http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/law/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 16:15:26 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418978/posts Reducing the number of guns in Finland would be a challenge – but if it prevents another shooting it would be worthwhile Four people were shot dead in a shopping mall near Helsinki today on a clear, bright day of new snow. It was the third mass killing in the last three years. Many Finns were also shocked to discover today that there are 1.6 million guns in our country of five million people. Some hunt with rifles, which is a very popular activity in the Finnish countryside, while others use pistols on shooting ranges. Good, ordinary people keep illegal... The Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418978/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 16:15:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418766/posts A federal judge in Manhattan dismissed most of a lawsuit against Milberg LLP, brought by former clients who accused the law firm of paying them millions of dollars to serve as lead plaintiffs in class actions. The plaintiffs sought to recover their attorneys' fees. U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska dismissed the plaintiffs' racketeering claims as time-barred, but kept alive a breach of fiduciary duty charge. Melvyn Weiss, David Bershad, William Lerach and Steven Schulman, four ex-partners of the law firm, pleaded guilty to paying kickbacks to clients in order to induce them to file suits. Prosecutors said the fraud... Courthouse News Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418766/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:00:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418379/posts Q1: How come the pro-abortion group “Catholics for Choice” gets away with calling itself a Catholic organization? Why doesn’t the Church stop it from using this name? -DaleQ2: There’s a school in our diocese that is run by Catholic laywomen. They teach Catholic catechism and the kids regularly go to Mass. But you wouldn’t know from its name that it’s a Catholic school, because it doesn’t say “St. X Catholic School,” but just “St. X School.” It isn’t mentioned in the diocese’s list of Catholic schools, either. Is it safe to assume that this is some schismatic fringe group running... Catholic Exchange http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418379/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:53:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417609/posts A Pittsburgh ordinance designed to protect janitors from losing their jobs in Downtown office buildings violates Home Rule law. [snip] City Council enacted an ordinance in 2004 governing building complexes with more than 100,000 square feet of floor space. If the owner switches security, janitorial, maintenance, stationary engineering or window-washing contractors, the new firm has to hire the old firm's workers. Pittsburgh Post Gazette http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417609/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:36:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417529/posts Guns are technology. Many of us no longer think of firearms as technology, however. We've allowed popular culture, emotional mythos and political propaganda to affect our view of these tools. We see them not as labor-saving devices, but as statements. We may uphold them as emblematic of liberty or we may condemn them as inherently, murderously dangerous, depending on our political outlook. But we've stopped understanding them technologically. --------------------------cut------------------------ It is in losing this recognition that guns are labor-saving technology that we commit mistakes at the socio-political level. Our popular culture has begun to vilify firearms and those who carry... WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417529/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:03:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417269/posts WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2009 – U.S. forces are training and advising Iraqi officials in forensics, evidence collection, human rights and how a legal system is managed in a democracy. U.S. Marine Col. Darrel Halse serves as the Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission’s rule of law director. He discussed the Iraqi transition from dictatorship to democracy during a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable Dec. 23. Halse said his directorate’s mission is to ensure that Iraq Ministry of Interior leaders and law-enforcement officials become stakeholders in Iraq’s post-Saddam, democratic legal culture. Halse said his legal advisors make an effort to see that Iraqis preserve... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417269/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:53:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416838/posts HB 873 would repeal most gun laws. Today's column is Part One in a special series here at the Atlanta Gun Rights Examiner. Over the next couple of weeks, this column will bring to you all of the pending bills affecting your right to bear arms in the current session of the General Assembly and offer some analysis of each bill. In Part One, we will examine the most recent bill, HB 873, the Freedom of Choice and Security Act. Introduced by Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-43, Marietta), HB 873 would have the effect of repealing Article 4, relating to dangerous... Atlanta Gun Rights examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416838/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:13:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414942/posts Restrictive smoking law takes effect Jan. 2December 19, 2009 10:00 PM Sue Book Sun Journal Staff Tar Heels and tobacco are typical tag words for North Carolina, but 2010 won’t be a smokin’ New Year in this state. After New Year’s Eve parties and a day to deal with hangovers, no legal smoke will be hanging in North Carolina restaurants and bars. A state smoking ban begins at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 2. Restaurants, bars and other establishments that fail to enforce it will be warned twice, and then fined $200 for each subsequent violation. Private, non-profit clubs that serve only... New Bern SJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414942/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:05:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2413397/posts Note: The following text is a quote: Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release December 21, 2009 Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 3326 On December 19, 2009, the President signed into law: H.R. 3326, the “Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010,” which provides FY 2010 appropriations for Department of Defense (DOD) military programs including funding for Overseas Contingency Operations, and extends various expiring authorities and other non-defense FY 2010 appropriations. WHITEHOUSE.