Free Republic

In the Progressive utopia championed by Woodrow Wilson and his successors, government will iron out the imperfections in human affairs through the use of regulatory agencies run by non-political experts. Such people, being experts and completely non-political, would pose no reason for concern about abuse of power, because of course they would never seek go outside their proper regulatory portfolio to use their authority to stamp out the freedoms and speech of their political opponents on important topics of the day. In the real world government regulators since the creation of their agencies have inevitably used their powers to disadvantage...

On the face of it, Friday’s decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn an injunction against enforcement of Illinois’ recently enacted ban on “assault weapons” and “large capacity” magazines doesn’t change circumstances on the ground. The three-judge panel that issued today’s decision had previously stayed U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn’s injunction while the state appealed, so the law has been in effect throughout litigation. Still, the 2-1 decision does matter, both because it provides an opportunity for some or all of the plaintiffs to appeal on an emergency basis to the Supreme Court and because it will...

“Long live rescue!” That was the rallying cry of pro-lifers amid tears in response to Tuesday’s verdict against five rescuers. As Live Action News reported, five defendants – Lauren Handy, Herb Geraghty, Heather Idoni, Will Goodman, and John Hinshaw – were found guilty of conspiring to violate civil rights and blocking access to notorious abortionist Cesare Santangelo’s clinic in October of 2020. The case seemed to reflect an attempt by the administration of President Biden, who claims to be a practicing Catholic, to protect abortion after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs. Each defendant faces up to 11 years in...

On August 3, 2023, Judge Janet Bond Arterton of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut ruled on whether the recent Connecticut law banning the possession of common semi-automatic rifles and pistols under the appellation of “assault weapons” and of standard capacity magazines which hold more than ten rounds. Judge Arterton ruled the law is not prohibited by the Second Amendment. She does not see it as an infringement because, she claims, “assault weapons” and magazines over ten rounds are not arms protected by the Second Amendment. Magazines that hold more than ten rounds are referred to...

The measure barred trans women and girls of all ages from participating in female sports teams at public schools in the state, from primary school through college. A federal appeals court on Thursday refused to allow Idaho to enforce a first-in-the-nation ban on transgender women and girls from participating in female sports leagues, saying the measure likely was unconstitutional. A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel delivered a victory to LGBTQ rights advocates by upholding an injunction blocking Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, the first of many such laws to be enacted by Republican-led states. “This is an...

Last month, U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton tossed out a lawsuit challenging Connecticut’s ban on concealed carry in state parks, ruling that the plaintiff in the litigation didn’t have standing to sue because there was no credible threat of him being arrested or prosecuted for violating the ban. That was an exceedingly odd decision, but it kept the ban in place (at least for now), which counts as a win as far as anti-gunners are concerned. Now Arterton has followed up with another legal doozy, rejecting a preliminary injunction against the state’s newly-expanded ban on so-called assault weapons and...

U.S. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan says that former President Donald J. Trump may be said to have “raped” E. Jean Carroll, even though a jury specifically declined to find that he had done so in his recent civil trial in New York. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post reported the judge’s finding — approvingly, calling it a “clarification”: [Kaplan] says that what the jury found Trump did was in fact rape, as commonly understood. The filing from Judge Lewis A. Kaplan came as Trump’s attorneys have sought a new trial and have argued that the jury’s $5 million verdict against...

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court in Virginia this week delivered a message to Congress, the White House and developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline: not so fast. Pennsylvania-based Equitrans Midstream’s roughly 300-mile pipeline, envisioned to bring shale gas from the Marcellus and Utica in Appalachia to markets in the Southeast, was fast-tracked as part of the Biden administration’s deal with Congress to suspend the debt limit in June. It’s also supported by Pennsylvania congressmen, including U.S. Reps. John Joyce, R-Blair, and Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, who joined U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., to introduce the legislation in May that helped...

The developers of Mountain Valley Pipeline have asked the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency intervention to allow the project’s construction to progress. The pipeline developers made their application late Friday to vacate the stays of the Fourth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Such applications represent a request for emergency action addressed to a specific justice, in this case Chief Justice John Roberts. Each justice is assigned to circuits to handle such applications, and Roberts has the Fourth Circuit, which includes the region where the pipeline is being developed. The 35-page filing is in...

