Free Republic

A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled in favor of a gun rights group, saying Maryland's preliminary handgun-licensure requirement is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled in favor of Maryland Shall Issue, which challenged the law, The Daily Record reported. The decision is a victory for gun rights advocates in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen.

On Thursday, a federal court ruled that parents in Maryland do not have a right to opt their children out of classes which teach pro-LGBT curriculum. According to the Washington Free Beacon, the group of parents had filed a lawsuit against Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), demanding that the district revive a policy that allowed them to pull their children out of classes that discussed books and other materials featuring LGBT characters. The policy was first enacted in January but then repealed in March. “The Court concludes the plaintiffs’ asserted due process right to direct their children’s upbringing by opting...

A district judge appointed by Joe Biden has ruled that parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, have no right to opt their children out of the school’s woke LGBTQ curriculum. United States District Judge Deborah L. Boardman ruled against the Muslim-led group of parents who did not want their children exposed to far-left propaganda about sex and gender. The parents sought an injunction before the first day of school on August 28 after the district changed its policies in March to no longer allow parents to opt their children out of being assigned books that advocate pride parades, gender transitioning, and...

In March of this year, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments in the appeal of Maryland Shall Issue v Hogan. The case of Maryland Shall Issue v Hogan (Governor of Maryland), has been in the courts since 2013, when the case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. In 2013, Maryland passed the Firearm Safety Act of 2013, which contained a Handgun Qualification License (HQL) provision which forbids the sale, transfer, rental, purchase, or receipt of a handgun by any person who does...

NAPLES, FLORIDA — Law enforcement has launched a manhunt for Roy McGrath, the ex-chief of staff to former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, after he failed to appear in federal court Monday for the start of his criminal trial on fraud and theft charges. Sheriff’s deputies checked his home Monday morning in Naples, Florida, but McGrath wasn’t there, a spokeswoman said. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest, and the U.S. Marshals Service is calling him a fugitive. The area around McGrath’s Raffia Preserve home in Naples is quiet, a gated community off a main road that features new-build strip...

A federal court ruled the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center broke the law by refusing to remove the uterus of a trans-identified patient due to the religious beliefs of the Institution, which is committed to Catholic principles while also being part of the public medical system. U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow ruled Friday that the hospital violated the Affordable Care Act and discriminated against plaintiff Jesse Hammons, a biological female diagnosed with gender dysphoria, by refusing to conduct a planned hysterectomy (removal of the womb) because it doesn't conduct those procedures to address gender dysphoria. The...

A second appeals court has upheld the vaccine mandate for federal employees that was issued by President Biden last year. A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously said that federal employees cannot sue over the vaccine mandate and must instead challenge the mandate through the usual appeal channels available to the federal workforce through the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA). In other words, federal employees would have to face discipline for refusing to get the COVID vaccine before they could appeal the decision administratively. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals came to the same conclusion earlier...

At today’s hearing on Marilyn Mosby’s motion to have the federal charges against her thrown out, her lawyer argued that Leo J. Wise, the lead prosecutor, “has a penchant for prosecuting Black elected officials.” “All we did was draw the logical conclusion from his past conduct that this prosecution is consistent with his history of prosecuting Black elected officials,” asserted attorney A. Scott Bolden. U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby, who is Black, pushed back. “Are you aware, Mr. Bolden, of any evidence that Mr. Wise has been found to have prosecuted someone because of their race?” she asked. “In...

A federal judge in Maryland this week followed through on a previous warning to sanction a lawyer best known for representing Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) in a series of failed defamation lawsuits against media companies, saying the lawyer’s latest case against CNN was “frivolous” in nature. U.S. District Judge Richard Bennet, an appointee of George W. Bush, ruled that attorney Steve Biss had “unreasonably and vexatiously” attempted to continue litigating a lawsuit against the news network after the case had already been dismissed with prejudice for failing to state a claim in March. Despite that ruling, Biss filed an amended...

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to act on a Trump administration request to reinstate a rule mandating that abortion-inducing drugs be taken in the presence of a doctor Instead, the justices returned the case to a federal trial court in Maryland and gave the judge there 40 days to rule on the administration's request. The administration is expected to ask the judge to either lift or narrow an order he entered in July that suspended a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule requiring women to take abortion pill in the presence of a doctor. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang,...

A federal judge on Friday criticized the Trump administration for a confusing and sluggish response to the Supreme Court’s decision last month invalidating the administration’s attempt to rescind the Obama-era program protecting so-called Dreamers. During a telephone hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Grimm said he was troubled that the Department of Homeland Security’s website has yet to be updated to account for the high court’s ruling on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA.

Also Admitted that he Viewed and Shared Child Pornography, and Discussed the Sexual Exploitation of Children on Various Online Services and Applications Baltimore, Maryland - James Robert Wissmann, IV, age 35, of Baltimore, Maryland, a police officer with the Baltimore City Police Department, pleaded guilty today to possession of child pornography.  Baltimore Police Department officials suspended Wissmann on July 31, 2019, after a search at his residence.The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office;...

Sandra King Embezzled Funds From Two Labor Unions Representing Workers in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, Using the Money to Pay Her Rent, Buy Liquor and Fund Other Personal Expenses Baltimore, Maryland – Sandra King, age 62, of Owings Mills, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to embezzlement from a labor organization.  King was the president of two separate labor unions, both based in Owings Mills, that represented workers in Montgomery County, Maryland and Washington, D.C.  King pleaded guilty to stealing more than $57,000 from those unions.The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert...

Financial Advisor in Wealth Management Section of Global Investment Bank Used Stolen Victim Funds to Pay His Own Lifestyle Expenses, Including Country Club Membership Fees Greenbelt, Maryland – Michael Barry Carter, age 47, of Potomac Falls, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of wire fraud and investment adviser fraud, in connection with a scheme to steal more than $6 million.  The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.“For over 12 years, Michael Carter...

A court has ordered the Trump administration to restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to its “pre-September 5, 2017 status,” effectively allowing younger illegal immigrants to apply for work permits. .....snip..... Judge Paul W. Grimm declared: “The [2017] rescission of the DACA policy is VACATED, and the policy is restored to its pre-September 5, 2017 status.” The Maryland judge was appointed by Obama in 2012.

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch announced today that a federal court ordered the State of Maryland to produce the voter list for Montgomery County that includes the registered voters’ date of birth. This court ruling is the latest in a series of victories for Judicial Watch in its lawsuit filed July 18, 2017, against Montgomery County and the Maryland State Boards of Elections under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( NVRA ). Judicial Watch filed suit for the Maryland voter list data after uncovering that there were more registered voters in Montgomery County than citizens over the age of...