Tag: appeals

Appeals court backs N.C. attorney general in battle to avoid criminal libel prosecution

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Freeman, O’Neill and Stein are all Democrats.
At Stein’s request, U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles briefly blocked any prosecution, but she later withdrew the temporary order and allowed the prosecution to proceed. Stein appealed to the 4th Circuit, which granted an injunction pending appeal and in the new ruling said Eagles erred when she turned down Stein’s request to block the prosecution.
Criminal libel prosecutions in the U.S. are almost unheard of in recent decades, but Freeman’s office argued that a 1964 Supreme Court decision upholding a similar Louisiana statute has never been overturned by the high court and remains good law. However, the unanimous three-judge appeals court panel said the North Carolina statute is constitutionally suspect because it appears to ban some truthful statements and because it imposes greater limits on speech related to political campaigns than on other topics.
“Under this law, prosecutors need never show—or even allege—a ‘derogatory’ statement was false so long as they contend the speaker acted with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity,” Judge Toby Heytens wrote in a 15-page opinion joined by Judges Albert Diaz and Allison Rushing. “Nothing more is needed to show this Act is likely unconstitutional.”
Heytens is the appeals court’s newest judge and an appointee of President Joe Biden. Diaz was appointed by President Bill Clinton and Rushing is an appointee of President Donald Trump.
Freeman, the Wake County district attorney, argued that North Carolina courts would interpret derogatory to mean false and that the chance of a prosecutor seeking to apply the law against reckless but truthful statements was remote, but the appeals court disagreed.
The appeals judges also said the statute’s focus on political speech was problematic. “The Act’s careful limitation to only a subset of derogatory statements to which elected officials may be particularly hostile—those harmful to their own political prospects—raises the ‘possibility that official suppression of ideas is afoot,’” Heytens wrote, quoting another Supreme Court precedent.
The appeals court ordered the case returned to Eagles for further action, instructing her to consider other factors related to a preliminary injunction against prosecution of Stein and others. But the 4th Circuit’s declaration that the underlying law is probably unconstitutional makes it highly likely the lower court will now block it, unless Freeman agrees to halt any enforcement.

Freeman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
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#Appeals #court #backs #N.C #attorney #general #battle #avoid #criminal #libel #prosecution
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 8, 2023
J&K: Spare poor from encroachment drives, appeals Ghulam Nabi Azad

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Srinagar: Democratic Azad Party (DAP) chief Ghulam Nabi Azad Saturday demanded a formal order from the Raj Bhavan to spare the poor in the ongoing anti-encroachment drive.
He also announced his party was putting on hold its proposed UT-wide agitation against evictions as he has been given assurances the poor will not be evicted.
“I met Union Home minister Amit Shah and requested him that poor people should not be evicted from their houses, or poor shopkeepers from their shops through which they earn their livelihoods. The J-K LG has also given a statement that the poor will be spared. So, we have decided to postpone our agitation on their assurances,” Azad said, addressing his party workers at Sonwar here.
Since the eviction notice came, many political parties issued statements but none came out on the roads to protest. “I am proud of my party and my party colleagues that they protested across J-K.”
Earlier in the day, his party members took out a protest march from the party office at Sonwar and blocked the main road near Sonwar Chowk. They demanded a rollback of the eviction order.
Welcoming the statement by J-K LG, Azad said it cannot be any government’s policy to make its own people homeless. “Most of these people are poor. There are 50-60 lakh households, which is half of our population. It cannot be a policy of any government to make people homeless,” the former Congress general secretary said.
He said conflicting statements by the J-K administration have created confusion, and therefore the Raj Bhavan should issue a formal order making it clear that poor people and small shopkeepers will not be evicted.
“A written order from the Raj Bhavan should be issued which notifies how much land a person should have under his possession which can be spared. I think 99 percent of the people will come under that ambit,” he added.

He said lakhs of canals of land are illegally occupied in cities like Mumbai and Delhi, and the government provides them electricity, water, roads, schools, and hospitals.
Whichever party is in power be it Congress, or the BJP, or the AAP, their biggest poll promise is regularisation of such land, he said.
“If it can happen to the costliest land in the country, then why not in J-K, the former J-K chief minister said.
The DAP chairman said his party was not in favor of the illegal occupation of government land by rich and influential people. But there should not pick and choose while dealing with the big fishes, he said, adding, influential people from any political party, “even from mine”, should not be spared.
He said some people with as little as one or two marlas of land have also got notices. “Such people have small shops on that to sustain their life. They are not businessmen like Ambani or Adani.”
“I respect both of them as they have played a role in the country’s economy, in giving employment. I took their names only to make a point that there are no businessmen like them. We have very small businessmen who earn their livelihood for their sustenance,” he said.
He said this government has done a lot of good things, but “I do not understand, why they are trying to put water, through the land issue, over their good deeds”.
Asked about a reported J-K chief secretary directive to officers to check if anybody making negative statements on the anti-encroachment drive has himself or herself encroached upon government land, Azad said no one can be stopped from making any statements in a democracy.
“No one can suppress the voice of the people,” he added.
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#Spare #poor #encroachment #drives #appeals #Ghulam #Nabi #Azad
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 4, 2023
Federal appeals court strikes down domestic violence gun law

