Free Republic

The girls behind the lawsuit argue that the biological male students prevent them from obtaining track titles and scholarship opportunities. The girls are Selina Soule, a senior at Glastonbury High School, Chelsea Mitchell, a senior at Canton High School and Alanna Smith, a sophomore at Danbury High School. They are being assisted with their lawsuit by the conservative nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom. The suit names the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and the boards of education in Bloomfield, Cromwell, Glastonbury, Canton and Danbury. “Mentally and physically, we know the outcome before the race even starts,” Smith, who is...

For years, a contentious and sometimes emotionally heated debate has raged over the issue of letting people discharge their student loan debts in bankruptcy. A recent decision opens the door for individuals with high levels of student debt to have their burdens discharged in bankruptcy. Should we cheer? Until 1976, the bankruptcy law made no distinction between student loan debt and other kinds. In that year, however, Congress amended the law so as to mostly exclude student loan debts from bankruptcy, even though the level of college debt was vastly lower than it is today. On average, college cost only...

The Supreme Court has voted to allow the Trump administration to enforce its new rule that restricts the eligibility of new immigrants who are deemed to likely become “public charges” if they receive visas.The top court justices voted 5-4 on Monday to grant a stay on nationwide injunctions issued by a lower court, allowing the Trump administration to enforce its “public charge” rule across the country, except for Illinois, while the appeals play out in court. A separate injunction ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois remains in effect but only in that state.Justices...

Former Congressman Chris Collins has learned his fate in his federal insider trading case. A U.S. District judge sentenced him to 26 months in prison Friday. He was also fined $200,000. Collins pleaded guilty to securities fraud conspiracy and making false statements to the FBI. He was sentenced in federal court in Manhattan. It’s the culmination of a case that began back in August 2018 when Collins was first arrested and charged with this insider trading scheme. He maintained his innocence and won re-election. Then last year, he reversed course, pleaded guilty, and resigned from his office in Congress. Collins...

New York and Connecticut sued the Trump administration on Thursday, alleging it has failed to enforce the U.S. Clean Air Act and allowed five neighboring states to pump unhealthy levels of pollution into their states. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan asks the court to compel President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency to protect states that are downwind from other states with excessive air pollution. “More than two-thirds of New Yorkers regularly breathe unhealthy air, yet the Trump administration continues to ignore the smog caused by upwind air pollution,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in...

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected Michael Avenatti’s bid to dismiss criminal charges accusing him of trying to extort Nike Inc (NKE.N), after the celebrity lawyer claimed he was targeted in a “vindictive” prosecution because of his feud with U.S. President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan ruled the morning after Avenatti was arrested in California for potential violations of his bail conditions, in a separate case there accusing him of defrauding other clients. Avenatti has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges he faces. Lawyers for Avenatti told Gardephe on Wednesday their client is in custody,...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - WA federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to set aside an injunction blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a rule that would withhold green cards from immigrants likely to require government assistance such as Medicaid or food stamps. In a brief order, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan also set an expedited schedule for the White House’s appeal of a lower court ruling against the rule, with legal papers to be submitted by Feb. 14 and oral arguments to be held soon afterward. The “public charge” rule unveiled last year would make it...

A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday ordered the resentencing of a Staten Island, New York man for attempting to provide material support to Islamic State and kill an FBI agent, saying his 17-year prison term was “shockingly low.” The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Fareed Mumuni’s trial judge abused her discretion in imposing a term that was 80% below the 85 years recommended by federal guidelines, and even below the 18-year term for co-defendant Munther Omar Saleh, who was not accused of attempted murder. In a 2-1 decision, the court said U.S. District Judge Margo...

President Trump’s nominations to the federal courts have flipped three circuits making them majority Republican-appointed, lowered the age of GOP-appointed judges by 14 years, and reshaped the judiciary for decades to come, according to a series of new reports. When Trump took office in January 2017, only four of the 13 U.S. appeals courts had a majority of Republican-appointed judges. Today, seven of the 13 appeals courts do. This year alone, the Second, Third and 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have flipped from majority Democratic-nominated to majority Republican-nominated, according to Law.com. All total, 187 Trump-appointed federal judges have been...

