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Saturday, March 31, 2007 "Decision nears for changing athletes' seasons; Supreme Court to look at Michigan case today; rejection would bring new schedules in fall": This article appeared yesterday in The Detroit News. And The Traverse City Record-Eagle reported yesterday that "MHSAA awaits high court ruling; Supreme Court considers season switch appeal." "Eminent domain holdouts sell; Two others still weighing their options": Today's edition of The Cincinnati Enquirer contains an article that begins, "Joy and Carl Gamble Jr. have reluctantly decided to give up plans to move back into the home they spent three years fighting to save from demolition in the landmark Norwood eminent domain battle. Because of serious health concerns, the Gambles have agreed to sell their house in Norwood to Rookwood Partners for $650,000 - or $370,000 more than the value a jury had placed on their property in the early part of the court fight." Posted at 08:25 PM by Howard Bashman "High court won't rule on policy; But another lawsuit planned over county's strip-searches": The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota today contains an article that begins, "A court's ruling protecting Minnehaha County's policy of strip-searching juvenile delinquents will stand, but an opposing lawyer said he'll try the case again with hundreds of new plaintiffs. The U.S. Supreme Court said this week it will not hear the case of Jodie Smook, who as a 16-year-old in 1999 was required to strip to her underwear when she was held at the county's juvenile detention center for violating curfew." Posted at 08:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Pa. high court's burden: Bob Brady's case adds another load for a court that has been perceived as playing politics." The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains an article that begins, "The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has long had its issues - tiffs with the legislature, castigation of critics, even the impeachment in the mid-1990s of an errant justice. But perhaps the most enduring issue has been that it has not always been seen as a bastion of political independence. The decision last year to uphold pay raises for judges - while killing the raise for legislators - only fueled its image as a court too caught up in politics." Posted at 08:20 PM by Howard Bashman Boston Red Sox 7, Philadelphia Phillies 5 (preseason): Dice-K was credited with the win (access the box score at this link), giving up three runs over four innings. He appears to have a deceptive mix of pitches, but he wasn't always throwing them with great control. Not sure if he was featuring the gyroball as that's not a pitch description that the scoreboard at Citizens Bank Park features. The first regular season game for the Phillies is on Monday, and my son and I will be there, as noted in this earlier post. Posted at 05:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Australian Critics See Politics in Detainee Deal": The New York Times on Sunday will contain an article that begins, "In Australia, Prime Minister John Howard is facing accusations that the relatively brief sentence and yearlong order of silence on Guantanamo detainee David Hicks resulted from governmental pressure, charges he dismissed as 'absurd.'" Posted at 05:38 PM by Howard Bashman "The Conscience of the Colonel: Lt. Col. Stuart Couch volunteered to prosecute terrorists; Then he decided one had been tortured." Jess Bravin has this front page article (pass-through link) today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 05:35 PM by Howard Bashman And speaking of baseball: I was pleased to note that the Milwaukee Brewers will be playing at home during this year's session of the Seventh Circuit's Judicial Conference, at which I will be speaking. Based on the schedule of events, it appears that my best bet is to catch the game on the afternoon of Sunday, May 6, 2007 between the Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although I once attended a Brewers game at Milwaukee County Stadium (versus the Atlanta Braves), I have yet to set foot inside Miller Park. "Judge's jury award cut; High court justice gets $3 million less": The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, "Saying a $7 million verdict 'shocks this judicial conscience,' a trial judge Friday lopped $3 million from the amount a jury awarded to a state Supreme Court justice in a defamation case." The Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Illinois reports today that "Justice's libel award cut in half; Judge says state chief justice got too much money." And The Kane County Chronicle contains an article headlined "Damages drop in libel case." Update: WSJ.com's "Law Blog" has posted the trial court's ruling granting remittitur at this link. "Testimony keeps Gonzales on the defensive; He's asked to clear one of the fired federal prosecutors; Congress interviews a Justice aide": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. And Law Professor Douglas W. Kmiec has an op-ed entitled "In defense of Alberto Gonzales: When the attorney general testifies before a Senate committee, he'll have precedent and the Constitution on his side." The Boston Globe reports today that "In Hub visit, Gonzales defends dismissals; AG says firings weren't improper." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "An enlarging scandal at Justice." And The New York Times contains an editorial entitled "Avoiding Secret Testimony." "Plea deal gets Australian nine months on terror charges; A military jury decided on a seven-year sentence but was preempted": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. And in The Miami Herald, Carol Rosenberg has an article headlined "Aussie captive's deal: freedom by year-end; In a surprise deal, an al Qaeda foot soldier from Australia trades silence on any possible Guantanamo abuse for a nine-month prison sentence in his homeland." "Government argues Jefferson raid valid": Today's issue of The Washington Times contains an article that begins, "FBI agents who raided Rep. William J. Jefferson's Capitol Hill offices last year in a bribery investigation did not violate the law when they seized papers and electronic files, the government argued yesterday in documents filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit." Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Fenty, Groups Rally Against Court Ruling; Leaders, Youth Activists Decry Bid to Weaken Restrictions": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "Standing before about three dozen students and young adults, Ron Moten, the co-founder of the advocacy group Peaceoholics, painted a grim picture yesterday to illustrate why he hopes to save the District ban on handguns." Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "An Upcoming Supreme Court Fourth Amendment Decision: Can a Passenger Be Constitutionally Searched After an Unconstitutional Traffic Stop?" Vikram David Amar has this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 08:00 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, March 30, 2007 "Gonzales Offers Defense on Prosecutors' Dismissals": This article will appear Saturday in The New York Times. Today's newspaper, meanwhile, contains an editorial entitled "Story Time in the Senate." The Washington Post on Saturday will report that "Gonzales Repeats Explanation Of a Marginal Role in Firings." And today's newspaper contains an editorial entitled "Candor at the Capitol: A former aide provides some of the straight answers that have been lacking from the attorney general." The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined "Former aide contradicts Gonzales; D. Kyle Sampson tells senators that the attorney general played a key role in talks that led to the firing of U.S. attorneys" and "Gonzales' former aide rode the fast track; Senators balk at D. Kyle Sampson's limited experience as they look into Justice Department firings." And McClatchy Newspapers report that "Scandal gives Democrats a chance to investigate Rove." "A dog's life: What's it worth? Moves to raise the legal status of pets may lead to damage awards; But there are other issues." The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. Posted at 11:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Cover contraception: A federal court creatively interpreted the law to rule that health plans don't have to cover contraception; That could amount to discrimination." This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 11:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Georgia public defender system on trial; The high cost of Brian Nichols' death penalty case angers many in the state": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. Posted at 11:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Gates is pushing to move terror trials from Guantanamo; The Defense secretary says he wants courts in the U.S. to hear the cases": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 11:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Terror detainee will serve nine-month sentence in Australia": Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald provides this report. And The New York Times on Saturday will report that "Australian to Serve 9 Months in Terrorism Case." According to this article, "The agreement for just nine additional months of imprisonment was remarkable for a detainee who, before the plea negotiations, had faced a potential life term and had become an international symbol of many of the 385 detainees here." "Abortion Plan in Mexico City Shakes a Heavily Catholic Land": The New York Times on Saturday will contain an article that begins, "Dominated by liberals, Mexico City's legislature is expected to legalize abortion in a few weeks." Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: An article is headlined "2nd Circuit: To Ban Strip Clubs, Towns Must Show Evidence of 'Negative Secondary Effects.'" My earlier coverage appears at this link. In other news, "DOJ Official Brings Storm by Taking the Fifth in Gonzales Flap." And the brand new installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column is headlined "A User's Guide to Law School Supreme Court Clinics." Dice-K to start tomorrow's preseason game between the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park: And my son and I will be in attendance. Apparently the game is nearly a sell-out, with only standing-room seats remaining. We will also be attending Monday's opening day game against the Atlanta Braves and Thursday's business person's special, also against the Braves. Any readers who felt that I had not attended enough Phillies games in past years may not feel that way this season. More info on Dice-K can be accessed here. The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Australian Gitmo Detainee Gets 9 Months"; "Media Chases Details of Hicks' Jail Life"; and "Gonzales Carries on As Attorney General." Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Judicial flap": Beaver County (Pa.) Times today contains an article that begins, "A state Supreme Court justice who thinks topless dancing constitutes free speech in Erie has a different opinion of Pittsburgh lawyers who speak out against the court, a Duquesne University law professor said Thursday." And The York Dispatch today contains an editorial entitled "Arrogance from Pa.'s top court." My most recent earlier coverage, from yesterday, appears at this link. I spoke briefly with Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Ronald D. Castille about this matter before the start of the CLE event that he and I (along with many others) attended today at the National Constitution Center. And this latest pay raise-related dust-up will likely be the subject of the April 2007 installment of my "Upon Further Review" column for The Legal Intelligencer. "A 'Real Problem’ for Gonzales? Democrats Still Say Lam Was Tossed for Pursuing Corruption Case." Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 08:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Webcasts open a window to Texas Supreme Court; Transparency leads to accountability, new insight": Today in The Houston Chronicle, Mark Trachtenberg has an op-ed that begins, "While the Texas Supreme Court falls below the U.S. Supreme Court in the judicial hierarchy, it leaped ahead of its federal counterpart last week in the transparency of its proceedings." Posted at 08:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Bush names Judge Elrod to 5th Circuit Court of Appeals; Perry appointee to district court would need Senate confirmation": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. Posted at 08:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Adult site's legal battle could aid Web hosting services": c|net News.com provides a report that begins, "A federal appeals court ruling in a case involving an adult publisher appears to have delivered broader legal protections for online service providers against lawsuits claiming privacy violations and other illicit behavior by their users." And at "The Volokh Conspiracy," Eugene Volokh has a post titled "Important Holding on Service Provider / Web Site Operator Immunity from State Intellectual Property Lawsuits." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling can be accessed here. Genital herpes treatment and declaratory judgment: "Patently-O: Patent Law Blog" does its best to generate interest in today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Posted at 07:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Ninth Circuit Panel Tosses Sex Tourism Conviction": Metropolitan News-Enterprise provides this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Sex tourism charges dismissed against Bainbridge Island man." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling can be accessed here. "An officer may not use force solely because a suspect tells him he is incapable of complying with a request during the course of an ordinary pat-down." Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski issued this interesting opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The decision also holds that the fact that the driver of a car happens to have twenty to twenty-five pens and pencils on his person does not allow a police officer making a traffic stop to reasonably conclude that the driver posed an immediate threat. Posted at 07:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court strikes down SEC broker exemption rule": Reuters provides this report. The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court overturns SEC rule on standards for brokers." And MarketWatch reports that "Court ruling could force brokers to reclassify fee accounts." You can access today's ruling by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link. The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Ugandan Lesbian Seeks U.S. Asylum" and "FBI Chief Errs on Patriot Act Provision." Posted at 05:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to Hear Law School Clinic Case Watson": The University of Virginia School of Law issued this news release on Monday. Posted at 05:35 PM by Howard Bashman Thursday, March 29, 2007 Programming note: Tomorrow I'll be attending this event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Because the event gets underway early, and because the U.S. Constitution's framers neglected to enshrine the right to free, publicly-accessible wireless internet access, this blog won't be updated again until late in the day on Friday. By then, I will have earned five hours of CLE credit and had lunch in Chinatown with Ben Wittes. Fortunately, the brand new issue of the Harvard Law Review is all about celebrating the judicial greatness of Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner. You can access lots of interesting reading material from that issue, to keep you busy until I return to the keyboard, via this link. Update: Wittes's forthcoming book, about the federal appellate courts, sounds quite interesting. More details definitely to follow. "Ex-Aide Rejects Gonzales Stand Over Dismissals": This article will appear Friday in The New York Times. And The Washington Post on Friday will contain a front page article headlined "Ex-Aide Contradicts Gonzales on Firings." A related article is headlined "Bush Loyalist Rose Quickly at Justice." And Dana Milbank will have an essay entitled "Taking One for the Team, When He Could Remember." "Justices Weigh Opening New Phase on Guantanamo": Linda Greenhouse will have this article Friday in The New York Times. Posted at 11:15 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: This evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained audio segments entitled "Former Gonzales Deputy Contradicts Boss's Story" and "Specter: Gonzales 'Likely Knew' of Confirmation Plan." Today's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" contained an audio segment entitled "Gonzales: What's the Country Saying?" featuring David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times. Today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained an audio segment entitled "Former Gonzales Aide Appears Before Congress" featuring Dahlia Lithwick. And today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained audio segments entitled "Sampson to Testify on Fired Prosecutors"; "Goodling's 'Fifth' No Win for White House"; and "Senate Bypassed on Many Key Justice Jobs." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "The Reluctant Executioner: Kyle Sampson cuts down his ex-boss, Alberto Gonzales." Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman C-SPAN has posted online today's Senate Judiciary Committee testimony of D. Kyle Sampson: Using RealPlayer you can view online, on-demand both the morning and afternoon sessions. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "N.Y. High Court Affirms Absolute Privilege for Securities Industry's Termination Notices": law.com provides this report. My earlier coverage appears at this link. Federal government files Brief in Opposition to Petition for Writ of Certiorari in Hamdan v. Gates: I have posted a copy of the Brief in Opposition at this link. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Quick action on Hamdan urged." "Harris County civil judge nominated to federal bench": The Houston Chronicle provides a news update that begins, "A Harris County civil court judge was nominated today to fill a seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The White House has tapped Jennifer Walker Elrod to replace retiring Judge Patrick Higginbotham. To get the seat, she will have to be confirmed by the Senate. Elrod, 40, has presided over the 190th State District Court since 2002. She ran for re-election unopposed last year." Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Neither the text of the Sixth Amendment nor the history of murder trials supports the extension of the Confrontation Clause to testimony relevant only to penalty selection in a capital case." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today upheld a federal death sentence in a decision in which the three-judge panel divided 2-1 over the Confrontation Clause issue. On the Confrontation Clause point, Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith wrote the majority opinion, in which Circuit Judge Carolyn Dineen King joined. Circuit Judge Fortunato P. Benavides -- who wrote the balance of the lengthy majority opinion rejecting the remainder of the defendant's challenges to the conviction and sentence -- dissented on the Confrontation Clause issue, writing: "I would find that the Confrontation Clause applies to capital sentencing as it is structured under the FDPA and remand this case for resentencing." This is a very lengthy and, at first glance, quite interesting decision. "Congress debates transferring Guantanamo detainees to U.S. sites": McClatchy Newspapers provide this report. Posted at 10:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Gonzales involved in firings, former aide says": The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. McClatchy Newspapers report that "Sampson denies, under oath, U.S. attorneys fired for political reasons." law.com provides a news update headlined "Sampson Contradicts Gonzales' Testimony in Attorney Firings." And CNN.com reports that "Ex-aide contradicts Gonzales on attorney firings." "US detainee tribunals notch wins, raise concerns: Successes include David Hicks's guilty plea this week. But experts say the process is riddled with problems." Warren Richey will have this article Friday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 06:03 PM by Howard Bashman On certified question from the Second Circuit, New York State's highest court holds that statements made by an employer on a National Association of Securities Dealers employee termination notice are subject to an absolute privilege in a defamation lawsuit: You can access today's ruling of the Court of Appeals of New York, that State's highest court, at this link. The Second Circuit's decision certifying this issue to the Court of Appeals of New York can be accessed here. The AP is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Ex-Aide: Gonzales Signed Off on Firings"; "Potential Padilla Jurors Show Bias"; and "Deals Unlikely for Others at Gitmo." Posted at 03:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court Upholds NWA Strike Ban": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an injunction barring a strike by flight attendants at Northwest Airlines Corp., which is operating under bankruptcy court protection." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. President Bush has nominated Jennifer Walker Elrod to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: Currently, Elrod serves as a state district judge in Houston. She has been nominated to fill the vacancy created when Circuit Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham took senior status. A brief biography of Elrod can be accessed here (scroll down). Update: The official notice from the White House is now available at this link. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issues decisions involving child-sex tourism and nude pictures of women: In a decision issued today, the Ninth Circuit examines whether a U.S. citizen who began living in Cambodia in 2002, and who in late June 2003 had sex with underage boys there, could be convicted of violating a federal law enacted on April 30, 2003 intended to punish any U.S. citizen "who travels in foreign commerce, and engages in any illicit sexual conduct with another person." The Ninth Circuit affirms the dismissal of the indictment, holding that the statute "only proscribes the conduct of an individual 'who travels in foreign commerce' after the enactment of the statute. Because [the defendant's] travel had ended by April 30, 2003, he is not covered by the provision." And in a separate decision issued today, the Ninth Circuit decides whether defendants sued by Perfect 10, which publishes an adult magazine and operates a subscription-only website, are protected from copyright infringement claims under the safe-harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. View live, online, this morning's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "Preserving Prosecutorial Independence: Is the Department of Justice Politicizing the Hiring and Firing of U.S. Attorneys?--Part III." The hearing, featuring D. Kyle Sampson, former Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of the United States, is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. eastern time. You can watch live, online, via either the committee's own webcast feed (RealPlayer required) or via C-SPAN3 (using either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player). As I noted here last night, the prepared text of Sampson's opening statement can be accessed at this link. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice has reportedly refused invitation to attend event at Duquesne University School of Law honoring Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. because one law professor there has been a harsh critic of decision upholding Pennsylvania's judicial pay raise: The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains an article headlined "Supreme rebuke for lawyer who took on Pa. high court." The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports today that "Justice threatened sanctions, courts critic says." And The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that "Law professor keeping heat on Supreme Court." I previously mentioned Justice Alito's forthcoming visit to Duquesne in this post. "Did Nominee Super-Seal Case? Possible Role In Secret Litigation Questioned." Today in The Hartford Courant, Lynne Tuohy has an article that begins, "The judicial branch is taking unusual measures to expedite release of information on whether chief justice nominee Chase T. Rogers 'super-sealed' one of two court cases involving the same parties in January 2000." Posted at 09:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Law's iron fist not consumer's friend": Columnist Steve Chapman has this op-ed today in The Chicago Tribune about a case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Posted at 09:25 AM by Howard Bashman "A man and his protest sign -- key in case involving police car at anti-war rally; Only demonstrator charged in incident says he was a 'scapegoat'": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "Gabriel Meyers and his Styrofoam sign will probably end up as footnotes in the story of Josh Wolf, another formerly anonymous political dissident who has become the longest-ever imprisoned journalist in the United States. But Meyers has paid his own price for his brush with history." Posted at 09:20 AM by Howard Bashman "D.A.s can be sued over jailhouse informants, court finds; Ruling in the case of a man wrongly convicted in slaying, U.S. 9th Circuit finds that district attorneys aren't immune from claims for failing to establish policies and procedures on such witnesses": Today in The Los Angeles Times, Henry Weinstein has this article reporting on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued yesterday. Posted at 09:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Ex-Aide to Say Others at Justice Knew of Firings; Department Apologizes to Hill For Any 'Inaccurate' Information": This article appears today in The Washington Post. In addition, Michael Waldman and Justin Levitt have an op-ed entitled "The Myth Of Voter Fraud." Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "Gonzales feels heat from GOP senators." The newspaper also reports that "Former Justice official defends firings; The attorney general's former chief of staff testifies today before Congress about the role of politics in dismissals." An editorial is entitled "Sacrificial Lam: Firing U.S. attorneys over politics is bad; Firing them over immigration politics, as may have happened to Carol Lam, is even worse." And Joseph D. Rich has an op-ed entitled "Bush's long history of tilting Justice: The administration began skewing federal law enforcement before the current U.S. attorney scandal." In The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage has articles headlined "AG's top aide expected to back firings; To testify today in D.C. probe" and "Insider's sudden downfall in prosecutors' case familiar to D.C." The newspaper also contains an article headlined "Kennedy: Justice firings are keyed to '08 vote." And Stanley I. Kutler has an op-ed entitled "The 'executive privilege' dodge." USA Today reports that "February letter shows Justice Dept. misled investigators." And The Washington Times contains articles headlined "Ex-Gonzales aide to testify today" and "Gonzales receives mixed Hispanic support." "The Right to Sue Vs. Suing Too Easily; Supreme Court Considers Limits To Investors' Complaints of Fraud": Robert Barnes and Carrie Johnson have this article today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Prosecutors' Slip Keeps Money in Limbo; Court Refuses Restitution Order for Mogul, Says Plea Deal Cites Incorrect Law": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:44 AM by Howard Bashman Qualified or not, now she's a U.S. District Judge: Yesterday, the U.S. Senate, apparently by unanimous consent, confirmed Vanessa L. Bryant to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Connecticut. My recent earlier coverage of this once-controversial judicial nominee can be accessed here and here. "Ousted Judge in Pakistan Urges Musharraf to 'Respect' Judiciary": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "In his first public appearance since he was suspended as chief justice nearly three weeks ago, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry insisted Wednesday that the government 'respect and observe the independence of judiciary.'" And The Washington Post reports today that "Ousted Chief Justice Speaks Out in Pakistan; Protesting Lawyers Hail Judge as Hero, Call on President Musharraf to Resign." "Colleagues Help S.D. Judge Stay on Bench": The Associated Press provides a report from South Dakota that begins, "Supreme Court watchers often speculate about aging justices holding off retirement until the election of a president who will pick an ideologically similar replacement. But some Washington conservatives are questioning whether a federal district judge here is doing the same thing - and getting help from two colleagues who have added some of his cases to their own already heavy caseloads." Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Ex-her might be him, but alimony same": The St. Petersburg Times today contains an article that begins, "In a mixed ruling for Florida's transgendered community, a state circuit judge Wednesday dismissed a Seminole man's request to halt alimony payments because his ex-wife had a sex change. Judge Jack R. St. Arnold knocked down both of Lawrence Roach's arguments: that he shouldn't have to pay alimony because his ex-wife is now a man and therefore legally dead and the argument that it is illegal for a man to pay alimony to a man because Florida does not recognize same-sex marriage." Posted at 06:38 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, March 28, 2007 "Gonzales Draws Strong Criticism of Prosecutors": Thursday's issue of The New York Times will contain this article, along with articles headlined "E-Mail Shows Rove's Role in Fate of Prosecutors" and "Former Key Aide Testifies Today on Gonzales's Statements." The Washington Post on Thursday will report that "Ex-Aide to Say Others at Justice Knew of Firings; Department Apologizes to Hill For Any 'Inaccurate' Information." McClatchy Newspapers report that "Justice Dept. apologizes for inaccuracies in early letter to Democrats." And this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained an audio segment entitled "Gonzales' Ex-Deputy to Testify on Attorney Firings" (RealPlayer required). "Guantanamo Detainee Described as Lost Soul Seeking 'a Way Out'": This article will appear Thursday in The Washington Post. And Thursday in The New York Times, Adam Liptak will have a news update headlined "New Justice System Is a Work in Progress." "Woman who couldn't testify wearing veil sues judge": The Detroit Free Press provides this news update. The Detroit News provides an update headlined "Muslim woman told to remove veil in court files lawsuit." And The Associated Press reports that "Muslim Woman Sues Judge Over Veil." The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Scalia and Harvard Professor Trade Barbs" and "Judge: Sex Change Doesn't End Alimony." Posted at 08:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Gonzales aide faces Senate investigators": McClatchy Newspapers provide this report. McClatchy has posted at this link the prepared text of D. Kyle Sampson's opening statement at tomorrow's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. And The Washington Post provides a news update headlined "Discrepancies on Attorneys' Firings Blamed on Former Chief of Staff." "High court receptive to Wall Street firms' appeal": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 08:23 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Court Case May Impact Shareholder Suits"; "Records Say How CIA Got Padilla Papers"; and "Analysis: Firings Flap Frustrates GOP." Posted at 03:22 PM by Howard Bashman "State Senate Confirms Fitzgerald As Temporary High Court Justice": Asher Hawkins of The Legal Intelligencer provides a news update (free access) that begins, "Philadelphia Common Pleas Trial Division Administrative James J. Fitzgerald III has been confirmed by the state Senate to temporarily fill the Pennsylvania Supreme Court seat left vacant late last year when former justice Sandra Schultz Newman left the bench to join Cozen O'Connor." For those who support so-called "merit selection" rather than popular election of judges, this news means that a whopping 28.57 percent of the Justices now serving on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania were appointed rather than elected to serve on that court. Access today's nude dancing decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit: You can click here to read today's ruling, which constitutes a victory for nude dancing in Hartford, Vermont. In related news, the Google Maps service confirms that a place called Hartford, Vermont actually exists. Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "This seemingly straightforward appeal of a denial of disability benefits presents difficult issues involving our standard of review in cases arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. In fact, the issues are so difficult that this case has generated three opinions." So begins a decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued today. The two active First Circuit judges in the panel, although disagreeing over how the appeal should be resolved on the merits, find common ground in calling for the First Circuit to consider the question en banc. The third judge on the panel, Senior Circuit Judge Bruce M. Selya, does not agree that en banc review is merited. He explains: [E]n banc proceedings tend to be notoriously wasteful of scarce judicial resources. There seems to me to be little point in trading a workable and battle-tested standard of review for yet another plunge into the vortex of en banc consideration -- a plunge that threatens to splinter the court and to make the standard of review less transparent. Even if one assumes, for argument's sake, that our standard of review could profit from an attempted clarification with respect to "structural conflict" cases, the unevenness in the decisions of the various courts of appeals strongly suggests that any such undertaking should be left to the Supreme Court (when and if the Justices deem the time propitious).As a Senior Circuit Judge, Selya does not get a vote on whether to rehear this case en banc, but he could elect to participate in an en banc rehearing if one is granted in this case. Posted at 02:57 PM by Howard Bashman Access online the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument: The Court has posted the transcript of oral argument in Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., No. 06-484, at this link. Posted at 02:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Time to Go": This editorial, calling for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, appears today at National Review Online. And Byron York has an essay entitled "What Really Happened in the U.S. Attorneys Mess: A look at the case of Carol Lam." "The American workplace would be a seething cauldron if workers could with impunity pepper their employer and eventually the EEOC and the courts with complaints of being offended by remarks and behaviors unrelated to the complainant except for his having overheard, or heard of, them." So writes Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner on behalf of a unanimous three- judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit today. Today's opinion, replete with discussions of "cat rape," Avon products, and a manager's having referred to a female employee other than the plaintiff as a "fat ass," concludes: The American workplace would be a seething cauldron if workers could with impunity pepper their employer and eventually the EEOC and the courts with complaints of being offended by remarks and behaviors unrelated to the complainant except for his having overheard, or heard of, them. The pluralism of our society is mirrored in the workplace, creating endless occasions for offense. Civilized people refrain from words and conduct that offend the people around them, but not all workers are civilized all the time. Title VII is not a code of civility.You can access the complete ruling at this link. Posted at 01:22 PM by Howard Bashman "The YouTube Defense: Human rights go viral." Online at Slate, Andrew K. Woods has a jurisprudence essay in which he writes, "During John Roberts' and Samuel Alito's recent confirmation hearings, senators and pundits debated whether the justices ought to try to gauge public sentiment. After all, critics say, the point of an unelected judiciary is to ensure fidelity to the Constitution, regardless of mass sentiment. In practice, however, judges (especially Supreme Court justices) have enormous discretion in how to resolve legal questions. And in our culture of red alerts and public panic, judges naturally tend to privilege security over individual rights." Posted at 11:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Rumsfeld": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld cannot be tried on allegations of torture in overseas military prisons, a federal judge said Tuesday in a case he described as 'lamentable.' U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan threw out a lawsuit brought on behalf of nine former prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said Rumsfeld cannot be held personally responsible for actions taken in connection with his government job." And Reuters reports that "Judge dismisses Rumsfeld torture lawsuit." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by clicking here (4.5 MB PDF file). "Taxpayer Files Reply Brief in Murphy": This post, providing online access to the reply brief, appears today at the "TaxProf Blog." This case is pending on panel rehearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In its now-vacated original ruling, the three-judge panel held that "insofar as §104(a)(2) permits the taxation of compensation for a personal injury, which compensation is unrelated to lost wages or earnings, that provision is unconstitutional." My coverage of the panel's original ruling, which issued on August 22, 2006, can be accessed here. "Historians lose 'Da Vinci Code' plagiarism appeal": Reuters provides this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Court Says 'Da Vinci Code' Not a Copy." "Tax Cheat Escapes $100 Million Repayment": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Poorly written Justice Department documents cost the federal government more than $100 million in what was supposed to have been the crowning moment of the biggest tax prosecution ever." And The Washington Post reports that "Mogul Sentenced to 9 Years For Tax Evasion and Fraud." "Sex change prompts alimony fight": The St. Petersburg Times today contains an article that begins, "In a case that could set precedent for transgendered individuals, a Seminole man asked a Pinellas circuit judge Tuesday to set aside his alimony requirements because his ex-wife is now a man." And The Associated Press reports that "Man Says Sex Change Should End Alimony." "N.H. bill to repeal death penalty fails; Officer's slaying fuels debate": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. And The Concord Monitor reports today that "House rejects death-penalty repeal; Opponents tell story of officer's shooting." "Former Death-Row Inmate Would Get $1.9 Million; If Court Approves, Va. Will Compensate Wrongfully Convicted Man Who Came Within Days of Execution": The Washington Post contains this article today. And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported yesterday that "Virginia agrees to murder case deal; $1.9 million would go to Earl Washington, cleared in Culpeper woman's death." "Gonzales TV Appearance Sheds No Light on Firings": This article appears today in The Washington Post, along with an article headlined "On the Firing Line: D. Kyle Sampson was a team player; Tomorrow, Alberto Gonzales's former chief of staff will tell a Senate panel who called the shots." The Chicago Tribune reports today that "Gonzales bolts Chicago briefing." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Gonzales is on a thin branch." And The Washington Times reports that "Law firm to help in Justice inquiry." "New Drive Afoot to Pass Equal Rights Amendment": The Washington Post today contains a front page article that begins, "Federal and state lawmakers have launched a new drive to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, reviving a feminist goal that faltered a quarter-century ago when the measure did not gain the approval of three-quarters of the state legislatures. The amendment, which came three states short of enactment in 1982, has been introduced in five state legislatures since January. Yesterday, House and Senate Democrats reintroduced the measure under a new name -- the Women's Equality Amendment -- and vowed to bring it to a vote in both chambers by the end of the session." And The Washington Times reports today that "Democrats revive efforts for ERA." "The Libby Precedent: Why government officials prefer to take the Fifth." The Wall Street Journal contains this editorial (free access) today. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Failures at FBI Acknowledged; Mueller Accepts Criticism, Proposes Alternative to Controversial 'Letters'": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The New York Times reports today that "Senators Cite F.B.I. Failures as Chief Promises Change." The Los Angeles Times reports that "FBI has some explaining to do; Senators question the bureau's director about abuses of power; He urges them not to gut a Patriot Act provision." USA Today contains articles headlined "FBI chief lobbies for national security letters; In wake of misuse, panel greets plea with skepticism" and "Mueller says U.S. attorneys' firings didn't affect cases." The Washington Times reports that "Senate Judiciary panel questions FBI competence." In addition, Gary Aldrich has an op-ed entitled "Patriot Act debacle." McClatchy Newspapers report that "FBI didn't mean to break the law, Mueller says." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contains an editorial entitled "Snoops out of control: Lawmakers who let FBI chip away at privacy rights shouldn't be shocked by its use of a sledgehammer." And The St. Petersburg Times contains an editorial entitled "It's time to rein in the FBI's snooping." "Court Case May Impact Shareholder Suits": The Associated Press provides this preview of the case being argued today in the U.S. Supreme Court. And The Chicago Tribune reports today that "Tellabs appeal could hinder investor suits." "The Man Who Would Move the Barnes": The New York Times today contains this article about the Barnes Foundation. The article reports that "The gallery's relocation to a new building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, allowed by a December 2004 court decision that overruled the collector's express mandate on the ground of financial exigency, remains controversial. The move, which is scheduled for late 2009 or 2010, is opposed by a coalition that includes Merion residents, Barnes students and alumni and suburban legislators. Many art critics have also condemned it." Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Result of Military Trial Is Familiar to Civilians": This article appears today in The New York Times, along with an article headlined "Australian Detainee's Life of Wandering Ends With Plea Deal." The Los Angeles Times today contains an article headlined "Mixed reaction to Hicks' plea bargain; Some call the first such trial at Guantanamo a success; others cite politics and pressure in the Australian terrorism suspect's deal." And The Associated Press reports that "Guantanamo Plea Leaves Questions." Tuesday, March 27, 2007 Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained audio segments entitled "Will Alberto Gonzales Withstand the Political Siege?" (featuring Dahlia Lithwick) and "Guantanamo Detainee to Face Sentencing." And this evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained audio segments entitled "A U.S. Attorney Is Fired, and Onlookers Wonder" and "Military Officials Discuss Sentence for Hicks." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Trafficker or Healer? And Who’s the Victim?" This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:11 PM by Howard Bashman "The issue in this case is whether lump-sum proceeds received from a sale of future interest in lottery payments should be characterized for income tax purposes as a capital gain or as ordinary income." A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit answers "ordinary income" in a decision issued today. Posted at 08:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Who's Blaming Whom: Where the fingers are pointing in the Bush administration meltdown." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 07:42 PM by Howard Bashman McClatchy Newspapers are reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Guantanamo prison likely to remain open" and "Critics: still a need to fix Guantanamo court system." Posted at 07:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Gonzales' Support in Congress Slipping": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' allies on Capitol Hill grew scarce Tuesday as he left it largely to aides to carry out President Bush's order to straighten out the story behind the firing of eight federal prosecutors." Posted at 07:35 PM by Howard Bashman Can President Bush force the Texas judiciary to disregard its rules of procedural default to consider on the merits a Mexican death row inmate's Article 36 Vienna Convention claim? In November 2006, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -- that State's highest court in criminal cases -- answered that question "no." I provided detailed coverage of that ruling in this post. Today, in a post you can access here, Lyle Denniston reports at "SCOTUSblog" that the Solicitor General has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals erred in failing to answer the question "yes." "Whistleblower Suits Limited by Court in Boeing Case": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News provides this report. Posted at 05:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Wall Street seeks immunity from IPO antitrust lawsuit": MarketWatch provides this report. The Associated Press reports that "Court Weighs Price Setting Case." And Reuters reports that "US high court receptive to Wall St. firms' appeal." You can access the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC v. Billing, No. 05-1157, by clicking here. "Roberts's Salary: Where Does It Stack Up?" Ben Winograd has this interesting post today at WSJ.com's "Law Blog." Posted at 05:45 PM by Howard Bashman Supreme Court of Texas refuses to extend that State's grandparent visitation law to step-grandparents: Last Friday, the highest court of Texas in civil cases issued a unanimous per curiam opinion that begins: In 2005, the Legislature substantially amended the grandparent access statute, codified at Family Code sections 153.432-34. The statute now includes a presumption that a parent acts in his child's best interest, and it permits biological or adoptive grandparents to obtain court-ordered access to a grandchild only if they show that denial of access will "significantly impair the child's physical health or emotional well-being." Id. §153.433(2). We conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in awarding access here because the step-grandfather is neither a biological nor an adoptive grandparent, and the grandmother did not overcome the statutory presumption favoring the children's father.You can access the opinion online in PDF and HTML formats. Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Rules on Whistle-Blowers": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:48 AM by Howard Bashman "We emphasize that our holding is limited to the unique procedural circumstances presented here." So writes Justice Clarence Thomas in holding that U.S. Supreme Court review was sought in a timely manner, rather than too late, in the case of Limtiaco v. Camacho, No. 06-116, decided today. Although the Justices divided on other issues, the Court's ruling was unanimous on the timeliness issue. The quoted text brought to mind this student comment published in the March 2007 issue of The Yale Law Journal. One more reason to close GITMO -- Copyright infringement? At CNNMoney.com's "Legal Pad" blog, Roger Parloff has an interesting post titled "Tormenting Gitmo detainees with copyrighted music: Is torture a 'fair use'?" Posted at 10:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Court clarifies False Claims Act": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." According to Lyle's post, Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court in Rockwell International Corp. v. United States, No. 05-1272. You can access the oral argument transcript at this link. And in the only other ruling issued today in an argued case, Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court in Limtiaco v. Camacho, No. 06-116. You can access the oral argument transcript at this link. On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Gonzales Aide to Take Fifth Before Senate Panel" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Hicks Pleads Guilty to Supporting Terrorism." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Bloomberg News is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Gonzales Aide to Take Fifth About Prosecutor Firings" and "Hicks Pleads Guilty at Guantanamo to Terrorism Charge." Posted at 09:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Roberts's Supreme Court Falls Behind in Pace of Issuing Rulings": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News provides a report that begins, "As U.S. Supreme Court cases go, Global Crossing v. Metrophones, an administrative-law tussle over pay-phone fees, hardly looms as a landmark. That's why lawyers in the dispute are so puzzled that almost six months after hearing arguments, the court hasn't ruled. The case has become a symbol of John Roberts's second year as chief justice, one in which the court has fallen well behind its typical schedule." Posted at 09:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to review child pornography law; The provision would make it a crime to send computer messages that offer illicit images, even when no pornography exists": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman "FBI Provided Inaccurate Data for Surveillance Warrants": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 06:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Australian's Guilty Plea Is First at Guantanamo": The Washington Post contains this front page article today. The New York Times today contains an article headlined "Plea of Guilty From Detainee in Guantanamo." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Australian pleads guilty at Guantanamo; David Hicks admits to material support of terrorism. He says he did not commit a violent act." In The Miami Herald, Carol Rosenberg reports that "Guantanamo captive to plead guilty." And in The Wall Street Journal, David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey have an op-ed entitled "The Gitmo Blues: Closing Guantanamo would hurt the war effort, and wouldn't appease the critics anyway" (free access). "Aide to Gonzales Won't Testify About Dismissals": This article appears today in The New York Times. An editorial is entitled "Time for Answers." And Law Professor Neal Katyal has an op-ed entitled "Prosecution Complex." The Washington Post reports today that "Aide to Gonzales Won't Testify; Counselor Cites Fifth Amendment Right in Refusal" and "GOP Groups Told to Keep Bush Officials' E-Mails; Democrat Cites Investigation of Firings." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Gonzales clarifies role in firings; The attorney general says he had a part, but that he did not help decide which prosecutors to dismiss." USA Today contains articles headlined "Gonzales aide to take the 5th in hearing; Move abandons Justice pledges of cooperation" and "Poll backs subpoenas of Bush aides." The Chicago Tribune reports that "Fitzgerald questions await Gonzales." And The Washington Times reports that "Justice official to invoke 5th Amendment." "Retrial of Pain Doctor Begins in Va." The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A prominent pain-management doctor accused of prescribing high doses of drugs such as morphine and OxyContin to patients went on trial for a second time Monday. William E. Hurwitz, 61, was convicted in 2004 of drug trafficking, among other charges, and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but a federal appeals court last year tossed the conviction and ordered a new trial." Posted at 06:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Hear Arguments About Pacts on Pricing": Linda Greenhouse has this article today in The New York Times. Today in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that "Justices Revisit Manufacturer's Right to Set Retail Price of Goods." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that "High court appears split on price fixing; Several justices say a repeal of a 1911 rule could mean consumers will pay more; Antonin Scalia and others say the law is outdated." And in USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that "Court ponders cost of dropping price rule; Justices ask whether change would topple discount stores." Monday, March 26, 2007 "White House prods justices into retail arena": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Agree to Revisit Child Pornography Laws": Linda Greenhouse will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times. And Reuters reports that "High court to review securities fraud case." Available online from law.com: An article is headlined "9th Circuit: Suit-Happy Past Doesn't Hobble Plaintiff's ADA Case." And in other news, "Federal Courts See Slight Easing of New Caseloads; Judiciary to ask Congress for 67 more judgeships." "Section 102 of the Rehabilitation Act does not contain the necessary 'clear-statement' requiring a waiver of Eleventh Amendment immunity if the State of Texas accepts federal funds for this program." So concludes a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in a decision issued today. Posted at 10:24 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained audio segments entitled "Gonzales Attracts More Critics Inside GOP" and "Guantanamo Hearing Tests New Rules." Today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained an audio segment entitled "White House Stands by Gonzales." And this evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained audio segments entitled "Australian Detainee Has Hearing at Guantanamo"; "How Did a Kangaroo Skinner Get to Guantanamo?"; and "Dems Allege Interference in Phone-Jamming Case." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Terror Suspect Pleads Guilty at Gitmo": The AP now provides an updated report that begins, "An Australian terror suspect pleaded guilty Monday to a war-crime charge of providing material support to terrorism. David Hicks was the first detainee to face prosecution under revised military tribunals set up after the Supreme Court found the Pentagon's previous system for trying Guantanamo prisoners unconstitutional. He is accused of fighting alongside al-Qaida in Afghanistan." Posted at 09:08 PM by Howard Bashman McClatchy Newspapers are reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Gonzales aide to invoke the Fifth in testimony"; "Who is Monica Goodling?"; and "Respected U.S. prosecutor faces a conservative backlash." Posted at 09:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Terror suspect sent to Guantanamo": Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald provides a news update that begins, "For the first time since September, the Pentagon added a new detainee to the captive population here, announcing on Monday the arrival of an alleged al Qaeda operative named Abdul Malik." Posted at 09:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Australian faces U.S. military judge in Guantanamo": Reuters provides this report. The Associated Press reports that "Detainee Arraigned During Gitmo Hearing." And this evening's broadcast of the PBS program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" contained a segment entitled "Prisoner Faces New Tribunal Process at Guantanamo Bay" (transcript with links to audio) featuring Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald. "Analysis: What's best for consumers -- price or service?" Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." And The Associated Press reports that "Court Weighs Price Setting Case." The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument today in two cases. The case that is the subject of these news reports is captioned Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc., No. 06-480, and you can access the oral argument transcript by clicking here. The other case in which the Court heard oral argument today is captioned Bowles v. Russell, No. 06-5306, and you can access the transcript by clicking here. "U.S. top court to rule on child pornography law": James Vicini of Reuters provides this report. And The Associated Press provides reports headlined "Court Agrees to Review Child Porn Law" and "Court Nixes Appeal by American Indians." You can access today's Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link. "DOJ Official Ignored White House Guidance; Testimony Contradicted Gonzales in U.S. Attorney Matter, Sparked Controversy": ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg provides this written report. Posted at 07:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Hears Arguments on U.S. Shareholder-Suit Limits": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News provides this report. Posted at 07:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito, Scalia to Teach Summer Courses at Starr-Deaned Law School": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this news update. My earlier coverage appeared at this link. Posted at 07:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court lets stand grandparent-visitation decision; At issue: whether judges violated the constitutional right of Shane Fausey to raise his child free of undue government interference." Warren Richey will have this article Tuesday in The Christian Science Monitor. Asher Hawkins of The Legal Intelligencer provides a news update headlined "Challenge of Grandparent's Right of Custody Denied High Court Review" (free access) in which I am quoted. And The Associated Press reports that "Court Won't Review Grandparents Case." Programming note: I have a reply brief due in an appeal today, and I'll be working to complete it from the office of my co-counsel in the case. Additional posts will appear here later today. For timely coverage of today's U.S. Supreme Court Order List, please consult "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Gonzales feels heat from GOP senators": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And the newspaper also reports that "Three fired U.S. attorneys balked at seeking death penalty; Prosecutors in California, Michigan and Arizona share a reluctance to pursue the ultimate punishment." USA Today reports today that "Gonzales' credibility under fire amid latest e-mail disclosures; Dem, GOP senators question his truthfulness." And The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled "The Cloud Over Mr. Gonzales: The attorney general has a few things to explain." "Guantanamo Bay tribunals to begin again; Australian terrorism suspect to be arraigned today; Critics say the revamped trial system is still flawed": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. And today in The Miami Herald, Carol Rosenberg reports that "Australian first to appear before reopened Guantanamo war-crimes court." "Revise the Patriot Act: Why Congress needs to rein in the abuses of the USA Patriot Act, especially 'national security letters.'" This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 06:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Are of an Opinion, but Not Often": Today in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes has an article in which he reports that "the court is off to a slower-than-usual pace in issuing opinions. The justices have issued 23 decisions so far, a bit behind last year's pace. Of course, at this point, they've also heard fewer cases than last year." Posted at 06:33 AM by Howard Bashman "A High Price for Freedom": Today in The New York Times, George Lardner Jr. has an op-ed that begins, "All the talk about a potential presidential pardon for I. Lewis Libby Jr. has infuriated critics of the Bush administration; many feel that a Libby pardon would amount to a whitewashing of the White House's actions relating to Valerie Plame's identity." Posted at 06:27 AM by Howard Bashman "A Disputed Fee": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "A dispute has been raging between elderly Holocaust victims and Burt Neuborne, a lawyer who helped win a $1.25 billion settlement from Swiss banks, over the size of the fees Mr. Neuborne has requested." Posted at 06:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Court to rule on price rule; Shop balks at minimum set by manufacturer": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. Posted at 06:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama's View of the Constitution Hinted in Article": This article appears today in The New York Sun. Posted at 06:18 AM by Howard Bashman "In Alabama, Execution Without Representation": Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak has this installment (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link) of his weekly "Sidebar" column. Posted at 06:15 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, March 25, 2007 "G.O.P. Senators Express Doubts Over Gonzales": The New York Times on Monday will contain this article, along with an article headlined "Glare of Publicity Finds An Inspector General." The Washington Post on Monday will report that "Ex-Prosecutor Says He Faced Partisan Questions Before Firing." And McClatchy Newspapers report that "Three Republican senators question Attorney General Gonzales's credibility and say his Senate testimony may seal his fate." "Detainee's Lawyers Seek Removal of Prosecutor": This article will appear Monday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Free Speech Rights": Yesterday evening's broadcast of the "America and the Courts" program consisted of an episode that C-SPAN describes as follows, "This week, we feature two cases regarding free speech for High School students. First, the Supreme Court hears attorneys argue in Morse v. Frederick. Next, a case regarding Tennessee students being told to remove confederate flag T-shirts. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati hears oral argument in D.B. v. Lafo." You can view the broadcast online, on-demand by clicking here (RealPlayer required). "Town hopes to take $78m electricity fight to Supreme Court": The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, "In a case officials say could carry broad ramifications for municipalities' dealings with the power industry, the town of Norwood has decided to appeal to the nation's highest court, hoping to reverse a $78 million judgment in its protracted fight against its former electricity supplier." Posted at 07:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Australian detainee to appear before war-crimes court": Carol Rosenberg will have this article Monday in The Miami Herald. Reuters reports that "Australian gets second turn at Guantanamo trial." And Australia's ABC News reports that "Hicks expected to make statement at military trial tonight." "'Aussie Taliban' to get his day in court; The imprisonment of David Hicks has stoked anti-American sentiment in the longtime US-ally nation": This article will appear Monday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 06:50 PM by Howard Bashman "A deplorable citation": In the March 26, 2007 issue of The National Law Journal, Gregory J. Wallance will have an essay that begins, "A few weeks ago, in Parker v. District of Columbia, a federal court of appeals struck down as unconstitutional a gun control law prohibiting possession of 'functional firearms' in the owner's home. In its opinion, the majority cited the U.S. Supreme Court's disastrous Dred Scott case of 1857. Whatever the merits of its opinion on gun control, the majority's undoubtedly well-intentioned citation resurrects a shameful ruling." And in the March 26, 2007 issue of Legal Times, Dennis Henigan will have an essay entitled "The Mythic Second: Constitutional Fantasy at the D.C. Circuit Should Not Destroy Our Nation's Gun Policies." "Excessive Force: When Does Use of Deadly Force Turn Into Abuse?" You can access the audio of the March 19, 2007 broadcast of NPR's "Justice Talking" program via this link. The broadcast's overview begins, "In February, the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether the Constitution permits police to use deadly force to stop a fleeing motorist for speeding and reckless driving." Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Alberto Gonzales' Raw Deal": Law Professor Douglas W. Kmiec has this post at the "Justice Talking" blog. Posted at 04:48 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Australian Suspect Faces New Gitmo Trial" and "Lesbian Asks Court to Ban Gay Adoptions." Posted at 04:40 PM by Howard Bashman "A Test for Gonzales": This article will appear in the April 2, 2007 issue of Newsweek. Posted at 02:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Abolish the death penalty": The Chicago Tribune contains this editorial today. Posted at 02:37 PM by Howard Bashman "To foes, pregnancy sites blur the abortion picture; Crisis pregnancy centers offer alternatives to abortion, but critics say they are misleading": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 02:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Tapping into privacy: We're being snooped on without proper oversight, and it is time to start caring about the law and our right to privacy again." Today in The St. Petersburg Times, columnist Robyn E. Blumner has an op-ed that begins, "It just goes to show you what six years of this administration has done to our national psyche. After the torture memos, 'state-secrets' defenses, the demise of habeas corpus and secret overseas prisons, what's a little invasion of privacy?" Posted at 02:27 PM by Howard Bashman "For acting like a teenager": Today in The Washington Times, Dan K. Thomasson has an op-ed that begins, "There's an old axiom about bad cases making bad law and that just might be the result of the Supreme Court's latest deliberation over what constitutes free speech. The justices, who seem to work to avoid tackling some of the thornier issues of the day, just completed listening to arguments centering on whether a teenager has the right to act like one and say silly, provocative things." Posted at 02:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Bush Reaffirms Confidence in Gonzales Amid New Disclosures": This article appears today in The Washington Post, along with an article headlined "Eyebrows Are Raised in Mich. Over Reasons for Prosecutor's Firing." Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage has an article headlined "Gonzales still has Bush's backing." The newspaper also contains articles headlined "Justice Department tugged to the right; Under Bush, the department has been tainted by politics, many say" and "Firing of Nevada prosecutor Bogden sparks anger; Maybe the dismissal stemmed from an investigation of the governor, or insufficient attention to obscenity cases; Or maybe there was no good reason." And in The New York Times, Frank Rich has an op-ed entitled "When Will Fredo Get Whacked?" (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link). "Judicial Disenfranchisement: If the District Had Senators, the Handgun Ruling Might Have Been Different." Tony Bullock has this essay today in The Washington Post. Posted at 01:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices to Review Limits on Retail Prices; 1911 Antitrust Decision Bars Manufacturers From Setting Minimums for Sellers": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. Posted at 01:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Musharraf Finds Himself Weakened After Firing of Judge": This article appears today in The New York Times. And columnist Nicholas D. Kristof has a related op-ed entitled "The General and the Housewife" (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link). Posted at 01:32 PM by Howard Bashman "The President's Prison": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "George Bush does not want to be rescued. The president has been told countless times, by a secretary of state, by members of Congress, by heads of friendly governments -- and by the American public -- that the Guantanamo Bay detention camp has profoundly damaged this nation's credibility as a champion of justice and human rights." Posted at 01:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Man Convicted in Incest Case Plans Appeal to Supreme Court": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "A man convicted of having sex with his 22-year-old stepdaughter is seeking to challenge Ohio's incest law through an appeal to the United States Supreme Court." I wrote about the Ohio decision in the March 5, 2007 installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com headlined "'Lawrence' Fails to Open Floodgates to Unfettered Sexual Freedom." In that essay, I wrote, "Some local news coverage of the Ohio ruling noted that the stepfather could still seek appellate review from the U.S. Supreme Court based on his argument that Lawrence v. Texas requires the invalidation of his conviction. But I would be very surprised if the U.S. Supreme Court saw any merit in that argument or was even interested in hearing this case on the merits." "High Court Takes Up Price-Fixing Case": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 01:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Radical surgery on Dr. Miles? Argument 3/26/07." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 11:03 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, March 24, 2007 "Ninth Circuit on Molski": Law Professor Sam Bagenstos has this post at his blog "Disability Law" concerning yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling that I previously pointed to here. Posted at 08:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Memo: Gonzales Was in Loop on Attorney Firings." This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 08:20 PM by Howard Bashman In Sunday's edition of The New York Times: Steven (not Linda) Greenhouse will have an article headlined "Justices to Hear Case on Wages of Home Aides." Tomorrow's newspaper will also contain articles headlined "In Limbo, C.I.A. Awaits Rules on Interrogation"; "For Gonzales, More Records, and Questions"; and "Congress Expands Scope of Inquiries Into Justice Department Practices and Politics." "Of banners and bongs: The Supreme Court mulls a schoolboy prank." The current issue of The Economist contains this article. And yesterday's issue of The Harvard Crimson contained an editorial entitled "Muzzled In Alaska: Student speech deserves constitutional protection no matter how strange it may be." "Files put Gonzales at meeting before prosecutors' firing": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. And today in The Boston Globe, Robert Kuttner has an op-ed entitled "Gonzales should be impeached." "Self-Service Made Safer; Injury At Salad Bar Spurs Court Ruling": Today in The Hartford Courant, Lynne Tuohy has an article that begins, "What began as a nasty lunchtime fall at a Stop & Shop salad bar has evolved into a dramatic change in liability law for Connecticut businesses that invite customers to help themselves. The state Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision released Friday, adopted a far more plaintiff-friendly rule in negligence cases involving so-called self-service operations, whether they are big-box department stores or small cafes with salad bars." Yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Connecticut consisted of a majority opinion and a concurring opinion. "Prosecutors In A Different Role; 4 State's Attorneys Testify On Their Approach To Cases That Might Lead To Death Row": This article appears today in The Hartford Courant. Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Refuses To Dismiss Padilla's Charges": The Washington Post contains this article today. Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Guantanamo Prison Likely to Stay Open Through Bush Term": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The newspaper also contains a related article headlined "Detainee Says He Didn't Know About Bombing Plot." And The Washington Times reports that "Detainee admits, regrets embassy bombings role." "A case against cameras on high": Jeffrey McCall has this op-ed today in The Indianapolis Star. Posted at 03:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Two Supreme Court justices to teach courses": The Graphic of Pepperdine University provides a report that begins, "Two sitting U.S. Supreme Court justices will teach intensive courses at the School of Law this summer. Justice Samuel Alito will teach a two-week course on advanced constitutional law and Justice Antonin Scalia will teach a two-day course on separation of powers and federalism in London." Posted at 02:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Alito to make April visit to DU": The Duquesne Duke provides this report. Posted at 02:55 PM by Howard Bashman Access online the transcript of Justice Stephen G. Breyer's appearance on today's broadcast of NPR's "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" WSJ.com's "Washington Wire" blog has posted the transcript online at this link. It's a laugh riot. In addition, the audio from today's program can be accessed online starting around 4 p.m. eastern time today via this link. Once the online audio becomes available, you will be able to access Justice Breyer's segment directly by clicking here (RealPlayer required). "U.S.-Cuba custody fight brews over girl; An international custody battle over a Coral Gables girl is quietly playing out in Miami-Dade County's juvenile courthouse": This article appears today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 12:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Jailed Professor's Hunger Strike Over": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal appeals court on Friday affirmed a civil contempt ruling against a former university professor hours after he ended a two-month hunger strike to protest a judge's decision to extend his prison term." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Fourth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Specter Urges Court To Hear Detainee Case": National Journal provides a report that begins, "Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court Thursday night urging the court to quickly hear and decide an appeal from Guantanamo detainees challenging the constitutionality of the Military Commissions Act." If I receive a copy of the amicus brief via email, I will post it online. Update at 6:35 p.m.: A long-time reader has kindly forwarded an electronic copy of the amicus brief, and I have posted it online at this link. Friday, March 23, 2007 "Fraud Inquiry Looks at Lawyers in Diet-Drug Case": Adam Liptak will have this article Saturday in The New York Times. Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Papers Show Gonzales Met With Aides About Prosecutor Firings": This article will appear Saturday in The Washington Post. And Saturday's edition of The New York Times will report that "Gonzales Met With Advisers on Ouster Plan." Available online from law.com: An article reports that "DOJ's Document Dump Highlights Administration Conflicts." In other news, an article is headlined "Frivolous Litigation: How Coke 'Punk'd' Its Lawyers; Viral marketing campaign dupes in-house team into bizarre dialogue on Coke Classic suing Coke Zero for 'taste infringement.'" And the brand new installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column is headlined "In This Round of Posner vs. Easterbrook, Posner Emerges Triumphant." "Commentary: Some scenarios on detainee cases." Lyle Denniston has this post online at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 10:48 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: This evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained an audio segment entitled "Large Public Defense Case Strains Ga. System." And today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained audio segments entitled "Gonzales Seeks Damage Repair with Prosecutors" and "White House, Prosecutors Have Clashed in Past" (featuring Nina Totenberg). RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Nation's First Blind Federal Judge Dies": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 05:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Al-Arian Contempt Order Upheld; Former Professor Said to Drop Hunger Strike": Josh Gerstein of The New York Sun provides this news update. My earlier coverage appears here. Posted at 05:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice's new U.S. attorneys have partisan records": McClatchy Newspapers provide this report. Posted at 05:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Michel Explains Role of Federal Circuit, Offers Advice to Students": Paul R. Michel, a Philadelphia native who currently serves as the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, spoke recently at the University of Virginia School of Law. UVA Law issued this news release, which provides a link for flash video of Chief Judge Michel's talk along with Windows Media Player and mp3 podcast audio feeds. Posted at 05:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Ex-Gonzales Aide to Testify at Inquiry": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The former top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales agreed Friday to testify at a Senate inquiry next week into the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year. Kyle Sampson, who resigned two weeks ago amid the furor over the dismissals, will appear next Thursday at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, his attorney said." According to CNN.com, this testimony will be provided under oath. And in related coverage today from The AP, "Flap May Threaten Justice Official's Job" and "Justice E-Mails on Lam Show Frustrations." Now that Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is recused, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. is no longer recused: Because they hear and decide cases together all the time, these two events are presumably unrelated. Tony Mauro provides more details in a post titled "Just in: More musical chairs" at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman For those who can't "Wait, Wait," Jess Bravin will tell you: Justice Stephen G. Breyer will appear on this upcoming weekend's broadcast of NPR's "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" For those who can't wait and demand to be told -- in direct contravention of both halves of the program's title -- Jess Bravin provides all the details of Justice Breyer's performance in this post at WSJ.com's "Washington Wire" blog. Posted at 04:50 PM by Howard Bashman U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rejects Sami Al-Arian's challenge to being held in contempt for his refusal to testify before a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia: The Fourth Circuit issued this non-precedential ruling today. Although the appellant is identified as John Doe, the facts of the case make it appear that the appellant's actual name is Sami Al-Arian. Posted at 04:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Padilla Judge: Brig Time Doesn't Count." The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal judge refused to dismiss the terrorism support charges against alleged al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla on Friday, rejecting defense claims that his 3 1/2 years in custody as an enemy combatant violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial." Posted at 03:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Greenburg Uncovers Inner Workings of Supreme Court": The day before meeting my wife, son, and me for a quite tasty lunch in Philadelphia last Saturday, ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg delivered the the ninth annual Henry J. Abraham Distinguished Lectureship at the University of Virginia School of Law. The law school has issued a news release titled "Greenburg Uncovers Inner Workings of Supreme Court." The news release links to "flash video" allowing you to watch and listen to Jan's remarks. You can also access the audio only via Windows Media Player or mp3 podcast. Even more recently, Jan recorded a podcast interview for GOPUSA-NJ & Polipundit.com's "Conservatives with Attitude!" show. You can download the podcast via this link (mp3 file; via "Confirm Them"). The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Lawyers Fear Gitmo Work May Harm Careers" and "Detainee Pleads Ignorance in Bomb Plot." Posted at 02:50 PM by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit awards new trial in favor of disabled rights advocate whose claim against a restaurant for failing to accommodate the disabled, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a jury had rejected: A plaintiff seeking a new trial based on weight of the evidence after a jury has returned a defense verdict typically faces quite the uphill battle. But today a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a federal district court's refusal to grant a new trial in favor of a paraplegic who has brought hundreds of lawsuits concerning inaccessible public accommodations throughout California. The appellate court ruled that there was no view of the evidence that would support the jury's rejection of the plaintiff's ADA claim, and that the trial court's basis for refusing to grant a new trial constituted an abuse of discretion. You can access today's ruling -- which even cites a few law review articles -- at this link. Posted at 02:35 PM by Howard Bashman "A Sixth Sense About Criminal Trials: A young litigator unites Justice Scalia and the court’s liberals over defendants’ rights." This profile of Stanford University Law Professor Jeffrey L. Fisher appears online at the ABA Journal's eReport. Posted at 01:15 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Pamela A. MacLean reports that "9th Circuit Ruling Opens Way for Pensions as Restitution." And in other news, "Leader of Weil's National Appellate Practice Leaves for Boutique." "Prosecution of Nichols also costly; Fulton's tab may be twice that of defense": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today contains an article that begins, "Sparks fly over the multimillion-dollar defense of Brian Nichols, but few people complain about the cost of prosecuting the accused courthouse killer. In fact, no one even knows the bottom line." The newspaper also provides this related graphic. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Wasserstein Family Gives $25 Million to Harvard Law School for Academic Center": Harvard Law School has issued a news release that begins, "The Wasserstein family has made a $25 million gift to Harvard Law School to support construction of Wasserstein Hall, the new academic center of the Harvard Law School campus, Dean Elena Kagan announced today. The gift is the second biggest in the Law School's history." And The Harvard Crimson reports today that "Alum Gives $25M To Build Law Center; Wasserstein family gift is second largest in school history." "E-Mails Show Machinations to Replace Prosecutor; Administration Worked for Months to Make Rove Aide U.S. Attorney in Arkansas": The Washington Post today contains this front page article, along with an article headlined "Senate Panel Approves Subpoenas for 3 Top Bush Aides." In addition, Beth Nolan has an op-ed entitled "Executive Overreach: The White House Is Taking Privilege Too Far." And columnist Charles Krauthammer has an op-ed entitled "Unnecessary Scandal." Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage has an article headlined "A history of replacing U.S. attorneys; The GOP says Clinton first politicized the Justice Department. But numbers show an older pattern." An article reports that "Congress pauses on the subpoena front; Lawmakers say they want to allow time for negotiations with the White House about the firing of U.S. attorneys." And James C. Moore has an op-ed entitled "Don't expect the truth from Karl Rove; Bush's top political aide has built his career on diverting and deceiving; he'd do the same under oath." USA Today reports that "Controversy takes toll on Gonzales' image; Criticisms of performance grow in light of firings." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Bush, Democrats posture on firings; now, let's make a deal. It's time to gather facts on U.S. attorneys, not provoke court battle." And U.S. Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) has an op-ed entitled "Presidents need honest advice; Democrats' subpoenas reflect a partisan fishing expedition." The Washington Times reports that "Senate Democrats OK White House subpoenas." The Chicago Tribune reports that "Fitzgerald faces friendly jeers on 'mediocre' rating." And The New York Sun contains an article headlined "Giuliani: Gonzales Should Get Benefit of Doubt." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Gonzales and Tobacco." "Judge in Phila. overturns Internet porn law": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. And at law.com, Shannon P. Duffy reports that "Internet Porn Law Ruled Unconstitutional." "Mississippi Passes What-If Abortion Bill": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The governor signed a bill Thursday that would criminalize abortion in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the 1973 decision that legalized the procedure." Posted at 07:42 AM by Howard Bashman "German Judge Cites Koran, Stirring Up Cultural Storm": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Al-Arian Asks Supreme Court To Overturn His Sentence": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Posted at 06:47 AM by Howard Bashman "New Developments in the U.S. Attorney Controversy: Why Bush Refuses to Allow Karl Rove and Harriet Miers to Testify Before Congress, and What Role New White House Counsel Fred Fielding May Play." John W. Dean has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, March 22, 2007 "ALM on the block": At the "LawBeat" blog, Mark Obbie has a post that begins, "The largest legal journalism company is for sale. Wasserstein & Co. - investment banker Bruce Wasserstein's publishing sideline (his day job is as chairman and CEO of Lazard) - announced in this release that it's shopping ALM after 10 years of highly leveraged ownership." You can access a related press release at this link. I noted this development here earlier today. In Friday's edition of The New York Times: An article will report that "New to Pentagon, Gates Argued for Closing Guantanamo Prison." According to the article, "Mr. Gates's arguments were rejected after Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and some other government lawyers expressed strong objections to moving detainees to the United States, a stance that was backed by the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, administration officials said." And tomorrow's newspaper will also contain articles headlined "U.S. Attorney in Michigan Disputes Reason for Removal" and "Prosecutors in a Past Life, Sleuths of the Senate Now." "Judge Rejects Law Aimed at Internet Porn": This article will appear Friday in The Washington Post. And The New York Times on Friday will report that "Court Rejects Law Limiting Online Pornography." "Bongwater Into Whine: Drug warriors push broad censorship of student speech." Jacob Sullum has this essay online at Reason. Posted at 10:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Weaver slams majority; 'Misleading' minutes creating a 'power block?'" This article appears today in The Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle. And yesterday's edition of The Detroit Free Press contained an article headlined "Michigan Supreme Court judge assails colleagues" that begins, "Dissident Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Weaver issued another broadside against four of her colleagues on the court late Tuesday, accusing them of abusing the process by which the court publishes minutes of its administrative proceedings. Weaver issued a 24-page memorandum she described as a dissent to minutes approved by the court on March 14, and attached a letter to Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Legislature renewing her request for a review of what she calls abuse of power by the court majority." At her personal web site, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth A. Weaver has posted both her "Statement to Governor and State Legislature March 20, 2007" and "Justice Weaver’s Dissent to the March 14, 2007 Approval of Minutes Concerning Rules for Disqualification of Justices." "Padilla trial CIA witness may testify in disguise": The Miami Herald provides this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Disguised Spy May Testify in Terror Case." "Does the prospect of arranged marriage and abuse warrant asylum in the US? An immigration judge said no, but an appeals court panel found a valid fear of persecution." Warren Richey will have this article Friday in The Christian Science Monitor about a case that the federal government is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review. Posted at 08:10 PM by Howard Bashman "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times" is reporting: Tony Mauro has posts titled "Latest from judiciary office on junket rules: Oops!" and "Stump a Justice." And a post titled "On the Block" notes that ALM (you might know it better as American Lawyer Media) -- the owner of law.com, which of course happens to be this blog's host -- may be up for sale. On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Senate Panel Gives Leahy Subpoena Power" and "U.S. Attorneys Story Lived on at Political Blog" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 06:14 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Risks Await if Subpoena Dispute Balloons"; "Detainees: We're Not Enemy Combatants"; and "Complaint Targets Abortion Case Judge." Posted at 05:35 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Gonzales: A Bush Confidant, in the Hot Seat"; "U.S. Attorney Claims Pressure on Tobacco Case"; and "U.S. Blogger Remains Jailed over Videotapes" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 04:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Child Online Protection Act Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Judge": Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer provides this news update (free access). Posted at 03:18 PM by Howard Bashman "We agree with the reasoning used by the majority of courts and subscribe to their conclusion that a sentencing court may not deviate from the 100:1 crack-powder ratio based solely upon its belief that the policies underpinning that sentencing regime are misguided or unfair." So concludes a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in a per curiam opinion issued today. Today's decision notes that the District of Columbia and Third Circuits have disagreed with the result that the Fifth Circuit reaches today. I linked to those circuits' decisions to the contrary in this earlier post. "Congress May Examine Guam Prosecutor Case; U.S. Attorney Was Demoted After Abramoff Probe": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 12:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Showdown with Congress": The first hour of today's broadcast of the public radio program "On Point" consisted of a segment (listen online using either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player) featuring Gail Russell Chaddock of The Christian Science Monitor and Law Professors Laurence H. Tribe and Douglas W. Kmiec. Posted at 12:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Breyer Discovers e-Discovery": Tony Mauro has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate Panel OKs Subpoenas for Key Aides": The AP offers this updated report. Posted at 12:08 PM by Howard Bashman U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit holds that claims 1 through 3 of Pfizer's patent for the drug Norvasc are invalid for obviousness: You can access today's ruling in Pfizer, Inc. v. Apotex, Inc. at this link. Today's decision reverses a federal district court's ruling in Pfizer's favor. Pfizer issued this press release soon after that now-reversed ruling. "Judge rules COPA unconstitutional": c|net News.com provides this report. My earlier coverage appears at this link. "Senate Panel Moves Toward Aide Subpoenas": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 11:10 AM by Howard Bashman Available from Salon.com: Sidney Blumenthal has an essay entitled "What Bush is hiding: In the U.S. attorney scandal, Alberto Gonzales gave orders, but he also took them -- from Karl Rove, who plotted to turn the federal criminal justice system into the Republican Holy Office of the Inquisition." And Mark Follman, Alex Koppelman, and Jonathan Vanian have an essay entitled "How U.S. attorneys were used to spread voter-fraud fears: Long before it fired eight U.S. attorneys for political reasons, the Bush administration had politicized their jobs by making them push a favorite GOP talking point." On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Congress Moves Toward Fight with White House"; "Former House Counsel on Congressional Subpoenas": and "Democrats Lay Groundwork for Subpoenas" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Lawsuit: Clinic Used Wrong Sperm." The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A couple can proceed with a lawsuit against a fertility clinic they filed after the wife gave birth to a daughter whose skin they thought was too dark to be their child, a judge has ruled." The New York Daily News today contains an article headlined "What a mess, baby: Parents say fertility clinic botched in-vitro & girl's got the wrong dad." And The New York Post reports today that "Black Baby is Born to White Pair." "Are Senior Justices and Judges Unconstitutional?" David Stras has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 10:24 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Judge Blocks 1998 Online Porn Law": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal judge on Thursday dealt another blow to government efforts to control Internet pornography, striking down a 1998 U.S. law that makes it a crime for commercial Web site operators to let children access 'harmful' material. In the ruling, the judge said parents can protect their children through software filters and other less restrictive means that do not limit the rights of others to free speech." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania at this link. The court's opinion begins: At issue in this case is the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. §231 ("COPA") and whether this court should issue a permanent injunction against its enforcement due to its alleged constitutional infirmities. COPA provides both criminal and civil penalties for transmitting sexually explicit materials and communications over the World Wide Web ("Web") which are available to minors and harmful to them. 47 U.S.C. §231(a). After a trial on the merits, for the reasons that follow, notwithstanding the compelling interest of Congress in protecting children from sexually explicit material on the Web, I conclude today that COPA facially violates the First and Fifth Amendment rights of the plaintiffs because: (1) at least some of the plaintiffs have standing; (2) COPA is not narrowly tailored to Congress' compelling interest; (3) defendant has failed to meet his burden of showing that COPA is the least restrictive, most effective alternative in achieving the compelling interest; and (3) COPA is impermissibly vague and overbroad. As a result, I will issue a permanent injunction against the enforcement of COPA.Senior U.S. District Judge Lowell A. Reed, Jr. is the author of the decision. Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Bush Uses Conciliator Fielding to Confront Congress on Firings": Bloomberg News provides this report. And The Associated Press reports that "McKay Touted for Judgeship Before Firing." "Perelman's $1.45 billion verdict tossed": This article appears today in The Palm Beach Post. The New York Times reports today that "Morgan Stanley Net Jumps; Appeal on Lawsuit Is Won." And The New York Post reports that "Ronny Loses Round; Perelman's $2B at Stake." My earlier coverage of yesterday's ruling of Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal can be accessed here. "Can commas shoot down gun control? A grammarian takes issue with a court decision that picks apart clauses of the 2nd Amendment." Dennis Baron has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:57 AM by Howard Bashman "Naperville teen sues school over her anti-gay T-shirt": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. The Chicago Sun-Times reports today that "Teen who wants to wear anti-gay T-shirt takes battle to court." And The Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Illinois contains an article headlined "Bias toward gays at Neuqua Valley, suit claims; Students claim school stifles anti-gay speech." Bob Egelko is reporting: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, he has articles headlined "Top court to hear plea in BofA case" and "Lawyer slams prison wages; Tony Serra files suit on behalf of federal inmates for low rate of pay for labor by the incarcerated." Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Chinese wife goes after Yahoo to free her husband from prison": The Washington Times contains this article today. Earlier this month, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "Dissident's wife may sue Yahoo; She alleges company 'betrayed' husband, sentenced to 10 years in Chinese prison." Wired News provided a report headlined "'Yahoo Betrayed My Husband.'" And Voice of America News reported that "Wife of Chinese Cyber Dissident to Sue Yahoo." "Panel is asked to suggest names for SJC; Field 'wide open' to replace Sosman": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "House Panel Authorizes Subpoenas Of Officials; White House Again Says Aides Will Not Testify": The Washington Post today contains this front page article, along with a front page article headlined "Prosecutor Says Bush Appointees Interfered With Tobacco Case." And an editorial is entitled "Political Spectacle: President Bush and Congress should step back from a confrontation that makes them both look bad." The Los Angeles Times reports today that "House panel ignores Bush's subpoena warning; The Judiciary Committee chairman is authorized to order testimony and documents but can keep negotiating with the White House" and "Bush loyalist among fired U.S. attorneys; Threatened controversy over a poor evaluation of federal prosecutor Kevin Ryan in San Francisco derailed plans to retain him." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Let Rove testify: Bush should compromise with congressional Democrats about testimony from his advisors." The New York Times reports that "Democrats See a 'Document Gap' in Dismissals." And columnist David Brooks has an op-ed entitled "A Proper Distinction" (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link). The Chicago Tribune reports that "Legal experts see compromise; Bush faces battle over aides' testimony." The Boston Globe reports that "Bush vows fight as subpoenas authorized; Showdown looms on firing of prosecutors." And an editorial is entitled "Let in the light." USA Today reports that "3 fired prosecutors were in top 10 for convictions, federal data show; Justice Department spokesman says rankings skewed." The Washington Times reports that "Subpoenas OK'd, but not issued." The Wall Street Journal contains an editorial entitled "Subpoena Assault: Congress's real goal is crippling the Bush Presidency" (free access). And The St. Petersburg Times contains an editorial entitled "To get at truth, put them under oath." "Nichols trial postponed to Sept. 10; More than two years after courthouse deaths, delay creates danger publicity may taint jury pool": This article appears today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And The New York Times reports today that "Georgia Murder Case's Cost Saps Public Defense System." Don't Pooh-Pooh this school dress code: The New York Times reports today that "Pooh Character Leads to Suit on Dress Code." My earlier coverage of this matter appeared in a post titled "The wonderful thing about Tigger socks." "Lawyer's Hoax Spurs Legal Tactics Debate": The Associated Press provides a report from Wisconsin that begins, "When a prominent lawyer was defending a businessman on charges of sexually assaulting a boy and possessing child pornography, he used a ruse to obtain the boy's computer to aid his case. Now, state regulators want the state Supreme Court to scold the lawyer for the hoax." Meanwhile, in local coverage, The Capital Times of Madison reported earlier this month that "Noted lawyer accused of hoax in case; Hurley faces misconduct charge." And The Wisconsin State Journal reported earlier this month that "Attorney to contest board's complaint." "A Habeas Corpus Appeal Veers to Capital Issues": Linda Greenhouse has this article today in The New York Times. And The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today that "'Buzz' Westfall's 'Patton' remark debated." "Bong Hits 4 Jesus--Explained: Will the justices overturn Tinker? Nah, they'll just tinker." Daniel Henninger has this op-ed (free access) today in The Wall Street Journal. Today in The Washington Times, Debra J. Saunders has an op-ed entitled "Prankster at schoolhouse gate." And in The Los Angeles Times, columnist Michael McGough has an essay entitled "The Supreme Court's Jesus jones: How you value the teaching of schools depends on what values the schools are teaching." "Tobin's phone jam verdict reversed": The Bangor Daily News today contains an article that begins, "A federal appeals court on Wednesday reversed the conviction and sentence of a long-time Republican strategist accused of taking part in a phone-jamming plot in New Hampshire on Election Day 2002." My earlier coverage of yesterday's First Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Subpoenas Issued in a Terror-Finance Probe Spark a Secret Battle Before a Federal Court": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Posted at 07:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Government: Don't rush on detainee cases." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman "The Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in the First Amendment Case in Which A High School Student Was Penalized for Unfurling a 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' Banner": Marci Hamilton has this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, March 21, 2007 Available online at law.com: Marcia Coyle reports that "Credit Suisse Case Brings 'Epic' Wall Street Battle Before Supreme Court." In other news, "Calif. Supreme Court Takes Up $1 Billion Banking Case." And an article reports that "Fla. Appeals Court Tosses $1.58 Billion Verdict Against Morgan Stanley; Panel did not rule on judge's controversial ruling based on Morgan Stanley's violation of her discovery orders." "Gap in Justice, White House e-mails raises questions": CNN.com provides this report. The New York Times on Thursday will contain articles headlined "Panel Approves Five Subpoenas on Prosecutors" and "Bush's Big-Picture Battle: Presidential Prerogatives." And McClatchy Newspapers report that "House panel authorizes subpoenas in the U.S. attorneys controversy." "Court Overturns Phone Jamming Conviction": The Associated Press provides this report. My earlier coverage of today's First Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Paul Horwitz on Jeopardy this Wednesday March 21st!!" Dan Markel recently had this post at "PrawfsBlawg." I just watched the broadcast here in Philadelphia, and I'm pleased to report that Paul did a great job and has set the bar high for any future blogging law professors who will appear on the show. Posted at 07:32 PM by Howard Bashman On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "White House Frames Response to Subpoena Threat"; "Executive Staff Have History of Sworn Hearings" (featuring Nina Totenberg); "Snow: Subpoenas May Lead to Less Cooperation"; and "On Attorney Dispute, a Flashback for Fielding?" RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "When Less is More: The nutty legal syllogism that powers the Bush administration." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 07:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Emails show White House interest in U.S. attorneys firings": McClatchy Newspapers provide this report. Posted at 07:08 PM by Howard Bashman "No one blinks, yet, on US attorney firings; Bush and Congress have staked out their battle over turf, and seem headed for a constitutional confrontation": This article will appear Thursday in The Christian Science Monitor. And at Time magazine's web site, Reynolds Holding has an item headlined "A Coming Battle Over Bush's Executive Privilege." "Schools 4 free thinkers: In the Supreme Court case over 'Bong hits 4 Jesus,' both sides are wrong." Jonathan Zimmerman will have this op-ed Thursday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 06:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Cost-Conscious Federal Courts Trim Needs, Ask for FY 2008 Funding": The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has today issued a news release that begins, "The federal courts today asked Congress for enough funding to cover basic operating costs in Fiscal Year 2008, while assuring both Houses that the federal Judiciary is doing its part to contain costs and enhance productivity." Posted at 05:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Posner Reads Sutton For All It's Worth -- And Then Some?" Law Professor Sam Bagenstos has this post at his blog "Disability Law." He's writing about today's Seventh Circuit ruling that I previously pointed to here. Posted at 05:33 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online is an article headlined "Morgan Stanley-Perelman Judgment Flipped." My earlier coverage appears here. And in other news, "Court Backs FCC Over States in VoIP Case." My earlier coverage appears here. We be jammin' (and we also be overturnin' our jammin' conviction): The Associated Press today provides a report that begins, "State Democrats want Congress to investigate whether politics delayed prosecution of a Republican phone-jamming plot in New Hampshire until after the 2004 presidential election. The national furor over alleged politics in the firings of eight federal prosecutors prompted the move, state party Chairwoman Kathy Sullivan told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The scheme devised by state and national Republicans jammed local Democratic ride-to-the-polls and a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote phone bank for about 90 minutes on Election Day 2002, the year of a hotly contested U.S. Senate race between then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, and then-U.S. Rep. John Sununu, a Republican, who won. The case resulted in four criminal convictions, including that of strategist James Tobin, of Bangor, Maine, who was New England chairman of President Bush's re-election campaign two years later." And back in May 2006, The Washington Post published an article headlined "GOP Official Faces Sentence in Phone-Jamming; Democratic Lines Were Blocked in 2002 as New Hampshire Elected U.S. Senator." The GOP official in question was James Tobin. Today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued this ruling overturning Tobin's conviction and sentence and sending the case back to the trial court for further proceedings. "Oh deer!" update: The Daily Telegram of Superior, Wisconsin today contains an article headlined "Treatment favored over incarceration for animal abuser" that begins, "A Superior man was placed on probation Tuesday in connection with a charge he had sexual contact with a deer carcass." And The Associated Press reports that "Man Gets Probation for Dead Deer Sex." My earlier coverage, from November 2006, can be accessed here. There's still time to register to attend the first annual Matthew J. Ryan Law and Public Policy Forum on the topic "Judicial Independence: Crisis and Opportunity." Two Fridays from now, on March 30, 2007, this event featuring current and former judges, law professors, and even a journalist or two will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Thanks to friend of "How Appealing" Ben Wittes for the heads-up. I am planning to attend. According to the registration brochure that I've posted online, five hours of Pennsylvania CLE credit are available, and the registration fee is just $100. Posted at 04:45 PM by Howard Bashman "The Washington Back Channel": In this upcoming Sunday's edition of The New York Times Magazine, Max Frankel will have an article (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link) about the Scooter Libby trial that begins, "So there I sat, watching the United States government in all its majesty dragging into court the American press (in all its piety), forcing reporters to betray confidences, rifling their files and notebooks, making them swear to their confused memories and motives and burdening their bosses with hefty legal fees -- all for the high-sounding purpose, yet again, of protecting our nation's secrets. Top-secret secrets! In wartime!" Update: Non-TimesSelect subscribers can freely access the article by clicking here. "Morgan Stanley wins reversal of $1.58 bln award": Reuters provides a report that begins, "Morgan Stanley won a major victory on Wednesday when a divided Florida state appeals court threw out a $1.58 billion award to billionaire Ronald Perelman over his 1998 sale of camping equipment company Coleman Co. to Sunbeam Corp." The Palm Beach Post provides a news update headlined "Court throws out verdict against Morgan Stanley for Perelman." Bloomberg News reports that "Morgan Stanley Wins on Perelman's $1.57 Billion Award." And MarketWatch reports that "Florida court rejects $1.57 bln verdict vs Morgan Stanley." You can access at this link today's ruling of Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal. "Do the Justices have writer's block? the blue flu? spring (training) fever?" Doug Berman has this post today at "Sentencing Law and Policy." Posted at 03:55 PM by Howard Bashman "No word yet on whether Fartman plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. (But I wouldn't hold my breath)." So concludes a post titled "Court rules for Pull My Finger Fred, against Fartman" at the blog "27B Stroke 6" hosted by Wired News. My coverage of yesterday's Seventh Circuit ruling appears at this link. For those readers who can't get enough of the case, also freely available online are the briefs and appendices (via this link) and the oral argument audio (mp3 file; right click and save to disk) Access online the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Roper v. Weaver, No. 06-313: The Court has posted the transcript at this link. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Judicial Disclosures Off to Slow Start": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A new requirement that federal judges promptly tell the public about their expense-paid trips has so far produced no disclosures, a judicial ethics watchdog group said Wednesday. The change went into effect Jan. 1, requiring sponsors of trips to report in advance who is paying for judges' travel and lodging at private seminars. The information is supposed to be made available promptly to the public." The article reports on a press release titled "Records Show U.S. Courts' Staff Slow-Walking New Junkets Reporting Rules, ExxonMobil Reaping Benefits" issued today by the organization Community Rights Counsel. Two additional, related CRC news releases issued today are titled "CRC Review Finds New Judicial Openness Policy Opening Little For Public; After Nearly Three Months, New Junkets Reporting Standard Has Produced Nothing From Judges" and "Exxon, Punitive Damages, and Judicial Junkets." Update: At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a related post titled "Judicial Junket Update." U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rules in favor of the Nationalist Movement in that organization's appeal challenging a portion of the City of York, Pennsylvania's ordinance governing the use of public land for demonstrations: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Bush, Senate Showdown?" This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Law Professor Jonathan Turley appeared on today's broadcast of the public radio program "Here & Now." Posted at 02:50 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "House Clears Way for Subpoenas on Attorney Firings" and "GOP Divided on Gonzales Controversy" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 02:48 PM by Howard Bashman "High Court Reviews Death Sentence Remark": The Associated Press provides this report on today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument. Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Court query on Teague retroactivity": Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog. Posted at 02:07 PM by Howard Bashman The Americans with Disabilities Act does not compel the nation's largest trucking company to retain a truck driver who was diagnosed with a medical condition that made him susceptible to fainting: Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued this decision today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Posted at 01:58 PM by Howard Bashman Divided three-judge Third Circuit panel affirms the dismissal of Amiri Baraka lawsuit alleging that his constitutional rights were violated when New Jersey eliminated his position as poet laureate of that State: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. Posted at 01:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Before the court are consolidated petitions for review which challenge an order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) preempting state regulation of telecommunication services which utilize a relatively new technology called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)." So begins a decision that a two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued today. The decision rejects one challenge as unripe and rejects all of the other challenges on the merits. Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "House Panel OKs Rove, Miers Subpoenas": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman "E-Mails Shed Light on Inner Workings at Justice; Behind the Scenes Tough Scrutiny of U.S. Attorneys by Top DOJ Officials": Lawrence Hurley has this article (free access) today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Fight over Attorney Firings Prompts Subpoena Showdown"; "Leahy Expects Subpoena Power in Attorney Case"; and "Fitzgerald's Justice Ranking Rankles Chicagoans" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 10:45 AM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Bush Aides Facing Subpoenas Over Firings" and "'Safe' Prosecutor Pick Among Those Fired." Posted at 10:33 AM by Howard Bashman "E-mail trail shows power struggle behind US attorneys' firings; Newly released documents show the White House sought the upper hand over US prosecutors and Congress": This article appears today in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Bush May Invite Constitutional Showdown Over Attorney Firings": Bloomberg News provides this report. Posted at 10:28 AM by Howard Bashman The wonderful thing about Tigger socks: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Demian Bulwa and Bob Egelko have an article headlined "Fighting for the right to wear Tigger: ACLU sues Napa school over dress code that requires solid colors, bans all denim." And The Napa Valley Register provides a news update headlined "Tigger clothing ban causes family to sue school district." "Break up the FBI: The agency is too large and bureaucratic to effectively fight terrorism." Law Professor John Yoo has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Carefully drawn line": Today in The Washington Times, Daniel Gallington has an op-ed that begins, "Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that while he believed that homosexuality was 'immoral,' he supported the Defense Department's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy." And today in The Chicago Tribune, columnist Clarence Page has an op-ed entitled "Don't ask, don't tell, don't leave." "Bullet Points: The People Debate Fate Of Gun Ban." This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:04 AM by Howard Bashman "F.B.I. Is Warned Over Its Misuse of Data Collection": The New York Times contains this article today. The Washington Post reports today that "FBI Violations May Number 3,000, Official Says." And The Washington Times reports that "FBI hit for misuse of spying power." "Lawyers Press Musharraf With Protests; Clash Over Judge Grows Into Challenge of Pakistani Leader's Rule": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman "The White House and Congress Seem Headed Toward a Familiar Collision": Adam Liptak has this news analysis today in The New York Times. The newspaper also contains articles headlined "Ousted California Prosecutor Previously Had Disputes on Strategy" and "Attorneys' Case Will Be Subject of Political Ad." An editorial is entitled "What People Really Need." And David C. Iglesias has an op-ed entitled "Why I Was Fired." The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined "Bush clashes with Congress over U.S. attorney firings; He refuses to let Rove testify. Democrats say they will issue subpoenas" and "Making a list of reasons for firing U.S. attorneys: Justice Department memos show performance issues were being detailed after the fact in order to justify the terminations." The Chicago Tribune reports that "Bush takes tough line on firings; Aides can talk to Congress, but not under oath." An editorial is entitled "Not distinguished, eh?" And columnist John Kass has an op-ed entitled "Connecting dots and Fitzgerald's fall." The Boston Globe reports that "Bush, Democrats clash on prosecutors; President backs AG, refuses call for aides to testify." And Thomas M. Boyd has an op-ed entitled "The US attorney mess." USA Today contains a front page article headlined "Bush defiant in prosecutors probe; Vows constitutional battle to prevent aides' testimony." In addition, Ross K. Baker has an op-ed entitled "Dismissals of U.S. attorneys fit Bush pattern: Bypass Congress." The Washington Times reports that "Bush to fight Democratic subpoenas." And in The Washington Post, Al Kamen's "In the Loop" column is headlined "The Ritual Dance of the Prosecutors." "Ex-Captive in Guantanamo Makes Run for Office in Australia": The New York Times contains this article today. Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Protect student speech -- even 'unwise' bong banner; Precedent, common sense favor student in Supreme Court case": This editorial appears today in USA Today. In response, Kenneth W. Starr has an op-ed entitled "Policy reflects common sense; Principal should have right to stop drug-promoting publicity stunt." And The Washington Post today contains an editorial entitled "Precedent 4 Student Speech: An unusual First Amendment case." "Analysis: Impetus from an Enron ruling?" Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "New Technique Lets Bloggers Tackle Late-Night News Dumps": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Posted at 06:40 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, March 20, 2007 "Bush Clashes With Congress on Prosecutors": This article will appear Wednesday in The New York Times. The Washington Post on Wednesday will contain articles headlined "President Says He Supports Gonzales; Hill Democrats May Subpoena Bush Aides" and "E-Mails Reveal Tumult In Firings and Aftermath." And law.com provides reports headlined "E-Mails Detail Ousted Northern California U.S. Attorney Ryan Fighting His Fall" and "Former AG Bell: Politics Has No Place at the DOJ." On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Congress, White House Clash on Hearing Rules"; "Gonzales Known for Loyalty, Handling Problems"; "Senate Votes to Resume Attorney Confirmation"; "Justice Dept. Had a 'Real Problem' with Lam": and "House Panel Threatens to Curb FBI Powers." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "What Would Jesus Smoke?: The Christian doctrine on bong hits." Online at Slate, Torie Bosch provides this Explainer. Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Thomas announces judgeship nomination for Rock Springs lawyer": The Casper Star-Tribune today contains an article that begins, "Richard Honaker, a Rock Springs attorney, has been nominated to be Wyoming's seventh U.S. district judge since statehood, U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas announced Monday. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Honaker will fill the seat vacated by the recent retirement of U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer." And The Associated Press provides reports headlined "Nominee for federal court seat wrote failed Wyo. abortion bill"; "Honaker's nomination worries pro-abortion activists"; and "Thomas: Honaker's conservative past no secret." "President Bush Addresses Resignations of U.S. Attorneys": The White House has posted online this transcript of President Bush's remarks this evening, along with the text of "White House Counsel's Letter Regarding U.S. Attorneys." Posted at 08:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Bush warns Dems against 'partisan fishing expedition'": The Los Angeles Times provides a news update that begins, "President Bush, warning Congress against 'a partisan fishing expedition,' said today, 'There is no indication that anybody did anything improper' in handling the firings of eight U.S. attorneys." The Washington Post provides a news update headlined "Bush Warns Democrats to Accept Testimony Plan." McClatchy Newspapers provide reports headlined "Bush fights back on behalf of his embattled attorney general" and "Inquiry revisits accusations that Justice Dept. protected lawmaker." CNN.com reports that "Bush ready to fight lawmakers on U.S. attorney firings flap." The Associated Press reports that "Bush Warns Dems to Take Offer in Firings." And last Friday, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported that "U.S. targeted Charlotte attorney; Gretchen C.F. Shappert prosecuted Sam Currin, a top North Carolina Republican, last year." "Supreme Court Blocks Ohio Execution": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked the execution of a man who killed a woman and scattered her remains across two states, agreeing with other courts that said he can continue arguing that Ohio's method of lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment." You can access today's order of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link. "Justices Weigh Free Speech for Students": This segment (transcripts with links to audio and video feeds) featuring Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal appeared on yesterday's broadcast of the PBS program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." Posted at 04:53 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice collects gifts to pay fees": The Fort Worth Star-Telegram today contains an article that begins, "Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht personally collected more than $300,000 in private donations from some of the state's top lawyers to pay his legal bills, prompting a state senator to say he is withdrawing his efforts to get the state to pick up the tab. Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, said he would not have introduced a bill to pay Hecht's legal expenses if he had known that Hecht had raised the money himself." And The Associated Press reports that "Justice who supported Miers raised legal funds from lawyers." "Bush renominates five Michiganians to federal judgeships": The Detroit News today contains an article that begins, "President Bush has renominated five Michiganians to federal judgeships, including a Troy lawyer and a woman whose nomination has been blocked by a Republican senator because of her attendance at a lesbian couple's commitment ceremony." My earlier coverage appears at this link. "Special Prosecutor on Lam's Firing Is Possible, Experts Say": Lawrence Hurley has this article (free access) today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 03:18 PM by Howard Bashman "E-Mails Detail Aftermath of U.S. Attorney Firings": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." The Associated Press provides reports headlined "White House Offers Interviews With Rove"; "Tancredo: Time for Gonzales to 'Move On'"; and "2 Key Players Were Up for U.S. Attorney." And Slate has launched a feature titled "Gonzo-Meter: Is Alberto Gonzales going down?" Right now, it's showing a 55% chance of departure. "Kennedy Recuses From Antitrust Case Involving Son's Company": law.com's Tony Mauro provides a news update that begins, "Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's son Gregory is a managing director of Credit Suisse, the investment banking firm that is a party in a major antitrust case set for argument before his father's court March 27. It is apparently because of his son's employment that Kennedy on Monday suddenly recused in the case, Credit Suisse v. Billing, after having participated in the decision last December to grant review. Kennedy's late-stage recusal triggered an unusual sequence of events in the case, announced on an otherwise routine order list Monday." My earlier coverage of this aspect of yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court Order List can be accessed here. "The Porn Plot Against Prosecutors": Max Blumenthal has this essay online at The Nation. Meanwhile, at National Review Online, Byron York has an essay entitled "Will Top White House Officials Testify Before Congress? Yes. It's happened before; it will happen again." And Bruce Bartlett has an essay entitled "With Precedent: Attorney firings." "Justices may take centrist view of 'Bong Hits' case": Tony Mauro has this news analysis online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 02:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Debates Credibility in Murder Case": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "John Fry was convicted of shooting two people to death alongside a northern California highway even though a witness overheard another man confess to the crimes. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court debated whether the witness' testimony should have been excluded from the trial that resulted in a life prison term for Fry." You can access at this link the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Fry v. Pliler, No. 06-5247. "Torture Is Counterproductive: The response to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's confession proves it." Anne Applebaum has this essay online today at Slate. And at Salon.com, Matthias Gebauer has an essay entitled "Freed CIA prisoner renders his version of the truth; Despite orders to remain silent, radical imam Abu Omar tells of being abducted by the CIA, shuttled to Egypt and tortured for a year." '"Conference Call' Petitions to Watch: 3/23." "SCOTUSblog" provides this post linking to a list of cert. petitions with a reasonable chance of being granted at the U.S. Supreme Court's conference of March 23, 2007. Posted at 12:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Somewhat to our surprise, it turns out that there is a niche market for farting dolls, and it is quite lucrative." So writes Seventh Circuit Judge Diane P. Wood, in the course of deciding a copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition action between Fartman and Pull My Finger Fred, two plush dolls apparently renowned for their flatulence. You can access today's ruling at this link. Previously, the "bIPlog" provided coverage of one of the federal district court's rulings in this case. "Spam Notes" blog analyzes an amicus brief filed in pending spam-related Seventh Circuit appeal: Venkat has a post titled "The Spamhaus Amicus Brief." Posted at 11:47 AM by Howard Bashman "Man who lost retirement money to Enron wins $182.7 million jackpot; PGE employee Dan Gannon has played the lottery since losing $400,000 from his 401(k)": This article appears today in The Oregonian (via "Obscure Store"). Posted at 11:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Silberman's Statement": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Emma Schwartz today has a post that begins, "Public statements are a dime a dozen from companies, government agencies and public officials. But they remain a rarity in one key branch of government: the judiciary. So it came as some surprise when Senior Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a public statement this morning to 'dispel' misstatements about his position and job prospects in other branches of government." You can access the public statement directly at this link. Posted at 11:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Court: Travelers Can Seek Attorney Fees." The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 11:23 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained audio segments entitled "E-Mails Show Justice Dept. in Damage-Control Mode"; "Gonzales, Bush Go Back a Long Way"; and "Senate May Reclaim Veto on U.S. Attorneys." Yesterday's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained audio segments entitled "Senate Bids for a Say in U.S. Attorney Process"; "Senate Subpoenas vs. Executive Privilege" (featuring Law Professor Michael C. Dorf); "White House Counsel Fielding Is Used to Scandal"; and "Detainee Attash Admits to Cole, Embassy Bombings." And yesterday's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" contained an audio segment entitled "Understanding the U.S. Attorney Firings" featuring Law Professors Jonathan Turley, Doug Kmiec, and Philip Heymann. RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" illustrated: Mark Alan Stamaty has this illustration online at Slate. Posted at 11:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Jurisdictional Prerequisites, Nonjurisdictional Processing Rules, and Federal Appellate Practice: The Implications of Kontrick and Eberhart." Last week, I linked here to an article bearing that title (abstract with links for download) that Law Professor Philip Pucillo has posted to SSRN. Today, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit wrestled with that issue in the context of an appeal from a federal district court's entry of summary judgment in a civil case. The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure provide that if one of various specified post-judgment motions is filed within ten days after the entry of a final judgment, the time for appealing from the final judgment does not begin to run until the federal district court decides the motion. A motion for "Relief from Judgment or Order" under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) is timely if made either within a reasonable time or not more than one year from the entry of judgment depending on the grounds asserted for relief. In the case that the D.C. Circuit decided today, the party against whom summary judgment was entered filed a FRCP 60(b) motion eleven days after the entry of judgment. The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure provide that if a FRCP 60(b) motion is filed within ten days after the entry of final judgment, the time for appealing from the final judgment does not begin to run until the motion is decided. But if the FRCP 60(b) motion is not filed within ten days after the entry of final judgment, the time for appealing from the original final judgment remains unchanged from what the deadline would have been if no FRCP 60(b) motion was filed. In the case that the D.C. Circuit decided today, the losing party filed a notice of appeal from the final judgment within thirty days after the district court had denied the FRCP 60(b) motion. As of the date on which the notice of appeal was filed, however, more than thirty days had passed from the original entry of the final judgment. The question that divided the panel today was whether the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings in Kontrick and Eberhart permitted the D.C. Circuit to treat the FRCP 60(b) motion as having been filed within ten days of the entry of judgment so as to permit the notice of appeal to enable the appellate court to review the merits of the summary judgment ruling given that the appellee had not objected to the appeal's untimeliness, or whether the untimeliness was jurisdictional and prevented the court from deciding the appeal even in the absence of any objection from the appellee. The majority held -- in a decision written by Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson and joined in by Circuit Judge Judith W. Rogers -- that the appeal could be decided (and, in this case, rejected) on the merits. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown dissented. Further proof that "It's hard out here for a pimp": Today a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a decision upholding concurrent life sentences imposed under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines on a pimp whose prostitutes included girls under the age of eighteen. An earlier installment of this blog's now-recurring "It's hard out here" series of posts can be accessed here. "Court allows attorney fees recovery in bankruptcy": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog" reporting on today's ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. of America v. Pacific Gas & Elec. Co., No. 05-1429. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. delivered the opinion on behalf of a unanimous Court, and it was the only ruling in an argued case issued today. You can access the oral argument transcript at this link. "Bush Affirms Support for Gonzales": The Associated Press provides this report. And Bloomberg News reports that "Bush Administration Mounts Counterattack on Prosecutor Firings." "Handgun bans' logic got shot full of holes": Yesterday in The Chicago Tribune, Dennis Byrne had an op-ed that begins, "Our good and well-meaning friends in Chicago, Wilmette and other towns that have outlawed the possession of handguns, even in the sanctity and privacy of the home, might want to notice that the nation's second-highest court has tossed out a similar weapons ban." Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Detainee Says He Was Abused While in U.S. Custody": This article appears today in The New York Times. And The Washington Post today contains an editorial entitled "Top-Secret Torture: What's stopping the Democrats in Congress from investigating?" along with an op-ed by columnist Anne Applebaum entitled "Tortured Credibility." "Law Prof Takes Case to the Supreme Court; Professor Laurence H. Tribe ’62 defended a rancher's rights in front of former student": The Harvard Crimson contains this article today. Posted at 08:13 AM by Howard Bashman "New E-Mail Gives Details on Attorney Dismissals": This article appears today in The New York Times, along with articles headlined "Changes Sought in Naming of Prosecutors" and "G.O.P. Criticizes Schumer's Dual Roles in Investigation." The Washington Post today contains articles headlined "Fitzgerald Ranked During Leak Case; Justice Dept. Fired 2 With Same Rating" and "Justice Job Considered For Ousted Prosecutor." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Justice Dept. worked to contain U.S. attorney fallout; Documents show that officials scrambled to curb bad publicity over the widening scandal." The Chicago Tribune contains an article headlined "Pelosi: 'I believe we need a new attorney general'; 'Era of no oversight' for Republicans is over, speaker says." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Uncovering the truth." And The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contains an editorial entitled "Gonzales should quit: By misleading Congress on U.S. attorney firings, attorney general forfeits public trust in his leadership." "Qaeda Operative Confesses Role in Cole Bombing": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. The Washington Post today contains a front page article headlined "Al-Qaeda Suspect Says He Planned Cole Attack." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Detainee confesses to Cole bombing, U.S. says; The Al Qaeda operative also says he was involved in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa." In The Miami Herald, Carol Rosenberg reports that "Captive confesses to attacks; A Guantanamo captive who admitted to key roles in the bombings of the USS Cole and a U.S. Embassy did not allege torture, according to a transcript." And The Washington Times reports that "Gitmo detainee admits Cole role." "FBI Issues New Rules For Getting Phone Records": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Consider Rights Issues; Decisions on Speech, Property Limits Could Be Far-Reaching": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. And Dana Milbank's "Washington Sketch" column is headlined "Up in Smoke at the High Court." Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "Free speech on campus is debated; The Supreme Court hears arguments in an Alaska case that pits student rights against a principal's authority." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "'Bong hits' is free speech: The Supreme Court should rule that writing 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' on a banner is free speech, even for a student." In USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that "Justices debate student's suspension for banner; Was off campus when 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' sign torn down." And The Chicago Tribune reports that "Justices weigh free speech vs. school control." "Court Rejects Suit Against Enron Banks": This article appears today in The New York Times. The Washington Post reports today that "Investors Defeated In Enron Decision; Investment Banks Ruled Not Liable." And The Houston Chronicle reports that "Enron shareholders stripped of status; Court tosses Enron class-action title and says banks aren't completely liable." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Fifth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Message to high court: 'Get out'; Judicial restraint has been a guiding conservative principle; 'Activist judges,' after all, are rooted in the liberal camp; But an upcoming Supreme Court decision on school desegregation might turn conservative jurisprudence on its head." Laura Vanderkam has this op-ed today in USA Today. Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, March 19, 2007 "Ideological Drift among Supreme Court Justices: Who, When, and How Important?" Last month, I linked here to an article bearing that title to be published in the Northwestern University Law Review. Today, a portion of that article appears here at the Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy web site. And Colloquy has posted here a response to that article written by Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times. "Justices weigh free speech vs. school control": The Chicago Tribune provides this news update. Tuesday's edition of The Telegraph (UK) contains an article headlined "Prank ends in Supreme Court." And Jake Tapper of ABC News provides a report headlined "Students Await Free Speech Ruling; Supreme Court Tackles 'Bong' Case as Debates Range Over Free Speech." "Students' Right to Free Speech": This editorial will appear Tuesday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Hears Arguments on Student Speech": Linda Greenhouse will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times. Posted at 08:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Bong Hits 4 Jesus: Because you just can't improve on 'Bong hits 4 Jesus.'" Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate. Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman "White House searching for Gonzales' replacement, source says": McClatchy Newspapers provide a report that begins, "The White House began floating the names of possible replacements for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Monday as the Justice Department released more internal documents related to the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year. One prominent Republican, who earlier had predicted that Gonzales would survive the controversy, said he expected both Gonzales and Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty to resign soon." Posted at 08:27 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from "SCOTUSblog": Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Analysis: A new exception to 'Tinker'?" And Marty Lederman has a post titled "Brief Notes on Morse Oral Argument." "Bush nominates five for federal judicial posts in Michigan": The Associated Press provides this report. My earlier coverage appears here. Posted at 07:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Pentagon: Confession in Cole blast." Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald provides this news update. Posted at 07:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Detainee Alleges He Was Beaten in U.S. Custody": The New York Times provides a news update that begins, "David Hicks, the first detainee to be formally charged under the new military tribunal rules at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has alleged in a court document filed here that during nearly five years in American custody he was beaten several times during interrogations and witnessed the abuse of other prisoners." Posted at 07:30 PM by Howard Bashman "'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' case brought before Supreme Court": Stephen Henderson of McClatchy Newspapers provides this report. Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Justices Question Student's Right to Display 'Bong Hits' Sign." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "High court hears 'Bong hits 4 Jesus' case." And BBC News reports that "US high court mulls free speech; The US Supreme Court is considering its first major test of students' free speech rights in two decades." Today's federal appellate and district court nominations: Today's White House nominations -- including two renominations for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the renomination of the previously "controversial" Janet T. Neff (scroll down for bio) to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan -- can be accessed here. Posted at 05:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Court: No Class-Action in Enron Suit." The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Enron Corp. shareholders cannot proceed with a class-action lawsuit against investment banks for their alleged role in the accounting fraud that led to Enron's collapse. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion reversed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon in Houston, who had said shareholders could sue as a class." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has not yet posted the decision to its web site. If I receive a copy of the decision via email before it becomes available over the court's own site, I will post it. Update at 5:40 p.m.: I've posted the opinion online at this link. Beware the "see also" cite: Today's oral argument in Wilkie v. Robbins, No. 06-219 -- also known as not the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case -- contained a humorous exchange between Justice Stephen G. Breyer and Laurence H. Tribe, arguing as counsel for respondents. The exchange began when Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. remarked that Tribe's merits brief did not appear to cite very much authority for a certain point. Tribe remarked that there were two older New York State cases that provided support for the proposition. Justice Breyer then chimed in to note that one of the two cases appeared in Tribe's merits brief following a "see also" cite, which -- in Justice Breyer's view -- "is a sign to me there's something wrong with that case." After Tribe responded that, to the contrary, it was a really, really good case (to paraphrase), Justice Breyer asked, "Why did you say 'See Also'?" To which Tribe responded, "I don't remember." (The exchange appears in the oral argument transcript at pages 45-46). The lesson of today's oral argument appears to be that one should be prepared not only to defend the cases cited in the brief but also The Bluebook signals that precede the citations to those cases. In any event, at least the debate did not turn to the value of the "cf." signal, which, as Seventh Circuit Judge Terence T. Evans noted in an opinion from 2003 (at page 5), "is often only revealed in the eye of the beholder." "Roberts, Alito May Split on Free-Speech Case": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this news update. Posted at 04:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Bong Hits 4 SCOTUS Oral Argument Transcripts": The U.S. Supreme Court has now posted online today's oral argument transcripts. The transcript of today's oral argument in Morse v. Frederick, No. 06-278 -- also known as the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case -- can be accessed here. And the transcript of today's oral argument in Wilkie v. Robbins, No. 06-219 -- also known as not the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case -- can be accessed here. "Supreme Court hears arguments in free speech case": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. Posted at 03:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Time to Rethink the FBI": Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner has this op-ed (pass-through link) today in The Wall Street Journal. (N.B.: For the past week or so, these WSJ.com pass-through links have for me opened in an Internet Explorer web browser page that contains lots of error messages. Using a Netscape browser, however, these error messages remain toward the top of the page, while the entire text of the op-ed remains unobscured toward the bottom of the page.) Today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in El v. SEPTA: Philadelphia natives may be saddened to learn that this lawsuit, despite its name, does not consist of Market-Frankford El (cute logo here) suing the rest of SEPTA. Rather, El is the last name of plaintiff Douglas El, who has filed suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 claiming that SEPTA "unnecessarily disqualifies applicants because of prior criminal convictions--a policy that he argues has a disparate impact on minority applicants because they are more likely than white applicants to have convictions on their records." Today's Third Circuit ruling affirms the entry of summary judgment in favor of SEPTA. "A Right To Keep And Bear Arms?" Stuart Taylor Jr. has this essay in today's issue of National Journal. And this week's installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com is headlined "State of the Second Amendment: Does It Apply in the District of Columbia?" "Court hears 'Bong hits 4 Jesus' case": James Vicini of Reuters provides this report. Posted at 03:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Weighs Student Free-Speech Case": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 02:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Smearing the U.S. attorneys: New details show the Bush administration's 'document dump' gives a misleading rationale for the firing of two U.S. attorneys." Mark Follman has this essay today at Salon.com. Posted at 02:35 PM by Howard Bashman "High court asks Bush admin. view on tamoxifen case": Reuters provides a report that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court asked the Bush administration on Monday to give its opinion on whether the court should review a case challenging patent settlements between major drugmakers and their generic rivals." Posted at 02:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Hears 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' Case": The Associated Press provides this report on a case argued this morning before the U.S. Supreme Court. Posted at 12:23 PM by Howard Bashman "We now hold ... that a public official may appeal from an order conclusively denying a motion (based on qualified immunity) seeking summary judgment, whether or not the official has appealed from an order denying a motion to dismiss the complaint, and whether or not the motion for summary judgment rests on new legal or factual arguments." Here's even one more reason to admire the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit -- if the court doesn't initially reach the correct result, it remains willing to do so on reconsideration. Back on December 20, 2006, I had a post titled "Chief Judge Easterbrook versus Circuit Judge Posner" commenting on a decision issued that day in which Easterbrook had written the majority opinion and Posner had written a dissent. At the conclusion of my post, I wrote that "I think I agree with Judge Posner's dissent." Today, the very same three-judge Seventh Circuit panel issued a unanimous decision on panel rehearing in which the court reaches the holding quoted in the above bolded title of this post, which is essentially the position for which Judge Posner argued in his earlier dissent. "Schumer Faulted on Probe; GOP Solons See Conflict on Attorneys": This article appears today in The New York Sun. The Associated Press reports that "White House Hopes Gonzales Will Stay On." At her "Legalities" blog, ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg (who spent this weekend in Philadelphia in connection with this National Constitution Center event) has a post titled "A 'pink-slip' slip-up." And today in The Examiner of Washington, DC, George W. Liebmann has an op-ed entitled "Authority for authority’s sake." "Detainee Confesses to USS Cole Bombing": The AP provides a report that begins, "A Pentagon transcript says Waleed Mohammed Bin Attash, a suspected mastermind of the bombing of the USS Cole, has confessed during a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." Update: The Pentagon has posted the transcript online at this link. The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Court Won't Review Sexual Harassment Case" and "Court Won't Hear Work Harassment Case." Notwithstanding the similar headlines, each article reports on a separate denial of certiorari that the U.S. Supreme Court issued today. "When Rendering Decisions, Judges Are Finding Law Reviews Irrelevant": Last night, I linked here to today's installment (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link) of Adam Liptak's weekly "Sidebar" column. At her blog, Law Professor Ann Althouse offers a rather elegant solution to the matter. "The chief justice's report is not analytical." In his latest entry at "The Becker-Posner Blog," Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner directs a variety of criticisms towards Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.'s most recent "Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary," wherein the Chief Justice called for pay raises for federal judges. And co-blogger Gary Becker offers this response to Judge Posner's post. Posted at 10:35 AM by Howard Bashman Unusual entry on today's U.S. Supreme Court Order List: In the case captioned Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC v. Billing, No. 05–1157, the Court entered the following order today: Having been advised by Justice Kennedy that he now realizes that he should have recused himself from participation in this case, and does now recuse himself, the Court vacates its order of Thursday, December 7, 2006. The Court has reconsidered the petition for certiorari, and the petition is granted. The Chief Justice and Justice Kennedy have not participated in the vote to withdraw the order of December 7, 2006, or in the instant reconsideration of the petition for certiorari.The order of December 7, 2006, which today's order vacates, likewise granted certiorari. The December 7, 2006 order stated: The motion of NYSE Group, Inc. for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted. The motion of National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted. The motion of Securities Industry Association, et al. for leave to file a brief as amici curiae is granted. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The Chief Justice took no part in the consideration or decision of these motions and this petition.Presumably, because a total of seven Justices took part in the recent reconsideration, only three votes were necessary to grant review. The case remains scheduled for oral argument on March 27, 2007. Here's hoping that the parties did not obsess over trying to win Justice Kennedy's sometimes crucial swing vote in their merits briefing. Posted at 10:25 AM by Howard Bashman "'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' Dispute May Limit Speech Rights": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News provides this report. Posted at 10:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Court takes no new cases": Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Update: You can access today's U.S. Supreme Court Order List at this link. If you haven't yet seen the interesting interview that C-SPAN aired last night with Lyle, you can access it via this link. "When Is Viewpoint Discrimination a Constitutional Virtue?" At "SCOTUSblog," Marty Lederman offers these thoughts on the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case, which is being argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this morning. Posted at 10:03 AM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Justices Hear 'Bong Hits' Free-Speech Case" (featuring Nina Totenberg); "Congress Eyes Hearings on U.S. Attorney Firings"; and "Fallout from Attorney Firings Lands on White House." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "State of the Second Amendment: Does It Apply in the District of Columbia?" By clicking here, you can access this week's installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com. Posted at 08:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to hear student free-speech case": James Vicini of Reuters provides this report. The Guardian (UK) today contains an article headlined "'Bong' banner case could send student free speech up in smoke." And The Cincinnati Enquirer contains an editorial entitled "Bong hits 4 students' free-speech rights." "Blawg Review #100": Available here. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Judges and their donors": Today's edition of The Chicago Tribune contains an editorial that begins, "Illinois has become a pioneer in state judicial races, but not in a wonderful way." Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Official Alerted F.B.I. to Rules Abuse 2 Years Ago, Lawyer Says": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "Almost two years before the Federal Bureau of Investigation publicly admitted this month that it had ignored its own rules when demanding telephone and financial records about private citizens, a top official in that program warned the bureau about widespread lapses, his lawyer said on Sunday." Posted at 08:13 AM by Howard Bashman "Democrats turn up heat on firing of U.S. attorney; They allege Carol Lam was ousted in San Diego because she was investigating Republican politicians in Southern California": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The Washington Times reports today that "Leahy vows to subpoena Rove, Miers." And Donna Brazile has an op-ed entitled "Restore spirit of Justice." The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled "Help Wanted: What's needed in the next attorney general." In The New York Times, Adam Cohen has an Editorial Observer column headlined "It Wasn't Just a Bad Idea. It May Have Been Against the Law." And in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jay Bookman has an op-ed entitled "Gonzales' lies give justice a dirty name." "Antitrust law losing its teeth -- The Supreme Court has relaxed rules against price fixing; Coming up: a big case for retailers." David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Partner Adopted by an Heiress Stakes Her Claim": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Trash Talk: Some lawyers-to-be should exercise their right to remain silent." Today in The Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Wurtzel has an op-ed (free access) that begins, "It's hard out there for a law student. All the stuff to stumble through on the way to that J.D.: torts, property, contracts, evidence, civil procedure, AutoAdmit. That last item is a new development: a Web site of postings for law schools prestigious and otherwise, where students blab about whatever. An awful lot of it is about other students, most of it mean-spirited." Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman "As issues evolve, Supreme Court holds to tradition; Atmosphere is one of ritual, history and strict formality": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. Posted at 07:38 AM by Howard Bashman "Bullets: Arkansas’s new U.S. attorney and his partisan past." Jane Mayer has this Talk of the Town essay in the March 26, 2007 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 07:35 AM by Howard Bashman "An Historical Perspective on the Controversy over U.S. Attorney Firings: In Making Its Inquiry, Congress Must Not Ignore That the Power to Remove is an Incident of the Power to Appoint - And Both are Necessary for the Proper Enforcement of Law." Douglas W. Kmiec has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 06:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Gun Shy: Let's stop interpreting the Second Amendment and just abolish it." Benjamin Wittes has this essay online today at The New Republic. Posted at 12:24 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, March 18, 2007 View Lyle Denniston's interview on today's broadcast of C-SPAN's "Q & A": You can launch the video online, on-demand by clicking here (RealPlayer required). And you can also access the transcript. Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman "When Rendering Decisions, Judges Are Finding Law Reviews Irrelevant": Monday's edition of The New York Times will contain this brand new installment (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link) of Adam Liptak's "Sidebar" column. The newspaper has also posted online a related document titled "Trends in Federal Judicial Citations and Law Review Articles." Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Senator Insists Bush Aides Testify Publicly": The New York Times on Monday will contain an article that begins, "The Democratic senator leading the inquiry into the dismissal of federal prosecutors insisted Sunday that Karl Rove and other top aides to President Bush must testify publicly and under oath, setting up a confrontation between Congress and the White House, which has said it is unlikely to agree to such a demand." The Washington Post on Monday will contain articles headlined "Prosecutor's Firing Was Urged During Probe" and "Justice Dept. Recognized Prosecutor's Work on Election Fraud Before His Firing." And The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "California attorney's firing draws Dems' spotlight." McClatchy Newspapers are reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Were CIA subpoenas linked to San Diego attorney's firing?" and "Senator predicts Gonzales will be forced out within a week." Posted at 10:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Court gives go-ahead to death-seeking killer": This article appears today in The Arizona Daily Star. My earlier coverage of last Thursday's en banc Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "School opposes high court review": Yesterday's issue of The Honolulu Advertiser contained an article that begins, "Kamehameha Schools attorneys contend there is no constitutional grounds for the country's highest court to review an appellate court ruling that upheld the institution's Hawaiians-first admissions policy." Posted at 08:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Rumors of Howard Bashman's reaming have been greatly exaggerated": So writes Cathy Gellis, at her blog "The Great Change: Turning Cathy into a Lawyer." Cathy goes on to remark, "I think it's a pity that [Bashman] seems to have accepted his Bluebook-induced fate with such equanimity. With a little more righteous indignation, I bet the blog citation form would get fixed right away." My fate is that the 18th edition of The Bluebook commands that cites to "How Appealing" not mention my name because my site is a single-author blog. How's that for righteous indignation! Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Weekend Edition Sunday" contained audio segments entitled "White House, Congress in Talks on Attorney Firings" and "How Prosecutor Lam's Case Was Handled." Yesterday's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained an audio segment entitled "Political Tension the Norm for Attorney Generals." And yesterday's broadcast of "Weekend Edition Saturday" contained an audio segment entitled "White House Misses Testimony Notification Deadline." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "No trouble for Buchanan to stay in line; Amid battle over firing of 8 other U.S. attorneys, she's a model appointee": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Posted at 05:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Student free speech vs. school drug policy; The US Supreme Court is set to hear the case of an Alaska teen who was suspended after unfurling a banner near school": Warren Richey will have this article Monday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 05:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Signs of life stir in 2nd Amendment": Columnist Steve Chapman has this op-ed today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "SJC justice recalled for her interest in people and piano": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman "A Shot in the Arm for the GOP": Today in The Washington Post, columnist George F. Will has an op-ed that begins, "By striking down the District of Columbia's extraordinarily strict gun control law, which essentially bans guns, a federal appeals court may have revived gun control as a political issue." Posted at 02:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Saudi Arabia Routinely Frees Detainees; Release of Guantanamo Prisoners Undermines U.S. Claims of Threat, Analysis Says": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 02:20 PM by Howard Bashman "For Federal Prosecutors, Politics Is Ever-Present": Adam Liptak has this article today in the Week in Review section of The New York Times. The Washington Post today contains an article headlined "In a Call to Prosecutors, Gonzales Apologizes for Handling of Firings." And The Los Angeles Times contains a news analysis headlined "Gonzales' plight puts Bush at risk; Aides focus on keeping the controversy at Justice from spreading." "Old Pa. death sentences getting new day in court; In many cases, the trial lawyer was less than stellar": The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today. Posted at 01:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Gonzales: The Texan Who Can't Shoot Straight." This article appears at the web site of U.S. News & World Report. Posted at 01:40 PM by Howard Bashman In the March 26, 2007 issue of Newsweek: Michael Isikoff, Richard Wolffe And Evan Thomas will have an article headlined "Disorder in King George's Court" that begins, "At highly charged moments, attorney General Alberto Gonzales can seem placid, passive--at times, just plain out of it." The magazine will also contain an articles headlined "'We Are Enemy Combatant': In a courtroom diatribe, 9/11's mastermind boasts about his exploits; Is he telling the truth?" and "General Comment: Peter Pace called homosexual acts 'immoral' last week; It wasn't the first time he'd weighed in on the matter." "Make Way for Copyright Chaos": Today in The New York Times, Law Professor Lawrence Lessig has an op-ed that begins, "Last week, Viacom asked a federal court to order the video-sharing service YouTube to pay it more than $1 billion in damages for some 150,000 videos that Viacom claims it owns and YouTube users have shared." Posted at 10:10 AM by Howard Bashman "High court takes on 'Bong Hits'; Case called most important student free speech debate since Vietnam War": This article appears today in The Juneau Empire. The Anchorage Daily News today contains an article headlined "Testing the limits of Free speech." And The Rapid City Journal reported on Friday that "'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' banner brings duo to D.C." "Free-Speech Case Divides Bush and Religious Right": Today in The New York Times, Linda Greenhouse has an article that begins, "A Supreme Court case about the free-speech rights of high school students, to be argued on Monday, has opened an unexpected fissure between the Bush administration and its usual allies on the religious right." And ABCNews.com on Thursday published a report headlined "'Bong Hits 4 Jesus': Student Protest Goes to Supreme Court; Legal Experts Call Case Most Significant Student Free Speech Case Since the Height of Vietnam War." Saturday, March 17, 2007 "Guantanamo Detainee Aims to Stall Trial": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Lawyers for an Australian detainee at the U.S. military camp at Guantanamo Bay said Saturday they have filed an injunction to stall his trial on charges of providing material support for terrorism." Posted at 11:59 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Saga Left Bruises, Balm": Today in The Hartford Courant, Lynne Tuohy has an article that begins, "One year ago today, Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced that Supreme Court Chief Justice William J. Sullivan was resigning as helmsman of the judicial branch and that she would nominate Justice Peter T. Zarella to succeed him as chief justice." Posted at 11:48 PM by Howard Bashman "2 local lawyers offer aid to Guantanamo detainees": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 11:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Why Democrats are raising a stink: Congressional investigations into the firing of U.S. attorneys are about checks and balances, not politics." U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 11:44 PM by Howard Bashman In Sunday's issue of The Washington Post: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain front page articles headlined "Lawyer Who Wiped Out D.C. Ban Says It's About Liberties, Not Guns" and "Amid Concerns, FBI Lapses Went On; Records Collection Brought Internal Questions But Little Scrutiny." Posted at 11:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Anger of Swing State Republicans Eased U.S. Attorney Toward Exit": This article will appear Sunday in The New York Times. Today, meanwhile, the newspaper contains an article headlined "Investigation Thrusts Former Counsel Back Into the World of Politics" and a news analysis headlined "With Shifting Explanations, White House Adds to Storm." The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined "Attorney firing inquiry reaches impasse; The White House delays decisions on documents and testimony; the House Judiciary Committee threatens subpoenas" and "Blogs can top the presses; Talking Points Memo drove the U.S. attorrneys story, proof that Web writers with input from devoted readers can reshape journalism." And The Washington Times reports that "White House seeks time to explain firings." "Hardiman named to U.S. court of appeals": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains this article today. Posted at 05:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Probe of Al-Qaeda Leader's Handling Sought; Senators Urge Inquiry After Mohammed Alleges Abuse": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 05:27 PM by Howard Bashman Certiorari improvidently granted in "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case? Lyle Denniston considers the possibility in this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 05:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Courts to Release Trial Tapes Online": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A computer and an Internet connection may soon be all that are needed for anyone to hear closing arguments in a corruption trial or listen to the testimony of a mob turncoat. The federal judiciary approved a pilot program this week to make free audio recordings of court proceedings available online." Posted at 05:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Swelling Crowds Across Pakistan Denounce Musharraf's Suspension of Chief Justice": The New York Times contains this article today. And The Washington Post reports today that "Top Judge's Ouster Shakes Pakistan; Political Opponents Are Arrested as Protest Swells Against Move by Musharraf." "Court Says Health Coverage May Bar Birth-Control Pills": This article appears today in The New York Times. You can access at this link my earlier coverage of Thursday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. "Outspoken judge to face disciplinary hearing": The Arkansas News Bureau today provides a report that begins, "In a 5-3 vote, the state Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission decided Friday to conduct a disciplinary hearing to determine whether public comments by state Court of Appeals Judge Wendell Griffen violated the judicial code. The nine-member panel found that probable cause exists to hold a disciplinary hearing over comments Griffen made criticizing the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, objecting to the nomination of John Roberts for chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and supporting a proposed minimum wage increase, among other comments." Posted at 11:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Kendrick '06 to Clerk for Justice Souter; Will Return to Law School to Teach": The University of Virginia has issued this news release. Posted at 11:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Is He to Be Guilty, Or Not to Be Guilty? Legal Eagles Flock to the Kennedy Center To Judge Prince Hamlet's State of Mind." This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:06 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge Pryor on Judicial Independence": The new issue of The Harvard Law Record contains an article that begins, "The Harvard Federalist Society brought Judge William H. Pryor of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to a packed Hark South on Friday to speak on the controversial topic of judicial independence. He addressed recent, public claims made by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and many other important members of the legal profession that the independence of the judiciary is currently at risk due to excessive public criticism, legislative usurpations, and physical threats against judges." Posted at 11:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice gives campus talk": Thursday's issue of The Independent Collegian of the University of Toledo contained this article reporting on Justice Antonin Scalia's visit. Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Gunfight at D.C. Corral: A victory for the Second Amendment." Erin Sheley will have this essay in the March 26, 2007 issue of The Weekly Standard. And the brand new installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column for law.com is headlined "State of the Second Amendment: Does It Apply in the District of Columbia?" Friday, March 16, 2007 "Blame Bill: Once again, Republicans are using the Clinton dodge -- he did it too! -- to justify the Bush administration's unjustified firing of eight U.S. attorneys." Joe Conason has this essay today at Salon.com. At The American Prospect, Terence Samuel has an essay entitled "Going, Going, Gone: The White House bungling of the U.S. attorney firings shows how a once-fearsome administration has become a second-rate paranoid operation." And the April 2, 2007 issue of The Nation will contain an editorial entitled "The December 7 Massacre." "Accounts of Prosecutors' Dismissals Keep Shifting": This front page article will appear Saturday in The Washington Post. The New York Times on Saturday will report that "White House Delays Action in Inquiry on Attorneys." And McClatchy Newspapers provide reports headlined "Gonzales apologizes to prosecutors" and "Bedrock principle is at the center of U.S. attorneys controversy." Available online from law.com: An article reports that "Attorney Scandal Threatens Gonzales' Job; Attorney general tries to contain damage while new documents expose White House role in firings." In other news, "A New Headache for Courts: Blogging Jurors; Judges may have to warn about blogging in their jury instructions." And the brand new installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column is headlined "State of the Second Amendment: Does It Apply in the District of Columbia?" De minibus: Tonight's DVD feature (reviews available from The New York Times; RogerEbert.com; and Salon.com). Earlier entries in this blog's recurring "de minibus" feature can be accessed here; here; here; and here. Posted at 10:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Pennsylvania Courts Allowed to Order Cremated Remains To Be Divided": The Legal Intelligencer provides this news update (free access) about a ruling that the Superior Court of Pennsylvania issued earlier this week. Posted at 07:52 PM by Howard Bashman "A look at what's behind the U.S. attorney flap": McClatchy Newspapers provide this report. Posted at 07:45 PM by Howard Bashman "E-mails Tie Rove to Firings of U.S. Attorneys": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeard on today's broadcast of the public radio program "Here & Now." Posted at 07:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Senators Pay Heed to Prisoner Abuse Case": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Two senators who watched Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confess to planning the Sept. 11 attacks and other plots said Friday that his allegations of mistreatment by U.S. captors should be taken seriously." Posted at 07:42 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: This evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained audio segments entitled "Justice Department in a State of Upheaval"; "Republicans Eye Fallout of Prosecutor Dismissals"; and "Method or Madness? Jury Decides Hamlet's Fate." And today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained an audio segment entitled "U.S. Attorney Firings: Political Fallout." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Scribes at the Marble Palace": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 05:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Neb. Court Says Bullying Was Stalking": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A teenager who called a schoolmate 'fat penguin' and other derogatory names in front of other students for months committed misdemeanor stalking, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday. The ruling overturned an appeals court finding that the 16-year-old's actions were intended only for his 'own juvenile amusement.'" You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Nebraska at this link. "Sane or not, Hamlet a hit in Washington trial": James Vicini of Reuters provides a report that begins, "Sane or not sane? That was the question at Hamlet's trial presided over by a real U.S. Supreme Court justice late on Thursday, centuries after Shakespeare's fictional Prince of Denmark fatally stabbed the garrulous busybody Polonius." (Via "Above the Law"). Posted at 03:45 PM by Howard Bashman "US terror trial for 'Del Boy' Briton caught in FBI sting": On January 3, 2005, The Times of London published an article that begins, "The two men who stood in the presidential suite overlooking Newark airport gazed through the window at aircraft landing and taking off. They smiled at the prospect of blowing the aircraft out of the skies. Their conversation was conspiratorial and filled with hatred for the United States. 'The Americans are bastards,' said Hemant Lakhani, a Londoner who had flown in the night before from Heathrow. His host spoke of how he wanted to start a jihad (holy war) by blowing up passenger aircraft across America." And on September 13, 2005, the newspaper published an article headlined "OAP arms dealer jailed for 47 years." Today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a decision affirming Hemant Lakhani's conviction and 47-year sentence. In other press coverage of the case, CNN.com has previously provided reports headlined "Feds tell how the weapons sting was played" and "Man convicted of missile plot; Briton accused of trying to smuggle shoulder-held missiles." The Telegraph (UK) published articles headlined "Briton appears in US court accused of missile plot" and "My only crime is greed, says terror charge Briton." Time magazine published an article headlined "How Secure Are The Skies?" At Salon.com, Paul J. Caffera had an essay entitled "Terrorist threat or political hype? Top Bush administration officials called the bust of arms dealer Hemant Lakhani last week a major blow against terrorism; Security experts are skeptical." And the public radio program "This American Life" had a segment entitled "The Arms Trader." The U.S. Department of Justice's initial press release and criminal complaint are also available online. "White House Backs Off on Miers Scenario": The AP provides a report that begins, "The White House on Friday backed off its earlier contention that then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers first raised the idea of firing U.S. attorneys - an act that led to a firestorm of criticism of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales." Posted at 03:12 PM by Howard Bashman "'Bong' Banner Tests Student Free Speech": The Associated Press provides this report, along with a related item headlined "High Court to Hear Student Speech Cases." And Religion News Service provides a report headlined "'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' Case Finds Strange Legal Bedfellows" that begins, "It's not every legal conflict that brings together the American Civil Liberties Union, a gay rights group and conservative Christian law firms -- on the same side." "Appeals court rules UP doesn't have to cover contraceptives": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Union Pacific Railroad's policy of not covering contraceptives in its health plan didn't discriminate against women, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The railroad prevailed on appeal because its policy does not cover any contraceptives for men or women, so the court agreed Union Pacific did not violate the federal Civil Rights Act." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Eighth Circuit ruling can be accessed here. "Questions Build Over Lam's Ouster; Assessments of U.S. Attorney's Immigration Record Were Contradictory": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 10:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Cracks Grow in GOP Support for Gonzales": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 09:10 AM by Howard Bashman "[T]his raises the question of whether a lower court judge should base his ruling in an area of uncertainty on his prediction of how individual Justices currently on the Court would vote, rather than his own best judgment about what the law is or should be." So writes Law Professor Michael C. Dorf at "Dorf on Law" in a post titled "Raich, Pregerson & Prediction." I too have written on this interesting subject, most recently in the November 6, 2006 installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column for law.com headlined "Examining the 'Predictive' Model of Judging." "Death-row inmate can end his appeals": The Arizona Republic today contains an article that begins, "Arizona may be close to executing its first inmate in seven years. Death-row inmate Robert Charles Comer, 50, wants to die. On Thursday, a federal appellate court agreed that he should get his wish." And Reuters reports that "Court backs Arizona man's wish to be executed." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling can be accessed here. "Rove may have had role in firings; E-mails show he raised questions early in 2005 about dismissing U.S. attorneys": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today, along with an article headlined "Cummins fears corruption investigation led to his firing." The Chicago Tribune today contains an article headlined "E-mails: Rove knew of mass firings plan; Early interest raises chance of subpoena." USA Today reports that "Rove inquiry on firing prosecutors raises questions; Plan's timeline increasingly murky." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Calls for attorney general to resign miss real target." The Washington Times reports that "Funds sought after firings." The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled "'The Real Problem': How to get the full story on the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys." In addition, columnist Eugene Robinson has an op-ed entitled "Memo to Gonzales." The Boston Globe contains an editorial entitled "Alberto Gonzales should go." The St. Petersburg Times contains an editorial entitled "Gonzales should go." And The New York Times contains an editorial entitled "Phony Fraud Charges." "School, family clash on teen's flashing folly; A mooner is fighting his punishment": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. As I noted here in January 2007, appellate precedent teaches that flashing can have tragic consequences. "Aipac Judge Orders Open Arguments on Government Proposal": The New York Sun today contains an article that begins, "A federal judge in the trial of two former lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee said yesterday that a government proposal for keeping classified information out of the public record has 'no precedent,' and he ordered open arguments on the matter." Posted at 08:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge cleared in accident that killed popular local cop": The New Haven Register today contains an article that begins, "A report by State's Attorney Michael Dearington found no reason to prosecute Senior U.S. District Judge John M. Walker Jr., who was driving the SUV that struck and killed police Officer Dan Picagli while Picagli was directing traffic Oct. 17 at Chapel and Academy streets. The report, delivered to the city and released Thursday night by Mayor John DeStefano Jr.'s office, concluded, 'It is the opinion of this office after considering all of the available information and pertinent statutes, there is nothing in the evidence to suggest intentional, negligent or reckless conduct on the part of Mr. Walker that would justify a criminal prosecution.'" And The Associated Press reports that "Bush cousin is cleared in officer's death." "Death penalty repeal fails; Senate panel's 5-5 vote ends bid to outlaw executions in Md." The Baltimore Sun contains this article today. In addition, columnist Jean Marbella has an op-ed entitled "Capital punishment holds shaky ground." And The Washington Post reports today that "Bid Fails To Repeal Death Penalty; Senate Committee Deadlocked in Md." "Two Senators Secretly Flew to Cuba for Alleged 9/11 Mastermind's Hearing": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined "9/11 mastermind says he killed Daniel Pearl; Khalid Shaikh Mohammed claims he cut off the head of the kidnapped American journalist" and "Was Khalid Shaikh Mohammed playing to the jury? Experts say the Sept. 11 mastermind's chatty testimony was intended to state his case to the American public." An editorial is entitled "From the terrorist's mouth: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed speaks candidly, and even regretfully, about masterminding 9/11, reminding us of the horrors of that day." And Rosa Brooks has an op-ed entitled "What impeccable timing, KSM! Khalid Shaikh Mohammed may have diverted attention from Alberto Gonzales, but the 9/11 plotter's testimony exposes the flaws in Bush's 'war on terror.'" USA Today reports that "9/11 mastermind says he beheaded reporter; Transcript change made after family of Pearl notified." The Washington Times reports that "Detainee admits beheading Pearl, plotting attacks." The Boston Globe contains an editorial entitled "Elevating a terrorist killer." And The Wall Street Journal contains an editorial entitled "KSM's World War: What his confession says about our enemy--and us" (free access). "Lawyer Who Demanded Payments From Wife's Lovers Convicted on 3 Counts; Attorney's wife, also a lawyer, awaits trial on the same charges": law.com provides this report. Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Lawyer Likely To Receive $3M From Holocaust Settlement": Today in The New York Sun, Joseph Goldstein has an article that begins, "In spite of opposition from a number of American Holocaust survivors, a law professor is likely to get $3.1 million in legal fees for his work in administering one of the largest World War II-related court settlements." And law.com reports that "$3 Million Fee Suggested for Neuborne for Work on Holocaust Survivor Issues." "The Supreme Court Denies Coloradans Standing to Challenge the State's Congressional Districting: Avoiding a Controversial Ruling Through a Jurisdictional Doctrine." Vikram David Amar has this essay today at FindLaw. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, March 15, 2007 "Justice Dept. Would Have Kept 'Loyal' Prosecutors; Aide Recommended Retaining 'Bushies' And Top Performers": This article will appear Friday in The Washington Post. And Friday's edition of The New York Times will contain articles headlined "Rove Is Linked to Early Query Over Dismissals" and "President Turns to an Insider to Negotiate on Dismissals." "Confession at Guantanamo by 9/11 Mastermind May Aid Other Qaeda Defendants": Adam Liptak will have this news analysis Friday in The New York Times. Tomorrow's newspaper will also contain an article headlined "In Tribunal Statement, Confessed 9/11 Plotter Burnishes His Image as a Soldier." The U.S. Senate this evening confirmed Thomas M. Hardiman to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit: The vote in favor of confirmation was 95-0. Posted at 10:24 PM by Howard Bashman On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Leahy, Senate Panel to Subpoena Bush Officials" and "Sifting Through Mohammed's Confession to Plots" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman McClatchy Newspapers are reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "E-mails reveal involvement of Rove, Gonzales in firings of U.S. attorneys" and "Gonzales fights to keep his job." And in other news, "Senator says Mohammed claimed he was abused by interrogators" and "Detainee says he beheaded U.S. reporter." "It is the Court's interpretation of the statute that commands that the debtor lose here, not the language Congress chose to use in the statute. As tempting as it would be to ignore the Supreme Court's interpretation of the text in favor of the actual text, that is not our role at the circuit court level." So writes Tenth Circuit Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich in a concurring opinion he issued today in a bankruptcy case. The concurring opinion concludes: In the end, Kelly is a textbook example of the Court ignoring the plain meaning of a statute to further competing policy goals with very good arguments on each side. It is not altogether clear the Court made the best choice. It appears nonetheless that Congress over the years has acquiesced in that interpretation, so perhaps this is a case of "no harm, no foul." Even so, subject to the vagaries of stare decisis, the Supreme Court could and should correct its error by taking this case and narrowing the holding of Kelly to the statutory text.The decision whose outcome Judge Tymkovich is criticizing is Kelly v. Robinson, 479 U.S. 36 (1986). Posted at 08:35 PM by Howard Bashman "SCOTUS-gate: What if Alberto Gonzales and Harriet Miers had been confirmed to the Supreme Court?" Dahlia Lithwick has this essay online at Slate. Posted at 07:32 PM by Howard Bashman In Friday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Warren Richey will have an article headlined "The self-portrait of an Al Qaeda leader: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed put the murder of reporter Daniel Pearl on his long list of terrorist acts." And the newspaper will also contain an editorial entitled "Gun laws as a right to safety: A court refutes a 1939 Supreme Court ruling against gun rights, perhaps opening a Pandora's box." "Starr 2 Argue 4 School Rules": Jess Bravin has this post today at WSJ.com's "Washington Wire" blog. Posted at 06:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Md. death penalty repeal rejected; In narrowest of votes, Senate committee defeats proposal backed by O'Malley": The Baltimore Sun provides this news update. And The Washington Post provides a news update headlined "Death Penalty Bill Fails in Committee." "It's time to let the public tune in the voices of the Supreme Court": Ronald K. L. Collins has this op-ed today in The Baltimore Sun. And, for what it's worth, I agree. Posted at 05:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Officials: Mohammed Exaggerated Claims." The AP provides this report. Posted at 05:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal court grants condemned Arizona man's execution request": David Kravets of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Suspect Confession?" This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald appeared on today's broadcast of the public radio program "Here & Now." Posted at 03:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Mohammed Confession Questioned": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman The method for citing to blog posts found in the 18th edition of The Bluebook "would completely ream someone like Howard Bashman": So writes Cathy Gellis in a comment to this post by Christine Hurt at "Congomerate" (via "InstaPundit"). Fortunately, on a literal understanding of that comment, the actual Howard Bashman emerges completely unscathed. "The Rabbi and The Supreme Court Justice": This post appeared yesterday at "Reb Barry's Blogspace" (via a post today at "Religion Clause" titled "Scalia vs. Rabbi On Capital Punishment"). Posted at 03:12 PM by Howard Bashman Access online today's "sexually oriented dancing" decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: The ruling can be accessed here. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Mismanagement of Justice": This editorial appears today at National Review Online. In addition, Andrew C. McCarthy has an essay entitled "Playing Politics with Politics: The U.S.-attorneys controversy pits incompetence against hypocrisy." And at Salon.com, Sidney Blumenthal has an essay entitled "All roads lead to Rove: The White House political director was clearly at the center of the partisan plot to fire U.S. attorneys, despite the administration's clumsy attempts to pretend otherwise." "Fire Power: The ruling that will bring back gun wars." Law Professor Cass R. Sunstein has this essay online today at The New Republic. The essay concludes, "It is likely that, for the first time in many decades, the Supreme Court will be entering the Second Amendment fray. Its conclusions will tell us a great deal about the future of gun control--and also about the justices' conception of their own place in American democracy." Posted at 01:44 PM by Howard Bashman En banc Ninth Circuit holds that death row inmate can indeed "volunteer" for death: The September 18, 2006 installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column for law.com was headlined "When Can an Inmate 'Volunteer' for Death? 9th Circuit rejects a competent inmate's decision to abandon legal challenge to his capital sentence." Therein, I criticized a divided three-judge Ninth Circuit panel's ruling that had rejected an Arizona death row inmate's effort to withdraw all pending legal challenges to his death sentence. And on Monday of this week, Adam Liptak of The New York Times covered the case in an installment of his weekly "Sidebar" column headlined "Another Kind of Appeal From Death Row: Kill Me" (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link). Today, a fifteen-judge Ninth Circuit en banc panel, by a vote of 14-1, issued a decision that allows the death row inmate to withdraw the pending legal challenge to his death sentence. You can access today's ruling at this link. "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: I beheaded American reporter." CNN.com provides this report. And The Associated Press reports that "9/11 Mastermind Admits Killing Reporter." Divided three-judge Eighth Circuit panel holds that Union Pacific Railroad is not liable for sexual discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 by failing to cover prescription contraception for its female employees: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 11:35 AM by Howard Bashman Bloomberg News is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Gonzales's Hold on Job Slips Amid Furor Over Prosecutor Firings" and "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Says He Was Sept. 11 Plotter." Posted at 10:52 AM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Court Rules Against Ill Woman in Medical Marijuana Case"; "Republican Senator Urges Gonzales to Resign"; "Voter Fraud: A Tough Crime to Prove"; "Mohammed Confession Leaves Room for Skepticism"; and "Analyzing an Al-Qaida Suspect's Confession." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Patient loses court appeal for medical pot use; The court reaffirms the right of the U.S. government to prosecute patients and suppliers, even in states where marijuana is a legal medicine": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "Medical pot user loses again in federal court." And in The Oakland Tribune, Josh Richman reports that "Court doesn't buy medical marijuana; Despite sympathies, appellate judge rules federal law trumps Oakland woman's needs." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "9/11 planner confesses to many plots; He compares Al Qaeda operatives to American revolutionaries in his tribunal testimony": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. And USA Today reports that "Prisoner confesses 9/11 was his work; Transcript says he planned it 'A to Z.'" "Gay adoption push renewed": The St. Petersburg Times today contains an article that begins, "Florida's three-decades-old ban on allowing gays to adopt children is under attack once again." Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Statements On Firings of Prosecutors Are Key Issue": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "The Reno Precedent: President Clinton's attorney general fired all U.S. attorneys; So why is this different?" And Stephen Barr's "Federal Diary" column is headlined "U.S. Attorneys' Dismissals Cloud New Rating Systems." The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined "Gonzales gets rare rebuke from Bush; The president's criticism of a trusted ally adds to debate over whether the attorney general should resign" and "Gonzales aide called prosecutor a 'real problem'; After news reports of a widening corruption probe, D. Kyle Sampson sent an e-mail about replacing Carol Lam." In The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin has an article headlined "Still Vague: Why Were Prosecutors Fired? Accounts Don't Clarify How Dismissals Became A Bush Team Priority" (free access). USA Today reports that "GOP senator says Gonzales should be fired; Sununu joins the increasing criticism of attorney general." And The Washington Times reports that "Bush stands by firings, 'not happy' with process." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Weak knees at Justice." "Give Us Back Our Gun Law": Cathy Lanier and Vincent Schiraldi have this op-ed today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:03 AM by Howard Bashman "Media Fight Request to Close Parts of Israel Lobbyists' Trial": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "Defense lawyers and media organizations are objecting to what they say is a government effort to bar the public from the upcoming trial of two pro-Israel lobbyists charged with violating U.S. espionage laws." Posted at 08:00 AM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: An article reports that "Court Denies Evidence to 9/11 Families." My earlier coverage appears here. And in other news, "$9.9M Award Upheld for Mont. Art Expert." My earlier coverage appears here. "General Pace and Gay Soldiers": This editorial appears today in The New York Times. The New York Sun today contains an editorial entitled "Don't Act, Don't Tell." And in The Los Angeles Times, Nathaniel Frank has an op-ed entitled "The immorality of 'don't ask, don't tell': A general's disparagement of gays runs counter to public good and the evidence." "A Slow Death": Today in The New York TImes, Senior U.S. District Judge Frederic Block of the Eastern District of New York has an op-ed that begins, "While New York State does not subscribe to the death penalty for the moment, the federal government does. Over the last few years there has been a surge in death penalty prosecutions authorized by the United States attorney general, both nationwide and in federal cases in New York. But these have resulted in disproportionately few death penalty verdicts, at enormous costs and burdens to the judicial system. A more prudent and realistic approach in the way the government seeks the death penalty is warranted." Posted at 07:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Coming to Order: How the Supreme Court really works." Law Professor John O. McGinnis has this essay today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Secret Blogger Seeks Protection": The New York Sun today contains an article that begins, "An Orthodox Jewish blogger is asking a judge to protect her anonymity from a Long Island elected official who has gone to court to identity the blogger. The elected official, Pamela Greenbaum, a member of the school board for Lawrence, L.I., asked a state judge last month to force Google to identify the writer behind a popular Web log for the orthodox community in the Five Towns area." Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, March 14, 2007 Happy birthday to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: According to The AP's popular "Today in History" feature for March 15th, on Thursday Justice Ginsburg will celebrate her 74th birthday. And to think, only four days earlier, Justice Antonin Scalia turned 71. Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Dying Woman Loses Appeal on Marijuana as Medication": Thursday's edition of The New York Times will contain this article. My earlier coverage of today's Ninth Circuit ruling can be accessed here. "Gonzales's Critics See Lasting, Improper Ties to White House": This article will appear Thursday in The New York Times, along with an article headlined "Bush Criticizes How Dismissals Were Handled." The Washington Post on Thursday will contain an article headlined "Despite 'Mistakes,' Bush Backs Gonzales." And McClatchy Newspapers provides reports headlined "Justice Dept. distances White House from firings of U.S. attorneys" and "Bush defends the firing of U.S. attorneys." "Suspected Leader of Attacks on 9/11 Is Said to Confess": Adam Liptak will have this article Thursday in The New York Times. The Washington Post on Thursday will contain a front page article headlined "Architect of 9/11 Confesses to Role In Many Attacks." The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Sept. 11 mastermind confesses, U.S. says; Khalid Shaikh Mohammed tells a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay that he planned the attacks 'from A to Z.'" And Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald reports that "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed confesses to 9-11, other attacks." In jurisprudence essays available online at Slate: Dahlia Lithwick and Jack Goldsmith have an essay entitled "Politics as Usual: Why the Justice Department will never be apolitical." And Lincoln Caplan has an essay entitled "Hyper Hacks: What's really wrong with the Bush Justice Department." On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Anatomy of a Scandal: E-Mails Led Up to Dismissal" and "Bush's White House, Built on Partisanship?" (featuring Ted Koppel). RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. In Thursday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Gail Russell Chaddock will have an article headlined "Firings furor puts Gonzales on hot seat; Did the attorney general mislead Congress about the firings of eight US attorneys?" And in other news, "Federal court eyes local crackdown of illegal migrants; Under challenge is a Hazleton, Pa., law, copied by many cities, that may go to the US Supreme Court." "Mohammed says responsible for 9/11 attacks": Reuters provides a report that begins, "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the United States, has admitted responsibility for those and other major al Qaeda operations, according to the transcript of a hearing at Guantanamo Bay released on Wednesday." And The Associated Press reports that "9/11 Mastermind Confesses in Guantanamo." The AP has posted the transcript online at this link. "Republican Says Gonzales Should Be Fired": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire on Wednesday became the first Republican in Congress to call for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' dismissal, hours after President Bush expressed confidence in his embattled Cabinet officer." Posted at 06:02 PM by Howard Bashman "You Asked for it, You Got it…Toy Yoda: Practical Jokes, Prizes, and Contract Law." Law Professor Keith A. Rowley has posted this article (abstract with links for download) online at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). Unfortunately, he isn't offering 100 Grand to anyone who visits the abstract or downloads the paper. Posted at 05:55 PM by Howard Bashman "A 9/11 sequel: civil cases made more difficult." At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, "In a case that seems destined to go to the Supreme Court, because both sides have fought so doggedly over it in lower courts, the Fourth Circuit Court ruled on Wednesday that a federal judge in the terrorism trial of Zacarias Moussaoui had no power to order the government to turn over non-public evidence for use in a civil lawsuit filed by victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York City." My earlier coverage of today's Fourth Circuit ruling can be accessed here. "In Mexico, Bush 'not happy' about U.S. attorneys' controversy": McClatchy Newspapers provide this report. Posted at 05:44 PM by Howard Bashman "DOJ Documents Lend Support to Feinstein Charges; E-Mails Indicate Plan Was to Replace U.S. Attorneys Without Senate Confirmation": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 05:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Egypt Names Nation's First Female Judges": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 05:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Bureaucratization and Balkanization: The Origins and Effects of Decision-Making Norms in the Federal Appellate Courts." Law Professor Stefanie Lindquist has this article in the March 2007 issue of the University of Richmond Law Review. Posted at 05:15 PM by Howard Bashman "The 'Bong' Show: Viewing Frederick's Publicity Stunt Through Kuhlmeier's Lens." Murad Hussain has this essay online at The Pocket Part of The Yale Law Journal. Posted at 05:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Bush v. Gore and the Uses of 'Limiting'": Chad Flanders has this comment in the March 2007 issue of The Yale Law Journal. Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman "'Witch' hits a glitch; Loses school suit": The New York Post contains this article today. And Newsday reports today that "Teacher's suit lacks powers." "Rescinded suspensions in 'Monologues' case draw mixed reaction": This article appears today in The Journal News of Westchester, New York. And Louis J. Slovinsky has an op-ed entitled "'Vagina' fuss is about fetishizing property." Yesterday's newspaper, meanwhile, contained an article headlined "Faculty backs students in 'Vagina Monologues' controversy." "Embattled Gonzales": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of the public radio program "Here & Now." Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Bush 'not happy' with handling of fired attorneys": The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. And The Washington Post provides a news update headlined "Bush Defends Gonzales's Decision." "Call for Abramoff probe renewed": Thursday's edition of The Pacific Daily News of Guam contains an article that begins, "Two House committee chairmen yesterday asked that the congressional probe into the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys be widened to include the case of acting U.S. Attorney Fred Black who was replaced in 2002 after he began investigating the now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his dealings with Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands." The article also provides online access to related PDF documents. Posted at 04:22 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Attorney General Resists Calls for Resignation"; "Context: How U.S. Attorneys Are Hired and Fired"; and "Fired U.S. Attorney Links Job Loss to Abramoff" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 04:18 PM by Howard Bashman "3rd Circuit Rules 'Gross Negligence' Of VA Led to Four Murders, Suicide": Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer provides a news update (free access) that begins, "The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a $7.4 million verdict against the Department of Veteran Affairs stemming from its decision to expel a Delaware County man who suffered from 'rage disorder' and just one day later murdered two of his children and two of their friends." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. Civil plaintiff victims of 9/11 attacks suffer setback from Fourth Circuit in United States v. Moussaoui: What would a ruling in USA v. Moussaoui consist of if Zacarias Moussaoui himself were not even an actual party to the appeal? The answer can be found in today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Offensive posts inundate law school Web site; As message board gets continual criticism, student creator resigns": The Daily Pennsylvanian today contains an article that begins, "A message board for law students has recently been gathering attention from a variety of sources for its creators' decision to keep sexist, racist and homophobic messages posted on the Web site. And Penn Law student Anthony Ciolli, one of the directors of that Web site, AutoAdmit.com, wrote Monday night that he has resigned from the site. Ciolli would not return requests for comment, though his resignation was confirmed by co-director Jarret Cohen, an insurance agent." Posted at 02:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Dying Woman Loses Marijuana Appeal": David Kravets of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A California woman whose doctor says marijuana is the only medicine keeping her alive is not immune from federal prosecution on drug charges, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday." My earlier coverage appears immediately below. Posted at 02:10 PM by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit decides Raich v. Gonzales on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court: Today's majority opinion concludes: We conclude that Raich has not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of her action for injunctive relief. First, we hold that Raich's common law necessity defense is not foreclosed by Oakland Cannabis or the Controlled Substances Act, but that the necessity defense does not provide a proper basis for injunctive relief. Second, although changes in state law reveal a clear trend towards the protection of medical marijuana use, we hold that the asserted right has not yet gained the traction on a national scale to be deemed fundamental. Third, we hold that the Controlled Substances Act, a valid exercise of Congress's commerce power, does not violate the Tenth Amendment. Finally, we decline to reach Raich's argument that the Controlled Substances Act, by its terms, does not prohibit her possession and use of marijuana because this argument was not raised below.You can access the complete ruling at this link. The U.S. Supreme Court's earlier ruling in the case, from June 6, 2005, can be accessed here. "Bush Upset Over Flawed Attorney Firings": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "President Bush said Wednesday he is troubled by the Justice Department's misleading explanations to Congress of why it fired eight U.S. attorneys and expected his attorney general to fix them." Posted at 01:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Second Wind for the Second Amendment: A federal appeals court revives the right to keep and bear arms." Jacob Sullum has this essay online today at Reason. Posted at 09:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Top General Explains Remarks on Gays": The New York Times contains this article today. The Washington Post reports today that "Sharp Drop in Gays Discharged From Military Tied to War Need." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "The Right to Serve: Gen. Peter Pace denounces gays and lesbians who are busy defending their country." And Alan K. Simpson has an op-ed entitled "Bigotry That Hurts Our Military." The Los Angeles Times reports that "General says he regrets remarks on gays; But the chairman of the Joint Chiefs doesn't apologize for calling homosexual acts 'immoral.'" The Chicago Tribune reports that "Pace takes fire on gays remark; General: Policy is what matters, not my opinion." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Morality and the military." USA Today contains an article headlined "Gates: Personal views on gays in service out of line." And The Washington Times reports that "Pace clarifies gay comment as his 'personal moral views.'" "Gonzales: 'Mistakes Were Made'; But Attorney General Defends Firings of Eight U.S. Attorneys." This front page article appears today in The Washington Post, along with a front page news analysis headlined "White House Finds Trouble Harder to Shrug Off" and an article headlined "White House Cites Lax Voter-Fraud Investigations in U.S. Attorneys' Firings." An editorial is entitled "A Story Unravels: A hollow promise of 'accountability' in the firing of U.S. attorneys." Dana Milbank's "Washington Sketch" column is headlined "The Grand Elusion," and it begins, "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales faced the cameras for all of nine minutes yesterday, but he managed to contradict himself at least four times as he fought off calls to resign over the firing of U.S. attorneys." And columnist Ruth Marcus has an op-ed entitled "Time to Go, Mr. Gonzales." The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined "E-mails detail White House tactics behind firings; The documents reveal criteria and plans that led to the ouster of eight U.S. attorneys" and "Gonzales says 'mistakes were made'; But the attorney general says he has no plans to step down over firings at the Justice Department." David G. Savage has an article headlined "A primer on U.S. attorneys." An editorial is entitled "Blame Bush, not Gonzales: Rather than a principled attorney general, Gonzales continues to serve as a White House enabler." And Harry Litman has an op-ed entitled "Guilty of politics." The Wall Street Journal reports that "Gonzales Testimony Is Undercut; Emails Show White House, Justice Aides Orchestrated Effort to Fire Prosecutors" (free access). The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "The Hubbell Standard: Hillary Clinton knows all about sacking U.S. Attorneys" (free access). The Chicago Tribune contains articles headlined "Gonzales admits 'mistakes made'; But attorney general vows he won't resign" and "Fitzgerald: Rove tried to limit choice." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Gonzales on the griddle." USA Today reports that "Gonzales admits errors in firings of U.S. attorneys; E-mails show idea first raised in 2005." The Washington Times reports that "False testimony called 'mistake.'" And The New York Times contains an editorial entitled "Politics, Pure and Cynical." "Judges Say E.P.A. Ignored Order in Setting Emission Standards": The New York Times today contains this article reporting on a decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued yesterday. Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Scalia defends strict meaning of Constitution; Justice returns to UT audience": This article appears today in The Toledo Blade. Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman "The Right to Ban Arms": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "A federal appeals court panel in Washington has marched blithely past a longstanding Supreme Court precedent, the language of the Constitution and the pressing needs of public safety to strike down Washington's law barring residents from keeping handguns in their homes." Today in The Washington Post, Law Professor Erwin Chemerinsky has an op-ed entitled "A Well-Regulated Right to Bear Arms." And today in The Wall Street Journal, Ted Cruz has an op-ed entitled "Second Amendment Showdown" (free access). "Gay Marriage Gains May Not Yet Produce Law": This article appears today in The New York Sun. Posted at 07:35 AM by Howard Bashman "The FBI's Misuse of National Security Letters Reveals the Often-False Dichotomy Between Security and Privacy": Michael C. Dorf has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, March 13, 2007 The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Supreme Court's Scalia says nominees will face bitter fights" and "French High Court Rejects Gay Marriage." Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman Jury not spellbound by teacher claiming she was fired because of false accusations she was a witch: Newsday provides an update headlined "LI jury rejects teacher's $2 million witch claim." law.com reports that "N.Y. Jury Rejects Teacher's Claim She Was Fired due to Witchcraft Tales." And The Associated Press reports that "No Money in Long Island 'Witch' Suit." "'Mistakes' Made on Prosecutors, Gonzales Admits": This article will appear Wednesday in The New York Times, along with articles headlined "'Loyalty' to Bush and Gonzales Was Factor in Prosecutors' Firings, E-Mail Shows" and "A Favorite Fallback for Foulups: 'Mistakes Were Made.'" And McClatchy Newspapers provide reports headlined "Emails detail plans for firing U.S. attorneys" and "E-mail excerpts show interest in preserving new powers." "Gibson Dunn Used 'Legal Thuggery,' Say Montana Supremes": WSJ.com's "Law Blog" provides this post today about a decision that the Supreme Court of Montana issued yesterday. The briefs filed on appeal can be accessed via this link. On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Gonzales Admits to Errors in Firing U.S. Attorneys"; "Leahy Vows to Unveil Events that Led to Firings"; "Outrage Grows Over Pace's Anti-Gay Remark"; and "'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy: Bad for Security?" RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Available online at Slate: Jack Shafer has a Press Box essay entitled "The Case for Patrick Fitzgerald: The Libby prosecutor didn't savage the First Amendment." And Nathaniel Frank has an essay entitled "Don't Ask: The increasing incoherence of the military's gay exclusion policy." "Constitution Clash Looms in Virginia; Government wants to introduce secret Aipac evidence": Josh Gerstein of The New York Sun provides this news update. Posted at 07:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Judiciary to Ask for 67 New Judgeships": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 06:02 PM by Howard Bashman "ISO Supreme Court ruling": Today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post that begins, "It's not the sexiest or newsiest case of the Supreme Court's term, but there are those who are anxiously awaiting a decision in the telecom case of Global Crossing v. Metrophones. And awaiting and awaiting. The case, which asks whether pay-phone providers can sue long-distance carriers over compensation for coinless pay-phone calls, was argued last Oct. 10, and a decision has still not emerged. The last time that a case argued that early was this late in being decided was five years ago, in another telecom case." Posted at 05:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Judicial Conference Urges End to 'Secret' Dockets": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this news update. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Conference endorses new records access." "Top general: Remarks on gays were 'personal moral views.'" CNN.com provides a report that begins, "The top U.S. military officer, Gen. Peter Pace, said Tuesday he should have focused more on military policy and less on his own opinion when he told a newspaper homosexual acts are immoral." My earlier coverage appears at this link. "The case sub judice arises at this intersection of scientific advance and enduring constitutional values. In it, we are asked to determine whether there exists a right, grounded in the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the federal Constitution, to post-conviction DNA testing." A New York State prisoner who is seeking, by means of a federal civil rights lawsuit, access to DNA testing that he claims would establish that he did not commit the crime of attempted murder, for which he now stands convicted, today received some good news from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. A unanimous three-judge panel of that court, in an opinion by Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi, reinstated the prisoner's lawsuit and sent it back to the federal district court for further proceedings. Posted at 05:04 PM by Howard Bashman "'Mistakes were made' in firing of 8 attorneys, Gonzales says": The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. And The Washington Post provides a news update headlined "Gonzales Accepts Responsibility for 'Mistakes'; Schumer Warns Sampson's Resignation Does Not Absolve Attorney General." Via C-SPAN, you can access the "Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales Press Conference" online, on-demand by clicking here (RealPlayer required). "More Fallout from Firing U.S. Attorneys": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of the public radio program "Here and Now." Posted at 03:24 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "White House Proposed Firing All U.S. Attorneys"; "Former U.S. Attorney Cummins Discusses Dismissal"; and "U.S. Attorney Firings: Politics vs. Process" (featuring Dahlia Lithwick). RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Deputy sheriff shot by convicted murder defendant after the jury returned its verdict cannot maintain a federal civil rights action against two other deputy sheriffs who decided to bring the defendant to court that day without the stun belt the defendant had been wearing throughout the trial: Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook issued this decision today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Posted at 03:14 PM by Howard Bashman News releases issued today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts: A news release headlined "Federal Judiciary Says New Judgeships Needed" begins, "The Judicial Conference of the United States today voted to ask Congress to create 67 new federal judgeships--15 for the courts of appeals and 52 for the district courts." A chart listing the new recommended judgeships can be accessed here. The federal appellate courts slated to receive additional authorized judgeships under the proposal are the First, Second, Third, Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits. A second release issued today is headlined "Fiscal Year 2006 Caseloads Remain At High Levels." A considerable amount of additional, related information regarding 2006 federal court caseloads can be accessed via this link. "Individual Ruling: D.C. gun ban goes down." Robert A. Levy has this essay today at National Review Online. Posted at 01:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Guantanamo, Dred Scott and the Amistad": Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith have this essay online at The Nation. Posted at 01:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales abruptly canceled travel plans Tuesday amid growing calls for his ouster over the firings of eight federal prosecutors during a White House-directed housecleaning of U.S. attorneys." So begins this report from The Associated Press. Posted at 01:15 PM by Howard Bashman Bloomberg News is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Microsoft Verdict, Congress May Spur Patent Changes" and "Libby Guilty Verdict Spurs Fundraising for Legal Defense Bill." Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Law students behaving badly: Students should be responsible on public forums, since slanderous information online can affect job offers." Ernest Gomez has this op-ed today in The Daily Pennsylvanian. Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Passenger in deadly crash not guilty; Court rules she was a victim, not accomplice, in fatal crash": The Seattle Post-Intelligencer today contains an article that begins, "The sole survivor of one of the state's deadliest single-car wrecks can't be guilty of encouraging her friend to drive drunkenly because she was a victim of the crime, the state Court of Appeals ruled Monday." And The Associated Press reports that "Court Reverses Crash Victim's Conviction." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division One, at this link. "D.C. Mayor Addresses Blow to Handgun Ban": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Make the FBI follow the law": This editorial appears today in The Boston Globe. The Chicago Tribune today contains an editorial entitled "Betrayed by the FBI." And USA Today contains an editorial entitled "Confirming predictions, FBI abuses law aimed at terrorists; Carelessness can't even begin to excuse abuse of 'security letters.'" In response, John Miller has an op-ed entitled "We're correcting our errors; But audit found no deliberate misuse of power by the FBI." "Don't drop 'don't ask, don't tell,' Pace says": The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, "Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday that he supports the Pentagon's 'don't ask, don't tell' ban on gays serving in the military because homosexual acts 'are immoral,' akin to a member of the armed forces conducting an adulterous affair with the spouse of another service member. Responding to a question about a Clinton-era policy that is coming under renewed scrutiny amid fears of future U.S. troop shortages, Pace said the Pentagon should not 'condone' immoral behavior by allowing gay soldiers to serve openly. He said his views were based on his personal 'upbringing,' in which he was taught that certain types of conduct are immoral." Posted at 08:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Fake snow out for Snowbowl; Appeals court overturns ruling that OK'd treated effluent to extend skiing": This article appears today in The Arizona Republic. The Arizona Daily Star reports today that "Court blocks effluent on sacred peaks." The New York Times reports that "Court Blocks Snowmaking at Indian Sites." The Denver Post reports that "Plan for snow from sewage struck down; The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Arizona resort's project for peaks held sacred by tribes was a violation." The Associated Press provides a report headlined "Appeals court: No fake snow at Arizona Snowbowl." And Reuters reports that "Court backs native tribes on sacred mountain." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling can be accessed here. "Supreme Court TV: The Supreme Court should televise its oral arguments; But Congress can't force it to make the change." The Los Angeles Times contains this editorial today. Posted at 08:11 AM by Howard Bashman "Secret hearings for top 9/11 suspects; Review tribunals have been held for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and at least two other Guantanamo detainees": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices weigh voter ID lawsuit; State's Supreme Court to decide constitutionality of hotly debated legislation": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contains this article today. And The Associated Press reports that "Top Georgia Court Hears Voter ID Appeal." "Guns for self-defense": This editorial appears today in The Washington Times. Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices to Hear Landmark Free-Speech Case; Defiant Message Spurs Most Significant Student 1st Amendment Test in Decades": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman "White House Said to Prompt Firing of Prosecutors": This article appears today in The New York Times, along with an article headlined "Fast-Riser's High Hopes and Sudden Fall." The Washington Post today contains a front page article headlined "Firings Had Genesis in White House; Ex-Counsel Miers First Suggested Dismissing Prosecutors 2 Years Ago, Documents Show." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Key figure in Justice Dept. to step down; Gonzales' chief of staff may have played a role in the firing of seven U.S. attorneys." And in The Boston Globe, Donald K. Stern has an op-ed entitled "Dismissing eight US attorneys." Update: The Seattle Times today contains an article headlined "McKay 'stunned' by report on Bush." Available online from law.com: An article reports that "2nd Circuit Forms Committee to Address Grievances Against Attorneys." And in other news, "Law Firms Keeping Close Eye on Sidley Case; Top issue after Sidley case is dealing with older partners." "Justices drill down on PhotoCop's issues; Minneapolis pleaded its case before the state Supreme Court to resume the PhotoCop program, but the justices had questions about whether it can coexist with state law": This article appears today in The Minneapolis Star Tribune. And The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports today that "High court explores photo cop conflict; Minneapolis policy aimed at owners, not drivers, of cars that run red lights." Monday, March 12, 2007 "Feds, AT&T Urge Against Wiretap Trial": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The federal government is urging an appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic eavesdropping program, warning that disclosure of such activities could compromise national security." Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Relieves Judge of Duties in Courtroom": The New York Times on Tuesday will contain an article that begins, "An immigration judge in New York who has been repeatedly rebuked by federal appeals judges for his hostile questioning of asylum-seekers was relieved of courtroom duties yesterday and reassigned to a desk job, lawyers and a union official said." Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Gitmo Hearings Held for 9/11 Masterminds": The Associated Press provides this report. And Reuters reports that "September 11 suspect gets Guantanamo hearing." "Court Hears Case Against Red-Light Cameras": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 08:27 PM by Howard Bashman So much for professional courtesy: CNN.com provides a video segment headlined "Shark rips flesh from surfing lawyer's arm." Stuart News reports today that "Shark attacks surfer off coast of Hutchinson Island" and provides an update headlined "Surfer attacked by shark off Martin beach recovering at home." And The Palm Beach Post reports that "Palm Beach County prosecutor bitten by shark." "Justices press Minneapolis on 'photo cop' system": The St. Paul Pioneer Press provides a news update that begins, "State Supreme Court justices grilled a Minneapolis city attorney today about the city's 'photo cop' system, challenging her to defend her argument that it does not conflict with state law." Posted at 06:00 PM by Howard Bashman Available online at SSRN: Law Professor Laurence Claus has an article titled "The One Court that Congress Cannot Take Away: Singularity, Supremacy, and Article III" (abstract with links for download). The article's abstract begins, "This article makes a constitutional case against the jurisdiction-stripping provisions of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, including a new analysis of what t |
