#8th Circuit Court

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Chris Geidner at Law Dork:

On Friday afternoon, a federal appeals court blocked the Biden administration from doing almost anything to provide student loan relief to those people nationwide whose loans are currently in income-contingent repayment plans. It was the third appeals court ruling relating to the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, program — and followed a June 30 order from a different appeals court that would have allowed the program to go into effect. Friday’s order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is the first of those appellate orders addressing the SAVE program that contained any substantive discussion of the effort. With the ruling, seven Republican-led states succeeded in getting a three-judge panel of all Republican appointees on a federal appeals court that only has one Democratic appointee to issue a nationwide injunction blocking the SAVE program. More than that, the injunction goes even further — blocking any similar relief, regardless of whether it is issued under the rule creating the SAVE program or otherwise.

The per curiam order issuing an injunction pending appeal, unsigned and with its grand total of eight pages of substance, was issued for Judge Raymond Gruender, a George W. Bush appointee, and Judges Ralph Erickson and Steven Grasz, Trump appointees. The ruling caused significant confusion coming a day or two after many borrowers across the country received word that their loans had been placed into forbearance following an earlier order from the same court in mid-July. Although the covered loans are not accruing interest during this time, according to the Education Department, the months the loans are in forbearance will not court toward borrowers’ Public Service Loan Forgiveness or income-driven repayment loan forgiveness time. Neither the Justice Department nor Education Department provided comment on Friday’s ruling or next steps in its immediate aftermath. The bottom line, though, is that the SAVE plan is blocked currently — and that this is not the final word.

Right-wing judicial activists on the 8th Circuit Court blocked the SAVE program from going forward.

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[woolandcoffee]

I'm reading this truly awful court decision right now, and the contempt with which the judge is speaking about a group of plaintiffs that represented farm workers who were concerned about links discovered between a widely used pesticide and neuro-developmental damage in their children is truly nauseating.

[aanews69]

Entregamos historias. También te damos guías, consejos y trucos sobre cómo crear el tuyo propio. Este canal está dedicado a cosas aleatorias que pasan por nu...

[leclerdelune]

Macau GP 70th Anniversary

YOU. YEAH YOU READING THIS. This is me trying to pursued you to go watch the Macau GP this weekend. This track is historic and legendary. And one of the most fun and dangerous street circuits (imo) with tight corners and varying elevations. It is still the oldest (active) street circuit that still holds F3 (+other races) and isn't part of the F1 World Championship (the other being New Zealand🤝)

Since it’s the 70th anniversary and they are holding two wholeass race weekends with a BANGER entry list this year (full list at the end of the post), so why not take a trip down memory lane and talk about some iconic races and drivers throughout the years. [LONG POST, just saying][Also, surprises underneath]

Macau Grand Prix, Guia Circuit (or Circuito da Guia)—a circuit that spans 6.120km, with different elevations over 30 meters top to bottom (in non-metric terms: 2 small pine trees, or 2 volleyball courts for all non-metric people out there👍). Top speed: 260km/h for an F3 car, which is already a handful. This circuit has had little to no changes since the beginning of its grand opening. While this track serves as a stepping stone for drivers, it remains an independent circuit and race of its own. Though still having an affiliate with the FIA.

Although the first race event began in 1954, they didn’t introduce F3 until 1983. Which they had a strong start for F3 with the likes of Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger, respectively taking first and third place.

A few years later; Eddie Irvine, Damon Hill, Jean Alesi also left their marks on this race track.

But the most iconic moment came in 1990. The battle of Schumacher vs Hakkinen. The beginning of their motor rivalry.

Schumi took first place while Mika unfortunately crashed out at the back of Schumi’s car.

Jenson Button (a literal child) in 1999, second place. God works hard but those mechanics work even harder

In 2003-2004, both Lewis and Nico took part, whilst Lewis took pole and they both showed great results in qualifying. Neither of them went on to podium in both years.

