Appellate Court Upholds Ruling on Tennessee Absentee Ballot Request Distribution Law

A court ruling saying that absentee ballot requests in Tennessee can only be distributed by qualified elections officials has been upheld by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. 

In 2020, Tennessee’s Secretary of State Tre Hargett was sued in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee by activists including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the AFL-CIO labor union, who claimed that in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, anyone should be able to fill out and return to county election officials an absentee ballot request form on behalf of another person, as long as the form is signed by the would-be absentee voter. 

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Ohio Governor Appoints Civil Attorney Jeffrey Ruple to Lake County Court of Common Pleas

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced this week the appointment of Republican civil litigator Jeffrey Ruple to the general division of the Lake County Court of Common Pleas.

Ruple, of Kirtland, Ohio will be taking the seat formerly held by Republican Judge Eugene Lucci. In order to retain the seat he must win the general election in November 2024. Lucci was elected to the Eleventh District Court of Appeals leaving his seat on the Lake County Court of Common Pleas vacant. Judge-designee Rupe will assume office on April 24th.

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6th Circuit Takes Up Case of Nashville Homeowners Suing the City

It is now up to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to decide whether Nashville is violating the constitutional rights of homeowners by forcing them to pay for sidewalks in exchange for building permits. The 6th Circuit and other U.S. circuit courts are the second highest courts in the federal judicial system.

Nashville citizens Jason Mayes and Jim Knight have been engaged in an ongoing lawsuit with the city.

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6th Circuit Ruling Restoring Employer Vaccine Mandate Falsely Claims ‘Options Available to Combat COVID-19 Changed Significantly’ When ‘FDA Granted Approval to One Vaccine on August 23, 2021’

The majority opinion released on Friday by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which restored the Biden administration’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employers with more than 100 employees to mandate that all employees take a COVID-19 vaccinefalsely asserts that Pfizer’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approved vaccine is currently available and in use among the general public.”

“At the same time, the options available to combat COVID-19 changed significantly: the FDA granted approval to one vaccine on August 23, 2021, and testing became more readily available,” the majority opinion asserts on page 24 of the ruling.

The majority opinion was written by Obama-appointed Judge Jane Branstretter Stranch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

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Mae Beavers and Diane Black Praise 6th Circuit Court Decision Upholding Right to Life ‘Amendment One’: Abortion is Not a ‘Right’ in Tennessee

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on Tuesday upholding the choice of Tennessee voters on Amendment 1 in 2014.  Amendment 1, which was placed on the statewide ballot that year by the Tennessee General Assembly as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, passed with 53 percent of the vote, and amended the Tennessee Constitution to read, in part: Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion. “The Tennessee Legislative Powers Regarding Abortion, Amendment 1 was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in the state of Tennessee as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved,” Ballotpedia reported: The measure added language to the Tennessee Constitution empowering the legislature to enact, amend or repeal state statutes regarding abortion, including for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to protect the mother’s life. Amendment 1 was placed on the ballot by the Tennessee General Assembly in two separate votes. It was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Diane Black (R-6), who was a state senator at the time of introduction, and State Sen. Mae Beavers (R-17) as Senate Joint Resolution 127. . . The Tennessee General Assembly was required to approve the amendment in two successive sessions. In the first…

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