Supreme Court Gets it Right for Once!

AP/ACLU

Savanna Redding talks to the media in Safford, Ariz., in this March 2009 photo provided by the ACLU.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a school's strip search of an Arizona teenage girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen was illegal.

The court ruled on Thursday that school officials violated the law with their search of Savana Redding, who lives in Safford, in rural eastern Arizona.

Redding, who now attends college, was 13 when officials at Safford Middle School ordered her to remove her clothes and shake out her underwear because they were looking for pills. The district bans prescription and over-the-counter drugs and the school was acting on a tip from another student.

Ibuprofen is an over-the-counter pain reliever sold commonly as such brands like Advil and Motrin.

The high court, however, said the officials cannot be held liable in a lawsuit for the search. The justices also said the lower courts would have to determine whether the school district could be held liable.

A schoolmate had accused Redding, then an eighth-grade student, of giving her pills.

The school's vice principal, Kerry Wilson, took Redding to his office to search her backpack. When nothing was found, Redding was taken to a nurse's office where she says she was ordered to take off her shirt and pants. Redding said they then told her to move her bra to the side and to stretch her underwear waistband, exposing her breasts and pelvic area. No pills were found.

A federal magistrate dismissed a suit by Redding and her mother, April. An appeals panel agreed that the search didn't violate her rights. But last July, a full panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the search was "an invasion of constitutional rights" and that Wilson could be found personally liable.

The case is Safford Unified School District v. April Redding, 08-479.

10 Thoughts on the Role of the Bible in America

Pastor Bill Shuler Capital Life Church, Arlington, VA This past week a nation took notice when a San Diego couple was ordered to stop holding Bible studies in their home without a permit. (The order was rescinded after public outrage.) In an unrelated story, a U.S. Court in Pennsylvania ruled that the Bible could not be read during a show and tell time when a kindergartner brought what he described as his, “favorite book” to class. Is it possible that a nation that has such a rich history of going to the Scriptures for guidance now is in the process of turning its back on the same? The following are 10 thoughts on the role of the Bible in America: 1. In a review of nearly 15,000 items written by our founding fathers, the Bible was the most quoted of any source material. 2. George Washington and successive U.S. Presidents have been sworn into office placing their hands on the very book that is now unwelcome in many public schools. 3. “The Bible is worth more than all other books which have ever been printed” — Patrick Henry 4. “The Bible is the best book in the world” – John Adams 5. If the Bible is “just a book,” it should not be uniquely excluded. 6. If the Bible is more than “just a book,” it is to our folly to exclude it. 7. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” — The Bill of Rights 8. “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education” — Theodore Roosevelt 9. “We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the republic.” — Franklin Roosevelt 10. “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has given to man” – Abraham Lincoln As Ronald Reagan is honored with a statue in the Capitol Rotunda, I think of the Congressional Proclamation he applauded, signed and implemented, declaring 1983 as a national “Year of the Bible.” Here’s the text: Whereas the Bible, the Word of God, has made a unique contribution in shaping the United States as a distinctive and blessed nation and people; Whereas deeply held religious convictions springing from the Holy Scriptures led to the early settlement of our Nation; Whereas Biblical teachings inspired concepts of civil government that are contained in our Declaration of Independence and the constitution of the United States; Whereas many of our great national leaders—among them Presidents Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, and Wilson—paid tribute to the surpassing influence of the Bible in our country’s development, as the words of President Jackson that the Bible is “the rock on which our Republic rests”; Whereas the history of our Nation clearly illustrates the value of voluntarily applying the teachings of the Scriptures in the lives of individuals, families, and societies; Whereas this Nation now faces great challenges that will test this Nation as it has never been tested before; and Whereas that renewing our knowledge of and faith in God through Holy Scripture can strengthen us as a nation and a people: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President is authorized and requested to designate 1983 as a national “Year of the Bible” in recognition of both the formative influence the Bible has been for our Nation, and our national need to study and apply the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.

WAUSAU, Wis. — A jury Friday found a central Wisconsin mother guilty of killing her 11-year-old daughter by praying for her to heal instead of rushing her to the doctor.

A Marathon County jury deliberated about four hours before convicting Leilani Neumann, 41, of rural Weston, of second-degree reckless homicide. No sentencing date was set. Neumann remains free on bond.

"We have another shot on appeal," defense lawyer Gene Linehan said. "Obviously, there will be an appeal."

Neumann left the courtroom clutching her husband as her three other children, looking stunned, followed. She declined comment.

Neumann's daughter, Madeline, died of untreated diabetes March 23, 2008, surrounded by people praying for her. When she suddenly stopped breathing, her parents' business and Bible study partners finally called 911.

