Free Republic

The Justice Department said Wednesday it has begun distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in grant money that had been tied up in a major court battle over sanctuary cities. Byrne Justice Assistance Grants are used by localities and police departments across the nation to pay for equipment, training, personnel or other pressing needs. The Trump administration last year said it would condition the money on localities’ willingness to cooperate in holding illegal immigrants for pickup by federal deportation officers. Chicago sued, saying the conditions weren’t part of federal law.

The top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee suggested Wednesday the Republican chairman disrespected a female senator by holding a hearing over her objection to a judicial pick from her home state. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Democrat, had withheld her “blue slip” on the nomination of Michael Brennan, President Trump’s pick to a seat to a Wisconsin-held seat on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Baldwin said the state’s bipartisan commission for nominating judicial nominees was ignored by the Trump White House. But Chairman Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, held a hearing on Mr. Brennan on Wednesday, suggesting...

The Senate confirmed a Catholic woman Tuesday to sit on an appeals court seat over the opposition of Democrats, sparking complaints from Republicans who said they fear some in the chamber are imposing religious tests that would deny faithful Catholics a chance at judgeships. Amy Coney Barrett, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, was cleared on a 55 to 43 vote, with all of the opposition coming from members of the Democratic Caucus. Just three Democrats joined the GOP in backing her nomination to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia,...

States that refuse to help resettle Syrian refugees are guilty of illegal discrimination, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, delivering a judicial rebuke to GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, who as Indiana’s governor had tried to halt Syrian resettlement. Judge Richard Posner, writing for the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, said there’s no evidence that Syrians are more dangerous, and he said even if they are, allowing Indiana to refuse to resettle them would only foist the problem onto neighboring states. “Federal law does not allow a governor to deport to other...

Last month, U.S. District Court Judge James Peterson struck down what he deemed was a much too strict voter ID law in Wisconsin and suggested that proponents of the law were overly paranoid about voter fraud. As a result the judge's ruling, voters would not have to provide a valid form of identification at their polling stations and residency requirements would be relaxed. On Wednesday, however, a U.S. appeals court issued a stay in the case, allowing the "strict" practices to remain in place. A Justice Department statement said that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit issued...