A record number of bills aimed at restricting the rights of LGBTQ people have become law in the past three years, but the majority of those that have faced legal challenges haven’t held up in court, according to an NBC News analysis, legal experts and the American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed legal challenges against some of the laws. Just this year, state representatives introduced 491 bills aimed at restricting LGBTQ rights, with 77 of them becoming law, according to the ACLU. The majority of bills proposed and passed focused on limiting the ability of transgender youth to receive...

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.

Identities of indicted Republican Rep George Santos' bond suretors will be unsealed Thursday, judge rules Just 30 minutes to go!

A federal judge scheduled E. Jean Carroll’s second defamation trial against former President Donald Trump for January 2024, just days before Republican primary voters will begin the presidential nomination process. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan set Carroll’s civil trial against Trump for January 15, 2024, in a brief scheduling order. The scheduling comes days after Kaplan allowed Carroll to amend her second defamation lawsuit against Trump to seek up to $10 million in damages. Last month, a nine-member jury found Trump liable for sexual battery and defaming Carroll and granted her an award of $5 million in damages....

A federal judge has created a preliminary injunction which prevents the city of Seattle from enforcing the law against graffiti and misdemeanor property destruction. The SPD released a statement today.Late yesterday afternoon, SPD received an order from a US District Court judge that enjoined, in full, enforcement of SMC 12A.080.020 – the City’s misdemeanor property destruction law. This means that until further order of the Court, SPD cannot take action on damage to property under this law. This is not a matter within SPD or City discretion; we are bound by the court order as it is written.We understand and...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — A federal judge ordered Florida to stop enforcing its ban against providing gender-affirming healthcare to transgender children for three families, according to newly-released court documents. On Tuesday, Judge Robert L. Hinkle, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, issued a preliminary injunction in favor of three families with transgender children in a lawsuit filed against dozens of Florida officials, including the Florida Surgeon General, the Florida Board of Medicine and its members, the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine and its members, the Florida Attorney General and Florida’s 20 State Attorneys. The...

@julie_kelly2 ParaderHunters cheers 5-month jail sentence for woman who pleaded guilty to trespassing count. No criminal history. DOJ wanted 3 months but Clinton judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly (80)--who last week told govt it was ok to call a J6 defendant an insurrectionist--gave her 5 months

A Manhattan federal judge blasted Donald Trump’s “entirely inappropriate” posts on Truth Social Wednesday — as witness testimony began in E. Jean Carroll’s civil rape case against the former president. Trump, 76, took to his social media platform about an hour before the second day of the trial began, claiming Carroll’s case was “a made up SCAM” and accusing her lawyers of being “political operatives.” He also called for the dress the former advice columnist wore on the day of the alleged rape to be brought into the trial — something that Carroll sought to do early on in the...

A polished Carroll, 79, showed up to the federal courthouse flanked by lawyers and wearing a cream-colored coat, sunglasses and carrying a maroon briefcase as her supporters chanted “We believe E. Jean Carroll.” Trump, 76, was not present.A jury of six men and three women had been chosen by early afternoon — but not before a pool of 48 prospects were grilled by the judge, including about their political leanings. The potential jurors were asked a multitude of questions, such as whether they had any affiliation with groups including QAnon, the Ku Klux Klan, the Proud Boys and other far-right...

R..acist Nominee STUNNED After One SIMPLE Question By Ted Cruz... Faces REJECTION Instantly

A federal judge who will oversee Donald Trump’s sexual assault civil trial in Manhattan says the former president is free to skip attending the trial — but that he cannot claim he did so to avoid “burdens” on the city that his presence in court might cause. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan set the ground rules in an order Thursday in response to a request by Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina that jurors be instructed that Trump didn’t attend in order to avoid “logistical burdens.” In proposed jury instructions submitted Wednesday, Tacopina requested that the judge tell panelists: “While...