2005: baby Seb starting to shine through and took third at the main race, just behind Kubica

They put a baby in a fast car

2009: Daniel, Valtteri, and Jules took the challenge. Jules started near the back end of the grid but was steady racing and finished 10th. Valtteri started 4th, had the opportunity to be on podium until he got a puncture on the last lap that saw him finish fifth. Daniel-not the best start- clipped the wall and punctured his left rear, carried on a little bit more until he crashed out of the race :( can’t find any video cuz apparently no one cared enough about 2009

2011: Valtteri’s third year in a row; the previous got him third place but this one he retired the car on lap 4 due to an accident. Kmag, da Costa, Carlos participated but all in all, half the grid retired in the end.

Pre-mustache Bottas and baby redbull Carlos

Bloop! 2014: a wild baby Max appears! Boy had good results in qualifying, placing him third, but in the quali race he lost control and crashed. Main race-7th. Nick Cassidy, Nicki Latifi, Antonio Giovinazzi, Alex Palou finished 3rd, 5th, 12th and 16th. Unfortunately, Antonio Fuoco and Estie Bestie retired :(

Yes, Max did get the fastest lap

2015: Everybody’s favourite! Charles Leclerc has entered the ring. Charlie’s aggressive attack led him to second place and on that podium. Giovinazzi-4th, Lance Stroll-8th, Nick Cassidy-12th and following close behind, my boy, Alexander Albon-13th

The race was that good even FIA had to post it on their channel lol

The infamous onboard camera

2016: we see the introduction of George Russell, Landon Norris, Callum Ilott, Guanyu Zhou and Ticktum (But we’re not gonna talk about him🤭). It was an okay race, António Félix da Costa took first (came 9th in the recent WEC👏) and Nikita crashed.

That year gave us baby Lando and baby George who took his first pole *surprise🎉*

2017: A fucking great racing year, Lando came second due to Habsburg and Sette Câmara crashing out in the final corner. It’s Mick’s first year, though not the best result but did manage to snatch the fastest lap 💨

2018: it was a scary ass race and I remember standing in front of the TV just watching this. Lisboa corner is famously know for a lot of accidents, Sophia Flörsch made contact with another that send her airborne and crashed into the barriers and fractured her vertebrae. Final standing: Mick-5th, Ilott-7th, Schwartzman-9th, Zhou-11th, Vesti-15th

I’m not gonna post the video, you can go look it up if you’re interested

2019: a lot more familiar faces: Richard Verschoor, Jüri Vips (yeah that one), Logan Sargeant, Callum Ilott came back for another year, Liam Lawson with his bestie Yuki Tsunoda, Enzo Fittipaldi, Max Fewtrell🫡, David Schumacher, Felipe Drugovich, Schwartzman’s second attempt and Sophia Flörsch

3 years of absence and we are back! 2023!

This year there’s two whole weekends, from 11-12th November and 16-19th November. And they’ve a banger list of drivers like Bianca Bustamante for F4 and Richard Verschoor taking another stab at it.

Macau F4 race is happening on the 11-12th:

F4 is happening the week after on 16-19th

The FIA is streaming F3 on the YouTube channel (streaming f3 not f4🥲…go watch motor gp too it’s on the same day) but you could probably watch it on other streaming platforms too (you know the ones👀👀)

If you haven’t seen the Macau GP before…give it a go! It’s brilliant!

*side note: if Fernando or Lewis ever retires from f1 and have nothing else to do…I’d like to see them tackle this track (again for Lewis) maybe not f3, maybe something like GT cup or something. It would be verrrry interesting👀

[beardedmrbean]

Minnesota's law that bans people ages 18 to 20 from getting permits to carry guns in public is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, affirming a lower court decision that concluded the Second Amendment guarantees the rights of young adults to bear arms for self-defense.

"Minnesota has not met its burden to proffer sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption that 18 to 20-year-olds seeking to carry handguns in public for self defense are protected by the right to keep and bear arms," the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.

