Leftist Eric Holder, former President Barack Obama’s attorney general, is part of a group of attorneys threatening Tennessee House of Representatives Speaker Cameron Sexton and his fellow Republican members for expelling two Democrats on charges of inciting a riot at the Capitol.
Multiple sources tell The Tennessee Star that Holder is looking at filing lawsuits in the matter.
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The Arizona-based Goldwater Institute (GI) joined in the legal battle between Arizona Christian University (ACU) and the Washington Elementary School District (WESD), arguing that ACU was discriminated against based on its religious beliefs.
“A private organization like ACU should be free to espouse its beliefs without fear of retaliation from the government. And K-12 students should not have to go without teachers simply because their school board refuses to hire qualified candidates based on those candidates’ perceived personal beliefs and convictions,” according to the GI.
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The Arizona Democrat Party (AZDP) filed a lawsuit Thursday against several state election officials and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) in an attempt to keep the newly qualified No Labels Party (NLP) from appearing on the 2024 state ballots.
“This undemocratic and outrageous lawsuit is a national disgrace,” says Ryan Clancy, chief strategist for the NLP, in a release emailed to The Arizona Sun Times. “Next time you hear this crowd talking about protecting democracy, remember what they are really doing is protecting their turf. No Labels is confident that the court will uphold the Secretary of State’s decision to certify No Labels in Arizona.”
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A New England liberal arts college that celebrated a student riot that sent a professor to the emergency room then allegedly incentivized students to continue disrupting events, defamed one of its most famous sons to justify its unlawful removal of his family name from the campus chapel he paid to build, according to a lawsuit by his estate.
Though John Mead was a Civil War veteran, doctor, philanthropist and Vermont governor who promoted “clean energy,” women’s suffrage and the humane treatment of mental patients, Middlebury College falsely portrayed the alum as “the mastermind” of a eugenics movement that resulted in Vermont’s sterilization law long after his death.
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The city of Phoenix (COP) filed a lawsuit against the city of Tempe (COT), attempting to restrict residential development in a proposed entertainment district the city is planning to develop near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PSHIA).
“The City of Phoenix, which owns and operates Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, is suing Tempe for breach of contract, asking the court to rescind Tempe’s recent zoning and land use changes and prohibit future residential uses in an area that the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] says is incompatible with residential development,” according to a statement from PSHIA.
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Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich is facing an ethics complaint from a former mayoral candidate alleging the Democrat used his office to send out campaign materials to hundreds of residents.
Genrich, engaged in a tough re-election battle against Brown County administration director Chad Weininger, has also been embroiled in a city hall bugging scandal.
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The Biden administration is facing another discrimination lawsuit, accused once again of employing identity politics to play favorites.
On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed the complaint in U.S. District Court-Northern Texas alleging President Joe Biden’s Minority Business Development Agency “violates the Constitution’s core requirement of equal treatment under the law.”
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In the wake of Green Bay’s city hall bugging scandal, two Green Bay-area lawmakers are introducing a bill creating clear requirements for government officials to collect audio recordings.
The measure, authored by State Representative David Steffen (R-Howard) and State Senator Eric Wimberger (R-Green Bay), would establish “stringent requirements” should local or state government officials feel the need to audio record in public buildings.
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Washington Elementary School District No. 6 (WESD) in Glendale terminated the contract of Arizona Christian University (ACU) to provide student teachers last month, despite an ongoing teacher shortage, citing the religious tenets of the university as the reason. In response, The Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on behalf of the ACU on March 9, demanding multiple types of damages, including punitive.
The suit alleges a violation of the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment. It asserts that “Arizona Christian and its students do not share religious messages and beliefs within its student teacher programs with local public Schools.”
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The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County filed a lawsuit Monday in the Davidson County Chancery Court against Governor Bill Lee for his recent signing of a bill (SB87/HB48) that requires the Metro Nashville City Council – composed of 40 members- to be cut in half.
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Arizona Christian University (ACU), represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), filed a lawsuit against the Washington Elementary School District (WESD) Thursday, alleging the district discriminated against the school based on its religious beliefs.