Prosecutors contend a reasonable parent would have known something was gravely wrong with Madeline and her mother recklessly killed her by ignoring obvious symptoms of how gravely ill she was. During closing arguments, Marathon County District Attorney Jill Falstad described Neumann as a religious zealot who let her daughter, known by the nickname Kara, die as a test of faith.

"Religious extremism can be dangerous," Marathon County District Attorney Jill Falstad said. "In this case, it was fatal. Basic medical care would have saved Kara's life — fluids and insulin. There was plenty of time to save Kara's life."

Linehan countered, saying Neumann didn't realize her daughter was so ill and did all she could do to help, in line with the family's belief in faith-healing.

He said Neumann was a devout Christian who prays about everything and took good care of her four children.

"Religious extremism is a Muslim terrorist," Linehan said. "They are saying these parents were so far off the scale that they murdered their child. The woman did everything she could to help her. That is the injustice in this case."

Neumann's stepfather, Brian Gordon of San Diego, said he was disappointed by the verdict and the jury was mistaken. He said his stepdaughter did nothing wrong in trusting in God to heal her daughter.

"We should have that right in this country," he said.

There will be a vigorous appeal and an investigation of possible prosecutorial misconduct, the stepfather said. "I don't care how far we have to carry this. There will be vindication and exoneration."

Gordon also said he was angered by Falstad's description of his family as religious extremists.

"We definitely are not terrorists," he said. "We are Bible-believing, God-believing, Holy Ghost-filled people who want to do right and be right."

Falstad declined to comment after the verdict because Madeline's father, Dale Neumann, faces the same charge and is scheduled to stand trial in July.

Jurors also declined to talk with reporters.

Neumann showed no reaction when the verdict was read. Before the jury took the case, she and her husband clutched each other and silently prayed with another man. Then she went to each of her other children sitting on a front-row courtroom bench and kissed them on the cheek.

She faces up to 25 years in prison.

25 years in prison. That's what Tiller the abortion "doctor" should have received, instead of being released to kill again...

Could This Happen in Boonville?

Activist Judge Orders Homeschool Mother to Put Kids in Public School
by Christian News Staff
March 23, 2009

RALEIGH, NC, (christiansunite.com) -- Venessa Mills is fighting a legal battle for the heart and soul of homeschooling in North Carolina. As reported on World Net Daily, on Friday, March 6, Judge Ned W. Mangum stripped her of the right to homeschool, and ordered her three children to enter public school.
Mills was forced to defend her right to homeschool during divorce proceedings brought on by her husband's unfaithfulness. Mr. Mills admitted, under oath, to repeatedly committing adultery. Even with abundant evidence showing the Mills children are well adjusted and well educated, Judge Mangum ruled overwhelmingly against Mrs. Mills on every point. He stated the children would do better in public school despite the fact that they are currently at or beyond their grade level. Evidence showed two children tested several grades ahead.
When issuing his verdict Judge Mangum stated his decision was not ideologically or religiously motivated. However, he told Mrs. Mills public school will "challenge the ideas you've taught them."
What has emerged is a picture of a clearly liberal judge imposing his beliefs and striking down traditional values. Mangum, a Democrat appointee, disregarded the facts of the case in favor of his own agenda. Such anti-conservative prejudice is increasingly legislated from the bench, and appears to be encouraged by the Democratic Obama administration.
Robyn Williams, friend and homeschool mother of four was present at the proceeding. "I have never seen such injustice and such a direct attack against homeschooling," said Williams. "This judge clearly took personal issue with Venessa's stance on education and faith, even though her children are doing great. If her right to homeschool can be taken away so easily, what will this mean for homeschoolers state wide, or even nationally?"
On March 24th lawmakers in North Carolina will be reminded of the sheer numbers of homeschoolers in their state. As students and their parents descend on the capitol, organizers of the Capital Fest 2009 field trip will show they have a voice in North Carolina legislation regarding education.
Williams is rallying homeschoolers from across the nation to fight back to defend their rights as Americans to educate their children. She feels the judge has been given a free hand to impose his personal opinions and needs to reexamine his decisions. Please subscribe to Robyn's blog and join the fight for protecting everyone's homeschool rights ( www.HSinjustice.com).

This looks like another case of an activist judge imposing his own beliefs on the judiciary process.Parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children, not the state.
I guess he needs to re-read the constitution, if he ever did in the first place. As Wesleyans, we have a history of using ballot and boycott...What's stopping us now?...After all, Paul tells us in Galations,"It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good..."Galations 4:18 NIV

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist; And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist; And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew; And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up." …Martin Niemoller

God bless...keith 1 Cor 13