Free Republic

“Novel legal theory,” a term applied in whole or part to every case, criminal and civil, lodged against Donald Trump. That term is best understood as using the law in ways it was never intended to be used, and/or never has been used, most specifically for political purposes. A "novel legal theory" might consist of applying a vicious dog ordinance to someone who owned only a parrot that could bark like a dog. During my police career, professional officers were careful never to use the law in that way. If there was a law on the books that had never...

On March 8, 2024, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman decided against a federal ban on gun ownership for illegal immigrant Heriberto Carbajal-Flores. The case at hand centered on Carbajal-Flores, who was “charged with possession of a firearm while illegally or unlawfully in the United States.” He had a handgun in his possession “in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois,” on June 1, 2020. He was charged for being a non-citizen in possession for a firearm.

Reactions from Georgia lawmakers poured in on Friday after a judge ruled that embattled Fulton County DA Fani Willis could remain on the case investigating alleged election interference by former President Donald Trump. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued a ruling Friday that Willis, who was accused of an improper romantic relationship that she attempted to cover up with special counsel Nathan Wade, could remain on the case if she fired Wade which prompted pushback from Georgia Republicans. "The ruling by Judge McAfee seems to clearly identify impropriety between the DA and Mr. Wade," Georgia Republican State Rep....

Judge Scott McAfee has let this ridiculous Fulton County prosecution of Donald Trump go on this long, it doesn’t look like he’ll stop it now.Before the end of the week, we’re supposed to know whether Georgia Democrat District Attorney Fani Willis’s ridiculous street-gang prosecution of Donald Trump and associates will be killed off before it goes to trial. But for that to happen, it’s going to take an extraordinary act of bravery from Judge Scott McAfee and, well, the record so far is that he’s not exactly Rambo in a robe.McAfee self-imposed the Friday deadline for his decision on the...

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee has dropped six counts in the Georgia criminal election interference case against former President Donald Trump and five other defendants, writing: "The lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned opinion, fatal." (1 minute and 26 seconds video in the link below) https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1767927694996766872

Afederal judge on Friday dismissed a challenge from 21 states against a Biden administration program that allows 30,000 asylum-seekers into the U.S. from four countries each month. U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton ruled that Texas and 20 other Republican-led states didn’t have legal standing in the lawsuit because they didn’t demonstrate suffered financial harm from the federal program, the Associated Press reported. The program lets a total of up to 30,000 asylum-seekers enter the U.S. each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. “In reaching this conclusion, the Court does not address the lawfulness of the Program,” Tipton wrote...

In a legal drama that seems straight out of a suspense thriller, Judge Cannon has given the nod to two amicus briefs filed by Trump’s legal team in the ongoing classified documents case. This unexpected turn of events injects fresh energy into an already intense legal battle. One of the amicus briefs takes a hard look at the foundation, questioning the integrity of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) referral process. The spotlight shifts to potential flaws in how classified documents found their way into the hands of legal authorities, urging a meticulous examination of the referral process.

James O’Keefe has been banned for life from the Equinox Gym after releasing footage of Judge Arthur Engoron, who recently hit President Donald Trump with a massive $355 million judgment for his honest business practices and job creation in the state of New York, perving on women at the Equinox location in Long Island, New York.

A prominent Alabama state judge was seriously wounded Saturday when a domestic dispute escalated into a shooting, and authorities took his adult son into custody. Montgomery County Judge Johnny Hardwick, a jurist for more than two decades and the current president of the Alabama Association of Circuit Court Judges, was listed in serious condition Saturday evening after undergoing surgery. Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham said Hardwick’s 36-year-old son, Khalfani Hardwick, was arrested shortly after the shooting occurred. [snip] Khalfani Hardwick pled guilty in June 2017 to shooting and wounding a man in the head in Montgomery in 2014, according to...

A Clark County judge in hot water for posing in a tub with public defenders faces a new ethics charge after seemingly saying a defendant, who is Black, had good reason to run from police, documents said. ***Clark County District Court Judge Erika Ballou violated judicial ethics twice: once in 2021 and once in an incident the 8 News Now Investigators reported in 2022. In the 2021 case, commissioners said Ballou “excused a defendant’s decision to flee from police in a vehicle pursuit on the Las Vegas Strip… [chastising] the prosecutor stating, ‘[a]nd there being no reason to run from...