“By discriminating against Arizona Christian University and denying it an opportunity to participate in the student teacher program because of its religious status and beliefs, the school district is in blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution, not to mention state law that protects ACU’s religious freedom,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman, vice president of U.S. litigation. “Washington Elementary School District officials are causing irreparable harm to ACU every day they force it to choose between its religious beliefs and partnering with the area’s public schools.”
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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Cochise County Supervisors for delegating election duties to Cochise County Recorder David Stevens, an election integrity proponent. However, from the 1950s to 2019, Maricopa County had an agreement with its county recorder to oversee elections. Three other counties delegate those responsibilities to their recorders as well.
Jennifer Wright, who served as the Election Integrity Unit’s civil attorney under previous Attorney General Mark Brnovich, tweeted, “So, will @krismayes also be suing @maricopacounty for their MOU delegating BOS responsibilities to the CR? Anyone remember when Fontes was stripped of BOS delegated responsibilities, the press lamented how elections were 100% the CR’s job? Oh, the hypocrisy. #AbuseOfPower”
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Connecticut has filed a lawsuit against several gun manufacturers, accusing them of violating state law by selling components that are used to build untraceable ‘ghost’ guns.
The civil lawsuit, announced by Attorney General William Tong Tuesday, targets four out-of-state firearm companies accusing them of violating the state’s consumer protection laws, which carry fines of up to $5,000 per violation.
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The Arizona Free Enterprise Club filed a lawsuit against the state Monday, alleging that the early ballot signature verification process outlined in the Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) violates state law.
“The signature presented on an early ballot affidavit is the fulcrum on which the integrity of that ballot pivots; it is the only means by which the county recorder can verify that a person casting an early ballot by mail is, in fact, a duly qualified elector,” according to the lawsuit. “And given the centrality of early ballots to elections in this state, signature verification is also foundational to the overall integrity of Arizona’s elections.”
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After the Park Committee voted unanimously last week to remove audio recording devices from Green Bay City Hall, the full City Council is expected to take up the issue at Tuesday evening’s meeting.
The action item comes after a Brown County judge issued a temporary injunction demanding the city shut down the bugs while a lawsuit proceeds.
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A Brown County judge has issued a temporary injunction, ordering the city of Green Bay and its mayor to “cease all audio surveillance and recording in Green Bay City Hall.”
Circuit Court Judge Marc Hammer late Thursday granted the injunction sought by the Wisconsin State Senate. He ordered the city to end its bugging program by 5 p.m. Thursday, almost immediately.
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The Arizona-based Goldwater Institute (GI) announced Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix for refusing a public records request relating to union records.
“The public’s business should be done in public, not behind closed doors,” says GI Staff Attorney Parker Jackson, lead attorney on the case. “The city of Phoenix has a duty to comply with state law—and the city’s own code—so that residents can find out what their government is up to.”
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To learn more about the problems residents have encountered regarding the negative effects of social media on kids, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office announced that it will host three town hall meetings across the state this month.
The town hall meetings come as Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is leading a 50-state coalition in putting together a case investigating certain Big Tech companies. Skremtti told The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy that these town hall meetings will focus on “the effects of social media on kids and the mental health impact of social media on teenagers.”
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Nashville’s top prosecutor now finds himself under investigation, according to reports.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has launched a criminal probe into Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk’s office in the wake of revelations of listening devices being installed around the building in downtown Nashville.
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The Biden administration’s woke Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) policies are putting politics ahead of people and hurting retirees savings, a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges.
The complaint, filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) on behalf of two Waukesha County residents, seeks a temporary restraining order prohibiting the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing its controversial ESG rule, pending the resolution of the lawsuit. Ultimately, the suit seems a declamatory judgment that the rule violates federal law on administrative powers.
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An attorney for the Wisconsin State Senate is warning Green Bay city officials not to destroy documents related to its use of audio recording devices at city hall. He said a lawsuit is coming.
