Free Republic

A mistrial will be declared in the federal racketeering case involving three members of the Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club after the judge contracted COVID-19, according to lawyers involved. The trial was to start Friday with opening statements before a 12-member jury and four alternates. Jury selection had gone forward Monday after US District Judge Michael W. Mosman tested negative twice, the lawyers said. He got tested Sunday and Monday after his wife contracted the virus. About 80 prospective jurors filtered into Mosman;s 16th-floor courtroom at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse downtown for the selection process. Five panels of...

A federal judge Thursday threw out a lawsuit by a transgender woman who accused the private pageant corporation of discrimination for denying her the right to participate in competitions.U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman found that the pageant association cannot be required to allow a transgender woman to participate in light of its mission to promote “natural-born” females. . . . “Because I viewed it as an organization that does promote a message and seeks to maintain control of that message, I view it as an association that cannot under the Constitution be required to allow plaintiff to participate in...

A tale of two judges. – Chief Justice John Roberts – the clearly-compromised former conservative jurist who now does the bidding of the progressive left whenever they demand it, apparently – famously stated in 2017 that there are no “Obama judges” or “Bush judges,” there are only federal judges. That, of course, is abject bullshit, but hey, it’s what the Chief does these days. Late this week, we saw the dichotomy between the kinds of decisions we get out of Bush/Reagan/Trump judges and Obama/Clinton judges in two decisions related the ongoing rioting taking place in Portland. It is a classic...

Last week Oregon’s Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a request for a temporary restraining order against federal police officers in Portland. On Wednesday of this week Judge U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman heard arguments in the case and appeared to be on the fence, accepting some of the Resenblum’s claims but not all. Today, the Judge ruled against the restraining order: A U.S. judge Friday denied an order sought by Oregon’s top law enforcement officer to stop federal agents from arresting people during nightly protests in Portland that have roiled the progressive city and pitted local officials against...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A U.S. judge on Friday denied Oregon’s request to restrict federal agents' actions when they arrest people during chaotic protests that have roiled Portland and pitted local officials against the Trump administration. Federal agents deployed by President Donald Trump to tamp down the unrest have arrested dozens during nightly demonstrations against racial injustice that often turn violent. Democratic leaders in Oregon say federal intervention has worsened the two-month crisis, and the state attorney general sued to allege that some people had been whisked off the streets in unmarked vehicles....

BREAKING: Judge denies Oregon's request for TRO reining in federal agents in Portland, says state lacks standing. Order: https://mobile.twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1286786447568072704

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge will hear arguments Wednesday on Oregon’s request for a restraining order against federal agents sent to the state’s biggest city to quell protests that have spiraled into nightly clashes between authorities and demonstrators. The lawsuit, filed by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, alleges that federal agents sent by President Donald Trump have arrested people with no probable cause, whisked protesters away in unmarked cars and used excessive force to quell the unrest. It’s part of growing pushback against the Trump administration’s use of federal agents in Portland and its plans to do the...