Tag: judges

Northwestern University Can Toss Students Who Refuse To Complete Anti-Semitism Training, Judge Rules

Northwestern University can strip students’ financial aid, access to on-campus housing, and even their student status for refusing to complete a mandatory anti-Semitism training, a federal judge ruled Monday.

The ruling represents an early blow to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the lawsuit it filed against Northwestern on behalf of the school’s Graduate Workers for Palestine, alleging the training violates federal civil rights law and bans “expressions of Palestinian identity.” The plaintiffs had asked the court for a temporary restraining order to stop the school from punishing students who boycotted the training while the case played out, but Judge Georgia Alexakis rejected that request.

“Because the plaintiffs have failed to meet their burden in this threshold inquiry, we do not move on to conduct a balancing of the harms,” Alexakis said, according to the student paper, the Daily Northwestern. “For that reason, I have to deny the motion.”

CAIR’s suit focuses on a training video produced by the Jewish United Fund that shows quotes from Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke alongside those from anti-Israel activists to make the point that “you can’t tell the difference.” CAIR, a terror-tied pro-Hamas group, argued the video “equates critical engagement with Zionism with anti-Jewish statements by the Ku Klux Klan” and discriminates against “the University’s Palestinian and other Arab students by branding their ethnic and religious identities, cultures, and advocacy for the rights of their national group as antisemitic and subject to discipline.”

Northwestern barred students who didn’t complete the training from registering for classes and gave them until Monday to view the video. After that, they would face escalating penalties, including the loss of financial aid, access to on-campus housing, and even the revocation of their student status, effectively booting them from the university and forcing them to reapply. Northwestern attorneys have identified 16 students who have not completed the training, the Daily Northwestern reported.

While rejecting CAIR’s request for a temporary restraining order, Alexakis cast doubt on the plaintiffs’ claims that Northwestern discriminated against them on the basis of race, essentially questioning whether they could win the case.

“I find that the plaintiffs have established irreparable harm, but I also find that the plaintiffs have failed to establish the likelihood of success on the merits of the claims that they advance,” Alexakis said. She noted students aren’t required to endorse the video to complete the training, let alone watch it—they could simply allow it to play until the end.

Elsewhere in the suit, CAIR alleges the “training course is replete with political commentary which restricts Northwestern students from advocating for Palestinian liberation, equal rights, an end to apartheid in Palestine, and for the rights of Palestine’s indigenous people (Jewish and non-Jewish).” The plaintiffs also described the spring 2024 Deering Meadow encampment as home to “nonviolent protest, display of signs, speeches, dancing, prayer and other overtly Jewish religious activities, and community building.”

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Judge Orders Tech CEOs to Testify in Case Using Algorithmic Design Rules as a New Avenue for Indirect Online Censorship Pressure

Three of the tech industry’s most recognizable leaders, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Evan Spiegel of Snap, and Adam Mosseri of Instagram, will be required to testify in court early next year.

The order came from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, who ruled that their participation is essential in a lawsuit alleging that social media platforms were deliberately designed to harm young users’ mental health.

Attorneys for the companies had tried to prevent the CEOs from appearing, arguing that earlier depositions and other executive testimonies already provided sufficient information.

Judge Kuhl disagreed, stating, “The testimony of a CEO is uniquely relevant, as that officer’s knowledge of harms, and failure to take available steps to avoid such harms could establish negligence or ratification of negligent conduct.”

She also noted that their testimony would be “unique,” since the claims center on design features built to “be addictive” and “drive compulsive” use among minors.

Meta argued that compelling both Zuckerberg and Mosseri to testify would disrupt their ability to manage the business and “set a precedent” for future cases. Snap’s lawyers said the decision to call Spiegel to the stand was an “abuse of discretion.”

Judge Kuhl rejected both arguments, saying that those in charge must directly answer questions about their companies’ conduct instead of delegating that responsibility.

After the ruling, Meta declined to comment.

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SHOCK: Biden Judge Orders ICE Agent Arrests at Courthouses

Judicial tyranny continues.

A federal judge recently ordered ICE agent arrests at courthouses.

US District Judge Jeffrey Cummings, a Biden appointee, barred ICE agents from arresting illegal aliens at Cook County, Illinois, courthouses if they don’t have a warrant.

Judge Cummings said the ICE agents can be arrested if they violate his court order.

The judge barred ICE agents from making “collateral arrests” – a term that describes the arrest of illegal aliens who happen to be discovered during the arrest of another alien for whom they have a warrant to take into custody.

Breitbart reported:

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings ordered that ICE officers are barred from arresting migrants at courthouses if they don’t have a warrant. He also ordered that federal law enforcement can be arrested if they violate his orders.

