Free Republic

ERRE HAUTE, Indiana (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge issued an injunction on Monday delaying what would have been the first federal execution in 17 years, scheduled for later in the day, thwarting at least for now the Trump administration’s goal of reviving capital punishment at the federal level. Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. district court in Washington ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to delay four executions scheduled for July and August to allow continuation of the condemned men’s legal challenges against a new lethal injection protocol announced in 2019. “The scientific evidence before the court overwhelmingly indicates...

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, through his counsel Beth Wilkinson, has asked for U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to rehear his case against the immediate dismissal of the Michael Flynn prosecution. The Thursday petition for rehearing comes after a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit granted Flynn’s petition for writ a mandamus on June 24, directing Sullivan to dismiss the case. “The panel majority granted the extraordinary writ of mandamus to prevent the district court from receiving adversarial briefing and argument on a pending motion. The opinion is couched as a fact-bound ruling based on...

The judge in Michael Flynn’s criminal case asked a federal appeals court Thursday to reconsider its ruling last month ordering him to dismiss the prosecution of the former national security advisor to President Donald Trump. Judge Emmet Sullivan’s lawyer asked for a so-called en banc review of the decision of the appeals court, which would involve all active judges on the court to re-hear the case.

Canadian company blocked from getting key permit to continue building BILLINGS, Mont. — The U.S. Supreme Court has handed another setback to the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada by keeping in place a lower court ruling that blocked a key permit for the project. Canadian company TC Energy needs the permit to continue building the long-disputed pipeline from Canada across U.S. rivers and streams. Without it, the project that has been heavily promoted by President Donald Trump faces more delays just as work on it had finally begun this year following years of courtroom battles. Monday’s order also put on...

A U.S District Court judge in the Central District of California ordered the federal government to release migrant children being held in detention for more than 20 days. The order calls for the children to be released by July 17 due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, appointed to the Central District of California by President Barack Obama in 2009, ruled on Friday that the federal government cannot hold children in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities for more than 20 days, NBC News reported. Judge Gee cited concerns over the danger posed by...

A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with expanding a procedure for quickly deporting undocumented immigrants while a lawsuit against the program moves forward. A three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a preliminary injunction against the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) new rule that significantly expands the number of undocumented immigrants who can be deported without being able to make their case to an judge or accessing an attorney. The panel majority ruled that a group of nonprofits had legal standing to bring the lawsuit but that immigration law...

SEATTLE (AP) — A U.S. judge on Friday ordered Seattle police to temporarily stop using tear gas, pepper spray and flash-bang devices to break up largely peaceful protests, a victory for groups who say authorities have overreacted to recent demonstrations over police brutality and racial injustice. The liberal city with a lengthy history of massive, frequent protests has taken hits from all sides — from demonstrators, some city officials, the president and now a judge — over the way it's responded to crowds taking to the streets following George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. Those on the...

A Denver judge has restricted cops from using tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters, saying smashed windows and graffiti are a 'fair trade' to prevent demonstrators' bones being broken and their eyesight being lost at the hands of police. US District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson limited the force cops can use against protesters in a ruling late Friday night, which also included ordering cops to keep their body cameras on at all times. Jackson said the safety of demonstrators and their right to free speech is greater than the need to protect buildings during protests.

Judge Emmet Sullivan appeared as unofficial amicus curiae for the Resistance in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in the Michael Flynn criminal case yesterday. Sullivan, who has presided over the Flynn case since December 2017, was ordered by the federal appellate court to respond to Flynn’s previously filed petition for a writ of mandamus. Flynn sought the writ of mandamus after federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the criminal charge the special counsel’s office had filed against him in late 2017. Flynn originally pleaded guilty to the charge of lying to FBI agents about his December 2016 telephone conversations with...

A federal appeals court has backed California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order banning in-church services to blunt the spread of coronavirus, rejecting an argument from clerics that the governor is treading on their First Amendment right to free exercise of their religious beliefs.

TALLAHASSEE — A Florida law requiring felons to pay legal fees as part of their sentences before regaining the vote is unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe, a federal judge ruled Sunday. The 125-page ruling was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee. It involves a state law to implement a 2016 ballot measure approved by voters to automatically restore the right to vote for many felons who have completed their sentence. The Republican-led Legislature stipulated that fines and legal fees must be paid as part of the...

