Free Republic

Discussion on Fox & Friends about how those being confirmed to judgeships aren't as smart as they used to be http://video.foxnews.com/v/2684096555001/are-politics-dumbing-down-americas-courts/

During the traffic stop, after Keith tells Robinson to just let his driver take him home, Robinson asks for Keith’s identification. Keith refuses. “You don’t need my name,” Keith says, arguing that because he is only a passenger during the traffic stop and isn’t suspected of committing a crime, he doesn’t have to submit to demands for identification. Keith asks if they’re being detained and on what charge. Robinson says “possibly underage consumption.” Keith said he believes Robinson was just fishing for something to charge him with when he wouldn’t provide his ID. Robinson didn’t settle on the charge until...

One of the proposed Constitutional amendments in Mark Levin's new book specifies that Congress can overturn a Supreme Court opinion. But the amendment also specifies that if, within 24 months, Congress doesn't so overturn a Supreme Court opinion, then the opinion becomes definitive. It's that last part that seems a big step in the wrong direction to me. Under the current Constitution, a Mayor, County Executive, Governor or President's duty to support the Constitution would not be defined by a court opinion or by Congress. But under Mr. Levin's proposed amendment, executives would have to let these other branches tell...

A series of bills passed by Colorado Democrats in the state legislature hit a snag last week after a judge berated the lawmakers for ignoring the state’s constitution. “Writing an election law so clearly non-compliant with the state constitution,” Denver District Judge Robert McGahey said in a ruling, “I find that both sad and, frankly, shocking.” The judge’s rebuke was made in reference to a 126-page bill passed by the Democrats under the guise of “election reform,” but as the bill was being debated, it became apparent to some that the real purpose of the bill was to enable Democrats...

Just got a robocall from his office this evening (Aug 24)...... Altmire Invites Constituents to Town Hall Meeting on Health Care Reform on August 26 August 18, 2009(???) (PITTSBURGH, PA) -- Today, U.S. Congressman Jason Altmire (PA-04) announced that he will hold a town hall meeting on health care reform in Farrell on Wednesday, August 26 at 4:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the auditorium at Farrell Area High School, located at 1600 Roemer Boulevard in Farrell, PA. Doors will open at 4 pm. If anyone knows applicable town meeting sites could you please post this there. BTW,...

The 5-4 opinion by the Supreme Court on the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) raises questions about the Court’s authority. The debate should focus on the role of the Supreme Court within the Republic and its duty to interpret the Constitution. The debate should not be over marriage. In the DOMA case, the five-member majority ignored long-accepted Equal Protection law. The decision is neither grounded in the constitutional text nor in prior precedent. It is contrary to the Western legal tradition, natural law, and the created order. Marriage was not invented by religion or civil authorities and predates both.

To paraphrase Raymond Chandler, reading Martin’s social media posts felt like cruising through a sewer in a glass bottomed boat. The experience also reminded me of a salient observation in “The Closing of the American Mind” by the late Allan Bloom, a former Classics and Philosophy professor at the University of Chicago. Bloom decried the fact that centuries of scientific and technological advances rather than being put to better use have made it possible for young people to listen to mass manufactured pop songs extolling violence, drug abuse, onanism and the killing of one’s own parents. Bloom never lived to...

On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) asked for the Justice Department to prosecute George Zimmerman, who was acquitted Saturday night in the killing of Trayvon Martin. “I think the Justice Department is going to take a look at this,” Reid told NBC’s Meet the Press. “This isn’t over with and I think that’s good. That’s our system, it’s gotten better, not worse.”Reid did acknowledge the verdict, stating, “I am a trial lawyer and have [brought] over 100 cases to a jury. I don’t always agree with what the jury does but that’s the system and I support the...

"Based upon the language of Article II, Section 1, Clause 4 and the guidance provided by Wong Kim Ark, we conclude that persons born within the borders of the United States are "natural born Citizens" for Article II, Section 1 purposes, regardless of the citizenship of their parents." Ankeny v. Daniels, 916 N.E.2d 678 (Indiana Ct. App. 2009, ) What went wrong with this decision?

