Free Republic

A federal judge on Wednesday took the extraordinary step of ordering that asylum seekers who sued after their deportation be returned to the U.S. to have their claims heard anew, ruling against the Trump administration's revised asylum policies. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington came a day after the same judge presided over a contentious sentencing hearing for former national security adviser Michael Flynn -- in which he questioned whether the ex-White House official committed “treason” and accused him of selling out the United States to foreign interests. He later delayed Flynn’s sentencing until 2019, as...

DENVER - Attorneys for a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple on religious grounds - a stand partially upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court - argued in federal court Tuesday that the state is punishing him again over his refusal to bake a cake celebrating a gender transition. Lawyers for Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in suburban Denver, are suing to try to stop the state from taking action against him over the new discrimination allegation. They say the state is treating Phillips with hostility because of his Christian faith and pressing...

DENVER — He won his six-year legal battle over his refusal to create a gay wedding cake, but Christian baker Jack Phillips is now facing what could be a lengthy courtroom sequel on the issue of transgender birthday cakes. Any hope of a speedy resolution was dashed Tuesday when a federal judge indicated he plans to reject the effort to dismiss the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s latest complaint against Masterpiece Cakeshop involving a birthday cake for a gender transition. “I’m inclined to deny the motion to dismiss,” said senior U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel. He also advised Mr....

This week on The David Rubenstein Show, retired Justice Kennedy finally admitted the real reason behind his Obergefell ruling, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that created a novel definition of marriage to give legal status to same-sex couples. Kennedy said, “It seemed to me just wrong that under the Constitution, over 100,000 adopted children of gay parents could not have their parents married. I just thought this was wrong.” Well, now we know. The justice’s reasoning had nothing to do with Constitutional principles. He had an emotional reaction and in his hubris he imposed his private feelings on the nation....

A federal judge in New York has ruled the Trump sanctuary city crackdown illegal Friday — but even went further and also ruled the law Congress passed requiring information-sharing is unconstitutional. Judge Edgardo Ramos‘ decision frees sanctuary jurisdictions in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington, Massachusetts and Virginia to continue their policies without fear of losing federal money. The judge said the Trump administration attempted to write new conditions of cooperation, including notifying the feds of illegal immigrants ready for pickup, beyond what Congress had authorized. He said it is up to Congress to decide those conditions. “The...

Some offered to donate their ribs, others recommended cloaking her in bubble wrap. The reactions following news that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had fractured three ribs in a fall at her office on Nov. 7 may have been made in jest, but some no doubt were rooted in real worry. At 85, Ginsburg is the oldest member of the Supreme Court, and this month’s health scare left many wondering if she’ll really serve for five more years as promised. But she’s not the only one in recovery mode. Washington is slowly recuperating from the bitter battle over Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s...

Fox News host Mark Levin defended President Trump on Wednesday after Chief Justice John Roberts rebuked the president's criticism of a federal judge. The conservative host argued in a Facebook post defending Trump that "there are ... too many progressive judges and justices who legislate from the bench." "Indeed, when it came to Obamacare, Roberts himself led the court’s leftists in rewriting the Constitution and imposing that damnable law on all of us," he wrote. "It appears John Roberts doesn’t live in the real world." Levin weighed in after Roberts offered a rare statement rebuking Trump's criticism of a federal...

A Georgia federal judge ruled in favor of Democrat Stacey Abrams’ campaign Monday night, ordering election officials to review thousands of provisional ballots that have not been counted in the contested election for governor. Judge Amy Totenberg, a New Yorker who serves on the Atlanta-based court, said that the race cannot be officially certified until those ballots were counted. Many voters have complained they were told at polling stations they weren’t registered and had to file provisional ballots. Abrams would need to gain more than 20,000 votes to force a runoff against Republican Brian Kemp.

Years from now, perhaps only days from now, when people are no longer quite so inebriated with partisanship, those who wish Brett Kavanaugh well and those who wish him ill will probably agree on one thing: His defiant September 27 statement denying the charges leveled against him in the course of his Supreme Court confirmation is the defining speech of our time. Kavanaugh rejected outright Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation that he had jumped her and gagged her at a party 36 years ago, when both were in high school. He denied knowingly having met her. None of the witnesses she...

