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Thursday, January 31, 2008 The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in favor of Philip Morris in Philip Morris USA v. Williams may not have helped Philip Morris much in Oregon today, but the ruling did help Philip Morris in California yesterday: The new blog "California Punitive Damages" provides this post about a California Court of Appeal ruling, issued yesterday, that set aside a $28 million punitive damages award against Philip Morris based on the U.S. Supreme Court's February 2007 ruling in the case out of Oregon. And an even more recent post at that blog opines that the result of today's Oregon Supreme Court decision against Philip Morris, holding under Oregon law that a partially valid proposed jury instruction can be rejected if the instruction is also partially invalid, would not be reached by a court that was applying California law. "Senate Panel Approves Judicial Pay Raise And Junkets Ban": Lawrence Hurley of The Daily Journal of California has this post at his "Washington Briefs" blog. Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman "NJ Supreme Court justice Rivera-Soto sued": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger provides a news update that begins, "A former star high school football player sued state Supreme Court Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto today, alleging the associate justice wielded the considerable prestige of his robe against him because of a running dispute on the gridiron with Rivera-Soto's son." And The Associated Press reports that "Teen sues NJ Supreme Court justice over actions in dispute with son." "Ala. Inmate Wins Stay of Execution": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 07:52 PM by Howard Bashman "A guide to 'Selyaisms'": Frederick A. Brodie, a former law clerk to First Circuit Judge Bruce M. Seyla, has this essay in the current issue of The National Law Journal. Posted at 04:58 PM by Howard Bashman Next will the Sixth Circuit permit Tennessee to sue the North Carolina Valley Authority? Today, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a federal district court's decision that refused to dismiss North Carolina's common-law nuisance action against the Tennessee Valley Authority. The lawsuit contends that the TVA's coal-fired power plants in Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky emit various pollutants that travel through the atmosphere into North Carolina, adversely impacting human health and environmental quality. You can access today's Fourth Circuit ruling at this link. Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman If you don't want your children in kindergarten, first, or second grades to be exposed to books that favorably portray same-sex couples, then don't send your children to public school: So holds the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in this ruling that a unanimous three-judge panel issued today. Posted at 04:22 PM by Howard Bashman The cost to Philip Morris of trying to slant jury instructions too far in its favor -- $79.5 million in punitive damages: As I first noted in this post from this morning, today the Supreme Court of Oregon issued its ruling, on remand from the Supreme Court of the United States, in Williams v. Philip Morris Inc. Although Philip Morris had won before the U.S. Supreme Court, today's ruling by Oregon's highest court reinstates a jury's award of $79.5 million in punitive damages, on top of a compensatory damages award of $821,000, against Philip Morris and in favor of a cigarette smoker's widow. How could this be? When Philip Morris most recently brought this case to the U.S. Supreme Court, the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider two objections to the punitive damages award. First, Philip Morris advanced a procedural due process challenge, asserting that that a defendant's due process rights are violated if a jury assesses punitive damages to punish a defendant for having caused harm to persons other than the plaintiff. And second, Philip Morris advanced a substantive due process challenge, asserting that the punitive damages award was unconstitutionally excessive because, among other reasons, it was nearly one hundred times larger than the award of compensatory damages. When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 5-4 ruling in February 2007, the Court agreed with Philip Morris's procedural due process argument. The Court held that a defendant's due process rights are violated if a jury assesses punitive damages to punish a defendant for having caused harm to persons other than the plaintiff. As a result, the U.S. Supreme Court found it unnecessary to address the company's substantive due process challenge to the punitive damages award as unconstitutionally excessive. Philip Morris had sought to preserve its procedural due process objection, which the U.S. Supreme Court recognized as meritorious, by means of a proposed jury instruction. Today, the Supreme Court of Oregon, acting on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, held that the trial court properly refused to deliver to the jury Philip Morris's proposed jury instruction because it misstated Oregon's law of punitive damages in various other respects. Under Oregon law, a party has no right to have a trial court deliver its proposed jury instruction unless the instruction is entirely unobjectionable. Philip Morris's proposed jury instruction was far from entirely unobjectionable, according to Oregon's highest court, and therefore Philip Morris has no one to blame other than itself (and its trial lawyers) for failing to have its procedural due process rights vindicated in accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court's February 2007 ruling. Let's assume, as is most likely the case, that today's Supreme Court of Oregon decision constitutes an adequate and independent state law ground that will prevent Philip Morris from benefiting from the U.S. Supreme Court's February 2007 procedural due process ruling in Philip Morris's favor. This still leaves the company with the ability to pursue its substantive due process challenge to the punitive damages award as unconstitutionally excessive. Remember that the U.S. Supreme Court had originally granted certiorari to review that question but then found it unnecessary to resolve. For better or worse, today's Supreme Court of Oregon ruling has likely transformed this case into an unattractive vehicle for U.S. Supreme Court review on the substantive due process question of the unconstitutional excessiveness of punitive damages. My reasoning proceeds as follows. To determine whether a punitive damages award is unconstitutionally excessive, one must consider the evidence that was before the fact-finder. Here, due to Philip Morris's failure to tender a valid punitive damages instruction, Philip Morris has forfeited any ability to object to the jury's consideration, in assessing punitive damages, of the harm that Philip Morris caused to Oregon smokers other than the plaintiff. Determining whether this particular punitive damages award is unconstitutionally excessive will require the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh a type of evidence that, as a result of its earlier ruling in this very case, other juries deciding whether to award punitive damages won't ever be considering. Thus, a substantive due process ruling in this case would amount to little more than error correction and would be unlikely to result in a ruling of widespread application to other cases. Even though this case may no longer present an attractive vehicle for examining the substantive