Free Republic

A three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal has determined parents in that state have no legal right to home school. A Christian attorney in Sacramento says unless the ruling is reversed, literally thousands of students in the Golden State will be subject to criminal sanctions. (click here for special webcast starting at 2 p.m. CST) California Justice H. Walter Croskey has stated in an opinion that "parents who fail to [comply with school enrollment laws] may be subject to a criminal complaint against them, found guilty of an infraction, and subject to imposition of fines or an order...

A former Morris County man who learned 30 years after his son was born that the child was not his cannot recoup $110,000 spent in child support from the biological father, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled yesterday. The 7-0 decision overturned an appellate court ruling in 2005 and found there is no exception in the New Jersey Parentage Act to extend the deadline in a paternity case beyond the child's 23rd birthday. "The Legislature evidently knew what has been known since time immemorial -- that children would be born of adulterous relationships and that the true identity of the...

I was hoping the "Stephen Johnson for Supreme Court" signs weren't referring to the same Stephen Johnson I'd met. Unfortunately, they were. Stephen Johnson was the state senator for my legislative district when I lived in and taught in Auburn. After teaching 90 fifth- graders a unit on U.S. government, I did a request through the state Legislature Web site to have a representative come speak. They sent Johnson. Johnson entered my classroom and stated the following: When asked by a student, what would you change about Washington? His reply: "I'd get rid of all the Democrats." What's the hardest...

BOSTON --The state's highest court ruled Wednesday that local boards of health can ban smoking in private clubs"

Party judge picks unconstitutional In a stunning blow to political party bosses, a federal judge last night ruled that the process for selecting state Supreme Court justices is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to back-room wheeling and dealing. Brooklyn Federal Judge John Gleeson junked the century-old practice of holding nominating conventions controlled by Democratic and Republican leaders, and directed the state Legislature to enact a new system for selecting judicial candidates. Gleeson's decision came in a lawsuit brought by nine people, a mix of Democrats and Republicans including Brooklyn Surrogate Judge Margarita Lopez Torres, who contended the current system...

OLYMPIA, Wash. - This buff justice gives new meaning to the words "bench press." State Supreme Court Justice Faith Ireland won her second national powerlifting championship last weekend, grabbing a spot for herself on the USA Masters Team for world competition. On Saturday, the 61-year-old justice broke the American squat record for her age and weight with a 198-pound lift. In the deadlift, Ireland set a personal record of 253 pounds. She's proudest of her 133-pound bench press — not just because it set another national record, but because she achieved her long-standing personal goal of benching more than her...

<p>The Cayetano Administration plans to ask the Hawai‘i Supreme Court to grant an exemption to state law so the special election for the unfinished term of the late U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink can be held at the same time as the general election.</p>

The state Supreme Court decided Tuesday to hear arguments over whether Democrats can replace Sen. Robert Torricelli on the November ballot, a day after the senator abruptly dropped out of the race. The court issued an order saying it would hear the case directly instead of waiting for a lower court to act. The high court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday morning. As a result, a hearing set for Tuesday afternoon in Middlesex County Superior Court was canceled. The Democrats, who hold a one-seat majority in the Senate, had asked the high court to hear the case directly because of...