Tag: SCOTUS News

Supreme Court unanimously slaps down blue state targeting pro-life group

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Supreme Court of the United States building

The Supreme Court unanimously sided with a group of faith-based pregnancy centers on Wednesday that challenged the New Jersey attorney general’s investigation into whether the centers misled donors and the public about steering women away from having abortions. The case was brought by First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, a group of five Christian-based facilities in New Jersey that provide various pre-natal services to women facing unplanned pregnancies. The Supreme Court found the state investigation violated the centers’ First Amendment rights, handing a victory to the pro-life movement, which had argued the probe rattled the centers’ donors. The opinion was narrow, finding that First Choice is now able to sue over the state investigation in federal court.

Source: Supreme Court unanimously slaps down blue state targeting pro-life group | Fox News

The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Psalm 121:7-8

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Justice Sotomayor apologizes to Justice Kavanaugh for public criticism of immigration opinion

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The U.S. Supreme Court building and American flag under a dramatic sunset sky.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a rare public apology Wednesday over what she called “inappropriate” remarks aimed at Justice Brett Kavanaugh for his vote last year to allow aggressive Trump administration immigration enforcement tactics, which critics had called racial profiling. “I had a colleague in that case who wrote, you know, these are only ‘temporary stops,’” Sotomayor said at the University of Kansas School of Law last week, referring to Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion in the case.

“This is from a man whose parents were professionals. And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour.” While the Court’s majority did not formally explain its decision to lift a restraining order against the ICE strategy for targeting suspected unauthorized immigrants in California, Kavanaugh wrote separately to explain his view that “apparent ethnicity” could be a “relevant factor” in determining probable cause to detain a person. 

Source: Justice Sotomayor apologizes to Justice Kavanaugh for public criticism of immigration opinion – ABC News

A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion.
Psalm 112:5

Alaska man, 77, Agrees to plead guilty to felony charge of threatening six Supreme Court justices

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A 77-year-old Alaska man has agreed to plead guilty to sending over 500 threatening messages to six U.S. Supreme Court justices and unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, according to court filings. Panos Anastasiou faces a felony charge for making threats against the justices from 2023 to 2024, a filing submitted April 10 in U.S. District Court in Alaska shows. He will also plead guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm stemming from a 1991 conviction.

Under the plea agreement, federal prosecutors plan to recommend a sentence of probation and home confinement, citing Anastasiou’s advanced age, dementia, and a history of throat cancer. The case comes amid a broader surge in threats against federal judges. It follows the sentencing, just months ago, of a would-be assassin who was arrested with weapons near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home with weapons and received roughly eight years in prison. U.S. District Judge Aaron Christian Peterson is scheduled to hold a plea hearing for Anastasiou on Thursday.

According to a 2024 indictment, Anastasiou in the hundreds of message targeted two of the justices’ family members. The communications included violent, racist and homophobic rhetoric, along with explicit threats of assassination, torture and hanging, as well as references to firearm use. A draft of the plea agreement filed with the court quotes a July 2024 email in which Anastasiou allegedly called for the assassinations of Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, and then-President Donald Trump. “Their assassination is ESSENTIAL for the country and democracy,” the message reportedly stated. “We should make the 6 corrupt [expletives] to be AFRAID very AFRAID to leave their home and fear for their lives everyday.”

Source: Alaska man, 77, Agrees to plead guilty to felony charge of threatening six Supreme Court justices | Just The News

A fool’s lips enter into contention, And his mouth calls for blows.
Proverbs 18:6

California Fines Church $1.2 Million for Worship; Now the Supreme Court Must Decide if the Constitution Still Stands

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Advocates for Faith & Freedom, in partnership with the American Center for Law & Justice, has filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari asking the United States Supreme Court to overturn more than $1.2 million in fines imposed on Calvary Chapel San Jose and Pastor Mike McClure for the simple act of gathering to worship. This case stands as one of the clearest examples of government overreach against a church in modern American history. During COVID, California forced churches to close, restrict worship, and enforce mandates that violated Calvary Chapel’s sincerely held beliefs. At the very same time, the state allowed widespread exemptions for secular operations such as restaurants, athletic programs, and government offices.

Calvary Chapel chose obedience to Scripture over obedience to shifting political orders. The county retaliated with rapidly escalating fines that soared to $5,000 per day, ultimately exceeding $1.2 million, along with coercive demands for sworn compliance with orders later deemed unconstitutional. In addition to the $1,228,700 judgment, Santa Clara County is seeking $1,098,244 in attorneys’ fees and $45,753 in costs, which remain stayed pending appeal. If imposed, the total financial burden on Calvary Chapel would exceed $2.37 million – a staggering sum designed to punish a church for worshipping God during a crisis. The petition emphasizes that the Supreme Court has already ruled in Tandon v. Newsom that government cannot treat religious gatherings worse than comparable secular activities. California ignored that mandate and continued to target churches. “Government officials may not weaponize emergencies to suspend the First Amendment,” said Erin Mersino, Vice President and Chief of Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation for Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “California imposed some of the most aggressive restrictions on churches in the country, and this case is about ensuring the government never does this again.”

Source: California Fines Church $1.2 Million for Worship; Now the Supreme Court Must Decide if the Constitution Still Stands – Christian Newswire

But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
Matthew 28:5-6