Fulton County, Ga., Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the case involving former President Donald Trump in Georgia and will soon decide whether District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the case, donated to Willis' campaign before Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.) appointed him last year. "McAfee, who was sworn in on Feb. 1, 2023, after being appointed by Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, made his donation in June 2020 while still working as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to financial disclosures," reports the Daily Caller. The New York Times revealed...

Last week, a New York court issued judgments against Donald J. Trump and his sons, asserting violation of state anti-fraud law in connection with several real estate mortgage loans. The judgments, which aggregate $355 million and may escalate to $454 Million or more, shocked Republicans and Democrats alike and stunned the national real estate community. It was immediately apparent that something was wildly wrong, since the Trump transactions were nothing unusual or remarkable for the real estate industry. Essential Requirements for Claims of FraudThe case primarily involves applications for mortgage loans submitted by Trump entities to major federal banks. The...

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the Trump election interference case, donated to county prosecutor Fani Willis, financial disclosures show. The judge donated $150 to Willis in June 2020, while working for the Justice Department. “The donation itself is more or less a token amount and was made prior to his becoming a judge,” legal analyst Philip Holloway told the Daily Caller. “But failure to disclose to the defendants a political donation to the prosecutor can be seen as a present appearance of a conflict of interest. Judges are required to avoid even the appearance...

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the case against former President Donald Trump, made a small donation of $150 to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ campaign prior to his appointment.McAfee, who was sworn in on Feb. 1, 2023 after being appointed by Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, made his donation in June 2020 while still working as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to financial disclosures. He will soon have to decide whether Willis should be disqualified over allegations that she financially benefited from appointing her romantic partner, Nathan Wade,...

Leftist judge Juan Manuel Merchan, who will oversee President Trump’s junk criminal case in New York City that is scheduled to start next month on March 25, made political contributions to a nonprofit fundraising platform for Democratic candidates and progressive groups. This latest election interference case by the radical Democrats involves a payment Trump made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought by far left Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. ......Snip...... Merchan has been described as a lifelong Democrat and a bombshell discovery of his daughter’s LinkedIn account reveals his daughter...

Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight, 57, is facing a case of modus operandi this week. However, the suspect showing the alleged pattern of criminal conduct is herself. McKnight is accused of shooting her ex-boyfriend in the head while he slept. The shooting took place five years after McKnight was cleared in the shooting of her former husband in the groin. Michael McCoy, 54, was left blind in one eye and, according to the New York Post, McKnight tried to convince him that he had shot himself while he was sleeping. The two were living together and McCoy...

A man who leaped over a judicial bench and attacked a Nevada judge during a sentencing hearing in Las Vegas last month that was captured in a courtroom video that went viral has now been indicted for attempted murder. A grand jury returned the nine-count indictment against Deobra Redden, 30, in Las Vegas on Thursday. His arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 29. Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus was about to deliver Redden’s sentence in an attempted battery case on Jan. 3 when he lunged over the bench at her. Courtroom cameras recorded as Holthus’ clerk and a...

On Feb. 6, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon ordered the unsealing of some names and information about government officials, granting in part a motion by former President Donald Trump to unseal a partially redacted version of his motion to compel prosecutors to hand over evidence.“The parties are reminded of the strong presumption of public access in criminal proceedings,” the judge wrote, ordering that no unclassified material in the case be filed under seal going forward.All filings under full or partial seal will require approval from the judge in the future, unless there are “clear and supported cases of risk...

WASHINGTON (AP) - While sentencing a North Carolina man to prison for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot, a Republican-appointed judge issued a stark warning: Efforts to portray the mob of Donald Trump's supporters as heroes and play down the violence that unfolded on Jan. 6, 2021, pose a serious threat to the nation. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth condemned the depiction by Trump and Republican allies of Jan. 6 defendants as “political prisoners” and “hostages." Lamberth also denounced attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the justice system for punishing rioters who broke the law when they invaded the...

The world’s richest man had a bad day in court this week. A judge in Delaware ruled that Elon Musk is ineligible to receive a compensation package from Tesla worth an estimated $55 billion. This is a case that has dragged out for five years and the merits of the arguments coming from both sides seem rather vague. The suit was originally brought by a group of shareholders who claim that Musk unfairly crafted his own compensation package resulting in “unjust enrichment” for the billionaire at the expense of the other shareholders. The judge apparently agreed, but Musk’s attorneys argue...