|
|
|
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 "Justices Reject Auditor Verdict in Enron Scandal": Linda Greenhouse will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. That newspaper will also contain articles headlined "Reversal of Andersen Conviction Not a Declaration of Innocence"; "Decision Rekindles Debate Over Andersen Indictment"; and "Andersen Ruling Could Aid Appeal of Former Banker." In Wednesday's edition of The Washington Post, Charles Lane will report that "Justices Overturn Andersen Conviction; Advice to Enron Jury On Accountants' Intent Is Faulted." The newspaper will also contain an article headlined "Ruling Won't Deter Prosecution of Fraud; Andersen Decision Seen as a Rebuke." In Wednesday's edition of The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage will report that "Justices Draw Line After Firm's Fall; High court says it wasn't proved that defunct accounting giant Arthur Andersen intended to commit a crime in the Enron scandal.." The Chicago Tribune provides a news update headlined "Andersen's victory bittersweet for former employees." Bloomberg News reports that "Andersen Conviction Overturned by U.S. Supreme Court." Wednesday's edition of The Times of London reports that "Arthur Andersen retrial likely after conviction is overturned." Related articles are headlined "Anderson verdict may help future document destroyers" and "Shredding lapse that doomed firm." Wednesday's edition of The Independent (UK) reports that "US Supreme Court overturns guilty verdict in Arthur Andersen case." Wednesday's edition of The Guardian (UK) reports that "Andersen cleared by supreme court over Enron." Wednesday's edition of The Telegraph (UK) reports that "Supreme Court overturns Andersen conviction." Finally for now, this evening's broadcast of PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" contained commentary about the ruling (RealPlayer required) from Jan Crawford Greenburg of The Chicago Tribune. "Judge Hatchett Ruling Overturned By Judge Joe Brown": The Onion partakes in the neverending joy of appellate court coverage. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman U.S. Department of Justice must disclose Office of Legal Council memorandum regarding federal immigration law, Second Circuit rules: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and other plaintiffs against the Justice Department, at this link. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that "High Court Blesses Document Policies in Andersen Case." An article reports on "The New Calculus for a Supreme Court Nomination." In other news, "Big Media Want FCC Regs Case Heard; Conglomerates push Supreme Court to review cross-ownership rules, but the government hasn't joined them." And in news from New York, "Bid to Crack Nasdaq's Immunity Shield Fails; Court rejects fraud exception where SRO's actions are consistent with its quasi-governmental powers" and "Sept. 11 Perjury Charges Stand Despite Shackles in Court; Trial delayed while prosecutors contest ruling on questioning of grand jurors." "California appeals judge's ruling on gay marriage": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 10:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Dress Barn Wins Appeal; $32 Million Judgment Overturned": The Dress Barn, Inc. has issued this press release concerning a decision that the Supreme Court of Connecticut issued today. Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court upholds $80 million damages in alder log case": The Associated Press provides this report on an antitrust ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. In response to the ruling, Weyerhaeuser Company today issued a press release entitled "Weyerhaeuser Response to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision." "Supreme Court Rules in Ohio Prison Case": Linda Greenhouse will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. And Gina Holland's report for The Associated Press begins, "The Supreme Court sided with a witch, a Satanist and a racial separatist Tuesday, upholding a federal law requiring state prisons to accommodate the religious affiliations of inmates." "Supreme Court Throws Out Arthur Andersen Conviction": This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman In Wednesday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Warren Richey will have an article headlined "A boost for religious practice: A Supreme Court decision on prison rights is seen as a win for minority religious groups, too." And in other news, "High court overturns major conviction in Enron case; The reversal on technical grounds marks setback for the US Justice Department." "Judge: Feds May Ban Transport of Cocks." The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 09:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal court nominee has Portage roots": The Kalamazoo Gazette today contains an article that begins, "Former Portage resident Susan Bieke Neilson was appointed circuit judge by former Republican Gov. John Engler. She is a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group. A left-wing coalition is fighting her nomination as a judge on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals." Posted at 09:04 PM by Howard Bashman "President says he'll consult on Supreme Court hopefuls; Bush cites filibuster deal, says he still aims to fix Social Security": This article will appear Wednesday in The Dallas Morning News. Posted at 08:55 PM by Howard Bashman News updates available online from The Washington Post: Charles Lane reports that "Justices Overturn Andersen." And in other news, "Washington Post Confirms Felt Was 'Deep Throat'; Woodward, Bernstein and Bradlee Reveal Former FBI Official as Secret Watergate Source." Don't ask me about my miniature Chief Justice John Jay bobblehead doll (0197/1056): Wouldn't it be something if The Green Bag were planning to issue a bobblehead doll depicting every Justice who ever served on the U.S. Supreme Court? Posted at 05:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Unanimously Overturns Andersen Conviction": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. Posted at 04:35 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day": The program contained segments entitled "Slate's Jurisprudence: End of High Court's Session" (featuring Emily Bazelon) and "The History of the Legal Pad." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman Self-styled supervillain wins appeal challenging sentence increase of ten years for having used fire to commit a felony: Today a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in an opinion by Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner, has ruled that one cannot be guilty of the federal crime of using fire to commit a federal felony (with its accompanying ten-year sentence add-on) where the underlying federal felony is arson. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge: Ind. Can See Minor's Medical Records." The Associated Press reports here that "An Indiana judge ruled Tuesday that Planned Parenthood of Indiana must turn over to the state the medical records of its patients under 14." Posted at 02:42 PM by Howard Bashman D.C. Circuit's Division for the Purpose of Appointing Independent Counsels denies substantial portion of attorneys' fee reimbursement request filed by former White House Steward Bayani C. Nelvis: Today's D.C. Circuit ruling, which discusses former President Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky, can be accessed here. Posted at 02:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Court upholds inmates' religious rights law": James Vicini of Reuters provides this report. Posted at 02:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Bush denies losing clout, vows to press on": Reuters offers a report that concludes: As for the Senate compromise last week, Bush offered his own interpretation.You can access the complete transcript of President Bush's press conference from earlier today at this link. Posted at 01:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court overturns Arthur Andersen's Enron conviction": Mary Flood of The Houston Chronicle provides this news update. Posted at 12:30 PM by Howard Bashman "A major death penalty case? Maybe not." Online at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston provides this report on the death penalty case from Kansas that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review today. Update: At the "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog, Law Professor Douglas A. Berman has a post titled "A capital waste of time?" "'Deep Throat' Reportedly Comes Forward": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A former FBI official says he was the source called 'Deep Throat' who leaked secrets about President Nixon's Watergate coverup to The Washington Post, Vanity Fair reported Tuesday. W. Mark Felt, 91, who was second-in-command at the FBI in the early 1970s, kept the secret even from his family until 2002, when he confided to a friend that he had been Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward's source, the magazine said." Update: Vanity Fair magazine has posted its article online here. On today's broadcast of C-SPAN's "Washington Journal": Today's program contained two don't-miss segments: Stuart Taylor Jr. discusses his recent article, "The Rehnquist Court" (click here to view clip); and retired Fifth Circuit Judge Charles W. Pickering, Sr. discusses the judicial confirmation process (click here to view clip). RealPlayer is required to launch these video clips. Posted at 12:14 PM by Howard Bashman Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald files federal government's brief in opposition in the Judith Miller, Matthew Cooper, Time Inc. reporter's privilege case: You can access the brief in opposition filed in the Supreme Court of the United States at this link. I previously provided links to the cert. petitions and a noteworthy amicus brief. Today's opinions and Order List from the Supreme Court of the United States: The Court today issued three decisions in argued cases. 1. Justice Stephen G. Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court in Tory v. Cochran, No. 03-1488. You can access the syllabus here; Justice Breyer's opinion here; Justice Clarence Thomas's dissenting opinion here; and the oral argument transcript here. 2. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion on behalf of a unanimous Court in Cutter v. Wilkinson, No. 03-9877. You can access the syllabus here; Justice Ginsburg's opinion here; Justice Thomas's concurring opinion here; and the oral argument transcript here. 3. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court in Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States, No. 04-368. You can access the syllabus here; Chief Justice Rehnquist's opinion here; and the oral argument transcript here. Much additional information about this case is available via The Houston Chronicle here and here. In early press coverage, Hope Yen of The Associated Press reports that "Court Overturns Arthur Andersen Conviction." The AP's Gina Holland reports that "High Court Sides With Inmates on Religion" and "High Court Says Cochran Protests Are OK." The AP also reports that "Supreme Court to Take Up Death Penalty Law." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Arthur Andersen conviction overturned." Reuters also reports that "Top court to decide Kansas death penalty law." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a round-up titled "Court upholds RLUIPA, rules for Arthur Andersen." Today's Order List can be accessed at this link. The Court today granted certiorari in a case challenging the decision of the Supreme Court of Kansas invalidating that State's death penalty law. Back in December 2004, I noted that ruling in a post you can access here. Monday, June 6, 2005 is the next scheduled date on which the Court will issue opinions and orders. On the agenda: At 10 a.m. today, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to issue an Order List and one or more opinions in argued cases. Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "GOP Election Challenge Enters Second Week": The Associated Press provides this report from Washington State. And in related coverage, The Seattle Times today reports that "2 who've appeared before Judge Bridges call him 'fair.'" "The Rehnquist Court": Stuart Taylor Jr. recently had this lengthy article in National Journal. I'll link to video of Stuart's appearance this morning on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal," where he discussed the article, once it's posted online. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Majority vote remains on the table for future use": U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has this op-ed today in The San Antonio Express-News. Posted at 08:38 AM by Howard Bashman "The Moderates Take Charge!" Stuart Taylor Jr. has this essay in this week's issue of National Journal. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman Chicken ducks jaywalking ticket: The Associated Press reports that "Ticket against jaywalking chicken in Kern County dismissed." And earlier coverage from The AP is available in a report headlined "Chicken Ticketed for Crossing the Road" (or perhaps you'd prefer the headline "Chicken runs afoul of law, an age-old joke"). Finally, in local coverage from The Daily Independent of Ridgecrest, California, "No jail time for owners of jaywalking chicken" and, earlier, "Ticket for wayward chicken still being battled in court." "Poor Judgment: Judges should not try to stifle criticism." This editorial appears today in The Monitor of McAllen, Texas. A very similar editorial also appears today in The Daily News of Jacksonville, North Carolina. "Same-sex marriage bill stalls in political wrangle": This article appears today in The Toronto Globe and Mail. And that newspaper today also contains an op-ed by John Ibbitson entitled "Conservatives keep winning battles in their war on same-sex marriage." "Sen. Smith sits above filibuster fray; Despite growing reputation as a moderate, lawmaker seeks up-or-down votes": The Associated Press has this article today in The Salem (Ore.) Statesman Journal. The Dayton Daily News today contains an article headlined "DeWine, Voinovich: Men of moderation; Ohio's senators explain pivotal roles." The Louisville Courier-Journal's Editorial Notebook asks "Where have the senators of yore gone?" The Washington Times contains an op-ed by Tod Lindberg entitled "No need for GOP outrage" and an op-ed by Barry Casselman entitled "What really happened on the Hill?" In The Chicago Sun-Times, Jesse Jackson has an op-ed entitled "Senate's judicial deal is no victory." In The Naples (Fla.) Daily News, Dan K. Thomasson has an op-ed entitled "Frist's bumbling performance." And online at OpinionJournal, Brendan Miniter has an essay entitled "The McCain Myth: The moderation that makes him a Senate powerhouse will keep him out of the White House." "More Montana voters say federal courts too liberal": The Billings Gazette contains this article today. Posted at 07:00 AM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The Los Angeles Times: An article reports that "Math Doesn't Add Up for a Democrat-Run Senate; The party needs to win seats in Bush territory for any realistic chance to retake the chamber." And in other news, a front page article is headlined "A Late Decision, a Lasting Anguish; A Kansas doctor is under investigation for performing abortions others won't; His clients say outsiders can't grasp their pain or gratitude." Monday, May 30, 2005 "Bush's Political Capital Spent, Voices in Both Parties Suggest; Poll Numbers Sag as Setbacks Mount at Home and Abroad": This news analysis, which mentions the judicial filibuster compromise, will appear Tuesday in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:55 PM by Howard Bashman The U.S. Supreme Court can now decide for itself whether its earlier ruling in Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, Inc. concluded the case in defendants' favor: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, over the dissent of three other judges from the denial of rehearing en banc, decided in an opinion you can access here that the Supreme Court's ruling did not finally resolve the case in defendants' favor. In March 2005, as I noted here, the defendants filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court seeking final resolution of the case in their favor. I have now posted online these additional documents filed with the Supreme Court in the case: plaintiffs' brief in oppposition; the amicus brief of Alabama and seven other States; the amicus brief of Consistent Life, et al.; the amicus brief of Concerned Women for America; and defendants' reply brief in support of the petition for writ of certiorari. The Supreme Court has scheduled the case for its June 9, 2005 conference. "State Attorneys General Ask Supreme Court to Hear 2 Reporters' Case": As I noted earlier here, Adam Liptak had this article in Saturday's edition of The New York Times. More recently, I obtained an electronic copy of the amicus brief and have posted it online at this link. Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman "The McCain mutiny": Today in The Washington Times, Thomas Sowell has an op-ed that begins, "After all the glowing words surrounding the Senate 'compromise' in which the Republicans folded their hand despite holding all the high cards, it is worth taking a look at who won what and why." Posted at 10:58 PM by Howard Bashman In yesterday's issue of The Birmingham News: Steven L. Taylor had an op-ed entitled "Pryor not out of the mainstream." And columnist Tom Scarritt had an op-ed entitled "Choosing judges is 1-man job." Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Scrushy on Trial: Class, Race and the Pursuit of Justice in Alabama." This article will appear in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 10:00 PM by Howard Bashman Next Monday afternoon, the U.S. Senate once again begins debate on the nomination of Janice Rogers Brown to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit: The Senate is due to resume work at 2 p.m. on Monday, June 6, 2005. Via C-SPAN, you can view a portion of her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing at this link (RealPlayer required). It's one of the few judicial confirmation hearings that actually starts off interesting. The Judiciary Committee print of the hearing can be accessed here (371-page PDF document). A cloture vote on her nomination should occur by the middle of next week, and an up-or-down vote on the nomination is likely either later next week or early the following week. Update: I have updated this post to reflect that the U.S. Senate is in recess all this week. The filibuster lasted nine innings: With the Philadelphia Phillies, Trenton Thunder, and Reading Phillies all on the road out of the region this holiday weekend, the quest for baseball today takes my son and me on a road-trip to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to watch the Harrisburg Senators (AA club for the Washington Nationals) battle the Erie Sea Wolves (AA club for the Detroit Tigers). This will be our first visit to Commerce Bank Park. Update: Final score: Harrisburg Senators 5; Erie Sea Wolves 2. "The Radicalization of American Legal Education: Why the Left's Dominance Is Bad for Law Schools and the Law." Law Professor Scott D. Gerber has this essay online at FindLaw today. Posted at 07:54 AM by Howard Bashman "On Filibuster and Stem Cells, GOP Bears Pain of Compromise": Ronald Brownstein has this "Washington Outlook" essay today in The Los Angeles Times. The Kansas City Star today contains an article headlined "Who's an activist judge? Depends on your views." Newsday contains an editorial entitled "Second-term slump: Bush runs into trouble with Congress; maybe he should try playing nice." In The Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Robert Novak has an op-ed entitled "Cooperation falls apart in Senate." In The Topeka Capital-Journal, Gregory L. Schneider has an op-ed entitled "Will of the people nuked by compromise." And in The Lincoln Journal Star, columnist Don Walton has an op-ed entitled "Nelson, Hagel caught in nuclear fallout." Sunday, May 29, 2005 "Inaccuracies in blogs are less pernicious than inaccuracies in the mainstream media": So writes Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner in the final paragraph of his post titled "Blogging--A Response by Posner to a Comment" at "The Becker-Posner Blog." Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Filibuster Deal Evaded Key Question on High Court Nominees": Monday's edition of The Washington Post will contain this news analysis. Today's issue of that newspaper, meanwhile, contained a Sunday Outlook essay by Carl Cannon entitled "The Uncompromising Mr. Bush" that begins, "Before good-government types go all weak in the knees about the Great Filibuster Compromise of 2005, they might do well to recall the Great Filibuster Compromise of 2004." "In Rising Numbers, Lawyers Head for Guantanamo Bay": Neil A. Lewis will have this article Monday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Michigan judges pivotal in Senate showdown; Saad proves to be a lightning rod for opposition to Bush judicial nominees": This article appears today in The Detroit News. Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman In news from Washington State: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer today contains articles headlined "Democrats open defense in vote trial; Mistakes made in Rossi counties, too, they argue" and "Some see court fight as a bore." In related coverage, The Seattle Times today reports that "Judge rules with eye to present and future." The Houston Chronicle is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "Yates prosecutors want case reviewed; Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will decide if her conviction should remain overturned" and "SMU lecturer takes heat for telling blog; The 'Phantom Professor' says it was an outlet and could be a movie." Posted at 04:25 PM by Howard Bashman "A false report on turnpike mystery; A Ga. man is expected to admit implicating his estranged wife in the death of Jonathan Luna": This article appeared earlier this month in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 04:20 PM by Howard Bashman "White House Researching Potential Justices": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "'Pro-life'--with limits; Bushspeak: It's immoral to trade one form of life to save others--except, of course, when you're talking about the death penalty. Huh?" Columnist Clarence Page has this op-ed today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 12:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Appointing California Judges: No push for a partisan judiciary; Party loyalty not a major factor for Schwarzenegger." Bob Egelko has this news analysis today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 11:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Injudiciously divided: The fight over judicial nominees spotlights the importance of the Circuit Courts of Appeals, which much more often than not have the final say in high-profile cases." Gail Gibson has this article today in The Baltimore Sun. Today in The Philadelphia Inquirer, political analyst Dick Polman has an article headlined "Deal may help tilt court to the right." The Washington Post reports that "Senate Setbacks Test Frist's Influence; Bush Has Given Difficult Tasks to Him, Analysts Say." The Washington Times reports that "Filibuster battle altering '08 presidential landscape." The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi reports that "Senate filibuster compromise was Lott's idea, not McCain's." James Kuhnhenn of Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that "Work on nominees could return Lott to ranks of GOP leadership." The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that "Filibuster resolution puts Pryor step ahead." FOXNews.com reports that "Saad Unlikely to See Confirmation Vote." From Michigan, The Associated Press offers reports headlined "Senator's son chooses courtroom over big-time politics" and "Griffin nomination sparks memories of dad's role in 1968 showdown." The State of Columbia, South Carolina reports today that "Graham sticks to role in partisan detente; After helping broker filibuster compromise, S.C. senator works with Democrats on Social Security." The Beaufort (S.C.) Gazette reports that "Graham leads bipartisan efforts in D.C.; U.S. senator receiving statewide criticism for crossing party lines." The Independent (UK) reports that "Setbacks pin 'lame duck' label on Bush." The June 6, 2005 issue of U.S. News & World Report contains an article headlined "Power Play: It was the oddest thing in Washington, a deal done from the center; The question now is: Can it hold?" The magazine also contains an essay by Gloria Borger entitled "Extraordinary Doings" and an essay by John Leo entitled "Time to Fix the Court." The Berkshire Eagle today contains an editorial entitled "Who are the judicial activists?" The Arizona Republic contains an editorial entitled "Base instincts: GOP should check TV listings before condemning John McCain." In The San Jose Mercury News, Law Professor Kathleen M. Sullivan has an essay entitled "Battle for courts: What's at stake." Bloomberg News columnist Ann Woolner has an essay entitled "Tattered White Flag Flies Over Senate's Judge War." At Human Events Online, U.S. Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) has an essay entitled "Nuclear Option Still on the Table," while Mark R. Levin has an essay entitled "Call Them the Sellout Seven." Today in The Denver Post, Andrew Cohen has an op-ed entitled "Anti-judicial rhetoric scary; Senate merely forestalled an inevitable showdown." And Ed Quillen has an op-ed entitled "Compromise? How un-American." In The San Francisco Chronicle, Martin F. Nolan has an essay entitled "Zealots survive filibuster debate; Neither party wins kudos for wisdom." In Newsday, Gregory Wawro and Eric Schickler have an op-ed entitled "The majority rules, but for how long? Senate Democrats have given up the filibuster fight, but history shows they could come back for another go-round." Online at The American Prospect, Morton Mintz has an essay entitled "Bush's Judges Matter to Jane and Joe Sixpack: We'll bet you a vial of Vioxx that it does." Today in The Providence Journal, M. Charles Bakst has an essay entitled "In Washington and R.I., Chafee performs high-wire act." In The Birmingham News, Law Professor Bryan K. Fair has an op-ed entitled "Filibusters offer United States special protections." In The State, columnist Lee Bandy has an op-ed entitled "Graham digs hole for himself." In The Daily Press of Hampton Roads, Virginia, Patrick M. McSweeney has an op-ed entitled "Republicans: Warner, Allen split over filibuster." In The San Antonio Express-News, Susan Ives has an op-ed entitled "In this joke of a Congress, funny filibuster serves a serious purpose." In The Washington Times, Jay Ambrose has an op-ed entitled "Tell McCain it's 'Joanie.'" In The Sacramento Bee, Rick Horowitz has an op-ed entitled "News flash, Doc: You're not the boss of all of us." And in The Sunday Times of London, Andrew Sullivan has an op-ed entitled "Old man McCain tries Bush's crown for size." "Shadowy Preparations For Death; Use Of Petty Cash Kept Execution Arrangements Out Of Public Sight": This article appeared yesterday in The Hartford Courant. Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman In today's issue of The Los Angeles Times: David G. Savage reports that "High Court to Decide Prickly Cases Soon; By the term's end, the justices are expected to rule on several hot-button issues, including religion and file sharing." And reporting from New London, Connecticut, Elizabeth Mehren has an article headlined "Homeowners' World Is Not For Sale; Seven neighbors' challenge to the use of eminent domain to raise more tax revenue goes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court." "Path Cleared for Rehnquist's Retirement": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:08 AM by Howard Bashman "When Court Clerks Rule": David J. Garrow has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:32 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, May 28, 2005 "Judicial Nominee Compromise Under G.O.P. Pressure": Sunday's edition of The New York Times will contain this article. And the Week in Review section of Sunday's newspaper will contain a related article headlined "The Elusive Middle Ground: What Happened to Compromise?" "U.S. Case Draws Vermont Into Debate on Death Penalty": This article will appear Sunday in The New York Times. Posted at 02:25 PM by Howard Bashman "White House and Frist Dispatched DeWine and Graham to Cut a Deal?" The blog "Patterico's Pontifications" offers this post. Posted at 12:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Judicial Takings and Givings": The Washington Post today contains an editorial that begins, "The Supreme Court's decision this week in the case of Lingle v. Chevron didn't make big news." Posted at 12:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Judicial Nominees Compromise Was Hard-Won": David Espo of The Associated Press provides this very interesting report. In commentary, meanwhile, The Washington Times today contains an editorial entitled "Gauging the nuclear fallout" and an op-ed by Terence P. Jeffrey entitled "One-sided deal." In today's edition of The New York Times: Adam Liptak reports that "State Attorneys General Ask Supreme Court to Hear 2 Reporters' Case." And in local news, "Judge Cuts Sentence of Student Who Traded Child Pornography." My earlier report on the Second Circuit's ruling in this case, governed by a typo-plagued sentencing statute, can be accessed here. "Teen's rant at cop: profane, but free speech; Appeals court overturns disorderly-conduct conviction." The Indianapolis Star today contains this article reporting on Thursday's ruling of the Indiana Court of Appeals. Posted at 09:00 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, May 27, 2005 The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "White House Wants Search Limits Overturned" and "Judge Won't Dismiss Wash. Gov. Challenge." Posted at 11:33 PM by Howard Bashman Fifth Circuit upholds anti-abortion group's victory in suit challenging University of Texas at Austin's "Literature Policy" as an unconstitutional restriction on anonymous speech in a designated public forum: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. Even before today's ruling, this dispute has received quite a bit of press coverage. In October 2002, Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release titled "Students sue the University of Texas and 18 officials for censoring free speech." The Associated Press reported in October 2002 that "Abortion foes challenge rules on campus demonstrations, exhibits." The Daily Texan reported in November 2003 that "Free speech lawsuit continues"; in April 2004 that "UT appeals decision on campus fliers; Court rules nonstudents can distribute leaflets on campus"; and in March 2005 that "Anti-abortion display returns to UT; 2 student groups protest images of aborted fetuses outside Gregory Gym." The web site of the organization that has brought this free speech lawsuit as plaintiff can be accessed here. "High court rejects bid to halt same-sex marriages": The Associated Press provides this report on a ruling that the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts at this link. Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals panel OKs state's TennCare procedures": The Nashville Business Journal reports here that "An appeals court panel has upheld the state's procedure for removing enrollees from TennCare, overturning a lower court decision. The three-judge panel ruled the state doesn't need to have a hearing for each recipient before dropping them from the program. Gov. Phil Bredesen is seeking to drop hundreds of thousands of enrollees in an effort to reign in costs at the state Medicaid program." You can access this afternoon's per curiam ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. "Eighth Circuit: Lane is Limited to Access-to-Courts." Law Professor Samuel R. Bagenstos has this post at his "Disability Law" blog. Sam writes that today's ruling "seems to me inconsistent with Lane's as-applied approach, and it conflicts with the Eleventh Circuit's recent Florida International University opinion. This begs for rehearing en banc." Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Compromised Compromise: Don't expect the filibuster deal to last for long." Terence Samuel has this essay online at The American Prospect today. And yesterday's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained a "nuclear option"-related segment entitled "Weekly Political Roundup" (RealPlayer required). "Nude photos, Yahoo pledge produce a suit; A woman's $3 million claim says the Web portal won't halt an ex-boyfriend's ongoing vendetta": This article appears today in The Oregonian. Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Reid takes control of Frist's Senate; A maddening week for the majority leader": Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report. Posted at 03:30 PM by Howard Bashman California appellate court provides even one more reason not to brutally assault individuals of Hmong origin: Today's edition of The Recorder of San Francisco, California contains an article that begins, "Restitution took on a new meaning Thursday when a state appeal court ordered a man who beat up three Hmong men to repay them for the costs of sacrificial cows, pigs and chickens." The animals were slaughtered on behalf of the victims in a ceremony intended to heal the souls of those who have been injured. You can access yesterday's ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District at this link. "Justices Debate Country Club's Marriage Rule; High Court Strives To Recognize Rights of Same-Sex Couple": This article appears today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman Seventh Circuit upholds death sentence resulting from roadside urination: Today, Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook, on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, affirmed the denial of habeas relief in this death penalty case from Indiana. Posted at 02:32 PM by Howard Bashman Eighth Circuit adopts narrow view of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Tennessee v. Lane, which held that imposing liability on States under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act did not violate the Eleventh Amendment in cases implicating a right of access to the courts: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link. Posted at 11:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Blackmun: A Life." Last night's broadcast of the public radio program "On Point" contained this interesting, and lengthy, interview (RealPlayer required; click here to play in Windows Media) with New York Times Supreme Court correspondent Linda Greenhouse about her new book, "Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey." The interview begins 5 minutes and 20 seconds into the audio clip. Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman Bob Egelko is reporting: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, he has articles headlined "Supreme Court reviews same-sex discrimination case; Country club denied family membership to lesbian couple" and "High court grants killer new trial; Burglar shot victim as he beat man who helped steal speaker." In connection with the second of those two articles, you can access online yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link. Justice Janice Rogers Brown, a D.C. Circuit nominee who is now slated to receive an up-or-down vote in the U.S. Senate, wrote both the majority opinion and a concurring opinion, as she also did in the California Supreme Court's related imperfect self-defense ruling issued yesterday. "Chafee's Choices: He's begging to be dumped." Today at National Review Online, Timothy P. Carney and David Freddoso have an essay that begins, "If there was ever any doubt, Sen. Lincoln Chafee's vote Wednesday against the nomination of Priscilla Owen has made it clear that, save for leadership numbers games, conservatives would not be any worse off with a Democrat than with Chafee (R., R.I.) in the Senate." Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained segments entitled "Judges Use 'Booker' Ruling for Sentencing Flexibility" and "S.C. Senator Lindsey Graham Rises as Moderate Republican." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman Rwanda's rebel-formed government is entitled to recover refund of portion of retainer that former Rwanda government paid to Washington, DC lawyer: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link. Posted at 10:02 AM by Howard Bashman Off-season "Grinch" arrest defended; "It's never too early to protect children's Christmas presents," police chief indicates; Others condemn police as "mean one" in this saga: The Wheeling (W. Va.) News-Register yesterday contained an article headlined "City, County Attorneys Defend 'Grinch' Arrest." Posted at 09:40 AM by Howard Bashman The Sacramento Bee is reporting: Today's newspaper reports that "Ceres vintner loses case for 'Napa' label; Appeals ruling backs 75 percent content requirement for wines." My earlier coverage is here. And in other news, "Big asbestos bill advances; A $140 billion settlement plan goes to full Senate." "Blogs: The next big thing for advertisers?" Professor Juan Cole has this essay at c|net News.Com. Posted at 08:55 AM by Howard Bashman Will Rev. Jerry Falwell continue to be master of his domain? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit yesterday heard oral argument in a case that could be titled Falwell vs. Fallwell. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports today that "Appeal heard on spelling of Falwell Web site; Evangelist's critic argues he has the right to run site named 'www.fallwell.com.'" The Associated Press reports that "Court Hears Falwell Web Domain Arguments." And The News & Advance of Lynchburg, Virginia yesterday previewed the oral argument in an article headlined "Web site dispute center of hearing." "The Frist Problem": The Los Angeles Times contains this editorial today. The Washington Times today contains an editorial entitled "Frist: Hold to principle." The Harvard Crimson contains an editorial entitled "Busting the Party Divide; The bipartisan agreement on fillibusters in the Senate is welcoming in an era of divisions." The Sioux City Journal contains an editorial entitled "A deal, but no victory." In The Washington Post, columnist Charles Krauthammer has an op-ed entitled "Profiles in Flinching." In The Newark Star-Ledger, columnist John Farmer has an op-ed entitled "No clear winners yet in filibuster brawl." In The Arizona Republic, columnist Robert Robb has an op-ed entitled "Compromise on judges is a setback for the left." In The Tampa Tribune, columnist Daniel Ruth has an op-ed entitled "Adults Briefly Spotted In The D.C. Beltway!!!" And in The Washington Times, R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. has an op-ed entitled "A battle delayed"; Linda Chavez has an op-ed entitled "Bargain's benefits"; Cal Thomas has an op-ed entitled "Minority rule..."; and Thomas Sowell has an op-ed entitled "...and ruin." "Court Rejects Vintner's Bid to Use 'Napa'; In another legal blow to Bronco, judges say wines with the name must have grapes from the region": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. In response to the decision, the Napa Valley Vintners issued a press release titled "Bronco Loss Considered Consumer Victory; Court of Appeal Rules Today in Favor of Napa Valley." You can access yesterday's ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District both here and here. Legal battle over Mojave Cross is subject of Wall Street Journal op-ed: Today in The Wall Street Journal, Christopher Levenick has an op-ed entitled "High Noon at Sunrise Rock: The ACLU sues over a cross honoring fallen soldiers--and cashes in." Posted at 07:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Lesbian couple claims Calif. country club discriminated": Bob Egelko had this news update online yesterday at The San Francisco Chronicle. And yesterday's edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "Gay couple sue golf club over rules." "Man Is Accused of Threatening Judge": The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, "A would-be screenwriter who brought an unsuccessful federal lawsuit against Creative Artists Agency has been arrested on charges of sending threatening letters to veteran U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian in Los Angeles, authorities said Thursday." Posted at 07:04 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, May 26, 2005 Around the bloggerhood: Let me join those welcoming "Milbarge" back to the "Begging The Question" blog by noting his interesting recent post titled "Ethics and Grand Jury Nullification." Thanks to Evan Schaeffer for his kind mentions of one of my monthly appellate columns originally published some time ago. And my "20 questions for the appellate judge" interview with Circuit Judge William Curtis Bryson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has been noted on a blog named "Just Patent." The blog is mostly in one of those foreign languages that I can neither read nor understand (unlike "Patently-O: Patent Law Blog," for example, which I can at least read). Surely the Friday before the Memorial Day holiday is not a date on which a U.S. Supreme Court Justice would announce plans to retire: But it's been so long since one has announced retirement plans, who can remember what's appropriate? Posted at 10:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Malvo sent from Virginia to Maryland for trial in 2002 sniper killings; Convicted sniper is being held in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility": The Baltimore Sun contains this article today. And The Washington Post reports today that "Malvo Is Flown From Va. to Md. for Trial; Sniper Will Be Prosecuted by Montgomery, Where Six People Were Slain." Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro has an article headlined "Laurence Tribe's Big Surprise." In other news, an article is headlined "Does the Judiciary Need a Watchdog? Rep. Sensenbrenner thinks it might." An article reports that "Court Transcripts' Finer Points Reveal 'Ho' Story." In news from New York, "After Shackle Ruling, Judge Weighs Dismissal of 9/11-Related Charges." And an article reports that "A Small Town's Big Verdict Leads to Ugly Charges; Texas judge rejects Ford's charge that juror's link with attorney tainted jury." "Judicial Wars Aren't Over": This editorial will appear in the June 13, 2005 issue of The Nation. Posted at 09:54 PM by Howard Bashman Even a stopped clock is right twice a day: Compare this post today at National Review Online's "The Corner" with my "nuclear option"-related posts from April 20, 2005 and May 4, 2005. Posted at 09:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Casino verdict could be state's largest; Post-trial legal moves may whittle amount": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 06:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate gets reacquainted with itself": This article will appear Friday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 05:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal appeals courts increasingly the final stop in legal battles": Stephen Henderson of Knight Ridder Newspapers provides this report. A longer version of this article published online by regional Knight Ridder affilliates (see here, for example) contains a glaring error, attributing to Fourth Circuit nominee Terrence W. Boyle the Eleventh Circuit's ruling in the Florida homosexual adoption case, when in fact Judge Boyle had nothing to do with the case. [Update: The error is now corrected (for the most part)!] The Associated Press is reporting: An article now available online is headlined "Reid: Deal Could Bring Bipartisanship." And Jesse J. Holland reports that "Senate Panel OKs Bill on Asbestos Suits." "Slate's Jurisprudence: Torture and 'War on Terror.'" This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Emily Bazelon appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Two Bush Nominees Get Panel's Quick OK": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has an article that begins, "Two of President Bush's blocked judicial nominees who were cleared for confirmation by this week's Senate compromise on filibusters got quick approval Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The nominations of Richard Griffin and David McKeague for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati were approved by voice vote in the committee without debate." The article also reports that "Votes on North Carolina judge Terrence Boyle and White House staff secretary Brett Kavanaugh, who also want lifetime seats on the U.S. Appeals Court, were delayed by the committee." "Bonds ball co-owner loses his court case": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "One of the fans who split the proceeds from Barry Bonds' record-setting 73rd home run ball has whiffed in an attempt to keep the money away from his former lawyer." Posted at 02:55 PM by Howard Bashman "What Is Torture? An interactive primer on American interrogation." Slate has just posted online this "interactive primer" by Emily Bazelon, Phillip Carter, and Dahlia Lithwick. Posted at 12:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Don't let judges serve for life": Columnist Jeff Jacoby has this op-ed today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 12:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Defining parent is at heart of case; Justices hear arguments of six women seeking to claim or renounce kids from lesbian unions": Claire Cooper, legal affairs writer for The Sacramento Bee, had this article yesterday in that newspaper. Posted at 12:45 PM by Howard Bashman This July, San Diego voters will select a new mayor and decide the fate of the Mt. Soledad Cross: The San Diego Union-Tribune last week published an article headlined "City will let voters decide fate of Mount Soledad cross" (headline amended by me to correct typo). Posted at 12:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Asbestos bill seen clearing Senate panel soon": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 11:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Senate confirms Owen; Landrieu one of two Demos to vote yes": This article appears today in The Times-Picayune. In USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that "Owen to join court tough on death penalty; 5th Circuit doesn't stand apart on other issues." The Ithaca Journal reports that "Schumer says ideology still will matter with court nominees." The Washington Post today contains a front page news analysis headlined "GOP Tilting Balance Of Power to the Right." The Washington Times today contains articles headlined "Senate confirms Owen to federal appeals bench"; "Group of 14 sees role as temporary"; and "Bush makes most of Senate deal." Yesterday's broadcast of the PBS program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" contained a lengthy segment entitled "Senate Confirms Owen to Federal Appeals Court" (transcript with link to audio). Knight Ridder Newspapers provide articles headlined "Republican Party shows cracks after moderates' show of force" and "Congressional setbacks, low ratings could limit Bush's effectiveness." The University at Buffalo Reporter contains an article headlined "Judicial nominations will continue to be intense battleground, UB expert says." In commentary, The Mobile Register today contains an editorial entitled "Senate's agreement is shameful and unfair." The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin contains an editorial entitled "Giving in to blackmail." The Sun News of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina contains an editorial entitled "Reclaiming the Center: Graham shines in helping avert judicial filibuster crisis." The New Republic has posted online an editorial entitled "Moderate Excess: Why the filibuster deal is a sham." The Times Argus of Barre, Vermont contains an editorial entitled "The moderate 14." The Bradenton Herald contains an editorial entitled "Profile in courage: 'Fearless Fourteen' kept Senate from imploding." The Sarasota Herald-Tribune contains an editorial entitled "A temporary reprieve: Compromise preserves filibuster rule, but for how long?" The Santa Cruz Sentinel contains an editorial entitled "The mainstream press likes the recent Senate compromise; But other commentators feel the opposite." At Salon.com, Sidney Blumenthal has an essay entitled "Bush the despot: The Senate's compromise on the filibuster won't stop the president's quest for absolute power." In The Whittier Daily News, Cokie Roberts and Steven V. Roberts have an op-ed entitled "Compromise shouldn't be considered a dirty word in politics." Online at The Weekly Standard, Hugh Hewitt has an essay entitled "Non-Nuclear Fallout -- Winners, losers, and more: The aftermath of a sell-out." The Washington Times contains an op-ed by Donald Lambro entitled "Not just about filibusters" and an op-ed by David Limbaugh entitled "Compromise or cop-out?" In The Oregonian, columnist David Reinhard has an op-ed entitled "Such a deal! Here come da judges." In The San Francisco Chronicle, columnist Debra J. Saunders has an essay entitled "Gang of 14, plus 86 midgets." In The Rocky Mountain News, Vincent Carroll has an essay entitled "Brown the barometer." In The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Bradley R. Gitz has an op-ed entitled "A deal to be broken." In The Washington Examiner, Kathy Cacace has an op-ed entitled "Britney can show senators how to be more filibust-y." "Unbecoming Justice Blackmun: Linda Greenhouse's book reveals a justice who cared more about politics than about women's rights." Slate's William Saletan has this review of Linda Greenhouse's new book, "Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey," in the current issue of Legal Affairs magazine. Posted at 10:33 AM by Howard Bashman Fuzzy image equals fuzzy logic? A few days ago, I noted here that "SCOTUSblog" had posted online an admittedly blurry PDF of Law Professor Laurence H. Tribe's letters explaining his decision not to proceed with Volume II of his treatise, "American Constitutional Law." The Green Bag has now posted online a much larger PDF file containing a less blurry image of Professor Tribe's letters. Upon learning of Professor Tribe's decision last week, I decided to try my hand at drafting the second volume of that treatise, and I'm pleased to report that the effort is already quite close to completion. Upon completion, I will be distributing that volume in a method similar to The Green Bag's method for distributing the Justice Antonin Scalia bobblehead doll. The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding an executive business meeting this morning: The quite extensive agenda can be viewed at this link. Posted at 10:00 AM by Howard Bashman In re Green Bag Justice Antonin Scalia Bobblehead Doll Mass Tort Litigation: To the anticipated outrage of many, merely subscribing to The Green Bag no longer suffices to obtain a Justice Scalia bobblehead doll, as explained here. I guess this will push eBay auction prices for the doll through the roof. P.S. Nevertheless, you must applaud The Green Bag's sense of irony in making the Scalia bobblehead the most fragile doll of the series thus far. "Judge's Ethics Questioned": Today in The Hartford Courant, Lynne Tuohy has an article that begins, "The federal judge who threatened the law license of serial killer Michael Ross' attorney filed a court document in Ross' case before the state Supreme Court in 1992 while still practicing as a lawyer." Posted at 09:20 AM by Howard Bashman Criminal defendants and their actual but unreasonable beliefs that self-defense or the use of deadly force in defense of another is necessary: At 1 p.m. eastern time today, the Supreme Court of California is scheduled to issue two interesting decisions in cases presenting the issues described here. Posted at 08:25 AM by Howard Bashman "For a New Judge, Self-Reliance in Her Life and in the Law": Today in The New York Times, David D. Kirkpatrick has an article that begins, "When the Senate asked Justice Priscilla R. Owen for the most significant opinions she had written on the Texas Supreme Court, she provided a list with a distinctive theme: tough." In The Washington Post today, columnist George F. Will has an op-ed entitled "'Extraordinary' Rhetoric." And today in The Los Angeles Times, Margaret Carlson has an op-ed entitled "Sparring for '08 in the Filibuster Fight." "Owen wins OK after 4-year battle; In a tenuous truce, the Senate confirms the Texas judge to the federal bench": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports today that "Priscilla Owen wins fight for confirmation." The Austin American-Statesman reports that "Senate approves Owen for federal court; Opening on Texas Supreme Court is opportunity for Perry." And The San Antonio Express-News reports that "Texas judge's 'long road' finally ends." "Judge: Parents can't teach pagan beliefs; Father appeals order in divorce decree that prevents couple from exposing son to Wicca." The Indianapolis Star contains this article today. Posted at 06:24 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, May 25, 2005 "Senate Backs First of Judicial Nominees Promised a Vote": This article will appear Thursday in The New York Times. Thursday's edition of The Washington Post will report that "Priscilla Owen Confirmed as Federal Judge; Senate's 55-43 Vote to Approve Ends Four-Year Nomination Battle." Thursday's edition of The Los Angeles Times will report that "Senate Confirms Owen for Federal Appellate Bench." And The Dallas Morning News on Thursday will report that "Divided Senate confirms Owen; Resentment, criticism linger as vote mostly follows party lines." "Gov. Bush OKs Fla. Abortion Disclosure": The Associated Press reports here that "Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill Wednesday that requires physicians to tell Florida parents when a minor daughter seeks an abortion." Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge failed to disclose complaints; A Broward judge, now in the spotlight after sending a prospective juror to jail, did not disclose two discrimination complaints filed against her when she applied for the bench": This article appears today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 10:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Peer Into 'Parent' Trap; Gays may gain rights with trio of lesbian mom cases": Jeff Chorney has this article today in The Recorder of San Francisco, California. Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: This evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained segments entitled "Senate Confirms Owen as Appeals Court Judge" and "It's Pronounced Owen: One Person, Singular." And today's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" contained a segment entitled "Court to Hear Abortion Notification Case." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Courtesy of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), Priscilla R. Owen's margin of confirmation to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is reduced by a single vote: As The Associated Press reports here: Voting "present" was one Republican, Ted Stevens of Alaska. Stevens, a supporter of Owen, originally voted yes, but was permitted to change his vote to present after the vote was concluded and the Senate had moved to another issue. He said his intent was to "pair" his vote with Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who opposed Owen but wasn't in attendance for the vote.Thus, Justice Owen's original margin of confirmation was 56-43, as I earlier noted here and here, but thereafter the margin of confirmation has become 55-43. She better hurry up and get sworn in to office before six additional Senators who voted to confirm change their votes. Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman First Circuit postpones deciding whether two Puerto Rico statutes -- one requiring the use of Puerto Rican cement in publicly funded construction projects and the other requiring special labels for cement manufactured elsewhere -- violate the dormant Foreign Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, sending the case back to the trial court for additional proceedings, at this link. Posted at 04:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Forfeiting Principle: And with it, so much more." Law Professor Douglas W. Kmiec has this judicial filibuster-related essay at National Review Online. Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman Access online the order that Eleventh Circuit Judge William H. Pryor, Jr. entered denying former Alabama Chief Justice Roy S. Moore's request to file an amicus brief in the Cobb County, Georgia evolution textbook disclaimer appeal: The order can be accessed online at this link. My earlier post on this matter, from last night, can be accessed here. Posted at 04:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate Confirms Owen as Federal Appellate Judge": The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. The Providence (R.I.) Journal reports that "Chafee votes against Owen's confirmation." