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Friday, March 31, 2006 Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that "Congress Focuses on Cameras at the High Court." In other news, "Harvard Law Takes a Hit in 'U.S. News' Rankings." And the brand new installment of my "On Appeal" column is headlined "Who's on the Argument Panel: Why Ignorance Isn't Bliss." "To a New Lingo: Liberal senators could use a makeover if they want to stop the next conservative nominee from sliding onto the Supreme Court." Dahlia Lithwick will have this essay in the April 2006 issue of The American Lawyer. Posted at 10:10 PM by Howard Bashman Discrimination against a transsexual can violate Title VII's proscription of discrimination "because of...sex": The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today issued this ruling in a lawsuit in which a a male-to-female transsexual sued the Library of Congress for sex discrimination. The ACLU provides additional background about the case. Posted at 05:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Attorney files ethics complaint over Johnson comments": The St. Paul Pioneer Press provides a news update that begins, "A crusading conservative attorney Friday filed an ethics complaint against current Minnesota Supreme Court justices and the former chief justice regarding comments Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson made about them." And The Associated Press reports that "Complaint filed against justices over Johnson flap." "The New Republic on Tom Goldstein": This post appears today at "OrinKerr.com." Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Court: Suit Against Merck Can Go Forward." The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Merck & Co. suffered a significant legal setback Friday when an appeals court ruled a nationwide class-action lawsuit can go forward that allows health insurers and others to sue to recover the billions of dollars they spent on Vioxx." And Reuters reports that "Court upholds Vioxx class action against Merck." You can access today's ruling of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, at this link. "Bid to 'Court Proof' S.D. Abortion Ban May Be in Vain": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman Three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decides Zoltek Corp. v. United States, the F-22 stealth fighter patent infringement case: The result is 74 pages of opinions, consisting of a per curiam opinion, two concurring opinions (in which the authors debate whether the Federal Circuit's earlier opinion in NTP, Inc. v. Research in Motion, Ltd. was correctly decided), and a dissent. The dissenting opinion begins: There are two separate though related issues in this case, both matters of first impression. One is of major significance to our understanding of the constitutional obligations of the United States; both relate as well to important rights of patent owners. The first issue is, may an owner of a United States patent bring a cause of action under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution against the United States for a 'taking' as all other owners of property rights may; or is a patent right somehow less of a property interest, not worthy of such constitutional protection? Until this case, this issue has never been addressed directly by this or any other court.You can access the complete decision at this link. Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Affirmative action ban up to voters now; Battle over change to state constitution likely to be tough one": This article appears today in The Detroit Free Press. And The Detroit News today contains an article headlined "Mich. Supreme Court puts affirmative action into voters' hands; Justices refuse to review the issue, clearing the way to put the controversial measure on the fall ballot." "Netflix Judge Changes Mind On Lawyer Fees": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Speaking of which, my latest Netflix return, "The Squid and the Whale," is well-worth viewing, for the reasons David Denby explains in his review for The New Yorker. Access online the audio file of this week's Ninth Circuit oral argument in Raich v. Gonzales: You can download the file via this link (Windows Media Player format). Law Professor Randy E. Barnett argued the case on behalf of the plaintiff. My earlier coverage is here. Posted at 12:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Kennel Owner Won't Sell Puppy to Lesbian": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 12:14 PM by Howard Bashman Seventh Circuit rejects challenge of retired United Airlines pilots to the elimination in bankruptcy of their contractual pension rights: Today's ruling, written by Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner, can be accessed here. Posted at 12:11 PM by Howard Bashman Not to minimize the value of a properly-formatted federal appellate court brief: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit appointed appellate counsel under the Criminal Justice Act to represent a federal prisoner pursuing an appeal from the denial of the prisoner's habeas corpus action. Yet, according to a dissenting opinion filed today, the attorney did little more than ensure that the prisoner's pro se appellate brief was properly formatted. The majority proceeds to address and reject the merits of the appeal, while the dissent would appoint replacement appellate counsel to brief and argue the matter anew. Posted at 11:50 AM by Howard Bashman "A BILL To permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings." You can access the text of the legislation, as reported yesterday in the U.S. Senate, by clicking here. Posted at 11:42 AM by Howard Bashman "A Taxonomy of Legal Blogs": The blog "3L Epiphany" has completed its impressive list of legal blogs. Posted at 11:24 AM by Howard Bashman In today's mail: A bobblehead doll depicting the shortest-serving Chief Justice of the United States in history. Posted at 11:22 AM by Howard Bashman Tom Goldstein of "SCOTUSblog" is on the cover of the April 10, 2006 issue of The New Republic: You can view an image of that issue's cover by clicking here. According to the article, written by Noam Scheiber, "[I]f the proper measure of influence is the extent to which one has shaped the Court's norms and culture, then there is no debate at all. It's not Roberts's Court, nor even Stevens's. It is Tommy Goldstein's." The article's text is not yet freely available online. "Because the Fourth Amendment already has more holes in it than a piece of Swiss cheese and the panel's decision adds another errantly-fired cannon-ball sized hole, I dissent from the Court's decision denying rehearing en banc." So writes Circuit Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr. in dissenting today from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit's decision to deny rehearing en banc of a ruling that I first reported on last December in a post titled "Putting a number on probable cause." Posted at 10:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Skilling Lawyer Could Be Key for Lay, Too": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The Chicago Tribune today contains an article headlined "Skilling's faith firm in storm of Enron; Weatherman supports his younger brother Jeffrey in fraud trial." The Houston Chronicle reports today that "Barge verdicts may not stand; Defendant's release may signal overturning of convictions." And The New York Times reports today that "Judges Order Release on Bail for Ex-Broker in Enron Case." "Judge Visits San Quentin Execution Site; The jurist who ordered changes in the lethal injection method tours the death chamber": Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. In The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports today that "Judge visits San Quentin prison's death chamber; Head of execution team testifies about injection procedures." And in The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz reports that "Judge gets execution site tour; San Quentin visit is prelude to May death penalty hearing." "At Sept. 11 Trial, Tale of Missteps and Management": The New York Times contains this article today. The Washington Post reports today that "Moussaoui Jury Pauses For Query, Resumes; Panel Is Deciding If 9/11 Conspirator Is Eligible for Death." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Mr. Moussaoui's Confession: His testimony confirms the government's case; But is it true?" The Los Angeles Times reports that "'Weapons of Mass Destruction' Defined for Moussaoui Jury." The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Jurors deliberate Moussaoui's fate; They pause to request a definition of 'weapon of mass destruction.'" And The Associated Press provides reports headlined "Deliberations Continue in Moussaoui Trial" and "Moussaoui Case Tests Judge's Patience." "Catholic billionaire envisions city of God; The founder of Ave Maria, Fla., plans a university and town devoted to strict religious values": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 07:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Massachusetts Curb on Gay Marriage Upheld; The state's highest court rules that municipal clerks must heed a 1913 law that prohibits the issuing of licenses to out-of-state couples": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. The Boston Globe today contains articles headlined "Mass. can bar marriage for nonresident gay couples; SJC rules that home state's laws prevail"; "Ruling shrinks issue to those from states without explicit ban"; and "For Reilly, victory may be incomplete; Legal win could be political loss in gubernatorial race." The Boston Herald reports that "Gay-wed opponents cheered by SJC ruling." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Marriage muddle a slippery slope." And The Washington Times reports that "Non-state gays cannot 'marry.'" "Retrial Has A Dramatic Conclusion; Guilty Verdict Leads To Lentz Outburst": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Intelligence Redo Is Harshly Judged; A Judge Critiques 9/11 Overhaul, and Finds It Top-Heavy": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard A. Posner sharply criticized the restructuring of U.S. intelligence agencies last week, telling CIA lawyers that the overhaul has done nothing to rectify flaws exposed by al-Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and that the changes 'in the end ... will amount to rather little.'" Posted at 07:08 AM by Howard Bashman "How Do You Solve the Problem of Scalia? The razor-thin line between obscenity and bad judgment." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 07:04 AM by Howard Bashman "More Subpoenas in Suit Over Obscenity Law": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "Both the Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union confirmed yesterday that they had requested and received information from Internet service providers and software makers in connection with an A.C.L.U. lawsuit challenging an anti-pornography law." Posted at 07:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Church fires photog over Scalia picture; Freelancer pays for 'right thing'": Today's edition of The Boston Herald contains an article that begins, "A freelance photographer has been fired by the Archdiocese of Boston's newspaper for releasing a picture of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia making a controversial gesture in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Sunday." Posted at 06:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Court will look at retaliation in sex bias cases": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Wash. Website Owner Wins Free Speech Case": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday a trial judge overreached his authority when he restricted a man from posting information on a Web site." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Washington State Supreme Court at this link. "Maloney Wins Support of ACLU For Regulation of Abortion Ads": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Posted at 06:38 AM by Howard Bashman "The Threshold Hurdles in the Lawsuit Alleging that the President Signed a Budget Bill the House Never Passed": Vikram David Amar has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 06:33 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, March 30, 2006 "Little Italy judges Scalia's supreme gesture": CNN.com offers this video report. Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that "At International Law Convention, Justice Kennedy Focuses on Genocide." In other news, "N.Y. High Court Revives Felony Counts Rooted in Judge's Misconduct." An article reports that "Ga. Solo Challenges Courtroom Pledge; Attorney calls courtroom declaration of loyalty offensive and objectionable." And in news from Pennsylvania, Shannon P. Duffy reports that "$7.9M Bad Faith Verdict Upheld by Pa. Federal Judge." Available online from National Public Radio: This evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained segments entitled "Massachusetts Court Limits Gay Marriage to Residents" and "Government Won't Release NSA Information to Attorneys." Today's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" contained a segment entitled "Massachusetts Gay Marriage Decision." And today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained a segment entitled "Slate's Jurisprudence: Jury Holds Moussaoui's Fate" (featuring Dahlia Lithwick). RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Massachusetts Court Limits Gay Unions": This article will appear Friday in The New York Times. And The Washington Post on Friday will report that "Mass. Court Sets Limit On Same-Sex Marriage Law." Fifth Circuit rejects habeas appeal challenging federal criminal convictions of former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. Posted at 08:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Levin should give OK to judge nominee deal; GOP will offer Democratic appointments to break logjam": This editorial appears today in The Detroit News. Posted at 05:18 PM by Howard Bashman How groovy was this week's Ninth Circuit reargument on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court in the medicinal marijuana case known as Raich v. Gonzales? Not all that groovy for the plaintiff, if this report (which I first noted here) published earlier this week in The Sacramento Bee is to be believed. Ordinarily, the Ninth Circuit would have posted online the oral argument audio by now, but the audio of this particular oral argument isn't yet available via that court's web site. Perhaps there's something poetic about slacking-off in a marijuana-related case. "Why Hamdan is Right about Conspiracy Liability": Law Professor David Scheffer today has this op-ed online at Jurist's "Forum." Posted at 04:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate Committee OKs Supreme Court Cameras": The Associated Press provides this report. Some other results from today's executive business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee are noted in this comment posted at "Confirm Them." Posted at 04:24 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained segments entitled "Justice Scalia's Under-the-Chin Gesture" and "South Dakota's Abortion Ban, Part 1." And today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained segments entitled "Closing Arguments Take Stage at Moussaoui Sentencing Trial" and "Former Federal Prosecutor Indicted for Trial Conduct." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. L. Ralph Mecham, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, is a 2006 National Public Service Award Winner: Details are available at this link. Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman "It's final: Affirmative action issue on November ballot." The Detroit Free Press provides a news update that begins, "The proposal to ban the use of race and gender in hiring and admissions by government and public universities will go before voters November 7 under an order issued Thursday by the Michigan Supreme Court." And The Associated Press reports that "Mich. Voters to Decide Affirmative Action." "'Sopranos' stars divided on bawdy body language": The Boston Herald, refusing to take to heart Justice Antonin Scalia's suggestion that the newspaper's staffers are relying too heavily on the HBO program "The Sopranos," today contains (in addition to the items I noted here earlier today) an article headlined "'Sopranos' stars divided on bawdy body language." The article begins, "Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says anybody who thinks his Sicilian gesture was obscene has been watching 'too many episodes of "The Sopranos,"' but a star of the TV mob hit says such body language is just as injudicious in real life." "Court: Gays Can't Come to Mass. to Marry." The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: I will be attending this interesting CLE course midday today in Philadelphia. Additional posts will appear here this afternoon. Update: The CLE panelists were indeed quite interesting. For those looking to connect a voice to the blogger, it was I who asked the panelists toward the end of the program for their thoughts on the current controversy over the U.S. Supreme Court's citation to foreign law, and whether the panelists thought that the Court's rulings in either the homosexual sodomy case from Texas or the juvenile death penalty case from Missouri would have come out differently had the majorities in those cases not relied on foreign law. BREAKING NEWS -- "SJC upholds law barring out-of-state gay couples from marriage": The Boston Globe provides this news update. Today's ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts can be accessed at this link. "Moussaoui Sentencing Case Goes to the Jury": Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times. The Washington Post today reports that "In Closing, Moussaoui Trial Rests On His Lies; A Role Reversal Redux As Jury Gets Terror Case." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Moussaoui Case Goes to Jury; Prosecutors contend his silence aided the 9/11 plot; The defense says he inflated his importance." And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Jurors start to deliberate at trial for Moussaoui; Prosecutors urge them to buy his testimony; defense calls client a liar." "Supreme Court hears eBay patent case; Auctioneer seeks to keep using fixed-price technology": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. The Washington Post today reports that "High Court Considers EBay Case On Patent; Issue May Spur Changes to System." The San Jose Mercury News reports that "EBay patent dispute heard; Supreme Court weighs auction giant's request to limit injunctions." And The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Bay Are tech companies turn focus on litigation; EBay asks Supreme Court to reject patent claim on Buy It Now feature." "Photographer: Herald got it right." The Boston Herald today contains an article that begins, "Amid a growing national controversy about the gesture U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made Sunday at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the freelance photographer who captured the moment has come forward with the picture." The photograph can be viewed by clicking here or here. That newspaper today also contains an editorial entitled "Here we get the last word." "Judge to hold hearing at San Quentin to examine execution plan; Group will review plans to cut risk of painful procedure": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Scalia could do justice to the moodza": Columnist John Kass has this op-ed today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 07:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Bill Would Speed Challenge to Surveillance": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, introduced a bill Wednesday that would put lawsuits challenging the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program on a fast track to the Supreme Court." Posted at 07:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Court Rules Against Democrat in Leak of Tape": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Foreigners' Rights in U.S.": Linda Greenhouse has this article today in The New York Times. And in The Washington Post, Charles Lane reports that "Court Hears Arguments In Consular Access Case." "The Real Chief Justice Roberts: Conciliator or Divider? A Recent Fourth Amendment Holding Indicates That He May Be More Like Rehnquist Than Previously Thought." FindLaw commentator Edward Lazarus has this essay today. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, March 29, 2006 On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Court Considers Burden of Telling Foreigners Their Rights" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Closing Arguments Heard in Moussaoui Sentencing." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 11:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court hears eBay patent case": Joan Biskupic will have this article Thursday in USA Today. The San Jose Mercury News provides an update headlined "Supreme Court wades into high-tech patent thicket." And Investor's Business Daily reports that "Supreme Court's eBay Patent Right Case Has Both Sides Saying Innovation At Risk." Available online from law.com: Shannon P. Duffy has an article headlined "Who's the Shark Now? 'Candygram' Case Delivers Good News for Criminal Defense; Much-talked-about 3rd Circuit victory comes in case nicknamed for classic 'Saturday Night Live' skit." And in other news, "N.Y. High Court Finds 'Crawford' Violation in Affidavit Admission; Landmark Supreme Court ruling found to bar affidavit's use in license case." "Sniper suspect ruled competent; Muhammad may represent self, judge rules; trial starts May 1": This article will appear Thursday in The Baltimore Sun. The Washington Post on Thursday will contain an article headlined "Judge: D.C. Sniper Can Represent Himself." And The Associated Press reports that "Md. Judge to Let Muhammad Be Own Lawyer." "Analysis: no penalty for patent 'trolls.'" Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Demonstrating that humor does not necessarily benefit from analysis, Denniston writes, "[Carter G. Phillips] and Kennedy had a somewhat amusing exchange over whether 'troll' meant the ogre under a bridge, or someone fishing for something. Being present in the courtroom added a bit to the sense that this was funny." Posted at 05:55 PM by Howard Bashman Access online the transcript of yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, No. 05-184: The Court has posted the transcript at this link. At page 10, the transcript establishes that Scalia-Alito is the new O'Connor-Ginsburg. "Alliance for Justice Launches New Project Monitoring the Federal Judiciary; Full Court Press to Provide Timely Updates on Court Decisions to Ordinary Americans": Alliance for Justice has issued a press release (full text not yet available online) announcing the organization's launch of a blog titled "Full Court Press." The blog's subtitle states, "Full Court Press will keep you up-to-date about the rapidly increasing number of judicial opinions that unjustifiably restrict rights, undermine legal protections, and adversely affect real people." Posted at 05:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Moussaoui Death-Penalty Case Heads to Jury": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The death-penalty case against al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui went to the jury Wednesday after the prosecution asserted his lies were responsible for deaths Sept. 11, 2001, and the defense argued he had no part in the plot." In addition, The AP offers "Sketches of Moussaoui's Jurors." "Supreme Court Hears High-Stakes Patent Fight": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this news update. Posted at 04:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Juror Backgrounds Get Increased Scrutiny": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court hears eBay's patent appeal": c|net News.com provides this report. Posted at 03:30 PM by Howard Bashman "The Marketplace Report: Prosecutors Rest Enron Case." This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 03:22 PM by Howard Bashman Dr. Speaks' right to speak imperiled no longer: Today a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in favor of the First Amendment commercial speech rights of chiropractor Kirtland Speaks in his challenge to a Louisiana law regulating solicitation of prospective patients. You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 03:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Prosecution: Moussaoui Killed With Lies." The Associated Press provides this report. And The Washington Post provides a news update headlined "Prosecution: Moussaoui 'Lied With Lethal Intent'; Case to Go to Jury Today." "Federal grand jury indicts Convertino over handling of terrorism case": The Detroit News provides an update that begins, "Richard G. Convertino, the one-time federal prosecutor who triumphantly won two convictions in the nation's first terror trial after September 11, was formally indicted today on charges that he built that case on perjury and deception." The Detroit Free Press provides a news update headlined "Former U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino indicted." The Freep has also posted online the indictment. And the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a press release entitled "Ex Federal Prosecutor, State Dept. Agent Indicted for Obstruction of Justice and Presenting False Evidence in Terrorism Trial." "Supreme Court Hears eBay Patent Fight": The Associated Press provides this report. And Reuters reports that "Justices skeptical of curtailing patent rights." As I previously noted here, attorney Carter G. Phillips argued on behalf of petitioner[d]. "Judge tosses Log Cabin Republicans Don't Ask Don't Tell lawsuit": PageOneQ provides this report. Last week's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California can be accessed here, while the plaintiff's original complaint is available at this link. Posted at 02:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Analysis: how to enforce an international right." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 01:50 PM by Howard Bashman Better late than never? The Times of London last week reported that "'Flatulent chair' at bottom of teacher's sex bias claim." In other coverage, The Telegraph (UK) last week published an article headlined "My whoopee cushion chair drove me to despair, says deputy head." And The Sun (UK) published an article last week headlined "Blown out by noisy chair." "Justices Hear Challenge to Plan For Guantanamo-Prisoner Trials": Jess Bravin has this article (pass-through link) today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 01:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Weigh Foreign Defendants' Rights": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 12:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Hint That They'll Rule on Challenge Filed by Detainee": Linda Greenhouse has this article today in The New York Times. Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "Court Appears Wary of Terror War Tribunals; Most justices seem open to a prisoner's claims that new presidential powers go too far." