Tag Archives: DOJ

In a stunning announcement, today Attorney General Eric Holder declared that the federal government will no longer defend Section 3 of DOMA in court. Here is an excerpt from Holder’s statement. After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual …

From the New York Times editorial board. The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is indefensible — officially sanctioned discrimination against one group of Americans imposed during an election year. President Obama seems to know that, or at least he has called on Congress to repeal it. So why do his government’s lawyers continue to defend the act in court? [snip] …

CNN is reporting today that the FCC has approved the merger between cable giant Comcast and NBC-Universal. CNET explains: The $37 billion merger between the companies has been a long time coming. The deal, which was first announced in 2009, provides Comcast with a 51 percent controlling stake in NBC Universal. General Electric will retain the remaining 49 percent. When …

“Apparently, the administration is so fixated on making the homosexual community happy that it’s not even working to uphold what’s best for kids. In this instance, the Justice Department seems to imply that by doing their job they’re somehow doing America a favor. Hardly! Defending the law is DOJ’s whole reason for existence. So while the President may have strong …

“The DOJ brief amounts to collusive litigation, failing to even offer to the court, much less vigorously defend, the reasons Congress laid out in the statute when it passed DOMA, especially responsible procreation. This is an attack not only on marriage, but on the prerogatives of Congress. The Executive branch should not attempt to exercise this kind of retroactive line-item …

The Department of Justice yesterday filed its defense of the overturn of Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act, which was ruled unconstitutional last July in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Massachusetts v. United States. A quote from the government’s brief comes via Chris Geidner at Metro Weekly: DOMA is supported by rationales that constitute a sufficient …

The Department of Justice has filed a brief announcing their intent to appeal the reinstatement of Major Margaret Witt, whose DADT-related discharge was overturned by a federal court in September. Chris Geidner reports at Metro Weekly: With today’s filing, DOJ stated in a docketing statement required to be filed with the Notice of Appeal that the principal issue to be …

Today the Department of Justice filed a brief in opposition to the Log Cabin Republicans’ request that the U.S. Supreme Court hear the LCR’s appeal of the Ninth Circuit Court’s indefinite stay on the overturn of DADT. Whew! Got all that? The Log Cabin Republicans respond to this latest bit of legal ping-pong. “It is unfortunate the Obama Justice Department …

In a suckily timed Election Eve ruling, late this afternoon the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals indefinitely extended their stay on the overturn of DADT. In an eight-page order, the judges said they were persuaded by the Department of Justice’s argument that U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips’ worldwide injunction against the 1993 policy “will seriously disrupt ongoing and determined …

Read the entire brief here (PDF). Lambda Legal has filed an amicus brief in support of the LCR. And so has Servicemembers United: “Servicemembers United used the opportunity to submit a ‘Friend of the Court’ brief to advance the argument that our members, our organization, and the American public would be irreparably harmed if the stay is kept in place,” …

I think it’s time for a cage match!

Wonk Room provides the transcript: You know what, the Justice Department is required to defend the law of the land. Believe me, we wish there were another way because the President has been so clear. And I think there are many members of the gay community who actually understand this and who are working with us to try to put …

Today the Pentagon is expected to issue another set of DADT guidelines in the wake of yesterday’s stay of Judge Virginia Phillips’ injunction. Defense Department spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Thursday that he expects the guidelines be announced later in the day. An injunction last week barring the military from following the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law prompted the Pentagon …

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the DOJ’s emergency request for a temporary stay on Judge Virginia Phillips’ order to stop enforcing DADT. Via Chris Geidner at Metro Weekly, here’s the brief ruling. This court has received appellant’s emergency motion to stay the district court’s October 12, 2010 order pending appeal. The order is stayed temporarily in order …

Politico just reported that the Department of Justice has filed their appeal (of Judge Phillip’s denial of their request to stay her DADT injunction) with the Ninth Circuit Court. This was expected, of course. I’ve posted the brief on my Scribd account, bloggers feel free to grab it.

Breaking via numerous Twitter observers is word that Judge Virginia Phillips has denied the Justice Department’s request for a stay on her injunction against enforcing DADT. The DOJ will now rush their appeal over to the Ninth Circuit Court. REACTIONS National Gay & Lesbian Task Force “Judge Phillips again rejected the government’s bunk that it’s necessary this discriminatory policy remain …

The Pentagon today told armed services recruiters to begin accepting openly gay men and women into the military. Spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said Tuesday that top-level guidance has been issued to recruiting commands informing them that the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule has been suspended for now. Recruiters also have been told to inform potential recruits that the moratorium could …

The federal judge who last week ordered an end to DADT gave indications today that she will not approve the DOJ’s request for a stay on her ruling. A federal judge said on Monday that she is inclined to deny a government request to delay her order that immediately stopped the military from enforcing its ban on openly gay service …