Free Republic

ROME: A group of young German tourists posing for pictures to post on social media have been accused of toppling a valuable statue at a villa in northern Italy, the villa's manager said on Thursday (Aug 3). Two of the group climbed into a fountain to hug the work "Domina" by the artist Enrico Butti and another pushed it with a stick before the 1.7m statue crashed to the ground, Bruno Golferini, the manager of Villa Alceo in the town of Viggiu, said. Golferini said he had lodged a complaint with the local police against all 17 German tourists who...

The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the Biden administration’s authority to prioritize which non-citizens to deport when hearing a challenge brought by two GOP state attorneys general who say the Department of Homeland Security is skirting federal immigration law. The justices were considering three distinct issues in the case, which opens the door to shifting majorities. After arguments, it wasn’t clear if there was a clear majority in any one area. The case was brought by Texas and Louisiana. “At the heart of the dispute is a September 2021 memo from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that laid out priorities...

On Sept. 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed down a long-awaited ruling in NetChoice v. Paxton, upholding the constitutionality of a Texas law that greatly restricts the ability of large social media platforms to moderate content and imposes certain transparency requirements. NetChoice, a trade association, challenged the legislation on First Amendment grounds. The Fifth Circuit had previously stayed a preliminary injunction against the law issued by a district court, only for the Supreme Court to vacate the stay. In its ruling today finding the legislation constitutional, the appeals court found a key provision limiting content...

California's new gender quota law, SB 826, has attracted widespread attention. The law mandates that a publicly held domestic or foreign corporation principal executive offices, according to the corporationÂ’s SEC Form 10-K , are located in California must have a minimum of one female director on its board by the close of 2019. No later than the close of 2021, the corporation must have a minimum of three female directors, if its number of directors is six or more; a minimum of two female directors if its number of directors is five, or a minimum of one female director if...

To date, there have been no criminal reports filed with the Montgomery County Department of Police that would lead to the initiation of any criminal investigation related to Judge Kavanaugh. Furthermore, the law at the time the offense occurred is the law must be applied to any charges that might be brought. For example, in 1982, assault and attempted rape were both misdemeanors and subject to a one year statue of limitations.

I just finished watching Expedition Unknown; it was about a pair of ruby slippers worn in the 1939 movie, "The Wizard of Oz" that was stolen in 2005 (I think), in Grand Rapids Minn. It was said that the statute of Limitations was already up...

Watch: Minn. Catholics rally against Satanic statue ****VIDEO ONLY ON LINK****

you have ever gone to the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., then no doubt you have walked through Statuary Hall, where each state has two statues depicting someone from its history. One of these statues is slated to be replaced. The Ohio Legislature has been tasked to find the replacement, with the help of all Ohioans. We need YOU to help us put famous Ohio sharpshooter Annie Oakley in Statuary Hall. According to committee chairman Senator Mark Wagoner, "The National Statuary Collection Study Committee was created as part of Senate Bill 277 of the 126th General Assembly to...

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has proposed extending to 10 years the statute of limitations on war crimes, torture, and domestic surveillance in the event an investigation into the Bush administration’s controversial policies turns up prosecutable evidence against former officials after statute of limitations laws currently on the books expire. Congress should immediately consider “extending the statute of limitations for potential violations of the torture statute, war crimes statute, laws prohibiting warrantless domestic surveillance, or for crimes committed against persons in United States military custody or CIA custody to ten years.” The recommendation by the Michigan Democrat was one...

Statutes of limitation exist for good reason Perfect justice is not an option in the clash between the Catholic church in Colorado and a coalition of lawmakers, attorneys and alleged victims of sexual abuse. But Senate Bill 143, which dispenses with time-honored principles of law to target one institution for a possible torrent of lawsuits alleging incidents from decades ago, is likely to do far more harm than good. Under current law, a person has six years to file civil charges in a sexual abuse case, unless the abuse occurred when the victim was a minor; then the accuser has...

Probes may have 'chilling effect' on media By Nick Madigan Sun Reporter Originally published November 16, 2005 The investigations into anonymous leaks in the nation's capital could confound the symbiotic relationship between government officials and reporters, according to observers of the interaction between the press and the politicians they cover. The probes, first in the Valerie Plame case and now in The Washington Post's story about covert CIA prisons, have prompted questions about the benefits and pitfalls of leaking national security secrets, and whether the prospect of investigations into their provenance will mean the leaks could dry up. "What if...