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "The law vs. the government." In USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that "High court scrutinizes military tribunals plan for detainees; Justices challenge notion that law voided their jurisdiction." In The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage reports that "Detainee's lawyer asks high court to reject military panel trial; Case tests limits on Bush's power." In The Houston Chronicle, Patty Reinert reports that "Justices question trials for terror suspects; Court to decide by July if military tribunal can try bin Laden's driver." The Chicago Tribune reports that "Justices weigh plea of detainee at Guantanamo; Bin Laden's driver seeks day in court." The Miami Herald reports that "Justices hear tribunal challenge; The Supreme Court heard the case of Osama bin Laden's former driver who is challenging President Bush's right to try him before a military commission." The Washington Times reports that "Tribunal said to violate Geneva." Financial Times reports that "Justices cast doubt on validity of Guantanamo commissions." The Guardian (UK) contains an article headlined "Guantanamo's day of reckoning in supreme court; Case pits presidential powers against law of war; Detainee argues tribunals are unconstitutional." The Telegraph (UK) reports that "Bin Laden's ex-chauffeur challenges Bush in court." The Yale Daily News reports that "Supreme Court hears Hamdan arguments; Justices intensely question solicitor general, who argued against extending rights of detainees." And The Washington Post reports that "Record Shows Senators' 'Debate' That Wasn't." "Judge Knot": Online today at The American Spectator, Quin Hillyer has an essay that begins, "The utter cluelessness of the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate continues to show itself in the Senate's continuing refusal to move forward with confirmation of federal judges, especially to the circuit courts of appeal." Posted at 12:30 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained segments entitled "High Court Voices Skepticism of President's Tribunals" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Senate Takes Step Closer to Domestic Spying Oversight." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 11:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Scalia seeks Justice over gesture": The Boston Herald today contains an article that begins, "Famously feisty Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia yesterday denied that he made an obscene gesture Sunday inside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, accusing the Herald staff of 'watching too many Sopranos episodes.'" You can access the text of Justice Antonin Scalia's letter to the editor of The Boston Herald at this link, while an image of the letter is available here. And in other coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Justice Scalia Chastises Boston Newspaper." "Jury to consider if Moussaoui's lies cost lives; Deliberations to start Wednesday": CNN.com provides this report. Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman "New allegation on Moussaoui; He offered to help prosecution in bid for better treatment in jail, court is told": This article appears today in The Sacramento Bee. Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "High Court Weighs in on EBay Patent Fight" and "High Court to Mull Suspects' Treaty Rights." Posted at 10:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Ebay in court to defend patent charges": Financial Times provides this report. Posted at 09:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge in Illinois Graft Case Denies Request for Mistrial": The New York Times contains this article today. The Chicago Tribune today contains articles headlined "Ryan jury starts over with 2 new members; Door remains open on possible mistrial" and "Thoughtful, not quick to judge." In addition, columnist John Kass has an op-ed entitled "With mistrial in air, Ryan judge says 'no.'" And The Chicago Sun-Times contains articles headlined "2 jurors replaced with alternates" and "Don't bet jurors will start from scratch: experts." "Lawmaker loses phone tape appeal": This article appears today in The Washington Times. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports today that "Court sides with Boehner on taped call." The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that "Taped call case wins Boehner $700,000." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that "Court rebuffs McDermott; Appeals panel upholds judgment in wiretapping lawsuit." The Seattle Times reports that "Appeals court rules against McDermott." And The Hill reports that "Court backs Boehner in McDermott suit." My earlier coverage is here. "Enron prosecutors rest case; Some charges dropped in effort to streamline case against Lay, Skilling": The Houston Chronicle contains this article today. And Mary Flood has an article headlined "Prosecution rests — How did it perform; Legal experts say the feds laid out a solid case, but Lay and Skilling 'could still walk away.'" The New York Times today contains articles headlined "Enron Prosecutors Drop Some Charges and Rest Case" and "Lay Lawyer Had Emergency Heart Procedure Last Week." The Washington Post reports that "Enron Trial Made Simpler; Accounting Chief's Plea Cut Details." And USA Today reports that "Act 1 of Enron case wraps up; Prosecutors rest; defense goes to work on Monday." "Moussaoui Offered to Implicate Himself; In Trade, 9/11 Figure Sought Better Jail Conditions Until Execution, Jury Is Told": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. Today in The New York Times, Neil A. Lewis reports that "Defense Tries to Undo Damage Moussaoui Did." The Los Angeles Times reports that "FBI Agent Says Moussaoui Was Looking to Make a Deal; In testimony, he details a secret negotiation at a Virginia jail; He says the terrorist offered to help prosecutors in order to avoid the death penalty." And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Moussaoui case almost to jurors; Defense rests after trying to undermine testimony of their al-Qaida client." "Muhammad 'Psychotic,' Medical Assessment Says": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "Sniper John Allen Muhammad is not competent to stand trial, his attorneys argued in a motion filed yesterday along with a psychiatric evaluation that says the defendant should not be allowed to defend himself during his murder trial because he is 'psychotic, delusional' and 'paranoid.'" Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Judges support review of NSA spying program; 5 ex-members say secret court should oversee it": This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun. And The Washington Times reports today that "FISA judges say Bush within law." In today's edition of The New York Times: The newspaper contains an article headlined "Judges on Secretive Panel Speak Out on Spy Program." Adam Liptak reports that "Ex-Prisoners With Court Debt Must Have Vote, Judge Rules." And an article is headlined "Teaching the Bible in Georgia's Public Schools." "Senators End Right to Derail Votes Secretly; Nearing a vote on ethics and lobbying rules that many say are too weak, they also defeat a bid to create an independent public integrity office": The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, "The Senate on Tuesday voted to strip its members of the power to secretly place a "hold" on legislation they oppose, a parliamentary tool that has allowed a single senator to derail bills or nominations while leaving no fingerprints." Posted at 07:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Judicial Review": Monday's edition of The Wall Street Journal contained an editorial that stated, "It's been two months since Samuel Alito was confirmed to the Supreme Court and it's past time Senate Republicans got back to work confirming appeals-court judges." (Via "Confirm Them"). Posted at 07:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Hears War Powers Case": This segment (transcript with link to audio) appeared on yesterday evening's broadcast of the PBS program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." Posted at 06:58 AM by Howard Bashman On yesterday evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Supreme Court Questions Military Trials for Detainees" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Moussaoui Attorneys Try to Salvage Defense." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 06:55 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that "Military Tribunal Case Comes Before Skeptical Supreme Court." In other news, "Erasing Computer Files Might Create Employee Liability." An article reports that "2nd Circuit Criticizes Attorney for Failure to File Notice of Appeal." In news from Texas, "Judge Dismisses Several Charges Against Lay, Skilling." And an article reports that "Pa. Superior Court Throws Out $52,000 in Sanctions in Med-Mal Case." Tuesday, March 28, 2006 "Court hears challenge to tribunals; Scalia stays on case despite public remarks": CNN.com provides this report. Posted at 09:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to hear patent injunction case": c|net News.com provides this report. Posted at 09:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Justices Question Law on Detainee Trials": Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times provides this news update. And in Wednesday's edition of The Washington Post, Charles Lane will have an article headlined "Case Tests Power of Judiciary, President; Military Tribunals' Legality Is Debated." "Supreme Court hears challenge to military tribunals": Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald provides this news update. Posted at 08:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Because I Say So: The Supreme Court takes the military tribunals out for a spin." Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate. Posted at 08:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Ryan trial deliberations to resume": The Chicago Tribune provides a news update that begins, "A federal judge announced this afternoon that she had rejected a defense request for a mistrial, added two alternates to the jury and planned to restart the deliberations in former Gov. George Ryan's trial." The Chicago Sun-Times provides a news update headlined "Ryan judge replaces dismissed jurors." And The Associated Press reports that "Two Jurors Replaced at Ex-Ill. Gov. Trial." "High Court Hears Challenge to Military Tribunals": This lengthy segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation." And today's broadcast of the public radio program "Here & Now" contained a segment entitled "Michael Isikoff on Scalia, GITMO" (RealPlayer required). "Justice O'Connor and the 'Right to Die': Constitutional Promises Unfulfilled." Law Professor Michael Patrick Allen has this essay (abstract with link to download) online at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Military Tribunal Case Comes Before Skeptic Supreme Court": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this news update. Posted at 04:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Oral Argument: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld." You can now access online, on demand by clicking here (RealPlayer required) C-SPAN's broadcast of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. Posted at 04:50 PM by Howard Bashman "DeLay Says Justices 'Don't Get' Criticism": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Republican Rep. Tom DeLay said Tuesday that former and current Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg 'don't get it' when they complain about conservative criticism of judges." Posted at 04:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Analysis: Hard day for government in Hamdan case." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 04:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Look Askance at War Tribunal Order": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times provides a news update that begins, "A Bush administration lawyer ran into sharp and skeptical questions from the Supreme Court today in defending the president's order to use specially arranged military tribunals for suspected war criminals." Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Osama's Driver Takes Case to U.S. High Court" (featuring Dahlia Lithwick) and "Slate's Jurisprudence: Senate's Link to Hamdan" (featuring Emily Bazelon). RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 03:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Law Blog = Blawg": In the current issue of Pennsylvania Law Weekly (produced by the folks who publish The Legal Intelligencer), Chelsea Gilbert has this front page article quoting not only several lawyers from Pennsylvania, but also some well-known law bloggers from across the Nation. Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman Mississippi sex toy litigation and Younger abstention: A reader has kindly sent along for posting a copy of the ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi dismissing without prejudice a challenge to Mississippi's ban on sex toy sales. As I noted in a post from this morning, earlier this month the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling. Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Why a Marriage Amendment is Necessary; Courts Continue to Redefine Marriage Despite Public Opposition": The Republican Policy Committee of the U.S. Senate issued this report today. Posted at 02:22 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Congressman Loses Appeal in Phone Taping"; "Judge Weighs Jury Alternates in Ryan Trial"; and "Al-Qaida Plotters Dismiss Moussaoui's Role." Posted at 02:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Questions Military Trials": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 01:35 PM by Howard Bashman Reader mail: A "How Appealing" reader who attended today's U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments emails: I arrived at 7:10 a.m., 14 persons were ahead of me in the Maryland Avenue line for the members of the SCT bar. There were at least 100 people on the front plaza and sidewalk, many of whom had evidently camped out overnight, but as there is no grass left due to the construction projects, it must have been uncomfortable sitting on the sidewalk for so long.I thank the reader very much for this thorough report. Posted at 01:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Some charges dropped as Enron prosecution rests; Government lawyers finish after eight weeks of testimony; defense lawyers for former executives to start their case Monday": CNNMoney.com provides this report. Posted at 01:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Padilla Judge Restricts Classified Info": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The federal judge overseeing the terrorism case against Jose Padilla imposed tight restrictions Tuesday on the handling of classified material to prevent disclosure of national security secrets when classified evidence is turned over to the defense." Posted at 01:00 PM by Howard Bashman "From the Court's Docket: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld." The Pocket Part, the online companion of The Yale Law Journal, has today posted online this article by Law Professor Neal Katyal. Also available online today, a response from Ariel N. Lavinbuk entitled "Breaking with Custom" and a response from Stephen Townley entitled "Our Darwinian Law of War." C-SPAN3 to broadcast audio of today's oral argument in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The oral argument is scheduled to conclude at 12:30 p.m. eastern time today, and the broadcast on C-SPAN3 should begin soon thereafter. You can view C-SPAN3 live, online using RealPlayer and Windows Media Player. Posted at 11:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Enron defense faces uphill battle; As the government wraps up their side of the case, Lay and Skilling's defense teams will have to work hard to bounce back": CNNMoney.com provides this report. And Fortune magazine reports that "At Enron trial, defense can't rest; Lawyers for Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling have to take hard swings at government witnesses." Eighth Circuit rejects Commerce Clause challenge to federal conviction for homemade child pornography: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link. Posted at 11:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Fans and foes weigh in on justice gesture": The Boston Herald today contains an article that begins, "While legal watchdogs wagged a disapproving finger at U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia for his off-color 'Sicilian' salute in Boston's cathedral, the Archdiocese of Boston said yesterday it won't publish a photo of the gesture in its newspaper The Pilot." Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Aaron Burr and Antonin Scalia, Acting Chief Justice": Orin Kerr has this post at "OrinKerr.com." Posted at 11:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Kennedy & O'Connor at Stanford Law School": "SCOTUSblog" offers this post. Posted at 11:10 AM by Howard Bashman In news from Chicago: The New York Times reports today that "Illinois Trial in Graft Case Is Thrown Into Ferment." The Chicago Tribune today contains articles headlined "Judge ousts two jurors; Alternates eyed to avert Ryan mistrial"; "Spotlight can be uncomfortable for jurors"; and "Cautious approach guided editors." Transcript excerpts appear in an item headlined "Pallmeyer's statements about jurors." And columnist Eric Zorn has an op-ed entitled "Here's story behind story about 2 jurors." And The Chicago Sun-Times contains an article headlined "2 jurors gone -- will trial go on?" "eBay gets the BlackBerry treatment; Patent trolls are on stage again; But this time they're at the Supreme Court -- and the court's decision could change the law": Fortune magazine provides this report. Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman Who knew that this was a sex toy ruling? The Associated Press, in this report, reveals the subject matter of an otherwise apparently quite bland recent non-precedential ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued earlier this month. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman D.C. Circuit holds that in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Congress did not waive the federal government's sovereign immunity on claims for damages: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman Divided three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel affirms damages award in favor of plaintiff in Boehner v. McDermott: You can access today's ruling, in this dispute between two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, at this link. The majority opinion explains, "The issue on appeal is whether undisputed facts prove that Representative James A. McDermott 'unlawfully' obtained the tape recording of an illegally-intercepted conversation in which Representative Boehner participated." By affirming the award of damages in favor of Representative John A. Boehner (R-OH), the majority answers that question in the affirmative. Posted at 10:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Patient's pot plea meets skepticism; Judges' questions hint they won't protect medicinal use": Today in The Sacramento Bee, legal affairs writer Claire Cooper has an article that begins, "A frail medicinal pot user from Oakland took the federal government to court again Monday but left with little encouragement." Posted at 10:01 AM by Howard Bashman "Court to Commission": National Review Online has today posted an editorial that begins, "The Supreme Court hears arguments today in one of the most important cases since the beginning of the War on Terror." Posted at 09:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Panel sees walkout, protest": Yesterday's edition of The Yale Daily News contained an article that begins, "The invitation of two controversial speakers led to a walkout and a separate picket line protest at this year's Yale Law Journal symposium on executive power." Posted at 09:55 AM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained segments entitled "High Court Hears Challenge to Administration's Military Tribunals" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Moussaoui Testifies About Plan to Attack White House." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Curb on Access to News in Prison Gets Hearing": Linda Greenhouse has this article today in The New York Times. And the newspaper also reports that "Court Rebuffs Times on Libel Suit Appeal." "Prosecutors of 2 Ex-Enron Officials Could Rest Case Today": The New York Times contains this article today. The Washington Post reports today that "Lay Faces a Second Trial, Alone; Judge Will Weigh Separate Federal Charges of Bank Fraud." And The Houston Chronicle reports that "Skilling's broker tells of attempt to sell stock." "Moussaoui says he was to attack White House; But Sept. 11 planner, in custody overseas, contradicts account": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. In The New York Times, Neil A. Lewis reports that "Moussaoui Now Ties Himself to 9/11 Plot." The Washington Post reports that "Moussaoui Says He Was to Fly 5th Plane; White House Attack Planned for 9/11, Terrorist Testifies." And Dana Milbank's "Washington Sketch" column is headlined "A Terrorist's Grand Delusion." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Moussaoui Says He Was to Fly 5th Plane; But Al Qaeda plotter's testimony is at odds with a statement of 9/11 architect read in court." In The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage reports that "Moussaoui now says White House was his attack target on Sept. 11." And USA Today reports that "Claim of 9/11 role shakes up trial; Sudden reversal by Moussaoui." "Scalia's Recusal Sought in Key Detainee Case; Retired Officers Say Justice's Impartiality Is in Question After Remarks on Combatants": Charles Lane has this article today in The Washington Post. Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "High Court to Review Guantanamo Case; Challengers say military tribunals permit Bush to act as lawmaker, prosecutor, judge and jury; Congress has complicated the debate." And in The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin has a front page article headlined "Court on Trial; As Justices Weigh Military Tribunals, A Guantanamo Tale; Torture in Morocco Is Alleged By Accused Accomplice In Old 'Dirty Bomb' Plot; A Constitutional Conundrum" (pass-through link). In today's edition of The Los Angeles Times: An article reports that "Georgia Passes Bill to Fund Bible Courses in Public High Schools." A front page article is headlined "80 Eyes on 2,400 People; If terrorists come to tiny Dillingham, Alaska, security cameras will be ready; But privacy concerns have residents up in arms." In other news, "Blake's Lawyers Protest Verdict; They ask a judge to overturn the $30-million judgment against actor, citing juror misconduct." The newspaper contains editorials entitled "Execute Moussaoui?" and "Fat and happy justice." And Law Professor Jonathan Turley has an op-ed entitled "Our loquacious justices; U.S. Supreme Court judges should be seen and not heard, at least until the case is over." The Washington Post is reporting: In today's newspaper, an article headlined "Heating Up With Hot-Button Issues" begins, "As if the debates over immigration and the Iraq war weren't contentious enough, Congress is about to embark on some really hot-button issues: flag burning, same-sex marriage and censuring the president." An article is headlined "Muhammad Asks to Defend Himself." And in other news, "Pr. George's Nudity Ban At Clubs Is Blocked." "EBay at the Bar": This editorial appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 06:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Is Don'tDateHimGirl.Com Legal? The Site Where Women Post Photos and Information About Men They Claim Cheated on Them." FindLaw commentator Julie Hilden has this essay today. Posted at 06:40 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, March 27, 2006 On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Scalia Remarks Draw Criticism Before Guantanamo Case" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Moussaoui Testifies He Was to Hijack Plane on 9/11." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 11:34 PM by Howard Bashman "High court case tests extent of presidential powers in war": Joan Biskupic will have this article Tuesday in USA Today. Posted at 10:18 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that "Top Law Firms Join Forces in Landmark Detainee Case." And Marcia Coyle reports that "Supreme Court to Look at Critical Patent Issue in eBay Case; Justices to review injunctions for halting patent violations." The White House officially withdraws the nomination of Henry W. Saad to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit: The official notice of the nomination's withdrawal is here. Posted at 10:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Jury duty can reveal secrets": The Chicago Tribune provides a news update that begins, "The white-hot spotlight of the American judicial system can be uncomfortable, with lawyers, judges and sometimes the media prying into difficult and embarrassing moments. But defendants aren't alone in the glare. From the moment a jury summons arrives, potential jurors find their own histories under scrutiny." Posted at 10:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Specter pursues independent political path": James Kuhnhenn of Knight Ridder Newspapers provides this report. Posted at 10:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Medical marijuana focuses on right to life": David Kravets of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A lawyer for an ill California woman whose doctor says marijuana is the only medicine keeping her alive asked an appeals court Monday to prevent federal drug agents from ever arresting her." Posted at 10:04 PM by Howard Bashman "High court to hear landmark eBay patent case": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 09:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Reading Material for Pa. Inmates Debated; High Court Hears 1st Amendment Case": Charles Lane will have this article Tuesday in The Washington Post. Posted at 09:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Invisible Men: Did Lindsey Graham and Jon Kyl mislead the Supreme Court?" Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 09:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeal from a wife's revenge: close, but no cigar; Wife's role in lawyer's conviction a key factor." This article appears in today's issue of The National Law Journal. My earlier coverage is here. Posted at 08:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Retired Generals Want Scalia Off Gitmo Case": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman Over the recorded dissent of seven judges, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denies rehearing en banc of decision holding that the Supreme Court of Louisiana may constitutionally deny nonimmigrant aliens the opportunity to seek admission to the Louisiana bar: Today's lead dissent, by Circuit Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham, begins: I respectfully dissent from the Court's refusal to consider en banc the important issues in this case. The panel majority rejects strict scrutiny on the basis that these "nonimmigrant aliens," whatever that means, are not as "discrete and insular" as the "permanent resident aliens" afforded suspect classification by the Supreme Court. It reaches that result by judicially crafting a subset of aliens, scaled by how it perceives the aliens' proximity to citizenship. This is a bold step not sanctioned by Supreme Court precedent.My coverage of the original divided three-judge panel's ruling, which issued in July 2005, can be accessed here. The Fifth Circuit currently has sixteen judges in regular active service. Assuming no recusals, nine votes were required to grant rehearing en banc. Posted at 07:45 PM by Howard Bashman Unanimous three-judge Fifth Circuit panel holds that physician assistants and nurse practitioners do not qualify for the professional exemption to the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act: Last Friday's ruling, which the Fifth Circuit posted online today, can be accessed here. Posted at 07:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Scalia Gives a Sign, but No Finger": The Associated Press provides this report. My earlier coverage is here. Posted at 07:10 PM by Howard Bashman Several amici urge Justice Antonin Scalia to recuse from further involvement in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, No. 05-184: A letter filed with the U.S. Supreme Court this evening on behalf of five retired generals and admirals who have previously filed amicus briefs in the case can be accessed here. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Scalia asked to step aside." "Ryan judge dismisses 2 jurors": The Chicago Sun-Times provides a news update that begins, "Two jurors who served for nearly six months on former Gov. George Ryan's jury were dismissed today after a federal judge learned the two had criminal histories they didn't disclose at the beginning of the trial." Posted at 05:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Bizarre Sex Toys Wars in the South": Law Professor Arthur S. Leonard has this post at his "Leonard Link" blog. Posted at 05:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Inmate Claims Veganism Is a Religious Belief": Law Professor Howard M. Friedman has this post at his "Religion Clause" blog. Posted at 05:25 PM by Howard Bashman "The incessant demand for pornography, some have said, is an engine of technological development." So begins a lengthy opinion that Chief Judge John M. Walker, Jr. issued today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Posted at 04:50 PM by Howard Bashman The Senate Judiciary Committee appears likely to hold an additional hearing to consider whether all immigration appeals should be heard and decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) just noted during today's executive business meeting (which remains underway) that objections to the proposal had been expressed by various federal appellate judges, and apparently those judges (and perhaps others, including the Federal Circuit's Chief Judge) will be invited to testify before the committee on the subject perhaps as early as next week. Posted at 04:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Ryan judge probing jurors' criminal records; Jury deliberations could be resumed Tuesday": The Chicago Tribune provides this news update. Posted at 04:25 PM by Howard Bashman "The Honorable Judge Pickering Talks About the Politics of Judicial Confirmation and the Culture War": The Center for Individual Freedom has posted online the transcript of a recent radio interview with former Fifth Circuit Judge Charles W. Pickering, Sr. Posted at 03:55 PM by Howard Bashman "ACLJ Represents Members of Congress in Asking Federal Court to Dismiss Lawsuit Challenging National Motto 'In God We Trust'": The American Center for Law and Justice issued this press release today. You can access the brief filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California at this link. Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Illinois top court undecided on Altria rehearing": Reuters provides a report that begins, "The Illinois Supreme Court still has not decided whether it will rehear a case in which it threw out a $10.1 billion verdict against Philip Morris USA, a court spokeswoman said on Monday." Posted at 03:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Bush's wartime powers face court challenge": This article will appear Tuesday in Financial Times. And James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Guantanamo tribunals under court scrutiny." "A Conspiracy Theory: How the Supreme Court can decide its thorniest case." Online at Slate, Ariel N. Lavinbuk has a jurisprudence essay that begins, "Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Hamdan v. Rumfseld, the case against Osama Bin Laden's motor-pool operator, on trial for conspiracy before a Guantanamo Bay military commission." Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Presidents, Senates, and Failed Supreme Court Nominations": Keith E. Whittington has this article (abstract with link for download) online at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). Posted at 02:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Court rejects lawyers' appeal over pit bull ads": Reuters provides this report. And at the blog "f/k/a....," David Giacalone has a post titled "Supreme Court rejects PIT-BULL appeal." The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Justices Review Prison Disciplinary Rules" and "Moussaoui Says He Was to Hijack 5th Plane." Posted at 02:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Remarks on Detainees By Scalia Raise Recusal Questions": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this news update. Posted at 12:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Immigration Bill Could Hinder Asylum Bids; Lawyers Say Reforms Might Widen Use of Mass Detentions and Expedited Removals": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 12:08 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Two Justices Eye Driver Privacy Case"; "O'Connor, Justices Exchange Farewells"; and "Moussaoui Denies Part in 9/11 Hijackings." Posted at 11:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Jackson's Unpublished Opinion in Ex parte Quirin": Law Professor Jack Goldsmith will have this interesting article in the Spring 2006 issue of The Green Bag. In the article's first paragraph, Goldsmith writes that "the opinion is of more than historical interest. For it analyzes many of the same issues that are being debated today in the war on terrorism -- most notably in the battle over the legality of military commissions currently before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld." "Free to Dissent: Why Justice Scalia need not recuse himself from the Hamdan case." Daveed Gartenstein-Ross has this essay online today at The Weekly Standard. Posted at 11:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices: Suit Against Times Can Proceed." Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The Supreme Court refused Monday to block a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times over columns that linked a former Army scientist to the 2001 anthrax killings." Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Immigration Bill Spooks Patent Bar": This post appears at CalLaw.com's "Legal Pad" blog. Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman Today's U.S. Supreme Court Order List: You can access it online at this link. The Court today granted review in one case, Lawrence v. Florida, No. 05-8820. In addition, Justice Antonin Scalia, joined by Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., issued an opinion concurring in the denial of certiorari in Fidelity Federal Bank & Trust v. Kehoe, No. 05-919. The Court today also issued a decree in Arizona v. California, No. 8, Orig. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Court to hear habeas case." This morning's executive business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee: The agenda is here, and C-SPAN intends to broadcast it live at 10 a.m. eastern time. You can access C-SPAN live, online in both RealPlayer and Windows Media Player formats. C-SPAN's preview of the meeting states, "Immigration Reform Markup: Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) chairs a full Judiciary Committee meeting to mark up pending legislation including a draft bill on comprehensive immigration overhaul. Also, the committee will vote on a bill to televise Supreme Court proceedings and judicial nominations to federal courts." Among the judicial nominees who could receive votes in committee today are Ninth Circuit nominee N. Randy Smith, whose nomination is embroiled in a tug-of-war between California and Idaho, and District of Minnesota nominee Patrick J. Schiltz, who has provided exemplary service as the reporter for the U.S. Courts Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules. The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Justices Review Prison Disciplinary Rules" and "Moussaoui Defense to Point Finger at FBI." Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Decommission The Commissions": In today's edition of National Journal, Stuart Taylor Jr. has an essay that begins, "On March 28, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether the 'military commissions' created by President Bush in November 2001 to prosecute suspected Qaeda terrorists are a time-honored presidential prerogative or (as I have reluctantly come to believe) another unwise, unconstitutional Bush power-grab." Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "'Choose Life' Tags Appear Headed to Supreme Court": You can access here the brand new installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column for law.com. Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Analysis: Hamdan and the prospects of tie votes." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Faces in the abortion battle; Generations new and old are taking up the cause during an era of change": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Posted at 07:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Vague U.S. Statute Underlies Google Case": Today in The Los Angeles Times, Michael Hiltzik's "Golden State" column begins, "Relieved at averting another confrontation with the government that no one needs, all of cyberspace seemed to exhale last week when a federal judge cut way back on the data he would require Google to turn over to the Justice Department in a big privacy case. But I'm not relieved, and you shouldn't be either." Posted at 07:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices to weigh war-crimes commission": The Washington Times contains this article today. Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Uncertainty clouds last days of Moussaoui's sentencing trial; Prosecution's own witnesses may have aided defense's case": This article appears today in USA Today. And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports today that "Key events loom for Moussaoui trial; Jury could hear his testimony, statements from two 9/11 plotters." And at FindLaw, Joanne Mariner has an essay entitled "A September 11 Stand-in." The New York Times is reporting: Today's newspaper contains an article headlined "Justices Will Hear Patent Case Against eBay." And an article headlined "For a 3rd Time, Two Apples Meet in Court" begins, "Apple Computer will meet the Beatles' Apple Corps in court this week in London, where a judge will determine whether Apple Computer's iTunes online music service violates a 1991 agreement between the two companies that, the Beatles' Apple claims, blocked the computer maker from selling music." "America Seeking To Block Appeal Of Two Chinese at Guantanamo": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Posted at 06:54 AM by Howard Bashman "blawg review #50": Available here, at "the dark goddess of replevin speaks." Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Defense takes center stage in Moussaoui trial; Defendant could take stand": CNN.com provides this report. Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, March 26, 2006 "Judicial intemperance: Scalia flips message to doubting Thomases." The Boston Herald on Monday will contain an article that begins, "Minutes after receiving the Eucharist at a special Mass for lawyers and politicians at Cathedral of the Holy Cross, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had a special blessing of his own for those who question his impartiality when it comes to matters of church and state. 'You know what I say to those people?' Scalia, 70, replied, making an obscene gesture under his chin when asked by a Herald reporter if he fends off a lot of flak for publicly celebrating his conservative Roman Catholic beliefs." Posted at 11:15 PM by Howard Bashman "A patent injustice": Monday's edition of Financial Times contains an editorial that begins, "The recently settled lawsuit involving BlackBerry - which nearly blackened the popular handheld's screens across America - should be a wake-up call for Americans to tackle the crisis in their patent system." Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Demonizing the courts: Far-right attacks on judiciary are fueling possible violence and must be stopped." Florida Today contains this editorial today. Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Kansas death penalty statute heads back to U.S. high court": This article appeared yesterday in The Kansas City Star. Posted at 10:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Detainee Case Will Pose Delicate Question for Court": Linda Greenhouse will have this article Monday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Georgia v. Randolph and Consent to Search One's Home": Daniel J. Solove has this post at "Concurring Opinions." Posted at 08:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Driver for bin Laden tests war tribunal; Osama bin Laden's driver is about to challenge President Bush's Military Commissions at the Supreme Court; At issue: Is the anti-terrorism court at odds with the U.S. Constitution?" This front page article appears today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 06:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Scalia, Hamdan, and Recusal": Ed Whelan has this post at National Review Online's "Bench Memos" blog. And my earlier coverage is here. In only another two and a half hours from now, I should have completely downloaded the 238 MB Windows Media file containing video of Justice Antonin Scalia's remarks. Posted at 06:15 PM by Howard Bashman In Monday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Warren Richey will have an article headlined "At court, a terror case rife with tough issues." In other news, "Georgia may OK Bible as textbook; If a new law passes, it would be the first state to establish the Bible in its public school curriculum in modern times." And Jim Sollisch will have an op-ed entitled "How abortion bans might help the debate; They could force the majority of people on both sides to find common ground." In today's edition of The Chicago Tribune: An article reports that "Craigslist suit faces speech hurdle; Communications law may trump fair housing." And columnist Steve Chapman has an op-ed entitled "Knock, knock: A rare victory for privacy and common sense." "Bench repair": Today in The Washington Times, former Fifth Circuit Judge Charles W. Pickering Sr. has an op-ed in which he writes, "With good lawyers making far more money than federal judges, with nominees now facing a virtual firing squad at confirmation, it is no wonder studies now show half of those approached about being nominated to the federal judiciary say 'no thanks.'" Posted at 04:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Patent system under scrutiny; BlackBerry case highlights complaints, backlog of applications": The Dallas Morning News contains this article today. And in related coverage, Allen Pusey has an article headlined "Marshall law: Patent lawyers flock to East Texas court for its expertise and 'rocket docket.'" "Execution by injection faces scrutiny; Legal battle reveals controversial details of state's procedures": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch, along with an item headlined "Details emerge on execution process." Posted at 04:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Ad blitz coming in abortion campaign; S.D. debate to lure out-of-state interest": The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota contains this article today. Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "For Flanders, it's time for a career change -- again": Today in The Providence Journal, columnist M. Charles Bakst has an op-ed that begins, "When former Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Robert Flanders strode last Monday into the freshman constitutional law seminar he teaches at his alma mater, Brown University, a cry of 'Congratulations!' rang out and the students applauded. Well, why not? Republican Flanders, 56, had emerged as GOP Sen. Lincoln Chafee's pick for a seat on the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston." Posted at 04:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Group wants federal court to decide pay-raise challenges": The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania today contains an article that begins, "A government watchdog group wants a federal judge to take the lead in deciding the constitutionality of the 2005 state officials' pay raise law." Posted at 04:14 PM by Howard Bashman "The Wall of Fame was born seven years ago when U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Arthur L. Alarcon suggested to the Los Angeles County Bar Assn. that the legal profession should do more to honor colleagues." The Los Angeles Times today contains an article headlined "82 Lawyers Who Raised the Bar for Their Peers; A Wall of Fame honoring top attorneys in county history will be dedicated next week at the downtown L.A. criminal courthouse." Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Debate about how we die rages on, but chasm grows": The Orlando Sentinel today contains an article that begins, "A bulletproof vest still hangs in his office closet, but Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer has collected a number of awards to hang on the wall." According to the article, later this week will mark the one-year anniversary of the death of Terri Schiavo. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court: Detainees' Rights--Scalia Speaks His Mind." Michael Isikoff will have this Periscope item in the April 3, 2006 issue of Newsweek. Reuters reports that "Supreme Court justice said to slam detainee rights." And at "SCOTUSblog," Marty Lederman has a post titled "Justice Scalia Announces Opposition to Trials in Civil Courts for Alien Military Detainees." Justice Antonin Scalia's remarks are available online at this link (Windows Media Player required). "Medical pot case back to litigation; Oakland cancer patient who lost last year to try again with new argument": Josh Richman has this article today in The Oakland Tribune. And David Kravets of The Associated Press reports that "Renewed bid for medical marijuana back in court." "On S.D. abortion law, loud silence": Dick Polman, political analyst for The Philadelphia Inquirer, has this article today in that newspaper. Posted at 09:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Domains | David Boies: An Open Case." This item appears today in The New York Times Magazine. Posted at 09:02 AM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The Boston Globe: An article reports that "Marshall urges legislators to approve judicial pay hikes; Says 15% raises are long overdue." And an article in the Ideas section is headlined "A man's right to choose: This is Joe's sperm; It contains his genetic material; When joined with an egg, it can produce offspring--as well as certain legal responsibilities; Does Joe have any say in all this?" Saturday, March 25, 2006 In news from the University of North Dakota School of Law: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard oral arguments there yesterday. In news coverage, The Associated Press provides an article headlined "Lawyer: North Dakota hunting rules are illegal; Arguments heard at UND's law school draws crowd of 150." And The Forum of Fargo reports that "N.D. hunting rights argued." According to The AP's report, "McGuigan handled most of the judges' questions after Haas [a North Dakota assistant attorney general] became speechless early in his own presentation. After making a few remarks, Haas was able to speak only a few words at a time, standing silent at the lectern for about 20 seconds at a time before sitting down. He appeared to be stricken by stage fright." And in related coverage, "Iraq veteran's arguments stifled at murder trial, lawyer says." "For Closure: Do death sentences really give victims relief?" Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. And the odds are quite good that the essay will also appear as an op-ed in tomorrow's edition of The Washington Post. Posted at 11:40 PM by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit Judge and Ninth Circuit scholar comment on blog post regarding circuit split: Very early this morning, I linked here to a post at "PrawfsBlawg" titled "The Ninth Circuit (Most of It, Anyway) Fires Back." Since then, comments to that blog post have appeared not only from someone who misspells my first name, but also (it would seem) from Ninth Circuit Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain and Law Professor Arthur D. Hellman. "Alabama legislators consider bills to ban abortions": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 11:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Reynolds says court ruling won't hurt domestic cases; Chief says probable cause enough to let cops enter without warrant": The Huntsville Times today contains an article that begins, "Huntsville Police Chief Rex Reynolds doesn't think a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week will raise major obstacles to the way his officers handle domestic violence calls." Posted at 11:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Case Challenges Power of President; Military Tribunals' Legitimacy at Issue": Charles Lane will have this front page article Sunday in The Washington Post. Carol Rosenberg of Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that "Justices to hear constitutional challenge to special war courts." And Gina Holland of The Associated Press reports that "Bush's Powers Again Under Review by Court." In today's edition of The Chicago Tribune: An article reports that "2nd Ryan juror in question; Tribune record search finds apparent history of arrests." In other news, "Group picks vote in abortion fight; S. Dakota drive seeks ballot issue in the fall." And an editorial is entitled "Tricked into fatherhood?" "Initiative Targets Abortion Ban; Foes of South Dakota's new law are gathering signatures for a ballot challenge to overturn it": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The Washington Post: An article reports that "Families' Hope For Answers At 9/11 Trial Is Unfulfilled; With New Information Scant, Frustration and Pain Mingle." Sandra Day O'Connor and Roy Romer have an op-ed entitled "Not By Math Alone." And a letter to the editor begins, "In his March 16 op-ed column, Robert D. Novak argued that Judge Terrence W. Boyle deserves a prompt Senate confirmation vote to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in part because 'his only liability is that he is a conservative who spent a year on Sen. Jesse Helms's staff.'" In today's edition of The New York Times: An article headlined "In Bills' Small Print, Critics See a Threat to Immigration" begins, "A little-noticed provision in two key Senate immigration bills would reshape the handling of immigration appeals cases and has touched off an outcry from several legal scholars, federal judges and the policy-making group for the federal courts." A news analysis is headlined "Unwelcome Attention From Moussaoui Trial." In other news, "Privileged Conversations Said Not Excluded From Spying." And in news from Chicago, "Jury Weighing Fate of Ex-Governor of Illinois Has Its Own Problems." "Court opens lawyer's case file after keeping it secret 8 years": This article appeared yesterday in The Seattle Times. Posted at 09:58 AM by Howard Bashman "A Tribute to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor": The March 2006 issue of the Harvard Law Review contains this collection of short tributes (via "OrinKerr.com"). Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Conference on Supreme Court Nomination Process": Thanks to C-SPAN, you can access online the video of all six hours and twenty-three minutes of Friday's fascinating conference programs (which I earlier previewed here) by clicking here (RealPlayer required). Sandwiched in the middle of the broadcast is a talk from, and question-and-answer session with, Justice Stephen G. Breyer. Posted at 12:30 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: Yesterday's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation : Science Friday" contained a segment entitled "Controversy Brews over Patenting Laws of Nature." And yesterday's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained a segment entitled "Planned Parenthood to Fight S.D. Abortion Law." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "The Ninth Circuit (Most of It, Anyway) Fires Back": At "PrawfsBlawg," Steve Vladeck has this post about Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski's latest effort at explaining why the Ninth Circuit should remain intact. An update to the posts counts fourteen Ninth Circuit judges who did not sign-on to Judge Kozinski's essay. Posted at 12:05 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, March 24, 2006 Available online from law.com: Emma Schwartz and Tony Mauro have an article headlined "Firms Buying Their Way Into the High Court Club; Once a tiny specialty, Supreme Court work is growing." In other news, "Federal Judge: Calif. Billboard Law Limits Free Speech." And the brand new installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column is headlined "'Choose Life' Tags Appear Headed to Supreme Court." This evening's blogging break was brought to you by the musical "Wicked": Preceded by a lovely family dinner at Roy's Restaurant. Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman In case from Puerto Rico, unanimous three-judge First Circuit panel exercising mandamus jurisdiction orders recusal of federal district judge and termination of investigation into government misconduct in the grand jury proceedings: Today's per curiam ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit can be accessed here. Posted at 03:45 PM by Howard Bashman Access online today's order of the U.S. Supreme Court announcing reargument of Kansas v. Marsh, No. 04-1170: The order is available online here. The case was originally argued on December 7, 2005, while Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was still serving. The transcript of that oral argument is here. This is the second case to be reargued since Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined the Court. The first case, Garcetti v. Ceballos, No. 04-473, was reargued earlier this week. The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Supreme Court to Rehear Death Penalty Case" and "Federal Judge Appointed to FISA Court." Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Roberts confirms his preference for cops; The Supreme Court's new chief justice takes off the kid gloves in defending martial authority over citizens": The Roanoke Times contains this editorial today. Posted at 02:24 PM by Howard Bashman "All Rise, Rock and Roll; 7 D.C. Judges and a Shrink Court Fun -- and a Little Disorder": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 02:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Nominations: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer remarks on the Supreme Court and its role in democracy at a Harvard University conference on the role of the press, political parties, public policy, and interest groups." Beginning at 10:45 a.m. eastern time today, C-SPAN will provide live coverage of an event organized by the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. The first part of the program is titled "Nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court." The second part of the program is titled "The Role of the Supreme Court in American Democracy." And the third and final part of the program being televised is titled "Nominations of Harriet Myers [sic] and Samuel Alito." You can view the event live, online by clicking here (RealPlayer required) or here (Windows Media Player required). "Prosecution Rests at Moussaoui Sentencing Trial": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 10:33 AM by Howard Bashman Instead of living up to the sentiments engraved on a tablet at the base of the Statue of Liberty, "in the halls of our immigration courts today, the sentiments all too often are more like 'don't let the door hit you on your way out'": So writes Sixth Circuit Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr. in a concurring opinion issued today in an immigration appeal decided by a divided three-judge panel of that court. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman "After Roe: South Dakota is a preview of what the abortion landscape will look like--eventually." Jonathan V. Last has this essay online today at The Weekly Standard. Posted at 09:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Uncertain Shield: The U.S. Intelligence System in the Throes of Reform." Information on Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner's latest book is available at this link. Posted at 08:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Bush shuns Patriot Act requirement; In addendum to law, he says oversight rules are not binding": Charlie Savage has this article today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 08:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Saad withdraws name for judgeship; Sens. Levin, Stabenow blocked confirmation of judge on Mich. Appeals Court to 6th U.S. Circuit": This article appears today in The Detroit News. And The Detroit Free Press reports today that "Saad withdraws from U.S. court nomination." "Man cleared of Nevada petroglyph theft says 'my life was trashed'": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Testimony on Enron Weakened a Day Later": This article appears today in The New York Times. And today in The Houston Chronicle, Mary Flood reports that "Defense pecks at Glisan's story, accuses him of lying." The Chicago Tribune is reporting: Today's newspaper reports that "Ryan juror investigated; Felony DUI discovered by Tribune casts shadow on trial." And in other news, "Court blessing of censorship echoes at 2nd Illinois campus." The Los Angeles Times is reporting: Today's newspaper contains an article headlined "For Ex-Governor Who Advocates Right to Die, Political Is Personal; Booth Gardner, a Parkinson's patient, wants Washington state to adopt a measure more liberal than Oregon's assisted-suicide law." And an article reports that "Ideology, Self-Interest Stand in the Way of Political Compromise on Asbestos Claims." "Analyzing a Downfall: Claude Allen Had the Ear of the President; Now He's Accused of Theft; What Happened?" Columnist Eugene Robinson has this op-ed today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:02 AM by Howard Bashman "To Some, Need for Third Trial of Ex-Banker Isn't Evident": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 06:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Secretary of Homeland Insecurity": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "Sometimes it's hard to understand just how Michael Chertoff understands his title, secretary of homeland security." Chertoff formerly served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Posted at 06:55 AM by Howard Bashman Joan Biskupic is reporting: In today's edition of USA Today, she has articles headlined "Battles escalate over gay marriage; New legal challenges take root in state courts, legislatures" and "Wave of lawsuits targets bans on same-sex marriage; Challenges argue some states' constitutions include right to gay and lesbian nuptials." Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman "After (Billable) Hours: Lawyers hoping to escape drudgery trade one form of verbiage for another." Lawyers who blog are the subject of this essay (free access) by Cameron Stracher published today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, March 23, 2006 "Atheist, Christian attorney debate at Malone": This article appeared yesterday in The Canton Repository. Posted at 11:35 PM by Howard Bashman "8th Circuit to hear cases at UND": North Dakota Supreme Court News offers an item that begins, "The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will hear three oral arguments at the UND School of Law on Friday, March 24, 2006, beginning at 2:00 p.m. in the Baker Courtroom. All three arguments are open to the public." The item also notes that Eighth Circuit Judge Kermit E. Bye, whom I had the pleasure of meeting last year in St. Louis and whom I look forward to seeing again this summer in Brainerd, is an alumnus of the University of North Dakota School of Law. More information about tomorrow's oral arguments is available here. Posted at 11:34 PM by Howard Bashman "Petition drive to overturn South Dakota's abortion ban takes shape": The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota provides this news update. Posted at 10:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Change in 'undue burden' standard could shift abortion law": Stephen Henderson of Knight Ridder Newspapers provides this report. Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "The War On Judges": CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen has an essay that begins, "The political bullies who have launched and maintained their despicable attack on the authority and independence of the federal judiciary finally have met their match. She is a gray-haired grandmother who likes to golf, fly fish and write." Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman Available online at law.com: An article headlined "Adult Entertainment Lawyer Prevails at 11th Circuit in Battle Over Obscenity Law" profiles "How Appealing" reader Cary S. Wiggins. In news from Pennsylvania, "Woman May Not Sue Her Divorced Father Over Child Support." And an article reports that "N.Y. Appellate Court Rejects Suit Over Leno's Mocking Display of Photo." "Analysis: Hamdan and a few minutes in the Senate." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 08:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Moussaoui Prosecutors Close With FBI Agent": The Associated Press provides this report, which notes that "Before court-appointed defense attorneys could begin their case, Moussaoui announced loudly as he left for a recess that he would testify in his own behalf." Posted at 05:02 PM by Howard Bashman "The question presented in this case is whether an attorney who fails to file a notice of appeal requested by his client is constitutionally ineffective when the client waived appeal in his plea agreement." Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit answers that question in the affirmative in an opinion that you can access here. Posted at 04:58 PM by Howard Bashman Saad news from Michigan: The Detroit Free Press provides a news update that begins, "Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Henry Saad has asked President George W. Bush to withdraw his nomination to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal Michigan, after waiting for four years for confirmation from the U.S. Senate." And The Associated Press reports that "Saad withdraws name for seat on 6th Circuit Court of Appeals." "Abortion rules challenged; Teens who want to avoid telling their parents about an abortion would have new requirements to face under a House bill": This article appears today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 04:40 PM by Howard Bashman If you're not a subscriber to The Wall Street Journal Online, you're out of luck (for now): At WSJ.com's "Law Blog," Peter Lattman has posted online an "article, in which Kozinski and 32 other Ninth Circuit judges collaborated, argu[ing] against splitting up the circuit." Sadly, while you can freely access the blog post announcing the availability of the article for download, the PDF of the article itself requires a WSJ Online subscription to access. In the fullness of time, however, the article will become freely available for download via this link. Update: "ACSBlog" makes the PDF freely available at this link. The Ninth Circuit judges joining in the statement are Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder and Judges James R. Browning, Alfred T. Goodwin, J. Clifford Wallace, Procter Hug, Jr., Otto R. Skopil, Betty B. Fletcher, Jerome Farris, Harry Pregerson, Warren J. Ferguson, Dorothy W. Nelson, William C. Canby, Jr., Robert Boochever, Stephen Reinhardt, Melvin Brunetti, Alex Kozinski, John T. Noonan, Jr., David R. Thompson, Michael D. Hawkins, A. Wallace Tashima, Sidney R. Thomas, Barry G. Silverman, Susan P. Graber, M. Margaret McKeown, Kim M. Wardlaw, William A. Fletcher, Raymond C. Fisher, Richard A. Paez, Marsha S. Berzon, Johnnie B. Rawlinson, Richard R. Clifton, Consuelo M. Callahan, and Carlos T. Bea. A full list of all Ninth Circuit judges can be accessed here, and individual biographies of all who serve or have served on the Ninth Circuit can be accessed via this link. Further update: A reader emails, "It would be cool if your post mentioned that this article was published by the Federalist Society. (Engage is their publication, as you probably know.) Instead, it makes it look like this is a ACS or WSJ doc. For all the grief the Feds get, this is a perfect illustration of the vibrant debate that the organization encourages." Even further update: WSJ.com is now providing free access for all to the document at this link. "Maine water bottlers win trial": The Portland Press Herald today contains an article that begins, " Lawyers who were accused of dumping one set of clients to get involved in a more lucrative case were ordered to pay $10.8 million Wednesday by a jury in U.S. District Court in Portland. The unanimous 12-member jury found that lawyers from Seattle-based Hagens Berman violated their duty of loyalty to three small water bottlers that were on the verge of settling a claim with Nestle Waters North America, the owner of Poland Spring Water Co., in June 2003." And The Associated Press reports that "Jury Awards Bottled Water Companies $10.8M." Earlier press coverage from The Press Herald included articles headlined "Water bottlers in court to recoup lost settlement"; "Witnesses tell of how Nestle case fell apart"; and "Deliberations begin in Poland Spring case." Add "Maybe I have a bomb in my purse" to the list of things you shouldn't say to airport personnel at O'Hare: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued this ruling today. Posted at 03:05 PM by Howard Bashman Spring is here: And therefore it's time for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to begin deciding claims of patent infringement involving baseball and softball bats. You can access today's ruling in Wilson Sporting Goods Co. v. Hillerich & Bradsby Co. at this link. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Fla. Court Kills Redistricting Proposal": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Florida's highest court knocked a proposed constitutional amendment off the ballot Thursday that would have let voters decide whether to strip lawmakers of their power to redraw legislative and congressional districts." In other coverage, The Miami Herald provides a news update headlined "State Supreme Court throws out redistricting amendment." Today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Florida can be accessed here. And at his "Election Law" blog, Rick Hasen offers these thoughts. If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding: A federal court jury awarded to a Wisconsin state prisoner $50,000 in compensatory damages and $1.2 million in punitive damages on the inmate's claim of cruel and unusual punishment based on the inmate's 45-pound weight loss due mainly to the inmate's refusal to comply with a prison policy that requires Supermax prisoners to be wearing pants before they will be served meals in their cells. After the jury returned its verdict in favor of the inmate, the federal district judge entered judgment as a matter of law in favor of all defendants. The inmate appealed, and today, in an opinion by Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner that thoroughly considers the no-meals-for-pantsless-prisoners policy and inmate self-starvation, a unanimous three-judge Seventh Circuit panel affirms. (This post's title courtesy of Pink Floyd.) "This case raises a significant constitutional question of first impression in this Circuit: whether federal courts have authority, consistent with the separation of powers, to enjoin the executive branch from filing an indictment." So begins Circuit Judge Thomas L. Ambro's opinion, issued today on behalf of a two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The opinion's second sentence states, "Although federal courts have this authority in narrow circumstances, we conclude that this is not such a case and therefore reverse the District Court's judgment to the contrary." Posted at 12:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Hanging in the Balance": Today's broadcast of the public radio program "On Point" focused on the following subject: "Recently retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor is a cool and sober Arizona ranch-raised Republican. And the remarks the first woman on the high court made this month in Washington sound for all the world like the timeless warnings of America's founding fathers: defend the balance of powers, always watch out for tyranny." You can hear the broadcast online, on demand, using RealPlayer and Windows Media Player. "Lafave case judge shuns spotlight; In Marion County, he's known as a firm judge; Friends say he wasn't grandstanding with his decision in the case": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. And The Ocala Star-Banner today contains articles headlined "In the public eye; Prosecutor, judge shrug off angry calls, e-mails" and "Boy's father wanted prison for Lafave." Supreme Court of Florida approves Florida Marriage Protection Amendment for placement on ballot: You can access today's unanimous ruling at this link. The proposed amendment to Florida's Constitution that voters will consider states, "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized." "Do-over: High court re-hears whistleblower case." Tony Mauro provides this analysis at the First Amendment Center. And the Metropolitan News-Enterprise reports that "U.S. High Court Mulls Free Speech Claim by Local Prosecutor; Deputy District Attorney Contends He Was Demoted for Questioning Veracity of Warrant Affidavit." "Burying Funeral Protests: What does the law say?" Eugene Volokh has this essay today at National Review Online. Posted at 10:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Strengthens Protection Against Searches; Objection by One Resident Precludes Warrantless Entry Despite Another's Permission": Jess Bravin has this article today (pass-through link) in The Wall Street Journal. And at WSJ.com's "Washington Wire" blog, Jess has a related post titled "Supreme Disharmony." The New York Times is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "Barring Evidence From Torture Is Considered" and "Britain Upholds School Ban on a Muslim Gown." Posted at 08:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Inventing a new system": The Los Angeles Times today contains an editorial which notes that "[t]he Supreme Court is considering two cases this term that could roll back the type of patents granted and allow less punitive remedies when one is violated." Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "New Source Rebuke": The Washington Post today contains an editorial that begins, "One might hope that after its rebuke last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Bush administration would reconsider its efforts to rewrite the rules governing power plant emissions." Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Jury Told Lay Lied on Enron": This article appears today in The New York Times. And in The Houston Chronicle, Mary Flood reports today that "Glisan chips away at Lay, Skilling defense." "Judge Seeks To Sweeten Netflix Pact By Cutting Fees to Plaintiff Lawyers": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Case for Moussaoui Execution Seems Bolstered by 2 Witnesses": Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times. The Washington Post today reports that "Prosecution Begins Rebuilding Moussaoui Case; Defendant's Silence Key to Testimony." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Witness Lists FAA Measures Available for a Pre-9/11 Tip; An agency official is the first to give aviation testimony after a federal attorney nearly derailed the sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui." And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Airport official testifies in Moussaoui trial; If they had known of terror threat, 'we could have reacted,' he says." "Navy rule on prayer ignites a debate": The Washington Times today contains an article that begins, "A new Navy policy that encourages chaplains to use only 'nonsectarian' language outside of divine services has prompted criticism that regulating prayer services violates the chaplains' First Amendment rights." Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Religion's presence already felt in Georgia classrooms": This article appears today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Impact of Detainee Act Debated in Court; Panel to Decide Whether It Has Jurisdiction Over Bids for Freedom": The Washington Post contains this article today. And in The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage reports that "Court weighs detainees' right to challenge imprisonment; Cases that were filed before rules changed at issue." "Some access given in Moussaoui trial; Appeals court allows news reporters to view certain documents": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. My earlier coverage is here. Posted at 07:24 AM by Howard Bashman "In Florida, 'Uniform' Foolishness": Today in The Washington Post, columnist George F. Will has an op-ed that begins, "What Florida's teachers unions consider a menace, and what Florida's Supreme Court considers an affront to the state's constitution, weighs 105 pounds, smiles shyly, speaks softly and wants to be a nurse." Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Court rules in favor of Scott Randolph; Split Supreme Court decision settles police search question raised here in 2001": This article appears today in The Americus (Ga.) Times-Recorder. Today in The Washington Post, Charles Lane has a front page article headlined "High Court Trims Police Power to Search Homes." In The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "A Combative High Court Limits Searches of Homes; A co-tenant can negate consent, it rules; Chief justice bitingly dissents." In USA Today, Joan Biskupic has an article headlined "Court: No police search if one resident says 'yes,' other 'no.'" In The Houston Chronicle, Patty Reinert reports that "Police home searches require consent by all; In a 5-3 split, new chief justice's dissent based on domestic abuse is called 'red herring.'" And The Washington Times reports that "Divided justices reject searches if consent is split." "Roberts Dissent Reveals Strain Beneath Court's Placid Surface": Linda Greenhouse has this article today in The New York Times. Posted at 12:50 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, March 22, 2006 Two divided three-judge panel rulings of note from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: Under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, Congress established rather short time constraints within which federal appellate courts must rule on appeals from orders remanding or refusing to remand class actions to state court. Today a divided three-judge panel holds that the clock doesn't start ticking until the appellate court exercises its discretion to accept the appeal. You can access today's ruling, which entirely avoids discussing a related interesting question that I wrote about recently, at this link. In today's other ruling of note, a divided three-judge panel holds that the U.S. Supreme Court's fairly recent ruling in Crawford v. Washington is not retroactively applicable on habeas corpus to cases that were final when the Crawford decision issued. In so ruling, the majority concludes that Crawford does not constitute a watershed rule of criminal procedure that affects the fundamental fairness and accuracy of a criminal proceeding. "In Case Involving Disbarred Attorney, High Court Draws 'Fine Line' on Police Searches": law.com provides this report. Posted at 10:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Backs Searches in Some Cases": Charles Lane of The Washington Post provides this news update. David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Supreme Court Splits in Limiting Police Searches." Stephen Henderson of Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that "Supreme Court puts constraints on house searches with co-tenants." Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides a news update headlined "Supreme Court rules Ga. home search illegal." And at his eponymous blog, Orin Kerr has a post titled "Social Norms and Fourth Amendment Protection: An Initial Comment on Georgia v. Randolph." By the way, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling today in Georgia v. Randolph, No. 04-1067, not only contains Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.'s first dissenting opinion since joining the Court, but it also represents the first time that Justice Anthony M. Kennedy provided the fifth vote necessary to create a majority since Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retired from the Court. Although Justice Kennedy's vote was not technically the key swing vote, because the judgment under review could still have been affirmed by an equally divided Court (albeit without any precedential effect), it appears that Justice Kennedy is ready to fill the sometimes dramatic role of crucial swing vote going forward. On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Supreme Court Adds Limits to Search and Consent" (featuring Nina Totenberg); "New Rule Will Bar Evidence Gained Through Torture"; and "Flight Instructor Testifies About Brush with Hijackers." Posted at 08:20 PM by Howard Bashman Available online at Slate: Emily Bazelon has a jurisprudence essay entitled "You Have My Body: The Guantanamo detainees try to fight their way into court." And Dahlia Lithwick has a jurisprudence essay entitled "Talk Fast: What you won't say can kill you." "Judge Whyte Passed Over for Circuit; Some in IP See Missed Chance For Patent Court": This article appears today in The Daily Journal of California. According to the article, the next nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will be Law Professor Kimberly A. Moore. Posted at 06:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Hears Deportation Case": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 05:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Complaints Against Judges Declined in FY 2005": The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts issued this news release yesterday. Additional information is available in tables that can be accessed online here and here. Posted at 04:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Lafave case 'over for good'; When a judge rejects a plea deal for the former teacher, prosecutors say they have no choice but to drop the charges": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. And columnist Sue Carlton has an essay entitled "Getting back to normal: The Lafave sex scandal placed the victim's home under siege; How does a mother protect her son from further harm?" The Tampa Tribune today contains articles headlined "Lafave Case Over" and "Lafave Not So Pretty To Victim's Father." And The Ocala Star-Banner contains articles headlined "Charges dropped against Lafave; Family begged state to cease case after judge refused plea" and "'Prurient' media dive onto story." The newspaper has also posted online the State Attorney's Nolle Prosequi. "Court Debates Inmates Filing Federal Suits": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 03:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Guantanamo Courts to Reject Torture Statements": This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Jess Bravin appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman In exchange for handling all immigration cases, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit would get three more judges: That means that there would be a total of fifteen vacancies on that federal appellate court after all the current judges resign in protest. You can access the proposed legislation at this link (via "Patently-O: Patent Law Blog"). Posted at 03:33 PM by Howard Bashman Fifth Circuit denies rehearing en banc of decision setting aside criminal defendant's death sentence because a juror was discovered to be packin' heat: Today's order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, accompanied by an explanation from the original three-judge panel, can be accessed here. My earlier coverage of the Fifth Circuit's decision setting aside the death sentence appears in a post titled "Gun-toting juror causes Fifth Circuit to set aside Texas death sentence on habeas review" that begins, "It wasn't that the juror was so pro-death that he was hoping to impose the sentence himself." Fourth Circuit holds that news media organizations are entitled to access documentary exhibits admitted into evidence and fully published to the jury at the Zacarias Moussaoui trial: Today's order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit can be accessed here. Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III (M.D. Pa.) discusses at length his Intelligent Design ruling on today's broadcast of WHYY Radio's "Radio Times" program: The audio can be accessed online in both RealPlayer and mp3 formats. Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Court to Decide Future of Detainees' Suits": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal appellate court pressed the Bush administration Wednesday to say how much authority judges have in examining hundreds of claims by detainees challenging the legality of their detentions at Guantanamo Bay." Posted at 02:28 PM by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit rejects Alaska Right to Life Committee's challenges to certain aspects of Alaska's campaign finance law: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. Posted at 02:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Chat room insults lead to internet libel victory": The Times of London today contains an article that begins, "A woman who posted false sexual allegations against a UKIP parliamentary candidate on the internet has become the first person in a British chat room to be successfully sued for libel." The newspaper also contains an essay entitled "Verdict casts dark cloud over freedom of speech" by Mark Stephens. The essay begins, " Yesterday's ruling is a dark day for freedom of speech with broad implications. The judge has applied the old-fashioned, anachronistic tenets of libel law to the fast-evolving medium of blogging, which recognises the democratisation of knowledge." Elsewhere, The Guardian (UK) provides a news update headlined "Expert warns of more chatroom libel awards." "Law lords overturn school uniform 'jilbab' ruling": The Times of London provides a news update that begins, "The law lords today overturned a court ruling that a teenager's human rights were violated when she was banned from wearing full-length Islamic dress at school." Today's ruling of the House of Lords can be accessed both here and here. In other press coverage, The Sun (UK) provides a news update headlined "Uniform ruling overturned." Bloomberg News reports that "U.K.'s Highest Court Backs School Ban on Muslim Dress." And The Associated Press reports that "British Court Rules Against Muslim Girl." Lawyers whine over wine fees: The Sacramento Bee today contains an article headlined "Money fight follows wine victory; Winning lawyers in Supreme Court case battle over their fees." According to the article, "the dispute has shed light on some of the legal profession's dark corners: the magic of billable hours, the maneuverings of well-known lawyers and the high price of victory at the Supreme Court." "Millionaire Held for Contempt for 10 Years": The Associated Press provides this report about a Philadelphia-area man who apparently now holds the record for time served in prison for civil contempt. Back in 2002, then-Third Circuit Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. issued an opinion on behalf of a three-judge panel in this matter which concluded that "Because the state courts have repeatedly found that Mr. Chadwick has the present ability to comply with the July 1994 state court order, we cannot disturb the state courts' decision that there is no federal constitutional bar to Mr. Chadwick's indefinite confinement for civil contempt so long as he retains the ability to comply with the order requiring him to pay over the money at issue." "FAIR fight should not be limited to Yale Law": This editorial appears today in The Yale Daily News. Posted at 11:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Judicial Vacancies, Nominations, and Pensions": At National Review Online's "Bench Memos" blog, Ed Whelan has a post that begins, "The recent announcement by Third Circuit Judge Franklin S. Van Antwerpen that he will take 'senior status' on October 23, 2006, provides a useful lesson in the effect of the judicial-pension system on judicial vacancies and nominations." Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman Unanimous three-judge Sixth Circuit panel rejects Ken Starr's arguments for overturning $68 million commercial arbitration award: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Backs Searches in Some Cases": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman Today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling in an argued case: At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Court limits search power." The founder of "SCOTUSblog" argued the case for the prevailing party. Today's lone ruling comes in the case of Georgia v. Randolph, No. 04-1067. Justice David H. Souter delivered the opinion of the Court. You can access the syllabus here; Justice Souter's opinion here; Justice John Paul Stevens' concurring opinion here; Justice Stephen G. Breyer's concurring opinion here; Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.'s dissenting opinion here; Justice Antonin Scalia's dissenting opinion here; Justice Clarence Thomas's dissenting opinion here; and the oral argument transcript here. "Oral Argument Audio Release for Hamdan v. Rumsfeld": The Supreme Court of the United States issued this press release yesterday. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Hamdan hearing to be broadcast." "Thoughts on United States v. Grubbs": Here, at "OrinKerr.com." Posted at 09:42 AM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained segments entitled "FBI Agents Prove Helpful to Moussaoui Defense" and "Georgia Eyes High-School Bible-History Classes" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 09:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Superior Says He Didn't See Agent's Report on Moussaoui": Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times. In addition, columnist Maureen Dowd has an op-ed entitled "Fly Into a Building? Who Could Imagine?" (TimesSelect subscription required). The Washington Post today reports that "Moussaoui Memo Unseen, Court Told; Ex-FBI Official Was Unaware of Agent's Warning." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Moussaoui Arrest No Cause for Alarm at FBI; If they had searched his belongings, agents might have stopped the 9/11 attacks, but in 2001 the case wasn't a priority, a former top official says." And The Richmond Times-Dispatch contains an article headlined "Ex-FBI official: Plot data didn't reach him." "Glisan: Ex-Enron bosses knew of financial woes." Mary Flood has this article today in The Houston Chronicle. And the newspaper also reports that "Furlough lets inmate testify like a civilian." "Ruling Limits Investors' Legal Options; High Court Decides Against Large State Class-Action Suits": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:22 AM by Howard Bashman "L.A. Officials Know to Expect Attorney's Call; Stephen Yagman began the practice of holding leaders to account for the actions of police": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Spending Measure Not a Law, Suit Says; Senate, House Versions Are Different": This article appears today in The Washington Post. And The Hill reports today that "Typo attracts legal scrutiny." At his "Election Law" blog, Rick Hasen offers these thoughts. "Court backs police in porn sting": The Washington Times today contains an article that begins, "The Supreme Court yesterday ruled in favor of police who obtained a search warrant for a man's home in anticipation that he would accept mail delivery of child pornography he ordered as part of a sting operation." Posted at 07:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Federal Aid Is Focus of a Lawsuit by Students": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "A student organization is suing the United States Education Department over a law that denies federal financial aid to 35,000 students a year because they were convicted of drug offenses while receiving the aid." Posted at 07:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Court to Decide Fate of Detainee Lawsuits": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A newly enacted federal law that could void hundreds of pending lawsuits filed by detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is at the center of a case before a U.S. appeals court." Posted at 06:52 AM by Howard Bashman "White House Will Reverse Policy, Ban Evidence Elicited by Torture": Jess Bravin has this article (free access) today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Constructionist Supreme Court To Revisit Women's Suffrage": This newsbrief appears in the current issue of The Onion. Posted at 06:44 AM by Howard Bashman "'Roe v. Wade for Men'? A Men's Rights Group Makes A Farfetched Claim for Avoidance of Child Support." FindLaw commentator Joanna Grossman has this essay today. Posted at 06:40 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, March 21, 2006 In Wednesday's edition of The New York Times: Adam Liptak will have an article headlined "New Scrutiny for Law on Detaining Witnesses." In other news, "In the Jungle, the Unjust Jungle, a Small Victory." And the newspaper will contain an editorial entitled "Patently Ridiculous." Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that "Supreme Court Tackles Patentability of Scientific Phenomena." And in news from California, "In a First, Casino Suit Ordered to Arbitration; Attorneys joust over sovereign immunity." "Cos. May Find Relief After Quattrone Case": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:45 PM by Howard Bashman "US Supreme Court limits class-action suits": Patti Waldmeir of Financial Times provides this news update. Posted at 10:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Public-Interest Groups File Suit over Budget Bill": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Mini-Moore goes to war": This editorial appears today in The Birmingham News. Posted at 06:10 PM by Howard Bashman "High court rejects Tucker's tax case": The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette today contains an article that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down former Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker's request to reverse his guilty plea in a tax-evasion case, tying up the last loose end of the Clinton-era Whitewater investigation." Posted at 06:05 PM by Howard Bashman Public Citizen challenges as unconstitutional next month's federal court filing fee increases: The complaint filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia can be accessed here. The organization today also issued a press release titled "Recently Passed Law Cutting Medicare, Student Loan Spending Is Invalid, Public Citizen Tells Federal Court; Version of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 Passed by Senate and Signed by President Was Different From House Version." Posted at 06:00 PM by Howard Bashman "The entrapments of unwanted pregnancies": Yesterday in The Boston Globe, Cathy Young had an op-ed that begins, "With challenges to legal abortion in the headlines, a debate over another kind of reproductive rights has been making news as well." The same essay is also freely available online here at Reason. Posted at 05:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Considers Whistleblower Lawsuits": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 05:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Complaint challenges moment of silence in schools; Perry aide says state law doesn't force students to pray": This article appeared earlier this month in The Dallas Morning News. Posted at 05:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Consulting Foreign Law": At "The Faculty Blog" of the University of Chicago Law School, Law Professor Cass R. Sunstein has a post that begins, "Justice Ginsburg recently gave a speech in which she offered a qualified defense of the practice of consulting foreign law." Posted at 05:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Tackle Question of Patents on Scientific Phenomenon; Case could help resolve a festering debate whether a basic scientific phenomenon can be patented": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this news update. Posted at 05:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Petroglyphs Theft Conviction Overturned": The Associated Press provides this report. My earlier coverage is here. Posted at 04:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Auditors say papers tell of efforts to hide accounting tricks; Pair deny seeing questionable data until just recently": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. Posted at 04:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Slate's Jurisprudence: Moussaoui Trial Resumes." This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." And The Sacramento Bee today contains a front page article headlined "Moussaoui alerts ignored, agent says." Earlier today, I collected additional press coverage here. "Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Lafave": The Tampa Tribune provides a news update that begins, "Hours after an Ocala judge rejected a plea deal that would have given house arrest to 25-year-old Debra Lafave, prosecutors there dropped charges against her." A news update from The St. Petersburg Times can be accessed here. The Associated Press reports that "Charges Dropped in Student Sex Case." And in earlier coverage, The Ocala Star-Banner provides a news update headlined "Judge rejects no-jail plea deal for Lafave." "Former Ala. Justice Says He Won't Bolt GOP": The AP provides a report that begins, "The former Alabama Supreme Court justice who was ousted for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from court property denied rumors Tuesday that he would switch parties in his race for governor." Posted at 03:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Skakel to Appeal to Supreme Court": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit reverses convictions arising from the theft of several Native American petroglyphs that had been removed from an unmarked site on the side of a mountain in northwest Reno: Today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit can be accessed here. The opinion concludes, "Because the government introduced no evidence other than 'archaeological value' to prove that Ligon and Mizell stole something of 'value' belonging to the government in violation of § 641, the district court should have granted their motions for acquittal." The Associated Press has previously provided extensive coverage of this matter, including articles headlined "Two indicted in theft of petroglyphs"; "Accusations fly in stolen petroglyph caper in Reno"; "Lawyers for men accused of petroglyph theft blame Forest Service"; "Experts clash over stolen petroglyphs in U.S. court in Reno"; "Reno trial spurs debate over best way to protect native artifacts"; "No verdict yet in case of alleged petroglyph thefts in Nevada"; and "U.S. judge issues prison terms for theft of petroglyphs in Nevada." "This case involves a dispute over the patent rights to a cosmetic skin-care product used to remove 'keratotic plugs'--commonly known as blackheads--from facial skin." A patent-law dispute between products used to keep skin pores clean and clear today resulted in a three-judge panel decision consisting of three different opinions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part states that "the panel majority has misunderstood the chemistry, in holding that neutralization of 14.5% of the maleic acid groups means that the totality is a salt and not an acid. This flawed science led to an incorrect conclusion of law." Is the determination of whether a thing is a salt or an acid a question of law, or a question of fact? Seventh Circuit affirms lawyer's federal conviction for trading with the enemy (which in this case was Cuba, not the lawyer's ex-wife): The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit today issued an opinion by Circuit Judge Terence T. Evans that begins: Divorce rates are disturbingly high. Sometimes, marital splits get nasty when an ex-spouse decides to dish out a little dose of discomfort to his or her former partner. And as far as dishing out discomfort is concerned, the havoc visited on Chicago lawyer Richard Connors by his ex-wife would win a gold medal for creativity. With substantial assistance from his ex, Connors stands convicted in federal court of (among other things) violating a law we seldom encounter, the Trading with the Enemy Act.Cuban cigars are at the root of the lawyer's conviction. Posted at 12:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Public records ruling could cost Akron $860,000; Ohio Supreme Court says city should pay $1,000 for each record destroyed in overtime claims case": The Akron Beacon Journal contains this article today. And The Canton Repository reports today that "Akron liable for records destruction." My earlier coverage is here. "Law faculty rates high in diversity; Yale ranks fifth among top schools in percentage of full-time black faculty": This article appears today in The Yale Daily News. Posted at 12:20 PM by Howard Bashman In today's mail: The book "Trapped: When Acting Ethically Is Against the Law," by John Hasnas. Posted at 12:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Man Alive: Is The New York Times still pro-choice? You wouldn't know it from reading the op-ed page." Garance Franke-Ruta has this essay online at The American Prospect. Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Webcasts open vital link for ailing SJC jurist; Sosman views arguments online": The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, "When the Supreme Judicial Court began broadcasting oral arguments on the Internet last May, proponents predicted that the webcasts would be must-see viewing for appellate lawyers, law students, and court buffs with a taste for something besides the latest sensational murder trial. It turns out that the webcasts have also proved vital to helping an ailing justice continue her duties." Posted at 12:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices hear King County 911 case; Can emergency calls be used as evidence?" The Seattle Post-Intelligencer contains this article today. And The Las Vegas Review-Journal today contains an editorial entitled "The right to face one's accuser: High court hears Sixth Amendment case." "Suspected killer 'B-Stupid' arrested; The alleged gang leader was wanted in Houston and New Orleans": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. And The Times-Picayune reports today that "Police capture city's No. 1 suspect; 'B Stupid' wanted in string of killings." Meanwhile, in unrelated news, The T-P also reports today that "Rapper released on house arrest; He made bail, faces retrial on club killing." This individual formerly went by the name C-Murder. "Lafave deal rejected; A Marion County judge Tuesday said accepting the plea for Debra Lafave, the teacher accused of having sex with a 14-year-old, would erode the public's confidence in schools": The St. Petersburg Times provides this news update. You can view the trial court's written ruling at this link. "Conviction Overturned for Banking Star Quattrone": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Court Blocks Suit Claiming Investment Fraud": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The Supreme Court made it harder Tuesday for investors to file class-action lawsuits claiming that companies misled them." Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman Thanks to everyone who emailed in response to my post titled "Who's on the panel?" from earlier this morning: It appears that only the Fourth Circuit, the Seventh Circuit, and the Federal Circuit require counsel to wait until the day of oral argument to learn which three judges have been assigned to an appeal. In the D.C. Circuit, I am reliably advised, counsel learns which three judges will hear an appeal before the case is even briefed. At this point, I'd be particularly interested in hearing from readers in connection with the other three questions raised in my earlier post: (1) are there any lawyers who would prefer not to learn which three judges are hearing argument in a case before the date of argument arrives, and if so why?; (2) what reasons argue in favor of, or against, having a nationwide rule requiring the composition of oral argument panels to be disclosed at least one week before oral argument?; and (3) why was the Federal Circuit's experiment with disclosure deemed a failure by that court's judges? Today's U.S. Supreme Court opinions in argued cases: The Court today issued two opinions in argued cases. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Court limits securities lawsuits." The Court's first ruling issued today came in the case of United States v. Grubbs, No. 04-1414. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court. You can access the syllabus here; Justice Scalia's opinion here; Justice David H. Souter's opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment here; and the oral argument transcript here. The Court's second ruling issued today came in the case of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Dabit, No. 04-1371. Justice John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. You can access the syllabus here; Justice Stevens' opinion here; and the oral argument transcript here. Who's on the panel? In connection with an upcoming installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column for law.com, I would like to determine which of the U.S. Courts of Appeals disclose before the date of oral argument the names of the judges who have been assigned to hear and decide cases that are being orally argued. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the federal appellate court before which I appear most frequently, the court identifies to counsel approximately one week before the date of oral argument which three judges have been assigned to decide the case. For the remaining ten regional federal appellate courts, and also for the D.C. and Federal Circuits, I would be most appreciative if readers would send me emails stating whether those courts disclose, in advance of the date of oral argument, which three judges have been assigned to hear oral argument of a case. I would also be quite interested to hear from any attorneys or judges who take the position that, if they were going to argue a case before the as-of-yet hypothetical U.S. Court of Appeals for the Twelfth Circuit, they would not want to know in advance of the date of oral argument which three judges had been assigned to the case. With respect to the Federal Circuit, I'd be very interested in learning more about that court's recent "failed" experiment with disclosing the identity of oral argument panels in advance of the oral argument date. Was the experiment in fact deemed unsuccessful because one or more of that court's judges was disappointed that cases were settling between the time that the identity of oral argument panels was disclosed and the date for argument? Is settlement based on which judges are assigned to decide an appeal ever a bad thing, and couldn't such settlements occur just as readily immediately after oral argument? Finally on this subject, do any readers see a need or desire for a uniform rule (say a brand new Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure) requiring disclosure at least one week in advance of oral argument of the identity of the three judges assigned to decide an appeal? Even if some advocates might use the information to attempt to ingratiate themselves with the panel by citing the judges' earlier pronouncements on the law at oral argument (which Seventh Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook, for one, tends to find quite infuriating), advance disclosure also has certain unquestionably beneficial effects, such as allowing the parties and their lawyers to consider whether any grounds for recusal exist that the judges on the panel did not know of or may have overlooked. Readers are invited to email their information and views on these topics to me at appellateblog@hotmail.com. In today's edition of The Washington Post: An editorial is entitled "Citing Foreign Law." Dana Milbank's "Washington Sketch" column is headlined "A 'Unified Command Structure' in Search of a Leader" and focuses on former Third Circuit Judge Michael Chertoff. And business columnist Cindy Skrzycki has an essay entitled "Business Thinks Data Rule Isn't Worth Its Salt." "Justices Weigh If Accusers Must Testify in Court": Charles Lane has this article today in The Washington Post. Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "Justices Signal Court Testimony's Primacy; All but Ginsburg lean toward defendants having the right to 'be confronted' by accusers, even in cases of domestic violence and abuse." The newspaper also reports that "Widow's Legal Battle With Philip Morris Ends." In The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "High court lets $50 million tobacco award stand; Justices decline to take up Philip Morris' appeal over size of punitive damages in lawsuit brought by Los Angeles smoker." And The Washington Times reports that "High court rejects appeal, ends Whitewater case." "F.B.I. Agent Testifies Superiors Didn't Pursue Moussaoui Case": Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times. The Washington Post today contains a front page article headlined "FBI Was Warned About Moussaoui; Agent Tells Court Of Repeated Efforts Before 9/11 Attacks." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Agent Faults FBI on 9/11; The man who caught Zacarias Moussaoui testifies that higher-ups blocked his efforts to determine whether there was a larger plot." The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Agent says FBI negligent on probe; He testifies his bosses disregarded evidence of brewing terror plot." And USA Today reports that "Agent warned FBI about Moussaoui, hijack plan." "Conviction Of Ex-Star Banker Tossed Out; Judge's Errors Cited In Quattrone Case": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Conviction of Tech Banker Is Reversed; A federal appeals panel also removes the trial judge from Frank Quattrone's case." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Court gives Quattrone another chance; Palo Alto investment banker's obstruction conviction voided." The San Jose Mercury News reports that "Quattrone conviction overturned; Star investment banker could face third trial." USA Today reports that "Quattrone's obstruction conviction thrown out." And The New York Daily News reports that "Quattrone gets
