Free Republic

A federal appeals court has upheld a Ten Commandments display identical to one ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year, rebuking the American Civil Liberties Union in the process. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati, affirmed Dec. 20 a federal judge’s decision that a courthouse display in Mercer County, Ky., of nine documents, including the Ten Commandments, is constitutional. In a unanimous opinion by a three-judge panel, the court agreed with the lower court that the inclusion of the Decalogue does not violate the Constitution’s establishment clause because the display has a secular purpose....

Jul 7, 10:26 AM EDT Court Reimburses Man for Watermelons RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- When Jackie L. Eley's pickup truck was repossessed, more than just her ride was taken away. The 130 watermelons in the truck bed also were repossessed. Revenge, though, has been sweet. The state Court of Appeals has ruled that the repo firm, Mid-East Acceptance Corp., must pay Eley $1,365 - three times the melons' value - as well as legal fees. Eley's truck was repossessed July 29, 2002, a day when the temperature would reach 98 degrees with 89 percent humidity. She had missed two payments....

Tupelo, MS, Jun. 22, 2005 (CNA) - A West Virginia court decision that has redefined the term “parent” has “demonstrated the lethal effects of judicial activism on the nuclear family,” said Stephen Crampton, chief counsel for the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy.On June 17, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals redefined what a parent is by declaring a lesbian partner the “psychological parent” of her deceased lover’s young child. In Tina B. v. Paul S,, the court removed custody of the child from his maternal grandparents and gave it to the lesbian partner, Tina B.“While the...