrested him and sentenced him to death in retaliation for the death of the martyr Saddam Hussein.” So far the Iraqi government has not confirmed the death of Judge Rahman, but they have refused to deny the kidnapping. Attieh also claimed that Rahman was only captured...

Back in 2006, after the second US invasion of Iraq culminated if not with the discovery of the WMDs (which were the pretext for the invasion in the first place), but the unearthing (literally) and kangaroo court trial of Saddam Hussein, the US was quick to announce "mission accomplished." Recent events have made a mockery of that claim, however what is truly the straw that broke the back of poetic justice, to mix metaphors, are reports from local media that as part of its blitz-campaign to take over northern Iraq, ISIS found and the promptly executed Rauf Rashid Abd al-Rahman,...

by Gina Cassini | Top Right NewsThe date has been set - in stone. Circuit Court Judge Margaret Noe has ordered Matthew Hindes to appear in court on Monday, or risk losing full custody of his daughter. There's one problem -- a big one: Matthew Hindes is a Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, and is currently stationed on a submarine deployed in the Pacific Ocean! Yes, the judge is out of her mind, but it is worse than that. Hindes has had full custody of his daughter since 2010. He received full parental rights when his daughter was taken from...

SANFORD – A judge this morning threw out part of George Zimmerman's libel suit against NBC Universal and held out the prospect that she may throw out the whole thing. Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson tossed the allegations related to one of five broadcasts and said she needs to do more homework before deciding about the others. Zimmerman is suing the media company, alleging that it falsely portrayed him as a racist.

The U.S. Senate on June 17 confirmed three federal judges nominated by President Barack Obama. The White House, in a statement released hours later, said each judge will be a "trailblazer on their courts." • Judge Darrin Gayles, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, is the first openly gay African American man to be confirmed as a lifetime-appointed federal judge. • Staci Yandle, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, is the first African American to serve on that court and the first openly gay lifetime-appointed federal judge in...

Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that key job protections for teachers in California are unconstitutional, in a major loss for unions.. The verdict represents a complete victory by attorneys who argued that state laws governing teacher layoffs, tenure and dismissals harm students by making them more likely to suffer from grossly ineffective instruction. If the preliminary ruling becomes final and is upheld, the effect will be sweeping across California and possibly the nation. Ruling "The law was on our side and the evidence was overwhelming,” said Marcellus McRae, an attorney for the plaintiffs. "Whatever happens, we can’t go...

Published on Jun 7, 2014 http://www.westernfreepress.com/?p=23... June 7, 2014 Judge Jeanine Pirro again calls for Obama's impeachment -- this time for the astonishing exchange of one (alleged) US deserter for 5 top Taliban leaders held at Guantanamo Bay. Judge Jeanine warns that the future atrocities these five perpetrate will be attributable to Barack Obama. Obama didn't "release" these murderers, he"unleashed" them says Judge Jeanine.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Wisconsin Friday struck down the state’s ban on same-sex couples marrying, joining federal judges across the nation to have reached a similar decision in the past six months that such bans are unconstitutional. “I conclude that the Wisconsin laws prohibiting marriage between same-sex couples interfere with plaintiffs’ right to marry, in violation of the due process clause, and discriminate against plaintiffs on the basis of sexual orientation, in violation of the equal protection clause,” U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb wrote. She held off on issuing an injunction stopping enforcement of the ban, as...

A federal judge has ordered the government to stop destroying National Security Agency surveillance records that could be used to challenge the legality of its spying programs in court. U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White’s ruling came at the request of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is in the midst of a case challenging NSA’s ability to surveil foreign citizen’s U.S.-based email and social media accounts. According to the EFF, the signals intelligence agency and the Department of Justice were knowingly destroying key evidence in the case by purposefully misinterpreting earlier preservation orders by multiple courts,

If you’ve ever had a public defender in a criminal case, you probably plead guilty for fear of getting beaten in a trial. Yesterday in Brevard County, Florida however, a public defender got beaten at arraignment, literally. Judge John Murphy is accused of punching veteran public defender Andrew Weinstock in the face repeatedly, after the two exchanged words in the court room. Murphy reportedly wanted Weinstock’s client to waive his right to a speedy trial, and when he refused, the judge said “If I had a rock I’d throw it at you” and then invited him outside of the courtroom...

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Court deputies had to break up a physical fight between a Brevard County judge and a public defender after an argument during a hearing on Monday. Judge John Murphy is accused of punching veteran public defender Andrew Weinstock after the two had words during court in which Murphy allegedly pressured Weinstock to get his client to waive his right to a speedy trial. "You know, if I had a rock I would throw it at you right now," Murphy tells Weinstock. "Stop pissing me off. Just sit down." "You know I'm the public defender. I have...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A judge in southern Iran has ordered Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear in court to answer complaints by individuals who say Facebook-owned applications Instagram and Whatsapp violate their privacy, semiofficial news agency ISNA reported Tuesday. It quoted Ruhollah Momen Nasab, an official with the paramilitary Basij force, as saying that the judge also ordered the two apps blocked. It is highly unlikely that Zuckerberg would appear in an Iranian court since there is no extradition treaty between Iran and the United States. Some Iranian courts have in recent years issued similar rulings that...