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram provides a news update headlined "Owen confirmed by Senate." Financial Times provides a news update headlined "Senate confirms Owen to appeals court." Bloomberg News reports that "U.S. Senate Confirms Owen as Federal Appellate Judge." BBC News reports that "US Senate confirms blocked judge; The US Senate has confirmed Texan Priscilla Owen as a federal judge, ending four years of wrangling over the controversial judicial nomination." And you can access online press releases entitled "Neas Decries Owen Confirmation; Texas Judge favors Corporate Interests, imposes Right-Wing Ideology" and "ACLJ Pleased Senate Confirms Priscilla Owen for Federal Appeals Court." "Republican centrists dominate -- for 48 hours at least; In votes on stem cell research and filibusters, GOP members clash with Bush": Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report. Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman The official roll call tally on Priscilla R. Owen's confirmation vote is now available online: You can access the roll call tally at this link. Two Democrats joined 54 Republicans in voting for confirmation. One Republican and one Independent joined 41 Democrats in voting against confirmation. And one Democrat did not vote. If my memory is correct, Justice Owen qualifies as the first nominee of President George W. Bush to the U.S. Courts of Appeals to receive a "no" vote from a Republican Senator. Thus, she was both supported and opposed in the U.S. Senate on a bipartisan basis. Update: My memory is not correct. A reporter for a major media organization emails to point out that Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) voted against Fourth Circuit nominee Roger L. Gregory, whom President George W. Bush had renominated on the same date that Justice Owen was originally nominated for the Fifth Circuit. You can access the roll call vote on Judge Gregory's confirmation here. Of course, Judge Gregory was originally a nominee of President Bill Clinton, but George W. Bush did renominate Judge Gregory (who was then a recess appointee serving on the Fourth Circuit). So there you have it -- not exactly man bites dog, but mainstream media corrects blog. "Priscilla Owen Confirmed As Federal Judge": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 01:05 PM by Howard Bashman Why wait for the official results of the vote? Reuters is already reporting, as of 12:24 p.m., that "Senate confirms long-stalled judicial nominee." Posted at 12:40 PM by Howard Bashman The appointed hour for an up-or-down vote in the U.S. Senate on the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has arrived: Stay tuned for the results of the vote. Update at 12:41 p.m.: The Senate, by a vote of 56-43, has confirmed Priscilla R. Owen to the Fifth Circuit. For what it's worth, Fourth Circuit Judge Dennis W. Shedd retains the distinction of being the George W. Bush appellate court nominee confirmed with the least amount of support thus far. Second update: A number of readers have emailed to note that Sixth Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton received only 52 votes in favor of his nomination, whereas Judge Shedd received 55 votes for confirmation. But Judge Sutton also received only 41 votes against, whereas Judge Shedd received 44 "no" votes. The roll call tally for Judge Sutton is available here, and I have linked in the earlier update, in the paragraph immediately above, to the tally for Judge Shedd. The numbers give Judge Sutton a tiny fraction more support than Judge Shedd received, at least on a percentage basis of those voting, by which I mean that 52 divided by 93 produces a greater result than 55 divided by 99. The appellant (hereinafter "P. Diddy") appeals from the largest award of child support in the history of New York State: The Associated Press reports that "P. Diddy to Appeal Child Support Order." Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman "LeSage offers a new way to choose federal judges; Panel would purge judicial patronage": This article appeared yesterday in The Toronto Globe and Mail. Posted at 11:18 AM by Howard Bashman "High court's citing is 'wildest dream' come true": Dan Margolies had this essay yesterday in The Kansas City Star. The essay begins, "Kansas City lawyer Gina Riekhof raised a glass of wine last week to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision striking down state restrictions on interstate wine sales. That's because Riekhof played a role in the case's outcome. An article co-authored by the 27-year-old lawyer was cited twice by the court, which ruled that states must treat out-of-state wineries the same as those in-state." You can access the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling at this link; you can learn more about Gina M. Riekhof here; and you can access at this link the article that the Supreme Court cited. From yesterday's edition of The Daily Journal of California: Yesterday, Peter Blumberg had an article headlined "Lawyer who beat child porn law denied fees; 9th Circuit Denies Fees in Child Porn Law Case." My earlier report on that ruling can be accessed here. And from Washington, DC, Brent Kendall had an article headlined "Supreme Court agrees to hear parental-notification law." "Senate to vote on Owen nomination; Judicial nominee had been blocked by filibuster": CNN.com provides this report. The vote is scheduled for noon eastern daylight time today. It will be interesting to see whether this nominee receives 60 or more votes in favor of confirmation. The Associated Press reports that "Owen Poised for Judge Confirmation Vote"; "Deal on Judges May Complicate Bush Agenda" and "Nominee Owen Would Fit in In New Orleans." The Washington Post today contains an editorial entitled "On the Merits." Today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition" contained a semgent entitled "Filibuster Deal Seen as a Mixed Blessing for Frist." Yesterday's broadcast of the public radio program "Here and Now" contained a segment entitled "Senate Agreement." Yesterday's broadcast of the public radio program "The Connection" contained a segment entitled "Filibuster Compromise." Finally for now, at National Review Online, Jonah Goldberg has an essay entitled "Compromised: The bad logic behind the Senate's judge deal." "Supremely qualified: Jersey judge's resume could land him a job on the nation's highest court." The Newark Star-Ledger on Monday contained this article profiling Third Circuit Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. Posted at 09:10 AM by Howard Bashman In newz from New Zealand: The Dominion Post today contains an article headlined "Called to the bar: court may sit in pub" that begins, "A former Wellington pub has been suggested as a possible alternative home for the Supreme Court." Posted at 09:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Court considers parental rights in same-sex cases; Former partners seek child support, visitation orders": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "The California Supreme Court appeared to be prepared Tuesday to extend parental rights to gays and lesbians who helped their partner plan and raise a child before separating." And in The Los Angeles Times, Maura Dolan reports that "Justices Hear Gay Parent Rights Cases; Some on the state high court seem sympathetic to the idea that, despite breakups, people who raise partners' children have legal standing." "High court to expedite ruling in Williams case; Lawyer Keven A. McKenna argues the state Constitution prohibits the chief justice from holding his office and a state lawyer counters that McKenna has no standing to make that claim": This article appears today in The Providence (R.I.) Journal. Posted at 08:34 AM by Howard Bashman "Senate Votes to End Filibuster on Justice Owen; The move paves the way for confirmation of the appellate nominee and two other candidates": The Los Angeles Times today contains this article, along with articles headlined "Senate Truce Faces Test of Bush's Next Nominations; A polarizing choice, especially for Supreme Court, could unravel the deal, both sides say" and "Senators Broke Bread Before Impasse Was Broken; Friendly chitchat between Nelson and Lott put the wheels in motion for a rigorous, painstaking deal that averted a showdown." The Washington Post today contains an article headlined "The High Court: Bush Expected to Push for a Conservative." The Chicago Tribune reports that "Era of good feeling shows signs of fading in Senate; Judicial deal can't mask partisan realities." The Wall Street Journal reports that "Senate Judges Deal Gets Mixed Verdict; Supreme Court Vacancy Likely Will Test Bipartisan Compromise On Judicial Nominations." The Boston Globe contains articles headlined "Senators test extent of deal on nominees"; "GOP emotions running high; Anger, dismay over compromise"; and "Republicans' hold loosens in Congress; Challenged over ethics, judiciary, stem cell research." The Baltimore Sun reports that "President looks on positive side of Senate's compromise on judges; Bush pleased that deal advances his nominees; conservatives are critical" and "Senate accord clears way for approval of judge today; Owen confirmation likely; 2 others may follow soon." The Washington Times reports that "Owen proceeds toward an OK; anger grows"; "Democrats count victory in pact on judicial picks"; and "GOP senator faults Bush in filibuster deal." USA Today reports that "Compromise may spread beyond filibuster agreement; Senators get flak, but deal may pave way on other divisive issues." The St. Petersburg Times reports that "Many fear that Senate deal could splinter; Senators from both parties predict that the unity shown in the filibuster compromise will not carry over." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "Judicial nominee finally moves to a vote" and "Compromise on filibuster leaves questions hanging." The Houston Chronicle reports that "Senate's filibuster busting turns on a definition; 'Extraordinary circumstances' is the key phrase." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that "Confirmation of Texas judge is set for today." The Mobile Register reports that "High profile likely aided Pryor's bid; Vote on judicial nominee from Mobile probably coming next month." The Huntsville Times reports that "State's senators pleased Pryor to get vote." In The New York Sun, Luiza Ch. Savage reports that "Filibuster Deal Has Democrats Claiming Victory." The State of Columbia, South Carolina reports that "Graham gets heat for deal; His mediator role in filibuster drama upsets many in S.C." The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that "DeWine's deal draws the wrath of conservatives who want him out." The Rocky Mountain News reports that "Salazar's role in deal hailed, hit." The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction, Colorado reports that "Sen. Salazar helps broker compromise for votes on appeals judges." The Providence Journal reports that "Chafee says future nominees should have bipartisan support; 'The country needs it,' says Rhode Island's Republican senator." The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an article headlined "Specter: Filibuster deal lesser of undesirables; He won't say how he would have voted but notes that the compromise could enhance the Judiciary Committee's role." The Mississippi Press contains an article headlined "Lott, Cochran: Give filibuster compromise a chance." The St. Paul Pioneer Press contains an article headlined "Coleman, Dayton: Clash inevitable." The Republican-American of Waterbury, Connecticut reports that "Lieberman vital in disarming nuclear option." The Times-Picayune reports that "Judicial nominee deal angers advocacy groups; Neither hard-line side wants to give an inch." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Filibuster deal is called a blow to Frist's ambitions; Senator's presidential hopes, his standing as a leader are hurt, political analysts say." The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that "Language in senators' deal too ambiguous, critics say." Newsday contains articles headlined "Bipartisan dealings limit Bush; GOP defiance, and 2nd-term presidency are evident in deals on stem-cell research, judges' nominations" and "Will filibuster deal hold?" The San Diego Union-Tribune contains articles headlined "Bipartisan deal pulls Senate back from brink" and "Feinstein, Boxer hint at erosion of Senate civility; Democrats say they feel bullied by Republican rule." Investor's Business Daily reports that "Filibuster Deal Will Let Some Judges In." The Toronto Globe and Mail contains an article headlined "Bush's second-term reach exceeding his grasp; President's ambitious agenda is meeting resistance from GOP moderates in Senate and U.S. voters." In commentary, The New York Times contains an editorial entitled "Disarmament in the Senate." The Wall Street Journal contains an editorial entitled "Senate Charade: A remarkable exercise in political self-protection." The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an editorial entitled "Filibuster Compromise: A victory on center court." The Baltimore Sun contains an editorial entitled "A chance to start over." The Orlando Sentinel contains an editorial entitled "Good politics: A compromise on the judicial nominees isn't perfect but avoids showdown." The New York Sun contains an editorial entitled "Our Fringe Senators." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram contains an editorial entitled "Genuine leaders." The Seattle Times contains an editorial entitled "Finally, compromise in the U.S. Senate." The Allentown Morning Call contains an editorial entitled "Leadership from the center puts the Senate and nation's interests first." The Rutland Herald contains an editorial entitled "The moderate 14." The South Florida Sun-Sentinel contains an editorial entitled "Art Of The Deal." The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette contains an editorial entitled "Filibustered out: Back where we started." The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chroncile contains an editorial entitled "The peacemakers: They prevailed in the U.S. Senate this week, but for how long?" Tuesday, May 24, 2005 "Justices to Rule on Abortions for Minors": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times, along with an article headlined "Supreme Court Upholds Fees for Beef Ads; Justices say farmers and ranchers can be forced to pay for government-sponsored promotions, a ruling likely to extend to other products." Jan Crawford Greenburg of The Chicago Tribune reports that "High court to rule on abortion notification." She was also featured in this segment (transcript with links to video and audio) on yesterday evening's broadcast of the PBS program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." In USA Today, Joan Biskupic has articles headlined "Supreme Court to review N.H. abortion law" and "Court: Shackles sway jurors in death cases." The Boston Globe reports that "Abortion ruling to get review; Parent notification in N.H. law at issue." In The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Michael McGough has articles headlined "Supreme Court to hear abortion appeal; Parental notice center of dispute" and "Justices issue a flurry of decisions; Shackle ban in court, ads for beef upheld." The Washington Times reports that "High court will review repeal of abortion law." In The Baltimore Sun, Gail Gibson reports that "High court to take up abortion case in fall; Focus on issue comes amid talk of retirements." The Miami Herald reports that "Justices to revisit abortion; The Supreme Court is returning to the abortion debate with a case that could determine the constitutionality of a new Florida law on parental notification." The Arizona Daily Sun reports that "High court ruling may not affect Ariz. law." The Nashua Telegraph contains an article headlined "Lynch says he’d back repeal of law" that begins, "Gov. John Lynch would support repealing the state law that requires a minor to notify a parent before getting an abortion, his spokeswoman said Monday." The Manchester Union Leader reports that "Parental notification supporters delighted." The Concord (N.H.) Monitor contains articles headlined "High court to hear N.H. abortion law; At issue: parental notification" and "Court at a crossroads." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Notifying parents: State will defend a bad law before the U.S. Supreme Court." Foster's Online of Dover, New Hampshire reports that "N.H. legislators respond on abortion case." Relatedly, The Anchorage Daily News reports that "Alaska abortion law before the Alaska Supreme Court." The Houston Chronicle reports that "Death row case returns to Texas; Supreme Court says state must review conviction of Mexican killer." In The Dallas Morning News, Allen Pusey reports that "Supreme Court rejects appeal by Mexican national; Houston death-row inmate says he was denied consulate help." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that "Texas Death Row inmate's appeal rejected." The Daily Democrat of Woodland, California reports that "Yoloans dispute consul access decision; Feel Mexican on death row should get help." The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that "Court limits shackling of murder defendants." The Sacramento Bee reports that "Farmers must pay for ads; High court upholds beef industry's mandatory fees." The Denver Post reports that "Beef ad fund upheld; Justices say mandatory fee doesn't hurt ranchers' speech rights." The Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune reports that "Some producers have a beef with court's checkoff ruling." The Casper Star-Tribune reports that "High court upholds beef checkoff." In cert. denied-related news, The Times-Picayune reports that "Plaquemines oyster farmer suit dead; Nation's highest court declines to hear case." In rehearing denied-related news, The Finger Lakes Times reports that "High court sticks by Oneida ruling." Finally for now, online at the First Amendment Center, Tony Mauro has essays entitled "High court says beef is what's for dinner" and "Majority backs Oklahoma's primary-election rules." "Frist issues new warning on filibusters; Will seek rule change if Democrats block other nominees": Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report. Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Pryor, Moore clash again with confirmation vote near": The Associated Press provides an interesting report that begins: Acting U.S. Circuit Judge William Pryor's ruling in an evolution case triggered fresh attacks by a former ally Tuesday, a day after a Senate compromise all but guaranteed Pryor's appointment would become permanent.If I receive a copy of the Eleventh Circuit's ruling, I will post it online. You can access former Alabama Chief Justice Roy S. Moore's proposed amicus brief in the Cobb County, Georgia evolution disclaimer sticker case at this link. Posted at 11:44 PM by Howard Bashman "California High Court Hears Cases on Parental Rights of Gays": Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. Posted at 11:42 PM by Howard Bashman In Arizona, lawyers are capable of being murderers, but are murderers capable of being lawyers? The Associated Press reports that "Court agrees to hear case of murderer who wants law license." Posted at 11:40 PM by Howard Bashman In news from Washington State: The Seattle Times reports today that "GOP focuses on election 'fraud.'" The Seattle Times reporter assigned to the trial is blogging the case in real time. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that "GOP dealt blow in vote trial; Judge says late fraud argument can't be a key to tossing governor's election." And The Olympian of Olympia, Washington reports today that "Republicans allege fraud in King County; GOP opens election trial." "Justice Could Rekindle Filibuster Fight in the Senate": This article will appear Wednesday in The New York Times, along with articles headlined "Many Republicans Are Already Eager to Challenge Agreement on Filibusters" and "A Compromise With Overtones for 2008." Wednesday's edition of The Washington Post will contain articles headlined "Senate Votes to End Debate on Owen; Deal Last Night Paves Way to End Impasse on Controversial Judicial Nominee"; "In a Polarized Senate, A Victory for the Middle"; "For GOP, Deeper Fissures and a Looming Power Struggle"; and "Warner, Allen Perspectives Lead to Opposing Stances." The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday will contain articles headlined "Owen Gets Her Vote as Senators Take Heat for Compromise"; "Filibuster Battle Will Be Defined by What Happens Next"; and "Nelson, Lott Help to Douse Legal Confrontation." Wednesday's edition of The Dallas Morning News will contain articles headlined "Senate clears way for vote on Owen; Lawmakers OK end to filibuster; Texan's approval likely today" and "Both sides can agree: 'Gang of 14' won't last." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Wednesday will report that "Senate likely to OK Owen for appeals court." The Hill on Wedneday will contain articles headlined "McCain eclipses Frist..." and "...but Frist hangs tough on 'nuclear.'" The Scripps Howard News Service reports that "Graham weathers storm after cutting deal." Wednesday's edition of The Independent (UK) reports that "Republicans face backlash after Senate deal over Bush's judges." Wednesday's edition of The Telegraph (UK) reports that "Bush gets his judges after four-year Senate battle." Online at Salon.com, Farhad Manjoo has an article headlined "Judging the filibuster deal: Activists from both the left and right say averting the nuclear option won't end their fight for the judges they want." And David Paul Kuhn has an article headlined "McCain vs. Frist: The Arizona moderate knocked out the Tennessee right-winger in the filibuster showdown; Does his victory foreshadow the 2008 primary?" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday will contain an editorial entitled "'Nuclear' retraction: Americans and their Constitution are the winners in Senate deal on filibusters and judicial nominees" and an op-ed by James Lileks entitled "Filibuster bridge will lead to regret." USA Today on Wednesday will contain an editorial entitled "Partisans fume as Senate disarms 'nuclear option.'" Wednesday's edition of Financial Times contains an editorial entitled "Ceasefire in Senate over filibuster." And Wednesday's edition of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer will contain an editorial entitled "Filibuster Deal: Judging from the center." In newz from New Zealand: Wednesday's edition of The New Zealand Herald contains an article headlined "Pitcairners stay free till British hearing" that begins, "The six Pitcairn Islanders found guilty of child sex crimes lost their bid to have the verdicts overturned yesterday, but will not serve their sentences in the foreseeable future." The Times of London reports that "Pitcairn sex convicts will bring appeal to UK." BBC News reports that "Pitcairn sex case men lose appeal; An appeal by six men found guilty of sexually abusing young girls on a remote UK territory in the South Pacific has failed." The Associated Press reports that "Court rejects appeal by Pitcairn sex abusers." Reuters reports that "Pitcairn Island men lose appeal on sex sentences." And United Press International reports that "Pitcairn men lose sex assault appeal." "Calif. Weighs Lesbians' Parental Rights": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman The Atlanta Journal-Constitution publishes a three-part series on the Atlanta courthouse shootings entitled "Echoes of a Deadly Day: The Fulton County Courthouse Shootings." The series began Sunday with an article headlined "It should have been business as usual at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 11; Instead, dozens of lives were forever changed." The series continued yesterday with an article headlined "A spreading terror, a painful truth; A killer was loose; Victims' families got the word; Nothing could undo what had been done." And the series concluded today with an article headlined "Out of loss, new directions; Victims of the courthouse tragedy piece their lives back together." Today's newspaper also contains a related article headlined "17 on DA's staff decide to leave; Some cite courthouse shootings as reason for decision." "Judicial Nominations Move Forward Following Senate Deal": This segment (transcript with link to audio) appeared on this evening's broadcast of the PBS program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." law.com reports that "'Nuclear Option' Averted, Senate Vote on Owen Expected." And from the Knight Ridder Newspapers, James Kuhnhenn reports that "Senate's judicial nominee compromise may be delaying inevitable." And Steven Thomma reports that "Controlled by center, Congress challenges Bush." On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Filibuster Compromise Not a Relief to All in Senate"; "Capitol Hill Mood Shifts With Winds of Compromise"; and "Democrat Landrieu Explains Filibuster Deal." Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Judges can instruct grand jurors on nullifying": Claude Walbert, reporting from San Diego, has this article today in The Daily Journal of California concerning yesterday's en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "A slice of history that's still hot": Yesterday in The Concord (N.H.) Monitor, Mike Pride had this review of Linda Greenhouse's new book, "Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey." Posted at 08:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Standing alone against Apple": Today in The Boston Globe, columnist Alex Beam has this op-ed about the blogger vs. Apple Computer case (via Corante's "The Importance of..." blog). Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman In news and commentary from Hawaii: The Honolulu Star-Bulletin today contains an article headlined "Chevron loses in Supreme Court; Some isle station owners will receive back rent refunds" and an editorial entitled "U.S. Supreme Court strikes blow to judicial activism." And The Honolulu Advertiser today contains articles headlined "State gets closer to capping gas prices"; "In search of the innocent behind bars"; and "Extreme-fighting law has 'no teeth.'" Fifth Circuit nominee Priscilla R. Owen to receive up-or-down vote on her nomination at noon tomorrow: And thereafter, the U.S. Senate will resume debate on the nomination of John R. Bolton to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, a debate that is expected to consume the balance of this week. Relatedly, The New York Times offers a news update headlined "G.O.P. Senator Sends Letter to Colleagues Opposing Bolton." Posted at 07:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Reid claims triumph; Ensign concerned about precedent": This article appears today in The Las Vegas Review-Journal. At National Review Online, you can access an editorial entitled "Dealing with the Deal." Andrew C. McCarthy has an essay entitled "The Deal's No 'Victory': Republicans have been rolled." And Quin Hillyer has an essay entitled "Capitulation: The Senate deal is not fair to the nominees who were lost in the trade." Online at The American Prospect, Michael Tomasky has an essay entitled "Thumbs (Sort Of) Up: Consulting Federalist Paper No. 66? That's exactly what senators are supposed to do." Online at The Nation, John Nichols has a blog post titled "Bad Deal on Judges," while David Corn has a blog post titled "The No-Nuke Deal." Mickey Kaus has a post at "kausfiles" titled "Kick the Can Down the Road II: Guess what the Senate did?" And at "The Huffington Post," you can access posts titled "Score A Big One for the Republican Split"; "Senate Democrats Cave"; "The Republic Stands! The Constitution Survives!"; "We've Saved the Republic!"; and "The Frist Filibuster Drinking Game" written by various purportedly important people. "Senate Votes to End Filibuster on Owen": The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. Posted at 05:48 PM by Howard Bashman Reuters is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "US Senate battle on judges could be revived soon" and "Asbestos Shares Jump After U.S. Senate Judges Deal." Posted at 05:45 PM by Howard Bashman In Wednesday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain articles headlined "From Senate strife, a center takes hold"; "How Senate fracas may shape '08; The filibuster fight may help cast midterm elections and give McCain a boost in the next presidential race"; and "High court vacancy?" Tomorrow's newspaper will also contain an editorial entitled "Defining 'Extraordinary': In Senate pact on court nominees, words matter." Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained segments entitled "Senate Reaches Compromise on Judicial Filibusters"; "Sen. Pryor on the 'Gang of 14' Filibuster Deal"; and "Slate's Jurisprudence: Defusing the 'Nuclear Option'" (featuring Emily Bazelon). Today's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation," meanwhile, contained segments entitled "Compromise Averts Filibuster" and "Blogging Poses New Workplace Issues." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Slap at evolution cut out in Cobb": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today contains an article that begins, "Amir Mirsajedin did his work quietly Monday. No scientist heralded him. No judge applauded. No creationist peered over his shoulder. Then again, the stickers didn't put up much of a fight as Mirsajedin and 13 others began removing them from Cobb County's textbooks. Is evolution 'a theory, not a fact,' as the disclaimer printed on the stickers says? Within a matter of weeks, no student here will be able to point to that crib note stuck by the school board onto the inside of the textbooks' front cover." Posted at 04:58 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: An article is headlined "Hard to Tell Winners From Losers in Filibuster." In news from Indiana, "Decalogue returns to Elkhart County display." In news from Nevada, "Supreme Court lets stand ruling on building height; Case dealt with restrictions on parcel near McCarran." And in other news, "Wash. Judge Allows GOP Charges of Fraud." Fifth Circuit nominee Priscilla R. Owen will receive her up-or-down vote tomorrow morning: That's the latest news from the U.S. Senate. Posted at 03:44 PM by Howard Bashman In Washington State, you can display "JOHN3:16" on your car's license plate, but perhaps not "C9H13N": Last week, I noted here an article published in The News Tribune of Tacoma, Washington headlined "State says 'JOHN3:16' plate's OK." Today, The Seattle Times reports that "Vanity plate shows formula for meth." According to the article, "The plate appears to violate state law that bans vanity plates making reference to alcohol or illegal substances." No word yet on whether Vermont (which bans "JOHN316" from a car's license plate) permits a license plate to display the formula for methamphetamine. "High court hears arguments in suit against chief justice": The Providence (R.I.) Journal provides a news update that begins, "Four members of the state Supreme Court heard arguments this morning in the lawsuit that claims Frank J. Williams is no longer the high court's chief justice now that he's on a military review panel." Posted at 02:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court justice speaks at Indy conference": The Indianapolis Star today contains an article that begins, "U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens delivered a brief address on judicial independence to the 7th Circuit Bar Association conference in Indianapolis on Monday night." Posted at 02:50 PM by Howard Bashman "US Senate, with deal, moves to approve judge": Thomas Ferraro of Reuters provides this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Senate Votes to End Filibuster on Judge." "We must decide whether the First Amendment permits the government to punish a threat without proving that it was made with the intent to threaten the victim." So begins an opinion that Circuit Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain issued today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Posted at 01:00 PM by Howard Bashman The U.S. Senate is now voting on cloture on the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: Stay tuned for the result. Update at 12:30 p.m.: The Senate has invoked cloture by a vote of 81-18, assuring an up-or-down vote after up to an additional 30 hours of debate on the nomination. It remains to be seen whether the up-or-down vote will occur today or tomorrow. On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained segments entitled "Filibuster Compromise Averts Senate Showdown" and "John McCain on Filibuster Deal." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman D.C. Circuit rejects challenge to the constitutionality of sec. 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, which implements Article 18 of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works: The challenged provision, according to today's ruling, "establishes copyright in various kinds of works that had previously entered the public domain, and plaintiffs argue that any such provision violates the Copyright and Patent Clause of the U.S. Constitution." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link. Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Filibuster deal surprises leadership; 14 senators broker agreement allowing votes on judicial picks": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. And The Sacramento Bee reports that "Centrist senators' deal averts filibuster face-off; Vote expected today on first of several judicial nominees." "Jury decides to put doctor on Death Row; Podiatrist 'attacked system,' juror says": The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, "A jury on Monday imposed the death penalty--for only the second time in the recent history of Chicago's federal court--on a podiatrist convicted of murdering a former patient to keep her from testifying against him in a Medicare fraud probe." And The Chicago Sun-Times today reports that "Jury sentences podiatrist to death." "Judge orders Hale's group to pay up": The Chicago Sun-Times today contains an article that begins, "A federal judge ruled that white supremacist Matt Hale's former hate group has to pay nearly half-a-million dollars in attorneys fees in a trademark infringement lawsuit." The Chicago Tribune reports that "Hale church must pay plaintiff's attorney fees." And The Associated Press reports that "White Supremacists Ordered to Pay $450G." The U.S. Senate is back underway at 9:45 a.m. today: You can view the proceedings live via C-SPAN2 at this link. I anticipate we will learn shortly when the up-or-down vote on Fifth Circuit nominee Priscilla R. Owen will occur. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Williams sought opinion on joining tribunal; The state Supreme Court will hear arguments today in the bid to oust the chief justice": This article appears today in The Providence (R.I.) Journal. Posted at 09:40 AM by Howard Bashman "An Admission of Guilt: The agreement announced last night acknowledges that Owen, Brown, and Pryor should never have been filibustered in the first place." U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has this essay today at National Review Online. Posted at 09:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Lesbian Child Custody Cases Head to Court": The Associated Press provides this report on three cases to be argued today before the Supreme Court of California. That court's web site promises a live internet audio feed of the oral arguments beginning at noon eastern daylight time today. Posted at 09:15 AM by Howard Bashman The Los Angeles Times is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "Oregon Law Fuels Debate on Suicide; Experience is cited by both sides as California considers letting doctors prescribe lethal drugs" and "Critics Are Saying 'That's Too Hot' of Sexy Carl's Jr. Ad." (You can access the Carl's Jr. ad here and here.) Posted at 09:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Deal Preserves Constitutional Superduper Majority": "ScrappleFace" provides this report. Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Death by 'Due Process': Activist courts are defying, not enforcing, the Constitution." Law Professor Lino A. Graglia has this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 09:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Senate Deal Reached on Filibusters; A bipartisan agreement forged by 14 lawmakers will allow votes on three of five stalled judicial nominations; A 'nuclear' showdown is averted": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times, along with articles headlined "Conservative Groups Accuse Senators of Sellout; Activists are outraged by a deal that doesn't guarantee up-or-down votes on all nominees"; "A Center Forms to Outflank Left, Right"; "Friends Byrd and Warner Play Key Roles Forging Pact"; and "Clear Path for Some Nominees." The Boston Globe today reports that "Deal in Senate averts filibuster showdown; Judicial standoff ends"; "As battle approached, both sides had dug in; The stage was set for debate, vigil"; "Frist on sidelines as moderates agree; Conservatives see deal as inadequate"; and "The center holds clout." The Houston Chronicle reports that "Deal averts filibuster showdown in Senate; Confirmation votes ensured on 3 judicial nominees but not on 2 others." The San Francisco Chronicle contains articles headlined "Moderates avert Senate showdown; 14 senators agree to OK some judicial appointees, save stalling tactic" and "Only time will define extraordinary circumstances." The Washington Times reports that "7 Republicans abandon GOP on filibuster." The Washington Post profiles C. Boyden Gray in an article headlined "A Moving Force In Fight for Bush's Judicial Nominees." The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser reports that "Deal clears path for Pryor vote." The Baltimore Sun contains articles headlined "Senate forges deal on judges; Senators of both parties agree to continue role of filibuster" and "A show of centrist strength; Bush may have the most to lose from the Senate's bipartisan deal." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "Senate heads off 'nuclear' vote; Group of 7 Democrats, 7 Republicans agrees to act on Bush nominees, but save filibusters." Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides a report headlined "What the deal on judges means; McCain and GOP centrists deal a setback to Frist." USA Today contains an article headlined "'We came together and did the unexpected'; Bipartisan group of 14 moderates strikes deal." In The Philadelphia Inquirer, political analyst Dick Polman has an article headlined "Not everyone cheering deal." Newsday contains articles headlined "Compromise reached; Bipartisan Senate group averts 'nuclear option' in deal to vote on three nominees, keep unlimited debate" and "A long Senate history of filibuster threats." The Orange County Register contains articles headlined "Team of two builds pact of 14; Sens. John McCain and Ben Nelson wheel colleagues into evenly split bipartisan deal, keeping finger off the button" and "Both sides come out ahead." The Des Moines Register reports that "Grassley skeptical, Harkin pleased about compromise; 'What's the harm in giving all of these nominees a fair up-or-down vote?' Iowa's Republican senator asks." The St. Petersburg Times reports that "Moderates take charge, defuse filibuster fight; Seven Republicans and seven Democrats compromise on judicial nominees and preserve filibuster power in the Senate." The Repository of Canton, Ohio reports that "Ohio senator plays key role in agreement." The Deseret Morning News reports that "Senate showdown averted; Pact will allow votes on most judicial nominees." The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that "Deal averts U.S. Senate crisis; Moderates hammer out compromise on filibuster, judges but fight isn't over." BBC News reports that "US Senate deal prevents showdown." Voice of America News reports that "US Senate Deal Averts Showdown on Bush Nominees." The Arkansas News Bureau reports that "Pryor scores victory in Senate standoff." And Gallup News Service reports that "Public Conflicted in Filibuster Debate; A third say both parties acting like 'spoiled children.'" In commentary, The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled "The Center Holds." The Los Angeles Times contains an editorial entitled "Alas, a Nuclear Freeze." The Denver Post contains an editorial entitled "Agreement restores order in the Senate." The Rocky Mountain News contains an editorial entitled "Judge Owen deserves a vote." The Detroit Free Press contains an editorial entitled "The Filibuster: Late compromise preserves minority party's voice." The Arizona Republic contains an editorial entitled "Guys, it ain't broke; 'Fixing' Senate rules to conform to political whims puts both sides in peril." The Washington Times contains an editorial entitled "Senate traditions evolving." Also, Bruce Fein has an op-ed entitled "Disparaging dissent," while Tod Lindberg has an op-ed entitled "Battle over Supreme Court nominees looms." In The Boston Globe, U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) has an op-ed entitled "Fallout from 'nuclear option.'" At Salon.com, Tim Grieve has an essay entitled "Done deal -- for now; The 'Group of 14' moderates defuse the nuclear option, but who really wins and loses in the filibuster compromise? And how close are we to the next showdown?" In The Washington Post, columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. has an op-ed entitled "'Watch Those Guys.'" In The Detroit News, columnist George Weeks has an op-ed entitled "Filibuster extremes require bipartisan solution." In The Providence (R.I.) Journal, columnist M. Charles Bakst has an op-ed entitled "Reed, Chafee and judges in 2005 America." And in The Amarillo Globe-News, Greg Sagan has an op-ed entitled "GOP, Dems can compromise on judicial nominees." Monday, May 23, 2005 Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro has articles headlined "High Court Turns Aside Mexican's Appeal of Death Sentence" and "Supreme Court Says Beef Producers Can Be Forced to Fork Over for Ads." In other news, "High Court to Jump Back Into Abortion Debate." And Jeff Chorney reports that "9th Circuit Split on Grand Jury Nullification." In Tuesday's edition of The Washington Post: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain front page articles headlined "Senators Reach Deal on Judicial Nominees; A Showdown On Filibusters Is Averted" and "Breakthrough Pact Unlikely To End Battle." And Charles Lane will have articles headlined "Justices to Hear N.H. Abortion Notification Challenge" and "High Court Rejects Case of Mexican Death Row Inmate." In Tuesday's edition of The New York Times: Linda Greenhouse will have articles headlined "Supreme Court to Tackle Abortion Again After 5 Years"; "Supreme Court Drops Case Ruled on by World Court"; and "In Free-Speech Ruling, Justices Say All Ranchers Must Help Pay for Federal Ads." In judicial filibuster-related news, "Bipartisan Group in Senate Averts Judge Showdown"; "Efforts of 2 Respected Elders Bring Senate Back From Brink"; and "A Modest Victory for Bush, but More Tests Lie Ahead." And in other news, "Trial Begins in Washington Over Election for Governor." "Judges Deal Landowners a Setback; High Court Makes It Harder To Obtain Payment if Laws Diminish Property's Value": Jess Bravin will have this article (pass-through link) in Tuesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court ventures back into abortion debate": Stephen Henderson of Knight Ridder Newspapers provides this report. Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from C-SPAN: "Senators Press Conference on Judicial Nominees Compromise" and "Sen. Harry Reid, (D-NV) Press Conference on Judicial Nominees Compromise." RealPlayer is required to launch these video segments. "Senators Reach Deal to Avert Showdown on Judicial Nominees": The New York Times provides this news update. The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Compromise on Judicial Nominees Is Reached." James Kuhnhenn of Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that "Senators strike deal to end showdown over judicial nominees." The Hill reports that "Deal heads off nuclear option." Tomorrow's edition of The Hill was also going to contain articles headlined "It's apocalypse now -- deal 'very, very remote'"; "Specter signals 'yes' vote"; and "The filibuster saga in the news." And you can access online press releases entitled "Dobson Blasts Filibuster 'Betrayal'"; "Gary Bauer Calls Senate Judicial Deal a 'Sell Out'"; "Statement of People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas on Senate Compromise Rejecting Nuclear Option"; "Statement of Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron Regarding Deal on Filibusters"; and "Earthjustice: Senate Compromise Preserves Independent Courts, Protects Environment; Anti-environmentalist Myers Remains Blocked." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times is reporting: Available online are news updates headlined "High Court Returns to Abortion Debate" and "Justices Say Beef Producers Must Pay for Ads." Posted at 09:08 PM by Howard Bashman The filibuster-"nuclear option" deal: what does it mean? The deal expressly guarantees up-or-down votes, and thus confirmation, for D.C. Circuit nominee Janice Rogers Brown, Fifth Circuit nominee Priscilla R. Owen, and Eleventh Circuit nominee William H. Pryor, Jr. The deal permits filibusters to continue against Sixth Circuit nominee Henry W. Saad and Ninth Circuit nominee William Gerry Myers III. Implicit in the deal is that the three other current Sixth Circuit nominees from Michigan -- Richard Allen Griffin; David W. McKeague; and Susan Bieke Neilson -- will be confirmed. And the deal would even appear to be good news for D.C. Circuit nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh and Fourth Circuit nominee William James Haynes II. Apparently Judge Saad's nomination was unlikely to be confirmed in a straight up-or-down vote, making the continued filibuster of his nomination of less consequence. And if liberal Democrats were given their choice of one other nominee to block, I doubt they would have chosen Myers as opposed to Brown, Pryor, or Owen. On the other hand, the deal is bad news for the White House with respect to U.S. Supreme Court vacancies. Had invocation of the "nuclear option" succeeded, Republicans would have been able to confirm Edith H. Jones or someone like her. Now it appears much more likely that the next Supreme Court nominee will be a nominee with broad, consensus support, such as Michael W. McConnell or John G. Roberts, Jr. Whether this makes any difference in the long run remains to be seen. "Senators Reach Deal on Filibuster; Small Group Reports Compromise To Avoid Showdown Over Judicial Nominees": The Washington Post provides this news update. Posted at 08:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Senators compromise on filibusters": CNN.com provides this report. Thomas Ferraro and Joanne Kenen of Reuters report that "Deal reached to avert U.S. showdown on judges." And Bloomberg News reports that "U.S. Senate Group Reaches Agreement to Avert Showdown." Access online the "Memorandum of Understanding on Judicial Nominations" that avoided the so-called "nuclear option" in the U.S. Senate: I have posted a copy online at this link. Posted at 08:24 PM by Howard Bashman BREAKING NEWS -- "Senators Said to Reach Filibuster Deal": The Associated Press reports here that "Centrists from both parties reached a compromise Monday night to avoid a showdown on President Bush's stalled judicial nominees and the Senate's own filibuster rules, officials from both parties said." Posted at 07:41 PM by Howard Bashman Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) has just stated that the cloture vote on Priscilla R. Owen's nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will occur around noon tomorrow: The U.S. Senate is now taking a brief recess, but the debate is expected to go through the night into tomorrow morning. Posted at 06:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Court nominee scorned demise of sodomy laws; Says a judge must set personal beliefs aside": This article appears today in The Lexington Herald-Leader. Posted at 05:28 PM by Howard Bashman In Tuesday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Warren Richey will have an article headlined "Court upholds 'Beef: It's What's for Dinner'; The justices rule that First Amendment protections don't apply to the beef campaign, alienating some ranchers." And in other news, "Limits on filibusters are already pervasive; Amid 'nuclear option,' Congress has already restricted rights to debate and amendment on other matters." Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained segments entitled "Supreme Court Addresses Capital Cases" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Filibuster Showdown Looms." And today's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" contained a segment entitled "After Shutting Down the Senate, What's Next?" RealPlayer is required to launch these audio semgents. "Supreme Court Says Beef Producers Can Be Forced to Fork Over for Ads": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this report. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has posts titled "Analysis: state power to enforce abortion laws" and "Analysis: Major test of presidential power." And Rick Hasen, at his "Election Law" blog, has a post titled "Initial Reaction to Clingman: Potential Aid to Minor Parties." "UK court bans buying porn videos online": Reuters reports here that "Britain's pornographers are breaking the law if they sell adult videos over the Internet or through the mail, the High Court ruled on Monday." Posted at 04:24 PM by Howard Bashman "High Court Re-enters Abortion Debate With Emotional Case": Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times provides this news update. Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate Set for Showdown on Filibuster Rule": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 03:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Frist schedules Senate 'all-nighter' on judges; At stake: Bush's ability to steer the courts in conservative direction." Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report, along with an article headlined "How veto, filibuster allow the minority to prevail; Gay rights veto, filibusters and judicial rulings illustrate the power of the outnumbered." And Thomas Ferraro of Reuters reports that "Senate readies for filibuster showdown." Ninth Circuit holds that the federal government was "substantially justified" in defending the Child Pornography Prevention Act against constitutional attack: As a result, the appellate court today overturned a federal district court's award of attorneys' fees to the Free Speech Coalition under the Equal Access to Justice Act for having prevailed in its challenge to the constitutionality of that federal law. You can access the Ninth Circuit's ruling at this link. Although the plaintiffs as a result of today's ruling cannot recover real attorneys' fees, they remain able to pursue virtual attorneys' fees. Available online from The Associated Press: An article reports that "Rehnquist Visits Capitol Medical Dept." Hope Yen reports that "Court Rules for Hawaii in Rent Caps Case." And in other news, "Marathon Debate Over Judges Set in Senate" and "Guide to Possible Filibuster Showdown." Sharply divided en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejects challenge to model grand jury instructions insofar as those instructions preclude grand jury nullification of criminal laws: You can access today's 6-5 ruling at this link. I previously reported on the divided three-judge panel's ruling in the case in a post you can access here. "Blogging, Spam, and the Taxation of Internet Transactions": That's the wide-ranging subject for discussion this week at "The Becker-Posner Blog." You can access Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner's post on the matter here, and Professor Gary S. Becker offers this response. Posted at 12:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Medellin: So Who Won?" Law Professor Julian Ku has this post at the "Opinio Juris" blog. Posted at 12:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate agenda vulnerable as judges battle rages": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 11:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Who Could Win Every Senator's Vote?" This week's "Debate Club" feature online at legalaffairs.org focuses on the concept of finding a U.S. Supreme Court nominee whom the U.S. Senate would confirm by a vote of 100-0. The participants in this week's discussion are Law Professor Carl W. Tobias and Arkadi Gerney, the director of StartChange, an advocacy group that is launching draftblank.org. Posted at 11:40 AM by Howard Bashman The U.S. Senate is now back in session debating the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: You can view the proceedings live online via C-SPAN2 by clicking here. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) just stated that the cloture vote on Owen's nomination will occur mid-morning tomorrow. In the absence of cloture, Senator Frist could then proceed to invoke the so-called "nuclear option" preventing the use of filibusters to block up-or-down votes on judicial nominees. "Senate moderates forming power center; Deal on nominees could spur change": Rick Klein has this article today in The Boston Globe. Today at National Review Online, Law Professor Jonathan H. Adler has an essay entitled "Not Activist Enough: The Left's real problem with Priscilla Owen." And online at The American Prospect, Law Professor Bruce Ackerman has an essay entitled "Cheney's Betrayal -- Forgotten in the filibuster debate: the vice president's unconstitutional decision not to follow Senate rules." In news from Massachusetts: The Boston Globe today reports that "SJC chief decries 'attacks' on judges; Marshall defends bench independence." The Daily News Tribune of Waltham reports that "Judge fires back at critics in Brandeis speech." And The Associated Press reports that "Mass. Justice Defends Gay Marriage Ruling." Today's U.S. Supreme Court opinions and Order List: The Court today disposed of five argued cases. 1. In Medellín v. Dretke, No. 04-5928, the Court dismissed the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted. You can access the per curiam opinion here and the oral argument transcript here. 2. Justice Stephen G. Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court in Deck v. Missouri, No. 04-5293, a case involving whether a it violated the rights of a criminal defendant to appear in shackles before a jury that was deciding whether to impose the sentence of death on the defendant. You can access the opinion here and the oral argument transcript here. 3. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court in Clingman v. Beaver, No. 04-37, a case presenting the question whether Oklahoma's semiclosed primary system violates the right to freedom of association. You can access the opinion here and the oral argument transcript here. 4. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court in Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Assn., No. 03-1164, known in these parts as the beef check-off case. You can access the opinion here and the oral argument transcript here. 5. And Justice Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court reversing the Ninth Circuit in Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., No. 04-163, a case involving the Fifth Amendment's takings clause. You can access the opinion here and the oral argument transcript here. Today's Order List can be accessed at this link. The Court today granted review in only one case, but it is a noteworthy one, as the news reports linked below demonstrate. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston reports that "Court to hear abortion case, decides 5 cases." Hope Yen of The Associated Press reports that "Court Taking Up Abortion Notification"; "Court Dismisses Death Row Rights Appeal"; and "Beef Makers Can Be Forced to Pay for Ads." And The AP's Gina Holland reports that "Court Rules Against Shackling Defendants." James Vicini of Reuters, meanwhile, reports that "Justices dismiss case of Mexican on death row." Reuters also reports that "Top court allows beef promotion program" and "State can limit party primary election, court rules." On the agenda: The Supreme Court of the United States is scheduled to issue an Order List and one or more opinions in argued cases at 10 a.m. today. And at 11:30 a.m. today, the U.S. Senate will resume debate over the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. "High court to consider gays' rights as parents; State Justices to hear custody, support cases": Howard Mintz has this article today in The San Jose Mercury News. The Supreme Court of California plans to provide live audio access over the internet to tomorrow's oral arguments. Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Report of burglary may cost lawyer $300,000; He called it a break-in; She co-owned the house; They're in a federal case": L. Stuart Ditzen has this article today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Election trial that opens today echoes beyond state": The Seattle Times contains this article today. And The Olympian of Olympia, Washington reports today that "Governor says she prefers not to focus on case." "Surgeon senator faces a delicate operation; Frist's key role in the filibuster fight could make him presidential material": This article appears today in The Sacramento Bee. And The Seattle Post-Intelligencer today contains articles headlined "State bills put at risk by Senate standoff" and "A single senator can slow proceedings to a crawl." On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Political Wrap: Judicial Nominees, Stem Cell Research" and "Republicans Challenge Washington Governor in Court." Posted at 09:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Revitalization Projects Hinge On Eminent-Domain Lawsuit": This article appeared Saturday in The Washington Post. And Newsday today contains an article headlined "Backyard battle over land rights; Church group fights North Hempstead's bid to take site for public center." "Tribe to reopen smoke shop; state questions legality; 'What are they afraid of?' the Narragansetts' chief sachem asks" Saturday's issue of The Providence (R.I.) Journal contained this article. Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Bush Nominees Could Tip Court Balances; Battle Centers on Judicial Picks Whom Democrats See Advancing A Conservative Trend": This article (free access provided) appears today in The Wall Street Journal. The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Clock Ticks on Effort to Defuse Senate Battle; GOP leaders say they don't plan to stall Tuesday's judicial vote; The move may lead to the 'nuclear option' if a deal isn't reached today." The Washington Times contains articles headlined "Sen. Allen predicts showdown will end in 'nuclear option'" and "Democrats flip-flop on filibusters." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram contains an article headlined "From small-town start to the center of attention." FOXNews.com reports that "'Activist Judges' Under Siege." The Detroit Free Press reports that "Tug-of-war may derail court pick; Michigan judge could be left behind if Senate makes deal." The Associated Press provides reports headlined "Senators Aim to Avert Filibuster Showdown" and "Senators Reading Article by Lobbyist." Bloomberg News contains a report headlined "Senators in Middle of Judges' Debate Try to Overcome Suspicions." And The Des Moines Register reports that "ISU Democrats do talking tribute to the filibuster; The student group started taking Thursday and will hit its 100th hour at 4:30 p.m. today." In commentary, The Tucson Citizen contains an editorial entitled "McCain tries to solve rift on filibuster." The Palm Beach Post contains an editorial entitled "It's not about filibusters; it's about total control." The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania contains an editorial entitled "Make a deal; Judicial nominees deserve a vote." The Roanoke Times contains an editorial entitled "The Senate's nuclear countdown: The GOP shouldn't scrap judicial filibusters just because they don't serve party purposes today." The Berkshire Eagle contains an editorial entitled "Cool the nuclear option." In The Washington Times, Donald Lambro has an op-ed entitled "Misleading filibuster myths." In The Free Press of Kinston, North Carolina, columnist Mike Parker has an essay entitled "Judicial debate shows major shift in government." And yesterday in The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star, Don Walton had an op-ed entitled "Norris, Wherry part of filibuster lore." "Devolution: Why intelligent design isn't." H. Allen Orr has this lengthy article in the May 30, 2005 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Top state court to hear lesbian custody cases; Justices to decide parental status of former partners": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 06:44 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, May 22, 2005 "Trial for Governor's Seat Set to Start in Washington": The New York Times on Monday will contain this article. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate Leaders Prepare for Crucial Filibuster Vote": This front page article will appear Monday in The Washington Post. The New York Times on Monday will report that "Senate Negotiations Go Down to Wire." Monday's edition of USA Today will report that "Activists on right and left agree: No deals." The newspaper also offers this "nuclear option"-related graphic. Monday's edition of Financial Times contains articles headlined "Senators limber up for battle over the filibuster" and "Prospects of Senate showdown intensify." Monday's edition of The Independent (UK) contains an article headlined "Republicans 'go nuclear' with vote to ban the filibuster." The Dallas Morning News on Monday will contain an article headlined "Public seeing more of judicial pick Owen, but less of who she is." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram today contains an article headlined "Texas jurist at center of filibuster storm." And Monday in The Los Angeles Times, Ronald Brownstein's "Washington Outlook" column will be headlined "Concept of Compromise Is Pushed Off Senate's Center Stage." "Clock ticking for Senate compromise; Showdown due Tuesday on judicial nominee, filibuster's future": CNN.com provides this report. And Ron Hutcheson of Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that "Senate rules change would help Bush's effort to consolidate power." Judicial filibuster related coverage from C-SPAN: C-SPAN offers video online, on-demand, of a ton of recent judicial filibuster-related programming:
Posted at 07:40 PM by Howard Bashman "War on the Floor: The Freshmen vs. the Varsity; Senators spar over tradition, and with one another, in a largely generational row over the filibuster." This article will appear in the May 30, 2005 issue of Time magazine, along with an article headlined "It's Lonely in The Middle." Posted at 06:44 PM by Howard Bashman "In Washington, Twilight of the Lawyer-Gods": Todd S. Purdham has this essay today in the Week in Review section of The New York Times. Posted at 06:40 PM by Howard Bashman Also in Monday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain articles headlined "Drama on the Hill: Americans shrug; As the Senate nears a showdown over filibusters, the answer to which party is winning the PR battle may be 'neither'"; "A new motion to make jury service more attractive"; and "Watch where you point that camera." Posted at 06:33 PM by Howard Bashman "The fate of the filibuster": Friday's broadcast of the Minnesota Public Radio program "Midday With Gary Eichten" included this segment (RealPlayer required) featuring, among the guests, Law Professor Ann Althouse, whose blog you can access here. Posted at 05:24 PM by Howard Bashman "The Choirboy: As head boy at a legendary choir school, Lawrence Lessig was repeatedly molested by the charismatic choir director, part of a horrific pattern of child abuse there; Now, as one of America's most famous lawyers, he's put his own past on trial to make sure such a thing never happens again." This lengthy article will be the cover story of the May 30, 2005 issue of New York magazine. I previously noted Professor Lessig's oral argument before the Supreme Court of New Jersey in a post you can access here. "Next church-state dispute: 'In God We Trust'; A case challenging a display of the national motto is one of many battles over religious references in public places." Warren Richey will have this article Monday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 04:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Filibuster Fight": The Associated Press offers this interactive feature on judicial filibusters and the so-called "nuclear option." Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Time running out for possible deal on Bush judges": Thomas Ferraro of Reuters provides this report. The Associated Press provides a report headlined "McCain: Filibuster Showdown Can Be Averted." Bloomberg News reports that "McCain Says Senate Has 'Last Opportunity' to Avert Showdown." Monday's issue of Financial Times will contain articles headlined "Senate limbers up for battle over filibuster" and "Prospects of Senate showdown intensify." And The Orange County Register today contains an editorial entitled "Judgment day." The Seattle Times is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "Toss out felon vote, Gregoire still wins"; "Felon voters fit no single mold"; and "Felon-voting laws confusing, ignored." Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Will the 'Nuclear Option' Remake the Senate?" This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Weekend Edition - Sunday." Posted at 02:14 PM by Howard Bashman "AG's office can represent Chief Justice Williams; The order is among eight issued by the state Supreme Court in advance of Tuesday's oral arguments in the suit that claims Frank J. Williams is no longer chief justice": The Providence (R.I.) Journal contains this article today. Posted at 11:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Bush Keeps Role in Senate Fray Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind; Publicly, the president remains an onlooker in the battle over his judicial nominees; But his strategy behind the scenes is another story": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The St. Petersburg Times today contains an article headlined "Bush's 2 nominees are many things to many people; Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown are brilliant and inspiring jurists...or out-of-touch right-wingers." The May 30, 2005 issue of Newsweek magazine will contain an article headlined "In the Eye Of the Storm: Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen is an unlikely protagonist in the Senate's toxic showdown over judges." The Washington Times today contains an article headlined "Judge's past belies present criticisms." The San Francisco Chronicle contains a front page article headlined "Shaping the judiciary." The Chicago Tribune reports that "Hitler, Darth Vader invade Senate in bitter fight on judges." In The Philadelphia Inquirer, political analyst Dick Polman has an article headlined "Filibuster wars and the revenge of spinmeisters; Both parties, despite their rhetorical amnesia, have in the past switched sides on the tactic." The Baltimore Sun reports that "Ex-senators wary of 'nuclear' threat; Former members say the current crisis would not have happened on their watch." The Houston Chronicle reports that "Filibuster tactic may end with 'nuclear option'; Frist heads the change that will allow up-or-down judicial vote." And yesterday, the newspaper reported that "Hillary Clinton hangs back in the Senate filibuster fight; Presidential aspirations for '08 may be the reason." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that "Judicial impasse over filibuster comes to a head; Senate would enter a gray area over cloture rules." The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star today contains articles headlined "Hagel grapples with vote on nuclear option" and "Democrats praise Nelson at annual dinner." The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that "Senator DeWine center of debate to end filibuster." The Union Leader of Manchester, New Hampshire reports that "Sununu keeping mum on what how he'll vote on filibuster rule." And The Lufkin Daily News reports that "Christian activist in national spotlight." In commentary, The Washington Post today contains an editorial entitled "Nuclear Brinkmanship." Columnist George F. Will has an op-ed entitled "A Court That Can't Be Labeled." And Dick Meyer has an essay entitled "The Wreck of the U.S. Senate; It was foundering even before the filibuster flap." In The Los Angeles Times, Judy Dugan has an op-ed entitled "Nuclear-Free Zone." In The Boston Globe, columnist Ellen Goodman has an op-ed entitled "The 'Ladies First' strategy." And Dave Denison has an Ideas essay entitled "Constitutional dreaming: As conservatives move to consolidate their hold on the courts, liberals and progressives look ahead--way ahead--and plan their strategy for taking back the Constitution." The Washington Times contains an editorial entitled "Senate majorities and judicial nominees," while Robert Hardaway has an op-ed entitled "Filibuster repair." In The New York Daily News, columnist Michael Goodwin has an op-ed entitled "N.Y. has the right guy for the front lines in filibuster fight." In The Chicago Sun-Times, Robert Novak's column is headlined "McCain's judicial deal falls apart." The Toledo Blade contains an editorial entitled "Filibuster folly." The Allentown Morning Call contains an editorial entitled "Reach a bipartisan compromise, stop Senate explosion with nuclear option." The Portsmouth Herald contains an editorial entitled "Filibuster rule change political grandstanding from far right." The Santa Cruz Sentinel contains an editorial entitled "The abortion issue hovers behind the entire conflict over whether to disallow filibusters in the U.S. Senate." The Nashua Telegraph contains an editorial entitled "Keep the passion, tone down language." In The Maine Sunday Telegram, Nancy Grape has an op-ed entitled "Filibuster wisdom goes way back." David Sanders of the Arkansas News Bureau has an essay entitled "Time to go 'nuclear' in the Senate." In The Winston-Salem Journal, Rick Horowitz has an op-ed entitled "Dubious Ground: When politicians take stands on principle." In The Des Moines Register, columnist David Yepsen has an essay entitled "GOP leaders tie filibuster to caucuses," while columnist Jane Norman has an essay entitled "Clean split for Iowa on 'nuclear option.'" In The State of Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) has an op-ed entitled "It's time for votes on judicial nominees," while Brad Warthen has an op-ed entitled "Graham joins 'gang of 12' in their effort to save the republic." Finally for now, in The Palladium-Item of Richmond, Indiana, Robert Hertzog has an op-ed entitled "GOP's dangerous game of politics, religion subverts nation's judiciary," while Nate LaMar has an op-ed entitled "Filibuster outmoded; U.S. Senate should play by rules that others follow." "The Deal of the Art: The agreement to move the Barnes collection to Philadelphia came about only after a year of rancor, punctuated by the issue of race." Patricia Horn has this lengthy front page article today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 10:02 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, May 21, 2005 "Shaping the judiciary": The San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday will contain a front page article that begins, "By the time President Bush's term expires in 2009, about 1 in 3 federal judges will be his selection." Posted at 11:40 PM by Howard Bashman Lyle Denniston is reporting at "SCOTUSblog": Yesterday, he had posts titled "Commentary on the last of the Tribe treatise" and "The first Booker sequel?" In connection with the first of those two posts, yesterday evening "SCOTUSblog" posted online an admittedly blurry PDF of Law Professor Laurence H. Tribe's letters explaining his decision. Those who subscribe to The Green Bag will receive less blurry copies of those letters, together with extraordinarily valuable bobblehead dolls of U.S. Supreme Court Justices. And in connection with the second of those two posts, interested readers should also see the post titled "SG is seeking cert. on plain error!" at the "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog. "At the Brink: The GOP readies its nukes; Can a plucky band of moderates really save the day?" The May 30, 2005 issue of U.S. News & World Report will contain this article. In Sunday's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dick Polman will have an article headlined "Both parties feverishly spinning in battle over judicial nominees." Sunday's edition of The Chicago Tribune will report that "Hitler, Darth Vader invade Senate in bitter fight on judges." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday will contain an article headlined "Lowery: Filibuster 'the bedrock of the republic.'" The Boston Herald on Sunday will contain an article headlined "Frank: No nukes on Hill! Reverses '93 filibuster stand." The Minneapolis Star Tribune on Sunday will contain an editorial entitled "Senate showdown: Protect the filibuster," while Norman J. Ornstein will have an op-ed entitled "The great divide." In The New York Times, columnist David Brooks on Sunday will have an op-ed entitled "The Senate's Quavering Middle." Yesterday's broadcast of the PBS program "NOW" was all about judicial filibusters. And yesterday's broadcast of PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" contained a segment entitled "Nuclear Option Looms in the Senate" (transcript with link to audio). "Governor vote trial set to begin; Republicans will seek to prove Gregoire owes win to illegal votes": This article appears today in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. And The Seattle Times today contains articles headlined "GOP wants judge to reconsider ruling" and "Manager aware of flawed ballot report." "Senators to defend filibuster": The Honolulu Advertiser today contains an article that begins, "Hawai'i's two Democratic senators say they'll stand with their party next week against a Republican ban on filibusters for judicial nominees." The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reports that "Texas jurist at crux of long dispute; Priscilla Owen's foes fault abortion finding." And The Associated Press offers a report headlined "Newsview: Senate Torn Over Loyalties." "The Case of Theresa Schiavo": Joan Didion has this lengthy article in the June 9, 2005 issue of The New York Review of Books. Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman In Sunday's edition of The New York Times: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain an article headlined "First Victim in Judicial Fight: Congress's Image." And Law Professor Jeffrey Rosen will have a Week in Review essay entitled "The Senate Nears the Point of No Return." "Senate Republicans Move to Cut Off Debate on Nomination to Appeals Court": This article appears today in The New York Times. The Washington Post today contains articles headlined "Stage Set for Senate Showdown Tuesday" and "Gonzales Says He Supports Nominee Owen Despite Texas Case." The Los Angeles Times contains articles headlined "GOP Senators File Motion to End Debate Over Jurist; The action begins the countdown to the 'nuclear option' on judicial filibusters" and "Rancor of the House Seeps Into the Senate." The Washington Times contains articles headlined "Republicans start countdown to 'nuclear option'" and "Republicans use ads to rip Reid back home in Nevada." The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that "Senators taking direct approach in judges battle; D.C. staffs dealt out of loop; Pryor hopeful of reaching deal." The Cleveland Plain Dealer contains articles headlined "DeWine looks to heal contentious Senate; Ohioan brokering deal over Bush nominees" and "Think-tank attorneys debate Senate battle over filibusters." In The Oakland Tribune, Josh Richman reports that "Boxer jeers GOP hubris on nominee; Democrat says Justice Brown unfit for federal post, calls attempt to ban filibusters 'a power grab.'" The Allentown Morning Call reports that "Filibuster fight turns up hear on Specter, Santorum; It's a touchy topic for both Pennsylvania senators, for very different reasons." The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that "Frist act to end debate will hurt image, Dem says." The New Haven Register reports that "Dodd, Lieberman join fray over filibusters." The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star reports that "National GOP puts Nelson in bull's-eye." And yesterday evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained a segment entitled "Is America Really Concerned About How Judges are Confirmed?" (RealPlayer required). In commentary, The New York Times today contains an editorial entitled "On the 'Nuclear' Brink." The Denver Post contains an editorial entitled "Keep up efforts to avoid nuclear option; We continue to hope cooler heads will prevail and the Senate can find a way to preserve parliamentary rules and give judicial nominees a fair look." The Day of New London, Connecticut contains an editorial entitled "Not The Nuclear Option: GOP's attempt to change long-standing Senate rules ignores lessons of history." The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida contains an editorial entitled "Partisanship Goes to Extremes." The Gwinnett Daily Post contains an editorial entitled "The majority should rule on judge votes." In The Rocky Mountain News, columnist Mike Littwin has an op-ed entitled "Senate heats up; Salazar cools off." In The Kansas City Star, Vicki Palatas has an op-ed entitled "Democrats skewer Constitution and Republicans." And in Thursday's edition of The Philadelphia Daily News, columnist John Baer had an essay entitled "Congress is out of touch; Debate over Senate procedure a bust." Friday, May 20, 2005 "Group of senators searches for compromise on judicial nominees": James Kuhnhenn of Knight Ridder Newspapers provides this report. Saturday's edition of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel will report that "Florida senators follow party lines on judicial fight." And Voice of America News reports that "Senate Aims to Avoid Delay Over Bush's Court Nominees." "Newspaper Shuts Down Controversial Feedback Platform": The Los Angeles Times has posted a news update that begins, "Bombarded with abusive online postings, a Ventura County newspaper has pulled the plug on a virtual platform that allowed readers to comment on stories that appear on its website." The Ventura County Star's report on its decision to disable comments can be accessed here. "GOP Sets Stage for Filibuster Showdown": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Thomas Ferraro of Reuters reports that "Countdown begins in Senate judicial showdown." Bloomberg News reports that "U.S. Senate Republicans Set Up Showdown on Judges." The New York Times provides a news update headlined "Showdown Looms as Republicans Seek to End Judicial Debate." Financial Times provides a news update headlined "Frist heads for 'nuclear option' in judges dispute." The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania reports today that "Santorum bombs with Hitler remark." Tim Russert of NBC News reports that "Virginia's Warner could be key to filibuster; Voters upset by lack of 'grownup' congressional action." The Sacramento Bee today contains editorials entitled "A tradition to preserve; Senate filibusters serve a valuable purpose" and "No on Judge Brown; D.C. court is wrong place for her views." Online at Newsweek's web site, Eleanor Clift has an essay entitled "Just the Beginning: Forcing a rule change on filibusters is only the start of the GOP's radical judicial agenda." At Townhall.com, Rich Lowry has an essay entitled "Dangerous Women." At National Review Online, William F. Buckley Jr. has an essay entitled "Phony Apocalypse: Hesitation, after a while, comes over as irresolution." Online at The American Prospect, Terence Samuel has an essay entitled "Byrd Calls: Robert Byrd is an unlikely champion of the filibuster, but he's an effective one." Today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day" contained a segment entitled "Capitol Hill Rhetoric Heats Up Over 'Nuclear Option.'" And today's broadcast of the public radio program "Here and Now" contained a segment entitled "Violent Words in Debate." In today's edition of The San Francisco Chronicle: Bob Egelko reports, in an article headlined "Suspended license to high court," that the Supreme Court of California has granted review in a case that presents the question whether suspending an individual's driver's license for drunk driving actually requires the individual to have been driving drunk. In other news, "Atheists reach out in S.F.; Conclave designed to turn nonbelievers into activists." And an article reports that "Ex-owner of finger lashes out: 'It's been hell'; Friends at bar say he grew angry that his mother spoke to media about case." The Associated Press is reporting: An article reports that "Rehnquist, Alice Cooper Awarded Same Honor." Jesse J. Holland reports that "Senior Senators Eye Filibuster Compromise." And in other news, "Poll: Senate Should Examine Federal Judges." The results of the AP/Ipsos Poll can be accessed at this link. Cloture motion has just been filed on the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: The cloture vote is scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, 2005. Posted at 02:20 PM by Howard Bashman When Ford Motor Company offers new car purchasers a choice between a $2,000 cash rebate or a 0.9% interest rate for 48 months, does Federal Reserve Bank Regulation Z in combination with the Truth in Lending Act require the lost rebate to be treated as a finance charge for customers who elect the promotional interest rate? A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has resolved that question in an opinion issued today. Posted at 02:10 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Santorum Regrets Making Hitler Comment" and "Jury Pay an Issue in Enron Broadband Trial." Posted at 01:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Upholds Landing Field Injunction": The Associated Press reports here that "A federal appeals court upheld a judge's injunction that stopped work on a proposed Navy jet landing field near a wildlife refuge in eastern North Carolina." Posted at 11:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Drive opens against gay marriage; Proposal for a ballot measure wouldn't let lawmakers or judges set same-sex benefits": The Sacramento Bee contains this article today. Posted at 11:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Jury is ready; motion lingers to move trial; Defense attorneys say Sami Al-Arian cannot get a fair trial": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. And The Tampa Tribune reports today that "Al-Arian Jury Is Set; Defense Voices Concern." Law Blog Ad Network announces its debut: Thanks to Jeralyn at "TalkLeft" and the good folks at Blogads, the Law Blog Ad Network now exists. Jeralyn explains the concept in a post you can access here. If you operate a law-related blog and would like to join the Law Blog Ad Network, please email your request to Jeralyn, who can be reached at the email address contained in this hyperlink. Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman D.C. Circuit decides fertile octogenarian case presenting the question whether Philippine law supported the revocation of Social Security benefits: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman "AEDPA's constitutionality: the issue escalates." Online at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has this post in connection with the news from the Ninth Circuit that I first noted here yesterday. Posted at 10:24 AM by Howard Bashman "California lawyer leads double life as porn star": Reuters finally catches up with this news, which I first mentioned nearly a month ago in a post you can access here. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman Has the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island lost his ability to retain that judicial office as a result of having been sworn in as a member of the federal military review panel that will hear appeals from suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay? The Providence Journal today contains articles headlined "Attorneys file briefs in Williams lawsuit; Besides violating Rhode Island's Constitution, Chief Justice Frank J. Williams' 'dual office-holding will subject him to possible federal constitutional attacks' by Guantanamo prisoners, says Providence lawyer Keven A. McKenna" and "Terror suspect's lawyers join fight to oust Williams; A civilian and a Navy lawyer join Providence lawyer Keven A. McKenna's lawsuit to declare Frank J. Williams is no longer the state's chief justice." Thanks to The Providence Journal, you can access online the briefs filed in the Rhode Island Supreme Court in this matter: brief filed by attorney seeking the Chief Justice's removal from office; amicus brief in support of removal filed by Guantanamo detainee and his lawyers; and brief filed on behalf of Chief Justice by State's Attorney General. "Centrist Senators Pursue Compromise on Filibuster": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 09:15 AM by Howard Bashman Day three of the prelude to invocation of the so-called "nuclear option": At 9:30 a.m. today, the U.S. Senate will resume its debate over the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. C-SPAN2 will broadcast the debate live, and you can view the debate live online at this link.