Wow: Ruth Bader Ginsberg blocks lower court ruling in Trump tax return case, proving POTUS with temporary win (TNS) Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg may indeed by a rock-solid liberal but you can’t call her a blatant partisan, not after a ruling she issued on Friday. As readers know, the Garbage Party has been trying to get President Donald Trump’s tax returns now for going on three years because for some reason they believe they have a ‘right’ to see them. Mind you, they don’t; there is no constitutional requirement for presidents or presidential contenders to reveal their personal...

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday put a temporary hold on a court ruling that would require records held by Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp to be handed over to Democratic-led congressional panels. Trump's lawyers asked the high court to put a hold a Dec. 3 ruling by Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals directing the two banks to comply with April subpoenas by the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee and Intelligence Committee for the financial records.

The House of Representatives can enforce subpoenasseeking eight years of President Trump’s financial records, an appeals court ruled Tuesday. The majority decision from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for the Democrat-controlled House to seek documents, including tax returns, for Trump and other third-party individuals and entities. The House previously served subpoenas on Deutsche Bank and Capital One for the records, yet Trump immediately sued to block their release. Deutsche Bank previously revealed that, while it has tax returns for some of Trump’s children, it is not in possession of the president’s.

The Manhattan district attorney's office asked the Supreme Court to reject President Trump's effort to shield his tax returns from a grand jury subpoena, in a case where the president's lawyers have argued that he is immune to any criminal investigation or prosecution. A federal appeals court had ruled that Trump's accounting firm must hand over eight years of tax returns and other financial records and the president last week appealed that decision. The district attorney's office argued in a brief filed Thursday that the appellate ruling was narrowly focused to the facts of the case and does not merit...

With the confirmation of White House attorney Steven Menashi to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, another federal appeals court has a 'majority' of Republican-appointed judges. Menashi, whose nomination was vehemently opposed by Democrats and civil rights groups, was confirmed by the Senate, 51-41. Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins joined Democrats in opposing the 40-year-old's nomination. The 2nd Circuit now has seven judges tapped by Republican presidents and six named by Democrats. The 2nd Circuit is the second federal appeals court Trump has remade to have a majority of judges appointed by GOP presidents. In March, the president flipped...

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Steven Menashi to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, bringing an end to a confirmation battle that at times drew ire from members of both parties toward the judicial nominee. The Senate confirmed Menashi 51 to 41, largely along party lines. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, broke with her party to vote against the nominee. Menashi’s confirmation flips the Second Circuit to a majority of Republican appointees.

President Donald Trump has appointed more judges in less than three years to the circuit courts than any of his two-term predecessors going back to Ronald Reagan. The Senate confirmed William Nardini, on Thursday, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, making 25% of circuit court judges Trump appointees. That was the president’s 45th pick, higher than the number of judges appointed by all presidents from Reagan to Obama, the Washington Examiner noted.

WASHINGTON — In a matter of days, President Trump will ask the Supreme Court to rule on his bold claim that he is absolutely immune from criminal investigation while he remains in office. If the court agrees to hear the case, its decision is likely to produce a major statement on the limits of presidential power — and to test the independence of the court itself. Mr. Trump has been the subject of countless investigations and lawsuits since he took office, including a 22-month inquiry by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel appointed to look into his campaign’s ties...

In a ruling Monday morning, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied President Donald Trump’s request for a preliminary injunction protecting him from a grand jury subpoena for his tax returns. The court in an opinion written by Chief Judge Robert Katzmann rejected the notion that the president is immune from all state criminal processes...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday asked a federal appeals court to reconsider a case in which President Trump was told he could not legally b lock people on Twitter from seeing his tweets. The DOJ’s Friday court filing requests a rehearing from the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, which has not yet said whether it will hear the case, CNN reported. In the filing, the DOJ argued that Trump — whose personal Twitter account is not owned by the federal government and which was used by Trump for years prior to taking office — should be able to...

Federal appeals Judge Christopher F. Droney said Monday that he is retiring from active service, a decision certain to focus attention on how President Trump, who has vowed to remake the federal judiciary, chooses a Connecticut lawyer to fill a vacancy on one of the nation’s most influential courts. Droney notified the judiciary by letter that he will assume senior status June 30 on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. As a senior judge, Droney remains a member of the court, but with reduced responsibilities.