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A judge on Wednesday ordered a Detroit museum to hold onto an 1888 painting by Vincent van Gogh in response to a lawsuit by its owner, who claims it has been missing for nearly six years. The painting, titled “The Novel Reader” or “The Reading Lady,” is part of a rare van Gogh exhibit, which ends Jan. 22 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Brokerarte Capital Partners LLC and its sole proprietor, Gustavo Soter of Brazil, acquired the painting in 2017 for $3.7 million, but a “third party” took possession of the art, according to the lawsuit. “Plaintiff has not...

The seditious conspiracy charges brought by the Justice Department on Thursday against the leader of the Oath Keepers and other members of the right-wing group signal the government is prepared to take on an ambitious fight to show that they joined the Jan. 6, 2021, attack as part of a coordinated effort to deny President Biden the White House. The indictment contains the first sedition charges that have been brought following the riot and mark a significant escalation in prosecutors’ efforts by drawing a connection between the physical acts of mayhem that day and the broader effort by former President...

This post was updated at 4:40 p.m. ET. A federal judge in Detroit has ruled that Democratic Rep. John Conyers, the second-most-senior member of the U.S. House, will appear on the August primary ballot, overturning a decision by Michigan's secretary of state who said the candidacy was invalid.

Lawyers for a Michigan high school student injured in a deadly mass shooting are accusing the district of destroying evidence pertinent to the case. Four people were killed last month and seven injured after Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old sophomore, allegedly opened fire at Oxford High School. The Oxford School District is currently facing a $100 million lawsuit from a student who was shot in the neck, and her sister, who witnessed the attack. Lawyers say the district has scrubbed the school website of administrators. “Not only did defendants fail to take necessary steps to preserve the evidence, but they willfully...

Click here to view the full articleA group of lawyers who sued the state of Michigan over the results of the 2020 election have been ordered by a judge to pay roughly $175,000. U.S. District Judge Linda Parker, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, ordered nine attorneys — including Sidney Powell and Lin Wood — to pay $21,964.75 to Michigan and $153,285.62 to the city of Detroit, according to Forbes. In her opinion, Parker that the amount ordered to pay was an “appropriate sanction … needed to deter Plaintiffs’ counsel and others from engaging in similar misconduct in...

Attorneys including Sidney Powell and Lin Wood will have to pay more than $175,000 in attorneys fees to Michigan officials and the city of Detroit, a federal judge ruled Thursday, as part of sanctions the court had previously imposed against the attorneys for their lawsuit attempting to overturn the presidential election results. U.S. District Judge Linda Parker ordered the nine attorneys to pay $21,964.75 to the state of Michigan, on behalf of defendants Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and $153,285.62 to the city of Detroit. Parker had previously sanctioned Powell, Wood and their co-counsel in...

It happens when every baby is born in Michigan, blood sample is taken from the newborn. But a judge has ruled the way the state of Michigan does this, is most likely unconstitutional. Its a complicated legal ruling, but it may pave the way for changes in the newborn health screening process. “They don’t tell the parents, they don’t explain it to the parents, they just do it,” says Saginaw County attorney Phil Ellison. He is talking about the state of Michigan’s program where it takes a sample of blood from every newborn shortly after birth. The blood is taken...

A federal court ruled on Monday to protect a Christian student organization that had its official student club status revoked by a Michigan university for requiring its leaders to adhere to its statement of faith. University officials will be held liable for discriminating against the club. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a student ministry that provides community, Bible studies and important discussions on campus, has been a part of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan for over 75 years. Though the club is open to all students, the university deemed InterVarsity’s leadership policies “discriminatory” for requiring that the group’s leaders agree with...

It took nearly twelve years, but we did it. My organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), has just won an important victory for the freedom of speech. Back in 2009, the Detroit area's SMART transit refused to run our AFDI ads offering help to people who were in fear for their lives for wanting to leave Islam or having left it. After an incredibly protracted court battle, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals just stood up for the First Amendment and completely reversed the judgment banning our ads. It's a total victory for freedom: we won our free speech...

Involved parties: Michigan Eastern District Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis [Trump judge] Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel: Overrules Davis 2-1. Majority opinion by Judges Danny J. Boggs [Reagan judge] and Debora L. Cook [Dubya judge]. Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. [RapinBill judge], chief judge for the Sixth Circuit, dissented.

CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2020 / 12:31 am MT (CNA).- A federal judge on Wednesday ruled unconstitutional a mandatory 48-hour waiting period for women seeking abortion in Tennessee, which had been in effect since 2015. In the legal challenge brought by Planned Parenthood and the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights, Judge Bernard Friedman wrote that most women are already certain about their decision to have an abortion when they go in for their first appointment. The judge cited testimony from abortion providers that abortion does not increase risk of negative psychological outcomes. He said the regulation placed an “undue burden”...

A federal judge has issued a restraining order, temporarily barring Detroit police from using a range of response tactics—including tear gas, rubber bullets, and batons—against “peaceful protesters” after a group accused officers of excessive force, with the city’s police chief dismissing the decision, saying no such methods have been used on people protesting peacefully. U.S. District Court Judge Laurie Michelson partially granted a temporary restraining order filed on Aug. 31 by Detroit Will Breathe against the city of Detroit (pdf), accusing police of using brutal tactics to deter protesters from practicing their free speech rights. “Since May 29, 2020, Defendants...

The man who tackled Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul in 2017 in anger over Paul piling yard waste near their shared property line will serve another 14 months behind bars or on home detention. A federal judge initially sentenced Rene Boucher to 30 days in jail for the attack, along with 100 hours of community service and a $10,000 fine. Prosecutors argued that sentence was unreasonably light given Paul’s injuries, which included six broken ribs. Prosecutors won the right to try to get a longer sentence for Boucher. U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Leitman imposed the additional punishment in a...

A federal judge handed abortion rights supporters a win in Tennessee Friday by blocking a statewide order banning surgical abortions during the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman, a President Reagan appointee, said in an opinion released Friday evening that abortion is a time-sensitive procedure, CNN reported. The ruling will allow procedural abortions to continue during the pandemic for now. "Delaying a woman's access to abortion even by a matter of days can result in her having to undergo a lengthier and more complex procedure that involves progressively greater health risks, or can result in her losing the right...