Free Republic

An Obama-appointed federal judge is forcing Wisconsin taxpayers to provide costly sex reassignment surgery and hormonal procedures for low-income transgender residents who get free medical care from the government. In a recently issued ruling U.S. District Judge William M. Conley writes that Medicaid, the publicly funded insurance that covers 65.7 million poor people, cannot deny the medical treatment needs of those suffering from “gender dysphoria.” Officials estimate it will cost up to $1.2 million annually to provide transgender Medicaid recipients in the Badger State with treatments such as “gender confirmation” surgery, including elective mastectomies, hysterectomies, genital reconstruction and breast augmentation....

. The Enumeration Clause permits Congress, and by extension the Secretary, to inquire about citizenship on the census questionnaire. That conclusion follows from Congress’s broad authority over the census, as informed by long and consistent historical practice that “has been open, widespread, and unchallenged since the early days of the Republic.” NLRB v. Noel Canning, 573 U. S. 513, 572 (Scalia, J., concurring in judgment). Pp. 11–13. BUT: . In order to permit meaningful judicial review, an agency must “‘disclose the basis’” of its action. Burlington Truck Lines, Inc. v. United States, 371 U. S. 156, 167–169. A court is...

The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked, for now, the Trump administration's plan to include a question on the 2020 census that inquires about a person’s citizenship status.

Marin transportation officials were cautiously optimistic Monday after a recent court ruling upheld a major funding source for several local highway projects, but the funding could be in limbo because of appeals. “We have tremendous congestion and these projects are congestion relievers,” said Dianne Steinhauser, executive director of the Transportation Authority of Marin. “We hear from the public constantly about how bad the congestion is right now. We’re hoping that this money starts flowing. It’d be great to see it by the end of 2019.” Regional Measure 3, the June 2018 ballot measure that increases tolls for seven Bay Area...

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled 5-4 to overturn a decades-old precedent on property rights, a decision that marks a victory for conservatives. The previous 1985 ruling found that an individual whose property is taken by a local government cannot file a federal suit under the Fifth Amendment until that challenge fails in state court. But on Friday the justices ruled along ideological lines to reverse that precedent, finding that the requirement “imposes an unjustifiable burden,” conflicts with other similar rulings and “must be overruled.” “A property owner has an actionable Fifth Amendment takings claim when the government takes his...

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the argument put forth by the National Police Association in the amicus brief it filed on behalf of the City of Ferguson, Missouri; former Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, and former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, supporting their motion to dismiss in the case of Johnson v. City of Ferguson, et al. The issue was whether the plaintiff, Dorian Johnson was seized at the time that Officer Wilson had only ordered him to get off the street, and whether the qualified immunity rule applied to Officer Wilson. The brief argued Plaintiff Johnson...

The dad of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim won a defamation lawsuit this week against conspiracy theorists who wrote a book claiming the 2012 shooting — in which 26 people, including 20 kids, lost their lives — never happened. The book, “Nobody Died at Sandy Hook,” was pulled as the publisher settled claims filed by Lenny Pozner, whose 6-year-old son, Noah, was killed in the shooting.

Supreme Court hands Virginia Democrats a win in gerrymandering case © Greg Nash The Supreme Court has ruled against the Virginia House of Delegates in a racial gerrymandering case that represents a victory for Democrats in the state. In the 5-4 ruling, the justices found that the House didn't have the standing to appeal a lower court ruling that found that the new district maps must be used ahead of the 2020 election. Those new maps are already in use. Democrats claimed that the districts were unlawful because they featured too many black voters, and diminished their power across the...

The Supreme Court left intact a century-old exception to the Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause that permits a state and the federal government to prosecute a person for the same criminal offense. The court ruled 7-2 in declining to overturn the separate sovereigns doctrine, with Justice Samuel Alito delivering the opinion of the court. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Neil Gorsuch dissented. The case before the high court involved a challenge to the Supreme Court’s “separate sovereigns” doctrine, an exception to the Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause, which states no one can be “subject for the same offense to be...