The three-judge panel cited a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that expanded gun rights in 2022 and a major decision last month that upheld a federal gun control law that is intended to protect victims of domestic violence.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez reluctantly struck down the Minnesota law in March of 2023 but granted the state's emergency motion for a stay, keeping the ban in place until the state's appeal could be resolved. Her ruling was an example of how the 2022 Supreme Court case, known as the Bruen decision, upended gun laws nationwide, dividing courts and sowing confusion over what restrictions can remain in force.

The Bruen decision, which was the conservative-led high court's biggest gun ruling in more than a decade, held that Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. And it established a new test for evaluating challenges to gun restrictions, saying courts must now ask whether restrictions are consistent with the country's "historical tradition of firearm regulation."

Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office represented the state in the case, said he was "extremely disappointed" in the ruling.

"This epidemic of gun violence will continue unabated unless we do something about it," Ellison said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the Supreme Court's Bruen ruling made that far more difficult by opening the floodgates to litigation from gun advocacy groups looking to undo reasonable safety legislation.. ... The people of Minnesota want and deserve solutions that reduce shootings and improve public safety, and today's ruling only makes that more difficult."

The state argued to the appeals court that Second Amendment protections should not apply to 18 to-20-year-olds, even if they're law-abiding, because the states have always had the authority to regulate guns in the hands of irresponsible or dangerous groups of people. The state argued that people under the age of 21 aren't competent to make responsible decisions about guns, and that they pose a danger to themselves and others as a result.

But the appeals court said the plain text of the Second Amendment does not set an age limit, so ordinary, law-abiding young adults are presumed to be protected. And it said crime statistics provided by the state for the case don't justify a conclusion that 18 to 20-year-olds who are otherwise eligible for carry permits present an unacceptable risk of danger.

Rob Doar, senior vice president for government affairs of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, which sued to overturn the law, said people who hold carry permits are "overwhelmingly law-abiding." He said Minnesota 18 to-20-year-olds should be able to begin applying for carry permits effective immediately, assuming they meet the same legal requirements as other adults, which include training from a certified instructor and background checks.

Ellison noted that the ruling came down just three days after a 20-year-old in Pennsylvania shot and wounded former President Donald Trump with a gun purchased by his father. Pennsylvania requires applicants for permits to carry concealed firearms to be 21. Open carry is generally allowed everywhere in Pennsylvania except Philadelphia.

[circuitcourtentertainment]

Good morning! Have you ever wondered why Donkey Kong exists? Or why King Kong is only called Kong in the WB/Toho films? Or just where did he come from? Well listen to this week's podcast about the 8th wonder of the world, KING KONG.

[schraubd]

8th Circuit Reaffirms Constitutionality of Bans on Felons Bearing Arms

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has reaffirmed its earlier decision in United States v. Jackson, concluding that it is constitutional to prohibit felons from possessing firearms even if the felony they were convicted of was non-violent (the case was on remand following Rahimi). The court observed that there was ample evidence of historical precedent permitting disarmament of non-law abiding individuals even in absence of evidence they were "violent", as well as pointing to the Supreme Court's repeated insistence that its Heller/McDonald/Bruen line of cases repeatedly emphasized it was not disturbing longstanding prohibitions on felon disarmament laws. It also reiterated a point it made in its initial ruling: that while it may be the case that prohibiting gun ownership by non-violent offenders would fail the more traditional "means/ends" scrutiny that prevailed pre-Bruen (and in most other areas of constitutional law), Bruen flatly forecloses such "policy" analysis. Bruen does not care about a law's fairness any more than it cares about your due process rights. via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/wQL8IoY

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Chris Geidner at Law Dork:

A federal judge in North Dakota issued an injunction on Monday blocking the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from protecting any employees of any members of a nationwide Catholic association who are seeking time off or other accommodations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act for an abortion or in vitro fertilization treatment.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor, a Trump appointee to the federal court in North Dakota, issued the religion-infused preliminary injunction to partially block enforcement of an EEOC rule implementing the 2022 law, along with related implementation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as to the Catholic Benefits Association and its members — current or future — nationwide. The order covers more than 8,000 employers — including thousands of churches — across the country. The PWFA was passed in December 2022 and is supposed to protect covered workers from discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” by, in part, requiring employers to provide employees with reasonable accommodations. The EEOC proposed its implementing rule for the PWFA in August 2023, stating in part that abortion and fertility treatment, including IVF, are covered by the law’s protections. That rule, which does not relate to insurance coverage, went into effect in June.

