First Amendment

More than 400 FLDS Kids to Begin Returning Home on Monday

Updated: After a Texas Supreme Court ruling yesterday that more than 460 children were illegally removed from their parents’ custody at a ranch run by a religious sect that advocates polygamy, they will reportedly begin returning home on Monday. The return plan was agreed to by Texas Child Protective Services…

May 30, 2008 10:22 PM CDT

34 Convicted for Supreme Court Demonstration

Thirty-four people who demonstrated at the U.S. Supreme Court to protest treatment of Guantanamo detainees have been convicted of misdemeanor charges. Demonstrations are banned at the Supreme Court plaza, where the protesters gathered, the Washington Post reports. Judge Wendell Gardner Jr. of the District of Columbia Superior Court rejected arguments…

May 30, 2008 11:49 AM CDT

Supreme Texas Win for FLDS Moms: State Shouldn’t Have Taken 400-Plus Kids

Updated: Texas illegally removed more than 400 children from a ranch run by a religious sect that advocates polygamy and sent them to foster homes last month, a majority of the Texas Supreme Court decided today. The ruling is a stunning victory for about 40 mothers and their roughly 126…

May 29, 2008 9:15 PM CDT

Illicit Beer Bottle Caps Bring Feds Down on Calif. Brewer

A beer brewer in a small California town named after a founding citizen and state senator, Abner Weed, has incurred the wrath of federal regulators by his tongue-in-cheek use of the town’s name on bottle caps to help brand his product. “Try LEGAL weed,” they suggest. Around the rim of…

May 28, 2008 10:42 PM CDT

Texas to Appeal Decision Calling for Return of 468 FLDS Kids to Parents

Told by an appellate court yesterday that government officials illegally removed up to 468 children from the custody of parents living at a ranch run by a fundamentalist religious group, Texas will now appeal that ruling to the state’s highest court. The State Department of Family and Protective Services plans…

May 23, 2008 7:13 PM CDT

IRS Clears Church for Hosting Obama Speech

The Internal Revenue Service has determined that the United Church of Christ did not violate tax laws by hosting a speech by Sen. Barack Obama. Obama spoke to 10,000 church members on faith and politics last June, report the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). The…

May 22, 2008 12:38 PM CDT

Judge Bars Sketch Artist From R. Kelly Trial

The Chicago judge in R&B singer R. Kelly’s high-profile child pornography trial has barred the Chicago Tribune’s sketch artist from the courtroom for the duration of the proceedings. Judge Vincent Gaughan asserted that the artist, Cheryl Cook, violated his strict order not to create images of jurors for publication, the…

May 22, 2008 12:04 AM CDT

Referee Says Outspoken Fla. Lawyer Disparaged Litigants, Lawyers

A referee has scheduled a sanctions hearing against outspoken Florida lawyer Jack Thompson after concluding he disparaged and humiliated litigants and other lawyers. The referee, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dava Tunis, also found that Thompson made false statements to tribunals and improperly practiced law outside the state, the Daily Business Review…

May 21, 2008 11:12 AM CDT

Text-Only Obscenity Issue Won’t Be Litigated Due to Guilty Plea

A case that raises the issue of whether text alone can justify a federal obscenity charge won’t be decided by a court on First Amendment grounds. Karen Fletcher, charged with distributing obscenity online, has decided to plead guilty, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. She was accused of violating the law by…

May 20, 2008 12:42 PM CDT

Supreme Court Upholds Anti-Child Porn Law

In a long-sought victory for those eager to stamp out child pornography on the Internet, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed 7-2 to uphold a federal law that creates penalties for promoting child pornography. The court rejected concerns that the law could apply to mainstream movies, classic literature or innocent e-mail…

May 19, 2008 5:54 PM CDT

FLDS Children Interviewed By Police Without Legal Counsel, Attorney Says

A lawyer for several of the approximately 465 children removed from a Texas ranch run by a religious sect that reportedly advocates polygamy says her clients and others throughout the state are being interviewed by authorities without their attorneys present. While that apparently may be legal, as far as child…

May 16, 2008 11:31 PM CDT

California Supreme Court Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban

Updated: The California Supreme Court has struck down the state’s ban on gay marriages in a 4-3 ruling. The court ruled the California Constitution gives gay couples the right to marry, making the state the second to permit such unions, the Associated Press reports. The Massachusetts Supreme Court has also…

May 15, 2008 5:25 PM CDT

New Texas Rules for FLDS Moms May Distance Them from Their Faith

As new hearings are about to begin Monday in the case of some 464 children of a fundamentalist religious sect removed from their communal ranch homes over allegations of sexual abuse, Texas child welfare officials have reportedly drafted family reunion goals that may force mothers to choose between their children…

May 15, 2008 5:17 PM CDT

Woman’s Suit Against Judge Who Asked Her to Remove Veil Gets Tossed

A federal judge in Detroit has dismissed a woman’s lawsuit against a small claims judge who asked her to remove her veil. The woman, Ginnnah Muhammad, had claimed Judge Paul Paruk of Hamtramck unconstitutionally interfered with her right to practice religion and violated a civil rights law requiring access to…

May 13, 2008 4:53 PM CDT

Legal Group Hopes Pastors Will Help Effort to Overturn Tax Law

A legal advocacy group is asking preachers to break the law by taking a stand on political candidates on Sept. 28. The Alliance Defense Fund hopes cooperating clergy will provoke an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and set up a test case to challenge the tax law, the Wall…

May 9, 2008 11:32 AM CDT