Free Republic

A federal judge in Alabama has thrown out a lawsuit against the state’s voter ID law, finding that the law doesn’t prevent anyone from voting because “nearly the entire population of registered voters in Alabama already possess a photo ID that can be used for voting.” For those who don’t, obtaining a qualifying ID can be done “with little to no effort and no cost.” In 2011, the Alabama legislature passed a photo ID requirement for both in-person and absentee voting. The law was enacted in an effort to strengthen voter confidence and to reduce the potential for voter fraud...

A Kentucky Family Court judge who earlier this year said he cannot hear adoption cases involving gay or lesbian people, arguing that he is looking after the best interests of children, has been found guilty of misconduct. The Louisville Courier Journal reported on Tuesday that W. Mitchell Nance, who previously announced his intention to resign on Dec. 16 due to the ethics and misconduct inquiry launched against him, has now been issued a public reprimand by the Judicial Conduct Commission. The reprimand, passed by a 4–1 vote and made available online, says that the Kentucky code of judicial conduct requires...

A prominent U.S. appeals court judge announced his retirement Monday days after women alleged he subjected them to inappropriate sexual conduct or comments. Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a statement that a battle over the accusations would not be good for the judiciary. He said he'll step down, effective immediately. The Washington Post reported last week that at least 15 women made allegations against Kozinski that go back decades. The allegations include inappropriate touching and lewd comments. Kozinski said while speaking in a "candid way" with male and female law clerks, "I...

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Faye Gary, a former police officer with the Gadsden Police Department in Alabama, has been featured in the news in recent days making the unsubstantiated claim that she was told to protect young cheerleaders from Roy Moore at local ballgames. Speaking in a Breitbart News interview on Wednesday, Gary falsely claimed that Moore “wanted to keep segregation here in the south.” She then claimed that Moore “hates Jews. He hates blacks. He hates Muslims. He hates gays.”When challenged for specifics, Gary conceded that “I don’t know exactly what he said about Jews, but he doesn’t like Muslims....

A federal judge on Monday permanently blocked President Donald Trump's executive order to cut funding from cities that limit cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities. U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick rejected the administration's argument that the executive order applies only to a relatively small pot of money and said Trump cannot set new conditions on spending approved by Congress.

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio has been sent back to jail for allegedly violating her probation again by refusing to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet. Wasn't Astacio already in jail? Last month, she was in jail for violating her probation related to a drunken driving conviction. Last week, a hearing determined that she should be released due to a technicality. Astacio's lawyer argued that she was not immediately given terms of her probation when she was sentenced in July. How did she end up in court again? Upon released from custody on Monday, she's accused of refusing to put...

A federal judge repeatedly expressed concerns Monday that the State Department’s interpretation of President Donald Trump’s travel ban could cost winners of the so-called diversity visa lottery their best chance at migrating to the U.S. During an almost 90-minute hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan mulled issuing an order that could limit the Trump directive’s impact on diversity visa winners from the six countries named in the Trump executive order. “They’re faced with a deadline that most visa applicants are not faced with. … I think the potential effect of that is they’ll be out of...

The house of cards upon which the Obama's and Clinton's built the Trump-Russia connection collapsed........ This is one of her most fired up factual attacks upon the Clinton/Obama corruption. It's a must see.

DETROIT — A spokesman says a Michigan judge wasn’t aware of a sex offender’s criminal background when he granted the man joint legal custody of a child born to a woman who said the man raped her when she was 12. Michigan Supreme Court spokesman John Nevin told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Sanilac County Judge Gregory Ross didn’t know 27-year-old Christopher Mirasolo had two criminal sexual conduct convictions, including one concerning the woman.

Officials in Pensacola, Florida, are pushing back after a judge mandated this past summer that a large cross that has been on display in a public park for the past 76 years be taken down. As Faithwire previously reported, the decision to remove the 34-foot cross inside Bayview Park came after Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled that its presence on public property is unconstitutional. “The Bayview Cross can no longer stand as a permanent fixture on city-owned property,” the judge proclaimed, noting that he was well aware of the broad local support for keeping the cross in place....

Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge hit his 40th home run of the year Sunday in the fourth inning of the Rangers' Nick Martinez, joining Mark McGwire (1987) as the second player in the history of Major League Baseball to record 40-plus homers as a rookie. In the Yanks' 16-7 victory at Globe Life Park, Judge also became just the fourth Yankee to hit 40 homers in a season in his age-25 season or younger, joining Halll of Famers Mickey Mantle (1956), Joe DiMaggio (1937), Lou Gehrig (1927) and Babe Ruth (1920).