"Senators Seek Rent Cut for Judiciary; Building of Courthouses, Hiring of Personnel in Jeopardy, They Say": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "Senators locked in partisan battle over the federal judgeships have found one thing they do agree on: The judiciary needs rent relief." Posted at 07:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Actually, It's Judge-Busters": The Los Angeles Times today contains an editorial that begins, "House Republicans last week passed a chain-saw-style anti-gang bill, though it's hard to say whether they want to wield it against criminal street gangs or 'activist' judges." Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Frist starts countdown to final vote on nominee": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Washington Times today contains articles headlined "Deadlock on judicial picks spurs 'nuclear option' vote on Tuesday" and "Short list begins for Supreme Court." Newsday reports that "Start of filibuster fire can be traced back to Schumer." The Boston Globe contains articles headlined "No deal yet on judicial nominees; Hang-up over Supreme Court" and "Filibuster fight spotlights Senate's generation gap." The Houston Chronicle reports that "Senators seeking a deal on judicial filibusters; Bipartisan group swaps ideas to ensure that future nominees don't face same issues." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that "Ministers enter fray over judges; Two groups divided over African-American nominee." The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an article headlined "A familiar ring to Senate debate; Historically speaking, politics as usual." The Indianapolis Star reports that "TV ad targets Lugar on filibuster; Liberal group wants Hoosier voters to urge state's senator to save rules on endless debate." The State of Columbia, South Carolina reports that "Graham strives for filibuster accord." The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi reports that "Senators support 'nuclear option'; If we could find way to stop filibusters, animosity would go away, Lott says." The Times-Picayune reports that "Vitter blasts Landrieu on Senate floor; She calls for restraint from personal attacks." The Advocate of Baton Rouge contains an article headlined "Two former La. senators: Vitter's challenge to Landrieu 'bad form'; Filibusters of judicial nominees led to direct attack on senior senator." The Winston-Salem Journal reports that "Burr objects to Democrats' threat of filibuster; Senate no rubber stamp, one Democrat responds." The Savannah (Ga.) Morning News reports that "Isakson says filibuster will fail to stop Bush's judicial nominations; Georgia senators support move to push through President Bush's judicial nominees." And The Daily Bruin of UCLA reports that "Students protest filibuster legislation; Bruin democrats join national push to prevent Senate policy change." In commentary, The Boston Globe today contains an editorial entitled "Ignoring the rules." The Orlando Sentinel contains an editorial entitled "Time for a deal; Only a compromise on filibusters can end the Senate's impasse." The Amarillo Globe contains an editorial entitled "Senate filled up with filibusters; Schumer assertion is empty claim." The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle contains an editorial entitled "The Senate's folly: Both parties are more interested in filibusters than in doing their jobs." Investor's Business Daily contains an editorial entitled "Reid's Reinventions." In The Washington Times, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) has an op-ed entitled "Nominees deserve better." In The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, columnist John Farmer has an op-ed entitled "The right winks at its own judicial activist." In The Pioneer Press of St. Paul, Minnesota, Glenda Holste has an op-ed entitled "In the absence of good leaders, good followers must take the lead." In The Detroit Free Press, columnist Brian Dickerson has an op-ed entitled "Who really speaks for the majority?" Online at Salon.com, Tim Grieve has an essay entitled "Defusing Frist: While Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist took the stage with a preacher who equated liberal judges with the Ku Klux Klan, moderate senators worked around the clock to avert the nuclear option." Dan Noyes and Andy Isaacson have an essay entitled "Here come the judges, again: Miss them the first time around? Meet the seven antiabortion, anti-gay, pro-industry Bush nominees who could rise from the ashes of the filibuster." And Farhad Manjoo has an essay entitled "Dump the filibuster! How I learned to stop worrying and love the nuclear option." Online at The Weekly Standard, Matthew Continetti has an essay entitled "Gang of Twelve: Will senate moderates reach a compromise on judges?" In The Wall Street Journal, Daniel Henninger has an essay entitled "Democrats Nuke Party Beliefs To Stop Women; The battle over Bolton and judges started with Bush v. Gore." And in The Stanford Review, Joe Fairbanks has an essay entitled "I'm Fasting to Save the Filibuster...at Least Until I Get Hungry." Thursday, May 19, 2005 Judicial activism for me but not for thee? Does anyone find Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales' explanation of his opinion in In re Doe (at page 40 of the PDF file), as set forth in this letter that the Justice Department issued today, to be plausible? If an appellate judge writes in an opinion that it would be an act of judicial activism to hold X, is not the appellate judge accusing dissenters who would have held X of seeking to engage in judicial activism? Or is the appellate judge merely saying that for him to have held X would have been judicial activism, but for his colleagues in dissent to have held X was perfectly reasonable and not an act of judicial activism? It seems that to ask these questions is to answer them. "Senate continues debating judicial nominees, filibuster": James Kuhnhenn of Knight Ridder Newspapers provides this report. The San Jose Mercury News on Friday will report that "Race emerges in Senate judicial battle." The Philadelphia Inquirer on Friday will contain an article headlined "Despite buildup, debate in Senate seemed like business as usual." FOXNews.com reports that "Nominee Fight Deal Could Come Soon." BusinessWeek offers a news analysis headlined "The Senate Brawl May Hit Business; The protracted battle over judicial nominations could exact a heavy toll on Corporate America's Capitol Hill wish lists." And this evening's broadcast of PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" contained a segment entitled "Senate Battles Over Judges, Filibuster" (transcript with link to audio). "Senate's 'Gang of 12' Steps in Where Party Leaders Couldn't Go": Friday's edition of The Washington Post will contain an article that begins, "In a last-ditch effort to avert a collision over judicial nominees, a bipartisan group of senators distanced themselves from Democratic and Republican leaders yesterday to try to strike a compromise certain to anger many colleagues." Tomorrow's newspaper will also contain a front page article headlined "Bipartisan Group Seeks Own Course On Nominees." And columnist Dana Milbank will have an essay entitled "The Chamber Meets the Force." In Friday's edition of The New York Times: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain articles headlined "Business of Senate Is Slowed as Battle on Judges Intensifies"; "Behind Scenes, Aides Take On Filibuster Fight"; "Demands of Partisanship Bring Change to the Senate"; and "Fight on Judges Obscures Social Security." Posted at 10:32 PM by Howard Bashman "High court to settle dispute over handicapped parking fees": The Associated Press provides this report from Nebraska. Posted at 09:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Frist resolute on moving to Senate vote": This article appears in Friday's edition of Financial Times. The Omaha World-Herald today contains an article headlined "Nebraskan in midst of flap over filibusters." The Associated Press offers reports headlined "Another split between Vitter and Landrieu" and "Lingering political scuffle pulls Boyle into national debate." And at the web site of National Public Radio, David Greene has a written essay entitled "The Missing Man in the Filibuster Fight." "Hatch Hopes for Compromise on Bush Nominees": This evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" also contained this segment (RealPlayer required). Posted at 08:20 PM by Howard Bashman Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) intends to file tomorrow for cloture on Priscilla R. Owen's nomination to the Fifth Circuit: That means that the cloture vote will occur on Tuesday of next week in the U.S. Senate, according to the statement Senator Frist just delivered on the Senate floor. Posted at 06:11 PM by Howard Bashman "New dealmakers on Capitol Hill; A group of centrist senators are working to avert a showdown over filibustering": This article will appear in Friday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor. This evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained segments entitled "Senate Showdown Draws Closer" and "Specter Stands at Center of Debate Over Judges" (featuring Nina Totenberg). RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage has an article headlined "Judge Seen as Conservative, Fair; Appeals court nominee Priscilla R. Owen is thorough and careful, colleagues say; Her legal opinions are viewed as favoring business." The Sacramento Bee contains an article headlined "Senate judicial battle begins; Filibuster of nominees at stake, and negotiators aim for solution." The Boston Herald today contains an editorial entitled "Dems risk it all in wrong battle." And today in The San Francisco Chronicle, columnist Debra J. Saunders has an essay entitled "Filibuster or bust." "Senate judges fight slows asbestos bill work": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 04:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Parties Court Blacks in Filibuster Fight": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 04:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Jury Seated In Al-Arian Trial": The Tampa Tribune provides a news update that begins, "A 12-member jury panel and 10 possible alternates have been identified for the terror-support trial of fired University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian and three codefendents." Posted at 04:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawsuit contests rules on turbans": The Sacramento Bee today contains an article that begins, "The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Wednesday challenging restrictions placed on a Sikh detainee's right to wear a religious head covering in the Yuba County jail. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, argues that immigration detainee Harpal Singh Cheema's religious freedoms are being violated by limitations on when and where he can wear a turban." Posted at 04:24 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. parties wrestle for advantage over judges": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Road to the Robes: A Federal Judge Recollects Young Years & Early Times." This book, by Senior Third Circuit Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert, arrived in today's mail, and I am very much looking forward to reading it. Nearly two years ago, Judge Aldisert participated in this blog's "20 questions for the appellate judge" feature, and you can access his interview at this link. Posted at 03:54 PM by Howard Bashman "The woman at center of the Senate's fight; Priscilla Owen's nomination to the federal bench has been scrutinized by Democrats who have balked at some of her rulings in Texas": Warren Richey will have this article in Friday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor. Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides reports headlined "Why the battle over filibusters? The courts are at stake as Democrats try to block confirmation votes on several nominees" and "Filibuster foes argue over '68 Fortas precedent: Historians say delaying tactics killed chief justice nomination; differences abound between then and now." CNN.com reports that "Deal would allow vote on 5 Bush judicial picks; Proposal leaves filibuster for 'extraordinary circumstances.'" And CNN.com also offers an item headlined "Toobin: Senate scrap really about Supreme Court." Bloomberg News reports that "Bush May Risk Court Deadlock With Unpopular Choice." And The Economist magazine offers an article headlined "The battle over the judges; Armageddon for the Senate." "Senate nears showdown on judges, compromise sought": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 03:24 PM by Howard Bashman Three-judge Ninth Circuit panel appears determined to resolve whether the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is unconstitutional: Yesterday, the panel issued an order, which I have uploaded here, requesting supplemental briefing and notifying the Attorney General of the United States that the statute's constitutionality has been called into question. I first reported on this case in a post you can access here, and I linked to the audiotape of oral argument here. Yesterday's order contemplates the possibility of panel reargument and also invites interested amici to request leave to file briefs. "The nuclear option: Game on! Bill Frist fires the first shot as moderates scramble to avert 'mutually assured destruction.'" Tim Grieve has this essay online today at Salon.com. And at National Review Online today, Byron York has an essay entitled "'Extreme' Becomes 'Extraordinary': Semantics in the Senate filibuster talks." Jeffrey Lord has an essay entitled "Rigging the Borking Game: The Left is ready for hardball." And Edward Whelan has an essay entitled "An Unoriginal Argument: Opponents of originalism skirt the real debate." "The Trouble With Harry: A new biography of Blackmun fails to do the Supreme Court justice." Slate has just posted online Cliff Sloan's review of the book "Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey," by Linda Greenhouse. And yesterday in The Philadelphia Daily News, Christine M. Flowers had a review entitled "Mr. Justice Frankenstein." "Reid: Bush, GOP Seek to Reinvent Reality." Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 11:38 AM by Howard Bashman "When You Refuse to Consent to a Police Search, Can Your Spouse Override That Refusal? The U.S. Supreme Court Takes An Important Fourth Amendment Case." Yesterday, FindLaw posted online this essay by commentator Sherry F. Colb. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman Bork to be Shermaned: Today in Washington, DC, "Judge Robert H. Bork will receive the John Sherman Award from the Antitrust Division for his lifetime contributions to the teaching and enforcement of antitrust law and the development of antitrust policy." The U.S. Department of Justice has issued this press release announcing this year's recipient of the award. Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Top Court Vacancy Behind Filibuster Fight": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. The New York Times today contains an article headlined "On One Side, Women and Blacks; on the Other, the Same." In commentary, The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi today contains an editorial entitled "Filibuster: U.S. Senate acting like the House!" The Boston Globe contains an op-ed by Law Professor Charles Fried entitled "Demagoguing the filibuster debate." The Washington Post contains an op-ed by columnist David S. Broder entitled "Nuclear Cloud Over The Senate," while columnist Dana Milbank has an essay entitled "The Killer Instinct." Also, editorial cartoonist Tom Toles has this related cartoon today. The New York Times contains an op-chart by Sarah Binder, Forrest Maltzman, and Alan Murphy entitled "History's Verdict." In The Detroit News, columnist George Weeks has an op-ed entitled "Saad personifies troubled confirmation process." In The Chicago Tribune, columnist Steve Chapman has an op-ed entitled "Democracy and the temptations of power." In The Cincinnati Enquirer, Peter Bronson has an essay entitled "Filibuster fight reflects anti-Christian bigotry." In The Arizona Republic, columnist E.J. Montini has an op-ed entitled "Franks' foolish filibuster bluster won't pass muster." And in The Kennebec (Me.) Journal, Jim Brunelle has an op-ed entitled "Who needs filibusters? They are arcane, outdated and should be unneeded." On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition" and other "nuclear option" coverage from public radio: Today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained segments entitled "Senate Heads Toward Filibuster Showdown"; "Robert Bork's Legacy on the Filibuster Debate" (featuring Nina Totenberg); "Los Alamos National Lab Blog Draws Ire on Hill"; and "I Blog, I Said: Writing Amid the Rabble." Yesterday's broadcast of "Here and Now" contained a segment entitled "Filibuster Fight." And yesterday's broadcast of "On Point" contained a segment entitled "Mainstream Legal Values." Participating in this segment were Maura Reynolds, Congressional reporter for The Los Angeles Times; Jonathan Turley, law professor at George Washington University; Douglas Kmiec, law professor at Pepperdine University; and Jack Beatty, On Point News Analyst, senior editor for The Atlantic Monthly. Day two of the prelude to invocation of the so-called "nuclear option": At 9:30 a.m. today, just moments from now, the U.S. Senate will resume its debate over the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. C-SPAN2 will broadcast the debate live, and you can view the debate live online at this link. "A Black Defendant, a Racist Juror; A new trial is crucial in death sentence case": Today in The Los Angeles Times, former Third Circuit Judge Timothy K. Lewis has this op-ed about a case that the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to consider at its conference today. The Fifth Circuit's rulings in the case can be accessed here and here. "Filibuster Face-Off Begins; Start of Senate debate on a nominee has weighty implications for the federal judiciary": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today, along with a news analysis headlined "Judicial Slugfest Likely to Bruise Lawmakers' Image Further." The New York Times reports today that "Fight on Judges and Filibusters Opens in Senate." The Washington Post contains articles headlined "Gloves Off As Senators Start Debate On Judges; Fiery Words on Filibusters, But Also Talks on a Deal" and "From Senator's 2003 Outburst, GOP Hatched 'Nuclear Option.'" The Chicago Tribune reports that "Neither side blinks as Senate starts debate." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Senate hearings halted in hint of battle to come; Debate over filibusters begins as GOP pushes contested judges, Democrats resist." The Baltimore Sun contains articles headlined "Senate starts move toward showdown over filibuster rules; Republicans seek ban on use for judicial votes; Work on compromise continues"; "White House holds back in the battle over judicial nominees; Senate showdown could affect domestic policy, success of second term"; and "Nominees caught in crossfire." The Boston Globe contains an article headlined "Face-off over filibuster; Vote urged on nominees as compromise sought." Newsday reports that "On Senate floor, the battle is on; GOP, Democrats trade accusations over Bush's nominees for judgeships as the 'nuclear option' nears." The Houston Chronicle reports that "Senate duels over Owen's record; Many still hope to avoid showdown on Dem filibusters." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "Fight begins on Bush judges." USA Today reports that "Senators duke it out over judicial filibusters; 'We're making progress' toward an agreement, says GOP's McCain." The Washington Times contains an article headlined "'Hour of decision' on judicial picks." In The New York Sun, Luiza Ch. Savage reports that "Senate Begins a Showdown Over Judges." The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that "Reid blasts 'radical right' in teleconference speech." The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reports that "Senate digs in on judge fight; Frist threatens to jettison the filibuster option unless Senate agrees to an up-or-down vote on nominee Priscilla Owen." The St. Petersburg Times reports that "Specter is reason amid the rancor; Republican Arlen Specter tells both sides to put aside partisanship and work for a filibuster compromise." The New York Post reports that "Frist bids to bust filibuster." The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that "U.S. Senate heads for showdown; Procedural debate over judicial nominees viewed as latest battle in 'cultural war.'" The Billings Gazette reports that "Baucus, Burns split over filibuster issue." The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction, Colorado reports that "Colorado senators want votes on judges without losing filibuster." And The Daily Pennsylvanian contains articles headlined "Princetonians filibuster in D.C." and "Princeton filibuster effort spurs copy at Penn." The Anchorage Daily News contains an editorial entitled "Sensible course: Sen. Murkowski feels the heat but should stick to compromise." The Austin American-Statesman contains an editorial entitled "Avoiding a political mushroom cloud over a Texas judge." The Washington Times contains an editorial entitled "No Republican compromise" and an op-ed by Bob Dole entitled "A unique case of obstruction." The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky contains an editorial entitled "Don't go nuclear." The Philadelphia Daily News contains an editorial entitled "Round one in the nuclear war; Rule change will hurt Senate." And The Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg, Virginia contains an editorial entitled "Abuse and contempt; Here's hoping Sen. Warner votes to stop Senate Democrats' abuse of the filibuster." "Protect our judges, Lefkow implores; 'I'm doing it for my fellow judges, so that no one else will have to suffer what we have suffered'; Deaths were family's '9/11,' senators told": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. The Chicago Sun-Times reports today that "Lefkow blasts anti-judge rhetoric." The Peoria Journal Star contains an article headlined "Lefkow: Protect judges; Jurist whose family members were murdered urges an end to harsh words that can lead to violence." And Joan Biskupic of USA Today reports that "Judge whose family was slain urges Senate to boost security for courts." Available online from The Associated Press: Jesse J. Holland reports that "Senators to Resume Talks on Bush Nominees." An article reports that "Frist May Lose Out if Senators Reach Deal." And David Kravets reports that "Brown Seen As Model for Filibuster Fight." Wednesday, May 18, 2005 "Fight over judges heats up in Senate; Specter 'hopeful' of deal as debate starts on disputed nominee": CNN.com provides this report. FOXNews.com reports that "Moderate Senators Seek Filibuster Deal." Newsday offers an update headlined "Senate opens talks on judicial nominees."