A state court in Michigan ruled that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has the authority to extend the state’s state of emergency, refuting claims made by GOP leaders in the legislature that she overstepped her authority. The judge called claims by the Republican state lawmakers "meritless." Judge Cynthia Stephen noted that Whitmer did exceed her authority by trying to extend the state of emergency under the Emergency Management Act of 1976, which requires approval by the legislature, acccording to the Detroit News. However, the governor did have the constitutional authority to extend the state of emergency under the Emergency Management Act...

Five Central American asylum seekers ordered to remain in Mexico by federal authorities will be able to reunite with their families in Massachusetts until their immigration cases are decided, a federal judge in Boston ruled Thursday. . . . American authorities have said the “Remain in Mexico” policy has helped significantly reduce illegal border crossings. Civil rights groups complain it violates constitutional rights.

After making a brief comeback on school lunch menus, white bread and other refined grains may be vanishing again when schools reopen after a federal court threw out the Trump administration’s rollback of school nutrition standards. The U.S. district court in Maryland this week said the administration did not give adequate public notice of the change, which had gone into effect for this past school year. The ruling was in response to a lawsuit brought by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Healthy School Food Maryland. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it does not comment on...

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainee who contracted the Chinese coronavirus has been released from the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack, New Jersey. The infected detainee was released following a federal judge in New York City ordering ten illegal aliens released from custody citing “inadequate conditions.” “The risk that Petitioners will face a severe, and quite possibly fatal, infection if they remain in immigration detention constitutes irreparable harm warranting a TRO,” US District Court Judge Analisa Torres wrote in her order. “Respondents have exhibited, and continue to exhibit, deliberate indifference to Petitioners’ medical needs.” Bergen County officials maintain that the...

Many suffered collateral damage in the Deep State’s scheme to take down Donald Trump, but few will find justice. On Thursday, federal Judge Leonie Brinkema tossed Svetlana Lokhova’s defamation lawsuit against Stefan Halper and a slew of legacy media outlets. Brinkema’s 41-page opinion detailing why the Russian-born U.K. citizen had no recourse for the damage inflicted on her by the SpyGate plotters and their partners in the press exposed the sad reality of this wide-ranging scandal: many suffered collateral damage in the Deep State’s scheme to take down Trump, but few will find justice.Lokhova, an historian and former Ph.D. student...

A U.S. District Court Judge in Washington, D.C., issued a statement Thursday obtained by The Hill rejecting the notion that outside pressure will influence the court’s ruling on Roger Stone’s case. Judge Beryl A. Howell responded to President Trump’s attacks on Stone’s sentencing judge, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, assuring “public criticism or pressure is not a factor” in the court’s decision. Howell and Berman Jackson are both Obama appointees. SNIP Howell further underscored that judges do not take sentencing lightly and said that his colleagues take all aspects of the case into consideration when they make a decision....

Despite his short time in politics, President Trump has mastered the art of the stump speech. Beyond his trademark speaking style, he has proven adept at firing up his base by citing the most popular accomplishments of his administration. Among those garnering the loudest reactions are construction of the border wall, reforming the Veterans Administration and getting more worker-friendly trade deals. Big cheers all around. Further down the list is the presidentÂ’s growing number of appointments to the federal bench. It gets applause, but do people really understand what it means? While it lacks the red-meat sizzle of the border...

A federal judge in Maryland has blocked the Trump administration's executive order allowing state and local governments to turn away refugees from resettling in their communities. In September, President Trump announced that groups that help refugees find places to live must first get written consent from local and state jurisdictions before resettling them. Immigration advocates challenged the executive order in federal court, calling it cruel and shortsighted. U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte said the executive order "does not appear to serve the overall public interest." In his 31-page opinion issued Wednesday, he wrote that the order gives states and local...

A federal judge has rejected President Trump’s push to dismiss a lawsuit against him for allegedly violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution. U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte in Maryland shut down the Justice Department’s arguments to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the attorney generals in D.C and Maryland, according to court documents. Trump is accused of violating the clause, which prevents elected officials from receiving gifts or benefits from foreign governments without Congress’s approval. --This breaking news report will be updated.