Free Republic

Say, do you remember that whole flap over Lois Lerner and the IRS targeting conservative groups applying for tax exempt status a couple of years ago? Good times, my friends. Good times. I’m sure glad that’s all finally behind us, aren’t you?Well guess again. It’s not even close to being over. Some of the affected groups brought suit against the IRS over the matter and that process has been dragging out for years now. They haven’t made as much ground as they might, however, because every time the plaintiffs request certain documents from the IRS, they mysteriously find reasons...

OK, here’s the background. Once upon a time, the Obama administration decided to implement a ruling – without the input of Congress, mind you – that defined ““waters of the U.S.” to include virtually any wet area — even a rain-fed temporary pool — that is close to any other body of water with a physical connection to a navigable waterway.” As you can imagine, this was and is a massive attempt to extend the reach of the regulatory State into areas that they do not traditionally have the ability to go into. By making essentially all waters federal waters,...

A federal court ruled Friday that President Obama’s regulation to protect small waterways from pollution cannot be enforced nationwide. In a 2-1 ruling, the Cincinnati-based Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit delivered a stinging defeat to Obama’s most ambitious effort to keep streams and wetlands clean, saying it looks likely that the rule, dubbed Waters of the United States, is illegal. “We conclude that petitioners have demonstrated a substantial possibility of success on the merits of their claims,” the judges wrote in their decision, explaining that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new guidelines for determining whether water is subject...

In March of 2014, Johann Deffert was exercising his second amendment rights by peacefully openly carrying a holstered handgun in Grand Rapids.  As he passed a Church, someone called 911, perhaps to harass the open carrier.  Such harassment has become common, and is advocated by disarmists.  When the police arrived on the scene, Deffert was already well past the Church.  The officer drew his pistol and pointed it at Deffert.  The most threatening activity appears to be something the 911 caller never mentioned, and which the officer characterised as "talking to nobody", certainly an innocuous activity in these days...

In our federal system, states should be able to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Friday joined an amicus brief on behalf of 57 members of Congress in support of the right of states to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The brief was filed in four cases that the Supreme Court will jointly hear on April 28, 2015, in which same-sex couples challenge the marriage laws of Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kentucky, all of which were upheld by the U.S....

In what has been described as a new front in the battle over same-sex marriage, legislators in several states under judicial orders to confer marital status on same-sex couples have introduced bills to forbid state or local officials from issuing marriage licenses to couples of the same gender. The bills would also strip the salaries of employees who issued the licenses, the New York Times reported Thursday.The bills have been introduced in the legislatures of Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas, with South Carolina also considering a bill that would allow officials to opt out of issuing such licenses if it...

Another step has been taken to restore second amendment rights to the position that they held before the modern assault on the Constitution.   It is an important case because it establishes the precedent that your second amendment rights cannot be permanently removed for a temporary condition; and that the proper level of scrutiny in the court is the highest accorded to fundamental constitutional rights, that  of strict scrutiny.  From the opinion of the court, pdf file: BOGGS, Circuit Judge. This case presents an important issue of first impression in the federal courts: whether a prohibition on the possession of...

A federal appeals court in Cincinnati deemed a law unconstitutional that kept a Michigan man who was committed to a mental institution from owning a gun. The three-judge panel of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that a federal ban on gun ownership for those who have been committed to a mental institution violated the Second Amendment rights of 73-year-old Clifford Charles Tyler. Tyler attempted to buy a gun and was denied on the grounds that he had been committed to a mental institution in 1986 after suffering emotional problems stemming from a divorce. He was only...

By a two-to-one vote, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati upheld the right of states to ban same-sex marriage, overturning lower court decisions in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee that found such restrictions to be unconstitutional.

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld gay marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, reversing a recent trend in the federal courts to strike down such bans.