Ryan Walsh, with the Eimer Stahl law firm, sent a letter to Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich late Friday after city officials all but ignored a warning letter demanding they remove the three recording devices.
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The city of Green Bay is doubling down on its legally dubious policy on bugging City Hall, and it appears a lawsuit is in the offing.
In response to a warning letter from the Wisconsin State Senate, Green Bay’s Chief of Operations Joseph Faulds has issued a statement asserting the city will continue its audio surveillance, but it will provide notice about the recording devices.
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Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy now says his office will review all criminal cases involving the former police officers accused in the brutal beating death of Tyre Nichols.
He may have no other choice.
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The Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) is looking for plaintiffs to take part in a possible lawsuit against the state of Tennessee pertaining to the state’s gun-free zones.
A lawsuit is being prepared for filing in state court against the State of Tennessee that will address gun-free zones and whether those zones violate the constitution, according to the TFA.
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A lawsuit filed last August challenging “the largest homeless encampment in Arizona” is going ahead after a judge denied the City of Phoenix’s motion to dismiss. Residents who live near “the Zone,” which has grown to over 1,500 people, allege that the city has failed or refused to enforce criminal, health, or quality of life statutes to improve the Zone.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Stephen Tully said in his January 16 ruling that dismissal wasn’t warranted because the city didn’t meet the standard where “as a matter of law plaintiffs would not be entitled to relief under any interpretation of the facts susceptible of proof.” He found that the plaintiffs properly pleaded their case and supported a private cause of action for public nuisance.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the Western District of Texas in the case of Carter v. McDonough.
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The Madison Metropolitan School District faces a lawsuit amid charges the district pushed a policy that teachers must “prioritize…African American students.” The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) accuses the district of violating public records law.
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A group of Arizona citizens residing in the Rio Verde Foothills (RVF) area outside of Scottsdale sued the City Thursday for cutting off its water supply, which they claim is vital for their community.
“There are approximately 500 households in Rio Verde Foothills which rely upon hauled water obtained from the Scottsdale Standpipe to serve their daily needs for domestic water,” according to the complaint. “Plaintiffs rely solely upon a source of water owned and provided by the City of Scottdale. The City has provided water service to the RVF community for over 30 years.”
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Ryan Heath, an attorney who started The Gavel Project to engage in lawfare against woke ideology, has filed a lawsuit against the judge who dismissed Kari Lake’s election lawsuit. Submitted on Monday, the Writ of Mandamus demands that Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson vacate his ruling and award the election to Lake.
Heath told The Arizona Sun Times he doesn’t really know where Thompson came up with the really high bar he required Lake’s attorneys to prove in order to overturn the election. Thompson required showing by clear and convincing evidence that the misconduct was intentional and meant to change the election, was performed by one of the appropriate people in charge, and that it changed the election. Heath said this was the wrong standard, he should have relied on Reyes v. Cuming, a 1997 Arizona case involving similar circumstances, where signatures on the envelopes were not compared to the voter registration list, violating a non-technical statute.
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The Arizona-based Goldwater Institute (GI) announced that a lawsuit had been filed against the city of Phoenix Wednesday, alleging that it is violating the first amendment rights of some citizens leading up to the Super Bowl in February.
“Hosting sporting events should not come at the cost of surrendering fundamental rights. But by giving the NFL a blank check to censor the messages people can share, the city of Phoenix is trampling on hundreds of business owners and thousands of residents’ right to communicate with the public on their own property,” said GI Staff Attorney John Thorpe in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.
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PHOENIX, Arizona – Monday marked the opening day for the 56th Legislative Session, but before getting down to business, the Arizona Freedom Caucus (AFC) and a group of Republican Legislators from the House and Senate met with the press to state they would be filing a lawsuit against Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D).
“It’s become a modern phenomenon for Executive Branches across the country to try and legislate via executive order. We saw it with Barack Obama. We see it now with Joe Biden. And now, seemingly, Katie Hobbs, she also believes that she has the ability to legislate with the power of the pen, attempting to create law that simply does not exist,” said State Sen. Jake Hoffman (Queen Creek).
