Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Federal courts

Supreme Court Has Spoken But Constitutional Debate is Far From Over on Birthright Citizenship
Approved, Commentary, National, The Federalist

Supreme Court Has Spoken But Constitutional Debate is Far From Over on Birthright Citizenship

By: John C. Eastman | Commentary. The Federalist Lincoln believed self-government requires citizens and their representatives to continue reasoning together about the meaning of the Constitution, even after courts have spoken. The Supreme Court has spoken. Now what? That question has confronted the nation before. In 1857, the Supreme Court believed it had settled one of the most consequential constitutional controversies in American history. In Dred Scott v. Sandford, Chief Justice Roger Taney declared that persons of African descent could never become citizens of the United States and that Congress lacked authority to prohibit slavery in the territories. Many believed the court had spoken the final constitutional word. Abraham Lincoln disagreed. His admi...
Federal Judge Permanently Blocks Key Parts of Trump’s Election Order
kdvr.com, Approved, National

Federal Judge Permanently Blocks Key Parts of Trump’s Election Order

By Alliyah Sims | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — A federal judge has permanently blocked key parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order on elections, ruling after a legal fight that began last year over voter registration rules and proof-of-citizenship requirements. The decision strikes down provisions tied to how states verify voter eligibility and says those responsibilities belong to states and Congress, not the president. The ruling also turns a temporary block into a permanent one; however, an appeal is expected. Rob Preuhs, Professor and Chair of Political Science at Metropolitan State University of Denver, said the concern at the center of the case is how election systems could impact eligible voters. “That means that we’re all potentially at the risk o...
Foreign-Born Judge Sparkle Sooknanan Halts Federal Citizenship Checks For Voter Rolls
The Federalist, Approved, National

Foreign-Born Judge Sparkle Sooknanan Halts Federal Citizenship Checks For Voter Rolls

By: Breccan F. Thies | The Federalist A foreign-born federal judge in D.C. ruled Monday that Americans are not allowed to check the citizenship of prospective voters because doing so might “purge voter rolls.” D.C. District Court Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who is from Trinidad and Tobago, blocked the Trump administration from using an updated database called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system in order to ensure that only American citizens vote in American elections. Sooknanan became a U.S. citizen in 2009, but seemingly still retains citizenship in Trinidad and Tobago, which she said she would only renounce “if required by law.” As Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., pointed out, “If judges can stop Presidents, they should not...
Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Federal Gun Ban For Marijuana Users
The Federalist, Approved, National

Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Federal Gun Ban For Marijuana Users

By: Shawn Fleetwood | The Federalist The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held on Thursday that the federal government’s use of a federal law restricting gun possession for certain unlawful drug users to be “inconsistent with the Second Amendment.” “The Second Amendment protects the right of ‘all Americans’ to keep and bear firearms for self defense,” the court’s “narrow” ruling reads. “Affording the government ‘broad power to designate any group as dangerous and thereby disqualify its members from having a gun’ would risk allowing it to ‘quickly swallow’ the Second Amendment.” Known as U.S. v. Hemani, the case centers around the government’s prosecution of Ali Hemani, a Texas resident who was charged under a provision (18 U.S. Code § 922(g)(3)) ...
An open letter to the 10th Circuit on free speech and the First Amendment
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

An open letter to the 10th Circuit on free speech and the First Amendment

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The 10th Circuit of Court of Appeals got it wrong on free speech -- an open letter Similar to what Lincoln said of himself — I’m a slow walker but I don’t walk backwards — I often get busy with life and have to shelve writing projects without letting them go. I wrote back in early May about a decision rendered by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on legislative immunity. That newsletter is linked first below. The second link is to the judge’s decision. At the time, I wrote the clerk of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and asked how it was that one could send in feedback to the judges on their decision. The clerk said that you can either email them to [email protected], or mail them to the ...
Federal Challenge Puts Colorado AI Antidiscrimination Law on Hold
Telehealth, Approved, State

Federal Challenge Puts Colorado AI Antidiscrimination Law on Hold

By: Julia Ivanova, PhD, MA | TeleHealth Key Takeaways Colorado’s first-in-the-nation AI law was significantly revised after legal challenges from Elon Musk’s xAI and the U.S. Department of Justice, highlighting growing tensions between AI oversight and innovation. The dispute could shape how healthcare AI is regulated nationwide, particularly for systems used in patient access, care management, insurance decisions, remote monitoring, and clinical operations. As federal AI policy remains fragmented, states are increasingly developing their own governance frameworks, creating compliance uncertainty for clinicians, healthcare organizations, and digital health companies operating across multiple jurisdictions. After the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed&n...
DOJ Says Anti-Weaponization Fund Will Not Move Forward
The Daily Signal, Approved, National

DOJ Says Anti-Weaponization Fund Will Not Move Forward

By Fred Lucas | The Daily Signal Amid skepticism from lawmakers—including some Republicans—acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House panel Tuesday that the Justice Department has scrapped its planned Anti-Weaponization Fund. The $1.776 billion fund stemmed from a settlement between President Donald Trump and the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax information. Blanche testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, days after a federal judge temporarily blocked the fund. Instead, Blanche said it will never move forward. Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, asked: “We know that the department has agreed to pause this effort until at least June 12. I wan...
Lone Colorado Judge Sides With Government On Immigration Custody Rules
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Lone Colorado Judge Sides With Government On Immigration Custody Rules

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Chief Judge Daniel D. Domenico broke with his peers on Colorado’s U.S. District Court last week in siding with the government’s argument about the broad scope of its immigration detention authority. In an April 15 order finding that a man was properly in custody without a bond hearing, Domenico acknowledged his view is the outlier locally and nationally. “The majority of district courts, including all of the judges in this District who have addressed the issue, have found that detention of noncitizens similar to the petitioner under (the mandatory detention provision) is improper,” wrote Domenico, a first-term appointee of President Donald Trump. “There are legitimate arguments on both sides.” Beginning last year, ...
DOJ Finds Hundreds Of Thousands Of Ineligible Names On Voter Rolls
The Daily Signal, Approved, National

DOJ Finds Hundreds Of Thousands Of Ineligible Names On Voter Rolls

By Harold Hutchison | The Daily Signal DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo that federal officials discovered tens of thousands of dead people and non-citizens on voting rolls. The Trump administration has sued multiple states for failing to turn over voter rolls to the Department of Justice, which is seeking to ensure compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and other federal laws aimed at protecting the right to vote. Dhillon told Bartiromo that, even in states trying to comply with the laws, issues concerning voting eligibility were still being identified. “States are not in compliance, even those ones...
Federal Disinformation Initiative Flagged For Targeting U.S. Media Despite Assurances
The Federalist, Approved, National

Federal Disinformation Initiative Flagged For Targeting U.S. Media Despite Assurances

By Margot Cleveland | The Federalist The evidence uncovered during litigation should shake Americans awake to the threat to their liberties. Staff with the Global Engagement Center (“GEC”) told a State Department official that its testbed platform “will NOT focus on US audiences,” but then proceeded to fund a trial targeting The Blaze — a Texas-based media outlet. The Federalist uncovered this detail during discovery in its lawsuit against the State Department and the GEC, which the plaintiffs settled last week after the Defendants agreed to detailed prophylactic measures to prevent similar violations of Americans’ First Amendment rights. The Federalist, along with The Daily Wire, sued the State Department and GEC in December of 2023, after learni...