Free Republic

A federal appeals court overrode a three-judge panel decision Wednesday, restoring an injunction blocking President Joe Biden’s “sanctuary country” orders as legal challenges continue.These “sanctuary country” orders are directions by top officials in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They require immigration agents to delay the deportation of illegal aliens until they have been convicted of aggravated felonies.In August, Judge Drew Tipton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the sanctuary country orders following a lawsuit from the states of Texas and Louisiana.However, a three-judge...

A three-judge panel on Wednesday halted a Texas judge’s order that blocked President Joe Biden’s so-called “sanctuary country” orders that have forced the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release criminal illegal aliens back into the United States. On Wednesday, two judges appointed by former President Barack Obama and a judge appointed by former President George W. Bush put the brakes on Judge Drew Tipton’s order last month that struck down Biden’s orders that prevent ICE from arresting and detaining most criminal illegal aliens. Judge Gregg Costa writes that the panel’s “main concern” with Tipton’s injunction “is that we believe...

A three-judge panel on Wednesday halted a Texas judge’s order that blocked President Joe Biden’s so-called “sanctuary country” orders that have forced the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release criminal illegal aliens back into the United States. ..... Snip..... With the court’s decision, DHS no longer has to abide by Tipton’s reporting requirements. The decision also means DHS can continue imposing its “sanctuary country” orders as the case makes its way through the courts. In February, the orders instructed ICE agents not to arrest and deport illegal aliens who had not been identified as terrorists, gang members, or were...

The Supreme Court on Monday denied a request to take up a challenge to a federal law requiring the registration of some firearms including silencers. Challengers in the case believe the Second Amendment protects such firearm accessories. An appeals court had held that a silencer is not a "bearable" arm protected by the Constitution. The case comes as a silencer was used during the recent Virginia Beach massacre and President Donald Trump suggested he'd look into restrictions on gun silencers. The Trump administration had also urged the court not to take up the issue. The order was issued without comment...

SEATTLE - A federal judge says police in Tukwila acted unconstitutionally when they arrested an illegal immigrant and turned him over to immigration authorities for deportation. Wilson Rodriguez Macareno, who is originally from Honduras, called police early last year about someone trespassing in his yard. The officers instead arrested him based on indications he was in the country illegally and brought him to a detention center for deportation. U.S. District Judge Richard Jones ruled Wednesday that the local police did not have the authority to arrest him for a civil, federal violation. He said a trial will be held to...

A U.S. appeals court Thursday blocked rules by the Trump administration allowing more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control. States were likely to succeed on their claim that the changes to President Barack Obama’s health care law were made without required notice and public comment, a divided, three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said. The panel upheld a preliminary injunction against the rules issued by a lower court judge last year. An email to the Justice Department seeking comment was not immediately returned. Obama’s health care law required most companies to...

President Donald Trump announced on Monday night his nomination of D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh, who was included in The Heritage FoundationÂ’s original list of potential Supreme Court nominees, is a very promising choice.The battle lines were already drawn before Trump made his announcement, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declaring he would not vote for any of the individuals on TrumpÂ’s short list.Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., promised the confirmation vote would happen this fall. Now, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin the process of reviewing...

One question before the Supreme Court this term was a big one: As technology evolves, how do our laws governing commerce evolve with it? The answer, issued in the ruling held in a 5-4 decision on Thursday, is a bad one for taxpayers. Many proponents of an online sales tax have argued that we must completely revisit what we know about interstate commerce, and create illusory tax regimes to contemplate a brave new order of online transactions. In reality, none of this is true. For one, while it has been 26 years since the Supreme Court visited the issue in...

(CNN)A federal judge in Maryland Thursday morning temporarily blocked the 90-day ban on immigration for citizens of six countries in President Donald Trump's...

Last week, a group of 21 young people, aged 9 to 20 years, won the right to sue the US government for its inaction in mitigating climate change, when an Oregon federal judge ruled that the plaintiffs' lawsuit was valid and could proceed in court. The chief legal counsel for the plantiffs, Julia Olson, had this to say about the significance of the ruling, urging outgoing President Obama to come to an agreement with a binding court order before Trump's inauguration early next year: We have a President-elect who is an obvious climate denier and both political branches controlled by...

Most people across the world do not care about climate change On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard arguments in the litigation over President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan (CPP). If implemented, CPP regulations will require states to develop and bring into force plans to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing power plants. Arguments against the CPP focussed primarily on its questionable legality. However, the ten judges considering the case should also keep in mind that the rules are pointless. No matter what one believes about the causes of climate change, the...

A North Georgia newspaper publisher was indicted on a felony charge and jailed overnight last week – for filing an open-records request. Fannin Focus publisher Mark Thomason, along with his attorney Russell Stookey, were arrested on Friday and charged with attempted identity fraud and identity fraud. Thomason was also accused of making a false statement in his records request. Thomason’s relentless pursuit of public records relating to the local Superior Court has incensed the court’s chief judge, Brenda Weaver, who also chairs the state Judicial Qualifications Commission. Weaver took the matter to the district attorney, who obtained the indictments. Thomason...

A federal judge has ordered Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal to restore state payments to Planned Parenthood, making Louisiana the second state blocked from defunding the group.U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled Thursday that Jindal couldn't cancel the state’s Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood over allegations the group is facing related to its fetal tissue donation program, according to The Associated Press.Planned Parenthood clinics in Louisiana do not perform abortions and do not accept fetal tissue donations.DeGravelles, who was appointed by President Obama last year, had previously delivered a temporary ruling in favor of Planned Parenthood. Jindal, who is running for...

In what has been described as a new front in the battle over same-sex marriage, legislators in several states under judicial orders to confer marital status on same-sex couples have introduced bills to forbid state or local officials from issuing marriage licenses to couples of the same gender. The bills would also strip the salaries of employees who issued the licenses, the New York Times reported Thursday.The bills have been introduced in the legislatures of Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas, with South Carolina also considering a bill that would allow officials to opt out of issuing such licenses if it...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Bush administration did not properly study the environmental impact of expanding oil and gas drilling off the Alaska coast and canceled a program to find new reserves. A three-judge panel in Washington found that the Bush-era Interior Department failed to consider the effect on the environment and marine life before it began the process in August 2005 to expand an oil and gas leasing program in the Beaufort, Bering, and Chukchi seas. The appeals court ordered the department, now run by President Barack Obama's appointee Ken Salazar, to analyze...