conviction tossed." "Abortion lessons from Latin America": Marianne Mollmann has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 06:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Librarian Is Still John Doe, Despite Patriot Act Revision": The New York Times contains this article today. Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman "California Prisons Uneasily Prepare To Desegregate Cells": This article (free access) appears today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 06:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Should Men Have the Right to a 'Financial Abortion'? A Biological Father Cries Sex Discrimination When Forced to Pay Child Support for an Unwanted Baby." FindLaw commentator Sherry F. Colb has this essay today. Posted at 06:35 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, March 20, 2006 "Nerd" no more: The Supreme Court of the United States is no longer calling Carter G. Phillips counsel for "petitionerd" in the eBay case. My original post on this matter is here. And the corrected Hearing List can be accessed here. The change comes after at least one of the lawyers arguing tomorrow's patent law case expressed disappointment that the Court wasn't also calling him a nerd. Either he's too cool, or it's too difficult to make the error with respect to counsel representing a party other than the petitioner[d]. Mindful that courts sometimes see fit to eliminate errors noted at "How Appealing," the original "petitionerd" Hearing List has been preserved for posterity (or at least until this blog relocates one month from today to its new law.com address) at this link. No word yet on whether the uncorrected Hearing List was distributed to visitors at the Court today and, if so, how much of a premium the document will fetch at auction on the web site operated by petitionerd. Tonight's DVD selection: Completed watching the film "Paper Clips." And if Netflix is to be believed, tomorrow's mail should contain "Capote." Posted at 11:04 PM by Howard Bashman First I was born, and then eight days later.... Ian Best, who is blogging for law school credit at "3L Epiphany," attended my talk last Monday afternoon at the Moritz College of Law of The Ohio State University and took especially careful notes. The result is a post at his blog titled "How Appealing: The Life of Howard Bashman." Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman "$50 million award upheld for widow of California smoker": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle provides this news update. Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman In Tuesday's edition of The New York Times: Linda Greenhouse will have an article headlined "Justices Weigh In on Use of Tapes and Transcripts." And in other news, "Banker Granted Retrial in a Case From 90's Boom." "Controversy over US patent laws goes before the Supreme Court": Patti Waldmeir has this article in Tuesday's issue of Financial Times. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: An article reports that "Quattrone Conviction Reversed by 2nd Circuit." Justin Scheck reports that "9th Circuit Slams DOJ Over Detention." And in other news, "Witness Flap Casts Doubt on Call for Death in Moussaoui Case." "FBI Agent Slams Bosses at Moussaoui Trial": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 08:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Law Blog Special: A Night Out With Judge Alex Kozinski." Peter Lattman has this post at the WSJ.com's "Law Blog." Sadly, the post describes a meeting at a trendy hotel bar without providing any details of what the discussants were imbibing, although we do learn from the post what Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski's new motor vehicle is imbibing. I also must discount the post's suggestion that Judge Kozinski would imply that he'd be less interested in being the Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit if that entailed being Chief of the post-split Ninth Circuit, because while that conceivably might be something a chief judge-in-waiting might think, it's not something that a chief judge-in-waiting would say. Finally on the subject of a potential Ninth Circuit split, Idaho Republican Congressman Mike Simpson had these remarks last Wednesday in the Congressional Record. "Abortion issue in Alaska gets new fuel; South Dakota law could change Roe, might renew the debate in Alaska": The Anchorage Daily News contains this article today. Posted at 06:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Same-sex marriage ruling expected in Washington; The state's high court should rule any day on the Defense of Marriage Act": This article appears today in The Oregonian. Posted at 06:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court rules against City of Akron records' destruction": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The city of Akron could be forced to pay $860,000 for destroying records that documented how much time off two secretaries earned, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Monday." You can access today's 4-3 ruling of the Supreme Court of Ohio, answering certified questions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, at this link. Fourth Circuit declines to revive lawsuit against Maryland State Police and 24 of its officers alleging that defendants racially profiled minority motorists on Interstate 95 in Maryland: You can access today's decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link. Posted at 05:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court Overturns Conviction of Top Banker": The New York Times provides this news update. Posted at 04:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Brown Joins in Enforcing Clean Air Act; Appellate Judge's Vote Doesn't Sway Her Critics": Today in The Daily Journal of California, Dennis Pfaff has an article (free access) that begins, "Federal appeals court Judge Janice Rogers Brown voted with her colleagues late last week to strongly reject Bush administration attempts to loosen air pollution regulations." Posted at 04:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Robe Warriors: If you think judges should be above petty politics, try not to watch them campaign this year." The February 2006 issue of Governing Magazine contained this article. Thanks to "North Dakota Supreme Court News" for the pointer. Posted at 04:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Granholm to OK bill on abortion; Doctors would have to give women the option of viewing an ultrasound before having the procedure": This article appears today in The Detroit News. And The Detroit Free Press reports today that "Granholm agrees to abortion regulation; Bill to add ultrasounds to the rules." "In Praise Of Judicial Modesty": Stuart Taylor Jr. has this essay in today's issue of National Journal. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Flanders nominated for federal court; Sen. Lincoln Chafee puts the former state Supreme Court justice's name forward to replace Bruce Selya on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals": Saturday's edition of The Providence Journal contained an article that begins, "Robert G. Flanders, a former Rhode Island Supreme Court justice, respected Providence trial lawyer and onetime Brown University football star, was nominated yesterday by Sen. Lincoln Chafee to a seat on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the nation's most prestigious courts. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Flanders, 56, of East Greenwich, would replace Judge Bruce Selya, who is retiring to what federal judges refer to as 'senior,' or part-time, status." No word of the nomination appears yet at the White House's web site. Motor vehicle accidents leading to damages claims against the United States: In a case arising from a tragic snowmobiling accident, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today issued an order certifying to the Supreme Court of Montana, among other questions, the question "Does the gross negligence standard of care in the snowmobile liability statute, Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-653 (1996), violate the Montana equal protection clause." The United States Forest Service is the appellant, having suffered entry of a multi-million-dollar judgment against it in the federal district court. By contrast, the United States emerged victorious in the district court and, now, on appeal in an automobile accident case that the Seventh Circuit decided today. But, before ruling in favor of the United States on the merits, Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook, on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel, chides counsel for the federal government for opposing appellate jurisdiction based on an argument that "no statute, no rule, and no decision in the history of the United States" has recognized as valid. "Court Overturns Quattrone Conviction": The Associated Press provides this report on today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The conviction has been vacated, and the case remanded for a retrial, due to erroneous jury instructions. The Second Circuit has also ordered that the case be handled on remand by a different district judge for reasons explained at the end of today's opinion. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit deprives this past Saturday's broadcast of C-SPAN's "America & the Courts" of any drama: The March 18, 2006 broadcast consisted of video (RealPlayer required) of the Ninth Circuit's oral argument, held on March 7, 2006, in Nadarajah v. Gonzales. C-SPAN's broadcast fails to note, however, that the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in the case on Friday, March 17, 2006. My earlier coverage of that ruling is here. Correction: At the conclusion of the broadcast, C-SPAN does in fact note the Ninth Circuit's ruling. "Contrary to popular belief, the Fourth Amendment does not require that a search be based on probable cause to believe that the search will yield contraband or evidence of crime. The amendment requires that warrants be based on probable cause, but forbids only unreasonable searches." So writes Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner today, in an opinion issued on behalf of a majority on a three-judge panel of that court. Posted at 02:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Chief Justice says judges never even discussed law with legislator; Sen. Dean Johnson received a unanimous vote of confidence from Senate DFLers and says he is moving on": The Minneapolis Star Tribune provides this news update. And The St. Paul Pioneer Press provides a news update headlined "Senate DFLers back majority leader after difficult week." "Justices Debate Evidence From 911 Calls": The AP provides this report. Posted at 02:14 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Israel Spy's Supreme Court Appeal Fails"; "Justices Reject N.J. Death Sentence Appeal"; and "High Court Rejects Ex-Ark. Gov.'s Appeal." Posted at 11:40 AM by Howard Bashman Dueling op-eds in today's edition of The Richmond Times-Dispatch: Law Professor Erwin Chemerinsky has an op-ed entitled "Rumsfeld v. FAIR: Ruling Was a Loss for Free Speech, Association." And Joseph Zengerle has an op-ed entitled "Friend-of-the-Court: Recruiters Will Be Welcomed Here." One month from today: On April 20, 2006, the "How Appealing" blog will be moving to a new online address because as of that date American Lawyer Media's law.com will replace Legal Affairs magazine as this blog's online host. Legal Affairs has provided a wonderful online home for this blog over the past twenty-three months, and I am confident that this blog will continue to thrive at its new location following the upcoming move. Although the online address for "How Appealing" will be changing, what will not be changing is my coverage of court rulings and law-related news that you've come to expect from this blog. Thanks for reading, and as the move approaches I'll be sure to provide plenty of notice of the address to which this blog will be moving on April 20, 2006. "The battle to ban birth control: Using bogus health facts to scare women about the 'dangers' of contraception, a fledgling movement fights for a culture in which sex = procreation." Priya Jain has this essay online today at Salon.com. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Gina Holland reports that "Supreme Court Won't Review Tobacco Award" and "Justices Pass on Internet Obscenity Case." And in other news, "FBI Agent Defends Self in Moussaoui Case." Does a rifle that never was a machinegun and that could be converted to shoot automatically in four to six hours by an expert gunsmith using readily available equipment qualify under federal law as a firearm that could "be readily restored to shoot" automatically? Today a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit answers that question in the affirmative in a decision that you can access here. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman Today's U.S. Supreme Court Order List: You can access today's Order List at this link. The Court called for the views of the Solicitor General in one case but granted review in no cases. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "No new grants." "11th Circuit's Abuzz With Sex Toy Litigation": The new installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column for law.com can be accessed here. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman In today's issue of The Harvard Crimson: The newspaper contains an editorial entitled "A Trial Tainted: We are disappointed by the government’s missteps in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui." And Curtis M. Brown has an op-ed entitled "Whitewashing Torture." "Court upholds recruiting": The Yale Daily News contains this article today. Posted at 07:23 AM by Howard Bashman "Enron Prosecutors Have Another Key Witness, From Jail": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Are gay adoptions shaping up as nation's next culture clash? Move to place children only with heterosexual couples gains some ground, but many doubt it will succeed." The Chicago Tribune contains this article today. Posted at 07:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Google stands its ground": This editorial appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. Posted at 07:12 AM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The Los Angeles Times: David G. Savage reports that "Justices May Further Restrict Domestic Violence Testimony." And an editorial entitled "Divorced from reality" begins, "One foundation of democracy is that court proceedings have to be public." "Another Blown Case?" This editorial appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:05 AM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The New York Times: An editorial is entitled "The President and the Courts." And Michael Rips and Amy Lester have an op-ed entitled "When Words Bear Witness" that begins, "The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments today in two cases that may make domestic violence cases all but impossible to prosecute." "B Vitamin Case Reaches Supreme Court": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 06:58 AM by Howard Bashman "The Battle over Abortion and Contraception, Part Two: How It's Playing Out in the Bush Administration." Elaine Cassel has this essay today online at FindLaw. Posted at 06:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Blawg Review #49": Available here, at "Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips Blog." Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Texas legislators take issue with O'Connor's warnings": Yesterday's edition of The Dallas Morning News contained an article that begins, "Now that she's left the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor has a few things to get off her chest. One of the first was to warn that the nation could slide into dictatorship if harsh critiques of the judiciary – from the likes of Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Tom DeLay – go unanswered." Posted at 06:44 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, March 19, 2006 "Justices Reach Out to Consider Patent Case": The New York Times on Monday will contain this article. Posted at 09:55 PM by Howard Bashman "State to offer 'Choose Life' anti-abortion license plates": This article appeared yesterday in The Louisville Courier-Journal. Posted at 07:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Abortion lands S.D. in nation's psyche; Blogs, comedians, pundits weigh in": The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota contains this article today. Posted at 07:20 PM by Howard Bashman "A Legal Loose Cannon: How does a government lawyer on the Moussaoui case commit a blunder so basic in a trial so big?" This article will appear in the March 27, 2006 issue of Time magazine. Posted at 07:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Court deals blow to EPA's relaxed rule on air emissions; A court ruling Friday may force the agency to insist that industrial sites upgrade their facilities": Monday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor will contain this article. Posted at 06:10 PM by Howard Bashman Majority leader 'embellished' conversation with justice; Sen. Dean Johnson 'overstated' a judge's remark about the high court's willingness to hear a same-sex marriage challenge, he says": This article appeared Friday in The Minneapolis Star Tribune. And yesterday the newspaper reported that "Johnson contrite as fallout continues; Republicans launch an ad campaign against the Senate majority leader; the minister who taped his remarks says he has 'no regrets.'" Meanwhile, yesterday's edition of The St. Paul Pioneer Press contained an article headlined "DFL Senate leader: 'I need a 2nd chance'; He says he distorted justice's comments on gay-marriage ban." My earlier coverage of this matter can be accessed here. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Judges, Magistrates, and Other Judicial Workers: The U.S. Department of Labor makes this information available online. Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Mother to judge: Let Lafave have plea deal; Charges could be dropped if teen is asked to testify." This article appears today in The Ocala Star-Banner. Posted at 04:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Droit du Sénateur: Senatorial privilege vs. quality judges." Ed Whelan will have this essay in the March 27, 2006 issue of The Weekly Standard. Posted at 03:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Minor player, major stage; Prosecutors see ex-Enron analyst's testimony helping them, but it could assist the defense": The Chicago Tribune contains this article today. And The Houston Chronicle today contains an article headlined "For defense attorneys, it's all about the 'cross.'" "Yates case revisits rigid insanity test; Defense lawyers decry the standard still used in Texas": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. Posted at 12:58 PM by Howard Bashman "On dodging coverage": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, readers' representative Dick Rogers has an essay that begins, "If you didn't hear it on National Public Radio and you didn't see The Chronicle editorial last Wednesday, you might have missed Sandra Day O'Connor's warning about the dangers of partisan political attacks on the judiciary." Posted at 12:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Playing games with the law: Politicians are targeting the sex and violence in video games, even though popular movies and television shows have similar content." The St. Petersburg Times contains this article today. Posted at 12:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Georgia Wrestles with Death-Penalty Issues": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday." Posted at 12:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Human Rights Groups Protest Law School Speech; Judge enounters student opposition after speaking to the Federalist Society": Last Monday's issue of The Harvard Crimson contained an article that begins, "U.S. Appeals Court Judge Jay S. Bybee received a less-than-cordial welcome at Harvard Law School Thursday when about 35 human rights activists protested his role in formulating policies that some claim justified the torture of detainees." Posted at 09:55 AM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The Boston Globe: An article reports that "Military retaining more gays; Lawyers see growing acceptance in ranks." Columnist Jeff Jacoby has an op-ed entitled "Scalia loosens up." And the newspaper's Ideas section contains an article headlined "Over the legal limit: Get-tough laws in Massachusetts and nationwide are cracking down on drunk drivers; Are they also eroding our constitutional rights?" "Judge in Moussaoui Trial Faces a Delicate Task; Deciding when attorney who 'tainted' witnesses will testify while keeping jury intact are her foremost concerns": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The New York Times: In addition to the articles noted two posts below, the newspaper contains an article headlined "Sex, Lawsuits and Celebrities Caught on Tape." An article about National Public Radio is headlined "Money Changes Everything." An editorial is entitled "A Breath of Fresh Air." And Michael Crichton has an op-ed entitled "This Essay Breaks the Law." In the March 27, 2006 issue of U.S. News & World Report: The magazine will contain articles headlined "Rules For An Unruly New War: The high court takes up Bush's military tribunals" and "The Letter of the Law: The White House says spying on terror suspects without court approval is ok; What about physical searches?" Posted at 08:33 AM by Howard Bashman The New York Times is reporting: In today's newspaper, Adam Liptak reports that "Public Comments by Justices Veer Toward the Political." And in other news, "Year After Shootings, Calls to Increase Judges' Security." "Administration Blocks Ex-Hostages' Bid for Damages From Iran": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, March 18, 2006 "U-M law professor, alumnus to give U.S. Supreme Court arguments": The University of Michigan has issued a press release that begins, "University of Michigan law professor Richard D. Friedman and alumnus Jeffrey L. Fisher will appear before the United States Supreme Court on March 20 in two separate cases involving the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment." Posted at 09:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?" Sunday's edition of The New York Times will contain this article. And a related graphic is here. Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Moussaoui Prosecutors Get a Break; Judge to Allow Testimony From Untainted Witnesses": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. Today in The New York Times, Neil A. Lewis reports that "Judge Gives Prosecutors New Chance in Terror Case." The Los Angeles Times reports that "9/11 Case Prosecutors Granted a Reprieve." The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Judge modifies ruling in Moussaoui trial; Compromise allows prosecutors to call an aviation witness." The Washington Times reports that "Moussaoui trial opened to 'untainted' witnesses." And The Sacramento Bee reports that "Ruling keeps Moussaoui trial alive." The Los Angeles Times is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "Court Rejects EPA's Loosening of Air Rule" and "Man Given Life Term for Shooting Lawyer." Posted at 02:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Bill would shield divorce details; The measure, touted as a defense against identity theft, helps billionaire, foes say": The Sacramento Bee today contains an article that begins, "First Amendment advocates are gearing up to fight a new version of a bill that would limit access to divorce records, a move they say would erode the public's ability to monitor judges and caters to one influential constituent: billionaire supermarket baron Ron Burkle." Posted at 02:08 PM by Howard Bashman "In Enron Trial, Witnesses' Quirks And Stamina Are on the Stand": The Washington Post contains this article today. Posted at 02:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Reverses Death Sentence of L.A. Man": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. And The Sacramento Bee reports today that "Ruling overturns a death penalty." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "Appeals Court Orders Release of Sri Lankan Asylum Seeker": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "A federal appeals court yesterday ordered the release of a Sri Lankan asylum seeker the government has detained in San Diego County since October 2001 on the suspicion that he once belonged to a terrorist organization." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. The Tennessean is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "'Choose Life' plate upheld as free speech; Court says Tennessee has 1st Amendment right, too"; "Brentwood Academy didn't err, ruling states; Appeals court finds athletic recruiting rules weren't violated"; and "Court takes gay-marriage issue; ACLU continues fight to remove proposed amendment from ballot." Posted at 01:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Searching for Google: The Justice Department badly defends a bad law." This editorial appears online today at OpinionJournal. Earlier today, I collected coverage of the court's written ruling, issued yesterday, at this link. Posted at 01:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Caught in Post-Adoption Trap, Unwed Fathers Fight for Rights": Sunday's edition of The New York Times will contain this article. Posted at 01:35 PM by Howard Bashman Who are you calling a "nerd"? It's so rare that the U.S. Supreme Court unintentionally makes a "funny" that you must take your errors as you find them. Anyhow, the Court's "Hearing List" for the oral argument session starting Monday states, for the case of eBay Inc., et al. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., No. 05–130, that Carter G. Phillips is counsel for "petitionerd." In Phillips's defense, just because the case involves high technology and patent law doesn't necessarily make him a "nerd." More likely, this is the Court's way of getting back at eBay for all the Supreme Court Justice bobblehead doll auctions occurring at that web site. "U.S. Is Denied Google Queries; Privacy activists hail a federal judge's ruling; But he orders the search engine to reveal some information about websites in its database": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The San Francisco Chronicle reports today that "Google must divulge data; Judge cuts amount of info company has to give feds." And Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News provides an article headlined "Release data, judge rules; But broad request rejected." Via the "Official Google Blog," you can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California at this link. Friday, March 17, 2006 "Judges Overturn Bush Bid to Ease Pollution Rules": This article will appear Saturday in The New York Times. And The Washington Post on Saturday will contain a front page article headlined "Looser Emission Rules Rejected; Court Says Changes By EPA Violated Clean Air Act." Available online from law.com: An article reports that "Lawyer's Insults of Judges Escalate Into Speech Case; Diatribe goes to high court; could affect attorneys' speech rights." In other news, "BlackBerry Deal Serves Up $200M Payout for Wiley." In news from California, an article is headlined "Oh, F**k It!" You can access the recent ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District at this link. And the brand new installment of my "On Appeal" column is headlined "11th Circuit's Abuzz With Sex Toy Litigation." On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Moussaoui Judge Will Allow Substitute Witnesses" and "Court Says New Pollution Rules Violate Clean Air Act." Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court: Ohio public records law trumps privacy rules." The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Ohio's public records law trumps federal medical privacy rules, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled today in ordering the Cincinnati Health Department to give a newspaper records on lead paint hazards." The article goes on to report, "Justice Terrence O'Donnell, writing for the court, said the justices faced a quandary: Federal law says the health records are protected unless state law requires releasing them -- while Ohio law says public records must be released unless federal law protects them." Today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Ohio can be accessed here. "Measures could bloat ballot; Abortion might be only one of 14 issues": This article appears today in The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Posted at 05:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Class Action Fairness Act": The Legal Talk Network's "Coast to Coast" program was devoted to that topic this week, and I was one of the guests. You can listen online by clicking here (Windows Media Player required). Posted at 04:50 PM by Howard Bashman One more reason not to shoot lawyers: The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Stalker Gets Life Sentence for Shooting Lawyer." And The Associated Press reports that "Man Gets Life for Shooting L.A. Lawyer." "Judge Accepts Compromise Deal on Moussaoui": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The federal judge in the death penalty trial of al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui accepted a government compromise Friday that will allow prosecutors to present new witnesses about aviation security." Today's order of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia can be accessed here. "11th Circuit's Abuzz With Sex Toy Litigation": That's the provisional title of the brand new installment of my "On Appeal" column that law.com is scheduled to post online tonight. An archive of my earlier columns (currently omitting this week's effort) can be accessed here. Posted at 02:45 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Some in France See Moussaoui As Scapegoat" and "Lawyers Say Coaching to Aid 9/11 Airlines." An article reports that "Abortion Law May Affect S.D. Tourism." And in other news, "States Win Suit to Stop New EPA Standards." Today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit can be accessed here. Don't meth with airport security: Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion that begins, "We must decide whether a prospective commercial airline passenger, who presented no identification at check-in, and who voluntarily walked through a metal detector without setting off an alarm, can then prevent a government-ordered secondary screening search by stating he has decided not to fly and wants to leave the terminal." Posted at 02:30 PM by Howard Bashman D.C. Circuit becomes the latest federal appellate court to rule that the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 is not facially unconstitutional: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 02:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Lets Tenn. Issue Anti-Abortion Plates": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 12:54 PM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The Harvard Crimson: An editorial is entitled "Searching for Trouble: Google shouldn't be forced to give up its data." And a letter to the editor appears under the headline "Harvard Military Recruiting Stance Hypocritical." "To have federal courts, under the guise of applying the enduring principles of the First Amendment, reverse the ordinary application of high school football recruiting rules--where the core values of the Amendment are not even remotely involved--unduly trivializes these constitutional principles." Today a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued that court's latest ruling in Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Ass'n, a case that previously produced a ruling on the merits from the U.S. Supreme Court. The title of this post comes from the beginning of the dissent from today's ruling that Circuit Judge John M. Rogers issued. Posted at 12:45 PM by Howard Bashman U.S. Supreme Court review of "Choose Life" license plate litigation has just become much more likely: Today, a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld as constitutional a Tennessee statute making available the purchase of automobile license plates with a "Choose Life" inscription, but not making available the purchase of automobile license plates with a "pro-choice" or pro-abortion rights message. You can access today's ruling at this link. Today's ruling gives rise to two different circuit splits. First, the Sixth Circuit panel unanimously rejects the Fifth Circuit's recent decision holding that the Tax Injunction Act precludes federal courts from hearing and deciding disputes of this nature. And second, the majority rejects the Fourth Circuit's recent decision invalidating a nearly identical specialty license plate law in South Carolina. My coverage of the Fourth Circuit's ruling (consisting of separate opinions from each of the three judges on the panel) is here, and my coverage of the Fourth Circuit's order denying rehearing en banc (accompanied by concurring and dissenting opinions) is here. My coverage of the Fifth Circuit's ruling is here, while my coverage of that court's order denying rehearing en banc over the dissent of eight of the sixteen judges authorized to participate in the voting is here. News coverage of this week's Sixth Circuit oral argument in the gender equality in high school sports case from Michigan: Wednesday's edition of The Detroit News reported that "MHSAA states its new point on gender." And The Grand Rapids Press on Wednesday reported that "Michigan prep sports case jumps another legal hurdle." "New execution protocol released; Rules skirt issues that delayed Morales' lethal injection, critics say": Claire Cooper, legal affairs writer for The Sacramento Bee, today has this article in that newspaper. Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Lafave not the only one whose fate is in judge's hands": Columnist Sue Carlton has this op-ed today in The St. Petersburg Times. And yesterday, that newspaper contained an article headlined "New loves bloom from Lafaves' failed union; After his wife's infidelity with a teen, Owen Lafave has remarried; She may be next." According to the article, the former schoolteacher is engaged to be remarried. "R. Fred Lewis Named Chief Justice-Elect of Florida": On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Florida issued this press release. Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Weare's wisdom: Protect private property." This editorial appeared yesterday in The Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader. Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "GOP puts judge's ouster on fast track": The Columbus Dispatch today contains an article that begins, "Ohio lawmakers vowed yesterday to swiftly start the process that could remove a Franklin County judge who sentenced an admitted child molester to probation. However, others warned that the unprecedented effort to oust a sitting judge could endanger the independence of the courts." And the newspaper today also contains a related article headlined "Probation not all that rare for sex offenders." "Tamper-Proof: Carla Martin's witness tampering wasn't rare, just sloppy." David Feige has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Stifling Dissent": The Richmond Times-Dispatch today contains an editorial that begins, "In a recent speech on foreign soil, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said people who disagree with her are dangerous, irrational, slavery-loving, bigoted threats to the country." Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Lawyer in Terrorism Trial Suggests She Didn't Act Alone; Carla Martin's attorney says she was vilified as a 'lone miscreant' in the alleged tampering": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Today in The New York Times, Neil A. Lewis reports that "U.S. Lawyer in Terror Case Is Put on Leave." The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Accusations baffling in Moussaoui case; How did U.S. lawyer so blatantly disregard the rules, experts ask." The Washington Times reports that "TSA lawyer put on paid leave in Moussaoui case." USA Today reports that "Lawyer in Moussaoui case put on leave." The Associated Press reports that "Moussaoui's Fate May Hinge on Next Ruling." The Washington Post contains an article headlined "A Firm Grip on the Gavel; With Humor, Candor, 9/11 Judge Brinkema Sets a No-Nonsense Tone." And The Wall Street Journal contains an editorial entitled "Moussaoui's Mess: A terrorist's joy ride through the U.S. legal system." "Caught Up in DNA's Growing Web": Today in The New York Times, Harlan Levy has an op-ed in which he writes, "proposals by some to extend DNA databanks far beyond convicted felons, and even to the general population, go too far." Posted at 07:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Abortion: Girls must get parent OK; Critic: 'Teens mean nothing' to Huntsman, lawmakers." This article appears today in The Salt Lake Tribune. And The Associated Press reports that "Gov. Signs Parental Consent Bill to Law." "Google Wins Copyright Battle; Archiving Issue Is Still Unclear": The Wall Street Journal today contains an article (free access) that begins, "A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Google Inc. of wrongful conduct, including copyright infringement and defamation, providing the latest court opinion to weigh in on the contentious area of search engines and copyright." Reuters reports that "Judge dismisses Google copyright case." And c|net News.com reports that "Google wins a court battle." You can access the recent ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania at this link. "A Different Take on the Supreme Court's Recent Decision Concerning Law Schools' First Amendment Rights and Campus Military Recruitment": Vikram David Amar and Alan Brownstein have this essay today online at FindLaw. Posted at 06:38 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, March 16, 2006 Divided three-judge Tenth Circuit panel issues precedential opinion holding that because Kansas has criminalized all sexual activity with adolescents under sixteen years of age, adolescents do not have a constitutional right to privacy that would prohibit mandatory disclosure of information about voluntary sexual acts with others their age: The case was originally decided by means of a non-precedential opinion issued January 27, 2006. Today's precedential ruling (available in both HTML and PDF formats) replaces the earlier non-precedential ruling. Posted at 10:32 PM by Howard Bashman In Friday's edition of The Washington Post: Charles Lane will have an article headlined "Ginsburg Faults GOP Critics, Cites a Threat From 'Fringe.'" And in other news, "Attorney Describes 9/11 Lawyer as 'Vilified'; Martin Is Placed on Leave During Investigation of Her Conduct in Moussaoui Case." In news from Connecticut: Today in The Hartford Courant, Lynne Tuohy has an article headlined "Right To Jury Trial Upheld In Trade Secret Case" that begins, "The Connecticut Supreme Court on Wednesday became the first court in the country to rule that parties seeking damages in trade secrets litigation have a state constitutional right to demand a trial by jury." The ruling, which the Supreme Court of Connecticut posted online yesterday, can be accessed here. And in other news, The Waterbury Republican-American reports today that "Giordano petitions full appeals court." "Congress Supports Solomon Ruling; House votes 347–65 to uphold Supreme Court ruling on military recruiting": This article appears today in The Harvard Crimson. Posted at 06:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawyer in Moussaoui Case Placed on Leave": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 06:02 PM by Howard Bashman "When the law chases the Internet": This editorial will appear Friday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 06:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Review Set for Fallout of 'Booker'; Judicial Experts See Much Ado in Congressman's Blast": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. speaks: The U.S. Supreme Court has begun posting online the transcripts from that Court's last argument session. Justice Alito's very first question from the bench of that Court occured in Rapanos v. United States, No. 04-1034, and was: "Does it make sense to say that any wetlands that it abuts a traditionally navigable water is covered, but a tributary that leads right into a traditionally navigable water is not necessarily covered?" For those who'd rather read the transcript of Marshall v. Marshall (also known as the Anna Nicole Smith case), No. 04-1544, that transcript can be accessed here, while the transcript in DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno, No. 04-1704, is here. "Moussaoui Case Shows Challenge of Terror Trials": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 04:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Sen. Dean Johnson's statements about court stir furor; Dean Johnson said justices told him they wouldn't overturn state's same-sex-marriage law": The Minneapolis Star Tribune today contains an article that begins, "As legislators wrestle with the explosive issue of a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson has been caught on a recording telling pastors that there was little need for such a ban because he had been assured by state Supreme Court justices that they would not overturn Minnesota law and allow such unions." Audio of the state senator's remarks can be accessed online at this link (mp3 format). And in other coverage, The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports today that "Johnson remarks target of petition; DFLer offered assurances about marriage law." In constitutional challenge to Alabama's law prohibiting sale of sex toys, federal district court issues "corrected" opinion rejecting plaintiffs' claims: The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama issued its corrected memorandum opinion yesterday. That court's original, uncorrected opinion issued February 28, 2006, reaching the same result, can be accessed here. Notwithstanding my affection for sex toy-related judicial opinions (heck, it's the topic of my "On Appeal" column next week for law.com), I don't currently have the time to compare those two 56-page rulings to see what has changed. If anyone does perform the comparison, please let me know what you discover. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Facing Death, His I.Q. Low, Man Wins Rare About-Face": Yesterday in The New York Times, Adam Liptak had this article. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit posted online its new ruling (which is dated March 10, 2006). The court's earlier, now-superseded ruling, can be accessed here. Posted at 02:50 PM by Howard Bashman California inmate's letters from prison to his attorney-wife are not protected from disclosure under the marital communications privilege: As a result, those portions of the letters that are not protected from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine will be disclosed to the federal government, which is prosecuting the inmate on federal charges, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled today in a decision you can access here. Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "11 U.S. judge nominees languish": Columnist Robert Novak has this op-ed today in The Chicago Sun-Times. Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. implores Moussaoui judge; Prosecutors seek to put 'untainted' witness on stand to preserve death penalty option": This article appears today in The Sacramento Bee. My post from earlier today collecting additional press coverage can be accessed here. Posted at 02:33 PM by Howard Bashman "The Dubitante Opinion": Law Professor Jason J. Czarnezki has this article (abstract with link for download) online at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). Posted at 12:23 PM by Howard Bashman Nudity on appeal: As I mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed my visit on Tuesday to the Ohio Judicial Center, where I observed the Supreme Court of Ohio in action at oral argument and where I had the pleasure of a behind-the-scenes tour of the building, which is quite wonderful. At oral argument, Ohio's seven Justices impressed me as well-prepared and thoughtful. This marked the first time that I have personally been in the presence of a State's highest court on which the majority of the Justices are female, and Ohio is one of several States where that is now the case. The courtroom itself is a sight to behold. The ceiling murals featured a bit more nudity than I'm used to observing in a courtroom. (Examples can be viewed here, here, and here, while those of you with QuickTime can take a virtual tour of the courtroom via this link.) But, unlike in the Ashcroft Justice Department, there's no attempt to cover-up the artwork at the Supreme Court of Ohio. "Bad Standards: The ABA goes to the Grutter." Abigail Thernstrom and Roger Clegg have this essay today at National Review Online. Posted at 11:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Prosecutors Seek to Revive Moussaoui Case": The Associated Press provides this report. The motion for reconsideration that federal prosecutors filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia can be accessed here. In news from South Dakota: The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls reports today that "Effort emerges to put abortion ban on ballot; Activists on both sides stand by contradictory polls." And The Rapid City Journal today contains articles headlined "Abortion-ban bill's opposition steepest in Black Hills" and "Factions debate contraception 'loophole.'" "Surrogate mom who kept kids must pay dad": The Cleveland Plain Dealer today contains an article that begins, "A surrogate mother breached a contract when she secreted away the triplets she delivered for a would-be Kirtland father and set out to raise them at her Pennsylvania home, an appellate court ruled Wednesday." You can access yesterday's ruling of Ohio's Ninth District Court of Appeals at this link. "Rent-to-own stores get 'capped'; Justices, reversing lower courts, rule such businesses cannot charge 80% or higher interest": This article appears today in The Newark Star-Ledger. You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link. On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained segments entitled "Abortion Rights Activists Use Petition to Fight S.D. Ban"; "Prosecutors Ask for Second Chance at Moussaoui Trial"; and "'New Testament' Translated into Gullah" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Whistle-blower tells jury of 'blatant' lies; Watkins, who predicted Enron's fall, walks jurors through her 2001 meeting with Lay": Mary Flood has this article today in The Houston Chronicle. The New York Times today contains an article headlined "Warning on Enron Recounted" and an editorial entitled "All About Andy." The Washington Post reports that "Whistle-Blower Shifts Focus of Enron Trial." And The Los Angeles Times reports that "Whistle Blower Recounts Enron Tale." "Prosecutors Scramble to Salvage 9/11 Case After Ruling": The Washington Post contains this article today, along with an article headlined "Embattled Lawyer Had Limited Role in 9/11 Trial." The New York Times reports today that "Moussaoui Prosecutors Seek Security Officials' Testimony." And Adam Liptak has a news analysis headlined "Crossing a Fine Line on Witness Coaching." The Los Angeles Times reports that "U.S. Tries to Salvage Unraveling 9/11 Trial; Prosecutors in Zacarias Moussaoui case ask that ban on aviation security witnesses be lifted, or 'there's no point for us to go forward.'" USA Today reports that "Sanction makes Moussaoui case 'impossible,' feds say; Prosecutors appeal ruling to bar aviation officials' testimony." The Washington Times reports that "Moussaoui judge asked to allow FAA testimony." And The Chicago Tribune contains an editorial entitled "'My government let me down.'" "Abortion showdown in Sioux Falls: South Dakota's only clinic is front and center in national struggle." This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 07:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Lawyers for Libby Subpoena Reporter and New York Times": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. Posted at 06:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Scalia Rails Against the 'Judge-Moralist'": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "The Moussaoui Trial: It's High Time The Death Penalty Is Taken Off the Table." Edward Lazarus has this essay online at FindLaw today. Posted at 06:40 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, March 15, 2006 On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Inside the Sentencing Phase of Death-Penalty Trials"; "Trial Latest Example of Government Incompetence"; and "Enron Whistleblower Testifies Against Ex-Chairman" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that "Justice Ginsburg Says Death Threat Fueled by Dispute Over International Law." And in news from Texas, "Former Enron VP: Vinson & Elkins Didn't Fully Investigate Accounting Irregularities." "Judges Judging Judges, Quite Judiciously": Quin Hillyer has this essay online today at The American Spectator. Posted at 05:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Souter's home stays safe": The Concord (N.H.) Monitor today contains an article that begins, "Somewhere in Washington, U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter may have breathed a sigh of relief last night. Voters in his hometown of Weare voted emphatically to direct town officials not to seize his house by eminent domain." Posted at 05:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Ohio House OKs ban on pregnancy disputes": The Columbus Dispatch today contains an article which reports that "Ten days after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that parents of children with birth defects can sue doctors for failing to identify the abnormalities during pregnancy, the House approved a bill that would ban such lawsuits. The bill now goes to Gov. Bob Taft, who is expected to sign it." My earlier coverage of that ruling can be accessed here and here. "Should campaign-finance laws apply to blogs? Congress votes this week on a bill that would exempt blogs from regulation; Critics see a soft-money loophole." This article will appear Thursday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 05:44 PM by Howard Bashman "O'Connor's warning": This editorial appears today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 05:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Ginsburg Reveals Details of Threat": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 05:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Judiciary Asks Congress to Tread Carefully with Sentencing": The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts issued this news release today. The prepared text of testimony that U.S. District Judge Paul G. Cassell of the District of Utah will deliver tomorrow to the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security can be accessed here. Judge Cassell's "Statement of the Judicial Conference," in footnote 13, calls Law Professor Doug Berman's "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog an "excellent and indispensable website." In news from Kansas: The Topeka Capital-Journal reports today that "Amendment would limit court; Measure asserts that no other branch can direct spending of Legislature." And The Kansas City Star reports today that "Legislation would limit Supreme Court action." Men wearing thong underwear (and nothing else) retain no civil rights: Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer provides a news update headlined "Thong-Wearing Protestors Lose Civil Suit Against State Troopers." You can access Monday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania at this link. The opinion begins, "In July, 2004, Plaintiffs -- a small group of young men -- protested against President Bush's visit to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania by stripping down to thong underwear and climbing onto each other's backs." "Slate's Jurisprudence: Moussaoui Trial Under Cloud." This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 04:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Claude Allen's Mentor: Shoplifting and Bushonomics." Jacob Weisberg today has this essay online at Slate. Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman Dear prison diary: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit yesterday issued an interesting decision (posted online today) recognizing that "An inmate does not, however, knowingly waive an attorney-client privilege with respect to documents retained in her cell simply because there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in those documents for Fourth Amendment purposes." Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Congressman to Seek New Sentencing Rules": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. At the "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog, Doug Berman has a post titled "Let's get ready to Booker rumble." "SJC says defense must share evidence; Some lawyers warn change is radical": The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, "A deeply divided Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that prosecutors are entitled to know before trial what evidence criminal defense lawyers plan to use to cross-examine the state's witnesses, a decision prosecutors say levels the playing field but defense lawyers argue subverts the judicial system." You can access yesterday's 4-3 ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts at this link. "Justice Ginsburg Acknowledges Death Threat Against Her; Speech in South Africa Cites Her and Former Justice O'Connor as Targets": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this report. The text of the speech can be accessed here. Posted at 02:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge deals big setback to Moussaoui prosecutors": This front page article appears today in The Sacramento Bee. Earlier today, I collected additional coverage here. Posted at 02:10 PM by Howard Bashman In news from South Dakota: The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls today contains an article headlined "Initiative may put abortion to vote; Wisconsin group opposed to ban launches campaign" that begins, "An out-of-state group that opposes South Dakota's ban of most abortions filed paperwork Tuesday to begin collecting signatures for a referendum vote. If 16,728 signatures are collected by mid-June, South Dakotans would vote Nov. 7 to approve or reject the state abortion law." You can view the referendum petition at this link. The Argus Leader also provides a news update headlined "Poll: Most South Dakotans want a statewide vote on abortion ban" that begins, "Seven out of 10 South Dakotans want to vote on the state’s new abortion ban, and 57 percent would vote to overturn the law, according to a survey done for a group that has supported Democratic political candidates." And The Associated Press reports that "Group Tries to Delay S.D. Abortion Law." In news from Alabama: The Associated Press provides a report headlined "Justice says ACLU true culprit" that begins, "Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker on Tuesday blamed a civil liberties group for the judicial ethics complaint filed against him, calling it retaliation for his career-long stance against abortion, pornography, homosexuality and a proposed tax increase for schools." law.com's Tony Mauro previously covered this matter in an article headlined "Alabama Judge Declares War on U.S. Supreme Court; State justice says colleagues should 'actively resist' juvenile death penalty ruling." "The Men's Bill of Rights: No taxation without ejaculation." Online at Slate, William Saletan has a human nature essay that begins, "A few days ago, the National Center for Men filed suit in Michigan to establish 'a man's right to make reproductive choice.'" Posted at 11:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Abortion on the Horizon: Although it won't topple Roe v. Wade, Gonzales v. Carhart is this year's abortion case to watch." Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Adam White have this essay today online at The Weekly Standard. Posted at 11:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Total Recall: Where's My Free Lunch?" My "Upon Further Review" column published Monday in The Legal Intelligencer is freely available online at this link. The essay begins, "Now that several months have passed since Pennsylvania voters learned that a statewide judicial retention election actually can be used to remove from office Justices serving on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, it is the perfect time to reflect on the lessons of what happened." And the recent article from The Harrisburg Patriot-News that I discuss in the essay can be accessed here. Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman Happy birthday to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: I won't give away her age (as The AP does here), but Justice Ginsburg is nearly twice as old as "24" actress Kim Raver, who also celebrates a birthday today (and who is more than one-and-a-half times as old as her TV show's title). Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Prosecutors Hamstrung in Moussaoui Trial": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Prosecutors seeking the death penalty against confessed terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui told a federal judge that it would be a waste of time to continue the trial after key government witnesses were barred from testifying." Posted at 10:34 AM by Howard Bashman "All's FAIR in Law and War": Jack M. Balkin has this post at "Balkinization." No word yet on whether this is a preview of a forthcoming book titled "What Rumsfeld v. FAIR Should Have Said." And "TaxProf Blog" provides a post titled "House Passes Resolution in Support of Solomon Amendment." Justice for sale: A Justice Antonin Scalia bobblehead doll is now up for auction at eBay. You can access the listing at this link. Posted at 10:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Google's fate hangs on search ruling; The details of a judge's order in its dispute with the government could determine the search giant's growth prospects": Business 2.0 Magazine provides this report. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Allison Eid takes seat on state's high court; Clarence Thomas makes introduction during swearing in": This article appeared yesterday in The Rocky Mountain News. Additional photos from the event can be accessed via this link. Posted at 09:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Freedom of Speech vs. People's Supposed Right To Hide Their Past": At "The Volokh Conspiracy," Eugene Volokh has this interesting post about the dispute that gives rise to the Ninth Circuit's order, issued yesterday, certifying questions to the Supreme Court of California. My earlier posts concerning that order can be accessed here and here. Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained segments entitled "Government Given Until Monday to Rebuild Moussaoui Sentencing Case" and "Judge to Force Google to Surrender Web Data" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 08:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Claude Allen admitted bad exchanges": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. And The Associated Press reports that "Ex-Bush Aide Carried Embarrassing Secret." "Judge Penalizes Moussaoui Prosecutors by Barring Major Witnesses": Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times, which also contains an article headlined "Lawyer Thrust Into Spotlight After Misstep in Terror Case." The Washington Post today contains articles headlined "Federal Witnesses Banned in 9/11 Trial; Judge Cites Misconduct By Lawyer; Prosecution Faces Major Setback" and "Government Lawyer's Error Upsets Families of 9/11 Victims." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Judge Curbs Terror Trial; She won't allow federal aviation officials to be witnesses in the case against Moussaoui, but will still let prosecutors seek the death penalty." USA Today reports that "Moussaoui case suffers deep cut; Prosecution loses key line of attack after lawyer's apparent misconduct." The Washington Times reports that "Moussaoui judge allows option of death penalty." And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Judge bars testimony in Moussaoui death trial; She says instructions from TSA lawyer tainted potential witnesses." "Ex-Enron Officer Says He Warned of Shady Partnerships": The New York Times contains this article today. The Houston Chronicle today contains articles headlined "Watkins sheds light on saga today; Writer of memo that warned Lay of company's doom will take the stand" and "3 different takes from 3 former employees." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Enron Witness Tells of Transfer; An ex-risk manager says he was taken out of a key job after he questioned an off-the-books deal." And USA Today reports that "Watkins set to take the stand today; Former exec wrote famous Enron memo." "Judge Says Google Must Hand Over Search Records; Firm Ordered to Comply With Narrower Subpoena": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The New York Times reports today that "U.S. Limits Demands on Google." The Los Angeles Times reports that "U.S. Cuts Back Request for Google Data; Privacy supporters worry as a judge says he may order some search queries be handed over." The Chicago Tribune reports that "Feds' Google search limited; Judge raises concern over scope of request." USA Today reports that "Judge may force Google to give up info; Justice scales back request in quest to revive porn law." In The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz has an article headlined "Google vs. government: Major dispute defused; Judge poised to require release of some date, not search queries." And The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Google must reveal some secrets; Judge rules in case involving Internet privacy but has concerns over divulging too much." In commentary from today's edition of The Los Angeles Times: The newspaper contains an editorial entitled "Scout's dishonor." And columnist Erin Aubry Kaplan has an op-ed entitled "Claude Allen's life sentence: Did the pressures of being a black conservative take a toll on the former Bush aide?" In today's edition of The New York Times: Adam Liptak has an article headlined "Facing Death, His I.Q. Low, Man Wins Rare About-Face." In other news, "Stanford Law Students Get Early Supreme Court Duty." And an article is headlined "Fascinated by Lincoln's Assassination, and the Trail of the Killer." In commentary available online from FindLaw: Michael C. Dorf has an essay entitled "Does South Dakota's New Abortion Ban Cross the Line Between 'Test' Legislation and Defiance of the Supreme Court?" And Scott Gerber has an essay entitled "The Radicalization of American Legal Education, Revisited: Why the Right's Efforts Are Good for Law Schools and the Law." Tuesday, March 14, 2006 Federal appellate court certifies questions of federal law to a state supreme court: In response to my earlier post noting an order that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today, a reader with a bit of experience on the subject has emailed: You're right to raise questions about the Ninth Circuit certifying a federal question to the California Supreme Court. The Eleventh Circuit has said that is a no-no:It will be interesting to see whether the Supreme Court of California accepts the Ninth Circuit's invitation to answer those certified questions that seek the state court's opinion on matters of federal constitutional law. Posted at 11:28 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: This evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained a segment entitled "Moussaoui Trial Will Continue Without Key Testimony." Today's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" contained a segment entitled "Moussaoui Trial Update." Today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained segments entitled "Slate's Jurisprudence: A Mistrial for Moussaoui?"; "Slate's Jurisprudence: Moussaoui Sentencing Resumes"; and "The Marketplace Report: Web Searches and Privacy." And today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained segments entitled "Witness Coaching Halts Moussaoui Sentencing Trial"; "Tone Shifting in Abortion-Rights Movement"; and "Enron CFO Finishes Testimony." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Souter home safe, symbolic vote in his favor": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:45 PM by Howard Bashman U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejects argument that federal law criminalizing transportation of obscene materials for sale or distribution is unconstitutional in the wake of Lawrence v. Texas: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Roberts Has High Court Singing in Harmony": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this report. Posted at 10:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Legal Decisions, Legislation & Forces of Nature Influence Federal Court Caseload in FY 2005": The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts issued this news release today. According to the release, "For the tenth consecutive record-breaking year, filings in the 12 regional courts of appeals rose 9 percent to an all-time high of 68,473." The statistics can be accessed via this link. Posted at 09:04 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: In news from Texas, "Fastow Admits He Lied to Vinson & Elkins Lawyers; Former Enron CFO says he was not truthful because 'I had done wrong things and I didn't want them to come to light.'" Meanwhile, in commentary available online from The National Law Journal, U.S. District Judge John M. Roll (D-Ariz.) has an essay entitled "9th Circuit split: Court is too big, too slow." And George Wheeler has an essay entitled "BlackBerry settlement: NTP patents are strong." Available online from Slate: Bert Brandenburg has a jurisprudence essay entitled "Rushmore to Judgment: South Dakota ups the ante in the national war over judges." In addition, Dahlia Lithwick and Robert Weisberg have a jurisprudence essay entitled "Causation Inflation: Did Zacarias Moussaoui really 'cause' 9/11?" "Justice Ginsburg's speech draws 850 to UT; Clinton appointee discusses gender equality": This article appears today in The Toledo Blade. And The Associated Press reports that "Supreme Court's Ginsburg says too early to predict a court shift." "The Bashman & Berman Show": At his "Law Dork" blog, Chris Geidner has this report on my lunchtime appearance today in Columbus, Ohio. Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Moussaoui Trial to Continue Without Key Witnesses": Neil A. Lewis of The New York Times provides a news update that begins, "A federal district judge today dealt a potentially fatal blow to the government's efforts to execute Zacarias Moussaoui for the deaths that occurred in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001." The Washington Post provides a news update headlined "Judge Rules That Prosecutors Can Seek Death for Moussaoui; Witnesses Coached by Government Lawyer Won't Be Permitted to Testify." The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Government Cleared to Pursue Execution of Moussaoui." And CNN.com reports that "Judge: Death penalty still on the table; Judge quizzes Moussaoui trial witnesses." "Most Judges Want Gov't-Paid Home Security": The Associated Press provides this report. And the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts today issued a news release entitled "Conference Supports Shift in Responsibility for Courthouses." Programming note: I'll be traveling back to Philadelphia shortly, but I wanted to say what a wonderful time I've had visiting with so many fans of this blog in Columbus, Ohio. This afternoon's Federalist Society event had a great turnout of interested lawyers, judges, and judicial law clerks. Earlier today, I had the pleasure of seeing some oral arguments at the Supreme Court of Ohio and taking a behind-the-scenes tour of the Ohio Judicial Center. The building houses some wonderful public exhibits that make the Judicial Center a great destination for anyone interested in the law and the judicial process. Additional posts will appear here this evening. "Judge indicates Google must turn over some data; Government scales back scope of controversial requests": Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News provides this update. And The Associated Press reports that "Judge to Order Google to Give Up Some Data." U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit certifies interesting First Amendment free speech issues to the Supreme Court of California: In an order issued today, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel certified the following issues to California's highest court: Does the California Supreme Court's decision in Gates v. Discovery Communications, Inc., 34 Cal. 4th 679, 21 Cal. Rptr. 3d 663, 101 P.3d 552 (2004), cert. denied, 126 S. Ct. 368 (2005), overturning Briscoe v. Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 4 Cal. 3d 529, 93 Cal. Rptr. 866, 483 P.2d 34 (1971), and finding no invasion of privacy, under the First Amendment, in the publication of facts about past crimes obtained from public records, apply only to publication by media defendants? Can there be liability under an invasion of privacy theory where a non-media defendant, with a commercial interest in or a malicious motive for publishing facts about a plaintiff's past crimes, does so? Under the commercial speech doctrine, is the speech of a non-media defendant with a commercial interest in or malicious motive for publishing facts entitled to less protection under the First Amendment than that of a media defendant?This certification raises some questions in my mind. Although the Supreme Court of California certainly should have the final word on the scope of that State's invasion of privacy tort, isn't the extent to which the First Amendment provides the defendant with a valid defense a question of federal law that the Ninth Circuit must decide independently? If so, isn't the certification of several of these questions a meaningless exercise? Posted at 02:05 PM by Howard Bashman No escheating: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today issued an opinion that begins, "We are called upon to decide the extent to which the federal courts are open or closed by the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution to persons who claim a state has improperly taken their property under a state's escheat system." The answer, of course, is "it depends." Posted at 01:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Weighs Next Steps in Moussaoui Trial": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 01:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Middle finger salute leads to federal lawsuit": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today contains an article that begins, "A New Castle man filed a federal lawsuit yesterday claiming his free-speech rights were violated last year when he was cited for using an obscene gesture at a construction worker." Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Federal appeals court has vacancy; Judge Bruce M. Selya's decision to assume senior status presumably opens a seat on the Boston-based court for another Rhode Islander": This article appears today in The Providence Journal. And Third Circuit Judge Franklin S. Van Antwerpen has announced that he will take senior status on October 23, 2006, giving rise to a vacancy in that Philadelphia-area-based federal appellate court seat. "Legal Times Supreme Court Correspondent Tony Mauro answers your questions about the current Supreme Court term LIVE at 1:00 p.m. today": You can view and participate in the online chat via this link. Posted at 11:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge Halts Moussaoui Terror Trial; She calls a government lawyer's coaching of seven witnesses an 'egregious violation'; The death penalty may be ruled out": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times, which also contains an article headlined "Moussaoui Case Is Latest Misstep in Prosecutions; 'There have been a lot of flubs,' a law professor says of the U.S. record in terrorism trials." The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports today that "Moussaoui trial jeopardized; Judge angrily halts trial after learning U.S. lawyer had coached witnesses." The Washington Post contains a front page article headlined "Judge Halts Terror Trial; Lawyer E-Mailed Court Transcripts To 7 Witnesses." In The New York Times, Neil A. Lewis reports that "Judge Calls Halt to Penalty Phase of Terror Trial." And USA Today reports that "Moussaoui sentencing jeopardized; Judge may bar death penalty after lawyer's 'blatant violation.'" "Mich. paternity law dispute: A weak man, weaker case": Today in USA Today, DeWayne Wickham has this op-ed. Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Fastow Leaves Stand Insisting Lay and Skilling Knew": The New York Times contains this article today. The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Fastow's Credibility Assailed on Stand; Testimony by Enron's former chief financial officer is challenged by the defense, but he is consistent with previous witnesses." And in The Houston Chronicle, Mary Flood reports that "Observers say Fastow held up well on the stand; Former CFO winds up 4 days of testimony and grueling questions." "Appeals court grants DeLay subpoena win; DA's requests for details on finance activities 'null and void'": This front page article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. And The Austin American-Statesman reports today that "Judges halt subpoenas in DeLay case; Congressman scores legal victory." "O.C. Sex Assault Trio Reportedly Rejected Offer of Shorter Term; Prosecutors are said to have offered three years in prison last year; The defendants each got six": The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, "Gregory Haidl and two other young men sentenced last week to six years in prison for the videotaped sexual assault of an unconscious 16-year-old turned down a plea deal last year that would have given them only three years, it was revealed Monday." And The Orange County Register reports today that "Haidl trio rejected prosecutors' plea bargain." "Supreme Home Makeover": Today in The New York Times, columnist John Tierney has an op-ed (TimesSelect subscription required) that begins, "When we reached Justice David Souter's home, a ramshackle old farmhouse along a dirt road, Keith Lacasse explained his plans for it if he's voted onto the town's Board of Selectmen in the election today. The first plan, which Lacasse and his friends drew up right after hearing of Souter's vote in the Kelo eminent-domain case last year, was for the town to seize Souter's property and turn it into a park with a monument to the Constitution." Posted at 06:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Google, Justice Department face off on search/privacy issue": This article appears today in USA Today. And BBC News reports that "Google set for court in data spat; Google is to take on the US government in court on Tuesday as the internet search engine fights demands to hand over records and lists of data." "Blawg Review #48": Available here, at "Rethink(IP)." Posted at 06:05 AM by Howard Bashman In commentary available online from FindLaw: Elaine Cassel has an essay entitled "The Battle over Abortion and Contraception, Part One: How It's Playing Out in the States and in the Supreme Court." And Julie Hilden has an essay entitled "Will Teachers' First Amendment Rights Be a Casualty of the War on Terror? Why the Supreme Court Should Rethink the Rules that Apply to Public School Teachers." Monday, March 13, 2006 Greetings from Columbus, Ohio: As luck would have it, my mini-jet (not to be confused with de minibus) managed to sneak into Columbus, Ohio this afternoon between thunderstorms. This afternoon, I had the pleasure of speaking with an enthusiastic group of students (and even some professors) at the Moritz College of Law of The Ohio State University. And this evening, I had the pleasure of dining with a group that included two of Ohio's finest appellate judges. In the morning, I hope to visit the Supreme Court of Ohio before heading over to the lunchtime talk with Doug Berman of "Sentencing Law and Policy" at this Federalist Society-sponsored event. "For Ex-Aide to Bush, Quick Fall After Long Climb": This article will appear Tuesday in The New York Times. And The Washington Post on Tuesday will contain an article headlined "Admission Attributed To Bush's Ex-Aide; Details Disclosed In Fraud Case." "Roe for men? The National Center for Men filed suit to establish reproductive rights for men; Is a father's right to choose an idea worth debating, or just a distraction?" Rebecca Traister has this essay today at Salon.com. Posted at 11:22 PM by Howard Bashman law.com launches the "Bashman Archive": My weekly "On Appeal" column is archived here. Posted at 11:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Howard Bashman, who we are sure, when he is not attempting a lukewarm defense of embattled legal academicians, is a veritable buffet of manliness": At the "Villainous Company" blog, Cassandra today has a post titled "Solomon Amendment Hysteria Continues Unabated." Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Fastow held up as a good witness for Enron prosecutors": Mary Flood of The Houston Chronicle provides this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Lawyer for Lay Assails Former Enron CFO." Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained a segment entitled "Abortion Opponents Divided on Strategy." Today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained segments entitled "Judge Halts Trial of Accused al Qaeda Conspirator" and "Slate's This Just In: Bush Aide's Shoplifting Scheme." And this evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained segments entitled "Judge Halts Testimony in Moussaoui Sentencing Trial"; "Former Bush Advisor's Arrest Makes Headlines"; and "Internet Blows Cover of CIA Employees." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "O'Connor Forecasts Dictatorship: Why didn't the American press chase the story?" Jack Shafer today has this press box essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman Access online the federal government's emails that may lead to elimination of the death penalty in the Zacarias Moussaoui case: They can be viewed at this link. Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman State of Georgia's participation in tobacco settlement precludes individual smokers from recovering punitive damages: The Supreme Court of Georgia issued this opinion today. Posted at 10:33 PM by Howard Bashman No mystery who wrote this Eleventh Circuit per curiam opinion: Circuit Judge Ed Carnes today issued a concurring opinion that begins, "I fully concur in the Court's opinion in this case, which should come as no surprise to my two colleagues since, as they know, I wrote it." The Eleventh Circuit's decision consisted of a per curiam opinion. Posted at 10:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Wallace good choice for seat on 5th circuit": Reuben Anderson has this op-ed today in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi. Posted at 09:48 PM by Howard Bashman Ineffective assistance of counsel and "deific decree" cases in which a delusional person professed to be following God's command to kill: Today a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that an Ohio death row inmate did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel when his counsel failed to assert an insanity defense on behalf of a defendant who claimed to have killed on orders from God. You can access the ruling at this link. Posted at 09:35 PM by Howard Bashman Bob Egelko is reporting: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, he has articles headlined "Plan to unify immigrant appeals; Sen. Specter's provision to centralize jurisdiction draws fire" and "Court upholds student speech rights; Ruling favors teen suspended for sign: 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus.'" Posted at 09:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Google, U.S. to face off in federal court": Howard Mintz has this article today in The San Jose Mercury News. And The Associated Press reports that "U.S., Google Set to Face Off in Court." The hearing is scheduled to occur tomorrow in federal court in San Jose. OrinKerr.com: As introduced in this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy," Orin Kerr's new blog can be accessed here. Posted at 09:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Halts Moussaoui Trial; Government Violation of Court May Rule Out Death Penalty": The Washington Post provides this news update. The New York Times provides a news update headlined "Judge May Deny Death Penalty in Moussaoui Trial." The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Judge May Throw Out Death Penalty in Moussaoui Trial." And The Associated Press provides reports headlined "Moussaoui Death Penalty Case May Be Tossed" and "Prosecutor Used Transcript to Aid Witness." The order of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that the federal government is being accused of violating can be accessed here. Moussaoui's motion to dismiss the death penalty, filed earlier today, can be accessed here, while the federal government's response in opposition to that motion is available at this link. Programming note: I will be traveling this afternoon to Columbus, Ohio, where later today I will be giving a talk at the Moritz College of Law of The Ohio State University. And tomorrow at noon, I will be giving a lunchtime talk in Columbus with Doug Berman of "Sentencing Law and Policy" at this Federalist Society-sponsored event. Additional posts will appear later today. "Feds Coach Witnesses; Moussaoui Case Stops": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "An angry federal judge unexpectedly recessed the death penalty trial of confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui to consider whether government violations of her rules against coaching witnesses should remove the death penalty as an option." Posted at 10:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Pa. seizes paper's computer hard disks; The Attorney General's Office says they may show evidence of a felony: unauthorized use of a restricted Web site." This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. In earlier coverage, The Lancaster New Era last Friday provided a news update headlined "Court OKs look at reporters' files." In news from McMinnville, Oregon: The Associated Press reports that "Newlywed Gets Cuddling Ticket Tossed." And in local coverage, The News-Register last Tuesday contained an article headlined "A license to cuddle." "Advocates Hope Ruling Renews Focus on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "Advocates for repealing the ban on military service by openly gay men and lesbians say they hope that their cause may be helped by the Supreme Court decision barring universities from keeping military recruiters off their campuses in protest of that ban." And the brand-new installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column for law.com is headlined "Liberal Law Professors and the Solomon Amendment Rout." "Maligned foreign assets survive; Fastow says power projects were 'troubled' by August 2001": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. Posted at 07:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Former top judge says US risks edging near to dictatorship; Sandra Day O'Connor warns of rightwing attacks; Lawyers 'must speak up' to protect judiciary": The Guardian (UK) contains this article today. Posted at 07:15 AM by Howard Bashman "USS Cole lawsuit: Sailors kin hope courts will help them get justice." This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Posted at 07:10 AM by Howard Bashman The Chicago Tribune is reporting: Today's newspaper reports that "Museums in legal bind as terror victims sue." And yesterday's newspaper contained an article headlined "Despite rape laws, accusers still judged; For jurors, consent remains gray area." "Prosecutors focus on Moussaoui's inaction; Judge warns government lawyers their case treads on thin ground": Yesterday's edition of The Richmond Times-Dispatch contained this article. Posted at 07:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Math Divides Critics As Startling Toll of Torts Is Added Up": This article (free access) appears today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Siegel Eyes Constitutional Case on Jailhouse Imam": The New York Sun today contains an article that begins, "With his job as the Department of Correction's top Islamic chaplain hanging in the balance, the imam who equated the Bush administration with terrorism has retained a prominent civil liberties attorney to press his case with the city." Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, March 12, 2006 "Abortion battle lines drawn in Mississippi": BBC News provides this report. The Daily Press of Hampton Roads, Virginia reports today that "State leans on old abortion law to prosecute Suffolk mom; A woman who shot herself while pregnant faces a trial under a half-century-old Virginia statute." The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article headlined "Anti-abortion groups pin hopes on a starkly written state law; South Dakota expects its ban to reach high court, but what then?" The Journal News of Westchester, New York reports that "Roe ruling lawyer warns rights are under attack." In The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, columnist Paul Greenberg has an op-ed entitled "Unsettling." And columnist David Sanders of the Arkansas News Bureau has an essay entitled " |
