Free Republic

A federal judge in Honolulu has expanded the Trump administration’s list of family relationships needed by people seeking new visas from six mostly Muslim countries to avoid a travel ban. U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson ruled today that the travel ban exemptions should include grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts and other relatives. President Donald Trump’s travel ban, which was partially allowed by the U.S. Supreme Court, did not include grandparents, grandchildren and other relations considered “bona-fide” family relationships to be granted an exemption to the ban. The administration said a bona fide relationship would be a parent, spouse, fiance, son,...

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a transgender Wisconsin high school senior who identifies as male can use the boys' bathroom. The ruling, a victory for Ashton Whitaker, 17, of George Nelson Tremper High School in Kenosha, came the same week that he graduates. Nonetheless, he said he was thrilled with the decision. "I hope my case will help other transgender students in Kenosha and elsewhere to just be treated the same as everyone else without facing discrimination and harassment from school administrators," he said. A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that...

In a shocker that really should shock no one, this leftist judge reportedly raised over $200,000 and personally gave $30,000 of his own money to support former President Obama, and also gave money to support John Kerry in 2004. . . . The 63-year-old Orrick also issued a restraining order in 2015 against The Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion group headed by David Daleiden that secretly recorded meetings of an international group of abortion providers called the National Abortion Federation, to which several Planned Parenthood locations are affiliated with.

https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/filelibrary/3043/Order-Granting-Motions-to-Enjoin-9-a-of-Exec-O.pdf

BREAKING: US judge blocks Trump order to cut off funding to cities that limit cooperation with immigration authorities.

The fact that a bottom-rung judge can wrest constitutional power away from the president of the United States is beyond disturbing.A third-tier judge, without any constitutional or legal warrant, has taken total control of America’s immigration policy from President Trump. And the president is letting him do it. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii yesterday extended the ban he imposed on President Trump’s travel ban indefinitely. And he imposed it universally, even outside his own jurisdiction, which I doubt he has any authority whatsoever to do. Vowing that the ban would remain in place even if the president appeals...

A federal District Court judge in Maryland is considering whether he should order President Donald Trump to double the annual inflow of refugees up to 100,000 per year.

There is more judicial tyranny to warn you about. The latest - Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii - he blocked President Trump's temporary immigration ban. The president called Judge Watson's decision unprecedented judicial overreach. Critics say it's a ban on Muslims. But that's not true. It's a ban on refugees from countries infested with jihadists. What in the name of Don Ho is wrong with these people? Judge Watson's decision puts all of us in grave danger. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says around three hundred of the FBI's active domestic terror investigations involve people who came here as refugees. That's...

BREAKING: Judge in Hawaii blocks Trump's new travel ban from taking effect nationwide tomorrow

By now many of you know that Mike Strickland, a pro-gun, free lance journalist was convicted of 21 counts of self defense on Friday, Feb.10. Strickland had been attacked by a mob in Portland while covering a “Black Lives Matter” protest. The attack was planned and coordinated in advance. You can read more about it here. Victoria Taft has done an outstanding job of documenting the attack and the trial and you can see that here. In truth, Mike was convicted the moment he was arrested by Portland Police for defending himself against the same kind of mobsters who have...

The Ninth Circuit’s decision against President Trump’s immigration order is worse than wrong. It is dangerous. To review, Trump issued an executive order blocking entry by refugees and aliens from seven Muslim-majority countries. The travel restriction is to be short-lived: a period of months while better vetting procedures are developed. The administration, moreover, did not pluck the seven countries from its allegedly anti-Muslim imagination. They were cited in a statute enacted by Congress and signed by President Obama, based on the richly supported conclusion that these countries — Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan — are riven by...

The temporary restraining order against President Trump’s executive order is still in effect, as you probably know. Josh Blackman has a good analysis of the ruling on his website, which I would recommend reading. There are a number of fascinating and disturbing elements of this decision, including the imposition of a “no evidence” standard upon the Trump administration. Although some are attempting to put the best face on what is a sweeping, unprecedented ruling, the truth is that we are entering uncharted waters. We have the largest circuit court in the federal system essentially erasing the plenary power doctrine as...

