Free Republic

The decision provides important protection for property rights, and features a powerful concurring opinion by prominent conservative Judge Amal Thapar. In many states, asset forfeiture laws allow law enforcement agencies to seize valuable property based on mere suspicion that it was used in a crime, and then keep it even if the owner was never convicted of any crime. On top of that, some force owners to wait many months before they even have a chance to challenge the forfeiture in a hearing. Yesterday, in Ingram v. Wayne County, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a...

Which sounds better? 'My God-given rights do not end where your devil-driven fears begin' or 'My God-given rights will not yield to your devil-driven fears'

President Biden’s reelection campaign has placed a large ad buy on the Fox News website ahead of Wednesday night’s first GOP primary debate, using the event to promote abortion rights messaging while making use of a popular meme relating to the president. The “Dark Brandon” ads will be displayed on FoxNews.com beginning midnight Tuesday running through Thursday morning “highlighting President Biden’s commitment to fighting a national abortion ban and codify Roe,” the campaign said. Get real, Jack. I’m bringing Roe back,” the ad reads. Fox News is set to air Wednesday night’s first 2024 GOP debate and make it available...

Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions are victories for anyone dealing with government administrative agencies, say lawyers interested in the cases. One constitutional scholar warns that the decisions are only the first steps in the fight to maintain our form of democracy. “Administrative power is the greatest threat to our constitutional rights,” Phillip Hamburger, a Columbia University School of Law law professor and CEO of the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), told The Epoch Times. Mr. Hamburger is the author of “Is Administrative Law Unlawful?” a treatise on the dangers of administrative law. Lawyers interviewed by The Epoch Times believe...

Virginia parental rights advocates scored a huge victory Tuesday with the release of model policies from the Virginia Department of Education reversing a 2021 version that “kept parents in the dark." The guidance, Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools, provides clearer input for school boards regarding the role of parents in decisions relating to their child’s gender identity, as well as restricting transgender students from participating in sex segregated extra-curricular activities that don’t align with their biological sex. In addition, the new directive requires students to use bathrooms or...

Supreme Court agrees to hear 2nd Amendment case, signaling willingness to tolerate Biden administration’s resistance to recognizing Second Amendment rights.Zackey Rahimi, a convicted drug dealer, is an unsympathetic defendant in the case mischaracterized as being about domestic violence. It actually focuses on due process of law.5th Circuit panel correctly rules that constitutional rights cannot be taken away based on restraining orders. At least four Supreme Court judges support hearing the case. The Supreme Court, on the last day available this session, June 30, 2023, agreed to hear a Second Amendment case, United States v. Rahimi.This is not good news for...

The Secret Service announced this week that the agency has finished its investigation into the mysterious baggie of cocaine that was found in the White House earlier this month with finding the culprit. The agency said that the case was closed due to a lack of forensic evidence coupled with the fact that the class A drug was found an area in which around 500 people passed through at the time it was believed to have been discarded. It was determined by the agency that because the cocaine amounted to around 0.007 ounces, meaning it would only be a misdemeanor...

Soon another 4th of July will be upon us. On July 4, 1776, 56 men voted to adopt the final wording of the Declaration of Independence. This was a milestone in history.

The Supreme Court issued opinions this morning at 10:00 a.m. There were eighteen cases remaining to be decided in the ten days remaining before the end of this term. You can go to this link to see this terms cases: https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/terms/ot2022/ (The cases in which the description begins with "holding" means it has already been decided. The cases which description begins with "issue" means the opinion on the case has not yet been released). Today, the Court issued opinions on the following cases: United States v. Hansen, United States v. Texas, Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, and Samia v. United States....

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear restored voting rights to nonviolent felons in 2019, but a group of convicted criminals argued Thursday that relief does not prevent a First Amendment challenge to the commonwealth's re-enfranchisement procedure. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2018 against then-Governor Matt Bevin, a Republican, and claimed Kentucky's re-enfranchisement protocol for felons – involving a decision by the governor alone – violated the First Amendment because it gave the governor "unfettered discretion" over a criminal's voting rights. Beshear, a Democrat, took office shortly thereafter and signed an executive order to restore voting rights to all nonviolent felons who...

