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Friday, May 26, 2006 Available online from law.com: Justin Scheck reports that "NSA Cases May Hinge on Issue of Standing." And the brand new installment of my "On Appeal" column is headlined "Recognizing Greatness in 3rd Circuit's Judge Becker." By the way, The Philadelphia Inquirer's article from Tuesday reporting on Monday's funeral service for Third Circuit Judge Edward R. Becker stated that "the stretch of Chestnut Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets will now be named Edward R. Becker Way." One of Judge Becker's former law clerks today emailed to me this photograph of the new street sign on display at 5th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. "Top Bush Aide at Justice Dept. Was Set to Quit": The New York Times on Saturday will contain an article that begins, "Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and senior officials and career prosecutors at the Justice Department told associates this week that they were prepared to quit if the White House directed them to relinquish evidence seized in a bitterly disputed search of a House member's office, government officials said Friday." Posted at 11:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Why Do We Care? -- Reflections on Dead Judges Voting." Steve Vladeck has this interesting post today at "PrawfsBlawg." Posted at 08:10 PM by Howard Bashman Access online the federal government's Brief for Petitioner filed on Monday in Gonzales v. Carhart, the case seeking to uphold the constitutionality of the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003: I have posted online a copy of the brief at this link. Posted at 07:50 PM by Howard Bashman "A Man Scorned: His private life was made shockingly public; So why does he want to go through it all again?" law.com's T.R. Goldman provides this report. Posted at 07:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Apple Loses Court Bid to Identify Sources": The Associated Press provides this report. And Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News provides an update headlined "Court protects bloggers, rebuffs Apple in leak case." My earlier coverage appears here. "Three Top Partners Flee Milberg": law.com's Justin Scheck provides this news update. Posted at 07:32 PM by Howard Bashman "President's Statement on Senate Confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals": The White House issued this statement today. Posted at 04:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge: Reporters Must Give Libby Documents." The Associated Press provides this report on a ruling that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued today. Posted at 03:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Apple v. Does Decision Issued": At her "Bag and Baggage" blog, Denise Howell has this post focusing on today's ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the Sixth Appellate District. The court's opinion begins, "Apple Computer, Inc., a manufacturer of computer hardware and software, brought this action alleging that persons unknown caused the wrongful publication on the World Wide Web of Apple's secret plans to release a device that would facilitate the creation of digital live sound recordings on Apple computers." The opinion continues: In an effort to identify the source of the disclosures, Apple sought and obtained authority to issue civil subpoenas to the publishers of the Web sites where the information appeared and to the email service provider for one of the publishers. The publishers moved for a protective order to prevent any such discovery. The trial court denied the motion on the ground that the publishers had involved themselves in the unlawful misappropriation of a trade secret.Today's opinion concludes that the trial court erred and should have granted the protective order precluding the discovery that Apple was seeking. Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman "This consolidated appeal presents the issue of whether photographs and videotapes of deputy sheriffs engaging in sexually explicit, off-duty conduct available for pay-per-view on the Internet is entitled to First Amendment protection." So begins an opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today. Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Muhammad Rests His Defense in Sniper Trial": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 02:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Strong Booker work from the Sixth Circuit": At the "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog, Law Professor Doug Berman has this post about an interesting decision and concurrence that the Sixth Circuit issued today. Posted at 11:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Nolan Richardson, Jr., appeals the district court's dismissal, following a bench trial, of his race-discrimination and free-speech claims arising out of his termination as the men's head basketball coach for the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville Razorbacks." So begins a lengthy opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued today. Today's ruling affirms the dismissal of those claims. In early press coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Federal court denies Richardson's appeal." "Senate Confirms Kavanaugh to Appeals Court": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 11:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Bar recommends 7 for appeals court": The Virginian-Pilot today contains a news brief that begins, "The Virginia Bar Association on Thursday recommended seven people, including two judges from South Hampton Roads, to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals." After identifying those seven people, the news brief notes that "The vacancy was created by the resignation of Judge J. Michael Luttig." Posted at 11:08 AM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The Hartford Courant: An article headlined "Pro-Life License Plates Under Fire; DMV To Reconsider Sponsor's Eligibility" begins, "A swirling national First Amendment debate hit Connecticut Thursday as the Department of Motor Vehicles said it will stop issuing special 'Choose Life' license plates for The Children First Foundation - a New York-based pro-adoption group opposed to abortion - while it investigates, along with the attorney general, whether the foundation qualifies for the plates." And Lynne Tuohy reports that "Judicial Access Panel Gets To Work." "Judge Junkets Come Under Scrutiny": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 10:05 AM by Howard Bashman The U.S. Senate has just voted to confirm Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit: The vote in favor of confirmation