Orchard fights to keep its signs.
Byline: Debbie LaPlaca CHARLTON - The owners of Charlton Orchards made an emotional appeal to selectmen Tuesday for relief from a town zoning enforcement order to remove business signs posted at intersections around town. The 94-acre Charlton Orchards Farm, at 44 Old Worcester Road, was...

Champion family: a single-parent household overcomes obstacles to demonstrate the power of family, faith, and academic freedom.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On February 28 of this year, California's 2nd Appellate Court in Los Angeles ruled that home schooling is illegal in California unless done by a certified teacher, and that parents do not have a constitutional right to home-school their children. Although the court was only...

Court upholds ruling against council member's Jesus-specific prayers.
In a decision hailed by supporters as a victory for the separation of church and state, a federal appeals court upheld a Fredericksburg, Virginia, policy that restricts praying "in Jesus' name" at city council meetings. City council member Hashmel Turner, who is a part-time Baptist minister, claimed...

A Christian college in Colorado that requires students to attend chapel and staff to affirm that the Bible is "infallible" should be allowed to receive state scholarship funds, the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has ruled.
* A Christian college in Colorado that requires students to attend chapel and staff to affirm that the Bible is "infallible" should be allowed to receive state scholarship funds, the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has ruled. The decision overturned a 2007 lower-court ruling that found...

Their Day in Court: Boumediene was a flawed decision--but right.
THE JUNE 12 Boumediene v. Bush Supreme Court opinion is in many ways a bad decision but probably a necessary one. Angered over the prospect that habeas corpus protections now apply constitutionally to detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Senator McCain called it "one of the worst decisions in the history...

Severe restriction on home schooling in California averted.
A California appeals court on August 8 reversed its earlier decision placing severe restrictions on home schooling in California. If allowed to stand, the earlier decision would have virtually eliminated home schooling in California. The new opinion, entitled Jonathan L. v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles...

No smoking, period.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Smoking by an actor on stage is still banned by the state's indoor smoking law, even if it is important to the character, ruled a Colorado appeals court. "Smoking, by itself, is not sufficiently expressive to qualify for First Amendment protection," ruled the three-member court,...

C R Bard wins patent case against W L Gore.
A US District Court ruled in favour of C R Bard Inc in its fight against W L Gore & Associates concerning patent infringement. The court ruling follows a previous jury judgement that Gore infringed Bard's patent through the sale of Gore's ePTFE vascular grafts and stent-grafts....

Map's expiration doesn't force new environmental study, court rules.
A proposed subdivision that undergoes environmental review and receives approval does not become a new project for California Environmental Quality Act purposes merely because the local government's approval expires and a new subdivision map is submitted, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled. "[E]xpiration of the...

Coastal Commission in-lieu fee for loss of recreation upheld.
An unusual Coastal Commission mitigation fee to offset the impact of a private seawall has been upheld by the Sixth District Court of Appeal, which rejected arguments that the fee was unconstitutional, was prohibited by the Coastal Act and was the result of post hoc rationalization. The...