Thursday's edition of The Baltimore Sun will report that "White House holds back in the battle over judicial nominees; Senate showdown could affect domestic policy, success of second term." Thursday's edition of The New York Times will report that "Pressure by White House Is Being Applied With Care." The McClatchy Newspapers report that "Senate begins debate on judges, filibuster." Thursday's edition of The Guardian (UK) reports that "Senate showdown on judicial posts begins." And law.com reports that "Senate One Step Closer to Going Nuclear." "Judge Lefkow speaks publicly on loss, security": The Chicago Tribune provides this news update. And Thursday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined "From Chicago Judge, a Plea for Safety and Softer Words." "Fun With Filibusters: Perverse machinations ahead!" Mickey Kaus offers this analysis at "kausfiles." Posted at 09:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Split Over Death Penalty Method": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The Supreme Court's latest clash over the death penalty involves the lethal chemical cocktail used by many states and whether it is an unnecessarily cruel way to die." Posted at 08:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate battle begins on judicial nomination; Democrat leader throws first monkey wrench to delay business": Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report. James Kuhnhenn of Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that "Senate prepares for possible demise of filibuster." The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Senate Leaders Spar Over Judicial Nominees." And Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press reports that "Talks to Head Off Filibuster Showdown Fail." "Senate Showdown: The Senate began debate Wednesday over controversial judicial nominee Priscilla Owen, bringing closer the potential showdown over the use of the filibuster." This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of the PBS program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." Posted at 08:35 PM by Howard Bashman On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained the following segments:
Posted at 08:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Nuclear option"-related video available online from C-SPAN: From today's broadcast of "Washington Journal," you can access segments featuring Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT); Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Kathy Kiely, Washington Correspondent, USA Today; Michael Carvin, Fmr. Dpty. Asst. Atty. Gen., Reagan Administration; and Sarah Binder, Co-Author, "Politics or Principle?" And from yesterday, you can view press briefings delivered by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). RealPlayer is required to launch these video segments. "GOP Inches Closer to Senate 'Nuclear Option'": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Hill Aide Sues Over Sex Blog; Man claims privacy invaded by racy 'Washingtonienne' tales": "The Smoking Gun" web site provides this report, which features an HTML copy of the complaint initiating suit. And "Wonkette," in a post titled "Washingtonienne Gets All Up in her Torts," links to a PDF copy of the complaint. Posted at 03:30 PM by Howard Bashman Giving him the finger satisfied $50 debt: Today's edition of The San Francisco Chronicle contains an article headlined "Worker gave his finger to settle $50 debt; Mother says laborer who provided digit unaware of alleged plot against Wendy's." Posted at 03:08 PM by Howard Bashman Dog of a case: Today in The Daily Journal of California, Peter Blumberg has an article headlined "Some Terrier Owners Left In The Doghouse; Club Can Blacklist Members Who Registered With Rival" reporting on yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Posted at 02:45 PM by Howard Bashman Perhaps this Vermonter should title his car in Washington State: Over the past several weeks, I have linked to articles published in The Rutland Herald reporting on a Vermont resident's efforts to obtain a vanity license plate bearing the text "JOHN316." The articles are headlined "State: Plate no place for religion" and "Ownership at issue in plate flap." Today, The News Tribune of Tacoma, Washington contains an article headlined "State says 'JOHN3:16' plate's OK." "Heated Senate showdown opens on judges": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 02:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Are four Justices ready to grant cert. on the constitutionality of lethal injection protocols?" Law Professor Douglas A. Berman has this post online at his "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog. Posted at 02:05 PM by Howard Bashman Reuters is reporting: An article reports that "Judge whose husband was slain urges more security." An article headlined "US court overturns patent on an Allergan eye drug" reports on this ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued today. And an article headlined "Court backs Jack Russell terrier purists" reports on this ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued yesterday. "Senate row provokes historic vote; A historic confrontation billed as the most important political fight of US President George W Bush's second term is ready to come to a head": BBC News provides this report. FOXNews.com reports that "Debate Starts on Owen Nomination." Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press reports that "Senate Takes Up Debate on Bush Judge." Bloomberg News reports that "U.S. Senate Begins Countdown on Bush Judicial Choices." And National Review Online has posted an editorial entitled "Voting for Democracy." The judicial filibuster is anti-dog enthusiast! In a speech currently underway on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) just stated that Fifth Circuit nominee Priscilla R. Owen is a dog enthusiast. Hmm, so was former D.C. Circuit nominee Miguel A. Estrada. Cat enthusiasts, however, are apparently not having their confirmation to judgeships blocked. An equal protection violation to be sure. Posted at 12:24 PM by Howard Bashman Four votes in the U.S. Supreme Court may suffice to grant certiorari but don't suffice to stay implementation of a death sentence: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today that "Girl's killer is put to death." As this order (page 3 of PDF file) that the U.S. Supreme Court issued late last night indicates, four Justices voted to grant a stay of execution. Posted at 11:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Ideology Matters: The Estrada filibuster and the politics of confirmation." Katherine Marsh had this interesting article in the July|August 2003 issue of Legal Affairs magazine. Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Frist Implodes on Senate Floor": The blog "Think Progress" has this post on this morning's "nuclear option" debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate. C-SPAN2 is offering live coverage of the debate online at this link. Posted at 11:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Judges Plead for Improved Judicial Security": The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has issued this news release today. The news release provides links to the prepared testimony delivered at today's hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee by U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow of the Northern District of Illinois (here); Third Circuit Judge Jane R. Roth (here); and Chief Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba of the District of Utah (here). As I noted here earlier this morning, Judge Lefkow's testimony included the following request: I urge your support for legislation that prohibits the posting of personal information about judges and other public officials on the Internet without written consent.To make this proposal more concrete, assume the enactment of a federal law that prohibited the posting online, without a federal judge's consent, the home address of a federal judge. Would such a law run afoul of the First Amendment? Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Activists Pressure Both Sides in Judge Debate; Conservative and liberal groups frown on efforts to make a deal to avert a filibuster showdown": This news analysis appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The Hill today contains articles headlined "Bush, Frist split on judges" and "Texas judge will take precedence." And Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has an article headlined "2 women at the heart of debate." In commentary, The Denver Post today contains an editorial entitled "Let the cooler heads prevail." The Portland (Me.) Press Herald contains an editorial entitled "Judicial nominee standoff a symptom of the problem." The Mobile Register contains an editorial entitled "Onus is on Senate Dems." The Huntsville Times contains an editorial entitled "Power & moderation" and an op-ed by J. Elbert Peters entitled "An up-or-down vote." The Forum of Fargo, North Dakota contains an editorial entitled "Judicial filibuster is an abuse." The Decatur (Ala.) Daily contains an editorial entitled "Filibuster rule testing U.S. Senate's leadership." Investor's Business Daily contains an editorial entitled "Don't Mess With Texas: The Filibuster Fight." The Gainesville Sun contains an editorial entitled "On the abyss." The Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News contains an editorial entitled "Gander complains about sauce." Yesterday, The Times Argus of Barre, Vermont contains an editorial entitled "Minority musings." In The Baltimore Sun today, Law Professor Herman Schwartz has an op-ed entitled "Keep hurdles for judges high." In The Washington Times, Steffen N. Johnson has an op-ed entitled "How filibusters drain quality." On Monday, The Village Voice posted online an essay by Nat Hentoff entitled "New York Times v. Janice Rogers Brown: Black woman nominated to a high federal appellate court is still scandalized." In The Houston Chronicle today, columnist Cragg Hines has an essay entitled "When White House allure outshines everything else." Online at Mother Jones, Ira Chernus has an essay entitled "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Nuke 'Em; The public knows how much is at stake in the filibuster fight, which is one reason the nuclear metaphor won't go away." Finally for now, in The Stanford Daily, columnist Nick Fram has an essay entitled "The Democrats and the filibuster." From today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained segments entitled "Senate Showdown on Judicial Filibuster Set to Begin" and "Uncertain 'Nuclear' Reality." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 10:00 AM by Howard Bashman "State Supreme Court debates sperm donor's support obligation": The Associated Press provides a report from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that begins, "A sperm donor who has been paying court-ordered child support for twin boys asked the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to enforce a promise the mother made that he would not have to be involved in their lives." Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Senate Debates Bush's Judicial Nominee" and "Senate Asked to Condemn Jurist Disrespect." At today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Protecting the Judiciary at Home and in the Courthouse," U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow spoke powerfully about the tragedy her family suffered and improvements needed to better protect the security of federal judges. As The AP's report notes, in her testimony Judge Lefkow stated that she "also wants legislation to ban putting personal information about judges and other government officials on the Internet without their permission." I wonder whether such legislation could withstand challenge under the First Amendment. And so it begins: To view today's U.S. Senate debate on the so-called "nuclear option" in the context of the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, simply click here (RealPlayer required, via C-SPAN2). Posted at 09:33 AM by Howard Bashman On the agenda: At 8:30 a.m. eastern time today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing titled "Protecting the Judiciary at Home and in the Courthouse." Last night, I previewed this hearing in a post you can access here. C-SPAN2 is expected to carry the hearing live, and the committee plans to stream the hearing live over the web at this link (RealPlayer required). Meanwhile, at 9:30 a.m. today, the full U.S. Senate is scheduled to proceed to Executive Session to begin consideration of the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. C-SPAN2 will provide live coverage. An actual vote on the so-called "nuclear option" is not expected for several days, but the debate surely will focus not only on Justice Owen but also on the effort to eliminate judicial filibusters. "Bush demands vote on judges; Bipartisan group works on Senate filibuster deal": CNN.com provides this report. Posted at 08:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Moderates Fail to Avert Senate Fight; A deal uniting six senators from each side appears to make no progress as GOP leaders plan to open debate today on Priscilla Owen": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The newspaper today also contains an article headlined "MoveOn.org promotes filibusters with 'Force'; Political action group compares fight over judge confirmations to 'Star Wars' battles in TV ad campaign." The Houston Chronicle reports that "Owen nomination heads to Senate floor today; Republicans look to take first step toward ending the Dems' filibusters." The Chicago Tribune contains articles headlined "Fuse lit on Senate's judicial fight; Clash on changing filibuster rules seen as having wider implications" and "And let me say this about that...." The St. Petersburg Times reports that "Judicial showdown finally begins today; Much is at stake as formal debate starts on two nominees to federal appeals courts." The San Francisco Chronicle contains an article headlined "Showdown in Senate on judicial filibusters; Republicans want to change the rules, ban tactic used to stall vote on nominees." The Baltimore Sun reports that "Frist driving toward Senate rules showdown; Centrists might hold key to compromise in judicial fight." The Washington Times contains articles headlined "Nominees head to Senate" and "Memos reveal strategy behind judge filibusters." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains articles headlined "Senate moderates seek deal on filibuster conflict"; "Fallout unclear over Senate move to curb debate on judges"; and "Judges whom Democrats could support, oppose." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that "Some senators seek peace, others a fight on judges; Debate expected to start today on nominee blocked by filibuster." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that "Senators press to find judicial compromise." The Boston Globe reports that "Filibuster compromise talks appear to fail; Proposal would allow use under 'extreme circumstances' only." The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star reports that "Nelson not giving up on Senate proposal." The Anchorage Daily News reports that "Murkowski keeps mum; Filibuster: She still hopes for compromise, won't reveal vote." The Oregonian reports that "Political groups seek to sway Smith vote; Despite protests, Oregon's junior senator says he'll vote with the GOP to prevent filibusters over judicial appointments." The Indianapolis Star reports that "Bayh, Lugar no strangers to filibusters; Indiana's senators likely will disagree in vote on whether to ban method for judicial nominations." In The Philadelphia Inquirer, political analyst Dick Polman has an article headlined "Filibuster fight goes to core of the Senate." And The Associated Press reports that "Church Teacher at Center of Senate Fight." In commentary, The New York Times contains an editorial entitled "Senator Frist Approaches the Brink." The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled "Nuclear Disarmament." The Los Angeles Times contains an editorial entitled "Nuke It, Already," while columnist Patt Morrison has an op-ed entitled "A Mushroom Cloud Hovers Over a Bush Judicial Nominee." And finally for now, The Washington Times contains an editorial entitled "Confirm Justice Brown." Tuesday, May 17, 2005 U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow, whose husband and mother were killed inside her home by a disgruntled pro se litigant, will testify tomorrow morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the subject of security for judges: Tomorrow morning's hearing, scheduled to get underway at 8:30 a.m., is titled "Protecting the Judiciary at Home and in the Courthouse." C-SPAN2 plans to broadcast the hearing live once it gets underway, and a live webcast link may also be available at this page. The Chicago Tribune reports today that "Federal judges feel left in dark over safety; Lefkow slayings spur plea for security help." And in The Chicago Sun-Times today, Washington bureau chief Lynn Sweet has an essay headlined "Maybe Lefkow's story will teach lawmakers." In Wednesday's edition of The Washington Post: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain front page articles headlined "Senate Talks Continue As Fight on Judges Nears" and "A Likely Script for The 'Nuclear Option.'" Posted at 11:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Beer case may come to a head; Ruling on wine sales is similar to alcohol distribution lawsuit": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. While I consider whether to do a mega-post linking to press coverage of yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in the wine shipment cases, I'm pleased to advise that "SCOTUSblog" collects many news reports at this link. For now, I will note that the case achieved the relatively rare Savage trifecta. Charlie Savage of The Boston Globe reports today that "Court allows direct out-of-state wine sales; Laws in 24 states affected by ruling." His wife, Luiza Ch. Savage, reports today in The New York Sun that "Supreme Court Ruling Levels the Wine Field." And in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage and Jerry Hirsch report that "Wine Sale Curbs Lifted; The Supreme Court strikes down laws that bar direct shipping to out-of-state consumers; It's a victory for California vintners." Finally for now, fans of The Chicago Tribune's Jan Crawford Greenburg can view her appearance yesterday on PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" in a segment entitled "Supreme Court on Wine Shipments" via this link (transcript with links to audio and video). In Wednesday's edition of The New York Times: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain an article headlined "In Senate, Heated Efforts to Avoid Filibuster Clash." And Neil A. Lewis will have an article headlined "In Appeals Court Nominee, Parallels to a Justice Whose Confirmation Stirred Emotions." "Justices to Decide if Disabled Inmates May Sue States for Damages": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Judges' opinions reveal supporters and critics overstate their cases": James Kuhnhenn of Knight Ridder Newspapers provides this report. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday will report that "Some senators work for compromise on judges; others gird for fight." Wednesday's edition of The Chicago Tribune will contain articles headlined "Minority party's rights, future of high court among issues at stake" and "Filibuster concept dates to Congress' beginning." The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Attempts to Compromise on Filibusters Thwarted." And Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press reports that "Judges lobby at White House, Capitol on eve of filibuster battle." "On filibustered judge, look at the real facts": This editorial appeared yesterday in The Mobile Register. Posted at 09:08 PM by Howard Bashman Is this the proposed Senate filibuster deal? A contributor to the blog "Confirm Them" says it is. Posted at 09:04 PM by Howard Bashman "How Appealing" to host selected content from The Recorder of San Francisco, California: The Recorder describes itself as Northern California's leading legal newspaper, and it is a publication of American Lawyer Media, Inc., the nation's leading source of news and information for the legal industry. Much of The Recorder's content is available online only to subscribers. Beginning today, however, The Recorder will occasionally provide "How Appealing" with articles and commentary that are likely to be of interest to my readership. To inaugurate this new feature, I'm pleased to offer an item that The Recorder published online today headlined "Judicial Profile: Jay Bybee; Controversial past doesn't follow Bybee into courtroom." The profile is written by Jeff Chorney, and it reveals (among many other much more interesting things) that Judge Bybee was born eleven years and one day before I was born. On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Filibuster Battle Nears in Senate"; "Profile: Judge Janice Rogers Brown"; and "Gay Marriage in Massachusetts, One Year Later." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Asbestos bill work delayed in Senate judge battle": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 06:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Senators in last bid to avert filibuster fight; Nelson, McCain and others struggle to design deal on judges": Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report. Posted at 06:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice, Politics, and the 'Nuclear Option'": This segment (featuring Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski among the guests) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation." And today's edition of USA Today contains articles headlined "GOP began reshaping courts under Reagan; Senators pursue vision this week in nominees fight" and "History, judges at stake in Senate; Skirmish over courts could begin today." "Sleepy Election Is Jolted by Evolution": The New York Times contains this article today. Posted at 05:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate on cusp of grand showdown; Floor debate begins Wednesday that could lead to a vote on shutting down filibusters, a centuries-old tool of minority parties": This article will appear Wednesday in The Christian Science Monitor. Wednesday's issue of Financial Times will report that "Senate to start judge debate." And today in The San Francisco Chronicle, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has an op-ed entitled "Freedom to disagree." "GOP Showcases Two Controversial Judges": The Associated Press provides this report, along with a photograph of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) meeting today with D.C. Circuit nominee Janice Rogers Brown and Fifth Circuit nominee Priscilla R. Owen. C-SPAN has made available online a video segment (RealPlayer required) from Justice Brown's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. Finally for now, the printed record of Justice Brown's confirmation hearing can be accessed here, and the printed record of Justice Owen's second confirmation hearing can be accessed here. Both of these documents are very large PDF files. "Delaying Judgment: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says the federal judiciary needs to be reined in; Montana District Judge Don Molloy isn't taking the bait." This interesting article appears in the current issue of The Missoula Independent. Posted at 04:40 PM by Howard Bashman Court watchers: Yesterday, law.com's Supreme Court Monitor posted online an essay by David Lehrman entitled "Front Row Seat: Supreme Court observer sees history firsthand." And nearly one year ago, Chicago Reader published an interesting article headlined "Justice Junkies." "U.S. Senators Try to Head Off Showdown Over Judges": Bloomberg News provides this report. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports today that "Reid's performance gets thumbs up from most." The Dallas Morning News yesterday contained an article headlined "Christian conservatives fight filibusters; Citing values, groups toil in the trenches in a battle for the benches." Mother Jones yesterday posted online an essay by Bradford Plumer entitled "Majority Fools? Republicans are preparing to abolish the judicial filibuster; Will they end up regretting it?" Today in The Washington Post, columnist Eugene Robinson has an op-ed entitled "Judges as Hired Hands." Yesterday, The Houston Chronicle contained an editorial entitled "The Senate should compromise on judicial nominations and avoid new limits on debate." And yesterday in The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, columnist John Farmer had an op-ed entitled "Filibuster debate has a ring of hypocrisy." The Baltimore Sun reports on brief filed on the newspaper's behalf in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit: Today the newspaper contains an article headlined "Brief assails Ehrlich ban on pair of Sun journalists; Denial of access abridges rights, paper's appeal says." The article goes on to describe the brief as "comprehensive" and "compelling," and notes that a failure to overturn the order appealed from would constitute a miscarriage of justice. [N.B. Only some of the preceding sentence is true.] Posted at 03:28 PM by Howard Bashman Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) to appear with D.C. Circuit nominee Janice Rogers Brown and Fifth Circuit nominee Priscilla R. Owen: The appearance is scheduled to occur at 2 p.m. in Washington, DC, and C-SPAN2 plans to carry live coverage. You can access C-SPAN2 live online via this link. Update: Or maybe not. This morning's broadcast of "Washington Journal" contained much discussion of the so-called "nuclear option." By clicking here, you can view a segment featuring "Wendy Long, Judicial Confirmation Network, & Ben Brandzel, MoveOn PAC." And by clicking here, you can view this morning's segment featuring "Rick Klein, Congressional Correspondent, Boston Globe." RealPlayer is required to launch these video segments. "Standards for Grandparents' Visitation Eyed": The Legal Intelligencer of Philadelphia today contains an article (subscription required) that begins, "Arguing over grandparents' visitation rights, appellate lawyer Howard J. Bashman urged the state Supreme Court yesterday to make sure to give parents' judgment the 'special weight' called for by the U.S. Supreme Court in grandparents' rights litigation." The article goes on to note, "Bashman, representing the father of a 10-year-old boy, said it's unconstitutional for the courts to override a fit parent's decision about the proper amount of grandparent visitation simply by finding that it would be in the child's best interest for more visitation to occur." The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "In Massachusetts, gay weddings are now routine; Growing acceptance of same-sex nuptials on first anniversary" and "Satirical paper comes to town; Hundreds die laughing." And yesterday, Bob Egelko had an article headlined "New limit on review of asylum cases; Immigration judges' decisions would be harder to overturn." "Judge disclosed Scrushy ties in '03": The Birmingham News contains this article today. And The Associated Press reports that "Scrushy Judge Complained of Assignment." "Senate at the brink on judicial picks; GOP threatens to seek filibuster ban if tactic is used to block nominees": This article appeared yesterday in The Sacramento Bee. The San Francisco Chronicle today contains an editorial entitled "Showdown in the Senate." And this past Sunday in The Denver Post, John Aloysius Farrell had an essay entitled "Power check in Senate crucial." Today in The Wall Street Journal (pass-through links provided): Jess Bravin and Vanessa O'Connell have a front page article headlined "High Court Removes Barriers To Online Wine Sales; Judges Strike Down Limits On Out-of-State Wineries; 'Just the Tip of the Iceberg.'" Another front page article is headlined "In Judge Battle, Mr. Sekulow Plays A Delicate Role; Lawyer Rallies Evangelicals On Filibuster Issue, Keeps Them From Boiling Over; Lessons of the Schiavo Case." And the newspaper today also contains editorials entitled "In Vino Victory" and "FREE No More." The second of those two editorials begins, "Judicial politics is in the news, so readers may want to know about the latest attack on the federal judiciary: No, not by Tom DeLay, but the assault from the left against judicial seminars." "Pryor's first 15 months on bench extremism-free": This article appeared Sunday in The Decatur (Ala.) Daily. The attempt at humor in the article's first paragraph may strike some as offensive. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Bipartisan group works on Senate filibuster deal; Compromise would let 5 Bush nominees have up-or-down vote": CNN.com provides this report. Posted at 10:11 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from C-SPAN: You can access here a segment from yesterday described as "Rick Klein, Congressional Correspondent for the Boston Globe, discusses the judicial filibuster." And you can access here a segment from yesterday described as "Speakers Senator Harry Reid, (D-NV), AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, and others hold a rally against abuse of power in Washington, DC." RealPlayer is required to launch these video segments. "McCain says deal on Bush nominees uncertain": Thomas Ferraro of Reuters provides this report. Posted at 09:40 AM by Howard Bashman Available from National Review Online: Peter Kirsanow has an essay entitled "The Dems' Post-Nuclear Nightmare: The problem of Janice Rogers Brown." And Clarke D. Forsythe has an essay entitled "Breaking the Rules: The Framers intended no more than a Senate majority to approve judges." Commentary available online from FindLaw: Joanna Grossman has an essay entitled "The One-Year Anniversary of Same-Sex Marriage in the United States: Some Thoughts on Recent Developments, and on the Future." And Louis Klarevas has an essay entitled "The Decision Dismissing the Lawsuit Against Vice President Dick Cheney: Why It Was Wrong, Both Legally and Logically." "This ruling leaves lover more than broken hearted": The Boston Herald today contains an article that begins, "A North Shore man who suffered a fractured penis while making love with his girlfriend cannot sue her for recklessness because the couple were engaged in consensual sex, the state Appeals Court ruled yesterday." Yesterday's ruling of the Appeals Court of Massachusetts can be accessed here. "Owen in center of debate over judicial nominations": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined "PR Skills May Decide Filibuster Showdown; In the coming battle, leaders of both parties are expected to play to the large portion of the American public that hasn't taken sides" and "For One Evening, Ducking Debate; In an ever-rarer instance of bipartisan socializing, Senate Democrats and Republicans unite -- briefly -- over Bill Frist's dinner table." The Washington Post reports that "Fight Is On at the Grass Roots; An Age-Old Procedural Maneuver Inspires Modern Activism." The Boston Globe reports that "Frist, Reid agree that efforts on judicial nominees failing; Democrats seek to retain filibuster." Newsday reports that "Reid breaks off talks with Frist." And The Providence (R.I.) Journal reports that "Chafee breaks with party on upcoming filibuster vote; The senator says he'll oppose changing procedure to cut off debate if a compromise can't be reached on judicial nominees." In commentary, The Oregonian today contains an editorial entitled "No nukes: If Senate Republicans invoke the 'nuclear option' to end filibusters on judicial choices, problems could mushroom." The St. Petersburg Times contains an editorial entitled "The Senate standoff: Moderates on both sides must help bring the showdown over judicial nominees to an end before the Senate is irreparably damaged." The San Antonio Express-News contains an editorial entitled "Judicial fight threatens checks and balances." The Virginian-Pilot contains an editorial entitled "Filibuster showdown benefits no one." The Dallas Morning News contains an editorial entitled "Filibuster Games: Vote on judicial nominees, or everybody loses." The Birmingham News contains an editorial entitled "Looking for a Pryor commitment." The Decatur Daily contains an editorial entitled "Federal bench can use a judge like Bill Pryor." The Kennebec (Me.) Journal contains an editorial entitled "Prospect of filibuster guides presidents who nominate judges." The Herald-Tribune of Sarasota, Florida contains an editorial entitled "Preserve the filibuster: Senate should respect precedent and bipartisan consensus." The Canton Repository contains an editorial entitled "Will Congress think long-term?" The Washington Times contains an editorial entitled "Byrd's the word." Also in that newspaper today, Bruce Fein has an op-ed entitled "A tipoff judicial ruling," while Tod Lindberg has an op-ed entitled "Let's make a deal." In The Providence Journal, Law Professor Carl T. Bogus has an op-ed entitled "Filibuster fight: Maybe it's about bad judges." And in The Chicago Sun-Times, Jesse Jackson has an op-ed entitled "Our entire way of life is at stake." Monday, May 16, 2005 "Judges Seek To Oust Chief Of Marshals; Service's Cuts Heighten Concern Over Security": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "Leaders of the federal judiciary have privately urged Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to consider replacing the director of the U.S. Marshals Service, complaining that weak management has left judges and courthouses in danger, according to several court officers, judges and federal officials." Posted at 11:45 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that "Wineries Toast Supreme Court Ruling on Interstate Sales." In other news, "Justice Kennedy Wades Into International Waters Again." An article is headlined "D.C. Circuit Nominee Means Business: An analysis of Janice Rogers Brown's business and regulatory rulings from her tenure on California's high court." And Jeff Chorney reports that "9th Circuit Opens Up for 'Lifers'; Filmmaker hopes to start dialogue on forgiveness and redemption." "Senate Leaders Break Off Talks on Judicial Nominees": Tuesday's edition of The New York Times will contain this article. The Washington Post on Tuesday will contain articles headlined "Democrats, GOP End Talks on Filibusters; Senate Showdown Over Nominees Nears"; "In the Senate, the Escalation of Rhetoric"; and "Judge Not: In the Court of Public Opinion, the Bench Is in the Hot Seat." Tuesday's edition of The Hill will report that "Nuke talks go nowhere." Today's broadcast of PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" contained a segment entitled "The filibuster debate," while last Friday's broadcast contained a segment entitled "Judicial wars." And available online today from National Public Radio are segments entitled "Filibuster Battle Lines Are Drawn"; "Owen at Center of Battle Over Federal Judicial Nominations"; "Supreme Court the Real Issue in Filibuster Fight"; and "Political Wrap: Filibuster Debate." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Appeals Court of Massachusetts holds that woman not liable for having fractured then-boyfriend's penis during consensual sex: The Associated Press reports that "Court Rules Woman Not Liable in Sex Suit." You can access today's ruling in Doe v. Moe at this link. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Court to Review Rights of Disabled Inmates": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. You can access today's U.S. Supreme Court Order List at this link. "Legalization of Gay Marriage Celebrates Anniversary": This article reporting from Boston will appear Tuesday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Lifts Ban on Wine Shipping": Linda Greenhouse will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times. In Tuesday's edition of The Washington Post, Charles Lane will report that "Justices Reject Curbs on Wine Sales; 5-4 Ruling a Victory for Interstate Shippers." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "High Court Strikes Down Ban on Interstate Wine Shipments." Stephen Henderson of Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that "Supreme Court OKs interstate wine sales." In Tuesday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor, Warren Richey will report that "Supreme Court sides with winemakers in commerce case; The justices rule that some regulations on out-of-state shipments are discriminatory." Declan McCullagh of c|net News.com has a report headlined "Does high court ruling uncork competition?" Hope Yen of The Associated Press reports that "Court Lets Wine Lovers Buy Out-Of-State." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court rules on direct wine sales." Bloomberg News reports that "Wine-Shipping Limits Overturned by U.S. High Court." And online at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "State wine shipment laws nullified." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Granholm v. Heald, No.03-1116, at this link. "Reid Says Showdown Imminent in Senate": The Associated Press provides this report. The AP also offers a report headlined "Marathon Filibusters a Thing of the Past." Thomas Ferraro of Reuters reports that "Reid ends talks on U.S. judges with Frist." Bloomberg News reports that "U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Says Judge Talks Over." Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, has a report headlined "Two nominations at center of Senate filibuster fight; Blocked by Democrats, appeals court hopefuls Owen and Brown seek votes." The Wall Street Journal today contains an editorial entitled "How We Got Here: Why Republicans can't let the judicial filibuster succeed." And Ron Elving of National Public Radio has an essay entitled "The Wild Card in the Filibuster Debate." "Father asks court to overturn law giving grandparents visitation": The Associated Press provides this report on the oral argument that I delivered this afternoon in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The nationwide AP wire has also picked up the story, here. Posted at 08:28 PM by Howard Bashman On the agenda: The Supreme Court of the United States is scheduled to issue an Order List and opinions in argued cases at 10 a.m. today. I'll be spending much of the day with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, where I will be arguing (my case is seventh on today's argument list) a substantive due process challenge to Pennsylvania's grandparent visitation statute. You can access at this link the Brief for Appellant that I filed on my client's behalf, and an amicus brief filed in support of my client's position can be accessed here. The Associated Press will be posting online today's U.S. Supreme Court opinions and Order List at this link. The official Supreme Court site for opinions is here and for orders is here. And "SCOTUSblog" always offers excellent coverage of developments at the Court. "Judges' financial info sought": Columnist Robert Novak has this essay today in The Chicago Sun-Times. Of course, many such reports for federal appellate judges can already be accessed online via this link. Posted at 05:52 AM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The Los Angeles Times: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "Senate Republicans Urge Compromise Over Filibuster; Debate scheduled this week on two contested judicial nominees could bring the issue to a head" and "Scholar Calmly Takes Heat for His Memos on Torture." Posted at 05:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Al-Arian Trial Is Set to Open in Tampa Today": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Posted at 05:45 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, May 15, 2005 "Rove Guided Career of Judicial Nominee in Filibuster Fight": Neil A. Lewis will have this article Monday in The New York Times. Monday's edition of The Minneapolis Star Tribune will report that "The filibuster is the talk of the Senate." Monday's issue of Financial Times reports that "Frist's push to confirm two judges sets scene for conflict." And FOXNews.com has posted online from today's broadcast of Fox News Sunday "Transcript: Senate Whips on 'FNS.'" In Monday's edition of The Washington Post: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain articles headlined "Gonzales Earns Praise, Despite Lack of Policy Change; Openness, Listening Win Friends as He Holds Ashcroft Line" and "Md. Sniper Trial Could Spotlight Politicians; Duncan, Gansler Exposure Predicted." Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from C-SPAN: Yesterday's broadcast of "America & the Courts" included segments from this past Thursday's executive business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which considered William H. Pryor, Jr.'s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. You can view the program by clicking here. And by clicking here, you can view a segment from today's broadcast of "Washington Journal" described as follows: "Susan Low Bloch, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center, describes what U.S. circuits courts of appeals do and how they function." RealPlayer is required to launch these video segments. In Monday's edition of USA Today: The newspaper will contain an editorial entitled "Qualified conservatives or judicial fanatics?" And Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) will have an op-ed entitled "It's time for up-or-down vote." "Texan known in D.C. for one thing": The San Antonio Express-News today contains a lengthy article that begins: Graduation was months away. College seemed a sure thing. The classroom clock was ticking toward the carefree time students call senior spring.And The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette today contains an article headlined "Pryor, Lincoln critique jurists; Arkansas' senators wary of Bush picks for appellate courts." Posted at 06:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Both Sides Predict Win in Filibuster Fight": The Associated Press provides this report. Thomas Ferraro of Reuters reports that "Deal sought in showdown over Bush's judges." Financial Times on Monday will report that "Decision to push for US judges raises pressure on Frist." And Monday's edition of The Australian contains an article headlined "Now or never for Bush judges." Philadelphia Phillies 4, Cincinnati Reds 3: I had the pleasure of attending today's Phillies game with my son, and we saw quite a good game. Summaries are available here and here, and the box score is here. Posted at 05:53 PM by Howard Bashman "Profane note posted as Lefkow dines out": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. And The Chicago Sun-Times reports today that "Man tapes up profane note as Lefkow dines." "Courts are ensnared in a thicket of politics; The rhetoric is hotter than any time since the nation's early days": Michael Hill has this lengthy essay today in The Baltimore Sun. Posted at 09:20 AM by Howard Bashman "'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Harms the Constitution, but So Does This Cure": Law Professor Tobias Barrington Wolff has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. The Daily Pennsylvanian on Friday contained an article headlined "High court to review ruling on military recruitment; Penn group says they will proceed forward with similar suit." On Wednesday, The Daily Bruin of UCLA contained articles headlined "Universities could face tough legal battle; Law Schools' claim that 1996 amendment violates free speech may be hard to prove"; "Law students push for recruiter presence; Removal would hurt military, say UCLAW Veterans Society members"; and "Controversy provokes debate on gay rights; For UCLA LGBT communities, military's presence represents discrimination." And last Monday, The Harvard Crimson published a letter to the editor under the heading "Military Not the Only HLS Recruiter That Discriminates." "Dick Cheney's Right to Conceal": The New York Times contains this editorial today. Posted at 09:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Senate on verge of meltdown; GOP leaders coming close to pulling the trigger on 'nuclear option' to keep Democrats from filibustering president's judicial picks": This article appears today in Newsday. The May 23, 2005 issue of Newsweek will contain an article headlined "Ready to Blow: As the Senate prepares for a showdown over judicial nominees, a few moderates hope for middle ground." In The Baltimore Sun, Gail Gibson reports today that "Senate split on stalling tactics; Both parties have used procedural maneuvers to block judicial nominees; GOP targeting filibusters." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "Senate set for judicial showdown; Frist clears calendar to bring up nominee." The Kansas City Star reports that "Roberts a key to filibuster decision." The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that "Judge fight brings new intensity to old split." The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina contains an article headlined "Why the filibuster lost luster." And The Huntsville Item reports that "Cornyn backs plan to beat Senate filibuster." In commentary, The Knoxville News Sentinel contains an editorial entitled "Judicial crisis is Frist's biggest challenge." The Union Leader of Manchester, New Hampshire contains an editorial entitled "Big lie on filibuster: Democrats are subverting Senate role." The Washington Times contains an editorial entitled "Time to vote on Justice Owen" and a "Forum" item entitled "Hispanic solons: End filibuster." In The Detroit News, Thomas Bray has an essay entitled "Keeping filibuster may help Republicans unseat Stabenow." In The Salt Lake Tribune, John J. Flynn has an op-ed entitled "Hatch is wrong about history of judicial appointments." In The Oregonian, columnist David Reinhard has an op-ed entitled "'Dirty Harry' Reid: The art of the smear." In The San Francisco Chronicle, Tony Quinn has an op-ed entitled "Dems' filibustering of judicial nominations is just politics." And in The Baltimore Sun, Sean Roche has an op-ed entitled "Senate must seek common ground in filibuster battle." Saturday, May 14, 2005 "Which Judges Write Their Opinions (And Should We Care)?" Stephen J. Choi and G. Mitu Gulati have posted online to SSRN this essay (abstract with download links). Thanks to "Legal Theory Blog" for the pointer. Posted at 11:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Profane note aimed at Judge Lefkow": The Chicago Tribune provides this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Derogatory Note Left for Dining Judge." Earlier this week, The Chicago Sun-Times reported that "Lefkow moves away from site of murders." "Kansas senator adds his doubts about 'nuclear option' to eliminate filibusters": Sunday's edition of The Kansas City Star will contain an article that begins, "With a showdown over judicial nominees looming, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas could be one of several Republicans to oppose stripping the Senate of its traditional power to filibuster." The Chicago Sun-Times yesterday contained an editorial entitled "Public deserves chance to hear this one out." And today in The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Rudy Boschwitz has an op-ed entitled "Changing the rules to do nation's business." Indiana's death penalty volunteer can't change his mind, Supreme Court of Indiana decides: The Associated Press offers a report headlined "Corcoran too late in death wish reversal; Justices to set execution date for Fort Wayne man convicted of killing brother, three others" about a ruling that the Supreme Court of Indiana issued on Thursday. And in other news cocerning the same death row inmate, The News-Sentinel of Fort Wayne, Indiana reports today that "Mass murderer is now lawfully wedded; Joe Corcoran, on Death Row for 1997 killings, recently tied the knot." "eBay wins stay in MercExchange case": c|net News.Com provides this report. Posted at 08:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Court to rehear bartender's lipstick lawsuit": Reuters reports here that "A federal appeals court agreed on Friday to reconsider the case of a female bartender who was fired from her job at a Nevada casino for refusing to wear lipstick, blush and other make-up." And The Associated Press reports that "Bartender Getting New Sex-Bias Hearing." You can access yesterday's order granting rehearing en banc of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. The now-vacated three-judge panel's ruling can be accessed here, while my coverage of that ruling is here. "GOP decries 'stunt' by Reid": Today in The Washington Times, Charles Hurt has an article that begins, "Republicans charged yesterday that Minority Leader Harry Reid was wrong to mention on the Senate floor 'a problem' he said is in a Bush nominee's 'confidential report from the FBI' as grounds for keeping him off the federal bench." Later, the article notes, "The Center for Individual Freedom, a conservative group that monitors judicial nominations, filed a formal ethics complaint yesterday against Mr. Reid." A copy of the ethics complaint can be viewed at this link, and you can also access online a press release entitled "CFIF Files Ethics Complaint Against Senate Minority Leader Reid." The New York Post today contains an editorial entitled "Democratic sleaze fest." On Friday, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel contained an editorial entitled "Filibusters." Also on Friday, The Sentinel & Enterprise of Fitchburg, Massachusetts published an editorial entitled "Republicans not playing by the rules." Finally for now, Andrew Sullivan has an essay entitled "If Bush beats the blather, his placemen win" in The Sunday Times of London. "7 GOP Senators Key in Filibuster Fight": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 03:05 PM by Howard Bashman "After a Mostly Silent Execution, Some Questions Remain": This article appears today in The New York Times, along with articles headlined "Connecticut Execution Is Unlikely to Hasten Others, Experts Say" and "For the Families, the Death of a Loved One's Killer Offers a Slim, Bittersweet Consolation." The Day of New London, Connecticut today contains an article headlined "For Ross, No Theatrics At The End; Serial Killer Slipped Quietly Away Before Eyes Of 21 Witnesses." And The Hartford Courant today contains an article headlined "Turning Away From Death; 'Ross' execution will not lead to a floodtide of new executions,' says Joshua Marquis, District Attorney for Clatsop County, Ore." In today's issue of The Washington Post: An editorial is entitled "Gay Marriage Overreaction." And Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, has an op-ed entitled "It Is About Religious Belief" that begins, "During his nationally televised press conference April 28, President Bush was asked about the Family Research Council's allegation that some of his judicial nominees have been filibustered because of their faith." "At Center of Senate Showdown, a Boxer Takes On a Surgeon": Sunday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, "In the end, the brutal public battle over judicial confirmations in the Senate comes down to two starkly different men: one a wealthy surgeon still considered new to the Senate but with an eye on the White House, the other a former lightweight boxer and police officer whose flashes of candor sometimes get him into trouble - like calling President Bush 'a loser' in a speech to a student group." Posted at 12:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Jurists Picked for Showdown on Filibuster; Frist propels California and Texas justices to the center of the political brawl; The Senate will consider their nominations next week": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The Houston Chronicle reports today that "Senate judicial face-off begins; Frist sets stage for partisan fight, saying the GOP will challenge the Dems' filibuster." Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has a report headlined "Justice Dept. Enters Court Nominee Fight" that begins, "The Justice Department is edging into the Senate controversy over judicial nominees, writing key lawmakers after Democratic Leader Harry Reid publicly referred to an FBI file on one of President Bush's controversial appointees." The Cox News Service reports that "Filibuster showdown nears; Senate majority leader seeks to get 2 judicial nominees confirmed next week." The Birmingham News contains an article headlined "Cheney balancing act: AU ball, judgeships; Graduation audience cheers remarks on campus life, team." In Sunday's edition of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Michael Rooke-Ley will have an op-ed entitled "A free judiciary is best." And today in The Rocky Mountain News, Polly Baca, Paul Sandoval, and Fidel "Butch" Montoya have an op-ed entitled "Salazar's courageous filibuster stance undeserving of attacks." Friday, May 13, 2005 Available online from law.com: An article is headlined "Filibuster Battle: Prelude to High Court Nominee Showdown?" And in other news, "9th Circuit Hears Debate on Judicial Power Issue; Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act requires judges to defer to state courts in habeas reviews." "Frist to Begin Floor Debate on Judges Next Week; Talks Continue On Possible Deal": This article will appear Saturday in The Washington Post. And Saturday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined "Senate Republicans to Open Filibuster War Next Week." "Internet Porn Case Solved Through New Tracking": Saturday's edition of The Los Angeles Times will contain an article that begins, "A young girl who was the subject of a series of sexually explicit photos taken at a Disney World hotel and other places has been found and is safe, investigators in Florida said Friday." Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman Blogger Ernest Miller argues that Michigan appellate court's decision involving a joke-telling penis represents "a serious attack on the First Amendment": You can access his post here, at Corante's "The Importance of..." blog. As regular readers may recall, I have long predicted that important First Amendment rights would end not with a bang, but with a joke-telling penis. "Frist to Begin Showdown on Judicial Filibusters Next Week": The New York Times provides this news update. Thomas Ferraro of Reuters reports that "Senate readies for fight on judicial nominees." And Bloomberg News reports that "Frist Says He Plans to Seek U.S. Senate Votes on Brown, Owens." Available online from the Knight Ridder Newspapers: James Kuhnhenn reports that "Parties battle over judicial nominees with one eye toward elections." And an article headlined "Bush's domestic policy adviser weathers criticism from other blacks" begins, "Claude A. Allen recalls the joy and pain of telling his mother about his decision to work for a North Carolina congressional candidate." In his first term, President Bush nominated Allen to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, but that nomination was not on a path toward prompt U.S. Senate confirmation, perhaps explaining why Allen opted for his current post over being renominated to the Fourth Circuit. "US appeals courts lifts freeze on Argentine bonds": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Consent is no defense in ball-bat abortion; Judge: Girl too young to allow beatings to end her pregnancy." The Detroit Free Press today contains an article that begins, "It doesn't matter that an Armada Township teen wanted to be beaten with a miniature baseball bat to end her pregnancy -- her boyfriend must still stand trial, a Macomb County judge said." And The Macomb Daily today contains an article headlined "Teen to be tried in abortion-by-bat case; Judge: Irrelevant that girl consented to beatings." First Amendment doesn't protect joke-telling penis, Michigan Court of Appeals rules: The Detroit Free Press reported yesterday that "Joke-telling genitals don't get free-speech protection; Judges reject cable TV show host's free-speech defense." You can access Tuesday's ruling of the Michigan Court of Appeals at this link. Police finger source of missing finger, who conveniently happens to be missing a finger: The San Jose Mercury News provides an update headlined "Wendy's finger belongs to friend of suspect's husband; 'The jig is up,' San Jose Police Chief Says." The San Francisco Chronicle provides a news update headlined "Chili finger linked to acquaintance of Ayala's husband." And The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Wendy's Chili Finger Linked to Industrial Accident Victim; Man was associate of husband of woman who claimed she found it in Wendy's food." I'll leave it up to the tort experts in my audience to debate whether Wendy's might be able to obtain as damages for the finger incident the cost of its "Free Frosty Weekend!" promotion now underway. "Could be last supper before 'nuclear option'; Senate leaders to break bread on Sunday": The Hill today provides this report. Posted at 04:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Marriage ruling sets stage for Senate debate; Federal judge strikes down Nebraska constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, as senators gird for battle": Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report. Posted at 03:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate Judicial Fight Heads for Showdown": The Associated Press reports here that "Setting the stage for a long-anticipated showdown, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced Friday he will seek confirmation next week for two of President Bush's conservative judicial nominees blocked by Democrats." According to the article, "The statement said the focus will be on Priscilla Owen, nominated to serve as a judge for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Janice Rogers Brown, to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia." The complete statement issued by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) can be accessed here. All others pay cash: A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today affirmed the dismissal of a federal court lawsuit asserting that the Board of Commissioners of Davidson County, North Carolina violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment when it authorized the phrase "In God We Trust" to be inscribed on the facade of the Davidson County Government Center. You can access today's ruling at this link. In earlier news coverage of this matter, The Winston-Salem Journal in September 2003 published an article headlined "Lawsuit cites objections to size of sign; 'In God We Trust' is bigger than Davidson building's name, it says." And The Associated Press has previously reported "N.C. county will fight 'In God We Trust' lawsuit" and "Federal judge dismisses challenge to national motto display." In re Sixth Circuit nominee Henry W. Saad's FBI report: Yesterday's mention on the floor of the U.S. Senate by Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was not the first time this issue was noted in public. Rather, the FBI report also figured in news coverage from June 4, 2004, which I first linked to here on that date. The Detroit News reported that "Vote on Michigan appeals court nominee delayed; Levin, Stabenow raise questions about Saad's fitness." And in the June 4, 2004 issue of The Washington Times, Charles Hurt had an article headlined "Michigan judicial pick held up for 20th time" in which he reported: From the moment Mr. Hatch began the meeting, he struggled to get the quorum required to vote on a nominee. As soon as a quorum gathered, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat, requested a private meeting to discuss accusations stemming from Judge Saad's FBI background check.In today's issue of The Washington Times, Hurt recounts some of that background in his article headlined "Reid cites FBI file on judicial pick." Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman Army National Guard sergeant who recently lost his challenge to the military's stop-loss policy now learns why: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today issued its opinion in Santiago v. Rumsfeld. Back on April 9, 2005, I reported here on the Ninth Circuit's announcement of its decision on this appeal. "Sen. Arlen Specter stuck in the middle: 'Today' host Katie Couric talks with the Republican moderate about relations between the parties and his cancer prognosis." MSNBC makes available online the transcript (containing a link to video) of a segment from today's broadcast of the "Today" show. Posted at 12:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Disbarment urged for 3 in scheme; Lawyers said to conspire to discredit judge": The Boston Globe today contains a front page article that begins, "Three well-known lawyers accused of orchestrating an elaborate scheme to discredit a former Superior Court judge 'brought shame and disrepute' to the legal community and should be disbarred, a hearing officer for the state recommended yesterday, in one of Massachusetts' most closely watched attorney discipline cases ever." The Boston Globe today also contains a related article headlined "Recommendation shocking to some in Boston legal circles" and this graphic containing the lawyers' photographs and a summary of their backgrounds. You can access a copy of the Special Hearing Officer's Hearing Report that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court issued earlier this week at this link. On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained segments entitled "Senate Readies for Filibuster Battle" and "Nebraska Judge Strikes Down Ban on Gay Marriage." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Harry Reid Steps Over the Line -- Again; The GOP calls his description of a Bush nominee 'deeply unethical'": Byron York has this essay today at National Review Online. The statement in question can be viewed in the Congressional Record from yesterday at this link, in the center column, second paragraph from the top of the page. Posted at 10:05 AM by Howard Bashman "High court to handle Williams challenge; The state Supreme Court takes away from the Superior Court a lawyer's legal challenge to the chief justice's ability to hold office": The Providence (R.I.) Journal today contains an article that begins, "The state Supreme Court yesterday took control over the lawsuit that claims Frank J. Williams is no longer the high court's chief justice. On Wednesday, three Superior Court judges ruled that Providence lawyer Keven A. McKenna had legal standing to proceed with the suit. But 25 hours later, the Supreme Court called a halt to all Superior Court proceedings, saying it has jurisdiction over petitions challenging someone's right to hold a public office." Posted at 08:54 AM by Howard Bashman Available today from National Review Online: Andrew C. McCarthy has an essay entitled "Confessing Error: Filibusters of presidential appointees violate the Constitution." Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has an essay entitled "Democratic Demagoguery: The dishonest attack on Priscilla Owen." Rich Lowry has an essay entitled "Go Nuclear: There's no tradition stopping Republicans." And Stanley Kurtz has an essay entitled "Courting FMA: A ruling in Nebraska demonstrates the need for a federal marriage amendment." "Judge lacked 'good morals,' state panel finds": The Detroit Free Press today contains an article that begins, "A controversial judge acted irresponsibly and immorally when she accused a colleague of covering up a murder, according to a scathing report issued late Wednesday." And The Detroit News reports today that "Panel takes action against jurist; Clarkston judge implied peer helped husband cover up woman's 1989 death." You can access at this link a copy of the complaint that Michigan's Judicial Tenure Commission issued earlier this week. "Appeal planned in same-sex marriage ruling": The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star contains this article today. Posted at 07:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Judgeship Confirmation Line Grows; A panel's party-line vote adds a fifth nominee to a list of jurists awaiting Senate approval; One of them will likely trigger a filibuster showdown": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The Montgomery Advertiser reports today that "Pryor |