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But then last year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a new ruling in a case known as New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. That case set new standards for interpreting the Second Amendment by saying the government had to justify gun control laws by showing they are “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
The appeals court withdrew its original decision and on Thursday decided to vacate the man’s conviction and ruled the federal law banning people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from owning guns was unconstitutional.
Specifically, the court ruled that the federal law was an “outlier that our ancestors would never have accepted” — borrowing a quote from the Bruen decision.
The decision came from a three-judge panel consisting of Judges Cory Wilson, James Ho and Edith Jones. Wilson and Ho were nominated by former Republican President Donald Trump, while Jones was nominated by former Republican President Ronald Reagan.
The U.S. Justice Department Thursday night issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland following the decision: “Nearly 30 years ago, Congress determined that a person who is subject to a court order that restrains him or her from threatening an intimate partner or child cannot lawfully possess a firearm. Whether analyzed through the lens of Supreme Court precedent, or of the text, history, and tradition of the Second Amendment, that statute is constitutional. Accordingly, the Department will seek further review of the Fifth Circuit’s contrary decision.”
Thursday’s ruling overturned the federal law and is not likely to impact similar state laws, including one in California. Still, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, called the judges who issued the ruling “zealots” who are “hellbent on a deranged vision of guns for all, leaving government powerless to protect its people.”
“This is what the ultra-conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court wants. It’s happening, and it’s happening right now,” Newsom said. “Wake up America — this assault on our safety will only accelerate.”
Chuck Michel, president of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, said the problem with laws like the one the federal appeals court struck down is that they are too broad and don’t take into account the details of each case.

He offered as an example a client of his whose neighbor filed a restraining order against them because they had pointed a security camera on their property.
“They lost their gun rights,” he said. “When they do a blanket prohibition without considering individualized circumstances, they shoot the dogs with the wolves.”
Thursday’s ruling demonstrates the far-reaching impacts of the Bruen decision. In California, the decision has prompted lawmakers to overhaul their law regarding permits to carry concealed weapons.
Wednesday, Newsom endorsed a bill in the state Legislature that would ban people from carrying concealed guns in nearly all public places, with an exception for churches and businesses who put up a sign saying guns are OK.
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#Federal #appeals #court #strikes #domestic #violence #gun #law
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 3, 2023
UNOCHA appeals for $502m in humanitarian aid for over 1.6M Palestinians

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The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (UNOCHA) launched a humanitarian appeal to raise 502 million dollars to support more than 1.6 million Palestinians in the occupied territories.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Thursday said, “The 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan estimates that 2.1 million Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory are in need of humanitarian assistance.”
It stated that they represent 58 per cent of the population in Gaza and a quarter of the Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank.
According to the UNOCHA, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan consists of more than 200 projects to help people access services, including food, water, healthcare, education and support to improve their mental and physical health.
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#UNOCHA #appeals #502m #humanitarian #aid #1.6M #Palestinians
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
Nitish Kumar appeals to Rajput community to unite in favour of JD-U

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Patna: Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday appealed to the people of Rajput community to become united in favour of his JD-U.
He made the appeal at an event titled ‘Swabhiman Diwas’, organised on the death anniversary of Maharana Pratap, by his party at the Milar high school ground here. The upper caste Rajputs are considered core voters of the BJP and Nitish Kumar is seeking to make inroads in the community. He is also challenging ally RJD which is claiming to be “A to Z” party, rather than just depending on its core Muslim and Yadav supporters.
The JD-U has welcomed the guests in a grand style offering chicken and rice apart from other foods for them.
During the occasion, over 50,000 people of the Rajput community assembled at the place from across the state. During the occasion, they demanded the release of Bahubali leader Anand Mohan who is serving a life term in Saharsa jail for murder of then Gopalganj DM G. Krishnayya.
Reacting to the demand, Nitish Kumar, from the stage, informed them that he has been making an effort in this regard and Anand Mohan’s wife Lovely Anand is well aware of this. He asked them to contact her about it.
“We are giving respect to the people of the Rajput community since Samata Party. We have sent many Rajput leaders to Vidhan Parishad and Rajya Sabha apart from giving tickets for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. We have recently established the statue of Maharana Pratap in the heart of the city,” Nitish Kumar said.
Besides Nitish Kumar, every JD-U leader including Lalan Singh, Vashistha Narayan Singh, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Ashok Chaudhary, Sanjay Jha, Sumit Singh, Lesi Singh, Neeraj Kumar and many other leaders were present in the event.
The event was organised by JD-U MLC Sanjay Singh, who demanded a film city in the name of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput in Bihar and a medical college in the name of Maharana Pratap.

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#Nitish #Kumar #appeals #Rajput #community #unite #favour #JDU
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 23, 2023