A federal appeals court in Cincinnati on Friday struck down Michigan's Proposal 2, the ban on the consideration of race and gender when hiring public employees or enrolling students at public colleges. The voter-approved constitutional amendments burdens minorities and violates the U.S. Constitution, the court said in its 2-1 decision. The court said it violates the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, who had suggested the city challenge the amendment after it was passed, was exultant Friday upon hearing the news of the reversal. “Wow! Wow! Wow!” Heartwell said. “It confirms the belief that many of...

Court: Evangelism is free speech Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 6/1/2011 3:55:00 AM A Christian pastor who ministers to Muslims has won a free-speech victory against Dearborn, Michigan. The Thomas More Law Center's (TMLC) Richard Thompson reports that Sudanese Christian Pastor George Saieg ministered at the International Arab Festival in Dearborn for five years, until 2009. (See earlier story) "The police department issued a ban on leafleting on the public sidewalks," Thompson reports. "As a result of that ban, the Thomas More Law Center sued the city of Dearborn and its police chief on behalf of Pastor Saieg." The Sixth...

Judge - Commision Date Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs - March 25, 1986 - REAGAN Senior Judge Damon J. Keith - October 21, 1977 - CARTER Senior Judge Gilbert S. Merritt - October 31, 1977 - CARTER Senior Judge Cornelia G. Kennedy - September 26, 1979 - CARTER Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr. - September 26, 1979 - CARTER Senior Judge Ralph B. Guy, Jr. - October 17, 1985 - REAGAN Senior Judge James L. Ryan - October 17, 1985 - REAGAN Senior Judge Alan E. Norris - July 1, 1986 - REAGAN Senior Judge Richard F. Suhrheinrich - July...

Statement Of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell On The Crisis In The Sixth Circuit Court Of Appeals from the Office of Senator Mitch McConnell Thursday, May 12, 2005 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell delivered the following statement today on the Senate floor: “Mr. President, for the last four years I have taken to the floor to decry the crushing burden under which the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals operates. “The years change, but one seemingly immutable fact remains: the Sixth Circuit remains the slowest judicial circuit in the country by far. “The Sixth Circuit has 16 seats. It covers...

See you in September.... Isn't that a song by Neil Sedaka or the Four Seasons from the sixties? Well, it's September and Terri's Fight goes on. The Florida Supreme Court heard Oral Argument on August 31st which was the same day as the elections in Pinellas and Pasco County, Florida. The most important race for locals was for Circuit Civil Judge, District 18. The hard fought GOVAN v. Greer judicial race. Greer won but 57,000 citizens registered their votes for JAN GOVAN. Although the St. Pete Times tried to downplay and undermine Jan Govan, if I guestimate that Govan had...

Persistent and Loyal Friends of Terri and of the U.S. Constitution, I'm home from today's hearing which was held at the Criminal Courthouse Complex on 49th Street, Clearwater before Judge W. Douglas Baird. Once I collect my thoughts from today's hearing which just adjourned about a half an hour ago, I'll post them here. Initially, I wasn't going to do any reporting re: the hearing but it was enlightening. I learned today in the hallway that Terri's parents, siblings and other relatives are still unable to see her some three weeks later due to the criminal investigation of what may...

Appeals Court Says Ten Commandments Not Allowed On School Grounds A federal court ruled Monday that putting the commandments on government property is unconstitutional. This means that displays of the Ten Commandments will stay out of Adams County Schools. This decision upholds a lower court's ruling that ordered the removal of the monuments in front of four Adams County Schools. Supporters of the commandments monuments argued that they are historical documents just like the Declaration of Independence. The Sixth Circuit Court rejected that said that the the commandments are religious symbols. But it would be tough to convince a...

<p>Rumors in Washington has it that the House Judiciary Committee may hold hearings into the events surrounding the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 5-4 decision upholding the University of Michigan Law School's affirmative action program. In a rare break with judicial comity, two judges in the court publicly questioned the procedures that Chief Judge Boyce Martin, a Carter appointee, had set out in the case.</p>