Tag Archives: Court

Appeals Court Strikes Down Idaho Abortion Ban

A federal appeals court has struck down Idaho’s ban on abortions after 20 weeks.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a woman who filed a class action lawsuit against the law.  She had been facing criminal charges for an abortion after 20 weeks.

Jennie McCormack illegally obtained RU-486 in 2011 through her sister.  She then kept the baby’s dead body on her porch in a plastic bag when she was found out by authorities.  She was charged with unlawful felony abortion which a state court dismissed.  She then filed suit against Idaho’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

President Carter appointed judge Harry Pregerson stated in the ruling that 20 weeks was too restrictive.

“The twenty-week ban applies regardless of whether the fetus has attained viability,” he wrote on behalf of the panel. “The Supreme Court reaffirmed in Casey that an undue burden exists if the purpose or effect of a provision of law places a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus obtains viability.”

“Because [Idaho’s law] places an arbitrary time limit on when women can obtain abortions, the statute is unconstitutional,” Pregerson declared.

Idaho officials have not yet announced if they will appeal to the Supreme Court.

Marine Officer Court Martialed For Refusing To Remove Bible Verse

A U.S. Marine has been found guilty of disobeying a “lawful order” of a superior officer because she would not remove a Bible verse that she had taped onto her computer and desk.

Former Marine Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling has posted Isaiah 54:17, “no weapon formed against me shall prosper,” on her computer along with other Bible verses that she used for inspiration.

Her staff sergeant ordered her to remove the verses but Sterling refused, saying she had the First Amendment right to have those verses at her workstation.  The next day, they had been removed by someone else.

She defended herself at trial and was found guilty of showing disrespect toward a superior commissioned officer, four instances of disobeying a lawful order of a noncommissioned officer, and failing to go to her appointed place of duty.

An appellate court said because she shared the desk with another Marine, she cannot claim the order violated her religious freedom.

“The military judge found that the signs verbiage was biblical in nature, that the desk was shared with another Marine, and the signs were visible to other Marines who came to the appellant’s desk for assistance,” the court ruling states. “The implication is clear — the junior Marine sharing the desk and the other Marines coming to the desk for assistance would be exposed to biblical quotations in the military workplace.”

“It is not hard to imagine the divisive impact to good order and discipline that may result when a service member is compelled to work at a government desk festooned with religious quotations, especially if that service member does not share that religion,” the court ruling continued.

The Liberty Institute has now stepped in and is defending the rights of Sterling.

“If a service member has a right to display a secular poster, put an atheist bumper sticker on their car, or get a Star of David tattoo, then Lance Corporal Sterling has the right to display a small Bible verse on her computer monitor,” Mike Berry of the Liberty Institute said to the Christian Post. “If the government can order a Marine not to display a Bible verse, they could try and order her not to get a religious tattoo, or go to church on Sunday.”

“Restricting a Marine’s free exercise of religion is blatantly unconstitutional.”

The Liberty Institute noted that no one else was using Sterling’s desk when the incident took place, meaning the appellate court ruled with a false basis.  They also say that Sterling’s rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Anti-Terror Court Indicts 106 For Burning of Christian Couple in Pakistan

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has indicted 106 people in connection with the brutal murder of a Christian couple in November 2014.

The mob had falsely accused the couple of burning a Quran.

“The challan (charge-sheet) states that Maulvi Muhammad Hussain, Maulvi Arshad Baloch and Maulvi Noorul Hassan were involved in persistent provocative speeches against the couple which led to the assembly of 400 people as a mob who then burned Shama and Shahzad alive,” the Pakistan Daily Times reported .

“After the challan was presented at the hearing, the court also held Yousaf Gujjar, the owner of the brick kiln where the couple was beaten to death, responsible.”

Guijar had been angry that the couple had not repaid him money that he claimed the couple owned and set them up for blasphemy charges.  He placed a few pages of a Quran in their trash singed as if the book had been burned.

An official with the International Christian Concern said that the incident shows the danger Christians in Pakistan face every day.

“The brutal killing of Shahzad and Shama once again highlights the extreme danger of religious fanaticism that Christians in Pakistan face on a regular basis. The accusation of blasphemy can be used for any dispute and can often prove deadly as it did today, inciting a mob to brutally murder this young couple.”

Grand Jury Formally Indicts Baltimore Officers

A grand jury in Baltimore has indicted six officers on charges connected to the Freddie Gray situation that led to massive rioting.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced the grand jury’s decision to bring charges against all the officers during a Thursday press conference.  The indictments were similar to charges Mosby announced earlier this month but a few changed due to what she called “new information in the case.”

“These past two weeks, my team has been presenting evidence to a grand jury that just today returned indictments against all six officers,” Mosby told reporters. “As our investigation has continued, additional information has been discovered, and as is often the case during an ongoing investigation, charges can and should be revised based upon the evidence.”

The officers will be formally charged on July 2nd.

The Washington Post reports that Gray had an extensive criminal record “and had a handful of convictions, mostly on charges of selling or possessing heroin or marijuana. His longest stint behind bars was about two years.”

Gray’s death sparked nationwide protests and calls for the officers to be charged with murder.

Police Officers In Baltimore Charged

Every officer connected to the arrest of Freddie Gray in Baltimore has now been charged with crimes by the city’s state’s attorney.

State’a Attorney Marilyn Mosby said Friday that Freddie Gray’s death was a homicide, that his arrest was illegal and that she was charging every officer involved with crimes ranging from murder to “misconduct in office.”

“The findings of our comprehensive, thorough and independent investigation, coupled with the medical examiner’s determination that Mr. Gray’s death was a homicide,” Mosby said, “has led us to believe that we have probable cause to file criminal charges.”

“To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace’. Your peace is sincerely needed, as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man.” Mosby added.