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The judge in Kari Lake’s election challenge lawsuit declined to award sanctions against her attorneys, although he did order her team to pay the costs of the government defendants. However, in a lawsuit Lake filed earlier this year with Mark Finchem contesting the use of electronic voting machine readers, U.S District Judge John Tuchi, who was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama, sanctioned her attorneys.
That lawsuit was filed in April and Tuchi dismissed it in August. Maricopa County asked for sanctions on the grounds that attorneys brought claims to court that were “demonstrably false,” citing “vague” allegations that machine counting can produce inaccurate results. Tuchi said the attorneys acted “recklessly” and in “bad faith.” He ordered Lake and Finchem’s lawyers to pay Maricopa County’s attorneys fees. He warned others considering similar lawsuits, “It is to penalize specific attorney conduct with the broader goal of deterring similarly baseless filings initiated by anyone, whether an attorney or not.”
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s lawsuit that keeps Title 42 restrictions in place until the justices hear a challenge in February. Brnovich led a coalition of 21 Republican states in trying to keep the Trump-era rule in place.
Title 42, named in reference to a 1944 public health law, is a policy implemented under the Trump administration in 2020 which allows immigration officials to turn illegal immigrants back at the border due to COVID-19. In the interests of public health, they are not allowed to apply for asylum. Multiple efforts have been made to halt it but have faced stiff opposition from proponents like Brnovich.
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) announced Thursday that he had filed a lawsuit against RLC Labs, an Arizona-based natural thyroid tablet producer, for making misleading statements about its products and failing to follow through on promises to consumers.
“Consumers need to be able to trust what drug manufacturers say about their products,” said Brnovich. “Throughout my time as attorney general, my office has been committed to protecting customers from false or misleading statements.”
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Buckeye Elementary School District (BESD) and Superintendent Kristi Wilson for alleged “additional compensation.”
“Transparency and accountability are not electives in our public school districts,” said Brnovich in a press release. “Hardworking taxpayers expect these public funds to be expended in accordance with the law and the best interest of students.”
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In its annual Pork Report published earlier this week, the Beacon Center of Tennessee highlighted three areas of waste, fraud, and abuse of Tennessee taxpayer money in East Tennessee. The report specifically identified the issues of the city of Knoxville’s lawsuit against Netflix and Hulu, synthetic turf athletic fields in Johnson City, and pickleball courts in Bristol.
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Outgoing Gov. Doug Ducey ordered gaps in the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border patched using shipping containers earlier this year, but protesters are blocking workers from finishing the project. At the same time, the Biden administration hit Arizona with a lawsuit also attempting to stop the construction.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who has taken on the Biden administration numerous times over its inaction on the border, vowed to defend the state in court, hinting that he would not be cowed into a settlement. “President Biden says there are more important things to talk about than the border, yet his DOJ is suing to immediately tear down our crowd control structure,” he tweeted. “Once again, we’ll see you in court.”
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The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the state of Arizona Wednesday, demanding it removes shipping containers placed under Gov. Doug Ducey (R) as a temporary patch in border wall holes. In a response shared with The Arizona Sun Times, Ducey’s Office stated the claims made are either inaccurate or redundant.
“Arizona’s border barrier was always intended to be a temporary solution until the federal government erects a permanent solution,” wrote Anni Foster, General Council for the Governor’s Office. “Arizona agencies and contractors stand ready to assist in the removal of the barriers, but the federal government owes it to Arizonans and all Americans to release a timeline on when construction will begin and details about how it will secure the border while construction is underway.”
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Correspondence from Arizona’s Office of the Attorney General months before the November 2022 general election warned of issues with Maricopa County’s signature verification of mail-in ballots.
The first letter came from Attorney General Mark Brnovich on April 16, 2022, and was directed to Senate President Karen Fann as an interim report of the Maricopa County November 3, 2020, general election.
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Three of the Trump-endorsed candidates in Arizona who lost their races filed lawsuits contesting the election results. Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh, and secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem all filed lawsuits on Friday.