One puzzling aspect of Tom DeLay's indictment is that DeLay agreed to waive the statute of limitations applicable to the alleged offense. For the non-lawyers out there in VC Land, a "statute of limitations" in criminal law is a law that gives the government a specific window of time in which to bring a criminal charge. The Texas statute gave the government three years after the crime was committed to bring charges. By waiving the statute, DeLay consented to being charged outside that window of time.

“Man and Woman”, “Wife”, “Husband”, “Widow”, “Widower” Banished From all Ontario Law Terms, when referring to spouses, are banned from all government programs, services, documentsToronto, February 25, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With the obscenely rapid, three-day introduction and passage of its same-sex “marriage” Bill 171, the Ontario government has advanced a revolutionary change in the way all laws and government programs and institutions refer to marriage and married persons. Everything referring to spouses must now be gender neutral. No longer can a married couple be referred to as “husband and wife” or “man and woman”. The terms “Widow” and “widower” are...

New York Gang Member Faces Trial as Terrorist 2 hours, 46 minutes ago By Maria Castro NEW YORK (Reuters) - Every time Lourdes Morales watches the TV news and sees a story on terrorism, she weeps. Family members have stopped trying to console her, but they, too, cannot understand why Edgar Morales, the family's youngest son, will see the new year arrive in prison where he is waiting to be tried as a terrorist. "They are comparing my son to (Osama) bin Laden ... and all those people who used bombs and killed thousands of people at random," said Morales....

LAW OF THE LAND Petition: Get ACLU off taxpayer dole Legal group awarded 1/2 million tax dollars for ridding courthouse of 10 Commandments -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: November 25, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Ron Strom © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com A new online petition asks Congress to change a specific civil-rights statute in hopes of preventing the American Civil Liberties Union from collecting attorney fees from taxpayers of local governments the organization takes to court. The effort – spearheaded by Craig McCarthy of CourtZero.org, a site dedicated to stemming judicial activism – seeks to change 42 U.S.C., Section 1988, of the United States...

One of the most important judicial tribunals in America, and one whose handiwork has come to be reversed with numbing regularity by the U.S. Supreme Court, has once again dealt a body blow to government's vital efforts to combat terrorism. The case, decided December 3, is Humanitarian Law Project v. United States Department of Justice. In it, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit confronted, for the second time in the litigation, a Clinton-era anti-terrorism law (18 U.S.C. § 2339B) enacted in 1996 — after militant Islamic extremists strung together the deadly 1993 World Trade Center bombing, a...

Los Angeles Daily News Statute should be junked after vote By Joseph Honig In a matter of weeks it will be over; placards and position papers will be burned or recycled or stuffed in file cabinets with political memorabilia of years gone by. There will be a governor. Maybe a new face. Maybe an old one. If California's post-recall chief executive is brave and wise, he or she will ask legislators to make sure our electoral circus never again comes to town. For after the Oct. 7 vote, the gubernatorial recall mechanism should be tossed on the electoral scrap heap....

If it’s true that for a stone to avoid gathering annoying moss it needs to keep moving, then evangelical Christianity in America today may best be analogized as a boulder entangled in and about to suffocate from the fungus of legislative anti-Church doctrine bigotry. But, instead of righteously fighting back and serving as the “salt and the light” in all aspects of civilization—as mandated in scripture—within the papier-mâché walls of Christendom, an alarming trend of political apathy continues to covertly (or overtly) be preached from the pulpit to the pews. For reasons of bowing down to the image of “political...

<p>A California Democrat introduced a bill Thursday that would make sharing of copyrighted files illegal, and would indemnify copyright holders from taking whatever actions they chose to prevent the sharing of those files.</p> <p>The effect, if approved by Congress and signed into law, would be to virtually outlaw file-sharing as is commonly known. The bill was authored by and introduced by Rep. Howard L. Berman, a California Democrat representing the 26th Congressional District, which includes North Hollywood. Berman is the ranking member of the Congressional Committee on the Judiciary's subcommittee on courts, the Internet, and intellectual property.</p>

For years now, many Federal Judges have taken a stand against mandatory minimum sentences. Over 86% call for outright abolition of mandatory sentencing. Some Senior Federal Judges have refused to hear drug cases because of the long sentences they are bound by law to give defendants. Many Federal Judges are recording their dissent and we are collecting them here: Judge Robert W. Pratt - U.S. Southern District of IowaChief Judge Juan R. Torruella, U.S. Court of Appeals, First CircuitJudge Volney V. Brown Jr. Former US Magistrate,  Los Angeles (1982 to 1995)Judge Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court, BostonU.S. Senior District...