American Bar Association Responds to AG Sessions comments criticizing judges

Source: American Bar Association



Washington, D.C. - October 28, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- The American Bar Association is alarmed by the remarks made Thursday by Attorney General Jeff Sessions about federal judges, accusing those he disagrees with of ruling on policy preference and not the law.

Ironically, Sessions complains that judges are not respecting the separation of powers and the concept of co-equal branches of government while at the same time himself disregarding the constitutional independence of the judicial branch.

Sessions said that “some judges have failed to respect our representatives in Congress and failed to appropriately respect the prerogatives and perspectives of the executive branch.” The judiciary rules on matters based on the laws and the Constitution. Their oath is “to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” and not to protect “the prerogatives and perspectives” of the executive branch.

The courts are an important part of the justice system. While criticism of judicial decisions is a constitutionally protected right of every American and embedded in our tradition of free and open discussion about government, judges should not be attacked or diminished by another branch of government just because they do not rule in its favor. Judicial independence is critical to maintaining the rule of law in our nation.

Go to www.abalegalfactcheck.com for the ABA’s new feature that cites case and statutory law and other legal precedents to distinguish legal fact from fiction.

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary professional membership organizations in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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AG Sessions on Hawaii District Judge Remarks: ‘I Wasn’t Criticizing the Judge or the Island’

REP. HANABUSA HIGHLIGHTS NEW REPORT: 123,000 HAWAII FAMILIES FACE HIGHER TAXES UNDER THE PROPOSED GOP TAX PLAN

Source: Colleen Hanabusa, (D-HI, 1st)

Washington, D.C. - October 26, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Rep. Hanabusa shared a new report detailing the impact of the Ryan-McConnell tax plan on families across Hawaii. While 80 percent of the tax benefits in the GOP plan go to the wealthiest 1 percent alone, 123,000 hard-working Hawaii families would pay higher taxes.

According to the report, “199,685 households in Hawaii deduct state and local taxes, with an average deduction of $9,905.” The Ryan-McConnell tax plan eliminates this deduction.

“It concerns me that Republicans are pushing a tax plan that favors the wealthiest in our society at the expense of working families and individuals who live modestly in Hawaii and strive to save for retirement,” said Rep. Hanabusa. “The GOP is essentially asking middle class Hawaii families to pay more, while borrowing trillions from our children in order to benefit the wealthiest among us.”

The state-by-state report finds that under the Ryan-McConnell framework:

123,000 Hawaii households will pay higher taxes;

The average nationwide tax increase for families earning up to $86,100 would be $794;

199,685 Hawaii households will lose their State and Local Tax Deduction, with an average deduction of $9,905;

The mortgage interest payments deduction, claimed by 141,980 Hawaii households would become useless for many families unless their home was worth more than $801,000 – more than 1.5 times the median home value in Hawaii of $604,800.

The report also documents that the GOP tax plan “eliminates the personal exemption, which deducts $4,050 for each taxpayer and dependent on a return from taxable income. In Hawaii, 384,170 dependent exemptions were claimed in 2015.”

The report was compiled by the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.

Blumenthal Statement on Federal Court Blocking - Again - Trump Muslim Travel Ban

Source: Senator Richard Blumenthal - (D - CT)

Washington, D.C. - October 20, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement today after a federal judge blocked President Trump’s third attempt at a travel ban that would prevent visitors to the United States from several majority-Muslim countries.

“A federal judge has again saved our nation from a discriminatory, demagogic travel ban. The Trump ban is both unconstitutional and unconscionable. An independent judiciary has upheld American values as well as American law. Out of the welter of judicial rulings should emerge a simple truth: the Trump attempts to discriminate based on religion violate the spirit and letter of the American Constitution. Rather than again demeaning or denouncing American judges, the President should accept this ruling and rescind the order immediately.”

Read more about the travel ban at The Ponder News by clicking HERE

Church World Service Statement on Hawaii’s Blocking of the Travel Ban

Source: Church World Service

Washington, D.C. - October 20, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- After a federal judge in Hawaii blocked the latest version of President Trump’s travel ban, CWS President and CEO Reverend John L. McCullough issued the following statement:

“No legal or linguistic maneuvers by the Trump administration can disguise the travel ban’s discriminatory intent. Each rendition of this ban fuels President Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda and further obstructs our brothers and sisters from reaching safety and a better life –plain and simple. We’re heartened a federal judge in Hawaii again affirmed this truth in court. Today is yet another reminder that it’s high time for this White House to cease targeting immigrants and Muslims. As today’s ruling manifests again, there is no actual grounding to the travel ban but ignorance and baseless hostility.

Since 1946, Church World Service has supported refugees, immigrants and other displaced individuals, in addition to providing sustainable relief and development solutions to communities that wrestle with hunger and poverty.