Finchem’s complaint, which was filed jointly in Maricopa County Superior Court with Jeff Zink, a Republican candidate who lost his race challenging Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-07), named Gallego, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who was declared the gubernatorial winner over Lake, and incoming-Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who defeated Finchem, as defendants.
Zink was later dropped from the complaint in an amended complaint filed on Monday.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced Tuesday that he has led a coalition of 25 States and the District of Columbia in filing an amicus brief at the United States Supreme Court in Gonzalez v. Google.
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News outlet the Gateway Pundit (TGP) and one of its reporters, Jordan Conradson, filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County in November for being denied a press pass. On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled in favor of Conradson and TGP’s emergency motion for an injunction.
“HUGE WIN! The 9th circuit court of appeals has ruled on the side of our First Amendment in [TGP]’s lawsuit against [Maricopa County]’s totalitarian attempts to control the narrative,” tweeted Conradson.
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Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, Kari Lake, and Secretary of State nominee Mark Finchem have been sanctioned by an Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge, John Tuchi, in a lawsuit they filed to prevent the use of electronic voting machines in the Arizona election. The Lake Campaign said this is a message to those who lose an election not to take their case to court.
“This case is not about money or gain. It was essentially a public interest lawsuit seeking electoral integrity. It is very very rare to sanction a party in public interest suits,” said the Lake Campaign in a statement shared with the Arizona Sun Times. “All in all this reads like an angry Obama appointee who wants to send a message. The message is if you lose shut up and don’t come to court. The message is not that you lost a case or acted in bad faith.”
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Arizona Attorney Tim La Sota has filed an Election Contest lawsuit against Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, alleging some votes cast in the State Senate race for Legislative District (LD) 22 were “overvoted.”
“The votes must be properly tabulated, and that may result in a different eligible candidate receiving the highest number of lawful votes. Immediate judicial intervention is necessary to secure the accuracy of the results of the November 8, 2022 general election, and to ensure that candidate who received the highest number of lawful votes is declared the next State Senator from legislative district 22,” according to the lawsuit.
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Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake released an update Monday telling her followers that she is not backing away from her fight for the governor’s office and election reform in the state.
“While we come together on this unifying issue of restoring honesty to our elections, rest assured, Arizona, nothing will stop me from putting everything I have into reforming elections here in Arizona and in America,” Lake said.
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Abe Hamadeh, the Republican Nominee for Attorney, has said he wants to see every vote cast in the Arizona 2022 General Election and filed a lawsuit against the State of Arizona to ensure that happens.
“Errors in our elections shouldn’t be treated as trivial. I want every legal voter who showed up on Election Day to have their voice heard – regardless how they voted,” Hamadeh said.
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Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake said Wednesday that she sued Maricopa County to force it to release documents about voting irregularities in the midterms, a prelude to a larger legal challenge where she’s planning to challenge the election results.
“Every single rule was pretty much broken when it came to Election Day voting where they punish the people who chose to show up on Election Day,” Lake said on the Wednesday edition of the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. “So we filed this lawsuit in court today asking the county to cough up some of the public documentation we need for our bigger lawsuit.”
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Prominent left-wing lawyer Marc Elias, creator of the progressive media outlet Democracy Docket, praised Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) for accepting the results of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race.
“Amen, Governor, amen,” said Elias.
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Republican Attorney General nominee Abe Hamadeh, along with the Republican National Committee, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against his Democrat opponent Kris Mayes and the counties of Arizona, alleging that errors in the 2022 General Election should prevent a winner from being named in this race.
“Arizonans demand answers and deserve transparency about the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the General Election by certain election officials. I will not stop fighting until ALL voters receive justice. See you in court,” Hamadeh tweeted when announcing the suit.
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The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Texas-based True the Votes’ Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips by vacating a contempt order filed against them by a district court.
“Catherine and Gregg offer their profound gratitude to the Fifth Circuit’s vindication and are committed more strongly than ever to defending the integrity of American elections,” according to a statement from True the Vote.
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