The judge’s order aimed to prevent what are called “collateral arrests” of people whom ICE officers discover are illegal on the spot. These are migrants that ICE agents come across by happenstance while looking for someone they have a warrant to apprehend.

Cummings stated that courthouses must be places where witnesses and suspects feel safe.

“The fair administration of justice requires that courts remain open and accessible, and that litigants and witnesses may appear without fear of civil arrest,” he said in his order.

Judge Cummings also cited in his ruling arrests that have been made recently outside county courthouses where ICE has taken “collateral” migrants into custody in the Chicago area.

“One thing seems clear: ICE rousted American citizens from their apartments during the middle of the night and detained them — in zip ties no less — for far longer than the ‘brief’ period authorized by the operative regulation,” the judge wrote.

The DHS defended its practice of arresting illegal aliens at courthouses.

“We aren’t some medieval kingdom; there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law,” DHS said in a statement to CBS News. “Nothing in the Constitution prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them.”

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Federal Judge Blocks Push to Remove Gender Ideology From Sex Ed Curricula

A federal judge in Oregon said during a hearing on Monday that she plans to issue an injunction stopping the Trump administration from requiring several Democratic-led states to remove references to gender ideology from their sexual health education curricula as a condition of receiving federal grant funding.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken, based in Eugene, made the comments in reference to a lawsuit filed by 16 states, including Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia. The states of Oregon, Washington, and Minnesota are leading the group.

The lawsuit centers on an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20—the first day of his second term.

The order called for federal agencies to recognize two sexes, male and female, and to ensure that grant funds do not support “gender ideology.”

The Department of Health and Human Services published notices in August that recipients of grants from the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) and the Title V Sexual Risk Avoidance Education programs must not include content teaching that gender identity is separate from biological sex.

The department also sent 46 states and territories letters in which it mandated the removal of any such references from federally funded materials within 60 days. Non-compliance led to actions including the termination of California’s PREP grant after the state did not change its educational content.

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Illegal Immigrant Who Was Living With Judge Pleads Guilty to Gun Possession

An illegal immigrant suspected of being a Tren de Aragua gang member and living with a judge in New Mexico has pleaded guilty to “illegally possessing firearms and conspiracy to destroy evidence,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in an Oct. 17 statement.

Cristhian Ortega-Lopez entered the United States illegally in 2023 under the Biden administration and was released into the country, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. Authorities allege that Magistrate Judge Jose Cano and his wife initially hired Ortega-Lopez for home repairs, later allowing him to live at their guesthouse.

Ortega-Lopez “posted numerous photos and videos of himself on social media accounts with weapons including an AR-15 style rifle, a semi-automatic handgun, and ammunition,” the DHS stated.

Tren de Aragua was designated as a foreign terrorist organization and a specially designated global terrorist group by the State Department in February.

In January, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received an anonymous tip about Ortega-Lopez living in New Mexico while possessing firearms, which culminated in his arrest at the judge’s house the following month.

After Ortega-Lopez was arrested, Cano allegedly smashed a cellphone belonging to Ortega-Lopez with a hammer and discarded the remains, “believing it contained incriminating photos and videos,” according to the DHS.

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Judge approves class action against California ‘gender secrecy’ amid debate on transgenderism

As debate rages on the frequency of transgender identification in youth, California’s pressure on public schools to hide students’ gender identity at odds with sex from their parents is facing a mortal blow.

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez certified a class and four subclasses Wednesday to challenge The Golden State’s so-called gender secrecy practices, two and a half years after teachers Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West sued Escondido Unified School District to stop muzzling them so they could inform parents about their children’s in-school identities. 

The class covers all individuals who are “participating or will participate in California’s public education system, whether as employees or parents/guardians of students, without having to subject themselves to Parental Exclusion Policies.” 

The subclasses – “appropriate where class members have separate and discrete legal claims” – cover employees who object to the policies or “submit a request for a religious exemption or opt-out to complying” with them, and parents or guardians with children in school who object or seek an exemption or opt-out.

It’s the first such class certification on the subject in the nation, the plaintiffs’ lawyers at the Thomas More Society told Just the News.

The order comes a month before a summary judgment hearing where Benitez could rule, without a trial, against the practices as a violation of parents’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights “to direct their children’s upbringing” and teachers’ free speech and religious freedom rights, the public interest law firm said.

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OUTRAGEOUS: Cook County Chief Judge BANS ICE and Border Patrol from Making Civil Arrests of Illegal Aliens at Chicago Courthouses

The Democrats are protecting the illegal aliens more than their constituents.

Cook County Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Evans has issued an administrative decree that effectively bars ICE and Border Patrol agents from making civil immigration arrests at or near county courthouses, even as aliens appear for hearings.

