Two pro-abortion groups filed lawsuits in Arizona and United States federal courts on September 14, 2009.  They want the courts to block new Arizona laws that restricting access to abortions.  One lawsuit was filed by Planned Parenthood and the other was filed by New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights.  The lawsuits challenged two Arizona laws known as House Bill 2564 and Senate Bill 1175.  The groups are asking the courts to put the laws on hold until the courts rule on the  constitutionality of the laws.

Arizona Republic:  An Arizona trucker filed a class action on behalf of all truckers employed by Swift Transportation claiming that the company underpaid its drivers by 10 – 15%.  The trucker’s class action was rejected by the trial court, but he appealed to the Court of Appeals which over turned the trail court’s decision, which caused an automatic appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court.

In the new decision, the Arizona Supreme Court said automatic appeals, which force the Court of Appeals to review the case, are inconsistent with state law.

A new decision by the Arizona Supreme Court could give businesses some added protection against class-action lawsuits.  Overturning their own 37-year-old precedent, the justices said plaintiffs denied the right by a trial judge to pursue lawsuits on behalf of everyone else are not automatically entitled to appeal that ruling.

Before May of this year, Christ the King Church in Phoenix, Arizona, rang its church bells every hour on the hour from 8 am to 8 pm seven days a week.  Since June, however, the bells have tolled a lot less.  The church’s  bishop, Rick Painter, was convicted in June on two counts of creating “an unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise.”  The judge suspended the sentence of ten days in jail and three years’ probation.

The City of Phoenix Prosecutor’s Office charged Rick Painter with 2 counts of a Phoenix City Code Violation of § 23-12 for creating “an unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise.” The listed dates of violation are March 16, 2008 and March 26, 2008. The charges were a result of neighborhood complaints of the church bells ringing every half hour on the March 16th date of violation and hourly on the March 26th date of violation.At all times, the neighbors complained the bells were ringing at a high volume. Though the complaints list a single date, we do that for legal reasons, but the neighbors testified the ringing was ongoing and continues to this day.

See TV channel 15.com for more, including a video interview of the bishop.

Christ the King and two other Phoenix churches — have filed suit in federal court against the city for violating its First Amendment right to practice its religion unfettered. They argue that Phoenix’s noise ordinance has an exception for ice-cream trucks. They’re asking for the same treatment.

Channel 15 bought a noise meter from Radio Shack and tested the noise levels at three locations near the church and found

Each time the levels came in lower than the traffic noise in the area. Several times our meter indicated that it was “lo”, too low to even register on our device.

The Arizona Republic reports that “Ariz. back in court over English learners.”  Seventeen years! You’ve got to be kidding.