Washington’s Supreme Court unanimously struck down the state’s death penalty Thursday, ruling that it had been used in an arbitrary and racially discriminatory manner. Washington has had a moratorium on executions since 2014, but the ruling makes it the 20th state to do away with capital punishment by legislative act or court decree. The court converted the sentences of the eight people on Washington’s death row to life in prison. “The death penalty is unequally applied — sometimes by where the crime took place, or the county of residence, or the available budgetary resources at any given point in time,...

VANITY I watched the very long video in which Scalia spoke of interpreting the U.S. Constitution (Constitution) These are my notes: The due process clause in the Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without “due process”. It does not mean rights are absolute. A fundamental right used to be one that is rooted in the traditions of the American people. Ultimately “fundamental rights” no longer have to be “rooted in tradition”. For example, “abortion” which is now considered to be a fundamental right was not only not rooted in tradition but it was...

U.S.—With the confirmation vote on Brett Kavanaugh looming, Democrats expressed fear and trepidation Friday at the idea of having to actually legislate through Congress instead of courts in the future, should the Supreme Court tilt to the right.

A Massachusetts woman was reportedly taken into custody on Monday after she allegedly drove into a car sporting a Trump bumper sticker. The arrest of Chloe Wright, 25, followed an alleged hit-and-run in Hyannis on June 30, the Cape Cod Times reported, citing a police report. After the incident, the man she hit reportedly contacted the Barnstable Police Department and recalled hearing a motorist behind him honking their car horn as he waited at a red light. According to the police report, the honking continued and by the time he reached another red light, the motorist started shouting at him,...

We all knew this feigned outrage over separating families had nothing to do with separating families, but with ensuring a steady flow of poor and dangerous elements into our country to be released into our communities and never heard from again. Now we have the proof. After the Trump administration marshalled all its security resources away from our border priorities in order to reunite the families, district Judge Dana Sabraw has now placed a halt on their deportations, even as unified family units... Sabraw, a George W. Bush appointee, is the same judge who legislated from the bench that the...

During Friday’s Weekly Address, President Trump said that in picking a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, “my greatest responsibility is to select a justice who will faithfully interpret the Constitution as written.” He added, “Judges are not supposed to re-write the law, re-invent the Constitution, or substitute their own opinions for the will of the people expressed through their laws.” Transcript as Follows: “One of the most important decisions a president will ever make is the decision to nominate a justice to the United States Supreme Court. Last week, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his decision to take senior...

The Justice Department said Wednesday it has begun distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in grant money that had been tied up in a major court battle over sanctuary cities. Byrne Justice Assistance Grants are used by localities and police departments across the nation to pay for equipment, training, personnel or other pressing needs. The Trump administration last year said it would condition the money on localities’ willingness to cooperate in holding illegal immigrants for pickup by federal deportation officers. Chicago sued, saying the conditions weren’t part of federal law.

Perhaps the biggest roadblock to Trump’s MAGA agenda has been radical, liberal judges. These men and women, appointed by previous presidents and other powers, have interfered with President Trump’s lawful authority. But that’s all about to change. Judges are supposed to be impartial. They have a solemn duty to uphold our laws. Decisions made by judges can decide the fate of not just one person, but millions. Judges that preside over federal issues can very well affect the lives of every last American. We’ve seen how radical judges can harm our country. Obama-appointed judges have overstepped their bounds by attacking...

President Donald Trump cannot block users on his Twitter feed, a federal judge in New York City ruled Wednesday. Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said in her ruling that Trump is violating the U.S. Constitution by preventing certain Americans from viewing his tweets. The social media platform, Buchwald said, is a "designated public forum" from which Trump cannot exclude individual plaintiffs.

A Boston judge has cleared a group of climate protesters who were facing criminal charges stemming from a 2016 protest over a pipeline in West Roxbury, citing the necessity of their actions in a potentially landmark ruling. “It may well be the first of its kind in a case involving climate change, in that it’s a judicial recognition of the measures that we need to take to address climate change,” said Andrew Fischer, an attorney for some of the defendants. “In that sense, it is a revolutionary step.” The protesters, including Karenna Gore, the daughter of former Vice President Al...

Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has died, a court spokesperson confirmed. He was 87. A liberal champion, Reinhardt was appointed to the bench by President Carter in 1980. He authored key liberal court opinions on hot-button topics ranging from abortion and marriage equality to assisted suicide and immigration. At the same time, the opinions made him a target of criticism from conservative corners — and of regular reversal from the Supreme Court.