A new group is emerging that may finally change the way Family Courts treat mothers and fathers. Currently, the default in most states is to award the lion's share of the time with the children to mothers, and require the father to pay child support. This is unfair to fathers, and has resulted in massive abuses within the system, leading to fathers committing suicide and being imprisoned. A new organization I am a part of, Leading Women for Shared Parenting, seeks to remedy this inequality by having women and mothers speak up in favor of shared parenting. When legislators realize...

Kansas governor Sam Brownback heard something recently. He received a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder stating that Kansas' newly enacted legislation prohibiting government agents from enforcing federal gun laws in the state "directly conflicts with federal law and is therefore unconstitutional." Unconstitutional, Eric? My, how antebellum of you. Meanwhile, the South Carolina House just passed a law criminalizing the enforcement of ObamaCare within its state borders, a move that critics will also attack with talk of the Supremacy Clause. Speaking of supremacy, AG Holder also told Brownback that the feds would litigate if necessary "to prevent the State of...

A U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge has ruled that the federal judiciary discriminated against an assistant federal public defender in Portland by not recognizing her same-sex marriage from Canada, and that Oregon's ban against same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution.

Several Republicans in the Iowa House of Representatives are pushing to cut the pay of the Iowa Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in 2009 — though they contend that it’s not meant to punish the justices. Rep. Tom Shaw, a Republican, said that the bill was meant “to maintain the balance of power” between the different branches of government in the state. ”We’re just holding them responsible for their decision, for going beyond their bounds,” he said. ----- The justices “trashed the separation of powers” with their unanimous Varnum v. Brien decision and implementation...

heBlaze’s Jon Seidl and Becket Adams contributed to this report. The White House has announced how it plans to deal with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings. According to White House spokesman Jay Carney, the 19-year-old alleged terrorist “will not be treated as an enemy combatant.” The government’s official complaint was also released today (embedded below). “We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilians system of justice,” Carney told reporters. ”Under U.S. law, United States citizens cannot be tried in military commissions.” The information was announced this afternoon, just one week after the horrific terror attack...

After six years of litigation, I am pleased to report that I have finally won the right to present my case against UNC-Wilmington to a jury of my peers here in North Carolina. My case began in September of 2006 when I was denied promotion to full professor. At the time, I had multiple teaching awards and outstanding reviews from students for my teaching. I had published more peer-reviewed articles than the vast majority of my colleagues. In fact, my department had never denied promotion to full professor to anyone with as many peer reviewed publications as I had accumulated....

snip The court goes to great pains to argue that its ruling in Whatcott does not bar religious persons and groups from expressing their views about sexual morality in the public sphere. That may be true in principle, but in practice, I am not so sure. For many Christians, the fact that a sexual practice is engaged in by members of the same sex is spiritually and morally significant. Requiring them to frame their arguments against certain sexual practices as though the gender of the participants is irrelevant will tend to distort their views. We should not kid ourselves, either,...

A teenage boy found guilty in Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court of raping a girl in the stairwell of Churchland High School will serve indeterminate supervised probation, according to Commonwealth's Attorney Earle C. Mobley. The youth, 16 at the time, was arrested after a 15-year-old girl reported the May 30 assault. The Virginian-Pilot does not identify victims of sex crimes and generally does not identify juvenile defendants. The victim told police she and the boy had been playing around when he started to pull down her pants, then got on top of her and penetrated her, according to a...

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJBK) - A federal judge is expected to make a decision this week that could eventually overturn on Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. Judge Bernard Friedman of the U.S. District Court is expected to hear arguments on the legality of the ban during a hearing Thursday morning at Wayne St. University. A lesbian couple from Ferndale, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, originally filed suit last year in their fight to jointly adopt their three special needs children. "There's no way for them to both adopt the children together as a couple which leads to endless complications," said...

Mr. Lyndon Larouche, a well respected journalist and political activist received word from his sources within the United States government that President Barack Hussein Obama has been indicted by a Federal Court

A federal appeals court has overturned President Obama’s controversial recess appointments from last year, arguing he abused his powers and acted when the Senate was not actually in a recess. The three-judge panel’s ruling is a major blow to Mr. Obama. The judges ruled that the appointments Mr. Obama made to the National Labor Relations Board are illegal, and the board no longer has a quorum to operate. But the ruling has even broader constitutional significance, with the judges arguing that the president’s recess appointment powers don’t apply to “intrasession” appointments — those made when Congress has left town for...