A federal district judge in San Antonio blocked significant portions of Texas' sanctuary cities ban Wednesday, two days before the law was set to go into effect — a significant blow to Gov. Greg Abbott, who said the state would appeal. In a 94-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia blocked provisions in the law that required local law enforcement departments to comply with federal requests to hold unauthorized immigrants in their custody. He also blocked a part of the law that said local departments couldn't implement policies that would "materially limit" the enforcement of immigration laws.

A federal judge blocked enforcement of much of a “sanctuary cities” law in Texas on Wednesday night, just days before it was set to go into effect. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia blocked portions of Senate Bill 4 (SB 4) requiring local law enforcement departments to comply with federal requests to hold unauthorized immigrants in custody. Also blocked: a provision that stopped local departments from implementing policies that would “materially limit” enforcement of immigration laws, the Dallas News reported.

Freedom of speech in America is on the line, as Judge James A. Hinkle had to resign due to his criticism of protesters concerned about Confederate monuments in Charlottesville. He made a simple post on Facebook, and he did not threaten anyone, as we are seeing so many from the Left doing. In my opinion, this proves our free speech is endangered. Judge James A. Hinkle offered his immediate resignation from his position as a part-time magistrate with the Gwinnett County Magistrate Court. Hinkle’s Facebook post Saturday called protesters of Confederate monuments “snowflakes who have no concept of history.” He...

Former Alabama state Chief Justice Roy Moore tells Conservative Review that should he successfully win his Senate race, he would vote against Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., remaining Senate majority leader. With a little over four weeks until Alabama’s GOP primary runoff, Moore holds a commanding lead over incumbent Senator Luther Strange, according to the latest poll. The McConnell-affiliated Senate Leadership Fund super PAC has dumped millions into keeping the unelected Strange in office. In the initial GOP primary, Moore ended in first place, with nearly 39 percent of the vote. Strange was second, with around 33 percent of the votes...

An Ohio sheriff says a judge fired back at a man who shot him outside a courthouse, killing him. One suspect has been killed and another is in custody, CBS Pittsburgh reports. The incident happened outside of the Jefferson County Courthouse around 8 a.m. along the Ohio River in Steubenville, roughly 30 miles west of Pittsburgh, according to WTRF-TV. Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla says courthouse video shows Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. firing about five shots at the gunman, who also fired about five shots. The gunman was then killed by a probation officer.

THE LATEST: Officials have confirmed that Nathaniel Richmond allegedly ambushed and shot Judge Bruzzese Monday morning in front of the court house. Nathaniel Richmond is the father of Malik Richmond, who was convicted during the Steubenville rape trial in 2013, but Prosecutor Hanlin says there is no connection between the two incidents. Richmond has reportedly been in Jefferson County court many times, and has a criminal history.

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Ohio officials say a county judge was shot and wounded as he walked toward a courthouse, and the suspect was killed when a probation officer returned fire. Jefferson County Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. was shot Monday morning near the county courthouse in Steubenville, along the Ohio River roughly 30 miles west of Pittsburgh. Steubenville City Manager James Mavromatis tells WTOV-TV that Bruzzese was talking after being wounded. He was flown to a Pittsburgh-area hospital. Investigators didn't immediately release further information about the judge's condition or the suspect. The suspect's body could be seen lying next to...

A Gwinnett County judge and longtime local politician has been suspended after making controversial Facebook posts about protests over Confederate memorials in Charlottesville, Virginia, and elsewhere. Judge Jim Hinkle — a magistrate judge who served as mayor of the city of Grayson for more than two decades before retiring in 2013 — took to Facebook on Saturday to label the Charlottesville protesters “snowflakes” with “no concept of history.” On Tuesday morning, he followed that missive with another post, this one comparing “the nut cases tearing down monuments” to the so-called Islamic State. A few hours after that post — which...

Railroad — to convict with undue haste and by means of false charges or insufficient evidence; to push through hastily or without due consideration Before jury selection began Monday in the retrial of four defendants in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff at the Bundy ranch federal Judge Gloria Navarro granted a prosecution motion to bar presentation of evidence “supporting jury nullification.” In April, in the first of three scheduled trials for the Bunkerville defendants —charged with obstruction of justice, conspiracy, extortion, assault and impeding federal officers — ended in a mistrial. The jury found only two of six people on trial...