Daily Archives: May 14, 2008

The court ruled that Regina McKnight, who was convicted in 2001 of homicide by child abuse after being accused of killing her unborn child with cocaine, must be granted a new trial.

Mombian Blog reports that homosexual advocates are alarmed at the appointment of Dr. Kenneth Zucker as the APA Sexual and Gender Identity Disorder Chair that will revise the Manual for Diagnosis of Mental Disorders (DSM).   Dana at Mombian writes: Zucker, …

Apparently, in Estroff there was no parenting agreement between the lesbian partners so the partner who is not a biological parent was denied as to parental rights.

he Center challenges the Colorado Commission on Higher Education’s denial of financial aid to CCU students because of the commission labeling of CCU – a Christian, accredited, liberal arts university – as “pervasively sectarian.”

We hear a lot of talk today about the need for an “independent” judiciary. We do need a state judiciary that is independent of the attorneys and their special interests, especially trial lawyers. . . .

“Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley today signed into law a comprehensive anti-bullying bill that protects all students from bullying and harassment . . . ”

The Athens Messenger reports: The Athens Board of Zoning Appeals on Tuesday reaffirmed its opinion that a “gentleman’s club” is not appropriate for a proposed Stimson Avenue location. But the issue remains in play, with an appeal of the zoning …

WRAL.com reports that Tarboro, NC has passed a law that “would not allow adult establishments within 1,000 feet of day cares, schools, parks, churches and residential areas.”   Proposals for a sexually oriented bookstore were abandoned after encountering fierce opposition from …

Rocky Mount Town Council voted Monday night to adopt an ordinance regulating sexually-oriented businesses, such as adult arcades, adult bookstores, adult video stores, adult movie theaters, nude model studios and sexual encounter centers.

SCOTUS blog has copied the text of the press release here.   As of this posting, we did not see it on the DOJ website.

“Over the dissent of five judges, the Ninth Circuit denies rehearing en banc of decision holding that Congress cannot cure a government agency’s Establishment Clause violation by ordering sale of the land upon which a religious symbol is situated.”

The speech focused on Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae. Faithful Catholics leaving the event told LifeSiteNews.com “I’ve been waiting 35 years to hear that from a Canadian bishop.” . . .

Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Glen Lavy will be available for media interviews Thursday at 10 a.m. PDT when the California Supreme Court releases its decision on the constitutionality of the state’s Defense of Marriage Act, Proposition 22.

It is the height of political incorrectness to even suggest that possibly, just possibly, it might be worth checking into the local mosque’s sources of funding, and what they’re teaching there

“The law does not compel you to pledge allegiance to the American flag or to stand while others do. But simple respect should prompt you to honor those who bled and died for that flag . . . ”

“One of the leading pro-abortion groups issued its endorsement on Wednesday for Barack Obama, apparently believing he will represent the Democratic Party against John McCain. NARAL has supported Hillary Clinton throughout her career but Obama appears more likely to win the nomination.”

Four vacancies on Pennsylvania’s appellate courts, including one on the Supreme Court, will remain unfilled for now.

Social networking giant Facebook, which has faced political pressure to increase online safety, is putting in place 40 safeguards to protect young people from sexual predators and cyberbullies, the Palo Alto company announced today.

“The Colorado pro-life group supporting an amendment to the state constitution that would define unborn children as persons under law submitted almost twice as many signatures as necessary.”

Dellapenna argues that, contrary to Justice Blackmun’s historic analysis in Roe, abortion was considered a serious crime throughout most of European history and that courts did . . . punish abortions before quickening during the Middle Ages. This article shows that Dellapenna’s argument relies on serious misreading . . .

Gonzales exemplifies the modern disintegration of the ideal of “the Court” expounding “the Constitution”–i.e., its language read in light of its underlying political structure and theory, its drafting and ratification history, and the understandings manifested by those who implemented its provisions for over a century. Rather, individual Justices have employed an eccentric version of common law.

Small Claims Judge Paul Paruk last October dismissed Ginnnah Muhammad’s suit against a car rental company when Muhammad refused to remove her niqab (full face veil) before she testified. Muhammad then sued in federal court alleging that she was denied her free exercise rights and access to the courts because of her religion.

Some have made the obvious point that challenging libraries to provide titles they’re not stocking would turn the tables and make people realize that librarians can also be censorious in the titles they choose not to display. The mere act of selecting some books and excluding others is a “censorious” act.

But how conservative would a McCain presidency make the court—and how conservative is it already? The answers to these questions may be found in a new paper by Richard Posner, a judge who sits on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and William Landes, a law professor at the University of Chicago, that is now making its way through the academic community.

A Tampa group that promotes healthy families would be the first of its kind allowed to ask Florida drivers to donate money under a little-noticed bill headed to the governor. Critics, some of whom contend that the group is faith-based, say the proposed law sets a bad precedent and raises constitutional questions.

The African American Healthy Marriage Initiative: Administration for Children and Families “Building Strong and Healthy Families; Connecting Marriage Research to Practice Conference” will take place at the Friday Center University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Tuesday, June 17 through Thursday, June 19, 2008.

A family court does not have the authority to compel New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services to pay for a foster child’s sex-change operation, an appellate court has ruled.

Texas child welfare officials conceded Tuesday that a newborn’s mother, held in foster care as a minor after being removed from a polygamous sect’s ranch, is an adult.

In a major blow to national Republicans, a Mississippi congressional seat that once voted for President Bush by a twenty-five point margin elected a Democrat on Tuesday.