due process limits of excessive punitive damages, Philip Morris can still hope that the U.S. Supreme Court, before it gets around to denying the company's forthcoming cert. petition, will decide or agree to decide another case presenting a substantive due process challenge to excessive punitive damages. Unfortunately for Philip Morris, the U.S. Supreme Court turned down this issue in the Exxon Valdez case. In closing, to return to the title of this post, it is worth emphasizing that the reason Philip Morris failed to benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court's punitive damages ruling in its favor in this very case is that the trial lawyers for Philip Morris tried to slant their proposed punitive damages instruction too far in defendant's favor. Had the company's proposed punitive damages instruction faithfully tracked the applicable Oregon statute, today's Supreme Court of Oregon ruling would have likely set aside the jury's punitive damages award and granted a new trial. So, to you young litigation associates pondering how far you should twist the law in your client's favor in proposed jury instructions, remember: attempting to gain your client some subtle, modest advantage could backfire and someday cause your client to lose its ability to overturn a nearly $80 million punitive damages award. Elsewhere, Ashbel S. Green of The Oregonian (with whom I had the pleasure of speaking about this case a bit earlier today) has a news update headlined "Oregon Supreme Court backs $79.5 million award; The judgment against Philip Morris had been overturned twice." The Associated Press reports that "Oregon high court reaffirms decision in Philip Morris case." At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "Oregon Supreme Court to U.S. Supreme Court: Thanks, But No Thanks." And Eric Turkewitz, at the "New York Personal Injury Law Blog," has a post titled "Philip Morris $79.5M Punitive Award Reinstated By Oregon High Court." Ninth Circuit grants rehearing en banc to consider the constitutionality of a school's strip-search of a 13-year-old female honor roll student with no prior disciplinary problems based on the allegation she had given a classmate a prescription-strength ibuprofen tablet: You can access at this link today's order granting rehearing en banc. A divided three-judge panel upheld the constitutionality of the search in a decision issued on September 21, 2007. My coverage of that decision appeared at this link. The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Ala. Execution Could Be First in Months" and "Court Rules for TiVo in Patent Dispute." Posted at 02:12 PM by Howard Bashman Pending amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure -- who has commented thus far? Yesterday, I had this rather lengthy post describing the proposed amendments -- now up for public comment -- to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. Next Monday's installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com will also discuss these proposed amendments. My post from yesterday described how to submit public comments, but I neglected to note that you can access online, via this link, the comments received thus far pertaining to the proposed FRAP amendments. (Comments on amendments to the other federal procedural rules now up for discussion can be accessed via this link.) Of the handful of comments received thus far on the proposed FRAP amendments, I nominate the comments of Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook as most entertaining. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirms $74 million patent infringement award in favor of TiVo, Inc. and against EchoStar: If the TiVo smiley face logo seems a bit happier than usual, it may be as a result of this ruling issued today. Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Court upholds $79.5 million smoker verdict": Ashbel S. Green of The Oregonian provides this news update. My most recent coverage appears immediately below. Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Oregon once again upholds a jury's award of $79.5 million in punitive damages, on top of a compensatory damages award of $821,000, against Philip Morris and in favor of a cigarette smoker's widow: You can access today's ruling at this link. It is inevitable that Philip Morris will again seek U.S. Supreme Court review. The U.S. Supreme Court's February 2007 ruling in the case can be accessed here. For the record, my prediction of what Oregon's highest court would do today was wrong. "Thank You. Now Go to Hell. Mukasey stonewalls Senate Democrats on water-boarding, and practically everything else." Dahlia Lithwick has this dispatch online at Slate. Posted at 09:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Abortion provider must turn over files; Opponents hope the patient records will lead to additional charges against the Kansas doctor who performs late-term procedures": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The Wichita Eagle reports today that "Tiller must turn over records to grand jury." And The Washington Times reports that "Clinic must release abortion data." "Mukasey Will Not Rule Out Waterboarding": The New York Times contains this article today, along with an editorial entitled "A Disappointing Debut." The Washington Post reports today that "Mukasey Hints at Wider CIA Probe." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Democrats decry Mukasey's silence on waterboarding; The Senate Judiciary Committee members say the attorney general's refusal to give a legal opinion is an effort to protect the Bush administration." The Hill reports that "Democrats grill Mukasey." The Washington Times reports that "Mukasey still mum on waterboarding." The Wall Street Journal contains an article headlined "Three Young Men Try Waterboarding And Tell the Tale" and an editorial entitled "'Waterboarding' Mukasey." And from National Public Radio, today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained an audio segment entitled "Mukasey, Senators Revisit Torture Debate." Yesterday evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained an audio segment entitled "Mukasey Dodges Senate Panel's Torture Questions." And yesterday's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained an audio segment entitled "What to Expect from Mukasey" featuring Dahlia Lithwick. RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. C-SPAN has made available for on-demand viewing in two parts (morning session and afternoon session) (RealPlayer required) the Attorney General's testimony yesterday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Better Pay for Federal Judges: To ensure a good deal for the public, the new pay package should include an overdue tightening of the gift rules to bar corporate-sponsored junkets." This editorial appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:34 AM by Howard Bashman "Law Without Suits: New Hires Flout Tradition; Young Attorneys' Casual Attire Draws Criticism at Big Firms; A Crackdown on Ugg Boots." The Wall Street Journal contains this article today. Posted at 08:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Snipes' jury still deliberating": This article appears today in The Ocala Star-Banner. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Nichols case needs a judge": Today's edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contains an article that begins, "The judge who will appoint a replacement for Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller, who resigned Wednesday from the beleaguered case of courthouse rampage suspect Brian Nichols, said he hopes to name a jurist within days but may have trouble finding someone willing to take the case." The newspaper also reports today that "Nichols judge both praised, faulted." The New York Times reports today that "Judge in Courthouse Shooting Case Steps Down." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Quote prompts judge to quit case; After being quoted in a magazine article as saying of defendant, 'Everyone in the world knows he did it,' a jurist recuses himself from a murder trial." And the Fulton County Daily Report contains an article headlined "Judge Recuses From Courthouse Shooting Trial Following Remarks in Magazine Article." For more on why the judge stepped down from the case, see this earlier post from yesterday. "More Wecht staffers testify about go-fer work": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Jason Cato reports that "Errand kept body unretrieved, witness says." "Signs of trouble in Medina finances; Records show judge tapped all his home's equity": The Houston Chronicle today contains an article that begins, "An investigation into a suspicious fire that destroyed the home of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina brought unprecedented scrutiny of his life: from cell phone calls to bank records to personal relationships to the whereabouts of family members on the night in question." Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "An Empirical Analysis of the Confirmation Hearings of the Justices of the Rehnquist Natural Court": Jason J. Czarnezki, William K. Ford, and Lori A. Ringhand have posted this paper (abstract with links for download) at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). The article's abstract begins, "Despite the high degree of interest generated by Supreme Court confirmation hearings, surprisingly little work has been done comparing the statements made by nominees at their confirmation hearings with their voting behavior once on the Supreme Court. This paper begins to explore this potentially rich area by examining confirmation statements made by nominees regarding three different methods of constitutional interpretation." "Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and the Debate Over How Much Supreme Court Decisions Truly Matter": Edward Lazarus has this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, January 30, 2008 "Jury to Start Deliberations in Wesley Snipes Tax Case": This article appears today in The New York Times. And The Ocala Star-Banner reports today that "Wesley Snipes' fate now in hands of jury; Actor says 'I look forward to walking out of here.'" The newspaper also provides an update headlined "Jury asks judge in Snipes trial: What does 'conspiracy' mean?" "Thomas Barr, Top Lawyer in I.B.M. Case, Dies at 77": Adam Liptak is the author of this obituary that appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Hears Appeal in Iraq Ambush Case": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Relatives of civilian truck drivers killed in Iraq emerged from a closed-door hearing Wednesday hopeful that a federal appeals court would resurrect their cases against a military contractor." Today's oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit was not open to the public or the press. Posted at 11:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Oregon high court to rule (again) on smoker-death case": Ashbel S. Green of The Oregonian provides a news update that begins, "The Oregon Supreme will decide tomorrow what to do with a $79.5 million punitive damage award against Philip Morris that has twice been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court." The Supreme Court of Oregon's ruling should become available online via this link by noon tomorrow. You can access the U.S. Supreme Court's February 2007 ruling in the case at this link. Shortly after that ruling issued, law.com published an installment of my "On Appeal" column headlined "'Philip Morris' Punitives Ruling May Contain Silver Lining for Plaintiffs." It is unlikely that the Philip Morris ruling will contain a silver lining for this particular plaintiff, however. Rather, there's a strong likelihood that she will need to present her punitive damages claim to a new jury, which will not be allowed to consider one of the key arguments that likely caused the first jury to award $79.5 million in punitive damages on top of a compensatory damages award of $821,000. "Federal recusal case: $160,000 and 'the meter still is running.'" The West Virginia Record provides a report that begins, "The state Supreme Court of Appeals has spent more than $160,000 on a federal court case Massey Energy brought against it over the way justices recuse themselves from cases." Posted at 07:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Retired US worker becomes champion of women's fair pay": Agence France Presse has a report that begins, "Ten years ago, someone slipped an anonymous note into Lilly Ledbetter's locker and the tire factory worker learned that she was being paid less than her male counterparts who were doing the same work. Ledbetter took her case all the way to the US Supreme Court, but never received compensation. Today, she is leading the charge to change the laws that allow men to be paid more than women who do the same work." And The New York Times today contains an editorial entitled "Restoring Civil Rights." "Law lecture features Supreme Court’s Breyer": Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law issued this news release today. Posted at 07:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Colins Nominated By Governor To Pennsylvania Supreme Court": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Bulletin. Posted at 07:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Court rejects Nazi guard Demjanjuk's appeal": Reuters provides this report. My earlier coverage of today's Sixth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Pakistani Justice Breaks Silence": Thursday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, "Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the former chief justice of Pakistan who was removed last year when President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency, has finally broken his silence." Posted at 07:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Judges on Industry-Backed Group's Board": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal judge has resigned from the board of a corporate-funded group that provides free seminars and trips to judges after a judicial ethics panel recommended he quit. Two other judges remain on the board, either unaware of the ethics advice or unconcerned by it. U.S. District Judge Andre Davis of Baltimore said he resigned from the board of the Montana-based Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment soon after he received a private opinion from the federal judiciary's Codes of Conduct Committee." The organization Community Rights Counsel issued this news release today. Also today, that organization sent this letter to the chair of the federal Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes of Conduct based, at least in part, on this transcript excerpt. And later today, the chair of that committee issued this response. "Court Rejects Buddhists' Temple": Lynne Tuohy of The Hartford Courant has a news update that begins, "The state Supreme Court Wednesday unanimously rejected the legal arguments and efforts by the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut to build a temple on 10 acres they own in Newtown." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Connecticut at this link. "Judge in courthouse shooting case stepping down": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides a news update that begins, "The trial judge in the beleaguered death penalty case of Fulton County Courthouse rampage suspect Brian Nichols announced Wednesday he is removing himself from the case. Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller's decision came just one day after he was quoted in an article on the New Yorker's Web site about why Nichols plans to use a mental health defense: 'That's their only defense, because everyone in the world knows he did it.'" And The Associated Press reports that "Ga. Courthouse Shooting Judge Steps Down." You can access Jeffrey Toobin's article about the case, which appears in the current issue of The New Yorker, here (HTML) and here (PDF). February 15, 2008 is the deadline for commenting on various proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure: The law professor who now serves as reporter for the federal judiciary's Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules sent me an email yesterday asking that I draw that deadline and these proposed amendments to the attention of this blog's readers. In her email, she writes: In particular, I thought it would be useful to draw your readers' attention to two sets of proposals.The proposed creation of FRAP 12.1 and other amendments that do not principally relate to the calculation of time under the rules can be accessed by clicking here. Rule changes that relate principally to calculations of time under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure can be accessed by clicking here. As Cathie's email notes, amendments have also been proposed to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to expand, from 10 days to 30 days, the time in which to make post-judgment motions for judgment as a matter of law, for a new trial, to alter a trial judge's non-jury findings of fact, and to alter or amend the judgment. These changes will likely also be of great significance to attorneys who handle appeals in federal court in civil cases. You can view these proposed amendments to the FRCP by clicking here. As noted above, the deadline for submitting comments pertaining to these proposed rule changes is February 15, 2008, and comments may be submitted via email. Before submitting a comment, you can consider suggestions about how to submit an effective comment. All of the pending proposed rule changes to the federal Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Rules that are now subject to public comment can be accessed via this link (scroll down). "For Yale Law School, conflicting narratives": The Yale Daily News today contains an article that begins, "In court, Padilla v. Yoo is a lawsuit about human rights and the Constitution. But in headlines and in the blogosphere, it looks more like a case about Yale." Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman "11th Circuit lifts stay of execution for Alabama inmate": The AP provides a report that begins, "A federal appeals court has lifted a stay of execution for James Harvey Callahan, who is scheduled to be executed Thursday, but it could be delayed again by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in a Kentucky challenge to lethal injection, a case that has delayed executions nationwide. Alabama uses lethal injection in its executions. In a 2-1 decision, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday lifted the stay granted by U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins in Montgomery on Dec. 14. The court said Callahan waited too late to challenge the method of execution." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. "Mukasey Refuses to Judge Waterboarding": Lara Jakes Jordan of The Associated Press has this updated report. You can view the Attorney General's Senate Judiciary Committee testimony live via C-SPAN using either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player. "Electing judges -- with cash: Merit, not money, should sway judicial elections." Cornell Law student Cody Corliss has this op-ed today in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 11:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Court Denies Alleged Nazi Guard's Appeal": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected an alleged Nazi death camp guard's challenge to a final deportation order by the nation's chief immigration judge. A panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled there was no basis to John Demjanjuk's challenge of a December 2005 ruling that he could be deported to his native Ukraine or to Germany or Poland." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. "Judge won't suppress statements by suspect in obscenity case": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today contains an article that begins, "A federal judge yesterday denied a motion to suppress statements made by a Donora woman charged with transmitting obscene materials. Karen Fletcher, 56, is charged with six counts of sending lewd stories, depicting the rape and killing of children, on the Internet. Ms. Fletcher ran what was known as the 'Red Rose' Web site, where she posted her fictional stories." What makes this case unusual is that the alleged obscenity in question consists entirely of text, unaccompanied by any allegedly obscene images. The October 9, 2006 installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com was headlined "Text This: Words Alone Can Violate Federal Obscenity Laws." "Mukasey Offers View on Waterboarding": This article appears today in The New York Times. The Washington Post reports today that "Mukasey Holds Back on Torture Issue; Attorney General Won't Offer Senate Panel Definitive Opinion on Waterboarding." The Los Angeles Times contains an article headlined "Is waterboarding torture? Mukasey's still not ready to say; The attorney general says whether the technique is legal is 'not an easy question'; He will face a Senate committee today." Lara Jakes Jordan of The Associated Press reports that "Mukasey Refuses to Judge Waterboarding." Reuters reports that "US law chief, Democrats face clash on waterboarding." And CQ Today reports that "Democrats Warn That Justice Nominees Are Hindered by Mukasey Silence." At the "Balkinization" blog, Marty Lederman has a post titled "Torture: 'Reasonable People' Can Disagree." "Rendell's pick for judge draws Republicans' ire": The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today that "Duquesne professor tapped for judgeship." "Cadavers wrongly went to Carlow, former aide says in Wecht case": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today contains articles headlined "'Reaper Wear' sold from morgue" and "Students embalmed donated bodies: witness." Reporter Jason Cato will provides updates from the trial throughout the day at this link. "Judge 'Thinking Very Hard' About Lynne Stewart Case": Joseph Goldstein has this article today in The New York Sun. And The New York Daily News reports today that "Judge's light term for terror lawyer Lynne Stewart ripped." Tuesday, January 29, 2008 "The Items Were Worth $177": Syndicated columnist James J. Kilpatrick has an essay that begins, "The Supreme Court splendidly split last week in the Case of the Missing Prayer Rug. By all the usual criteria, it was a nuthin' case -- a case of minimal public interest, tossed over to Justice Clarence Thomas for another ho-hum opinion. I'm writing about it for a reason." Kilpatrick, who is now 87 years of age, announces in this essay that "With this column, I retire from writing about the Supreme Court." He will continue to write a weekly column about the English language. "2nd Circuit Considers Intent, Knowledge in Lynne Stewart Case; Federal appeals court judges pepper defense with questions; attorney repeatedly cites 'Brandenburg' Supreme Court case": law.com provides this report. And The Associated Press provides a report headlined "Prosecutor to appeals court: NYC lawyer got 'slap on the wrist.'" "Wecht trial: Aide says cadavers wrongly went to Carlow." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provides this news update. Posted at 11:04 PM by Howard Bashman "'Travesty of justice' prompts protest; A dangerous line was crossed when prosecutor succeeded in getting defense attorneys changed in Pike death penalty case, lawyers say": Bill Rankin had this article yesterday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Posted at 11:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Jefferson wants income, race, education as criteria; Aim is to keep diversity; court trashed old policy": Today's edition of The Louisville Courier-Journal contains an article that begins, "Race, income and education would be considered equally in assigning students and keeping Jefferson County's public schools integrated under a student-assignment plan released yesterday. Seven months after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the district's desegregation policy because it considered individual students' race in assigning them to schools, Superintendent Sheldon Berman unveiled a new proposal -- checked by the district's lawyers -- that he believes meets the court test." Posted at 10:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Two-Year Term Sought for Lawyer in Milberg Conspiracy": Josh Gerstein of The New York Sun has a news update that begins, "Federal prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison term for one of the nation's most successful class-action attorneys, William Lerach." The Associated Press reports that "2-year prison term recommended for lawyer in kickback scheme." And Reuters reports that "U.S. prosecutors seek two-year prison term for Lerach." "Alarmist Clock: Let's do away with the legislative fiction of the terrorist alarm clock." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Court upholds smoking ban": The Rocky Mountain News provides an update that begins, "The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Colorado's smoking ban today, dealing a blow to restaurant and bar owners who argued the law is unconstitutional." And The Denver Post provides a news update headlined "Appeals court upholds smoking ban, DIA exemption." Currently, the Tenth Circuit's opinion does not appear to be available over the court's web site, but you can access the court's judgment at this link. Update: The Tenth Circuit has substituted the panel's opinion for that court's judgment at the link that appears immediately above. "9th Circuit deals setback to Costco on wine and beer sales": The Seattle Post-Intelligencer provides this news update. The Seattle Times provides a news update headlined "Costco loses effort to overturn state liquor laws." The Wall Street Journal provides a news update headlined "Court Sides With Regulators in Costco Case." And Reuters reports that "Costco fails to overturn Wash. state liquor rules." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "Rendell nominates Colins to Supreme Court despite GOP objections": The Philadelphia Inquirer provides this news update. The Associated Press reports that "Rendell names 4 to fill appellate court vacancies." And you can access a press release headlined "PA Governor Rendell Announces Judicial Nominations for Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts." "Breyer Keeps Up Bush Speech Attendance": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Four Supreme Court justices donned their robes to attend this year's State of the Union, but only one among them could boast a perfect attendance record during the Bush presidency." Posted at 07:20 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: I will be working this afternoon from the office of co-counsel finalizing an appellate brief that is due to be filed tomorrow. Additional posts will appear here later today. Posted at 11:30 AM by Howard Bashman "EU Court: Downloaders Can Stay Private." The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Record labels and film studios cannot demand that telecom companies hand over the names and addresses of people suspected of breaking European copyright rules by swapping illegal downloads, the EU's top court ruled Tuesday." Reuters reports that "EU court says file sharers don't have to be named." And BBC News reports that "File-sharers 'need not be named'; Internet service providers do not have to divulge the names of users suspected of illegally sharing music files, Europe's top court has ruled." You can access today's ruling of the European Court of Justice at this link. "Ruling may aid talent managers; They could be entitled to pay for procuring work for clients, the state high court says": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. My earlier coverage of yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of California appears at this link. "Plaintiff-for-hire sentenced; A retired lawyer gets home detention in the Milberg Weiss case": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Dept. accused of blocking Gonzales probe; Office of Special Counsel chief says his investigation into alleged politicization of the attorney general's agency has been repeatedly 'impeded'": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:37 AM by Howard Bashman "Greater Use of Privilege Spurs Concern": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "The U.S. government has been increasing its use of the state secrets privilege to avoid disclosure of classified information in civil lawsuits, prompting legislation in the Senate that would provide more congressional oversight of the practice." Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "GOP Unable to Force Vote on Bush Surveillance Bill; Senators Can't Stop Democratic Debate; Current Law Set to Expire Thursday": The Washington Post contains this article today. And The Wall Street Journal today contains an editorial entitled "Wiretrapped." "'Wecht details' described to jury; On the first day of trial, deputy coroner tells of running errands": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today contains an article headlined "Corpse van carried hot dogs for Wecht: witness." Reporter Jason Cato will provides updates throughout the day at this link. And online at the First Amendment Center, Douglas Lee has an essay entitled "3rd Circuit lets sunshine in on famous coroner's trial." "Illegal Globally, Bail for Profit Remains in U.S." Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Can a Sandwich Be Slandered?" This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Rendell to name Colins as justice": The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains an article that begins, "Gov. Rendell is poised to name former Commonwealth Court Judge James Gardner Colins an interim appointee to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, over the objection of Senate Republicans who predicted a battle over the nomination. Colins, 61, a Democrat from Philadelphia, was the longest-serving judge in the 37-year history of the intermediate appellate court. He announced in October that he was stepping down to speak out about the need for judicial independence and perhaps to return to practicing law." Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Statewide judge race raises heat; GOP candidates for highest criminal court trade barbs": Chuck Lindell has this article today in The Austin American-Statesman. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: An article reports that "5th Circuit to Weigh Jurisdiction Over Contractors in Iraq; Iraq war's outsourcing of military functions poses new legal issues for contractors like KBR and Halliburton, now facing suit." And in other news, "Former White House Counsel Tapped by N.Y. Chief Judge to Prepare Judicial Pay Suit." "'Choose Life' license plate ruled free speech": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And The Arizona Daily Star reports today that "U.S. appellate court OKs pro-life AZ license plates." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. Which U.S. Supreme Court Justices attended last night's State of the Union address? From this photograph, the answer would seem to be the Chief Justice and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman In commentary available online at FindLaw: Douglas W. Kmiec has an essay entitled "Why Congress Must Renew FISA Immediately: If It Dallies, National Security Professionals Will Not Be Able to Protect America From Terrorism in the Interim." And Anthony J. Sebok has an essay entitled "Is It Constitutional for the Senate to Retroactively Immunize From Civil Liability the Telecoms That Provided the Government with Information About Customers' Communications?" Monday, January 28, 2008 "Gag order lifted in part" against law blog: The "Southern District of Florida Blog" contains this post from late this afternoon. Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Alabama Supreme Court reverses course, offers hope to ill workers": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "In a 5-4 decision, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed direction and allowed lawsuits from workers who become ill many years after being exposed to dangerous chemicals. The majority said the two-year statute of limitations for filing suit begins to run when an injury manifests itself. That overruled a 1979 decision, where the court said the window for filing suit began to run at the last exposure to the chemicals -- a standard that made it impossible for workers to sue if the illness did not show up for many years." And the blog "Alabama Appellate Watch" provides this link to the ruling, along with a post titled "Alabama Supreme Court Overrules Garrett v. Raytheon; Claim For Exposure To Toxic Substance Now Accrues When There Is A Manifest Injury." "Verdict in on Talent Agency Act; No clear victory for either side": Variety provides an article that begins, "The California Supreme Court did not hand a clear victory to either side, but managers came out ahead with Monday's much-anticipated decision about the Talent Agency Act." The Hollywood Reporter reports that "Court rules on Talent Agencies Act." And The Los Angeles Business Journal reports that "Court Rules for Manager." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link. "Gun Shy: Has the Bush administration abandoned gun rights advocates?" Benjamin Wittes has this essay online at The New Republic. And Jan Crawford Greenburg, at her "Legalities" blog, recently addresed the same question in a post titled ""No Gun Quickdraw." "Looking Anew at Campaign Cash and Elected Judges": You can access tomorrow's installment of Adam Liptak's "Sidebar" column at this link. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "John Grisham's Bad Guys Poison Rivers, Buy Judges": Charles Taylor of Bloomberg News provides this book review. And Tuesday's edition of USA Today will contain a book review headlined "Grisham's 'Appeal' rules harshly on bought elections." "Cases piling up before justices": The San Antonio Express-News on Sunday contained an article that begins, "At a time when the Texas Supreme Court's case backlog has reached record levels, Justice Paul Green was spending Friday driving to Corpus Christi to speak to a group of appeals lawyers." Posted at 10:24 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. and British High Courts Compared; Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Baroness Brenda Hale of Richmond Share Similarities of Serving in Top Judicial Seats": Georgetown University issued this news release today. Posted at 10:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Wanted: lawyers to defend accused terrorists." Canwest News Service provides a report that begins, "The federal government is having trouble recruiting an experienced pool of lawyers to work as 'special advocates' on behalf of terror suspects under Canada's security certificate law." Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Rendell said to settle on Colins for Pa. high court job": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Gov. Ed Rendell is preparing to nominate a former Commonwealth Court judge to fill a vacant spot on the state Supreme Court, according to the judge and legislative officials who were briefed Monday by the governor's aides. Judge James Gardner Colins, reached by telephone, said he believes his nomination may face some opposition in the Senate, but was confident he will ultimately be confirmed." Posted at 10:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Did McCain take a swipe at Alito?" Today at "The Swamp" blog of The Chicago Tribune, James Oliphant had this post, along with a post titled "More on McCain and Alito." You can read John Fund's column, which raised this issue today, at this link. Posted at 10:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Court OKs 'Choose Life' license plates in Arizona": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle provides this news update. The Arizona Daily Star provides a news update headlined "Court OKs anti-abortion license plates for Arizona vehicles." The Associated Press reports that "Court rules Arizona must allow 'choose life' license plate." And Reuters reports that "Anti-abortion slogan OK'd on Arizona license plates." My earlier coverage of today's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Wecht trial: Aide says staff regularly ran errands." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provides this news update. Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman If a district court incorrectly instructs the jury on how to calculate damages, and the jury compounds the error by returning a verdict for a larger amount of damages than the erroneous instruction would permit, what is a federal appellate court to do? Today, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit addresses whether the correct remedy is a remittitur, thereby reducing the damages down to the maximum amount that could have been awarded under the erroneous but unobjected-to instruction, or a new trial with a proper instruction on calculating damages. The court's opinion, written by Circuit Judge Ed Carnes, holds that a new trial is necessary. In the course of reaching that conclusion, he has the pleasure of considering whether to apply the legal doctrine "known by the delightful title of the 'tipsy coachman.'" Kenneth S. Geller argues FLSA class action aribtration appeal for Long John Silver's, and loses: Here's hoping that the seafood preparing pirate understands the unfavorable standard of review applicable to appeals from an arbitrator's rulings. You can access today's decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link. Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman E-commerce and personal jurisdiction: In a case involving allegations of copyright infringement via eBay, no less. Circuit Judge Neil M. Gorsuch issued this interesting opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Posted at 06:00 PM by Howard Bashman Unanimous three-judge Ninth Circuit panel holds that Arizona's refusal to authorize a "Choose Life" license plate violated the applicant's First Amendment rights: You can access today's ruling at this link. Perhaps this gives me another opportunity to opine that "'Choose Life' Tags Appear Headed to Supreme Court." "Beware of Waiver on Appeal, Even if You Represent the Party That Won Below": Today's installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com can be accessed at this link. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Carona's pro bono defense deal; A lawyer at one of the country's top law firms has taken a professional interest in the case of the former Orange County sheriff": The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, "As former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona prepares for trial on criminal charges that he sold access to his office for cash, favors and gifts, he has retained the best lawyers money can buy. And he's getting them nearly free of charge. Jones Day, the fourth-largest law firm in the United States, with 2,300 lawyers worldwide and estimated annual revenue of $1.3 billion, has agreed to represent Carona on a pro bono basis. Based in Cleveland, the elite firm represents more than half the companies that constitute the Fortune 500. Though not unheard of, the case -- defending an allegedly corrupt sheriff who is making about $200,000 a year in retirement -- is unusual by pro bono standards. Typically, pro bono work involves providing legal services to society's most vulnerable -- the indigent, the homeless, the infirm." Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Grace Bets On Winning Asbestos Lawsuits; Judge's Ruling May Decide Firm's Future": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Huge Lawsuit Could Change Handling of the Dead": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. My most recent earlier coverage appears at this link. "Pathologist Accused of Profiting From Office": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "By his own count, Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, one of the nation's foremost forensic pathologists, has testified in more than 1,000 civil and criminal trials in his 46-year career, and opined on thousands more on television, on radio and in print. But now, for the second time in his life, Dr. Wecht is the accused. In a case Congressional Democrats say is a politically motivated prosecution by a Republican administration, Dr. Wecht, a Democrat, is in federal court here facing 41 criminal counts. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Monday. Those counts include mail fraud, wire fraud and theft of honest services. The most serious charges could send him to prison for up to 20 years per count." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today contains profiles of the lead opposing lawyers in articles headlined "Jerry McDevitt's client will be judged, but so will the government" and "Stephen Stallings is no stranger to high-profile cases." Reporter Jason Cato will provide trial updates at this link. And The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today offers a listing of key figures in the case; a timeline; and access to the indictments and some other key documents. "If You Can't Win the Case, Buy an Election and Get Your Own Judge": Today in The New York Times, Janet Maslin has this review of John Grisham's new book, "The Appeal." Posted at 07:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Get sensible on judgeships": The Boston Globe today contains an editorial that begins, "The process of picking the next president is hogging the spotlight, but the public should also be paying attention to the process of vetting federal judges." Posted at 07:38 AM by Howard Bashman "Quizzing Justice: Justice Scalia speaks, answers questions at honors lecture." This article appeared Friday in The Reflector of Mississippi State University. Posted at 07:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Holocaust Victims' Lawyer Asks for Interest on His Fee": Joseph Goldstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Death In Georgia: The high price of trying to save an infamous killer's life." Jeffrey Toobin has this Annals of Law article in the February 4, 2008 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, January 27, 2008 "Grisham's 'Appeal' Tackles Down-and-Dirty Politics": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 08:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Ohio Supreme Court writing opinions quicker": The Cleveland Plain Dealer provides this news update. Posted at 07:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Releasing Crack Convicts Early: The first batch of convicted crack cocaine dealers will getting out this year, and Virginia will feel the brunt." Emma Schwartz will have this article in the February 4, 2008 issue of U.S. News & World Report. Posted at 03:37 PM by Howard Bashman "Appointing appellate judges is no panacea": Columnist Sid Salter has this op-ed today in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi. Posted at 03:33 PM by Howard Bashman "The Millionaires' Amendment": The Washington Times today contains an editorial that begins, "The Supreme Court's decision to hear arguments surrounding the so-called Millionaires' Amendment attached to the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign-finance restrictions gives reason for hope." Posted at 03:30 PM by Howard Bashman Does the Montana Supreme Court take too long to decide cases? The Billings Gazette today contains articles headlined "Supreme Court cases pile up"; "Local attorneys would like to speed up appeals": and "Study will look at performance measures." Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Ruling near on Abu-Jamal jury; A U.S. court is weighing race and other issues in death sentence": Today in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Emilie Lounsberry has an article that begins, "In the nearly 26 years since his conviction for the murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner, the international tempest over Mumia Abu-Jamal has fixed primarily on this question: Did he do it, or was he framed by Philadelphia police? Yet inside the chambers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Abu-Jamal's innocence or guilt is not the issue. Since May, three judges have been weighing whether to reinstate his death sentence, overturned in 2001. If they do, his last hope will be the U.S. Supreme Court, which hears fewer than 2 percent of all petitions filed each year." Posted at 02:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Courts to sort Jehovah's Witness blood battle when kids involved": The Canadian Press provides this report. Posted at 02:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Expensive judicial race worries pundits; contest tops $1 million": This article appears today in The Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat. Posted at 02:54 PM by Howard Bashman "District ready to unveil school assignment plans; Final decision expected by mid-May": The Louisville Courier-Journal today contains an article that begins, "Civil-rights leaders want to make sure schools stay racially integrated. Parents want to keep school choice. And students want to stay where they are. The stakes will be high tomorrow when officials with Jefferson County Public Schools make public their highly anticipated student-assignment proposals in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling rejecting the district's desegregation policy." Posted at 02:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Massey-Maynard photos highlight judicial recusal rule": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 02:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Death in Georgia: The high price of trying to save an infamous killer's life." Jeffrey Toobin will have this Annals of Law article in the February 4, 2008 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, January 26, 2008 "Son of former O.C. assistant sheriff released from prison; Gregory Haidl, convicted in a notorious sexual assault, must register as a sex offender and serve high-control parole": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. And last Thursday's edition of The Orange County Register reported that "Greg Haidl will go free this weekend; Man prosecutors called 'maestro' of videotaped sexual assault on pool table will be released from state prison on parole." "Judge tells court she's okay with suspension; Governor has called on Coffey to resign": The Concord (N.H.) Monitor today contains an article that begins, "Superior Court Judge Patricia Coffey told the state Supreme Court yesterday she is now willing to accept a disciplinary panel's recommended three-month suspension without pay, if necessary, for helping hide her husband's assets from creditors. That suspension is harsher than the public censure Coffey and her attorney advocated last month but far short of Gov. John Lynch's more recent call for Coffey's resignation. Coffey communicated her new position to the state Supreme Court yesterday, in anticipation of the court's Feb. 6 hearing on her case." Posted at 08:59 PM by Howard Bashman "The Balloter's New Burden": Columnist Kenneth Jost has this essay in the current issue of CQ Weekly. Posted at 08:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Abortion debate refuses to die, 20 years after historic court ruling": The Canadian Press provides this report. Posted at 08:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Bar Exam Controversy: Toal says fairness drove decision; Chief justice says effort to do the right thing led to passing 20 who had flunked." This article appears today in The State of Columbia, South Carolina. Posted at 08:47 PM by Howard Bashman "Save the whales from the Navy: A Navy end-run around a ruling to limit its sonar test is an attack on the Constitution." The Los Angeles Times contains this editorial today. Posted at 08:45 PM by Howard Bashman "So Is Waterboarding Torture? Mukasey May Never Say." This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Mukasey may try to derail early releases; Judges in Oregon have already shortened prison time for several crack cocaine offenders; Controversial new sentencing guidelines are to take effect in March": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Bill's Provision May Help Terror Victims Gain Redress": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:15 PM by Howard Bashman "The FISA Follies, Redux": The New York Times contains this editorial today. Posted at 08:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Opportunity: Another wacky Ninth Circuit opinion." This editorial appears today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 07:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Henry made chief judge of 10th Circuit at OU": The Norman (Okla.) Transcript contains this article today. The Tulsa World reports today that "Robert Henry ready for court; The Oklahoma native is now officially the chief justice of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals." And The Journal Record reports that "Henry honored as new chief judge." "Parents of woman shot at Trolley renew court appeal; They want to be declared 'victims' of man who sold gun": This article appears today in The Deseret Morning News. And today in The Salt Lake Tribune, Pamela Manson has an article headlined "Victim's parents press for gun evidence." "Beware of Waiver on Appeal, Even if You Represent the Party That Won Below": The new installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com can be accessed here. Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Chief justice notes progress; State courts make headway on pay, new technology": The Statesman Journal of Salem, Oregon contains this article today. Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Jewish rite case needs more info, ruling says; The high court says a parents' battle over circumcising their son lacks the boy's state of mind": This article appears today in The Oregonian, along with an article headlined "Son caught between parents is vulnerable; Kids could face depression or have lifelong issues with relationships, some say." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Oregon at this link. Friday, January 25, 2008 "The Court's Personal Path to Roe v. Wade": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Jeffrey Toobin appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "The Bryant Park Project." Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court: Taking Care of Business; How the high court caters to corporations and ignores commoners." Stephanie Mencimer has this essay online today at the web site of Mother Jones magazine. Posted at 11:02 PM by Howard Bashman "West Virginia Supreme Court to rehear case of energy firm": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman In bookstores on Tuesday, January 29, 2008, "The Appeal" by John Grisham: You can read an excerpt at this link. You can access some early reviews here, here, and here. It's just another example of art imitates life. "Judge hearing Wal-Mart bias case is named to state appeals court": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, "Martin Jenkins, the federal judge presiding over a major sex-discrimination case against Wal-Mart, was nominated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to a state appeals court today. Jenkins, 54, of Oakland, was a judge in Alameda County for eight years before President Bill Clinton named him to the federal bench in San Francisco in 1997. Schwarzenegger nominated him today to a seat on the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco, a vacancy created when Justice Joanne Parrilli retired in July. Jenkins revealed in August that he had asked the governor for the job. His appointment requires confirmation by the state Commission on Judicial Appointments. It's unusual, though not unprecedented, for a judge to give up a lifetime appointment on a federal court for a seat on a state court, where justices must seek retention from the voters every 12 years. On the state Supreme Court, Justice Carlos Moreno is a former federal judge, and former Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas also left the federal bench for the state's high court." Posted at 09:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Police investigate Tenn. Supreme Court burglary": This article appears today in The Jackson Sun. Posted at 09:47 PM by Howard Bashman "Man who isn't dad still has to pay; Appeal is denied despite DNA test": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins, "A Hunterdon County divorcé who claimed he discovered he was not the father of a 10-year-old girl was denied his appeal to lower his child support payments, according to an opinion handed down this week by the state Appellate Division." You can access Wednesday's unpublished ruling of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, at this link. On Tuesday, January 29, 2008, the paperback edition of Jan Crawford Greenburg's book -- "Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court" -- will go on sale: In paperback, the book will feature a new chapter. Details here. Just the other day, a non-lawyer friend was telling me how very much she enjoyed reading Jan's book. Posted at 04:01 PM by Howard Bashman On March 3, 2008, the |