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2413397/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:24:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412906/posts "My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift." Father Tim Jones preached these words to his congregation at St. Lawrence Church in England yesterday, according to this article in the Daily Mail newspaper. And he wasn't kidding. Father Jones went on, teaching the poor how and when to steal: "I would ask that they do not steal from small family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices. I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any... Is There a Lawyer in the Church? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412906/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:49:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412307/posts From bankruptcy to pre-nups, I've drilled deep into our analytics for 2009. Here's your top ten favorite (most viewed) posts of the year: 1. Bankruptcy for Christians Facing Financial Meltdown?2. Google Gives Glimpse of Legal Struggles Christians Face3. Good News on the Law: Can President Obama Change the Supreme Court?4. The Litigation Trap and the Christian Conciliation Alternative: Christianity 9 to 55. Good News on the Law: You Can Be a Christian at Work6. The Madoff Scandal and Three Essential Questions on Wealth7. Christian Lawyer: Not an Oxymoron8. Mortgage morality meltdown: Law prof says go ahead, stiff the bank!9. The... Is There a Lawyer in the Church? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412307/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:13:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411074/posts In 2005, the National Rifle Association of America enacted a law that probably saved the American gun-making industry from bankruptcy. And just this last week, the Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to this landmark legislation, ensuring this law stays on the books to preserve America’s culture of lawful firearm ownership. For years, opponents of the Second Amendment sought to eliminate gun rights by eliminating guns. Anti-gun groups, working with big-city mayors like Michael Bloomberg of New York City, devised a scheme to rid America of firearms. They filed product liability suits, alleging that firearm manufacturers should be held liable... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411074/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:03:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410556/posts Albuquerque, N.M., Dec 18, 2009 / 04:12 am (CNA).- Attorneys for a small photography company charged with violating anti-discrimination laws for declining to photograph a same-sex “commitment ceremony” are planning to appeal a New Mexico judge’s decision to uphold the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission’s ruling against them.The Albuquerque company, Elane Photography, is co-owned by Elaine Huguenin and her husband Jon. They are being represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).In 2006 a woman named Vanessa Willock asked them to photograph a “commitment ceremony” that she and another woman wanted to hold in Taos, N.M. State law does... cna http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410556/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:11:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409773/posts Thursday December 17, 2009 Appeal to be Filed in Case of Photographer Fined for "Discrimination" ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., December 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) will appeal a New Mexico judge's decision to uphold a ruling by the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission against an Albuquerque photography company. The commission ruled that the company, run by a young Christian husband and wife, was guilty of "sexual orientation" discrimination under state antidiscrimination laws for declining to photograph a same-sex "commitment ceremony."   "Christians in the marketplace should not be subject to predatory legal attacks for simply... LifeSiteNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409773/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:02:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409635/posts So we’re going to shut down the detention center at the U.S. naval base on Guantanamo Bay and move the 200-plus terrorists detained there to a seldom-used civilian correctional center in Thomson, Ill. And we’re doing it, the Obama administration and Sen. Dick Durbin assure us, not because they want to use federal money to indemnify their home state for a white-elephant prison Illinois taxpayers should never have built, but because Guantanamo Bay simply must be closed. Gitmo, they say, causes terrorism. It’s worth remembering that the “Blind Sheikh,” Omar Abdel Rahman, perhaps the world’s most influential jihadist, was never... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409635/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:32:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406700/posts A father has been hit with an unusual restraining order: Keep his daughter away from any religion that is not Jewish. After the girl's parents split up, the father went to a Catholic church and had the girl baptized, CBS station WBBM-TV reports. Joseph Reyes, 35, had his daughter baptized and sent his ex-wife a picture of the ceremony. Rebecca Reyes says she only learned of her daughter's Baptism when Joseph sent her the picture, and that he sent it out of malice. Joseph Reyes denies this. "I sent it because Rebecca asked me for pictures," he said. Rebecca Reyes... cbs3.