“It is a precarious time for people of religious faith in America,” Traynor declared in the introduction to his 21-page opinion, criticizing “the repeated illegal and unconstitutional administrative actions against one of the founding principles of our country, the free exercise of religion.” Ultimately, Traynor concluded that happened again here, finding that the CBA is likely to succeed in its challenge to the rule and related Title VII enforcement guidance under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Any appeal would go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which only has one Democratic appointee among its 11 judges.

[...] Traynor sided with the Catholic employees — rejecting the EEOC’s arguments — on virtually all points, from standing to the underlying religious freedom claims to the scope of his eventual injunction. (Notably, Traynor gave little credit to the EEOC’s argument that “the Final Rule and Guidance acknowledge that employers may have RFRA defenses and commit to a fact-sensitive, case-by-case analysis.” Instead, he found that such an approach is not likely sufficient because the “burden of investigation and possible litigation” would remain.) The injunction is extremely broad, barring the EEOC from enforcing accommodations required under the PWFA rule relating to “abortion or infertility treatments,” along with guidance relating to “abortion, fertility treatments, or gender transition“ under Title VII, including recent workplace harassment guidance.

Trump-appointed judicial activist Daniel Traynor issued a nationwide injunction in Catholic Benefits Association v. Burrows that blocks the EEOC from protecting any employees of any Catholic Benefits Association members who are seeking time off or accommodations for abortion or IVF services.

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[whenweallvote]

In case you missed it, the Voting Rights Act is under attack, again.

Last week, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling from a lower court. If the Supreme Court were to agree with this decision, it would be a HUGE blow to the Voting Rights Act.

Swipe through to learn more then visit weall.vote/check to check your voter registration now.

[maswartz]

Once again, to those who say "What's Biden done for me" ask yourselves "who's stopping him"

[meret118]

Private individuals and groups, who did not represent the U.S. government, have for decades brought the majority of Section 2 cases to court. Those cases have challenged the redrawing of voting maps and other steps in the elections process with claims that the voting power of people of color has been minimized.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ruled in February 2022, however, that only the head of the Justice Department, the U.S. attorney general, can bring Section 2 lawsuits and dismissed an Arkansas redistricting case brought by advocacy groups representing Black voters in the state.

On Monday, that lower court ruling was upheld in a 2-1 vote by a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

[batboyblog]

An interesting run down on way anti-Trans laws are floptina Aguilera in Court.

currently a number of HRT bans for minors are working their way through courts, however, ONE from 2021 in Arkansas has worked its way all the way through district court and gives us a preview of what might happen to nearly identical laws passed in other states. Basically it did not go well for the transphobes.

The Judge in the case ruled that anti-trans HRT bans for minors violate the 14th Amendment in two different ways (Due Process, and Equal Protection) as well as the First Amendment's Free Speech protections, in short:

"The court, respectfully, tells the state to fuck off"

Now this case heads up to the  8th circuit court of appeals which covers Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Missouri, Minnesota, and South Dakota, if the 8th agrees with the district judge similar HRT bans will be overturned in 5 of those states.

[trukker94gurl]

[LIVE Q&A 11/21 at 10:30AM ET] Federal Court Issues Major Ruling on Election Integrity

[LIVE Q&A 11/21 at 10:30AM ET] Federal Court Issues Major Ruling on Election Integrity https://link.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/epochtv/federal-court-issues-major-ruling-on-election-integrity-5533063?utm_source=andshare

[hansilw]

BREAKING: An 8th Circuit panel of federal judges has struck down the main path for enforcing the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 protections for people of color, upholding a lower court ruling that says private individuals can’t bring lawsuits under the law