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that she believed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, chaos ensued. Murray said, “We are going to the floor today to offer what’s called the unanimous consent on a number of different bills to help protect the rights of women in this country. Republicans have a choice. They can object and not allow us to proceed but we believe this is a fight we have to be visible on. A year ago, Roe was overturned and women’s rights were ripped away from them and the chaos that...

When did morality become relative? When did good and evil stop being black and white — and become shades of gray? When did thieves and murderers stop being predators and become the oppressed victims of a corrupt system? Those are the fruits of moral relativism. It holds that there is no absolute right or wrong — what one culture considers "wrong," another will consider "right." It is the philosophy that good and evil are constructs of human beings — not laws of God. There are two social frameworks for occupants of our world — "might makes right" and divine law....

A federal judge in Virginia on Wednesday declared unconstitutional a set of federal laws and regulations that prohibit federally licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to 18- to 20-year olds, finding the measures violated the Second Amendment. “Because the statutes and regulations in question are not consistent with our Nation’s history and tradition, they, therefore, cannot stand,” U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne, who sits in Richmond, concluded in a 71-page opinion. Attorneys on both sides of the case said they expected the Justice Department to appeal the decision and request a stay, which would prevent Payne’s ruling from taking...

It was a dream come true—or rather about to come true—when the Halls bought their forever home. It had everything they needed and more: five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a family room, a dining room, a roomy garage, good schools, and a good neighborhood. Sure, a fixer-upper, but they felt up to it. Prentiss Hall, a home improvement contractor, made it his life project, and everybody lent a hand—his wife, Tawanda, and six children, cousins, and friends. “We were really excited,” Tawanda told The Epoch Times. They negotiated the price down to $67,000—a bargain, perhaps, but the home demanded a daunting...

A group of creditors have filed legal action against the country’s financial regulator, arguing it violated Swiss law when it wrote down around $17 billion of bank bonds ... Credit Suisse Group AG bondholders have launched a legal challenge in Switzerland against regulators’ decision to write down $17 billion in securities as part of UBS Group AG’s rescue of the troubled bank last month. Bondholders holding about 4.5 billion Swiss francs ($5 billion) of Credit Suisse’s canceled debt want the decision to write down their bonds revoked or amended ... The bondholders are alleging the total write-down was disproportionately punitive...

Autokeycard.com Seized By the ATF, Owner Arrested For Selling A Drawing In the Autokey Card case, a jury found Matthew Hoover, better known as CRS Firearms on YouTube, and Justin Ervin guilty. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) charged the men with violating the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 for selling machineguns and conspiracy. Ervin faced an additional charge of structuring. The case stems from Mr. Ervin selling a metal card with an image inspired by a lightning link etched into it. Ervin sold the cards as a novelty and contracted with Mr. Hoover to promote...

Women's tennis legend Billie Jean King was in Delray Beach, Florida, on Friday for the Billie Jean Cup qualifier, and discussed more than just the match. During a 30-minute press conference, the 79-year-old King criticized Florida’s "Parental Rights in Education" law, also known as the "Don’t Say Gay" law by its critics. The bill was signed into law in March 2022 by Gov. Ron DeSantis and bans teachers from giving classroom instruction on "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" in kindergarten through third grade.

Riley Gaines is a spectacular athlete, a 12-time All-American swimmer, and on Thursday she went to San Francisco State to talk about saving women’s sports. She has become more known beyond sports for speaking out about having to compete against Lia Thomas, a biological man, in competition.But as we reported, this woman was assaulted by a rioting mob at SFSU, screaming “Trans rights are human rights” and “trans women are women.” She was effectively held hostage for hours because they wanted to shut down her speech.The prisoners are running the asylum at SFSU…I was ambushed and physically hit twice by...

The three liberal justices on the Supreme Court joined together with the appointees of former President Donald Trump in deciding in favor of Montana property owners fighting a federal land grab. The Washington Examiner reported liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson united with Trump appointed Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh in the majority opinion. Justice Clarence Thomas, who was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush, along with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, two appointees of former President George W. Bush, voted in the minority.

When it comes to parental bills of rights, not all legislation is created equal. The House on Friday narrowly passed House Resolution 5, known as the Parents Bill of Rights Act, which would amend existing federal education laws. A Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution also has been proposed. Multiple pieces of proposed legislation at the state level seek broad protections for parents, using language such as to “direct the upbringing” of their children. ... The proposed laws have fueled questions about the role parents should play in their children’s education. At the same time, they have fanned partisan...