Vanity Discussion Question: Can the president ignore the court order and continue with his valid executive order? It appears the president is acting in accordance to his constitutional powers and specifically in accordance to laws regarding immigration and has been challenged and overridden by an unconstitutionally political activist (liberal) court. If so, can he can he continue with his valid orders controlling the actions of the executive branch? No doubt this would set up a "constitutional crisis" but this is going to happen soon anyway as it's the only way we will ever restore constitutional government, ie, the liberal activist...

“Disheartening and demoralizing,” wailed Judge Neil Gorsuch of President Trump’s comments about the judges seeking to overturn his 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. from the Greater Middle East war zones. What a wimp. Did our future justice break down crying like Sen. Chuck Schumer? Sorry, this is not Antonin Scalia. And just what horrible thing had our president said? A “so-called judge” blocked the travel ban, said Trump. And the arguments in court, where 9th Circuit appellate judges were hearing the government’s appeal, were “disgraceful.” “A bad student in high school would have understood the arguments better.” Did...

SEATTLE/BOSTON - A federal judge in Seattle on Friday granted a nationwide temporary restraining order blocking U.S. President Donald Trump's recent action barring nationals from seven countries from entering the United States. The judge's order represents a major challenge to the Trump administration, which is expected to immediately appeal. The judge declined to stay the order, suggesting that travel restrictions could be lifted immediately. The challenge was brought by the state of Washington and later joined by the state of Minnesota. The Seattle judge ruled that the states have legal standing to sue, which could help Democratic attorneys general take...

NEW YORK (AP) -- For the combatants in America's long-running culture wars, the triumph of Donald Trump and congressional Republicans was stunning - sparking elation on one side, deep dismay on the other. Advocates of LGBT rights and abortion rights now fear setbacks instead of further gains. But the outcome emboldened the anti-abortion movement and breathed new life into the religious right's campaign for broad exemptions from same-sex marriage and other laws. Kelly Shackelford, head of First Liberty Institute, a legal group that specializes in religious freedom cases, said that, for his cause, the environment will transform from "brutal" under...

The government must consult parliament before invoking Article 50, the High Court has ruled. The court ruled that Prime Minister Theresa May does not have the authority to use the Royal Prerogative to invoke the EU divorce process. The Lord Chief Justice has ruled that the government’s arguments are “contrary to fundamental constitutional principles of the sovereignty of parliament”. He added: “The court does not accept the argument put forward by the government. There is nothing in the text of the 1972 Act to support it.” Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, sitting with the Master of the Rolls, Sir Terence...

A U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday blocked an effort by Alabama, Georgia and Kansas for voters to furnish proof of citizenship when registering at the polls, which opponents say disenfranchises voters, especially minorities. The decision effectively strikes down a rule that requires voters in the three states to provide proof they are United States citizens. Elsewhere, voters only need swear that they are citizens in order to cast a ballot. "With just weeks to go before a critical presidential election, we are grateful to the court of appeals for stopping this thinly veiled discrimination in its tracks," Chris Carson,...

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- A federal judge on Monday blocked North Dakota's voter identification law after a group of American Indians said it unfairly burdens them - the latest court ruling against voting laws that critics say disproportionately affect minorities. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland issued a temporary restraining order and criticized the state for its 2013 repeal of provisions that let people without valid IDs vote if someone vouched for them or if they signed an affidavit swearing they were a qualified voter.

A federal judge blocked a controversial Mississippi law that would’ve gone into effect Friday, which would’ve allowed businesses and government employees to deny services to gay and transgender people based on religious grounds. U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves issued a 60-page opinion in which he described the Mississippi law, known as House Bill 1523, as “state-sanctioned discrimination.” “There are almost endless explanations for how HB 1523 condones discrimination against the LGBT community, but in its simplest terms it denies LGBT citizens equal protection under the law,” he wrote. He cited many