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406700/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:09:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400204/posts LINK ONLY http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09338/1018440-100.stm Pittsburgh Post Gazette http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400204/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 15:30:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396257/posts A Vermont judge rules Lisa Miller must turn over her daughter to her former lesbian partner. Superior Judge William Cohen ruled last week that Lisa Miller, a former lesbian who is now a Christian, must hand her daughter, Isabelle, over to her former partner, Janet Jenkins by Jan. 1. Miller conceived Isabella through artificial insemination while she was in a civil union with Jenkins. About a year later, Miller left homosexuality. Jenkins sued for custody, even though she has no biological tie to the child. Miller admits she made mistakes, like signing a custody agreement while still in the relationship... citizenlink.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396257/posts#comment Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:30:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396812/posts The Baltimore Sun lambasted Sen. Richard Burr's (R-NC) proposed S. 669 -- Veterans' Second Amendment Protection Act -- in an editorial called "Guns and the mentally ill" published on Nov. 16. The next day, it was forced to post a retraction. Actually, the paper's editorialists didn't write the retraction, Burr did in a blistering point-by-point rebuke that, essentially, exposed The Sun's opinion-mongers' as being heavy on the opinion, but light on the facts. "Just as the public expects elected officials to read the text of bills before they pass judgment on them, your editorial board should do the same. Yet... outdoorlife.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396812/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:47:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394369/posts More details are now coming out from the lawsuit filed against the California Science Center by the American Freedom Alliance (AFA), filed in the Superior Court for the State of California for the County of Los Angeles (Central District). AFA's lawsuit contends that the California Science Center engaged in viewpoint discrimination when cancelling AFA's contract to screen the pro-intelligent design (ID) documentary Darwin’s Dilemma at the Center’s IMAX Theatre on October 25th. As discussed below, AFA's complaint contains e-mails from California Science Center staff revealing that the Center cared more about how it would be perceived by ID-critics in the... Evolution News & Views http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394369/posts#comment Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:15:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394319/posts A lawsuit has been filed against the California Science Center by the American Freedom Alliance (AFA) for cancelling the AFA’s contract to screen the Darwin’s Dilemma documentary on October 25th. According to AFA’s press release: American Freedom Alliance (AFA), a non-profit group, has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against a popular science museum for cancelling an event exploring the topic of intelligent design. The group says its free speech rights were violated when the California Science Center (CSC) abruptly reversed a decision to allow the showing of a pro-intelligent design documentary at the museum’s IMAX Theater. The program was... Evolution News & Views http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394319/posts#comment Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:20:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389097/posts They are in recess after opening statements and initial rounds of questions. Here are some of the Attorney General's whoppers so far: 1. The "tragic shooting" at Ft. Hood. What happened at Ft. Hood was a jihadist massacre — a terrorist act, not a tragedy. 2. The civilian justice system has been handling terrorism cases successfully for years. No mention of Mamdouh Salim, the al-Qaeda founder who was never brought to trial for 1998 U.S. embassy bombings because he maimed a Bureau of Prisons guard in an escape attempt during which he attempted to kidnap is taxpayer-funded defense lawyers. National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389097/posts#comment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:09:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388565/posts CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 17, 2009 – Through a coordinated effort to improve relationships between Iraqi police and judges, the provincial reconstruction team in Iraq’s Basra province and the 17th Fires Brigade legal team set up a conference Nov. 7. Chief Judge Khazal Dabol Qasim and Iraqi Police Brig. Gen. Eedan talk during a law-enforcement community conference in Iraq’s Basra province, Nov. 7, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Maurice A. Galloway  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The four-hour conference covered topics such as the responsibilities of their respective investigation officers and the state of the facilities... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388565/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:41:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388271/posts NORMAN, Okla. -- An Oklahoma state senator plans to offer a bill in the spring legislative session that would give the state of Oklahoma the power to opt out of federal requirements for carrying out the newly amended hate crimes law. State Sen. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City, said the newly passed Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which extends hate crimes law protections to include actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability, oversteps the bounds of the federal government and hinders free speech and religious freedom. “The federal government should not be creating... The Oklahoma Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388271/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:32:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387498/posts Abstract: This paper questions criminal law's strong presumption of free will. Part I assesses the ways in which environment, nurture, and society influence human action. Part II briefly surveys studies from the fields of genetics and neuroscience which call into question strong assumptions of free will and suggest explanations for propensities toward criminal activity. Part III discusses other "causes" of criminal activity including addiction, economic deprivation, gender, and culture. In light of Parts I through III, Part IV assesses criminal responsibility and the legitimacy of punishment. Part V considers the the possibility of determining propensity from criminal activity based on... Social Science Resource Network http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387498/posts#comment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:46:10 GMT