Free Republic

One of the two men charged with vandalizing electrical substations in Washington state over the holidays to cover a burglary was ordered released from federal custody Friday to seek substance abuse help. A federal judge issued the order for Matthew Greenwood, 32, after renewed efforts by his attorney to get Greenwood into a drug-treatment facility, The News-Tribune reported. Greenwood and Jeremy Crahan, 40, both of Puyallup, have been charged with conspiracy to damage energy facilities. According to the complaint, Greenwood told investigators after his arrest that the two knocked out power so they could burglarize a business and steal from...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has declined to reconsider its decision to uphold the dismissal of a case over the practice known as “conversion therapy,” teeing up a circuit split that may ultimately land the case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Licensed marriage and family therapist Brian Tingley sued Washington state in 2021, claiming that a 2018 law that prohibited licensed mental health professionals from subjecting minors to conversion therapy violated his First Amendment rights. The Ninth Circuit issued its decision Monday not to rehear the appeal of a Washington state therapist’s challenge to a 2018...

In Tingley v. Ferguson, (WD WA, Aug. 30, 2021), a Washington federal district court dismissed First Amendment challenges by a family therapist to a Washington state statute that prohibits licensed counselors in treating minors from engaging in "conversion therapy" aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity. The court held that performing conversion therapy is "conduct", not speech. According to the court, the law still allows therapists to discuss the option of conversion therapy by someone else-- including someone within the exception for practitioners operating under the auspices of religious organizations. The court also rejected plaintiff's religious free exercise argument,...