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Tuesday, May 15, 2007 "Web Site Is Held Liable for Some User Postings": Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. My earlier coverage of today's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Carter Phillips' Daughter Continues Family Tradition Among High Court Clerks": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this report. Posted at 11:20 PM by Howard Bashman "President Intervened in Dispute Over Eavesdropping": This article will appear Wednesday in The New York Times. And Wednesday's edition of The Washington Post will contain a front page article headlined "Gonzales Hospital Episode Detailed; Ailing Ashcroft Pressured on Spy Program." In addition, Dana Milbank will have a "Washington Sketch" column headlined "Ashcroft and the Night Visitors." Available online from law.com: Justin Scheck reports that "9th Circuit Panel Faults O'Melveny for 'Take It or Leave It' Hiring Clause." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. Pamela A. MacLean reports that "Courts Grapple With Computer Searches; Is it a password-protected 'locked box' or a simple container?" Shannon P. Duffy reports that "Former Phillies Pitcher and Lawyer Strike Out on Fees Appeal." You can access last week's Third Circuit ruling at this link. An article is headlined "Fla. Supreme Court: Hospital Privileges Must Be Revealed in Med-Mal Cases." You can access last week's ruling of the Supreme Court of Florida at this link. Finally, Traci M. Braun and Thalia L. Myrianthopoulos have an essay entitled "'Philip Morris' Decision May Be Hazardous to Jurors' Comprehension." "Paterno-pay issue ends up in high court": The Harrisburg Patriot-News today contains an article that begins, "The revelation of one of the sports world's oldest and best-kept secrets -- Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's salary -- now lies with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court." And The Legal Intelligencer reports today that "Debate Over Disclosure of Penn State Coach's Salary Goes Before Pa. High Court." "Slim Majority Approves of Supreme Court Following Partial-Birth Ruling; Americans overwhelmingly say partial-birth abortion should be illegal": The Gallup News Service provides this report (via "Sentencing Law and Policy"). Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Former Justice Deputy Describes Political Clash"; "Gonzales: McNulty Played 'Central' Role in Firings"; and "Sentencing Panel Changes Crack Recommendation" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 08:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Money buys time for Kamehameha Schools": The Honolulu Advertiser today contains an article that begins, "Kamehameha Schools paid to settle the most serious legal threat yet to its Hawaiians-first admissions policy, legal experts believe, but the agreement won't prevent future challenges to the 120-year-old practice. However, any new case would take years before it reached the doorstep of the U.S. Supreme Court -- where the latest case was when it ended yesterday." Today's newspaper also contains articles headlined "'It was in our best interest to settle'" and "Policy has varied since school's start"; an item headlined "Reaction from around the state to Kamehameha lawsuit settlement"; and an editorial entitled "Kamehameha accord signals need for more work." In other coverage, The Honolulu Star-Bulletin today contains articles headlined "Disappointment, praise follow Kamehameha settlement; A lawsuit against Kamehameha Schools over their Hawaiians-only admission policy is dropped in a settlement" and "Kamehameha community relieved 'it's over'; Students and parents were surprised with the sudden end of the legal challenge," along with an editorial entitled "Kamehameha Schools gets reprieve but no victory." "The Roberts Court": ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg has this post today at her "Legalities" blog. Posted at 08:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice aide testifies Gonzales pressured ailing Atty. Gen. over surveillance program; As White House counsel, Gonzales visited bed-ridden Ashcroft for spying consent": The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. And McClatchy Newspapers report that "Initial warrantless eavesdropping program deemed illegal by the Justice Department." "State proposes new lethal injection procedures": Henry Weinstein of The Los Angeles Times provides a news update that begins, "Aiming at ending a 16-month legal moratorium on capital punishment in California, state corrections officials today proposed new lethal injection execution procedures they say 'will result in the dignified end of life' for condemned inmates." Posted at 07:45 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Court Weighs Arguments in Guantanamo Appeals"; "Former Justice Dep't Deputy Testifies Before Senate Committee"; and "Landis Fights Doping Charge" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 05:52 PM by Howard Bashman "CIA Agent Testifies at Padilla Trial": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 04:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Comey Details Internal Rebellion at Justice Over Warrantless Surveillance Program": law.com provides this news update. Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman Tony Mauro is reporting: At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," he has posts titled "Rev. Falwell and the Supreme Court" and "In re Gault at 40." Posted at 04:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Terror Suspect Claims CIA Tortured Him": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A Pakistani terrorism suspect denied any connection to al-Qaida and said he was tortured and his family was hounded by U.S. authorities, according to a transcript released Tuesday by the Pentagon." And BBC News provides a report headlined "US detainee 'mentally tortured.'" You can access the transcript at this link. "Ultrasound: latest tool in battle over abortion; Images of fetuses are at the center of a hot debate over states' 'witness to the womb' laws." This article appears today in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 04:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Court to review Internet straight or gay query": Reuters provides this report on the Ninth Circuit ruling issued today that I discuss in the post immediately below. Posted at 03:55 PM by Howard Bashman Splintered Ninth Circuit panel holds that the Communications Decency Act does not protect the online roommate matching service Roommates.com from liability under the Fair Housing Act: Could an animosity toward blogs have foreshadowed a decision screwing-up the protection from liability for online postings afforded to providers of interactive computer services by the Communications Decency Act? Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski wrote the majority opinion for the three-judge panel. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt, in an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have subjected the web site to even more liability under the Fair Housing Act. And former Kozinski law clerk Circuit Judge Sandra S. Ikuta issued an opinion concurring in part (and by implication dissenting in part) in which she makes clear that, in her view, the Communications Decency Act should protect the web site from all claims asserted under the Fair Housing Act that are based on information supplied by the web site's users. At his "Technology & Marketing Law Blog," Law Professor Eric Goldman offers a devastating critique of the ruling. His lengthy blog post concludes, "All in all, this case is a very unfortunate Cyberlaw development. Let's hope the damage gets reversed pronto." Judge Kozinski's opinion contains an interesting discussion that could be viewed as relevant to the pending lawsuit against the web site DontDateHimGirl.com: Imagine, for example, www.harrassthem.com with the slogan "Don't Get Mad, Get Even." A visitor to this website would be encouraged to provide private, sensitive and/or defamatory information about others--all to be posted online for a fee. To post the information, the individual would be invited to answer questions about the target's name, addresses, phone numbers, social security number, credit cards, bank accounts, mother's maiden name, sexual orientation, drinking habits and the like. In addition, the website would encourage the poster to provide dirt on the victim, with instructions that the information need not be confirmed, but could be based on rumor, conjecture or fabrication.The Ninth Circuit's earlier ruling in the Carafano case can be accessed here. Posted at 03:30 PM by Howard Bashman Removal of the cross from the County Seal of Los Angeles did not violate the Establishment Clause by conveying a state-sponsored message of hostility toward Christians, Ninth Circuit holds: You can access today's unanimous ruling of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. A separate PDF file containing black-and-white images of the old and new seals is here. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "White House Pushed Ashcroft on Wiretappings; Former Deputy Says Program Implemented Despite Objections": The Washington Post provides this news update. Posted at 02:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawmaker Challenges Legality of FBI Raid": The AP provides this report on another case argued today in the D.C. Circuit. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Emma Schwartz has a post titled "Reviewing the Raid." "Fate of Detainees Now With Appeals Court": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Bush administration lawyers underwent intense questioning Tuesday in a federal appeals court where attorneys for detainees at Guantanamo Bay pleaded on behalf of prisoners who have been held for years. Judges Judith Rogers and Douglas Ginsburg expressed skepticism about government assurances that the appeals court will receive all the evidence it needs to evaluate the detainees' status as enemy combatants." The third member of the D.C. Circuit panel that heard oral argument in the Guantanamo detainee case today is Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Emma Schwartz has a post titled "The Latest Guantanamo Debate." "School district must release porn": From Wisconsin, The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Pornographic material a Cedarburg teacher viewed on his school computer is public record, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The Cedarburg School District must hand over a collection of pornographic images a teacher allegedly viewed on his school computer to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper, the Supreme Court said in affirming a decision by Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Paul Malloy." In earlier coverage of the case, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in March 2007 published an article headlined "Justices hear adult-images case; Access would shed light on teacher's firing, newspaper says." Plenty of additional, related articles can be accessed via the right-hand column of that web page. You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in both HTML and PDF formats. "State challenges federal mileage standards for SUVs": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "The state of California and environmental groups challenged the Bush administration's gas mileage standards for light trucks and SUVs on Monday, telling a federal appeals court that the government ignored the effects of gas-guzzling vehicles on global warming and caved in to the auto industry." You can access the audio of yesterday's Ninth Circuit oral argument via this link (Windows Media Player required; 9.35MB audio file). "Pakistan Chief Justice Challenges Ouster": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 11:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses for photographs before the University of Pennsylvania Commencement ceremony in Philadelphia": The Associated Press provides this photo. Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman "More Polarizing Than Rehnquist: Chief Justice John Roberts won Senate confirmation by vowing to shun ideological activism; Instead, by trashing judicial precedent and legislative statutes, he's reshaping law to fit conservative dogma." Simon Lazarus has this essay online at The American Prospect. Posted at 11:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Gone-zales? There may be a good reason Bush hangs on to his attorney general." Tod Lindberg has this essay in the May 21, 2007 issue of The Weekly Standard. Posted at 11:13 AM by Howard Bashman "Vision Problems: The Supreme Court's most innovative justice (it's not who you think)." Online today at The New Republic, Law Professor Cass R. Sunstein has this essay. Posted at 11:11 AM by Howard Bashman "Two for the Price of One: The presidency and the judiciary." At National Review Online, Theodore B. Olson has an essay that begins, "A powerful case can be made that the most important and lasting decision a president can make is the selection of a Supreme Court justice." Posted at 11:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Deputy Attorney General McNulty Resigns": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 11:03 AM by Howard Bashman In case involving First Union National Bank's violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Sixth Circuit holds that 1-to-1 ratio of punitive to compensatory damages is maximum federal due process will allow: And because the compensatory damages total $400,000, the district court's original award of $2,628,600 in punitive damages must likewise be reduced to $400,000. Today's ruling speaks of the result as involving a remittitur, but it is not clear that the plaintiff under today's ruling will have the ability, instead, to opt for a new trial, which is a central feature of an actual remittitur. Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman He shot a DVD, literally: And, as a result, he was fired from his job as a unionized airline pilot. After the union grieved the termination, an arbitration panel ordered the pilot reinstated to his job. Today, in an opinion that you can access here, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upholds the reinstatement and rejects the airline's argument that the reinstatement violates public policy. Posted at 10:09 AM by Howard Bashman "Landis Takes Doping Case to Court, Hoping to Keep Title": This article appears today in The New York Times. And The Los Angeles Times today contains an article headlined "Landis' defense on attack; As hearing opens, the 2006 Tour winner's team spars with anti-doping officials over lab tests." "Supreme Court orders review of award in Ford rollover case; At issue is a $55-million punitive verdict against the automaker": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "$55 million SUV rollover award sent to appeals court for review." And The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that "Rollover Ford case sent back for review; High court orders further hearings." "Supreme Court restores death sentence for two-time murderer; The man had told a judge in his Arizona case 'if you want to give me the death penalty, bring it right on'; He later appealed": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And The Arizona Republic reports today that "Killer's final appeal is denied; Supreme Court rejects hearing, paving the way for execution of inmate for stabbing, strangling." "No. 2 at Justice Department resigns; Paul J. McNulty is the highest ranking person to quit in the scandal over the firing of U.S. attorneys; Democrats renew calls for Gonzales to leave": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The Chicago Tribune reports today that "Resignation deals blow to Gonzales; No. 2 official in department to quit." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "More stonewalling at Justice." USA Today reports that "Gonzales' deputy attorney general to step down; Had testified 7 of 8 prosecutors fired for performance." And The Washington Times reports that "No. 2 Justice official McNulty quits over firings." "Navy lawyer admits revealing names of Gitmo detainees": The Virginian-Pilot contains this article today. Posted at 08:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Al-Qaeda Cited Often As Padilla's Trial Opens; Prosecutors Say Suspect Formed 'Support Cell' With Ties to Group": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Padilla trial is shaded by the specter of Al Qaeda; Prosecutors name the terrorist group scores of times in opening arguments; They're fear-mongering, the defense says." The Miami Herald today contains an article headlined "2 views of 'jihad' offered at Padilla trial; At Jose Padilla's terror trial, prosecutors portrayed a South Florida cell as a supporter of al Qaeda, while the defense said it was only backing freedom fighters for Muslims." The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that "Long-awaited trial finally opens for Padilla, accused terror cell members." The Washington Times reports that "Prosecutors paint Padilla backing 'violent jihad.'" And USA Today contains an article headlined "Prosecution: Padilla helped terrorists overseas." "Terror inmates endure solitary routine; With most detainees living in windowless, steel and cement cells, life at the prison camps at Guantanamo has turned into a lockdown routine": Carol Rosenberg has this article today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Arguing Over A Word: Supreme Court Justices Hear Arguments On Whether State Must Allow Marriage For Same-Sex Couples, Not Just Civil Unions." Lynne Tuohy has this article today in The Hartford Courant. And The Boston Globe reports today that "Conn. high court hears same-sex marriage case." The Courant has posted online the audio of yesterday's oral argument in three parts: part one; part two; and part three. "Bush calls for rules to reduce emissions; In reversal, orders EPA to target climate change": The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, "Spurred by a Supreme Court ruling, President Bush yesterday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency and three other federal departments to write new regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and trucks, reversing his position that the federal government lacks the authority to mandate changes to curb one of the chief causes of global warming." Posted at 08:02 AM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Fate of Detainees Now With Appeals Court"; "Lawmaker to Challenge FBI Raid"; and "Pakistan Court Mulls Justice's Fate." Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Bench battle resumes over new nominee": The Hill today contains an article that begins, "Senate partisans are preparing to battle over a nominee to the second-most powerful court in the country, threatening to end a year and a half of peace in the Senate judicial confirmation wars. President Bush nominated Peter Keisler to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in June, making him one of the longest pending circuit court nominees." Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Thomas memoir to get large first printing": Today in USA Today, Joan Biskupic has an article that begins, "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' autobiography, My Grandfather's Son, will be out on Oct. 16, according to publisher HarperCollins." Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman "In Milberg Weiss Case, Doctors Duel Over Lazar's Health": Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, "Doctors dueled in a California courtroom yesterday as a veteran entertainment lawyer, who stands accused of taking $2.4 million in illegal kickbacks for serving as a perennial plaintiff in securities lawsuits, attempted to escape trial on grounds of his ill health." Posted at 06:40 AM by Howard Bashman  
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