Free Republic

LANCASTER COUNTY, Nebraska (LifeSiteNews) – Nebraska can enforce its law against abortions after 12 weeks and protect minors from surgical and chemical mutilation, a state judge ruled recently. District Court Judge Lori Maret upheld Legislative Bill 574 which prohibits “gender-altering surgery” for minors, such as mastectomies and genital surgeries, while requiring the state’s chief medical officer – Dr. Timothy Tesmer, an appointee of Governor Jim Pillen – to issue regulations on the use of transgender drugs. There are some exceptions in the bill, such as allowing the use of unscientific and dangerous drugs by gender-confused teens already taking them to...

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's school voucher overhaul racked up a victory Monday when a panel of appellate court judges granted to stay a federal district court judge's ruling to block the program's implementation in Tangipahoa Parish. Tangipahoa appellate court voucher ruling U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The ruling means the 50 students currently enrolled in the program in Tangipahoa Parish will not be removed from schools. Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said while he was pleased the ruling mentioned the wider court case of his and various other teachers organizations against the state, he was...

There is perhaps no greater tyranny then when a Justice of our Supreme Court, charged with enforcing our written Constitution, uses their office of public trust to side with and defend domestic enemies who work to seditiously overturn the documented intentions and beliefs under which our Constitution was adopted. This is what Justice Roberts is guilty of and will herein be confirmed by the very words of our founding fathers! In upholding Obamacare Justice Roberts relies upon that part of our Constitution which declares: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay...

WASHINGTON — A conservative-leaning appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care law, as the Supreme Court prepares to consider this week whether to resolve conflicting rulings over the law's requirement that all Americans buy health care insurance. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a split opinion upholding the lower court's ruling that found Congress did not overstep its authority in requiring people to have insurance or pay a penalty on their taxes, beginning in 2014. The requirement is the most controversial requirement of Obama's signature...

When justices ruled to strike down laws limiting corporate political spending, they signaled a tough road ahead for Democrats' regulatory measures. Reporting from Washington - Five years ago, when John G. Roberts Jr. became the Supreme Court's chief justice, he described the job as though he would be a minor functionary, more like an umpire behind the plate than the star of the game. He also said he favored minimal and narrow decisions, rather than broad but divisive rulings that would abruptly change the law. But in recent weeks, Roberts has shown that when he has the support of moderate...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Iraqi Kurdish imam and a Bangladeshi-American pizzeria owner on Wednesday lost an appeal of their convictions for plotting to kill a Pakistani diplomat in what turned out to be an FBI sting operation. The U.S Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of Yassin Aref, 37, and Mohammed Hossain, 53, who were sentenced last year to 15 years each in prison for their roles in a fake plot to attack the Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations in New York with a missile. Both appealed their convictions of money-laundering and conspiring to provide material...

RICHMOND, Va. - A divided Virginia Supreme Court affirmed the nation's first felony conviction for illegal spamming on Friday, ruling that Virginia's anti-spamming law does not violate free-speech rights. Jeremy Jaynes of Raleigh, N.C., considered among the world's top 10 spammers in 2003, was convicted of massive distribution of junk e-mail and sentenced to nine years in prison. Almost all 50 states have anti-spamming laws. In the 4-3 ruling, the court rejected Jaynes' claim that the state law violates both the First Amendment and the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. "This is a historic victory in the fight...

SAN FRANCISCO The California Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence for a San Bernardino man convicted of killing three children in 1996. Martin Mendoza was sentenced to death for the murders of the children, which included two of his stepchildren, and attempted murders of four other people, including two sheriff's deputies. His automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court was affirmed unanimously.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The state Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for a woman who orchestrated the murders of her ex-husband and a hit man who expressed remorse about his role in the killing. The state's highest court on Monday rejected arguments by Mary Ellen Samuels that numerous errors were made in the trial that led to her July 1994 conviction of two counts of first-degree murder, solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. She was sentenced to death in September 1994. Robert Samuels was found dead on Dec. 8, 1988 from a gunshot wound to the head....

One would think that our journalists, who profess a commitment to the Bill of Rights, would raise the alarm. But they're too busy filling out grant applications to the Soros Open Society Institute. Last fall, in our report on George Soros,we noted that "The media consistently ignore the fact that this so-called 'philanthropist' has had several brushes with the law," including a conviction in France for insider trading. On March 24, that insider trading conviction was upheld. The Washington Post gave the story one paragraph on page 2 of the Business Section of the paper. By contrast, the story was...

<p>Lawyers for Gov. Gray Davis and state Controller Steve Westly announced an agreement Monday that ended a weeks-long impasse over midyear budget cuts and could lead to a tripling of the annual vehicle license fee -- without a vote of the Legislature or the public.</p>

SAN FRANCISCO -- California governors have broad power to block parole in murder cases, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday in a victory for Gov. Gray Davis and defeat for the more than 150 men and women whose release from prison he has vetoed. In throwing out the rulings of most lower courts that have considered the issue, the justices, on a 5-2 vote, gave Davis only slightly less sweeping power than he sought. Davis, who declared a no-parole policy soon after taking office and then allowed parole in just two cases, had said his vetoes were unreviewable except for...

Court Overturns Bookstore Ruling Colorado Supreme Court Refuses to Order Bookstore to Turn Over Sales Records on How-To Drug BooksD E N V E R, April 8 — The Colorado Supreme Court refused to order a bookstore Monday to tell police who bought two how-to books on making illegal drugs, saying the First Amendment and state Constitution protect the right to purchase books anonymously. The unanimous 6-0 decision overturns a ruling by a Denver judge who said Tattered Cover Book Store owner Joyce Meskis must give records of the sale to a Denver-area drug task force.Police and prosecutors in the...