was 57-36. Update: Once posted online, the official roll call tally should appear at this link. The U.S. Senate has just begun its up-or-down vote on the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit: Typically, these votes take about thirty minutes to complete. You can view the proceedings live, online via C-SPAN2 (RealPlayer required). Posted at 08:58 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: An article reports that "Awaiting High Court Review of Lethal Injection, Circuits Are Divided." And in other news, "Legal Observers Divided on Odds of Successful Appeal in Enron Case; Jury finds Lay and Skilling guilty in fraud trial." At 8:45 a.m. this morning, the U.S. Senate will begin post-cloture consideration of the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit: An up-or-down vote to confirm is expected today, although as Ed Whelan notes in this post at National Review Online's "Bench Memos" blog, "Senate rules would allow 30 hours of post-cloture debate." C-SPAN2 (RealPlayer required) will, as usual, provide live coverage of today's Senate proceedings. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Two Enron Chiefs Are Convicted in Fraud and Conspiracy Trial": This article appears today in The New York Times, along with articles headlined "Verdict on an Era: Arrogance and Recklessness at Enron"; "Ignorance Claim Did Not Sway Enron Jury"; and "A Lingering Resentment and a Desire to Move Beyond Rueful Memories." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "And Justice for All." James P. Othmer has an op-ed entitled "Masters of the Universe, Unite!" And columnist Joe Nocera has an essay entitled "The Jurors Who Saw Through the Sideshow" (TimesSelect subscription required). The Washington Post today contains front page articles headlined "Enron Leaders Found Guilty; Massive Fraud Pinned to Lay, Skilling" and "Defendants Sunk by Their Testimony." The newspaper also contains articles headlined "From the Ex-Employees: Revenge, Shock, Sadness"; "White-Collar Crime's New Milestone"; and "Once a Friend and Ally, Now a Distant Memory." An editorial is entitled "Not Just Bad Apples: The welcome convictions in the Enron trial do not make post-Enron accounting reform any less necessary." And columnist Steven Pearlstein has an essay entitled "Convictions Drive Home the Point Again." The Los Angeles Times contains articles headlined "Enron's Top Executives Are Convicted of Fraud; Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling are also found guilty of conspiracy in a scandal that brought down the company and cost investors billions"; "Skilling's Lawyer Girds for an Appeal"; "Chances of Overturning Verdict Seen as Slim; The defense cites the case's venue and other court rulings as grounds for an appeal; But experts see no mistakes to warrant a new trial"; "Californians See 'Poetic Justice'; Still smarting from the 2000-01 energy crisis, residents and officials exult over the verdicts"; "Firm's Fall Led to Change in Conduct; Enron's collapse spurred a crackdown that increased pressure on corporate leadership to enhance and enforce ethics guidelines"; "'How Could They Not See It?'; Jurors say they became convinced that Lay and Skilling had to have known about the fraud that was occurring at the company they ran"; "'He Doesn't Just Win. He Destroys'; Co-lead prosecutor John Hueston is known by friends and foes as a tough opponent"; and "No Hometown Heroes; Enron once had great prestige in Houston; Residents, many of whom know victims of the malfeasance, now feel justice was served." USA Today contains articles headlined "Lay, Skilling found guilty; Both men could spend the rest of their lives in prison"; "Jurors: Ex-Enron execs not credible; Prosecution's witnesses backed each other up"; "How jurors reached the decision"; "Wives, ex-wives faced trials of their own; Spouses were under a lot of pressure, analysts say"; and "Many who lost savings, jobs pleased; 'It restores our faith in the system,' says ex-employee." In The Houston Chronicle, Mary Flood has articles headlined "Ex-Enron bosses closer to prison; Top execs convicted in scheme to hide firm's financial health; experts say they could get up to 25 years at Sept. 11 sentencing" and "Defense will focus on judge's decisions; Not moving case outside Houston, fast jury selection likely to be at issue." In addition, the newspaper contains articles headlined "Evidence buried the testimony of Lay, Skilling; Jurors said they started their task with open minds"; "Tension before the verdict, then sobs"; "White-collar status no ticket to 'Club Fed'; Once in prison, Lay and Skilling could be living with drug dealers and gang members"; "Convictions bring bittersweet relief; Some view the outcome as justice, while others saw a different side of Lay on the stand"; "Verdict met with range of reactions; Some in area are surprised; others say 'justice has been served'"; "Focus was on Lay's personality; Hueston came well-prepared with 'ice in his veins'"; "A federal strike at scandal in world of CEOs; Other cases were bigger, but Enron became a symbol, official says"; "Skilling's ex upset at being 'dragged into' case; She doesn't like how prosecutors presented her or her business"; "For the media, a chapter closes; Filmmakers, TV, print and online reporters reflect on the coverage"; and "You can't interpret rules, McNair says; Texans owner followed case against former business partners." "Avoiding Clash, Senate Sends Judicial Nomination to Floor": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "The Senate cleared the way on Thursday for a top aide to President Bush, Brett M. Kavanaugh, to be confirmed for the federal appeals court, avoiding a partisan showdown over a nomination that had been stalled for three years." Posted at 06:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Evolution stickers ruling tossed; Appeals panel orders trial judge to reopen Cobb case": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today contains an article that begins, "The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Thursday declined to rule on the constitutionality of controversial Cobb County evolution disclaimers because the court said it did not have enough information to make the decision." Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Secrets Claims In NSA Case May Stop Suits": This article (free access) appears today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman "How the Federal Courts Can Clean Up America's Extraterritorial Prisons -- Including Its Secret Prisons: Learning from the Courts' Experience With Jim Crow Criminal Courts." Aziz Huq has this essay today online at FindLaw. Posted at 06:40 AM by Howard Bashman  
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