The edict, signed late Tuesday night and going into effect Wednesday, proclaims that “no person attending or returning from a court proceeding shall be subject to a civil arrest” unless there is a judicial warrant or order.

The order explicitly limits it to civil immigration arrests. The order also includes the walkways, entryways, driveways, and parking lots contiguous to courthouses.

“The fair administration of justice requires that courts remain open and accessible, and that litigants and witnesses may appear without fear of civil arrest,” the order states.

“The common law has long recognized this privilege to ensure individuals can fulfill legal duties without risking further legal jeopardy.”

This comes after thirteen far-left “social justice” and legal organizations have filed a petition with Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans.

According to the petition, groups such as the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, and the Public Defender’s Office claim that ICE enforcement is causing “fear” among those attending court, especially in Domestic Violence Court.

Sharilyn Grace from the Public Defender’s Office said people were “so alarmed” by the sight of an armed individual outside the courthouse that they called 911, FOX 32 Chicago reported.

Alexa Van Brunt of the MacArthur Justice Center claimed that the presence of ICE creates a “chilling effect” that discourages illegal immigrants from attending court proceedings, saying many are now “afraid to show up” because they fear deportation.

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Nassau won’t have to pay back $400M in illegal red-light camera fees as judge oddly claims payments were ‘voluntary’

Nassau County won’t have to pay back $400 million in illegal red-light camera fees as a judge bizarrely ruled drivers voluntarily paid the fines — even though they were threatened with getting their licenses suspended.

The “outrageous” ruling by County Supreme Court Justice Thomas Rademaker has the plaintiffs’ attorney calling for the judge to be removed from the case while Nassau administrators hold onto improper administrative fees it took in from drivers for over a decade.

“Judge Rademacher issued a radical decision and ruled, despite Nassau County’s illegality, its citizens paid voluntarily,” attorney David Raimondo, who represents drivers in cases against Nassau and Suffolk County, said of the decision.

“This ruling was so far off from the law that you can’t even comprehend it,” he added, claiming the judge issued the ruling to protect the county from its massive liability.

Raimondo questioned how the judge could view the payments as “voluntary” when Nassau threatened to revoke licenses and registrations, boot and tow people’s cars — and even put a mark on credit reports if the fee is not paid.

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Clinton Judge Blocks Trump Admin from Firing Federal Workers During Schumer Shutdown

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from firing federal workers during the government shutdown.

US District Judge Susan Illston, a Clinton appointee, issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on Wednesday and stopped the Trump Administration from firing federal workers.

The Schumer Shutdown began on October 1, and the Senate has voted 9 times – and failed 9 times – to reopen the government because Schumer wants to give illegal aliens healthcare.

Layoffs of federal employees officially began last Friday as the U.S. government shutdown entered another tense phase, according to Trump administration budget chief Russell Vought, who confirmed the sweeping reductions in a social media post.

“The RIFs have begun,” Vought announced on X, using the acronym for “Reductions in Force.”

Norm Eisen, the Deep State’s favorite lawyer who spearheaded the color revolution and more than 180 lawsuits against Trump, sued the Trump Administration to stop the RIFs.

Norm Eisen filed a lawsuit on behalf of federal labor unions and judge shopped to make sure his case was assigned to Judge Illston because she ruled in favor of labor unions in a RIF case in the past.

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Wrist Slaps For Left-Wing Violence Invite More Attacks On Conservatives

wo teenagers who brutally assaulted former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer Edward “Big Balls” Coristine did not receive any jail time in yet another instance of left-wing judges protecting militant thugs from being held accountable in any meaningful way.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Kendra Davis Briggs, a nominee of former President Joe Biden, sentenced two 15-year-olds from Hyattsville, Maryland, to probation after they were arrested for an Aug. 3 attack on 19-year-old Coristine that left him bloody and battered.

The two sentenced to probation — a male and female — were among a “group of 10 guys,” Coristine said, many of whom apparently remain at-large. Coristine suffered a concussion and a broken nose after he and a female companion were jumped by the group.

The slap-on-the-wrist from Briggs comes after another Biden judge gave the would-be assassin of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh a laughably light sentence, citing the assassin’s claim of being a “transgender” woman, despite his being a male.

While prosecutors sought a 30-year sentence for would-be assassin Nicholas Roske (who now says he goes by the name “Sophie”), Maryland U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman instead gave him eight years.

“Though she got far too close to executing her plans, the fact of the matter is she abandoned them,” Boardman said, using female pronouns to refer to Roske, a male. “I take into consideration the conditions of pre-trial confinement and the fact that she is a transgender woman and will be sent to a male-only [Bureau of Prisons] facility.”

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