The announcement of charges was expected to take longer than less than 24 hours from the delivery of the police department’s report on the incident.  The city is still under a nighttime curfew from Monday’s riots.

“Mr. Gray suffered a severe and critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained inside of the BPD wagon,” Mosby said.

President Obama responded to the news of charges by saying that the legal process should run its course.

“What I think the people of Baltimore want more than anything else is the truth,” Obama said.

The Fraternal Order of Police challenged the actions of prosecutor and said that an independent prosecutor needs to be assigned to the case because of potential bias.

Boston Marathon Bomber Convicted

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the two brothers who carried out an Islamic terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon April 15, 2013, has been found guilty of multiple charges.

The conviction included charges that can bring the death penalty such as conspiracy and use of a weapon of mass destruction.

The conviction was not unexpected as his lawyers admitted he participated in the attack.  The defense had stated their goal was to put doubt in the minds of the jury regarding his motivations in an attempt to spare him the death penalty.  The defense painted Dzhokhar as being brainwashed by his older brother Tamerlan into radical Islam.

“If not for Tamerlan, [the bombing] would not have happened,” Clarke told the jury during closing arguments.

The trial now moves to the punishment phase with the same jurors from the initial phase of the trial.

Prosecutors will be focusing on the fact that extremist Jihadi websites were found on both brother’s computers.  They also showed the writings of Dzhokhar on the boat where he was captured that read “stop killing our innocent people and we will stop.”

Defense attorney Judy Clarke has worked with other high-profile clients to have them spared the death penalty.  She worked to keep the Unabomber and Susan Smith, who drowned her children, from being sent to death row.

Sudanese Church Appeals Order To Close

The lawyers representing Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church in Sudan is appealing a court decision to close the church and seize their property.

On February 18th, police arrived at the church with an order from a local court demanding the church be locked and seized.  The church’s lawyers say the order not specifically state what land or property was subject to seizure.

“In November 2014, congregants held a protest vigil in order to prevent NISS agents from gaining access to the land and illegally destroying and confiscating the property. In December 2014 the church was partially destroyed and 37 congregants arrested.”

The court is claiming the land was sold to a Muslim businessman by a church committee.  It was later discovered that the government formed a committee they said was a committee of the church and sold the land.   A lower court ruled in favor of the church that the committee was not associated with the church but a higher Muslim court said the Christians had to leave.

“The court order will effectively facilitate the illegal closure of yet another church at a time when the government has stated that the construction of new churches will no longer be permitted. We call upon the international community, and in particular the African Union, to hold Sudan to its obligations to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief and to guarantee the profession and free practice of religion as outlined in international statutes to which the nation is party,” Christian Solidary Worldwide said in a statement.

America’s First Islamic Tribunal In North Texas

The first Islamic tribunal is now hearing cases and issuing rulings in North Texas.

The “court” is located in Irving, Texas and is being used to settle disputes between Muslims such as divorces and business disputes using Sharia Law rather than U.S. law as the basis for their decisions.

The judges claim that their decisions are nothing more than giving an “Islamic point of view” to situations that they are facing in their lives and participation is voluntary.  The three men who run the tribunal say that they do not handle anything that involves criminal activity.

“All our decisions point back to the Koran and Sunna … and what the prophet Mohammed left to us,” Dr. Taher el-Badawi, Islamic Tribunal judge, told KEYE TV.

The restriction to not handle criminal cases allows the tribunal to avoid having to issue any rulings on situations where the Quran calls for stoning if someone commits adultery or the subjugation of women.

Critics say that the “court” sets a dangerous precedent and fear that would allow other foreign groups to use foreign law.

Judge Refuses To Delay Boston Bomber Trial

A judge on Wednesday denied attempts by lawyers for the Boston Marathon terrorism suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to delay the start of his trial.

The decision by U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole, Jr. means that jury selection will begin Monday in Boston federal court.

Lawyers for Tsarnaev tried to make the case that it would impossible to find an impartial jury in Massachusetts because of the amount of publicity given to the case.  They also said they needed more time to examine the large amounts of discovery turned over my prosecutors.

The lawyers tried to use the example of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh whose trial was moved to Denver because of media attention.

Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges that could bring the death penalty if he is convicted.

Jury selection in the case is expected to take weeks because of the intense media coverage and the number of local residents impacted in some way because of the bombings.  Also, jurors who object to the death penalty could also be excluded from the case.

Canadian Court Upholds Rights Of Christians

A Canadian court has ruled that two Christians who had been banned from distributing materials at a university had their rights violated by officials.

Peter LaBarbera and Bill Whatcott were arrested in April and forced to leave the University of Regina after they refused to stop handing out information providing the truth about abortion and other issues about the Christian faith.

“We are a diverse campus. We are a welcoming campus,” University Vice President Tom Chase told reporters at the time. “We celebrate that diversity, and our staff felt that the material and some of the things they had with them simply contravened that policy and we asked them to leave.”

Judge Marylynne Beaton said that both men were not guilty of any crimes and that they had the right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to distribute their information to anyone who wanted to read it.

“I find that the purpose of Mr. Whatcott and Mr. LaBarbera attending the University of Regina was to communicate information and their actions were passive and non-aggressive,” she wrote. “Therefore, notwithstanding that the university may be private property, I find that [the Charter] may be used as a defense to a finding of mischief by interfering with university property as they had the right to communicate in a peaceful manner on university property.”

“I do not accept that the accused’s removal, in order to protect students from the accused message, represented a minimal impairment on freedom of expression,” the judge continued. “In this case, the university’s response was disproportionate to the peaceful distribution of flyers and was not reasonable and demonstrably justified.”

Both men said they hope the judge’s ruling will help Christians across the country who have been silenced by government officials.