Free Republic

President Donald Trump's $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times has been tossed, for now. Calling the president's 85-page lawsuit "decidedly improper and impermissible," a federal judge in Tampa threw it out on Friday and gave him 28 days to file a new complaint that had to be under 40 pages. U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday blasted the Trump suit for alleging only two acts of defamation, yet "Count I appears on page eighty, and Count II appears on page eighty-three." He also criticized the suit's flowery descriptions about Trump and overly political language, writing a complaint is...

Judge denies qualified immunity to four University of Central Florida administrators including president, tasks jury with considering punitive damages. Two have moved on to Texas Tech, Yale. The University of Central Florida's outrage at a faculty member's assertion "Black privilege is real" could end up putting its top administrators at the mercy of a jury, sending a warning to campus bureaucrats nationwide not to overreact to minority views.U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza denied qualified immunity to President Alexander Cartwright, Provost Michael Johnson, former College of Sciences Dean Tosha Dupras and former Office of Institutional Equity Director Nancy Myers in a...

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected arguments made by an artificial intelligence company that its chatbots are protected by the First Amendment — at least for now. The developers behind Character.AI are seeking to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the company’s chatbots pushed a teenage boy to kill himself. The judge’s order will allow the wrongful death lawsuit to proceed, in what legal experts say is among the latest constitutional tests of artificial intelligence. The suit was filed by a mother from Florida, Megan Garcia, who alleges that her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III fell victim to a Character.AI chatbot that...

Since 1986, whistleblowers have been in the forefront of the government’s war on fraud, accounting for $53 billion, or more than 70%, of the $75 billion recovered from swindlers on defense contracts, from Medicare and from other federal programs.There’s no debate over what’s driving this record: It’s a 1986 federal law that awards whistleblowers up to 30% of the recovery. For the federal government, this is a bargain. Without the law, the government might never even know about most of the $75 billion in fraud that was unearthed. That makes the law “one of the government’s top fraud-fighting tools,” says...

A federal judge in Florida granted a request for a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of a new federal gun law related to stabilizing braces and whether they convert firearms into short-barrel rifles. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) cannot enforce the rule against individuals who live “in the state of Florida,” U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven wrote in an order this week. In part, the judge wrote that the ATF and other defendants, including Director Steven Dettelbach, were not able to meet the standard of showing that the ATF rule falls under “the plain text of...

Afederal judge has declared that a law banning Americans from possessing guns in postal offices is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Florida ruled Friday that a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2022 made the postal office gun ban illegal. As part of the decision, she dismissed part of an indictment charging postal worker Emmanuel Ayala with illegally possessing a gun in a federal building. She said the criminal charge violated Ayala’s 2nd Amendment rights. [link to judge's opinion included in article]

A Federal Court has blocked the implementation of a controversial Florida law banning children from attending drag shows. The law championed and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis faced a legal challenge from Orlando Restaurant Hamburger Mary’s, which has run 'family friendly' drag shows for 15 years. The law can now no longer be enforced until Hamburger Mary finishes litigating its case, after a Federal judge issued a preliminary injunction.

A federal judge has rejected the Department of Justice's request to move legal proceedings over former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's malicious prosecution claims to Washington, D.C."In sum, the Court concludes that the interests of justice weigh against transfer of this case to the DDC. Plaintiff is entitled to seek redress in his home forum, and Defendant’s Motion presents no overwhelming need to disturb that choice," wrote District Judge Mary Scriven in a June 12 order. "The only party who would clearly be inconvenienced by relocation of this action to the DDC is Plaintiff, who would be forced to...

Autokeycard.com Seized By the ATF, Owner Arrested For Selling A Drawing In the Autokey Card case, a jury found Matthew Hoover, better known as CRS Firearms on YouTube, and Justin Ervin guilty. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) charged the men with violating the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 for selling machineguns and conspiracy. Ervin faced an additional charge of structuring. The case stems from Mr. Ervin selling a metal card with an image inspired by a lightning link etched into it. Ervin sold the cards as a novelty and contracted with Mr. Hoover to promote...

