|
|
|
Monday, May 4, 2009 "Souter's Successor Will Likely Be A Woman": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation." Posted at 10:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Sessions Takes Specter's Judiciary Post; Senator Will Lead GOP's Scrutiny Of Next Justice": This article will appear Tuesday in The Washington Post. And The Birmingham News has an update headlined "Deal struck to make Sen. Jeff Sessions ranking Republican on Senate Judiciary Committee." "Future Dangerousness: The tricky sex offender case that could trip up one of the judges on the short list to replace Souter." Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:14 PM by Howard Bashman Tony Mauro is reporting at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." This afternoon, he has posts titled "No Retirement Press Conference for Souter" and "SG Kagan Pays Tribute to Justice Souter." The first of those two posts concludes, "When he joined the Court in 1990, Souter attended the traditional press room reception that the Supreme Court press corps has held for incoming justices. As the event wound down, Souter turned to the journalists as he was about to leave and said (paraphrasing here,) 'This was fun. Let's do it again when I retire.'" Apparently he was just kidding. "The Next Justice: No More Mr. White Guys." Christopher Eisgruber has this essay online at NPR.org. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman Is Second Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor particularly annoying at oral argument? Law professor Jeffrey Rosen suggests the answer may be "yes" in this essay posted online today at The New Republic. You can hear her in action at oral argument via C-SPAN by clicking here. My recollection is that at some point during this en banc oral argument, at least one and perhaps several of Judge Sotomayor's colleagues seem to lose patience with her questioning and interruptions of their lines of questioning, although the amount of aggravation that Judge Sotomayor was causing was probably increased by the fact that she was participating in the oral argument from a remote location via videoconference. At the "Concurring Opinions" blog, Gerard Magliocca has a post titled "The Case for Sotomayor" responding to Rosen's essay. One appellate geek's reaction to news of Justice David H. Souter's impending retirement: "The First Circuit and the Third Circuit will each need a new Circuit Justice." The current assignment list can be accessed here. My guess is that Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who was serving as the First Circuit's chief judge when he was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, will become Circuit Justice for the First Circuit. I also am guessing that Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., who was next in line to serve as the Third Circuit's chief judge when he was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, will become Circuit Justice for the Third Circuit. Whether Justice Souter's replacement will thus get to serve as Circuit Justice for both the Eighth and Tenth Circuits remains to be seen. David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times is reporting: He has news updates headlined "Supreme Court rules against government in immigration identity-theft case; In a 9-0 decision, the justices say the crime is limited to those who knew they had stolen another person's Social Security number; The decision limits efforts to prosecute illegal workers" and "Supreme Court: Take another look at Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction; The high court sets aside an appeals court ruling. So, CBS may once again face a $550,000 fine for the flash image of the singer's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News is reporting: He has articles headlined "Life Sentences on Youths Draw U.S. High Court Review"; "Companies Win at U.S. Supreme Court on Cleanup Costs"; "Court Told to Revisit Fine of CBS for Jackson Breast Exposure"; and "New York Suits Over Cigarette Sales Get U.S. High Court Review." Posted at 02:17 PM by Howard Bashman James Vicini of Reuters is reporting: He has articles headlined "Supreme Court to consider life in prison for juveniles"; "U.S. government loses immigrant identity-theft case"; and "More court review set for 2004 Janet Jackson flash." Posted at 02:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama calls senators about high court pick": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 02:10 PM by Howard Bashman Available from Politico.com: Josh Gerstein reports that "Obama's search for 'empathy' shapes Supreme Court replacement debate." And Mike Allen reports that "Obama urged to look beyond courts when replacing Souter." "Kagan: Just call her 'The General'; The first female solicitor general talks about the high court and her new role." Tony Mauro has this article in the current issue of The National Law Journal. Mauro's interview with the Solicitor General occurred before Justice David H. Souter's intention to retire from the U.S. Supreme Court became public. Posted at 10:48 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained an audio segment entitled "Obama's Chance To Fill Supreme Court Slot." And yesterday's broadcast of "Weekend Edition Sunday" contained an audio segment entitled "Souter's Retirement Is Obama's Opportunity" featuring Nina Totenberg. RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Access today's opinions in argued cases and Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court today has issued four opinions in argued cases. 1. In Flores-Figueroa v. United States, No. 08-108, Justice Stephen G. Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice and Justices John Paul Stevens, Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined. Justice Anonin Scalia issued an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Justice Clarence Thomas joined. And Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. issued an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link. 2. In Carlsbad Technology, Inc. v. HIF Bio, Inc., No. 07-1437, Justice Thomas delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. In addition, Justices Stevens, Scalia, and Breyer issued concurring opinions. Justice Souter joined in Justice Breyer's concurring opinion. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link. 3. In Arthur Andersen LLP v. Carlisle, No. 08-146, Justice Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justices Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Alito joined. Justice Souter filed a dissenting opinion, in which the Chief Justice and Justice Stevens joined. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link. 4. And in Burlington N.&S.F.R. Co. v. United States, No. 07-1601, Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Breyer, and Alito joined. Justice Ginsburg issued a dissenting opinion. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link. You can access today's Order List at this link. The Court today granted review in four cases. In early news coverage, The Associated Press has articles headlined "Court rules for immigrant in ID theft case"; "Court will review life sentences for young"; "Court: Shell not at fault in cleanup"; and "High court throws out ruling on Janet Jackson." At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Court to rule on long juvenile sentences." "The Case Against Sonia Sotomayor: Indictments of Obama's front-runner to replace Souter." Law professor Jeffrey Rosen has this essay online today at The New Republic. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Specter Re-emphasizes Independence": The New York Times contains this article today. And The Philadelphia Inquirer reports today that "Specter says he jumped parties based on principle." "Obituary: Ralph J. Cappy / Retired Pennsylvania chief justice." This obituary appeared yesterday in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And yesterday's edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contained an article headlined "Former state chief justice praised for service." "Same-sex marriages gradually gain legal ground; Even in states that don't allow gay marriage, court decisions on child custody, divorce and other issues are giving incremental rights to same-sex couples": Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:37 AM by Howard Bashman "Doubting Discrimination: The troubling case of conservative skepticism over voting rights violations." This editorial appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Detainee Compromises Likely; Marri Case Suggests That Interrogations Will Hinder Trials": The Washington Post contains this article today. Posted at 08:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Three Republicans in fight for state Supreme Court nod": This article appeared yesterday in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Posted at 08:30 AM by Howard Bashman "The man who kept the Supreme Court functioning relinquishes his role": Last Friday's edition of The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contained an article that begins, "Nobody has known more men and women at the top of New Jersey's modern judiciary than Stephen Townsend. He's rubbed elbows with seven of the eight Supreme Court chief justices since the state revamped its courts six decades ago. He could strike up a conversation with 24 of the 34 who wore the robes as associate justices. Townsend, who retires today after 31 years as Supreme Court clerk, was a behind-the-scenes force -- and the unofficial court historian -- at the Richard J. Hughes Justice complex overlooking the Delaware River in Trenton." Posted at 08:23 AM by Howard Bashman "Progressive Vision Likely in Next Jurist": Today in The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin will have an article that begins, "President Barack Obama is likely to seek a nominee for the Supreme Court who will not only defend the liberal jurisprudence that reshaped American society in the mid-20th century, but who may also aim to build a progressive legal vision for the century ahead." Today in USA Today, Joan Biskupic has a front page article headlined "For new president, the legal legacy begins here; Who will get the call? It may not be a judge." The newspaper also contains an article headlined "Obama's pick may face hurdles to the bench; Other players hold big stake in the process" and an editorial entitled "A retiring justice retires." The Associated Press has articles headlined "Senators to Obama: Look beyond the federal bench"; "Specter: Pick a statesman or stateswoman for court"; and "Hatch: Is Obama using 'code' for activist judge?" And The Boston Globe contains an editorial entitled "Law, Yankee style." "Governor supports abortion initiative; Voters, not lawmakers, would decide if doctors had to tell a parent of a girl younger than 18": This article appears today in The Anchorage Daily News. Posted at 08:03 AM by Howard Bashman "Townsfolk leery of holding Gitmo terrorism suspects; The anxiety of locals who live near the brig at Charleston, S.C., one possible place Guantanamo detainees may be sent, is typical of opposition nationwide": Carol Rosenberg had this article -- the first of a two-part series -- yesterday in The Miami Herald. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Interrogation Debate Sharply Divided Bush White House": This article appears today in The New York Times. At the web site of New York magazine, law professor Jeffrey Rosen has an essay entitled "A Torturous Decision: Sure, Cheney and friends could be prosecuted for torture-related offenses; But could they be convicted?" And from Bloomberg News, columnist Albert R. Hunt has an essay entitled "'Dark Side' of War on Terrorism Must Be Exposed."  
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