The jury just rendered its verdict on punitive damages in the Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College case. Daniel McGraw, our reporter in the courtroom, reports that in addition to the $11.2 million compensatory damages awarded last Friday, the jury awarded a total of $33 million in punitive damages, which will probably be reduced by the court to $22 million because of the state law cap at twice compensatory (it’s not an absolute cap, but probably will apply here). That brings the total damages to $33 million. We will have the breakdown soon. The jury also awarded attorney’s fees, to be...

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an order that will allow Indiana to enforce a law mandating the burial or cremation of fetal remains following an abortion. The order marks the first case under the more conservative Supreme Court makeup to challenge the parameters of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. The Indiana case was closely watched since the Supreme Court began discussing it in January. The justices met about it more than a dozen times. The order by the Supreme Court overturns an appeals court decision from the 7th Circuit that held Indiana’s stated interest...

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Native American man who was convicted of hunting off-season in Bighorn National Forest. Neil Gorsuch joined the four liberal justices in Herrera v. Wyoming, holding that an 1868 treaty between the U.S. and the Native American Crow Tribe granted the tribe the right to hunt in "unoccupied lands," and that the treaty did not expire when Wyoming became a state in 1890. Crow Tribe member Clayvin Herrera was charged with off-season hunting in 2014, but he argued that the 151-year-old treaty protected his ability to hunt at that time....

US District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered portions of Mueller’s unredacted report to be released to the public. Judge Sullivan ordered portions of Mueller’s report related to General Mike Flynn to be made public by May 31, 2019, the Associated Press reported. ...

If you think the Supreme Court's conservative majority won't touch well-established legal precedent: think again. In a 5-4 ruling on Monday, the court overturned a 40-year-old precedent in a low-profile sovereign immunity case, a move liberals see as a potential indication that the precedent set by Roe v. Wade could be under threat. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority, "stare decisis does not compel continued adherence to this erroneous precedent," referring to the principle of legal precedent. He did not suggest that there was an urgent issue or functional problem with existing doctrine -- simply that it was wrong....

Key Points The Supreme Court on Monday ruled 5-4 against Apple in a case involving its signature electronic marketplace, the App Store, allowing iPhone users to move forward with their suit against the company. The iPhone users argued that Apple’s 30% commission on sales through the App Store was passed along to consumers, an unfair use of monopoly power. Apple argued that only app developers, and not users, should be able to bring such a lawsuit. “Apple’s line-drawing does not make a lot of sense, other than as a way to gerrymander Apple out of this and similar lawsuits,” Justice...

In a ruling that is sure to make Left-wing haters’ heads explode — again — a local judge in Charlottesville, N.C., has ruled that Confederate monuments there are protected by state law and thus cannot be removed. According to local CBS affiliate WCAV, the ruling by Circuit Judge Richard Moore flies in the face of a trend by city councils, schools, and other political subdivisions in removing Confederate historical symbols and markers under pressure from Leftists who claim they are monuments to slavery and ‘white supremacy.’

JUST IN: A Virginia judge in Charlottesville has ruled that the Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson statues in the city are Civil War Memorials and protected by law

UPDATE: On Friday afternoon, the Washington Supreme Court issued an order that amended the lead opinion by striking out its conclusion and replacing it with the following: “ “We in the lead opinion would hold the city presented insufficient evidence to sustain [Solomon] McLemore’s conviction and remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. However, we recognize this opinion has garnered only four signatures. ‘Therefore, there being no majority for the reversal of the judgment of the trial court, it necessarily stands affirmed, and the order of this court is that the judgment appealed from be...

You cannot criticize me ever, but I can criticize you. Even though you’re up for reelection, you have no power, but I am the final say on all matters, even though I am unelected. I can disobey higher courts but you can’t push back even against a lower court. If you don’t like it, then you are a member of the KKK. Who am I? Well, a federal judge, of course. Last week, a radical federal judge went on a tirade against President Trump, ironically, criticizing him for criticizing outlandish rulings by federal judges. Carlton Reeves, an Obama-appointed judge in...

Supreme Court won't stop Trump administration's bump stock ban originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The Supreme Court will not stop the Trump administration's ban on bump stocks from going into effect, it was announced on Thursday. The ban on bump stocks was announced by the Justice Department in December 2018 and took effect on Tuesday. On Monday, the Supreme Court was considering an emergency request from Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation and the Virginia Citizens Defense League to stay the ban while cases challenging it were appealed.