According to local outlets in Tampa, Florida, process servers have attempted on nearly 30 occasions to deliver court papers at 10 different church properties. The drops occurred between May and August and the servers were all turned away by security guards, including at the Hacienda Gardens facility where former members say he lives. On January 25, lawyers for the plaintiffs asked attorneys for the Church of Scientology's leader if they would accept service and they declined. Court papers were also delivered to Scientology properties but all attempts resulted in unsigned returned receipts. Some were refused at the location. 'For years,...

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down Tampa, Florida's ban against talk therapy for minors seeking freedom from unwanted same-sex attraction. The city had tried to block licensed therapists from providing voluntary counseling to those minors. The federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that the ban is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.... The latest ruling is based on Liberty Counsel's previous victory in Otto v. City of Boca Raton in which the Eleventh Circuit had ruled that similar attempts to muzzle counselors from helping their clients in Palm Beach County and the City of Boca Raton were unconstitutional...

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For the second time in about a month, a lawsuit challenging Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” legislation restricting teaching on gender identity and sexual orientation in schools has been dismissed by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger in Orlando on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by LGBTQ students, parents and their families — as well as several civil rights groups — and refused their request for a preliminary injunction to stop the law from being implemented. The judge gave the plaintiffs until Nov. 3 to file an amended lawsuit if they desired. The lawsuit...

The Department of Justice announced Tuesday evening the Biden administration will appeal Monday’s ruling by a federal judge in Florida that struck down mask mandates for air and Amtrak travel. “The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district court’s decision and will appeal, subject to CDC’s conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health. The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the...

(CNN)A federal judge in Florida struck down on Monday the Biden administration's mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods. US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said the mandate was unlawful because it exceeded the statutory authority of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and because its implementation violated administrative law.

A once-standout U.S. narcotics agent who used his badge to build a lavish lifestyle of expensive cars, parties on yachts and Tiffany jewels was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison Thursday for conspiring to launder money with a Colombian cartel. (SNIP) U.S. District Court Judge Charlene Honeywell in handing down her sentence expressed disgust with the DEA for its failings and said other agents corrupted by “the allure of easy money” also needed to be investigated.(SNIP) Dominguez has met with prosecutors for “endless hours” to provide information on the criminal activities of “fellow law-enforcement agents who initiated...

There is no way to post 35 pages of documents here, but I've linked the PDF file. Long and short, it looks like the lawsuit/temporary restraining order has failed. Check out the PDF, let me know what you think.

In Liberty Counsel’s class action lawsuit against Joseph R. Biden, the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the federal court in Florida ordered the defendants to submit an extensive verified list of information regarding COVID shots and the military by November 12. Liberty Counsel represents members from all five branches of the military, federal employees, and federal civilian contractors who have been unlawfully mandated to get the COVID shots or face dishonorable discharge from the military or termination from employment. In preparation for Navy SEAL 1 v. Biden, Judge...

Liberty Counsel recently filed a class action lawsuit along with a motion for a temporary restraining order and injunction against Joseph R. Biden, U.S. Secretary of the Department of Defense and U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of members from all five branches of the military, federal employees and federal civilian contractors, who have been unlawfully mandated to get the COVID shots or face dishonorable discharge from the military or termination from employment. The preliminary injunction hearing will be on Monday, November 15 at 9 a.m., in the Middle District Court of Florida.

CDC Cruise Order Decision Reversed After Florida Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court The CDC cruise order decision has been reversed after Florida appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow cruise ships to disregard CDC requirements. The State of Florida has once again been successful in its ongoing dispute with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Conditional Sailing Order. The state went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to appeal an earlier decision that favored the CDC to keep its order on cruise ships in place in Florida. Florida Goes to U.S. Supreme Court Against...

The Biden administration’s plan to distribute post-pandemic farm loan relief to non-white farmers was hit with another legal defeat on Thursday.District Court Judge S. Thomas Anderson of the Western District of Tennessee issued a preliminary injunction to halt the U.S. Department of Agriculture from moving forward with the loan payment plan that excluded white farmers and ranchers.“The Court finds that Plaintiff has shown a substantial likelihood that he will prevail on his claim that Section 1005 violates his right to equal protection under the law,” the decision states. “Absent action by the Court, socially disadvantaged farmers will obtain debt relief,...