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Monday, July 31, 2006 "'Super Lawyers' and 'Best Lawyers' Hire Big Guns to Battle Ad Ban; Publishers of legal surveys fight back against unique ethics ruling": law.com provides a report that begins, "Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America have retained attorneys with gravitas to attempt to reverse an ethics opinion that put them out of business in New Jersey." You can access law.com's earlier coverage via this link. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Forget judges, what if jurors had blogs?" Via this post at the blog "Stubborn Facts," I see that two Fridays ago The Associated Press had a report from New Hampshire headlined "Convicted rapist cites juror's blog in appeal." Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Scholars & Scribes Review the Rulings: The Supreme Court's 2005-2006 Term." The Heritage Foundation hosted this event on July 13, 2006. The preceding link allows you to access archived video of the event in both Windows Media and mp3 formats. The second half of the Heritage event was featured on this past Saturday's broadcast of C-SPAN's "America & the Courts." You can view archived video of the broadcast by clicking here (RealPlayer required). "Exotic dancers don't have right to take it all off, high court decrees": Saturday's edition of The Salt Lake Tribune contained an article that begins, "The Utah Supreme Court ruled Friday that the right of exotic dancers to bare all is not a fundamental freedom protected by the Utah Constitution." And Saturday's edition of The Deseret Morning News reported that "Court affirms ban on nude dancing; South S.L. attorney applauds the decision." You can access last Friday's 3-2 ruling of the Supreme Court of Utah at this link. Tour bus "Gone Wild": Apropos of my recent posts titled "Suppression of evidence 'Gone Wild'" and "'Women lose Girls Gone Wild lawsuit,'" additional "Gone Wild" litigation may be in the works as suggested by last Thursday's article in The Iowa City Press-Citizen headlined "Bicyclist trapped under Girls Gone Wild bus; Man was pinned down for nearly 20 minutes" (via "Obscure Store"). Posted at 07:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal judge throws out Minnesota's video game law": The Minneapolis Star Tribune provides a news update that begins, "A federal judge on Monday struck down a state law aimed at keeping violent video games out of the hands of Minnesota children, saying the state has shown no convincing evidence that children are harmed by them." And The Associated Press reports that "Federal judge throws out Minnesota's video game law." I have posted online at this link today's opinion by Chief Judge James M. Rosenbaum of the U.S. District Court of the District of Minnesota. "9/11 Trial Exhibits Posted on Website": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Photographs of the carnage of Sept. 11 and tape-recorded final phone calls from victims in the World Trade Center were posted Monday by a federal court, a total of 1,202 exhibits from the Zacarias Moussaoui trial." The article goes on to report that "The U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., said it is the first criminal case for which a federal court has provided access to all exhibits online." You can access the exhibits online via this link. Defendant alleged to have made false and defamatory statements pertaining to a Pittsburgh-based attorney on the DontDateHimGirl.com web site denies those allegations: Defendant Alesia Roskov filed this Answer, New Matter, and Counterclaim last Friday in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. You can access additional documents filed in the case via this earlier link. Posted at 05:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Texas Republicans Ask to Replace DeLay": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 05:42 PM by Howard Bashman "The Haynes Saga": The Richmond Times-Dispatch today contains an editorial that concludes, "The Haynes nomination is dead in all but name. He should withdraw, and make way for a nominee able to win Senate consent." Posted at 05:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Today we issue an opinion holding that an attorney's subjective good intentions may relieve her from liability for sanctions for her objectively reckless pursuit of a patently frivolous claim. Because this holding flatly contradicts the law of this circuit, I must respectfully dissent." So begins a lengthy dissenting opinion issued today by Senior Circuit Judge James C. Hill from the ruling of the majority on a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Posted at 05:15 PM by Howard Bashman "A move to salvage a big antitrust case": At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, "A newly filed antitrust appeal to the Supreme Court, a significant test of the proof needed to show below-cost pricing to try to drive out a competitor, has been taken off the Court's docket because it was not filed before a deadline." The ruling of a three-judge Sixth Circuit panel in the case can be accessed here. The U.S. Supreme Court's docket entries on the case are available at this link. Access online today's U.S. Supreme Court Order List: It is available at this link. Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman "High court: No vote for parolees." The Denver Post provides this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Colo. Court Upholds Ban on Parolee Voting." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Colorado at this link. Seventh Circuit panel discusses when a motion for summary affirmance is appropriate: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued this opinion today. The opinion states that "When a motion for summary affirmance is appropriate, it should be filed earlier rather than later--not right before the merits brief is due." Today's opinion involves a defendant's sentencing appeal in a criminal case. The federal government filed its motion for summary affirmance days before its merits brief was due. Today's decision holds that the case is not deserving of summary affirmance and that filing a motion for summary affirmance is not an appropriate way to seek to postpone the due date of the Brief for Appellee. "Appeals court hears from lawyers in DeLay ballot battle": The Houston Chronicle provides this news update (via the "Election Law" blog). Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "May a public high school prohibit students from wearing T-shirts with messages that condemn and denigrate other students on the basis of their sexual orientation?" Back on April 20, 2006, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit answered that question in the affirmative. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote the majority opinion, while Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski issued a dissenting opinion. My earlier coverage of this ruling appears here and here. Today, the Ninth Circuit issued an order denying rehearing en banc, from which five judges noted their dissent. The next step for this case will likely be a petition for writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court. Update: A reader emails to note (informed by "California Appellate Report") that Circuit Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain's dissent from the denial of rehearing en banc cites to this blog post from Eugene Volokh at "The Volokh Conspiracy." "Fair Weather Friend of the Court: Senator Specter passes the buck to the courts on one of the major issues of the day." Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Adam J. White have this essay today online at The Weekly Standard. Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman On cases remanded from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to a federal district court located within the geographical boundaries of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Seventh Circuit's local rule governing when the case must be reassigned to a different district judge applies on remand: You can access at this link the Federal Circuit's ruling today in Eolas Technologies, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp. The Seventh Circuit's local rule in question can be accessed here. In my "20 questions for the appellate judge" interview with Senior District Judge Milton I. Shadur of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, that Seventh Circuit local rule was the subject of Question 18. "Massachusetts parents' school plea denied": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 11:28 AM by Howard Bashman "5th Circuit hears DeLay ballot case arguments today; Possible GOP contenders eagerly await the outcome": Today's edition of The Houston Chronicle contains this article. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Arkansas Court Rules in Favor of Gay Foster Parents": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." My earlier coverage appears here. Posted at 09:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Could Increased Openness in Judges' Decision-Making Depoliticize Confirmations?" The brand new installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com appears at this link. It is based on the other major theme of my remarks at the recent Eight Circuit Judicial Conference in Brainerd, Minnesota. The first major theme of those remarks was the subject of my column from last week, headlined "Viewing Law Blogs as a Vast Amicus Brief." Those who would prefer to see Brainerd-area images of Paul Bunyan merely need click here and here. "How an Overachieving Law Professor Toppled the President's Terror Tribunals; Katyal: I Never Wanted to Sue the President." T.R. Goldman has this article (free access) today in Legal Times. Meanwhile, those with subscriptions to the online content of Legal Times can also access an Inadmissible item headlined "Dems Rally to Stall D.C. Circuit Nominee" that begins, "Republican efforts to fast-track Peter Keisler’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit are generating election-season squabbling in the Senate." The transcript of Tony Mauro's recent panel discussion is available online under the headline "2005-06 Supreme Court: The Advocates' View; Four advocates weigh the meaning of Hamdan and the future of the Roberts Court." And in subscription-required commentary, Law Professor Douglas W. Kmiec has an essay entitled "With Reservations: Despite ABA report on signing statements, the president should not enforce an invalid law." Clark Neily has an essay entitled "Banned in Maine: Under a state tuition program, students can pick their school; Just so long as it's not religious." My earlier coverage appears here. And Legal Times reprints one of my recent law.com essays (freely available here) under the heading "Dividing Nine Into Two: The decision to split up the 9th Circuit rests finally with Congress, not the judges." "Court to Hear DeLay Ballot Case Arguments": The Associated Press provides this report. The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit assigned to hear oral argument in this case today consists of Circuit Judges Fortunato P. Benavides, James L. Dennis, and Edith B. Clement. Posted at 07:02 AM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The New York Times: An article reports that "Study Finds Disparities in Judges' Asylum Rulings." An editorial entitled "Prisoners and Human Rights" begins, "The United States has the worst record in the free world when it comes to stripping convicted felons of the right to vote." And Law Professor Walter Dellinger has an op-ed entitled "A Slip of the Pen" about presidential signing statements. "The ABA's Agenda: The American Bar Association takes another swipe at the Bush presidency." The Wall Street Journal contains this editorial today. And today's newspaper also contains a letter to the editor from ABA President Michael Greco under the headline "A Judgment of Fact: The ABA is strictly nonideological." Both links provide free access. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "N.Y. Lawmakers Aim To Curb Electoral College": This article appears today in The New York Sun. Posted at 06:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Action on Judges Expected to Slow; Calendar, Campaign Conspire": Roll Call today contains an article (subscription required) that begins, "Senate Republicans, facing a major political battle and a tight legislative calendar, said last week that there's little chance they can move any of the remaining controversial judicial nominations before the November elections." And the August 7, 2006 issue of Newsweek contains an article headlined "A Gang Under Siege: They were 'saviors of the Senate'; But the Gang of 14 may pay a price at the polls." "Blawg Review #68": Available online here, at "Jeremy Blachman's Brand New Weblog." Posted at 06:33 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, July 30, 2006 "Gay Marriage Case Began With Unusual Call": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 06:05 PM by Howard Bashman "The Wedding March: Washington's high court dealt gay-marriage advocates another setback; What's next--for both sides." This article will appear in the August 7, 2006 issue of Newsweek. Posted at 06:02 PM by Howard Bashman Philadelphia Phillies 11, Florida Marlins 5: My son and I capped off our series of four Phillies games in one week with a victory for the home team today. Today was Randy Wolf's debut after Tommy John surgery last year. Chase Utley extended his hitting streak to thirty games. And Ryan Howard tied a team record with five walks. Between the bottom of the eighth inning and the top of the ninth, the fans gave Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle a lengthy ovation because both were traded today to the New York Yankees. You can access the box score at this link, while a wrap is available here. Posted at 05:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Tribe ensnared in abortion battle; S. Dakota reservation ousts leader over her support to build clinic": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 08:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Borking Predates Bork": Benjamin Wittes has this op-ed today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Case Won on Appeal (to Public)": In the Week in Review section of today's issue of The New York Times, Adam Liptak has an article that begins, "IN some ways, it was a modest decision. A year ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a city in Connecticut could use the power of eminent domain to make room for private development. The decision simply applied existing law and deferred to the judgments of local officials. But the outcome was a revolt." Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman Op-eds published in today's edition of The New York Times: Morris B. Hoffman and Stephen J. Morse have an op-ed entitled "The Insanity Defense Goes Back on Trial." And Dan Savage has an op-ed entitled "Same-Sex Marriage Wins by Losing." Saturday, July 29, 2006 "Hint to Mt. Soledad cross's fate lies in desert; Friends, foes of memorial await result of Mojave case": This article appeared Thursday in The San Diego Union-Tribune. Posted at 09:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Roberts and Alito Misled Us": U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) will have this op-ed Sunday in The Washington Post. Posted at 09:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Shut Up, They Explained: The ABA's latest anti-Bush strike." Edward Whelan has this essay in the August 7, 2006 issue of The Weekly Standard. Posted at 09:25 PM by Howard Bashman "School funding suit dismissed; Supreme Court says the Legislature complied with previous orders; The decision could eliminate a campaign issue in the primary, only a few days away": This article appears today in The Kansas City Star. The Topeka Capital-Journal today contains articles headlined "Relief, concern follow dismissal of school finance case"; "For school districts, ruling enables them to resume work; Educators offer opinions on court ruling and what may lie ahead"; and "Day gives glimpse of court's work; Curious Kansans who turned out for ruling 'thrilled' and 'disappointed.'" The Wichita Eagle reports that "Court dismisses school funding lawsuit." The Lawrence Journal-World reports that "After 7 years, litigation is dismissed." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Kansas at this link, while a related statement from Chief Justice Kay McFarland can be accessed here. "Kent school Bible club dispute becomes a federal case; Court fight centers on 'Christians only' membership limit": Yesterday's edition of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer contained an article that begins, "It seemed a simple idea: two high school girls who wanted to start a Bible club at Kentridge High School. But the once-quiet grumbling over their Christians-only membership plan has now erupted into a full-scale federal case. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, meeting in Seattle, sat rapt as lawyers argued on the one hand for religious freedom and, on the other, against allowing discrimination in a public school district." The Ninth Circuit has posted online the oral argument audio at this link (Windows Media format). "Upholding gay-marriage ban may put new spin on court races": This article appeared yesterday in The Seattle Times. Posted at 02:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Court urged to reconsider ruling on Nebraska gay marriage ban": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Two advocacy groups asked a federal appeals court Friday to reverse a ruling that reinstated Nebraska's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage." And the ACLU yesterday issued a press release entitled "ACLU and Lambda Legal Urge Federal Appeals Court to Reconsider Ruling Upholding Nebraska's Extreme Anti-Gay Family Law." You can access here the petition for rehearing en banc filed Thursday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the three-judge panel's ruling in the case is here, and my earlier coverage of that ruling is here. "Court denies electric chair appeal": This article appears today in The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. And The Omaha World-Herald reports today that "High court rejects challenge to electric chair." My earlier coverage appears at this link. "Our motto risks becoming 'Over God we fight'": Charles C. Haynes has this essay online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 02:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Abortion-consent stall riles GOP, pro-lifers": This article appeared yesterday in The Washington Times. Posted at 02:11 PM by Howard Bashman On yesterday evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "IBM Office Accused of Hacking Law Firm" and "Making It on the Outside, After Decades in Solitary" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 01:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Families Challenging Religious Influence in Delaware Schools": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 01:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge to Bucs: No more fan patdowns; The team's security policy of patdown searches for fans at home games is unconstitutional, a federal judge rules": The St. Petersburg Times today contains an article that begins, "A federal judge has upheld a ban on security patdowns outside Raymond James Stadium before Tampa Bay Buccaneers games, ruling Friday the practice violates the constitutional rights of fans." And The Tampa Tribune today contains an article headlined "No Pat-Downs At Bucs Games." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida at this link. "When the Parents Can’t Know": Today in The New York Times, Judith Warner has this op-ed (TimesSelect subscription required) on the subject of parental notification laws for girls seeking abortions. Posted at 11:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Jefferson May Review Papers Seized in Raid; The lawmaker can object over documents the FBI took from his Capitol Hill office in a bribery probe, an appeals court ruled": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The New York Times reports today that "Lawmaker Wins Delay on Review of Evidence." The Washington Post reports that "Jefferson Wins A Round in Court; Lawmaker May Review Seized Papers." And The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that "Jefferson to get copies of data FBI took; Until judge rules, prosecutors can't peek." "Local scout leaders caught in a dilemma; The group's policy on gays is at root of Phila. dispute": The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today. Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Embattled Md. Judge To Retire For Health; Departure Precedes Misconduct Hearing": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Private I's?: Should the law protect us from kiss-and-tell bloggers?" Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 11:02 AM by Howard Bashman "The Court Under Siege": This editorial appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:55 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, July 28, 2006 "Court: Lawyer in Flatley Case Committed Extortion; An attorney for a woman who had accused the 'Riverdance' star of rape threatened to go public with the allegation, justices rule": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. law.com reports that "Calif. High Court Slaps Misuse of Anti-SLAPP Laws." BBC News reports that "Dancing star sues rape accuser; Former Riverdance star Michael Flatley has won a court ruling allowing him to counter-sue a woman who sued him for allegedly raping her in Las Vegas." The Associated Press reports that "Michael Flatley Gets Go-Ahead for Lawsuit." And Metropolitan News-Enterprise provides an article headlined "Suit Against Lawyer Alleging Extortion Attempt Not SLAPP--S.C." You can access yesterday's rulings of the Supreme Court of California in these two cases here and here. The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Court Blocks Feds on Congressman's Files" and "CBS Appeals 'Wardrobe Malfunction' Fine." Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: An article reports that "2nd Circuit Affirms Ebbers Conviction, 25-Year Sentence; Panel calls sentence 'harsh,' but 'not unreasonable.'" An article is headlined "Save a Cocktail Napkin, Win a Lawsuit; Entertainment lawyers find idea-submission claims worthwhile in the post-'Grosso' world." And the new installment of my "On Appeal" column is headlined "Could Increased Openness in Judges' Decision-Making Depoliticize Confirmations?" Florida Marlins 4, Philadelphia Phillies 1: My son and I attended tonight's Phillies game, the third of four in a one week period that we will have attended between last Sunday night and this Sunday afternoon. Florida's starting pitcher carried a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings. The only bright spots for the Phillies were that second baseman Chase Utley extended his hitting streak to 28 games in his final at bat, and Ryan Howard smacked another monster home run in his final at bat. On the ride home, we learned that third baseman David Bell, who never developed much of a fan base here, has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for 22-year-old right-handed pitcher Wilfrido Laureano. You can access the box score of tonight's game at this link, while wraps are available here and here. Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Klan Leader's Pipe Bomb Conviction Overturned": Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer provides a news update (free access) that begins, "A Pittsburgh area Ku Klux Klan imperial wizard who was convicted on multiple weapons charges won a partial victory in his appeal today when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 'mere possession' of a pipe bomb does not qualify as a 'crime of violence.'" You can access today's ruling by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. The dissenting opinion, by Senior U.S. District Judge Harold A. Ackerman (D.N.J.), sitting by designation, concludes: "Today, the Court holds that the 'mere' possession of a pipe bomb is not a federal crime of violence. As I read this holding, the 'mere' possession of a car bomb, or a landmine, or an explosive vest, or a 'dirty bomb,' or even a nuclear bomb, would also not constitute a crime of violence, because there would be no substantial risk that the possessor may use physical force against another in the course of committing the offense of possession." "CBS appeals fine for Janet Jackson breast flashing": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 04:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court Upholds Ebbers Conviction": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman "An employer of teenagers is not in loco parentis, but he acts at his peril if he fails to warn their parents when he knows or should know that their children are at substantial risk of statutory rape by an older, male shift supervisor in circumstances constituting workplace harassment." Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued this opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Earlier in the opinion, Judge Posner writes: "Nor are American teenage girls such blushing violets that sexual badinage is harassment per se." Finally, a search of Westlaw suggests that this may be the first published judicial opinion in the USA to use the phrase "tittie twisters." Update: "Daily Developments in EEO Law" discusses today's ruling here. "NeXus Journal Blawg Issue": Denise Howell has this post about the current issue of the Nexus journal from the Chapman University School of Law. Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirms criminal convictions of Bernard J. Ebbers, former Chief Executive Officer of WorldCom, Inc.: You can access today's ruling at this link. The ruling also upholds the 25-year jail sentence imposed on those convictions. Posted at 02:34 PM by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit grants rehearing en banc in appeal in which a divided three-judge panel ordered a new trial after the defendant was convicted of traveling across state lines with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor and using an interstate facility to attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sex: A central issue in the case was whether the district court erred in admitting into evidence stories extracted from the defendant's PDA about a father's having sex with his young daughter and the daughter's enjoyment of the experience. The three-judge panel's ruling is available at this link, while my earlier coverage of that ruling is here. Today's order granting rehearing en banc is at this link. Posted at 12:45 PM by Howard Bashman Available today at National Review Online: Ramesh Ponnuru has an essay entitled "Slate’s Hamdan Hoax: Justice Stevens just can't be defended." Rich Lowry has an essay entitled "Judges in Check -- for Now: Is the balance back?" And an editorial entitled "Signing Off" asserts that "[t]he idea that Bush's use of signing statements has created a constitutional crisis is impossible to take seriously." "Neb. Court Rejects Electric Chair Appeal": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The state Supreme Court on Friday rejected an inmate's appeal that the electric chair amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, leaving Nebraska as still the only state with electrocution as its sole means of execution." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Nebraska at this link. "If the Judicial Confirmation Process is Broken, Can a Statute Fix It?" Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl has this essay (abstract with link for download) online at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman D.C. Circuit rejects claim of best-selling author and producer of radio and TV infomercials that Federal Trade Commission press release announcing the settlement of a case the agency brought against him for false and misleading advertising was itself false and misleading: Bloggers who are in the habit of discussing, while linking directly to, primary materials found on the internet may find the following passage from today's opinion to be of interest: Finally, Trudeau asserts that the press release is misleading because it fails to expressly state, as the 2004 Final Order did, that there had been "no findings or admissions of wrongdoing or liability" with respect to Trudeau. 2004 Final Order ¶ 8. As we said above, we do not believe that a reasonable reader could construe the press release as suggesting that there had been such a finding; accordingly, an express disavowal was unnecessary to prevent such a reader from being misled. In any event, the online version of the release -- which is the version upon which Trudeau focuses his attention -- contains a link to the 2004 Final Order, prominently displayed in bold at the top-right corner of the webpage. The link permits any interested reader to compare the release with the order itself, including its disavowal of a judicial finding. See 2004 Final Order ¶ 8. With the terms of the order just two mouseclicks away, any potential misreading of the release can easily be averted.You can access today's D.C. Circuit ruling at this link. The press release at issue in the appeal can be accessed here, while additional records from the proceeding can be accessed via this link. Posted at 10:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Review Panel Clears Chatigny; Report Finds No Bias In Dispute Over Michael Ross Case": Lynne Tuohy has this article today in The Hartford Courant. The Associated Press reports that "Judge cleared of misconduct in handling of Ross appeals." And The Connecticut Law Tribune provides an article headlined "Report: Chatigny Not Motivated By Bias; 2nd Circuit panel finds no misconduct on judge’s part in Ross litigation." This earlier post of mine links to the report and to Wednesday's order; the report is also available online here via the Second Circuit's web site. Finally for now, at the "Crime & Federalism" blog, Connecticut-based attorney Norm Pattis has a post that begins, "I confess wonder and awe at the recent decision of the Judicial Council of the Second Circuit." "On Prosecuting Detainees; Draft Bill Waives Due Process for Enemy Combatants": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Judicial Undersight: Don't blame Congress for investigating Judge Manuel Real when judicial self-policing fails." The Los Angeles Times contains this editorial today. Posted at 07:11 AM by Howard Bashman "Signing Off: Presidential signing statements aren't a problem; What Mr. Bush is saying in them is." This editorial appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Detainee Abuse Charges Feared; Shield Sought From '96 War Crimes Act": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "An obscure law approved by a Republican-controlled Congress a decade ago has made the Bush administration nervous that officials and troops involved in handling detainee matters might be accused of committing war crimes, and prosecuted at some point in U.S. courts." Posted at 07:04 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, July 27, 2006 "As Populations Swell, Prisons Rethink Supermax": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 09:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Top court upholds man's DUI conviction; Traffic signs' legality at issue in Bowling Green case": This article appears today in The Toledo Blade. You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Ohio at this link. And the court's press release announcing the decision is entitled "Officer’s Observation of Violation of Non-Approved Traffic Sign Can Be Basis for Valid Traffic Stop." "Lesbian's 'don't ask, don't tell' challenge dismissed; ACLU plans to appeal ruling on 19-year Air Force veteran": The Associated Press provides this report from Washington State. I have posted at this link yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. And you can view at this link the complaint that initiated the lawsuit. "For gay-marriage backers, rulings portend long road; In New York and Washington State this month, justices point to state legislatures to decide the issue – a lengthier process": Warren Richey will have this article Friday in The Christian Science Monitor. In today's edition of USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that "Washington state upholds gay-marriage ban." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Washington Court Upholds Gay-Marriage Ban; In a 5-4 ruling, the state Legislature's 1998 ban is upheld; But three judges in the majority call on lawmakers to revisit the issue and its effects." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Washington's top court bars gay marriage; State Constitution grants no such right -- but Legislature could, justices say." The Washington Times reports that "Court refuses to define marriage." The Seattle Times contains articles headlined "Supreme Court upholds state gay-marriage ban"; "Nine justices, six opinions, no consensus"; and "Emotions run high after court's decision." In addition, an editorial is entitled "A missed opportunity on state Supreme Court." And columnist Danny Westneat has an op-ed entitled "Bizarre rationale for bias." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer contains articles headlined "No wedding bells for state's gay couples; Court upholds ban on same-sex marriage"; "Advocates gear up for the next round on gay marriage"; "Decision opens a door for Democrats in Legislature"; "Hawaii 'victory' prompted ban efforts"; and "Anger, disappointment -- and hope -- on Capitol Hill." In addition, an editorial is entitled "Supreme Court: I do's to do." Glen Lavy has an op-ed entitled "The pro-legalization agenda is grounded on flawed premise." And Lisa M. Stone and Patricia Novotny have an op-ed entitled "Ruling doesn't respect equality." The Olympian of Olympia, Washington contains articles headlined "Court upholds gay marriage ban"; "What's next: Ruling doesn't end political debate"; and "Decision puts couples at odds with state." Finally, The News Tribune of Tacoma, Washington reports that "Gay marriage ban belongs to legislators, justices say; In a 5-4 decision, the state Supreme Court upholds lawmakers’ right to ban same-sex marriage; Bills on both sides of the issue look likely for next year." And columnist Peter Callaghan has an op-ed entitled "Like all the rest of us, justices get passionate." "Court Wants More Guantanamo Arguments": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal appeals court granted a Bush administration request to make more legal arguments over the fate of hundreds of lawsuits filed by detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "D.C. Circuit to weigh Hamdan impact." "When Eminent Domain Loses: The Ohio Supreme Court strikes a major blow for property rights." Duncan Currie has this essay online today at The Weekly Standard. Posted at 05:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Bypassed: All parental consent laws for abortion include a judicial bypass process; On the ground, in state after state, that process is dysfunctional." Helena Silverstein and Wayne Fishman have this essay online today at The American Prospect. Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman Judicial Council of the Second Circuit rejects misconduct charges against Chief Judge Robert N. Chatigny of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut arising out of judicial proceedings involving the impending execution of Connecticut death row inmate Michael Ross: Yesterday's order of the judicial council can be accessed at this link, while a 46-page report filed earlier this month by a special committee convened to investigate the charges of misconduct can be accessed at this link. From January of 2005, you can access a Boston Globe article headlined "Conn. delays execution of killer; Conflict of interest with lawyer eyed" and New York Times articles headlined "Killer's Execution Is Delayed Despite Supreme Court Ruling" and "Judge Criticized Killer’s Lawyer Before Reprieve." The transcript of what I previously described as "the quite remarkable teleconference" that Chief Judge Chatigny conducted can be accessed here via The Hartford Courant. "If Daughters Decided: Even Supreme Court justices ruling on major constitutional issues can be swayed by their families; Is that a bad thing?" Reynolds Holding has this essay online at Time.com. Posted at 03:45 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Specter Proposes Bill to Challenge President" and "Civil Liberties Groups Oppose Surveillance Bill" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Remember Judges? The GOP ignores judicial nominations at their peril." Sean Rushton has this essay today at National Review Online. And Robert Novak's syndicated column today is headlined "Republicans Not Capitalizing on Judge Issue." "L.A. Democrat Reluctantly Drawn Into Probe; Sensenbrenner Orders Panel to Investigate Conduct of U.S. Judge Real": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 02:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Threats Against Judges Are on the Rise": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 02:30 PM by Howard Bashman Today's rulings of note from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: In a ruling issued today, the Ninth Circuit joined the overwhelming majority of other federal appellate courts in resolving whether the "forum defendant rule" -- which prohibits a defendant from removing a case from state court to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction if the defendant is a citizen of the State where the case was filed -- is a jurisdictional or procedural requirement. Today's ruling holds that the requirement is a waivable, non-jurisdictional defect subject to the 30-day time limit imposed under the removal statute. Today's decision therefore overturns a federal district court's sua sponte remand of a case that was sent back to state court approximately eight months after its removal, in violation of the forum defendant rule, to federal court. And in a second decision issued today, the Ninth Circuit discusses when a resentencing under Booker must be performed by the same federal district judge who imposed the original sentence. Today's opinion holds: "We believe the proper course is for the original sentencing judge to conduct the resentencing, particularly where the judge felt strongly enough to make on-the-record statements about the propriety of the sentence he was required to impose under the Guidelines." In Ninth Circuit-related news from Alaska: The Anchorage Daily News yesterday reported that "Court questions suit against bridge across Newhalen River; Lodge owner claims road violates civil rights, allows easy access to property." The oral argument audio is available here (Windows Media format; right click to save to disk). And The Associated Press provides reports headlined "Urban hunters argue case for access in subsistence suit; 9th Circuit hears appeal on constitutionality of regulations for federal lands" (oral argument audio available here) and "Appeals judges approve drilling for oil in NPR-A; Challengers had tried to limit development on environmental grounds." "Congress vs. another chimera": Yesterday, The Chicago Tribune contained an editorial that begins, "We all know that an epic battle is shaping up between Republicans and Democrats in the November congressional races. But lately, a lot of House Republicans act as though they're running against someone else: the entire federal judiciary." Posted at 10:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Ohio Landowners Win Eminent Domain Case; State's high court rules that a Cincinnati suburb can't seize property to help boost its economy": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. The Cincinnati Enquirer today contains articles headlined "Coming home to Norwood; Decision a blow to city's recovery"; "Anticipated revenue from tax turns to dust"; "Momentum building for backlash; States already addressing property rights issues"; "Dump it? Build around? Buy them out?"; "Ruling affects other domain cases"; and "'I'm thrilled to own my house again.'" In addition, the newspaper contains an editorial entitled "Big victory for property owners." The Cleveland Plain Dealer contains articles headlined "Court limits eminent domain; Court: Money can't drive eminent domain" and "Ruling pleases lawyers in local domain cases." The Toledo Blade reports that "Justices block seizure of residence; unanimous decision limits use of eminent-domain law." The Columbus Dispatch contains articles headlined "Score one for Ohio property owners; Court: Land seizures can’t be just for economic gain" and "City officials analyzing ruling's effect on future projects." And The Dayton Daily News contains articles headlined "Top court limits eminent domain for developments; Economic improvement alone is not enough reason to take private land, the court rules unanimously" and "Definition of blighted is key for eminent domain cases; Some fear ruling will hurt municipalities' abilities to turn some areas around with private development." "Indictment issued in library foot-kissing; The case was presented directly to the grand jury": This article appeared Tuesday in The Vindicator of Youngstown, Ohio. My earlier, unrelated coverage of a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejecting an asserted constitutional right not to wear shoes in an Ohio library can be accessed at this link. Posted at 10:38 AM by Howard Bashman Neal Katyal on "The Colbert Report": We learn, among other things, that the "T" in "Katyal" is not silent. You can view the video via "YouTube" by clicking here. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman Suppression of evidence "Gone Wild": The Associated Press reports that "Evidence Tossed in 'Girls Gone Wild' Case." You can access yesterday's ruling by clicking here. Posted at 10:12 AM by Howard Bashman In jurisprudence essays available online from Slate: Dahlia Lithwick has an essay entitled "Rational Lampoon: How to make a thorny constitutional question disappear" in which she analyzes yesterday's same-sex marriage ruling (links to that ruling can be accessed via this earlier post) from the Washington State Supreme Court. And Emily Bazelon has an essay entitled "Hamdan Hoax, Part 3: The mistaken defense of Sens. Kyl and Graham." Intermediate appellate court in Texas vacates law professor's conviction for using her car to intentionally run down a bicyclist: You can access at this link yesterday's ruling of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas. My initial coverage of this matter appeared in July 2004 in a post titled "Law professor gains first-hand experience in criminal law and torts." Post covering the trial, which occurred in June 2005, can be accessed here, here, and here. "Specter takes step to halt Bush signing statements; Says Congress needs power to sue president": Charlie Savage has this article today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 07:37 AM by Howard Bashman "Rules Debated for Trials of Detainees": This article appears today in The New York Times. And The Washington Post reports today that "Proposal Calls for Tribunal-Style Trials; Plan for Detainees Was Created Without Much Input From Military Lawyers." "Administration and Critics, in Senate Testimony, Clash Over Eavesdropping Compromise": The New York Times contains this article today. And The Washington Post reports today that "Officials Urge Law to Allow Eavesdropping; Foreign Calls Routed Through U.S. at Issue." "Lawyer Is Upping the Ante in Claims of Idea Theft in Hollywood": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Can Withhold Security Firm Data; The Times loses its bid in court for the names of contractors involved in shootings in Iraq": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Investors' Class-Action Lawsuits Drop Sharply; Stock Gains, Governance Measures Cited": The Washington Post contains this article today. Posted at 07:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Parental Notification": This editorial appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:23 AM by Howard Bashman "Threats up against federal judges; Marshals boost investigator ranks": Today's edition of USA Today contains this front page article, along with a related article headlined "Judges clamor for protection after killings, threats." Posted at 07:10 AM by Howard Bashman "White House Sticks To Wiretap Argument; Despite Backlash, Lawyers Defend Presidential Authority In Letters to Lawmakers": This article (free access) appeared yesterday in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 07:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Democrats Oppose Bill Denying Attorneys' Fees": Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, "Democratic lawmakers in the House are expressing strong opposition to legislation that would deny attorneys' fees to individuals and groups who win cases challenging government actions as a violation of the Constitution's prohibition on the establishment of religion." Posted at 07:03 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, July 26, 2006 "In U.S. Prisons, Thousands Spend Years in Isolation": National Public Radio today issued this written report. And this evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained two related audio segments entitled "At Pelican Bay Prison, a Life in Solitary" and "Solitary Confinement at Pelican Bay, Part II" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Ohio Supreme Court Rejects Taking of Homes for Project": Thursday's edition of The New York Times will contain this article. Posted at 11:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Washington Court Upholds Ban on Gay Marriage": This article will appear Thursday in The New York Times. And The Washington Post on Thursday will report that "Washington State Upholds Ban on Same-Sex Marriage." Philadelphia Phillies 6, Arizona Diamondbacks 4: My son and I tonight were a part of the largest crowd ever in the history of Citizens Bank Park, exactly 45,459 fans. They were in attendance not only to see a Phillies victory, but also to obtain this evening's promotional give-away, an American Red Cross Ryan Howard Bobble Figurine. You can access the box score of tonight's game at this link, while wraps are available here and here. Meanwhile, in related news, "Phils trade Fasano to Yankees." "Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, we conclude that a routine dismissal of a prisoner's complaint for failure to exhaust administrative remedies does not qualify as a strike for purposes of the PLRA." So concludes an opinion that a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued today in a case involving the Prison Litigation Reform Act. Posted at 04:50 PM by Howard Bashman "White House Bill Proposes System to Try Detainees": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 04:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Rejects Customer Suit Over Records From AT&T": Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak has an article that begins, "A federal judge in Chicago dismissed a class-action lawsuit yesterday against AT&T that claimed it had illegally given information about its customers to the National Security Agency. The judge, Matthew F. Kennelly, based his ruling on the state secrets privilege, which can bar suits that would disclose information harmful to national security." The Chicago Tribune reports today that "Phone records lawsuit dismissed." And The Chicago Sun-Times reports that "Studs Terkel's suit over phone records thrown out." I have posted online at this link a copy of yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. "Washington Court Upholds Ban on Gay Marriage": Adam Liptak of The New York Times provides this news update. Posted at 04:05 PM by Howard Bashman "The Roberts Court: What Can This Term Tell Us About the Future of the Court?" That's the title of this week's broadcast of the public radio program "Justice Talking." You can access the audio online in both Windows Media and mp3 formats. Guests on the broadcast, recorded earlier this month at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, were Joan Biskupic and Law Professors Richard A. Epstein and Kathleen M. Sullivan. "Presidential Signing Statements": This audio segment (available in both RealPlayer and Windows Media Player formats) featuring former blogger Michelle Boardman and others appeared on today's broadcast of the public radio program "On Point." Posted at 03:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Ohio Supreme Court rules city can’t take property for economic development": The Columbus Dispatch provides this news update. And The Toledo Blade provides a news update headlined "Ohio Supreme Court strikes down eminent domain in economic development." My earlier coverage appears at this link. On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Senate Limits Interstate Abortions for Minors" and "Flexibility Built into Mass. Abortion Law" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 02:33 PM by Howard Bashman On pending federal appellate court judicial nominations: The Wall Street Journal today contains an editorial entitled "An ABA Hit Job: Political payback against a judicial nominee" (free access). Yesterday, a post titled "The Majority Leader on Judges" appeared at Hugh Hewitt's blog. And the Center for Investigative Reporting notes here that yesterday "In a 'Dear Colleague' letter, Majority Leader Frist and Judiciary Committee Chairman Specter send Boyle's explanation of his conflicts of interest to fellow senators." "Payback is ... an obstacle to mootness": Back on April 13, 2006, I published a post bearing that title that stated, in full: Today the majority on a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reverses the dismissal on mootness grounds of a taxpayers' establishment clause challenge to a grant of money by the Secretary of Education to the University of Notre Dame to be used for a program called Alliance for Catholic Education. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner wrote the majority opinion, in which Circuit Judge Terence T. Evans joined. Circuit Judge Diane S. Sykes dissented, writing that she would affirm the district court's dismissal for mootness.Today the Seventh Circuit issued an order denying rehearing en banc in the case, accompanied by a short opinion from the majority on the original three-judge panel clarifying two points in response to the petitions for rehearing. Posted at 02:04 PM by Howard Bashman Chicago arrested and imprisoned the wrong man: Later, after the error was corrected, the man brought a federal civil rights suit against the city's sheriff, and a jury awarded $750,000 in damages. Today, in an opinion that Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook issued on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the jury's award in favor of the man is reversed. Judge Easterbrook writes: "The Sheriff’s policy is simple: Ignore all claims of misidentification (and any other version of the assertion that a suspect is innocent). It is the same policy that Tommy Lee Jones (portraying a U.S. Marshal) announced in The Fugitive when Harrison Ford's character proclaimed his innocence: 'I don’t care.' A judge had committed Ford's character to prison, and that was that. We hold that it is an entirely lawful policy unless the custodian knows that the judge refuses to make an independent decision or there is doubt about which person the judge ordered held." "The district court correctly held that at this early stage of the oil and gas program in the NWPA of Alaska, the FEIS prepared by BLM did not violate NEPA or the ESA." So concludes an opinion that a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today, rejecting an environmental challenge to leases of vast reaches of the northernmost part of the State of Alaska, known as the Northwest Planning Area, that would enable oil companies to undertake exploration to determine what sites, if any, can be developed for productive drilling. Posted at 01:42 PM by Howard Bashman "State Supreme Court upholds Defense of Marriage Act": The Olympian of Olympia, Washington provides this news update. Posted at 01:32 PM by Howard Bashman "State Supreme Court upholds gay marriage ban": The Seattle Times provides this news update. Posted at 12:30 PM by Howard Bashman BREAKING NEWS -- The Washington State Supreme Court upholds as lawful that state's Defense of Marriage Act prohibiting same-sex marriage: The lead opinion states: "The two cases before us require us to decide whether the legislature has the power to limit marriage in Washington State to opposite-sex couples. The state constitution and controlling case law compel us to answer 'yes,' and we therefore reverse the trial courts." The six separate opinions issued in the case can be accessed via this link. Washington State's Supreme Court consists of nine justices. Three justices joined in the lead opinion. The Chief Justice, who joined in that lead opinion, also issued a concurring opinion. Two other justices joined in an opinion concurring in the judgment only, thereby giving rise to a total of five votes to uphold the challenged law. The remaining four justices dissented. They all joined in the lead dissenting opinion. One of the four also issued a separate dissent. Two other dissenters joined in a third dissenting opinion. In early news coverage, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that "State's high court upholds ban on gay marriage." And The Associated Press reports that "Wash. Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban." "Home-taking overruled": The Cincinnati Enquirer provides a news update that begins, "The city of Norwood cannot use 'deteriorating' as a standard for blight to justify the taking of homes by eminent domain, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled this morning." And The Associated Press reports that "High court says city can't take property for economic development." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Ohio at this link. Justice Maureen O'Connor wrote the opinion on behalf of a unanimous court. Ohio's highest court also issued a news release headlined "Portion of Eminent Domain Law Unconstitutional, Norwood Taking for Development Overturned." Thanks to Will Baude for the pointer. "Washington DOMA Ruling Today": At his "Law Dork" blog, Chris Geidner previews the ruling, which is expected to become available online via this link in about thirty minutes from now. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman "'N.Y. Times' Reporter Speaks At Chautauqua": The Post-Journal of Jamestown, New York today contains an article that begins, "Linda Greenhouse is what some Supreme Court watchers have called the 10th justice. She avoided acknowledging the weighty title while speaking before Chautauquans at the Hall of Philosophy on Tuesday, but said 28 years covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times have given her an interesting vantage point." Posted at 09:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Missouri Execution Ban Stands; The state revises its procedure for lethal injections but can't find an anesthesiologist to take part and prevent unnecessary suffering": Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And The Kansas City Star reports today that "New protocol deemed inadequate; Appeals court to decide whether state’s new execution procedure is constitutional." "Church and State": The New York Sun today contains an editorial that begins, "Some parents in Maine are trying to turn up the heat on Justice Kennedy in respect of education and the First Amendment. The parents have filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to overturn Maine's relatively recent exclusion of religious schools from its century-old school choice program." Update: The Institute for Justice yesterday issued a press release entitled "Parents Ask U.S. Supreme Court To End Religious Discrimination & Vindicate Full School Choice." A copy of the petition for certiorari filed yesterday can be viewed at this link, while the Main Supreme Judicial Court's ruling is available here. "Strip the courts": Terence Jeffrey has this essay today at Townhall.com. Posted at 08:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Newdow Appeals Dismissal of 'In God We Trust' Lawsuit to the Ninth Circuit": Pacific Justice Institute has issued this press release. Posted at 08:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Senate OKs Curb on Interstate Abortions for Minors; The Republican-backed bill criminalizes travel to evade parental consent; Rights advocates say it's fuel for rallying supporters": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The Chicago Tribune reports today that "Senate bill limits minors' abortions; Only parents could take girl to another state for procedure." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Senate votes to bar abortion in other states for some minors; House has OKd a similar measure, and Bush backs both." The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that "Senate supports state parental consent laws for abortions." And The Washington Times reports that "Senate approves parental consent." The New York Sun is reporting: In today's newspaper, Josh Gerstein has an article headlined "Attorneys' Fees In Church Cases To Be Tested." And in other news, "As Judge Leaves for Law Firm, His Legacy Is Remembered." "Seminars make better judges": Ed Feulner has this op-ed today in The Chicago Sun-Times. Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Drug case tossed out on appeal; U.S. judge in Baltimore encouraged guilty pleas": The Baltimore Sun contains this article today. My earlier coverage appears here. Posted at 08:03 AM by Howard Bashman "Bill seeks to cut disparity in cocaine case sentences": This article appears today in The Washington Times. And The Tuscaloosa News reports today that "Sessions seeks to adjust sentences for crack, powder cocaine offenses." "Gays Engaged in a Battle for Hearts, Minds; After a string of setbacks on same-sex marriage, activists are trying to get the public to see that their family matters are much like anyone else's": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "State Supreme Court to rule on gay marriage today": This article appears today in The Seattle Times. And The Seattle Post-Intelligencer today contains an article headlined "Big day in long fight over same-sex marriage; Court ruling could open state's doors to gay weddings." "Holmes' nomination confirmed; The Oklahoma jurist will become the first black judge to serve on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals": The Tulsa World contains this article today. Posted at 07:45 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, July 25, 2006 "Interstate Abortion Bill Clears Senate; Minors Would Need Parents' Permission": This article will appear Wednesday in The Washington Post. And The New York Times on Wednesday will report that "Senate Restricts Abortion Option for Young Girls." The text of the Child Custody Protection Act can be accessed here, while the tally of today's roll call vote in the U.S. Senate is available at this link. The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Settlement Appears Close on Indian Trust" and "Judge Dismisses Phone Records Lawsuit." Posted at 05:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Speakers Cornered: Cheney's leaking represents an abuse of power, not freedom of speech." Law Professor Erwin Chemerinsky has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 05:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Washington Supreme Court to announce same-sex marriage decision; Long-awaiting ruling coming tomorrow": The Seattle Post-Intelligencer provides this news update. Official notice from the Washington State Supreme Court appeared online here and here today. Posted at 05:03 PM by Howard Bashman Question 1: When seeking to cross a river, do you prefer to roe or wade? Today in The Rockford Register Star, political editor Chuck Sweeny has a column headlined "3 from Rockford take judge exam at White House." Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman "ACLU appeals dismissal of German's CIA torture case": Reuters provides a report that begins, "The American Civil Liberties Union said on Tuesday it has appealed the dismissal of a federal lawsuit filed by a German of Lebanese origin who says he was abducted and tortured by the CIA." And the ACLU today has issued a press release entitled "ACLU Appeals Case of German Man Kidnapped by CIA." The appellate brief that the ACLU's lawyers filed yesterday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is available online in two parts (part one; part two), while additional information about the case is available via this link. The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "White House Working on Detainee Rules"; "Judge Rejects Skilling's Request"; and "Sponsors Hold Out for Press Shield Law." Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Scouts will fight for use of building; The mayor says the local council must change its policy on gays, pay market rent, or vacate": The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains an article that begins, "The Boy Scouts of America will fight to stay in the city-owned building they have occupied since 1928, saying the City of Philadelphia has no right to force them to change their policy barring gay members." And The Philadelphia Daily News today contains an article headlined "Parks vote agrees on Scouts; Endorses Street call: No gender bias or lose HQ on city land." "Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy, Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee, On The Nomination Of Jerome A. Holmes To The Court Of Appeals For The Tenth Circuit": The statement, bearing today's date, is available online at this link. Posted at 03:45 PM by Howard Bashman Fourth Circuit sets aside the guilty pleas of three defendants because the federal district judge participated in the plea negotiations and repeatedly encouraged the defendants to plead guilty: You can access today's ruling at this link. The opinion concludes with the Fourth Circuit's direction that the case be assigned to a different U.S. District Judge on remand. Posted at 03:28 PM by Howard Bashman Third Circuit affirms denial of qualified immunity to prison officials on First Amendment free exercise of religion claim asserted by Muslim inmate assigned to work as a cook in his prison's kitchen who alleges he was disciplined for refusing to help prepare a meal that included pork: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman In newz from New Zealand: The Dominion Post of Wellington today contains an article headlined "High profile lawyer protests through dress" that begins, "A high-profile lawyer has taken to wearing women's clothing in what he says is a gender-bending protest against the male-dominated corruption of New Zealand's judicial system." And Wednesday's edition of that newspaper contains a related article headlined "Mrs Moodie stands by her 'Alice.'" In other coverage, the New Zealand Press Association reports that "Male lawyer appears in court in women's clothes." The Associated Press reports that "New Zealand Lawyer Sports Skirt to Court." And Reuters reports that "Cross-dressing lawyer skirts dress code." Ninth Circuit holds that woman's prostitution conviction under Hawaii law does not prevent her reentry into the United States under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that renders inadmissible any alien who "has engaged in prostitution" within the past ten years: According to today's opinion, the woman's argument, with which the Ninth Circuit now has agreed, was that "Hawaii's definition of prostitution is overly broad and 'has gone far beyond the well-accepted and understood meaning of prostitution.'" Circuit Judge Harry Pregerson issued the opinion on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel. Posted at 02:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Holmes appointment to appeals court appoved by U.S. Senate": The Tulsa World provides this news update. Posted at 02:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Conservatives call for cloture on Boyle": This article appears today in The Hill. Posted at 12:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Snookering Stevens: A justice gets duped." Today at National Review Online, Ramesh Ponnuru has an essay that begins, "Everyone knows that Hamdan v. Rumsfeld was the blockbuster case of the latest Supreme Court term. What everyone doesn't know -- even most of the decision's critics -- is that Justice John Paul Stevens's majority opinion in the case is partly based on simple factual mistakes." Posted at 12:24 PM by Howard Bashman The U.S. Senate has confirmed Jerome A. Holmes to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit by a vote of 67-30: I will link to the official roll call vote tally once it becomes available. Update: The official vote tally is here. This is not the first time that a judicial nominee of President George W. Bush with the the last name Holmes encountered substantial opposition, as a roll call vote tally from July 6, 2004 demonstrates. "Overpasses become activists' podiums; 'Highway blogs' come, go quickly": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 12:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Ruling Threatens Consumer Lawsuits; A state Supreme Court decision could void many cases filed before Proposition 64's passage": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. Claire Cooper, legal affairs writer for The Sacramento Bee, today has an article headlined "Justices strengthen frivolous suit ban; They also give consumer groups more latitude under Prop. 64." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Consumer lawsuit scope defined; Ruling on Prop. 64 says it covered cases pending at the time." And The Daily Journal of California reports that "High Court Gives and Takes in Cases on Proposition 64." You can access here and here the two rulings the Supreme Court of California issued yesterday that are the subject of these news reports. "Kidnap and Gang Rape Were Lies, Woman Concedes; A plea deal gives the Dana Point woman less than a year in jail for false accusations against six men with whom she had consensual sex": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. And The Orange County Register reports today that "Dana Point woman recants rapes." In February 2006, OC Weekly published a rather graphic article about the matter. The U.S. Senate has just begun its up-or-down vote on the nomination of Jerome A. Holmes to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit: These roll call votes tend to take about 30 minutes to complete. Once the final vote is announced, I'll update this post. Posted at 11:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Congress Debates Abortion Bill Affecting Minors": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 11:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Lawmakers Urge Funds for U.S. Attorneys; Staffing, Supply Shortages Compromising Prosecutions, Letter to Gonzales Charges": This article appears today in The Washington Post. And The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Attorney's Offices' Staffing Is Decried; Two lawmakers upbraid Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales, saying cases are going unprosecuted." "Read the Fine Print": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "Over 212 years, 42 presidents issued 'signing statements' objecting to a grand total of 600 provisions of new laws. George W. Bush has done that more than 800 times in just over five and a half years in office." Posted at 07:23 AM by Howard Bashman "Staircase wrangling likely over for good": The Salt Lake Tribune today contains an article that begins, "The legal tussle over President Clinton's 1996 designation of a vast national monument in southern Utah most likely ended Monday." And The Associated Press reports that "Court denies appeal on Grand Staircase." My earlier coverage appears at this link. "The Supreme Court's End-of-Term Campaign Finance Decision: Following the Key Buckley Precedent, But Exposing Some Justices' Critiques of It, Too." Julie Hilden has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 07:08 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, July 24, 2006 On this date in "How Appealing" history: One year ago today, as I then noted in this post, The Washington Post contained articles headlined "Few Have Felt Beat of Roberts's Political Heart" and "Nominee Excelled as an Advocate Before Court; Roberts Is Noted For His Preparation And Persuasiveness." And three years ago today, on July 24, 2003, I had a post titled "Leave it to NPR to generate humor in the battle to confirm Alabama Attorney General William H. Pryor, Jr. to the Eleventh Circuit." My post began, "A librarian who works for a very large federal appellate court based in the western United States emails: 'Comedian Richard Pryor nominated to Eleventh Circuit? According to the written summary for this NPR Morning Edition report he is.'" The introduction to the audio report in question, featuring Nina Totenberg, repeats the same error, and you can listen to it by clicking here (RealPlayer required). "Lawmakers seek to bar hot issues from courts; Conservatives' bills aim to block federal judges from hearing cases on controversial topics": This article appeared last Thursday in The Indianapolis Star. Posted at 11:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Ethics Crusaders Crush 'SuperLawyers'; As N.J. panel outlaws marketing tied to two popular attorney-rating schemes, firms scurry to revamp ads and Web sites": law.com provides this report. You can access the recent opinion of New Jersey's Committee on Attorney Advertising at this link. Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman "ABA Task Force Report on Presidential Signing Statements": Marty Lederman has this post at the "Balkinization" blog. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman Three-judge Tenth Circuit panel rejects challenge to the legality of the 1996 creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 09:14 PM by Howard Bashman "How the Supreme Court Struck Back: Why the Justices said no to the Bush administration's detainee policy." Law Professor David Cole will have this commentary in the August 10, 2006 issue of The New York Review of Books. Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman "ABA, the courts and the presidency": Lyle Denniston has this analysis online at "SCOTUSblog." And at National Review Online's "Bench Memos" blog, Ed Whelan has a post titled "ABA Report on Presidential Signing Statements: A Critique." "Courts Dismissed: It's a myth that judicial interventions inevitably provoke a stronger public backlash than those made by legislatures." Scott Lemieux has this essay online at The American Prospect. Posted at 03:05 PM by Howard Bashman At 3 p.m. eastern time today, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to begin debate on the nomination of Jerome A. Holmes to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit: An up-or-down vote on the nomination is scheduled to occur in the Senate tomorrow. Earlier this month, The Tulsa World published this article reporting on the Senate Judiciary Committee's approval of the nomination by a voice vote. The Senate debate can be viewed live, online via C-SPAN2 in both RealPlayer and Windows Media Player formats. "What if the judge reads the lawprof's blog? And the lawprof has analyzed the issue in the judge's case?" Law Professor Ann Althouse offers these comments about my latest essay for law.com. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this week's essay is based on a portion of the remarks that I delivered last Thursday at the Eighth Circuit's Judicial Conference. I agree with Ann and the U.S. District Judge who approached me after my talk to say that he was surprised that some of his colleagues appeared to view with concern the possibility of being exposed to web-based commentary about cases under advisement for decision. Yet the question-and-answer session following my remarks demonstrated that the concern apparently does exist among a not insubstantial number of judges, which is why I decided to make my thoughts on the subject available to a wider audience. "This diversity suit pits two banks * * * against each other in a quarrel over liability for a forged or altered check." So begins an opinion that Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In announcing the court's ruling, the opinion explains: "So the case comes down to whether, in cases of doubt, forgery should be assumed or alteration should be assumed. If the former, Foster wins, and if the latter, Wachovia. It seems to us that the tie should go to the drawer bank, Wachovia." "This appeal presents the novel question whether the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act), which prohibits an employer from ordering a mass layoff without giving 60 days' notice, applies to a mass layoff of employees who worked for a private employer as airport security screeners until the United States government federalized airport security services and took over operations at their airport." So begins an opinion that a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. The panel holds that privately-employed airport security screeners were not entitled to notice under the WARN Act. Posted at 02:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Stanford professor stumps for electoral alternative": The San Francisco Chronicle today contains a front page article that begins, "A Stanford University computer science professor has come up with an idea to circumvent the more than 200-year-old Electoral College system and institute a national popular vote to elect the president of the United States." Posted at 11:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Senate revives abortion debate on rights of teens": This article appeared Saturday in The Las Vegas Review-Journal. And The Associated Press reports that "Senate Wades Back Into Abortion Debate." You can access the text of the proposed legislation known as the "Child Custody Protection Act" by clicking here. "Lawyers Decry Bush's Legal Interpretations": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "President Bush's penchant for writing exceptions to laws he has just signed violates the Constitution, an American Bar Association task force says in a report highly critical of the practice." The report of the American Bar Association's Task Force on Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine can be accessed online at this link. Also available online from the ABA are an "Online Media Kit on Presidential Signing Statements"; a list of Task Force Members; and a Press Release on Task Force Creation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit -- still not one happy family? A unanimous three-judge Sixth Circuit panel today set aside a death sentence imposed in an Ohio state court. In a concurring opinion, however, Circuit Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey states: I write separately in order to express my dismay at Judge Boggs's unjustified attack directly on both the capital defense bar and indirectly on the members of this court. For the chief judge of a federal appellate court to state that it is "virtually inevitable" that "any mildly-sentient defense attorney" would consider playing the equivalent of Russian roulette with the life of a client is truly disturbing. Such a comment is an affront to the dedication of the women and men who struggle tirelessly to uphold their ethical duty to investigate fully and present professionally all viable defenses available to their clients. It also silently accuses the judges on this court of complicity in the alleged fraud by countenancing the tactics outlined.You can access the complete ruling at this link. Posted at 10:58 AM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Congress Looks at Creating Judicial Watchdog" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Black Student Enrollment at UCLA Plunges" RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 10:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Silence in the Court!: Why are liberals urging that the Supreme Court do next to nothing?" Online at Slate today, Dahlia Lithwick has this review of Law Professor Jeffrey Rosen's new book, "The Most Democratic Branch: How the Courts Serve America." Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Viewing Law Blogs as a Vast Amicus Brief": Today's brand new installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com can be accessed at this link. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Marriage backers hail month of rulings": The Washington Times contains this article today. The Chicago Tribune today contains an editorial entitled "Federalism and marriage." And online today at washingtonpost.com, Andrew Cohen has an essay entitled "Same Coast, Different Worlds on Same Sex Marriage." "Global Warming on Trial: The Supreme Court is right to weigh in on the globe's hottest issue." This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Legal Group Faults Bush for Ignoring Parts of Bills": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "The American Bar Association said Sunday that President Bush was flouting the Constitution and undermining the rule of law by claiming the power to disregard selected provisions of bills that he signed." The Washington Post reports today that "Bush's Tactic of Refusing Laws Is Probed; Bar Association Panel Criticizes President's Many Challenges to Legislation." In The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage reports that "Panel chides Bush on bypassing laws; ABA group cites limits to power." And The Chicago Tribune reports that "ABA panel urges checks on Bush power; 807 signing statements set perilous path, it says." "Citing Precedents, Holocaust Survivors File Brief To Reduce Lawyer's $4.1M Fee": This article appears today in The New York Sun. Posted at 06:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Know It All: Wikipedia takes on the experts." Stacy Schiff has this article in the July 31, 2006 issue of The New Yorker. And today in The Los Angeles Times, Bernard Haisch has an op-ed entitled "Why Wiki Can Drive You Wacky: When free-form information gets it wrong, watch out." In today's edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Warren Richey has an article headlined "Must US allow Guantanamo detainees to attend own trial?" A related article is headlined "Tactics of war on terror to occupy Congress; Lawmakers will move this week on how to proceed with warrantless surveillance and treatment of detainees." And Brendan O'Neill has an op-ed entitled "Throwing our judicial junk in Britain's backyard (or courts)." "Blawg Review #67": This week's brand new installment is available here at the "Antitrust Review" blog. Posted at 12:28 AM by Howard Bashman Atlanta Braves 5, Philadelphia Phillies 1: My son and I attended last night's game, but after eight well-pitched innings, only fans of the Braves went home happy. The failure of Brett Myers to execute a sacrifice bunt, and a Bobby Abreu baserunning error in overlooking the arm of Jeff Francoeur, may have prevented the Phillies from being in the lead heading into the ninth inning. The Phillies should also make a note that walking the batter ahead of Francoeur is not such a smart idea if Tom Gordon is pitching, given that Francoeur has now homered off Gordon in two straight games. The new closer for the Braves, Bob Wickman, looked sharp in his first appearance for Atlanta, sending the Phillies down in order in the bottom of the ninth inning. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps are available here and here. Sunday, July 23, 2006 The Los Angeles Times is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "Flurry of Court Rulings, with More Ahead, on Gay Unions"; "Specter Sees Pluses in His Spying Bill"; and "Unsettling Days for King of Class Actions; Prosecutors may want to indict William Lerach, but his career and the shareholder suits he pioneered are booming." Posted at 04:22 PM by Howard Bashman In newz from New Zealand: The Wairarapa Times-Age reported last Thursday that "Woman cop moonlighted as prostitute." And last Friday's edition of The New Zealand Herald reported that "Policewoman prostitute earned $500-a-night." The Providence (R.I.) Journal is reporting: An article in today's newspaper headlined "GOP fights for control of Congress; The midterm congressional elections tend to receive less attention than presidential elections, but they sometimes bring equally important shifts in the nation's political direction" states as follows: As he approaches the final election cycle of his administration, the biggest question to be settled this fall may be Mr. Bush's ability to complete his transformation of the federal judiciary -- and perhaps the Supreme Court.And in other news, "State's high court sees fewer dissents; Court observers also note that the Rhode Island Supreme Court issues fewer anonymous opinions than in previous years." Posted at 04:02 PM by Howard Bashman Images from Brainerd, Minnesota and the surrounding region: Thanks to the Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference, my wife and I had the pleasure of spending much of last week in and around Brainerd, Minnesota. On Wednesday, we decided to drive through much of the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway. Here's a photo we took at the outset of that trip. Farmhouses in the shape of hats were popular in the area. And if you were searching for bales of hay, you've come to the right place. On the way back to the resort, we stopped in the town of Nisswa, where we walked around a bit. Because it was a Wednesday afternoon, turtle races were on the agenda. Word is that the newest U.S. District Judge for the District of Minnesota, as a youth, once raced turtles there. The Paul Bunyan State Trail also crosses through Nisswa, as shown in this photo. On Thursday morning, I delivered my remarks. After lunch, my wife and I headed to the "beach," which in that area of Minnesota is the term used to refer to a man-made patch of sand near a lake. I brought reading material apropos of the setting, Linda Greenhouse's book "Becoming Justice Blackmun." At lunch earlier that day, my wife and I dined with Senior Eighth Circuit Judge Gerald W. Heaney and his lovely wife, and Judge Heaney (who served together with then-Judge Blackmun on the Eighth Circuit for nearly four years) was kind enough to share some of his first-hand Justice Blackmun stories. As a non-judge, the least I could do was wear a Major League Baseball umpire's cap, given the "calling balls and strikes" rhetoric that was so big during the recent U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Thursday evening consisted of dinner outside at a Minnesota lakes event. Here's a photo of my wife and me at dinner; Judge Heaney and his wife appear just behind my wife's shoulder in that photo. After dinner, the guests were invited to take a tour of Gull Lake on pontoon boats. With nearly every Article III, bankruptcy, and magistrate judge from within the Eighth Circuit in attendance, not to mention a U.S. Supreme Court Justice and judges' families, there was lots of security on hand at all times. During the pontoon boat rides, security boats trailed behind to ensure that the event on the water remained as peaceful as the events on the land had been. The shoreline of Gull Lake featured many lovely homes, and this particularly large one is for sale. After the pontoon boat rides, it was almost time for s'mores and a campfire sing-along. Here's a pre-ignition photo of the bonfire ring, and the print at the very bottom of the sign states that "Destruction of this sign will result in a $25 charge." I do not know whether that sign survived the night. Once afire, the ring gave off a tremendous amount of heat. If my marshmallows were as well-cooked as my hand that was holding the stick, the s'mores I made would have been all the more tasty. On Friday, after the Judicial Conference drew to a close, it was time to head back to the airport in Minneapolis. On our way out of town, my wife and I stopped at the Brainerd Welcome Center, where a large Paul Bunyan statue wished us farewell. "Candid phone calls cast doubt on Cantu review; Investigators are heard mocking the claim of wrongful execution, but DA denies any bias": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman "The Judiciary Strikes Back: The government fails to kill off a court challenge to NSA snooping." Patrick Radden Keefe has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 12:04 PM by Howard Bashman "GOP lawmakers take aim at U.S. judiciary; Upset over rulings, some in House pursue 'jurisdiction stripping'": This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun. And on Friday, The St. Petersburg Times published an editorial entitled "Meddling moves against the courts." "Civil rights hiring shifted in Bush era; Conservative leanings stressed": Charlie Savage has this article today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 09:25 AM by Howard Bashman "San Diego cross may provide national legal test": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Six of the current Supreme Court justices had other jobs when an atheist sued this city for permitting a giant cross in a public park. Ronald Reagan was president, the Christian Coalition was new and 'values' had yet to become a buzzword of American politics." Posted at 09:24 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, July 22, 2006 DontDateHimGirl.com seeks to dismiss lawsuit brought against it by Pittsburgh-based attorney who claims postings on that web site have defamed him: The motion to dismiss argues both that personal jurisdiction is lacking over the defendants in Pennsylvania and that the federal law known as the Communications Decency Act makes the defendants immune from liability on the plaintiff's claims. You can access the motion to dismiss at this link, while the affidavit filed in support thereof is here. I am advised that the defendants' brief in support of the motion to dismiss is due October 5, 2006, the plaintiff's opposing brief is due October 12, 2006, and the motion is due to be argued on October 19, 2006. I previously posted plaintiff's complaint at this link. U.S. District Court's "generalized disagreement with Congress's policy of punishing crack cocaine offenders more severely than powder cocaine offenders through the 100-to-1 crack-to-powder drug quantity ratio" was an impermissible basis to mitigate convicted criminal's sentence, Eleventh Circuit holds: You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. Posted at 08:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Begins Special Sitting in Anchorage": The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this news release yesterday. Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Cohabitation law ruling doesn't apply statewide": The Raleigh News & Observer contains this article today. Posted at 08:14 PM by Howard Bashman "L.A. Superior Court Drops Volunteer Judge Who Threatened to Deport Woman; Bruce R. Fink is removed from a list of substitute jurists after telling an illegal immigrant seeking a restraining order against her husband that he'd have her sent back to Mexico": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:12 PM by Howard Bashman "2 Years Late, Courts Chief Moves In; Administrator Failed to Meet Job's Residency Requirement": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "The D.C. Courts' top administrator, Anne B. Wicks, did not meet her job's residency requirement for more than two years, going home to a house in Arlington County -- until a couple of weeks ago. After an anonymous tip to the D.C. inspector general's office in March, Wicks's boss, D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Eric T. Washington, ordered her to move into the District promptly. For months after that, she remained in Virginia." Posted at 08:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawyer Ads Cannot Tout 'Super' Status": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "They may be pronounced 'Super Lawyers' by a magazine supplement, and their names may appear in a 'Best Lawyers in America' directory. But under a decision by a State Supreme Court committee, these best-credentialed and best-paid New Jersey lawyers may no longer advertise those honors." Posted at 07:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Farber apologizes but won't step down; In interview, AG says she will resign only if probe concludes she should": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins, "Attorney General Zulima Farber yesterday apologized for going to her boyfriend's aid during a traffic stop, but said she has no intention of resigning unless an independent investigation concludes that she should." And in related coverage, The New York Times today contains an article headlined "In His Hands: Attorney General's Fate." "Group appeals government eavesdropping ruling": Declan McCullagh of c|net News.com provides a report that begins, "A coalition of civil liberties groups and technology companies, including Pulver.com and Sun Microsystems, is appealing a federal court ruling that forces Internet service providers to create backdoors for government wiretapping. The coalition on Friday asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to review a June 9 ruling that sided with the Bush administration." My earlier coverage of that ruling appears at this link (second item). "Age Bias: Suit Dismissed; High-court justice's claims are tossed out." The Tulsa World today contains an article that begins, "A federal appeals court on Friday threw out the lawsuit of 85-year-old Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Marian Opala, who alleged that the state high court's other eight justices discriminated against him because of his age." And The Oklahoman today contains an article headlined "Court dismisses discrimination suit" that begins, "The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday dismissed Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Marian Opala's age discrimination lawsuit against his peers. Opala, 85, claimed a rule change kept him from becoming chief justice in 2005." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link. Back on January 5, 2005, Adam Liptak of The New York Times had an article about the case headlined "Oklahoma Judge, 83, Files Bias Suit Against Colleagues." "Hatch takes up residency in Oklahoma prison; Lawyers for the Survivor winner and convicted tax evader are trying to get him moved to Rhode Island or Florida": The Providence (R.I.) Journal today contains an article that begins, "It's not a show, but it is reality for Richard Hatch. It's Survivor: Oklahoma. For the first time since he was sentenced to 51 months in prison for evading taxes on his $1-million Survivor jackpot and other income, Hatch, 45, has been moved to a federal facility. He arrived several days ago at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City, having been held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, in Massachusetts, since his conviction in May." Posted at 03:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge in Wecht case won't withdraw": Yesterday's edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contained an article that begins, "The federal judge in the criminal case against former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril H. Wecht refused to remove himself from the case yesterday. In a 58-page opinion, filled with baseball analogies and quotes from historical figures, U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab rejected the notion that he is biased in favor of the prosecution or that Dr. Wecht cannot get a fair trial." I have posted online at this link a copy of Thursday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. "Taft must release memos; Ohio Supreme Court further defines 'executive privilege'": The Columbus Dispatch today contains an article that begins, "The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday shot down Gov. Bob Taft's bid to keep secret more than 200 weekly memos from advisers, but open-government advocates said the decision also contains a dark omen for people seeking records from Taft and future governors." The Toledo Blade reports today that "Taft papers not subject to privilege; Ohio top court says open-record laws apply." And The Cleveland Plain Dealer contains an article headlined "Taft records public, or are they? Court calls records public but says Taft doesn't have to give them up." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Ohio at this link. And that court's own summary of its ruling is headlined "Court Defines Scope of Executive Privilege, Says Dann Has All Taft's BWC-Related Reports." "Appeals court to hear punch-card ballot case": From Ohio, The Associated Press reports here that "A full appeals court agreed Friday to consider whether punch-card ballots, commonly used by voters across the country for decades, violated Ohio voters' rights because counties could not ensure that the ballots were counted. The state asked the full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati to consider the case after its three-judge panel upheld a lower-court ruling against the state on April 21." My earlier coverage of that ruling can be accessed here. And Law Professor Rick Hasen, at his "Election Law" blog, has this post about the grant of rehearing en banc. In addition, Rick is quoted in an AP article headlined "Courts more involved in election spats." "Court's opinion released on electronic voting": The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today contains an article that begins, "Pennsylvania's Supreme Court has released a written opinion explaining the seven justices' March ruling that allowed electronic voting statewide last spring despite a local group's contention that voters should have decided for themselves." Thursday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consists both of a majority opinion and a concurring opinion. "Senate confirms Shepherd": The Texarkana Gazette today contains an article that begins, "U.S. Magistrate Bobby Shepherd has more or less been hired by the U.S. Senate in an unanimous voice vote to take a seat on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Shepherd serves as a magistrate for Southwest Arkansas' federal courts that includes Texarkana, Ark., El Dorado, and Hot Springs. The El Dorado resident will take the seat of Justice Morris 'Buzz' Arnold, of Texarkana, who is retiring on Oct. 8, his birthday." The article goes on to note that "Shepherd is now one of four Southwest Arkansas men who have served on the 8th Circuit bench. The others were the late Chief Justice Richard S. Arnold, his brother, Morris 'Buzz' Arnold--both of Texarkana, and Justice Lavenski Smith, of Hope." "A legacy oil heir never wanted; Kin: He fought for father's wish, not own, in estate battle with Playmate." The Dallas Morning News today contains an article that begins, "E. Pierce Marshall hated publicity and other people's lawyers. Yet he willingly spent the last 11 years of his life embroiled in courtroom battles for his father's immense fortune against a pack of would-be heirs, including his disinherited brother and his attention-hungry stepmother -- former stripper and reality-television star Anna Nicole Smith." Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Kansas Church to Fight Mo. Law in Court": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A Kansas church group that protests at military funerals across the nation filed suit in federal court Friday, claiming a Missouri law banning such picketing infringed on religious freedom and free speech." Posted at 12:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Abbott asks 5th Circuit to let GOP cut DeLay from ballot; Attorney general fought last spring to get him on it": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. And The Associated Press reports that "Democrats Argue to Keep DeLay on Ballot." "Ruling Has Texans Puzzling Over Districts": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "Once upon a time, Congressional district lines were redrawn once a decade, after each federal census. But last month the Supreme Court made it clear that redistricting could occur far more often, and the resulting sense of impermanence was on display this week in a weather-beaten house on this city's Hispanic, working-class South Side." And a related graphic can be viewed at this link. The San Antonio Express-News reports today that "State's fix for Dist. 23 gets cool response." And in related news, The Austin American-Statesman reports that "State defends proposed congressional map; Splitting Austin among 3 Republicans called unavoidable." "After 2 years, same-sex marriage icons split up; Were plaintiffs in landmark case": This article appeared yesterday in The Boston Globe. The New York Times reports today that "Same-Sex Marriage Plaintiffs Separate." The Los Angeles Times reports today that "The Relationship Is Over for a Pair of Gay Pioneers; The two women at the center of Massachusetts' landmark marriage ruling have separated." The Washington Times reports that "Gay 'marriage' first couple splits up in Massachusetts." And The Times of London reports that "First US gay couple to marry have broken up." "Cellulite & Justice Newman: Flabby judgment." Yesterday in The Philadelphia Daily News, Gar Joseph had this essay. The segment entitled "Health: Cellulite Wand" that CBS 3-TV health reporter Stephanie Stahl aired recently, featuring among others Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman, can be viewed via this link. Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court Justice passes on Fenway first pitch": The Associated Press earlier this week provided a report that begins, "Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer passed up a chance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park on Tuesday night, allowing his wife and granddaughter to instead claim the honor that a day before had been bestowed upon singer Meat Loaf." Additional coverage of Justice Stephen G. Breyer's day at Fenway Park can be accessed here (third item) from The Boston Globe. And photos from the event, featuring Justice Breyer, his wife, and granddaughter, can be accessed via this link. "Viewing Law Blogs as a Vast Amicus Brief": The brand new installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com can be accessed here. Posted at 02:10 AM by Howard Bashman Back home: Thanks to traffic in the Minneapolis area, bad weather in the Philadelphia area, and an airplane in need of maintenance before take-off, our arrival back home was delayed quite a bit. Additional posts will appear later this morning. Before I completely depart from the topic of this week's Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference, it was great to hear Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.'s inaugural remarks as Circuit Justice. Although the remarks were off-the-record given that this was a "judges-only" conference, I can report that he began his remarks with a quite funny explanation of how President George W. Bush's first two appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court demonstrated that the issue President Bush was most concerned about was approval of proposed Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1. I must also report that one of the particular pleasures of being in Brainerd, Minnesota over the past few days for my wife and me was getting to meet Mrs. Alito, whom we both found to be most wonderful. Friday, July 21, 2006 Programming note: After Circuit Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. delivers his remarks late this morning concluding this week's Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference, my wife and I will be traveling home to the Philadelphia region from Brainerd, Minnesota. Additional posts will appear online this evening. For those who are curious, the subject of next Monday's installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com will be "Viewing Law Blogs as a Vast Amicus Brief on the Internet." The column is based on a portion of the remarks that I delivered yesterday at the Judicial Conference. The essay should become available online late tonight. "Beirut Violence Strands Defense Lawyers in Padilla Case": law.com provides this report. Posted at 10:17 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Loses Bid to Dismiss AT&T Surveillance Suit": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "Spying suit against AT&T moves forward." The New York Times reports that "Judge Declines to Dismiss Privacy Suit Against AT&T." The Washington Post reports that "Judge Declines to Dismiss Lawsuit Against AT&T." And The San Jose Mercury News reports that "Phone records lawsuit to proceed; S.F. ruling a setback for White House on warrantless wiretaps." My earlier coverage appears at this link. "Federal court sticks by decision on pot guru; New trial for Rosenthal warranted under panel's ruling": Josh Richman has this article today in The Oakland Tribune. Posted at 08:11 AM by Howard Bashman "Gorsuch confirmed for 10th Circuit": The Denver Post contains this article today. And The Rocky Mountain News reports today that "Denver native OK'd for appeals court." "Senate confirms Arkansan to federal appellate bench; Shepherd zips through process without opposition": This article, in which I am quoted, appears today in The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. And The Associated Press reports that "El Dorado magistrate confirmed to federal appeals post." Thursday, July 20, 2006 "Va. Killer Executed by Electric Chair": The Associated Press provides this report. And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Mother's Day killer executed; He was the first in three years to die in Va.'s electric chair." "Award Against Ford Cut Again; A court reduces the amount to be given to a woman left paralyzed after a rollover accident to $82.6 million": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "Ford suit damages reduced to $82 million." And The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that "Jury's award in rollover cut in half; But Ford's request for new trial fails." You can access yesterday's ruling of California's Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, Division One, at this link. "Determining When to Use Technology for Oral Arguments; Superior Court judge weighs in on the trend away from face-to-face arguments": Richard B. Klein, a judge on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, has this essay online at law.com. Posted at 11:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawyers spar on denial Conte was leak; Prosecutors argue paper lost any right to protect source": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "The Justice Department, which wants two Chronicle reporters to identify their source for grand jury testimony about steroids and sports, is arguing that the reporters forfeited any right to keep the source confidential by revealing in legal papers that it wasn't Victor Conte, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative." Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Washington high court justice says gay marriage ruling imminent": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 07:24 PM by Howard Bashman "White House Shifts Tack on Tribunals; Bush to Propose Only Minor Changes": Today's edition of The Washington Post contains this article, along with an article headlined "Detainees Used Al-Qaeda Prison Manual, Report Says." Posted at 06:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Killer slated to die tonight; Hedrick would be first executed in Virginia's electric chair in 3 years": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. And The Washington Post reports today that "Barring Reprieve, Va. Inmate to Die in Electric Chair; In Rare Move, Inmate Chooses Chair Over Injection." "Frist Hails Continued Progress on Judicial Nominees": The U.S. Senate's Majority Leader issued this press release late today. According to the press release, the Senate late today "confirmed Neil M. Gorsuch to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Bobby E. Shepherd to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit." Posted at 06:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Portrait of a Blogger: Under 30 and Sociable; Survey Finds Need to Connect With Family and Friends and to Meet New People." The Washington Post contains this article today. The survey that is the subject of the report can be accessed here. Posted at 06:36 PM by Howard Bashman "Lesbian Judge Fights Chilean Court for Taking Her Children": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 06:32 PM by Howard Bashman In news from Kansas: The Associated Press reports that "Judge bars enforcement of rules limiting judicial speech." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas at this link. In response to the ruling, the James Madison Center for Free Speech today issued a press release entitled "Federal Court Enjoins Kansas Canons Prohibiting Judicial Candidates' Speech." "Review Panel Flays Judge; Sets Public Hearing For Sullivan; 1-Year Suspension Possible": Lynne Tuohy has this article today in The Hartford Courant. Posted at 06:20 PM by Howard Bashman "In sum, in future cases, district courts should not instruct juries to the effect that a testifying defendant has a deep personal interest in the case. Rather, a witness's interest in the outcome of the case ought to be addressed in the court's general charge concerning witness credibility." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today issued this opinion vacating a conviction obtained in a criminal case on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Posted at 06:05 PM by Howard Bashman "We take this opportunity to express our concern over the current formulation of Rule 68 and to recommend to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules and the Standing Committee on Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the United States that they address the question of how an offer and judgment should be compared when non-pecuniary relief is involved." So says a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a ruling issued today. Posted at 06:00 PM by Howard Bashman Greetings from the Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference: This morning, I delivered my remarks, and they seemed quite well-received. My wife and I had the pleasure of sharing the breakfast table this morning with Circuit Judge Morris S. Arnold, whom I did not get a chance to meet during my last talk to the Eighth Circuit in September 2004 in St. Louis. Also today, I had the pleasure of speaking with U.S. Magistrate Judge Bobby E. Shepherd, who as early as moments from now may be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to fill Judge Arnold's seat on the Eighth Circuit when Judge Arnold takes senior status this October. I may also be quoted in tomorrow's issue of The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in an article reporting on Judge Shepherd's confirmation should it occur this evening. And, before leaving the topic of Arkansas, last night my wife and I had the pleasure of speaking with U.S. District Judge J. Leon Holmes. One of the highlights of my visit thus far was getting to spend some time speaking with Senior Eighth Circuit Judge Gerald W. Heaney, who will be retiring entirely from judicial service in the very near future. My wife and I had lunch today with Judge Heaney and his wife, and Judge Heaney is an incredibly impressive individual and also a war hero. During the final three-judge panel sitting that Judge Heaney recently participated in, his colleagues on the panel offered a tribute that you can listen to by clicking here (Windows Media Player required). Circuit Judge Lavenski R. Smith presided over those oral arguments, and it is his voice that you will hear at the outset of the audio recording. My wife and I will be returning to Philadelphia tomorrow, after Circuit Justice Samuel A. Alito delivers his remarks. "Judge won't dismiss suit over domestic spying; Government, AT&T had sought to have case thrown out": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle provides this news update. David Kravets of The Associated Press reports that "Judge Refuses to Dismiss Spying Lawsuit." And c|net News.com reports that "Judge refuses to drop spying suit against AT&T." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California at this link. "Judge strikes down law banning cohabitation": The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina provides an update that begins, "Those of you shacking up out of wedlock, have no fear: A judge has thrown out a 201-year-old North Carolina law making it illegal for unmarried couples to live together." And The Associated Press reports that "N.C. Law Banning Cohabitation Struck Down." "House OKs plan to keep cross on Mount Soledad; Vote moves issue to federal arena": This article appears today in The San Diego Union-Tribune. And The Los Angeles Times reports today that "San Diego Cross Backers Win Political Round; The House votes to transfer the city-owned site to the federal government to thwart a judge's order to remove the monument." "House votes to protect Pledge": The Washington Times contains this article today. Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge Gives Wal-Mart Reprieve on Benefits": This article appears today in The New York Times. The Washington Post reports today that "Judge Invalidates Md. 'Wal-Mart Law'; Measure Would Have Boosted Retailer's Health-Care Costs." USA Today reports that "Judge overturns Wal-Mart law." And The Washington Times reports that "Wal-Mart wins case on health care costs." "Experts Differ About Surveillance and Privacy": This article appears today in The New York Times. According to the article, Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner was among the witnesses who testified yesterday before the House Intelligence Committee on this issue. C-SPAN appears to have posted online the video of yesterday's hearing at this link (RealPlayer required), although that link is not currently functioning for me. "Why The 'Compromise' Foreign Surveillance Wiretap Legislation Pending in Congress Is No Compromise: The Bill, and Senator Specter's Strange Reversal on the Issue." Edward Lazarus has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman "House OKs Bill Guarding Pledge From Courts": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 12:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Attorneys Take Supreme Court Advocacy Back to School": This article by law.com's Tony Mauro is now freely accessible online. Posted at 12:25 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, July 19, 2006 "Bush Blocked Internal Justice Probe of Wiretaps; The president withheld security clearances from lawyers investigating those who approved and oversaw the NSA surveillance program": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. Today in The New York Times, Neil A. Lewis reports that "Bush Blocked Ethics Inquiry, Gonzales Says." The Washington Post reports that "Bush Thwarted Probe Into NSA Wiretapping; Security Clearances for Justice Department Investigators Were Denied, Gonzales Says." In The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage reports that "Bush blocked probe, AG testifies; Senate examines wiretap program." And The Washington Times reports that "Bush blocked wiretap probe." "Tech group applies lobbying techniques to court case": This article will appear Thursday in The Hill. Posted at 11:54 PM by Howard Bashman "The Two Executions Of Willie Francis": Today in The Washington Post, Gilbert King has an op-ed that begins, "In its recently concluded term, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Kansas Supreme Court judgment regarding that state's imposition of the death penalty." Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Court voids 'Wal-Mart law'; U.S. district judge says Md. violated federal authority": This article will appear Thursday in The Baltimore Sun. My earlier coverage appears here. Posted at 11:49 PM by Howard Bashman "Deportation Warning Closes Case; Substitute judge tells an illegal immigrant to leave his courtroom or be sent back to Mexico": The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. Posted at 11:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Stealing First: Dick Cheney as the next First Amendment poster child." Law Professor Akhil Reed Amar has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Congressman's Gambit Puts Judge on Path to Impeachment": Today in The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley has an article that begins, "Los Angeles-based federal Judge Manuel L. Real is now officially public enemy No. 1 in Congress' ongoing war against the judiciary." Posted at 04:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawyers war over wife on the bench": Today's edition of The Australian contains an article that begins, "Queensland Bar Association president Peter Lyons has launched an extraordinary attack on his deputy for criticising the appointment of Mr Lyons's wife to the Supreme Court bench." Posted at 04:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Confirm William J. Haynes II": This editorial appears today in The Washington Times. Posted at 04:40 PM by Howard Bashman In news from Connecticut: The Associated Press provides a report headlined "Judicial Review Council Finds Cause For Sullivan Violations" that begins, "The state's Judicial Review Council on Wednesday found probable cause that former state Supreme Court Chief Justice William J. Sullivan violated judicial rules of conduct when he delayed the release of a court opinion to help a fellow justice facing confirmation hearings. Sullivan, who can still sit on cases as a retired justice, was charged with five violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct and state statutes." Posted at 04:38 PM by Howard Bashman Third Circuit grants rehearing en banc in case that resulted in a divided three-judge panel ruling described as a "[m]ajor Third Circuit ruling on post-Booker burden of proof": Today's order granting rehearing en banc is here, while the three-judge panel's earlier ruling is here. The blog "Sentencing Law and Policy" had this post about that ruling, and my earlier coverage of that ruling is at this link. Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "House Takes Up 'Pledge' Protection": The AP provides this report. You can access the text of the proposed law at this link. Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Overturns Wal-Mart Health Care Law": The Associated Press provides this report. Today's opinion and order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland are both available online. Posted at 03:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Colorado marriages now have law in common; Minimum age of 18 now applies across matrimonial board": This article appears today in The Rocky Mountain News. The law overturns a court ruling noted in earlier posts available here and here. "Ruling confirms abortion rights for Missouri prisoners": The St. Louis Post-Dispatch today contains an article that begins, "A federal judge on Tuesday ordered that the state of Missouri provide transportation for any woman prisoner seeking an abortion, saying that even an inmate had the constitutional right to the legal procedure." And The Kansas City Star reports today that "Abortion transportation ordered; The state's argument of a security risk is rejected; Gov. Matt Blunt urges an appeal." I have posted online at this link a copy of yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. "Ultimately, recognition of Vickers' claim would have the effect of de facto amending Title VII to encompass sexual orientation as a prohibited basis for discrimination." So states the majority opinion issued today by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In today's ruling, the majority rejects the argument that "the unique nature of homosexuality entitles it to protection under Title VII sex discrimination law." Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman One year ago today: President George W. Bush nominated D.C. Circuit Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court of the United States. The transcript of the announcement appears here. Two particular posts of interest from that date are titled "Who are you calling a dumb-ass?" and "Sources say President Bush's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court won't be Kennewick Man." You can access my complete coverage from one year ago today by clicking here and scrolling down the page. Of course, President Bush ultimately had to settle for his third choice to fill the O'Connor vacancy. "Court Says Special Prosecutor Overstepped the Mark": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. My earlier coverage appears at this link. Posted at 08:49 AM by Howard Bashman "The Florida Supreme Court's Big Tobacco Decision: Why Neither Side Can Be Very Happy." Anthony J. Sebok has this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, July 18, 2006 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit begins offering RSS feeds for new opinion announcements and oral argument podcasts: Details are available at this link. Posted at 11:38 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Shannon P. Duffy has an article headlined "3rd Circuit: Erotic Dancing in Bars Not Protected Speech." My earlier coverage appears here. And in other news, "Congress Debates Auctions for Lead Counsel in Securities Class Actions; Spurred by Milberg case, legislation would allow judges to rely on competitive bidding." "Miss. Death Row Appeal Tops Court Agenda": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The death penalty appeal of Bobby Glen Wilcher will be among the first cases the U.S. Supreme Court will discuss when justices return from vacation this fall." Posted at 11:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Deadlocked Supreme Court: 'Someone's Voting Twice.'" The current issue of The Onion contains a news brief that begins, "The Supreme Court's third 5-5 vote in the past month has some justices wondering whether one of their number is voting twice." Posted at 11:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Wallace Hearing Postponed": Ed Whelan has this post at National Review Online's "Bench Memo" blog. The hearing had been scheduled to occur tomorrow. Posted at 07:10 PM by Howard Bashman The D.C. Circuit's Division for the Purpose of Appointing Independent Counsels finds largely meritorious a petition seeking reimbursement of attorneys' fees and costs incurred during and as a result of the investigation conducted by an Independent Counsel: This has happened so rarely in recent years that today's ruling seemed noteworthy. Posted at 07:00 PM by Howard Bashman "The District Court's final order failed to comply with the separate-document requirement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58. Lengthy recitation of facts and procedural history prevents an order from serving as a separate document within the meaning of the Rule." Fans of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58's "separate document" requirement are sure to enjoy this decision that a two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued today. I discussed Rule 58's "separate document" requirement in my "Upon Further Review" column from April 2002 headlined "December 2002 Brings Significant Changes To The Federal Rules Of Appellate Procedure." Posted at 06:50 PM by Howard Bashman Third Circuit rejects adult cabaret's constitutional challenge to New Jersey regulation prohibiting "any lewdness or immoral activity" on liquor-licensed premises: Apparently, it is lawful to require an establishment to choose between a liquor license and presenting shows consisting of lewd or immoral acts. You can access today's ruling of a two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. Posted at 06:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Breyer, Kozinski Rule: Cabaret's No Musical." Justin Scheck has this post at CalLaw.com's "Legal Pad" blog. Posted at 06:27 PM by Howard Bashman Greetings from Brainerd, Minnesota: The flight into Minneapolis was problem-free and on-time, and the drive up to Brainerd was quite pleasant. And thanks to the reader who emailed that the Brainerd Blue Thunder baseball team is playing at home all week. Posted at 06:22 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: I've been invited to participate as one of the speakers at this week's "judges-only" Judicial Conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. As a result, I'll be en route today to Brainerd, Minnesota. The resort that is hosting the conference purportedly features high-speed internet access, so additional posts may appear online this evening. According to the conference's program, I'm not the only person originating from the Third Circuit who is scheduled to deliver remarks. The distance between Brainerd and Minneapolis, and also between Brainerd and Fargo, makes it unlikely that I will be able to attend any Twins or Redhawks baseball games while I'm there. Posted at 07:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Republicans Will Attempt to Strip 'Pledge' Cases from Courts": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Impeachment Inquiry of Judge Sought; The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee plans an investigation into the conduct of federal court jurist Manuel L. Real": Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Skateboard park waiver wipes out in top court; Some see ruling harming sites for youth recreation": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins "Parents are asked to sign them all the time -- forms allowing their child to go on a class trip, play a sport or participate in an activity such as skateboarding. Some give up the child's right to sue for injuries. Yesterday, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that commercial recreational facilities cannot use those forms to escape liability for their own carelessness." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link. Posted at 06:42 AM by Howard Bashman "High court blocks plan for Camden fugitives; The chief justice, citing credibility and safety, won't let judges take part in a program for criminals to surrender in a church": The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today. Posted at 06:38 AM by Howard Bashman "E-slacking: It's laptop over lecture; When classes are less than riveting, graduate students are jumping online to shop and e-mail; But some professors are fighting back." This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 06:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Hinton confesses to Melendi murder; Emory student raped, strangled, burned in 1994": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contains this article today. And The Miami Herald reports today that "Confession no balm for teen's dad; A killer's confession about the 1994 abduction, rape and murder of Kendall teen Shannon Melendi did little to comfort her loved ones." "FBI sought to win Padilla's trust; Al-Qaida suspect's arrest not the aim, agent testifies": This article appears today in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Posted at 06:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Optimism on Both Sides of Gay-Marriage Debate; State Votes Will Show Whether Bans Are Losing Steam or Gaining Ground": The Washington Post contains this article today. Posted at 06:22 AM by Howard Bashman "In a Lawsuit Aimed at Iran, Terror Victims Focus on Ancient Artifacts in a Chicago Museum": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 06:18 AM by Howard Bashman "G.O.P. Senator Resisting Bush Over Detainees": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina often plays the contrarian, the conservative Republican willing to poke a stick in the eye of the White House." Posted at 06:13 AM by Howard Bashman "In Novel-Like Scene, Two Milberg Partners Plead Not Guilty": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. The New York Times reports today that "Law Firm and 4 Figures in Payments Case Enter Pleas." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Milberg Weiss Pleads Not Guilty; Prosecutors say more indictments could come in the case alleging that the law firm paid illegal kickbacks to plaintiffs." And The Associated Press reports that "L.A. Law Firm Pleads Not Guilty to Charges." Monday, July 17, 2006 The Supreme Court of the United States posts online its October Term 2006 calendar: You can view the calendar online at this link. It appears that my birthday will occur on a Saturday this year. Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman American Bar Association downgrades its rating for Fourth Circuit nominee Terrence W. Boyle from unanimously well qualified to qualified (substantial majority), well qualified (minority): You can access the new rating at this link. Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman Denise Howell 4.0: The law blogger who inspired me to start "How Appealing" discusses her plans for the future. Posted at 08:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Childers Appeal Reaches The [Florida] Supreme Court": The blog "Abstract Appeal" provides this post today. My earlier coverage of the case appears here. Posted at 08:10 PM by Howard Bashman City of Las Cruces, New Mexico defends federal lawsuit challenging the crosses in its logo: The Las Cruces Sun-News reported yesterday that "Federal court date set for three crosses' lawsuit" (via "Religion Clause"). Of course, in English, Las Cruces means "the crosses." You can view the city's current logo via this post at the "Logo Design" blog. Posted at 07:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Anti-Smoking Group Wins Legal Victory": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "An anti-smoking group known for its edgy ads featuring teenagers has won a legal victory over No. 3 cigarette maker Lorillard Tobacco Co. The Delaware Supreme Court ruled Monday that the ads created by the Washington-based American Legacy Foundation did not violate a 1998 agreement between the tobacco industry and the states." As of this moment, the opinion does not appear to be available online at the Supreme Court of Delaware's web site. Posted at 06:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Detain Game: How Congress can make Guantanamo even worse." Law Professor Bruce Ackerman has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 05:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Hinton admits to Melendi murder; Emory University student raped, killed in 1994": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides this news update. Last month, I had this post reporting on the Supreme Court of Georgia's decision affirming that murder conviction, which, according to The Associated Press, was "the first in Georgia where authorities could find neither a body nor a definitive crime scene." Posted at 05:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Trust Busters on the Supreme Court": The Cato Institute has today posted online at this link an op-ed from Law Professor Richard A. Epstein that originally appeared last Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal. The op-ed begins, "A huge chunk of the Supreme Court's work lies in interpreting the statutes and regulations that govern every nook of American life. In reading statutes, the justices oscillate uneasily between two inconsistent approaches." Posted at 12:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Widow of Late Justice Blackmun Dies": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 12:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Courts and the Law: Better Late Than Never." Columnist Kenneth Jost has this essay in today's issue of CQ Weekly. Posted at 12:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Conservative Court eager to make its mark": James B. Staab has this op-ed today in The Kansas City Star. Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Sedley Alley's Last-Minute Stay": At "The Volokh Conspiracy," Jonathan Adler has a post that begins, "The state of Tennessee executed Sedley Alley in the early morning of June 28 after a series of last-ditch appeals, an unusual 11th hour stay of execution, and a strongly worded order vacating the stay from a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Given the Sixth Circuit's public dissension in recent years, including several sharply worded opinions and allegations of improprieties in death penalty cases, I suspect this case would have received more attention had it not been overshadowed by the close of the Supreme Court's term and several high-profile decisions." Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from The Nation: In the July 31, 2006 issue of the magazine, Law Professor David Cole will have an essay entitled "The 'Kennedy Court.'" And Mickey Edwards will have an essay entitled "Lawyers Challenge Bush." Meanwhile, available online only, Aziz Huq has an essay entitled "Hamdan v Rumsfeld: Guidepost or Relic?" "Barring Faith: A federal judge strikes down prison ministries." Robert P. George and Gerald V. Bradley have this essay in the current issue of The Weekly Standard. Posted at 10:17 AM by Howard Bashman On today's installment of NPR's "Morning Edition": This morning's broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Senate Hearing Highlights Specter-Gonzales Relationship" and "Fight Over Ancient Persian Tablets Goes to U.S. Court" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 08:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Yale, UVA Launch Supreme Court Clinics": Today in Legal Times, Tony Mauro has an "Inadmissible" item (subscription required) that begins, "The allure of Supreme Court advocacy, Washington-style, is spreading among top law schools. Lawyers from two D.C. firms are working with law schools that are launching Supreme Court litigation clinics this fall, and others may not be far behind. Andrew Pincus and Charles Rothfeld, partners at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, will be sharing their high court skills at Yale Law School. And Mark Stancil, who is moving this week from Baker Botts to the smaller appellate shop of Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck & Untereiner, will be working on Supreme Court cases at the University of Virginia School of Law." No word yet on whether Stancil's "Supreme Court Reports" will be accompanying him to his new law firm. Posted at 08:55 AM by Howard Bashman In today's issue of Legal Times: T.R. Goldman has an article headlined "Pushing Back on Military Justice: Why the administration won't use the Uniform Code to try alleged terrorists." And an article is headlined "Pentagon Suspects Lawyer Involvement in Deaths; Lawyers for detainees say Pentagon treats them as if they were the enemy." "Measuring Federal Appellate Courts' Success Before the U.S. Supreme Court": The brand new installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com can be accessed here. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Wiggle Room on Cruelty": Law Professor Joseph Margulies has this op-ed today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Protesters battle over Mississippi abortion clinic; Opponents plan week of rallies in effort to shut down state's last facility": This article appears today in USA Today. And The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi reports today that "5 abortion opponents arrested; Windshield broken during incident." "Policy raises judgeship doubts": The Washington Times today contains an article that begins, "The Bush administration's policy toward detained terrorism suspects has caused the president's nominee for a federal judgeship in Virginia to face tough questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee." Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Trying terrorists, Round 2": Yesterday's issue of The Chicago Tribune contained an editorial that begins, "John Yoo, a former top lawyer in the Bush administration, has a simple remedy for the Supreme Court decision striking down the military tribunals created for war crimes trials at Guantanamo. Congress, he says, should pass a law overruling the Supreme Court. From a legal point of view, that is not entirely implausible, and given the breadth of the court's ruling, the administration may be tempted to try to show the court who's boss." Posted at 07:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Gays Still Waiting for Washington's Answer; The Supreme Court in the state has spent 15 months deliberating same-sex marriage": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:11 AM by Howard Bashman "Abu Ghraib Rewarded": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "William Haynes II, the Pentagon’s general counsel, has been closely involved in shaping some of the Bush administration’s most legally and morally objectionable policies, notably on the use of torture. The last thing he is suited to be is a federal judge, but that is just what President Bush wants to make him." And also in today's newspaper, columnist Bob Herbert has an op-ed entitled "The Definition of Tyranny" (TimesSelect subscription required). "Blawg Review #66": Available here, at "David Jacobson's External Insights." Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, July 16, 2006 "Underage pregnancy evidence of crime": This article appears today in The Wichita Eagle, along with a related item headlined "Kline, Foulston will argue teen-sex ruling before appellate court." Posted at 08:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate panel questions Tydingco-Gatewood": Thursday's edition of The Pacific Daily News of Guam contained an article that begins, "Frances Marie Tydingco-Gatewood, nominated to the U.S. District Court of Guam, told a Senate panel at her confirmation hearing Tuesday that she doesn't want to ever forget to be courteous and respectful in the courtroom as a judge." Posted at 08:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Law a little fuzzy; Courts aren't inclined to consider what's best for the animal when ownership is at issue; Legally, that lovable sack of fur is just a piece of property; Some new cases will test that": The St. Petersburg Times contains this article today. Posted at 08:04 PM by Howard Bashman "License to wiretap": This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. And yesterday, The Washington Post published an editorial entitled "Wiretap Surrender: Sen. Specter's bill on NSA surveillance is a capitulation to administration claims of executive power." "Missouri Says It Can't Find Execution Doctor; It suggests an alternative to a judge's ruling that an anesthesiologist must oversee lethal injections": Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And yesterday, The New York Times contained an article headlined "Missouri Says It Can't Hire Doctor for Executions." "The problem with presidential signing statements": Law Professor Richard A. Epstein has this op-ed today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 04:05 PM by Howard Bashman "A Medical Crisis of Conscience; Faith Drives Some To Refuse Patients Medication or Care": The Washington Post today contains this front page article. And related articles are headlined "Seeking Care, and Refused" and "For Some, There Is No Choice." Posted at 03:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Bucking Convention: Congress and Bush seek a deal on terrorism detainees." This article will appear in the July 24, 2006 issue of U.S. News & World Report. Posted at 01:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Conservative, but activist: Despite the labels, Supreme Court justices follow a tradition that began in the 1880s." Hugh A. Wilson has this op-ed today in Newsday. Posted at 01:35 PM by Howard Bashman In today's issue of The Boston Globe: Columnist Joan Vennochi has an op-ed entitled "SJC treads carefully" that begins, "Those activist judges of Massachusetts are becoming much less activist." And in the Ideas section, David Feige has an article headlined "Innocence by the numbers: Is Justice Scalia's faith in the criminal justice system, expressed in a recent opinion, based on the fuzzy math of the death penalty lobby?" "Minority Report: The United States inches ever closer to criminalizing bad thoughts." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:55 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, July 15, 2006 "Federal Judges Get More Home Security": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on yesterday evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 09:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Tear Down the Mt. Soledad Cross: The 43-foot San Diego landmark represents clear government favoritism toward one religion." The Los Angeles Times contains this editorial today. Posted at 09:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Judges hear from chief justice Roberts": This article appears today in The Seattle Times. Posted at 01:15 PM by Howard Bashman The New York Times is reporting: Today's newspaper contains an article headlined "Wiretapping Review Is Criticized." And Adam Liptak has a news analysis headlined "Scholars Agree That Congress Could Reject Conventions, but Not That It Should." "Detainee issue splits Congress; Justices' anti-tribunal ruling leaves little time for big challenge": This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun. And yesterday in The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley had an article headlined "Will 'Hamdan' Join 'Kelo' on Congress' Dusty To-Do List?" Attention Green Bag: In news from Baltimore, "Fans will have to wait for Bobblin' Brian; Vouchers for Roberts Bobblehead to be distributed Saturday." According to the report online at MLB.com, "The manufacturers botched the bobblehead, making Roberts' skin darker than it actually is. The doll was supposed to be given out before Saturday's game against the Rangers." And The Baltimore Sun today contains an article headlined "No run on dolls following error; O's see red - and a little blue - over Roberts bobblehead miscue." "Bail denied for Bonds' ex-trainer; Prosecutors ordered to explain why a report was withheld": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "A federal appeals court denied bail Friday to Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds' former weight trainer, who is in prison for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating whether the Giants star committed perjury when he denied knowingly using steroids." Posted at 10:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court reinstates same-sex marriage ban": This article appears today in The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. The Tennessean reports today that "Voters to get say on gay marriage; Amendment set for ballot in fall." The Memphis Commercial Appeal contains an article headlined "Ruling puts same-sex marriage ban to vote; To pass: Majority of those who cast ballot for Tenn. governor." The New York Times contains an article headlined "In Nebraska and Tennessee, More Setbacks to Gay Rights." And The Washington Times reports that "Gay 'marriage' critics hail victories in pair of rulings." "Secret court may end up hearing AT&T illegal surveillance lawsuit; Legislation backed by White House would allow transfer": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, July 14, 2006 Available online from law.com: Justin Scheck reports that "9th Circuit Split Proponents Attack Case Overload." In other news, "Most Federal Judges Are Opting for Home Security Measures; Total cost nationwide is $5 million in first year." And the brand new installment of my "On Appeal" column is headlined "Measuring Federal Appellate Courts' Success Before the U.S. Supreme Court." "Close Votes in Late-Term Cases Were Not a Blow to Consensus-Building, Chief Justice Roberts Insists": Metropolitan News-Enterprise provides this report. Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Nebraska's gay marriage ban reinstated": The Omaha World-Herald provides this news update. Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from Reason: An interview headlined "Searching for Alex Kozinski: The controversial 9th Circuit judge on free speech, privacy, and why he didn't mind the Kelo decision." That lengthy interview concludes: Reason: Then can you tell us which justice or judge out there most exemplifies your own approach to law?Also available online is an essay by Nick Gillespie headlined "CleanFlicks v. Kate Winslet's Breasts: How Hollywood won a lawsuit while losing a cultural battle." Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "State Supreme Court Says Out-of-State Firms Can't Secretly Record Californians' Calls; Justices determine that out-of-state businesses can't surreptitiously record calls, even if it is allowed in that state": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And The San Francisco Chronicle today contains an article headlined "No secret taping here, court rules, even if legal in caller's state." "Chief justice vetoes idea of televised hearings": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "Chief Justice John Roberts poured cold water Thursday on suggestions to televise U.S. Supreme Court hearings, saying that keeping the proceedings free from outside distractions was more important than putting them on public display." And The Orange County Register reports today that "Roberts defends the judiciary; Chief justice says he will fight to preserve independent courts." "Court Restores Neb. Same-Sex Marriage Ban": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 01:58 PM by Howard Bashman BREAKING NEWS -- Eighth Circuit reverses federal district court ruling that had declared in violation of the U.S. Constitution an amendment to Nebraska's Constitution barring same-sex marriage: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link. The federal district court's ruling, which the Eighth Circuit reversed today, can be accessed at this link. "Judge: Nomination Advances; Holmes receives panel's approval." The Tulsa World today contains an article that begins, "A Senate committee approved by voice vote Thursday the nomination of Jerome Holmes to an appeals court slot following a brief discussion that broke no new ground on the Oklahoman's controversial articles on issues such as affirmative action. Sending Holmes' nomination to the floor by a divided voice vote saved members of the Senate Judiciary Committee from going on record for or against." Posted at 10:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Conservative justices carry free-speech banner in Randall": Douglas Lee has this commentary online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman Recent archived video of interest available online from C-SPAN: From yesterday, "Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) Announces Deal With Bush on NSA Surveillance Review"; "Senate Armed Services Hearing on Hamden Ruling"; and "David Cole, Georgetown University Law Center Professor, discusses the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld decision and how Congress, and the President should respond." RealPlayer is required to launch these video segments. Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained audio segments entitled "Hearings on Guantanamo War Crimes Trials Continue" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Visiting the Prison at Guantanamo Bay" (featuring Ted Koppel). And yesterday's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained an audio segment entitled "Senate Panel: Use Military Code for Detainees" (featuring Nina Totenberg). RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Supreme Court explains Downey deal; Despite seeming irritated by the JQC compromise, justices approved a deal to let the judge retire at the end of the year": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. My coverage from yesterday appears in a post titled "Supreme Court of Florida approves stipulated resolution of judicial ethics proceeding against trial court judge who admitted to charge of 'Habitual viewing of pornography from the courthouse computer.'" D.C. Circuit affirms refusal to certify class action in case against Delta Air Lines involving lost luggage and the Warsaw Convention's limitation of liability for the international air transport of people and property: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 10:25 AM by Howard Bashman "'Gang of 14' wary of Haynes": The Washington Times contains this article today. And The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports today that "'Gang of 14' huddles in Pryor's office over Bush pick for bench." "Factual errors cited in cases against detainees; Lawyers demand new trial system at Guantanamo": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 07:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Gonzales takes issue with justices' detainees ruling": The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, "Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales, who as White House counsel played a key role in shaping aggressive policies on the treatment of prisoners in the war on terrorism, said Thursday that he was surprised by the Supreme Court's ruling that they were entitled to some protections under the Geneva Conventions." Posted at 07:23 AM by Howard Bashman "Roberts Stresses Courts' Independence; The chief justice tells a 9th Circuit conference he wants to build better relations with Congress": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. And David Kravets of The Associated Press reports that "Supreme Court shuns TV cameras; Chief justice speaks to law conference." "Too Good for Marriage": Today in The New York Times, Law Professor Kenji Yoshino has an op-ed that begins, "Last week, New York’s highest court voted 4-to-2 that a legislative ban on same-sex marriage did not violate the state Constitution." Posted at 07:00 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, July 13, 2006 "Bush Would Let Secret Court Sift Wiretap Process": This article will appear Friday in The New York Times, along with a news analysis headlined "Restoring a Constitutional Balance." And the McClatchy Newspapers provide reports headlined "Bush agrees to have domestic eavesdropping program reviewed" and "Bush officials send Congress mixed signals about military tribunals." "How to Measure a Federal Appellate Court's Record of Success Before the U.S. Supreme Court": That's the provisional title of the next installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com. It is due to appear online by 11 p.m. tomorrow night. Posted at 10:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Ethics Essentials: A Primer for New Judges on Conflicts, Outside Activities, and Other Potential Pitfalls." The Committee on Codes of Conduct of the Judicial Conference of the United States has issued this very interesting document. Posted at 10:14 PM by Howard Bashman Various federal appellate courts have begun to issue proposed local rules to address Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1, which will allow citation to all non-precedential federal court opinions issued on or after January 1, 2007: I enthusiastically favor removing all limitations and prohibitions on the citation of non-precedential opinions, and for that reason I strongly favor Rule 32.1. But, for the reasons I explained at length in an earlier law.com column, I wish that the rule did not contain its prospective-only limitation, which makes the rule applicable only to non-precedential decisions issued on or after January 1, 2007. I am pleased to report that some federal appellate courts have begun the process of adopting local rules that specifically address whether those circuits will allow or prohibit the citation of their own non-precedential opinions issued before January 1, 2007. As best as I can tell, the circuits that have thus far issued proposed local rules plan to continue as to their pre-2007 non-precedential decisions the rule either allowing, prohibiting, or discouraging citation now in place in those circuits. For example, the Fourth Circuit has proposed a local rule that continues to discourage citation of non-precedential rulings issued before January 1, 2007. The Federal Circuit has proposed a local rule that, at least by implication, appears to continue to prohibit the citation to its non-precedential rulings issued before January 1, 2007. And the Fifth Circuit has proposed a local rule that continues to allow the citation to all of its non-precedential rulings regardless of when issued, although that local rule mistakenly suggests that citation to non-precedential rulings issued before January 1, 2007 will be allowed pursuant to Rule 32.1(a). In actuality, Rule 32.1(a) is expressly limited in its effect to opinions issued on or after January 1, 2007. Perhaps my friends in the Fifth Circuit who read this post can have the proposed local rule altered to fix this minor error. "The Dangers of Trying To Be Colorful": At "The Volokh Conspiracy," Eugene Volokh has this post about a Ninth Circuit dissent from the denial of rehearing en banc in a case presenting an issue of statutory construction that was the subject of a column I wrote for law.com headlined "Less Is More: When Courts Decide a Law Means the Opposite of What It Says." Posted at 08:10 PM by Howard Bashman Fifth Circuit allows DeLay appeal to proceed without delay: At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston provides this report. Posted at 08:03 PM by Howard Bashman Metropolitan News-Enterprise is reporting: Today's issue contains articles headlined "Man Unsuccessfully Sues Entire Ninth Circuit Bench for Conspiracy" and "Business Web Site Insufficient to Confer U.S. Jurisdiction--C.A." My earlier coverage of these rulings appears here and here, respectively. Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Suspect Padilla Gets Access to Secrets": The AP provides this report. Posted at 03:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Says Recording Calls Violates Rights": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The state Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that Californians' privacy rights are violated when their telephone conversations are secretly recorded by out-of-state callers." Today's unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court of California begins: The complaint in this case alleges that employees at the Atlanta-based branch of defendant Salomon Smith Barney (SSB) -- a large, nationwide brokerage firm that has numerous offices and does extensive business in California -- repeatedly have recorded telephone conversations with California clients without the clients' knowledge or consent. These facts give rise to a classic choice-of-law issue, because the relevant California privacy statute generally prohibits any person from recording a telephone conversation without the consent of all parties to the conversation, whereas the comparable Georgia statute does not prohibit the recording of a telephone conversation when the recording is made with the consent of one party to the conversation.You can access the complete decision at this link. Posted at 02:55 PM by Howard Bashman Supreme Court of Florida approves stipulated resolution of judicial ethics proceeding against trial court judge who admitted to charge of "Habitual viewing of pornography from the courthouse computer": You can access today's per curiam ruling of Florida's highest court at this link. According to today's opinion, "In addition to receiving a public reprimand, the stipulation requires that Judge Downey (1) retire from judicial office at the end of his term on January 1, 2007; (2) not serve as a senior judge; (3) provide a formal letter of apology; (4) continue to have restricted email and internet access; (5) continue his psychological counseling; and (6) not file for reelection and never again seek election or appointment as a judge." "Top court turns down Wal-Mart -- cities can ban big-box stores; Justices decline to take up appeal of Turlock ordinance": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. The Sacramento Bee reports today that "Justices deliver blow to Wal-Mart; Retailer loses bid to overturn Turlock curb on Supercenter." And The Turlock Journal reports that "State Supreme Court declines Wal-Mart appeal." "Both Pebble Beaches can exist, court says; Golf course loses suit against British bed and breakfast": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. My earlier coverage appears here. Posted at 12:24 PM by Howard Bashman Eighth Circuit panel rejects constitutional challenges to provisions of Arkansas Sex Offender Registration Act requiring sex offenders to register with the State as well as an Arkansas criminal statute prohibiting certain registered sex offenders from living within two-thousand-feet of a school or daycare center: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 11:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Suit Seeks Identity of Bloggers Who Claimed Abuse by Rabbi": The blog "Religion Clause" today offers a post that begins, "Public Citizen last week announced the filing of two motions in a pending California case in which Rabbi Mordecai Tendler, who was accused of sexually propositioning women who came to him seeking spiritual guidance, is trying to force Google to disclose the identities of four anonymous bloggers." Posted at 11:48 AM by Howard Bashman Archived video of interest available online from C-SPAN: By clicking here, you can view online Tuesday's confirmation hearing for both Fourth Circuit nominee William J. Haynes II and Frances Marie Tydingco-Gatewood, a Justice on the Supreme Court of Guam who has been nominated to serve on the Guam federal district court. By clicking here, you can view online yesterday's "House Armed Services Committee Hearing on the Hamdan Ruling." Finally, by clicking here, you can view online a segment from yesterday's broadcast of "Washington Journal" described as follows: "Michael Noone, Catholic University Law School Research Professor, discusses the Geneva Conventions, focusing particularly on humane-treatment provisions of Article 3." RealPlayer is required to launch these video segments. "More Salon vs. Judge Boyle": Ed Whelan has this post today at National Review Online's "Bench Memos" blog. Posted at 10:57 AM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Congress Finds Solution for Guantanamo Trials Elusive" and "Yoo Downplays Importance of Supreme Court Ruling" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Yes, Counsel Haynes, There Is a Supreme Court": Bloomberg News columnist Margaret Carlson has this essay today. Posted at 10:48 AM by Howard Bashman "[W]e must determine who has the right to conduct a review for privilege of documents subject to a grand jury subpoena directed to a third party who possesses the documents but has not yet produced them to the government: the targets of the investigation whose rights of privilege are potentially implicated, or the federal government, operating a 'taint team' behind a 'Chinese wall' or protective screen." Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs today issued this interesting opinion on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Boyle: Conflicts not intentional." This article appears today in The Raleigh News & Observer. Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman Four federal appellate court nominees are on the agenda of this morning's executive business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee: Also on that same very crowded agenda, legislation to split the Ninth Circuit and "Subpoenas Relating to ABA Reports." Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Would you hire this lawyer?" The Chicago Tribune today contains an editorial that begins, "He went to prison. She went to law school. That's what happened when Nadine Walter and William Nally Sr. went their separate ways after hatching a scheme to kill Walter's ex-husband's lawyer." Posted at 09:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Could M.D.s face death in abortions? DAs think some cases could bring capital charges; AG asked to clarify recent laws." The Dallas Morning News today contains an article that begins, "Doctors who perform illegal abortions in Texas could be subject to the death penalty because of the way the Legislature has strung together recent statutes, according to the state's top prosecutor association." The Houston Chronicle reports today that "State rule sought on doctors, new abortion laws; An official asks if physicians can be criminally charged for performing banned procedures." And The Austin American-Statesman reports that "Abbott asked whether some abortions are murder; Lawmaker says murder charges not appropriate." "Schiavo nurse may lose license; The state says she broke the rules by discussing the case on national television": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. Posted at 08:55 AM by Howard Bashman The Hartford Courant is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "Skakel Asks Top Court Review; Appeal Of Murder Conviction Would Focus On Statute Of Limitations" and "Gay Marriage Lawsuit Fails; A Superior Court Judge Rules Against Eight Same-Sex Couples Seeking Right To Marry." Posted at 08:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Lawmakers delay vote on gay marriage measure": This article appears today in The Boston Globe, along with an article headlined "Delay frustrates amendment backers; But they vow to keep fighting until it passes." The Boston Herald reports today that "Pols do chicken dance over gay wed." The Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts reports that "Lawmakers recess, avoid gay ban vote." And The New York Times reports that "Vote on Same-Sex Marriage Is Delayed in Massachusetts." "I.R.S. Wins Its Appeal Over Abusive Tax Shelter": The New York Times contains this article today. Posted at 07:15 AM by Howard Bashman "No Shared Benefits for 2 Men Wed in Canada, Judge Rules": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Department Claims Eavesdropping Is Legal Despite Ruling": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Posted at 07:00 AM by Howard Bashman In commentary available online at FindLaw: Sherry F. Colb has an essay entitled "At the End of its Term, The Supreme Court Denies Mentally Ill Defendants' Right to a Fair Trial." Joanna Grossman and Deborah Brake have an essay entitled "The Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Broader Protection for Employees Who Suffer Retaliation When They Complain About Discrimination: Part Two." And Marci Hamilton has an essay entitled "A Court Rules That Privately Editing Films for Content Violates Studios' Copyright: The Decision in Clean Flicks v. Steven Soderbergh and Its Cultural Context." "Embattled Bush judge disputes Salon report; Judge Terrence W. Boyle responds to conflict-of-interest charges": Will Evans has this article today at Salon.com. Posted at 06:54 AM by Howard Bashman "'Gang’ Returns As Fight Looms": Roll Call today contains an article (subscription required) that begins, "The bipartisan 'Gang of 14' will meet for the first time in two months this afternoon in a gathering intended to determine group members' attitudes on a series of outstanding judicial nominations, according to sources." Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, July 12, 2006 "Administration Prods Congress to Curb the Rights of Detainees": Thursday's edition of The New York Times will contain this article. Today's newspaper, meanwhile, contained an article headlined "White House Says Terror Detainees Hold Basic Rights" and a news analysis headlined "Terror and Power: Bush Takes a Step Back." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "The Rule of Law: Recognizing the Power of the Courts, Finally." The Washington Post on Thursday will contain an article headlined "Battle Looms In Congress Over Military Tribunals." Today's newspaper, meanwhile, reported that "U.S. Shifts Policy on Geneva Conventions; Bowing to Justices, Administration Says It Will Apply Treaties to Terror Suspects." And Dana Milbank's "Washington Sketch" column was headlined "It's Bush's Way or the Highway on Guantanamo Bay." The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Military Justice Idea Rejected for Alleged Terror Defendants." And today's newspaper reports that "Administration Says It's Meeting Geneva Convention Standard; Though acknowledging convention protections apply to detainees, Bush hits resistance in Congress by declaring treatment won't change." McClatchy Newspapers report that "Bush administration insists Congress ratify military tribunals." The Chicago Tribune today contains articles headlined "U.S. relents on Gitmo detainees; Geneva Conventions will apply to inmates" and "Time to close Guantanamo jail, Durbin says." The Miami Herald today contains an article headlined "U.S.: Geneva rules apply to Guantanamo detainees; As hearings addressed new rules for military tribunals, the Bush administration reversed policy to include Geneva Convention protections for detainees." Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein reports that "Resistance Arises to Bush's Plan For Trying the Qaeda Prisoners." The Boston Globe reports today that "Bush urges Congress to ratify military tribunals; Judiciary panel vows policy review." USA Today contains an article headlined "Geneva Conventions cover Gitmo detainees; President asks Congress to help set up tribunal system." The Washington Times contains an article headlined "Geneva cover for Gitmo detainees." And The Hill on Thursday will report that "Congress takes a go-slow approach to detainee trials." "Congress Isn't a Criminal Hide-Out: A judge's ruling means legislators, like ordinary citizens, have to comply with lawful searches." This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. And The New York Times today contains an editorial entitled "The Rule of Law: Limits of Congressional Rights." "Trials and Tribulations: What to Expect While Taking the Bar Exam." Jeremy Blachman, whose novel "Anonymous Lawyer" will arrive in bookstores on July 25th, now has this essay (pass-through link) at The Wall Street Journal Online. Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Has No Place in Dispute Between Rabbis, Ruling Says": Jennifer 8. Lee has this article today in The New York Times. The blog "Religion Clause" provides links to the rulings in a post you can access here. Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Apple abandons effort to unmask leaker": Declan McCullagh of c|net News.com provides this report. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Drop Special Plate Program": The Hartford Courant today contains an editorial that begins, "Surprise, surprise. Officials at the state Department of Motor Vehicles have reinstated the special 'Choose Life' license plates sponsored by The Children First Foundation, a pro-adoption, anti-abortion group based in New York." Posted at 10:38 PM by Howard Bashman Now she's neither a good witch nor a bad witch: The Washington Post reports today that "After Toil and Trouble, 'Witch' Is Cleared; Va. Resident's Quest Leads to Pardon for Woman Convicted in 1706." The Virginian-Pilot reported yesterday that "'Witch of Pungo' pardoned by governor after 300 years." And yesterday's edition of The Richmond Times-Dispatch contained an article headlined "Ding dong, the stigma's gone; Kaine clears name of Va. woman convicted of witchcraft 300 years ago." "At U.S. Urging, Court Throws Lamberth Off Indian Case": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The New York Times reports today that "Appeals Panel Removes Judge Presiding Over Indian Lawsuit." And in The Los Angeles Times, Henry Weinstein reports that "Appeals Court Removes Judge from Indian Trust Fund Case; The government is also reprimanded for what justices call 'deplorable' money mismanagement." "EEOC Moves to Compel Testimony on Changing Sidley Partners' Status": law.com provides this report. Posted at 10:09 PM by Howard Bashman "Va. Death Row Inmate Chooses Electrocution": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 06:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Berkeley Sea Scouts Ask Nation's Highest Court to Review California S.C. Ruling on Free Berthing": Today's issue of Metropolitan News-Enterprise contains this article. Posted at 06:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice laments sentencing rules; Anthony M. Kennedy addresses fellow judges at a 9th Circuit conference": This article appeared yesterday in The Orange County Register. Posted at 06:05 PM by Howard Bashman Why split the Ninth Circuit? At the risk of seeming to dwell too intently on this issue (which after all is the topic of my law.com essay this week), I've posted at this link (large PDF file) an updated appendix of statistics and other circuit split-related information that Ninth Circuit Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain has assembled. The information is updated as of July 1, 2006. Update: To appreciate the anti-split side of the argument, be sure to visit this impressive collection of links at Earthjustice's website. Felons are prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition, but apparently antique firearms are exempted from the prohibition: Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision addressing whether a felon is in violation of federal law if the antique firearm the felon is in lawful possession of happens to contain ammunition. Posted at 05:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Hate and Marriage: Same-sex marriage setbacks may not be all bad news for gay rights." Law Professor Richard Thompson Ford has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 05:33 PM by Howard Bashman What is "direct" evidence, and is it really any different from "circumstantial" evidence? Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued this interesting opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of that court. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman "The question here is whether the rule of necessity applies when a plaintiff, like Ignacio, has sued all the members of the Ninth Circuit, thereby making it impossible for the circuit to convene a three-member panel consisting of Ninth Circuit judges that are not a party to this suit." In an opinion issued today, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit "hold[s] that the rule of necessity applies when, like here, a litigant indiscriminately sues all the judges of the Ninth Circuit." And, as a result, three Ninth Circuit judges were permitted to hear and decide the appeal despite having been identified as defendants in the lawsuit under review. Posted at 03:22 PM by Howard Bashman Fourth Circuit nominee Terrence W. Boyle responds by letter to an inquiry from Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, M.D. (R-TN) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA): I have posted a copy of Judge Boyle's letter at this link. Update: The Associated Press reports that "Judicial Nominee Acknowledges Oversight." Ninth Circuit announces its ruling in Pebble Beach Co. v. Caddy: In this instance, Caddy is not some guy who wants to help by carrying your golf clubs and offering advice on how to play the course. Rather, he's a resident of the United Kingdom who operates a three-room bed and breakfast located on a cliff overlooking the pebbly beaches of England's south shore. According to today's opinion, "The name of Caddy's operation is 'Pebble Beach,' which, given its location, is no surprise. Caddy advertises his services, which do not include a golf course, at his website, www.pebblebeach-uk.com." Today's decision holds that a California-based federal district court correctly held that it lacked personal jurisdiction over Caddy and therefore properly dismissed Pebble Beach's lawsuit under the Lanham Act and the California Business and Professions Code for intentional infringement and dilution of its "Pebble Beach" mark. The plaintiff's web site advertising its world-famous California golf course, and more, can be accessed here. "Government Wins Appeal in Coltec Tax Shelter Case": The "TaxProf Blog" offers this post about a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued today. To quote one "How Appealing" reader who has emailed about the ruling, the decision is "interesting because it tackles an issue of purposive (v. literal) construction of the tax statute." Posted at 12:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Report Card from the U.S. Supreme Court: How the Third Circuit Fared in the October 2005 Term." This month's installment of my "Upon Further Review" column, published Monday in The Legal Intelligencer, can now be freely accessed online at this link. Posted at 12:22 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Detainee Questions Trip Federal Court Nominee" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Former Military Lawyer Judges Geneva Memo." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 11:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Senate Judiciary Cmte. Hearing on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld": Via C-SPAN, you can access archived video of yesterday's hearing by clicking here (RealPlayer required). And at the "Georgetown Law Faculty Blog," Marty Lederman has an interesting post titled "Top Ten Myths About Hamdan, Geneva, and Interrogations." Making a federal case of it: The Louisville Courier-Journal yesterday published an article headlined "Blogger sues Fletcher over Web policy; Mark Nickolas' internet site blocked on state workers' computers." The newspaper has posted at this link a copy of the complaint initiating that lawsuit in federal district court. Posted at 11:38 AM by Howard Bashman The state of the Federal Circuit: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has posted online the text of remarks that Chief Judge Paul R. Michel delivered recently at the Federal Circuit Bar Association Annual Conference. Posted at 11:33 AM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Skakel to Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court"; "Inmates Sue to Overturn Nude Magazine Ban"; "Republicans Want Court to Hear DeLay Case"; "Mass. to Weigh Challenge to Gay Marriage"; and "Authors Who Lost 'Da Vinci' Case to Appeal." Posted at 11:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Hearing stormy for judicial nominee; A GOP senator is skeptical of Haynes' explanation of his role in interrogation policies": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Today in The Washington Post, Charles Lane reports that "GOP Senator Criticizes Appeals Court Nominee." The New York Times reports that "Bush Nominee Tries to Calm Torture Furor." In addition, columnist Maureen Dowd has an op-ed entitled "He Let the Dogs Out!" (TimesSelect subscription required). And The Washington Times reports that "Democrats likely to filibuster nominee." Tuesday, July 11, 2006 Available online from National Public Radio: This evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained audio segments entitled "Senators Discuss Trials for Guantanamo Detainees"; "Hamdan Attorney Discusses Detainees at Capitol"; "White House: Geneva Accord Applies to Detainees"; and "Judge Removed in Indian Trust Funds Suit." Today's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" contained an audio segment entitled "Congress Takes Up Issue of Guantanamo Detainees." Today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained an audio segment entitled "White House Shifts Policy on Detainee Tribunals" (featuring Dahlia Lithwick). And today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained audio segments entitled "Senate Takes Up Issue of Guantanamo Detainee Rights" (parts one and two); "Leahy: President Mishandled Guantanamo Detainees"; "WH: Geneva Conventions Apply to Detainees"; and "Judge Rules Against Jefferson in House Office Search." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Stock Conflict Cited in 9th Circuit Judge's Trademark Rulings": law.com now provides free access to this article. Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Invent This Wheel!!!: Now can we try using courts-martial for enemy detainees?" Law Professor Neal Katyal has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Rules Capitol Office Raid Legal; A congressman under investigation contended the FBI search violated a constitutional clause": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. The Washington Times reports today that "Judge rules FBI raid on Hill office legal." And The Hill reports that "Court OKs Jefferson raid." "New rules for Gitmo: The Supreme Court's Hamdan ruling gives Congress an opportunity to do its job on military tribunals." This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman "At Odds Over How To Prosecute Terrorists; Senate Hearing Shows White House, Key Republicans Still Differ on Approaches to Problem": Jess Bravin will have this article (free access) Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 10:22 PM by Howard Bashman "'Marriage' amendment OK'd for vote": This article appears today in The Washington Times. My earlier coverage appears here and here. Posted at 10:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Haynes Fights to Save Judgeship Nomination": The Associated Press provides this report. Thomas Ferraro of Reuters reports that "Bush judicial nominee struggles to win Senate OK." And Bloomberg News reports that "Senate Democrats Signal Filibuster Against Haynes." "2006 Judicial Conference Begins": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today issued a news release that begins, "The 2006 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference opened Monday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Huntington Beach, Calif. with Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder focusing on efforts to split the circuit in her report on the State of the Circuit." Earlier today, in this post, I linked to two news reports covering Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's remarks yesterday at the judicial conference. And, coincidentally, the current installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com is headlined "Should the 9th Circuit Be Split Even if Its Judges Disapprove?" Dancing days are here again: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today issued an opinion that begins, "This case marks the third chapter in this court of the dispute as to who is the rightful owner of the works of the renowned modern dancer Martha Graham, who died in 1991 at the age of 96." Posted at 07:28 PM by Howard Bashman "SIU is told to recognize group; Christian legal body still has suit pending": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. My earlier coverage appears here. Posted at 02:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Domestic Spying Program Faces First Challenge; A veteran judge will rule on the legality of the NSA's warrantless anti-terror surveillance; Greenpeace is among the petitioners": Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. The Detroit News reports today that "Feds, civil libertarians square off; Spy hearings in Detroit pit concern about rights versus national security; White House wants case dismissed." And The Detroit Free Press reports that "ACLU says U.S. spying has harmed its clients; Bush officials urge judge to dismiss case for security." "Rethinking Embattled Tactics in Terror War; Courts, Hill and Allies Press Administration": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 02:48 PM by Howard Bashman Delay in start time of today's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing: The committee's hearing titled "Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: Establishing a Constitutional Process" remains underway, and the confirmation hearing for Fourth Circuit nominee William J. Haynes II will begin once the current hearing ends. You can view the current hearing by clicking here or here (RealPlayer required). Posted at 02:34 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Anthony Kennedy Criticizes Sentences, Prison Union Lobbying": The Metropolitan News-Enterprise contains this article today. And in The Daily Journal of California, Amelia Hansen reports today that "Kennedy Calls Pressure for Stronger Sentences 'Sick.'" "Race a Critical Issue in 10th Circuit Nomination; First black nominee for court under fire on affirmative action": This article (free access) appears in this week's issue of The National Law Journal. Posted at 01:11 PM by Howard Bashman "2 Sides Clash at Hearing on Legality of Deficit Law": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "Lawyers for the government and a leading public interest group squared off Monday in a court case hinging on a subject found in just about any American civics textbook: how a bill becomes a law." Meanwhile, in Saturday's newspaper, Dorothy Samuels had a related Editorial Observer essay entitled "The Deficit Reduction Act? What Deficit Reduction Act?" And The Hill reports today that "Ruling in suit over budget snafu expected this summer." "Stock Conflict Cited in Pregerson Cases": The Recorder of San Francisco yesterday contained an article (subscription required) that begins, "After losing two trademark cases, an attorney for a software company is trying to get the rulings thrown out because one of the Ninth Circuit judges hearing the case apparently had a financial conflict." Posted at 01:02 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "District Judge Removed From Indian Case" and "Texas Inmates Not Entitled to Minimum Wage." Posted at 01:00 PM by Howard Bashman Listen live: I'm scheduled to appear as a guest on the first segment of The Kojo Nnamdi Show just after 12 noon today on Washington, DC's NPR station, WAMU-88.5. You can listen live via this link. The topic is "Courts and Technology." Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "As retired military leaders of the U.S. Armed Forces, we write to express our deep concern about the nomination of William J. Haynes II, General Counsel for the Department of Defense, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit." The organization Human Rights First has posted online this letter signed by more than 20 retired military leaders. That organization has collected additional, related information here. At 2:15 p.m. today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold its second confirmation hearing for Fourth Circuit nominee William J. Haynes II, whose resume you can access here. Appellate hot potato: When the case in question gave rise to an earlier appeal, the Tenth Circuit transferred that appeal to the Federal Circuit. Now, in an opinion issued today, the Federal Circuit transfers the latest appeal in the case to the Tenth Circuit. Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Numbers That Don't Befit the Court": Today in The Washington Post, Margaret and Richard Cordray have this op-ed complaining that the U.S. Supreme Court is accepting and deciding too few cases. Posted at 10:33 AM by Howard Bashman "US reverses policy on military detainees": This article appears today in Financial Times. The New York Times provides a news update headlined "In Big Shift, U.S. to Follow Geneva Treaty for Detainees." And The Associated Press reports that "U.S. Will Give Detainees Geneva Rights." In the continuing saga of the Indian Trust litigation: The D.C. Circuit today issued two important rulings in the case formerly known as Cobell v. Norton, now known as Cobell v. Kempthorne. The first of today's two rulings is significant because it grants the federal government's request to remove U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth from continuing to preside over the case. The D.C. Circuit, on remand, orders that a new district judge be assigned to preside over this very complex case. And the second of today's two rulings vacates an injunction the district court issued requiring requiring many of the Department of the Interior's computer systems to be disconnected from the internet and internal computer networks. "Court arguments begin on same-sex marriage; Panel to decide constitutionality of state's ban": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Today in The Oakland Tribune, Josh Richman reports that "Lawyers debate same-sex marriage; At least one judge on state court's three-justice panel appears skeptical of existing ban; ruling due within 90 days." Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times reports that "State Appeals Court Hears Same-Sex Marriage Debate; Plaintiffs seeking to void the ban on gay marriage enacted after San Francisco issued licenses find a sympathetic ear on state appellate court." And Claire Cooper, legal affairs writer for The Sacramento Bee, reports that "State argues against gay marriage; Tradition supports only opposite-sex unions, court is told." "Gay-marriage opponents get SJC go-ahead; Amendment effort is constitutional": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. And columnist Scot Lehigh has an op-ed entitled "Heed constitution process on gay amendment." The Boston Herald today contains an article headlined "Legislators to duel on gay-wed: SJC OKs ban proposal for referendum ballot." An editorial is entitled "Democracy rules even on marriage." In addition, columnist Virginia Buckingham has an op-ed entitled "Elites subtract your voice from process." And The New York Times reports that "Proposal to Ban Same-Sex Marriage Renews Old Battles." Monday, July 10, 2006 Washington, DC-based fans of "How Appealing" can hear my dulcet-toned voice on the radio tomorrow shortly after noon: I'm scheduled to appear as a guest on the first segment of The Kojo Nnamdi Show at noon on Washington, DC's NPR station, WAMU-88.5. The topic for my segment will be "Courts and Technology," and I'm scheduled to be one of four guests who will be taking part in the discussion. Posted at 11:35 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: This evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained audio segments entitled "Congress Weighs Options on Tribunals" and "Judge Affirms FBI Search of Congressional Office." And today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained audio segments entitled "Congress Mulls New Guantanamo Guidelines" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Journalists Should Take the Fifth, Instead of First." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Judge Upholds F.B.I. Search of Lawmaker's Office": This article will appear Tuesday in The New York Times. The Washington Post on Tuesday will contain an article headlined "FBI Search of Jefferson's Office Constitutional, Judge Rules." And The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Judge Upholds Search of Congressman's Office." "Court nominee gets second chance; Northern Virginia man seeks Va.-based federal court seat, faces war-detainee criticism": Tuesday's edition of The Richmond Times-Dispatch will contain an article that begins, "William James Haynes II, the Pentagon's top lawyer, gets a new chance today to answer critics who have attacked his nomination to the Richmond-based federal appeals court." Posted at 11:15 PM by Howard Bashman Recusal request in death penalty case draws the ire of its subject, a Justice serving on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania: Last Friday, Justice Ronald D. Castille issued this decision denying the motion to recuse. Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman Divided three-judge Second Circuit panel holds unlawful a federal Bureau of Prisons regulation limiting placement in a community corrections center to the lesser of the last ten percent or six months of a federal prisoner's sentence: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 11:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Howard powers way to Derby crown; Wright takes second despite hitting 16 homers in one round": Some happy news in what's otherwise been a disappointing season thus far for the Philadelphia Phillies. Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman "A Branch Too Far: The dopey plan to appoint an inspector general for the judiciary." Dirk Olin has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. My earlier essay on this subject was headlined "Exaggerations Plague Debate Over Need for Judicial Inspector General." "Judge Hears Arguments in Spy Program Case": The Associated Press provides this report. The Detroit Free Press provides a news update headlined "Lawyers lock horns over NSA spying program." And in earlier coverage, today's edition of The Detroit News reported that "Hearing begins on spying program; Bush administration and civil liberties groups in Detroit will argue for and against wiretapping." "Judge: FBI Raid on Lawmaker's Office Legal." The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 05:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice's libel suit figures his losses": The Chicago Sun-Times today contains an article that begins, "Illinois' highest-ranking judge is seeking as much as $7.7 million in his lawsuit against a suburban newspaper -- and has considered pursuing other jobs when his term ends in 2010, legal documents show." Thanks to The Wall Street Journal Online's "Law Blog" for the pointer. Posted at 05:30 PM by Howard Bashman "For the foregoing reasons, the Court has found that the search executed on Congressman Jefferson's congressional office was constitutional, as it did not trigger the Speech or Debate Clause privilege, did not offend the principle of the separation of powers, and was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment." Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has issued this opinion and order today. Posted at 04:52 PM by Howard Bashman After recess, but before nap time: The Associated Press reports that "Senate to Hear Detainee Issue After Recess." Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman Doctrine of "fraudulent joinder," enabling a federal district court to ignore non-diverse co-defendants in determining whether a case was properly removed from state court based on diversity jurisdiction, does not apply where the plaintiff has sued only one defendant: Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith issued this opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Posted at 03:14 PM by Howard Bashman "The Case of the Brilliant Dash: John Roberts shows why judges shouldn't punctuate from the bench." Bruce Reed of Slate's The Has-Been offers these thoughts. Posted at 02:23 PM by Howard Bashman SSM o/a: The California Channel is webcasting live today's marathon appellate oral arguments in the same-sex marriage appeals pending before California's First District Court of Appeal. Click here (Windows Media Player required) to view the oral arguments. The court itself offers this alternate audio-only webcast stream (Windows Media Player required). Divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit orders the entry of a preliminary injunction requiring Southern Illinois University School of Law to recognize a chapter of the Christian Legal Society as an official student organization: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 01:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Ga. Appeals Restraining Order on Voter IDs": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Georgia's attorney general filed an emergency appeal Monday of a court order that blocks the state from enforcing its new voter photo identification law during next week's primary elections." Posted at 12:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Mass. Court Backs Gay Marriage on Ballot": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The same court that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize gay marriage ruled Monday that a proposed constitutional amendment to ban future same-sex marriages can be placed on the ballot, if approved by the Legislature." You can access at this link today's ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. "Political Portents: Latest Supreme Court rulings on election law may foreshadow a far more conservative approach." Law Professor Richard L. Hasen of "Election Law" blog fame has this essay (free access) in today's issue of Legal Times. Posted at 10:05 AM by Howard Bashman "First Amendment eludes spotlight this term": Tony Mauro has this news analysis online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 10:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Fight over same-sex unions hits court in S.F.; Several lawsuits, pro and con, will be argued in marathon session": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 09:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Death Penalty Disquiet Echoes Earlier Time; Anti-capital punishment advocates hope momentum is on their side, but for now, the votes on the Court aren't there": Tony Mauro has this article (free access) in today's issue of Legal Times. And this Wednesday afternoon in Washington, DC, Tony will serve as moderator at an event titled "Sizing Up the 2005-06 Supreme Court Term." "One year later, power to seize property ripe for abuse; Backlash to high court ruling grows, as do land grabs": USA Today contains this editorial today, along with an op-ed by Donald J. Borut entitled "Vital tool of last resort: Uproar obscures eminent domain's crucial role in revitalizing areas." Posted at 06:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Initiative Would Overturn Same-Sex Marriage in Massachusetts; A proposed amendment is called 'a real threat' in the only state where such unions are legal": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman "'Sanitizers' of Home Video Lose in Court": The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, "A federal judge has issued final cut to studios, ruling that companies that snip out potentially offending material from movies for home viewing violate copyright laws." Posted at 06:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Would-be attorney tries to shed ties to '87 murder": The Chicago Tribune contains this article today. And in related coverage, one month ago today The Orlando Sentinel published an article headlined "Hush-hush past derails career in prosecuting" (Google cache of article). "Investigations, Lawsuits Still Dogging 9/11 Lawyer; Violation of Order Halted Moussaoui Trial": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 06:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Gay Ruling Shows New York Is Less Liberal Than It (and the U.S.) Thinks": The New York Times contains this article today. And The Los Angeles Times today contains an editorial entitled "Setback for marriage justice: New York and Georgia courts will be on the wrong side of history of gay marriage." Sunday, July 09, 2006 "Bringing the Church to the Courtroom; Christian Group Becomes Force in Major Legal Battles": This front page article will appear Monday in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:25 PM by Howard Bashman "The Perils of Unpublished Non-precedential Federal Appellate Opinions: A Case Study of the Substantive Due Process State-Created Danger Doctrine in One Circuit." Law Professor Sarah E. Ricks has this article (abstract with links for download) online at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). The article's abstract begins, "About 80% of federal appellate decisions are non-precedential. This Article examines the practical consequences for district courts and litigants confronting inconsistent appellate opinions issued by the same federal circuit. Specifically, this is a case study comparing the divergent binding and non-precedential opinions applying one frequently invoked constitutional theory within the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the 'state-created danger' theory of substantive due process. The comparison demonstrates that the risks of non-precedential opinions are real. During the six-year interval between binding state-created danger decisions, the Third Circuit created inconsistent non-precedential opinions on the identical legal theory." "Semper lie: Fake veteran must wear sandwich board." Friday's edition of The Daily Inter Lake contained an article that begins, "A Whitefish man was sentenced Thursday to spend 50 hours wearing a sandwich board with the words, 'I am a liar. I am not a Marine. I have never served my country.' Chief U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula also sentenced William Horvath to four months of house arrest for making a false statement." And yesterday's edition of The Missoulian contained an article headlined "Judge orders public shaming for deceit." "On this week's America and the Courts, the San Francisco Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals hears arguments in the case of Padilla v. Lever. The Court must decide if Orange County, California election officials violated the Voting Rights Act by not providing petitions in English and Spanish for the recall of a local school board member." You can view yesterday evening's broadcast of C-SPAN's "America & the Courts" by clicking here (RealPlayer required). Posted at 10:44 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "California Court to Hear Gay Marriage Case" and "Papers From Jefferson Office Raid in Limbo." Posted at 10:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Bush on Guantanamo: 'I want to move forward'; Despite an adverse ruling from the Supreme Court on military tribunals, President Bush says a solution can be worked out to handle terror suspects." Carol Rosenberg has this article today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 10:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Detainee Rights Create a Divide on Capitol Hill": This article will appear Monday in The New York Times, along with an article by Neil A. Lewis headlined "Court's Decision Offers Scant Guidance." Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "The Gitmo Fallout: The fight over the Hamdan ruling heats up--as fears about its reach escalate." Michael Isikoff and Stuart Taylor Jr. will have this article in the July 17, 2006 issue of Newsweek. Posted at 07:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Confusion": Stuart Taylor Jr. had this essay in last week's issue of National Journal. Posted at 07:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Congress argues the recrafting of terror tribunals; At issue: the extent of fair-trial protections for suspected terrorists." Warren Richey will have this article Monday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 06:14 PM by Howard Bashman Philadelphia Phillies 8, Pittsburgh Pirates 3: The Phillies enter the All Star break with a series win, albeit against the team sporting the National League's worst record. My son and I especially enjoyed today's game, because thanks to the generosity of two other Phillies fans who had two extra tickets directly behind home plate in section 222 of the Hall of Fame Club, we once again had great seats. You can access the box score of today's game at this link, while wraps are here and here. Posted at 06:10 PM by Howard Bashman On the editorial page of today's issue of The Washington Post: The newspaper contains editorials entitled "Congress's Turn: President Bush failed to create a fair legal system for accused terrorists; Congress can do better" and "'Gettysburg' for Gay Marriage? The decision by a New York court changes little." Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Investigator in Cantu case made wrongful arrests in past; Judgment errors led to suspensions before, after controversial probe of murder": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. And columnist Rick Casey has an op-ed entitled "Was Corpus man wrongly executed?" Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "His Hipness, John G. Roberts": Linda Greenhouse has this article today in the Week in Review section of The New York Times. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman "What Chief Justice Roberts Forgot in His First Term: Judicial Modesty." Adam Cohen has this Editorial Observer essay today in The New York Times. Posted at 09:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Sides line up unpredictably in S. Dakota's abortion battle; Political party and sex don't always indicate where residents stand on a controversial law": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 08:35 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, July 08, 2006 "'Choose Life' Plates Are Back": The Hartford Courant today contains an article that begins, "A pro-adoption foundation won reinstatement Friday of its right to sponsor special 'Choose Life' license plates on Connecticut cars, ending a six-week suspension that had prompted the group to threaten a federal lawsuit against the state." Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge accused, then given more authority; Brandt Downey, who has faced allegations over pornography and harassment, is appointed to hear appeals": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. Posted at 04:25 PM by Howard Bashman The New York Times is reporting: Today's newspaper contains an article headlined "Justices Tacitly Backed Use of Guantanamo, Bush Says." In other news, "Navy Settles Sonar Dispute Over Whales." And in local news, "Meaning of 'Normal' Is at Heart of Gay Marriage Ruling" and "Clinton's Remark on Ruling Irks Gay Rights Advocates." "In Zeal to Foil Terror Plots, Cases May Be Missing Something Important, Lawyers Say": This news analysis will appear Sunday in The New York Times. Posted at 04:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Global Warming and the Courts": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "In a move that has caused both delight and apprehension among those who worry about global warming, the Supreme Court has agreed to rule next fall on whether the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The case is among the most important environmental disputes ever to come before the court." And also in today's newspaper, columnist John Tierney has an op-ed entitled "The Environmental Procrastination Agency" (TimesSelect subscription required) that begins, "Now that the Supreme Court has gotten itself into the global warming debate, the justices face a choice: Should they rule in favor of environmental groups, or in favor of the environment?" "Lethal injection lacks protocols; Executions halted for courts' questions": This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun (via "Sentencing Law and Policy"). Posted at 02:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Reprieve for cross extended; Justice's decision suggests high court would hear case": The San Diego Union-Tribune contains this article today. And The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Cross Gets a Limited Reprieve; The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the 43-foot symbol can remain atop Mt. Soledad in San Diego until all legal appeals are resolved." "Signs of Detainees' Planning Alleged; Messages Found On Legal Papers": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:34 AM by Howard Bashman "Who really rules the Supreme Court? In Kennedy's swing vote vs. Roberts' consensus-building, the chief justice holds sway." Law Professor Douglas W. Kmiec has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:28 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, July 07, 2006 Available online from law.com: An article headlined "Concealed Sums Part of Charges Against Attorney Yagman; Bankruptcy allegedly did not disclose $1.4M" notes that "In recent years, Yagman has sought to bring disciplinary action against U.S. District Judge Manuel Real of the Central District of California in a case closely watched by judges nationwide." And the brand new installment of my "On Appeal" column is headlined "Should the 9th Circuit Be Split Even if Its Judges Disapprove?" "Redaction of Confidential Information in Electronic Documents: How to safely remove sensitive information from Microsoft Word documents and PDF Documents Using Adobe Acrobat." Following-up on my recent post on this subject, I have recently come across this document from Adobe Systems Incorporated, the manufacturer of the leading PDF publishing software. Posted at 10:44 PM by Howard Bashman Good time was had by all: This decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued today rejects a federal prisoner's challenge to the federal Bureau of Prisons' method of applying good time credits toward time served. In his concurring opinion, Circuit Judge Terrence L. O'Brien writes that "A good lawyer can formulate an argument that makes a hash of almost any statutory, regulatory or contractual language." Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Same-sex marriage fails at N.Y. court; Ruling: State not obligated to sanction it": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. And The New York Times reports today that "Georgia Court Upholds a Referendum Banning Same-Sex Marriage." "Stay of Soledad cross removal extended; Justice Kennedy indicates Supreme Court may want to review case": The San Diego Union-Tribune provides this news update. The Associated Press reports that "Supreme Court Stay Upheld in Cross Case." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Kennedy delays cross removal." You can access today's Opinion in Chambers by Circuit Justice Anthony M. Kennedy both here and here. "Liability ruling has governments out on a financial limb; Taxpayers will be on the hook as the cap on awards is effectively ended": This article appears today in The Oregonian reporting on a ruling that the Oregon Court of Appeals issued on Wednesday. Posted at 05:44 PM by Howard Bashman "The Long Dark Night of Sashalessness Is Over": Eugene Volokh has this post today at "The Volokh Conspiracy." Posted at 05:20 PM by Howard Bashman "N.Y. ruling a setback for gay unions; On eve of California cases, lawyers say judges unlikely to agree ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional": Josh Richman has this article today in The Oakland Tribune. According to the article, "The California Court of Appeal in San Francisco will hear arguments Monday in six consolidated cases challenging the constitutionality of California's same-sex marriage ban." Posted at 05:15 PM by Howard Bashman "When Do Judges Get to Use Judgement in Interpreting a Statute?" Bruce Boyden has this interesting post today at "Concurring Opinions." Posted at 04:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Alito finds his field of dreams": Bill Mears has this report online at CNN.com. Posted at 04:35 PM by Howard Bashman "The Fragile Kennedy Court": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "The Supreme Court has nominally been the Roberts Court since last fall, when John Roberts arrived as chief justice. But as a practical matter, the recently completed term marked the start of the Kennedy Court." Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Is Don'tDateHimGirl.com Fair To Men? One Who Sued, Claiming Defamation, Takes On Site's Creator." This segment (text with link to video) appeared on yesterday's broadcast of the CBS News program "The Early Show." Meanwhile, I have obtained a PDF copy of the complaint initiating suit against the web site, and it can be accessed online at this link. "Process Makes Perfect: John Roberts' marked, and positive, influence on the Supreme Court." Law Professor Rodger Citron has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 03:55 PM by Howard Bashman Sixth Circuit rejects constitutional challenge to the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Rat Race: Insider Advice on Landing Judicial Clerkships." Senior Third Circuit Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert and his two current law clerks will have this article in the forthcoming issue of the Penn State Law Review. The article's first paragraph concludes, "We would like to guide the judicial clerkship applicant through the application process by discussing how our chambers conducts the interview and selection process. Specifically, we hope to dispel rumors of what goes on behind the curtain, and ultimately shed some light on how a clerkship applicant could improve his or her chances of receiving an offer." "Persuaded of the legal correctness of the government's position, although not caught up in the spirit of it, the court modified the sentence to one of incarceration, or something meant to resemble it. The court sentenced Crisp to five hours in custody of the Marshals. Crisp had reason to be grateful. The government did not. This is its appeal. We reverse." Circuit Judge Ed Carnes issued this opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Douglas R. Loving, Texas inmate # 611599, brought this action asserting that he was entitled to the legal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act for work he performed as a 'drying machine operator' in the prison laundry." So begins a per curiam opinion that a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today. Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman Forthcoming appellate essays: The next installment of my weekly "On Appeal" column for law.com will address the merits of the argument that the Ninth Circuit should not be split in two so long as a majority of judges serving on that court is opposed to the idea. And Monday's installment of my monthly "Upon Further Review" column for The Legal Intelligencer consists of my yearly review of how the Third Circuit fared in the just-concluded Term before the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the Third Circuit suffered reversals in all three cases that went before the Supreme Court on direct review, the Third Circuit performed much better when one considers the ten other cases that resolved conflicts involving the Third Circuit. In those other ten cases, the Supreme Court sided with the Third Circuit's position seven times. Thus, overall, the Third Circuit's record of success before the Supreme Court this past Term was 7-6. All the details will be in Monday's Legal Intelligencer column, which I'll make freely available online next Wednesday. "Our holding today only prevents the plaintiffs from recovering the $2.00 annual fee they paid since 1990 [for the use of a removable handicapped parking placards], because as to the category of claims involving rational discrimination based on disability, Title II of the ADA is not an appropriate exercise of Congress's power under §5 of the fourteenth amendment." In light of plaintiffs' request for reconsideration based on the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in United States v. Georgia, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued this decision today. Posted at 01:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Kyl defends bogus brief": The East Valley (Ariz.) Tribune today contains an article that begins, "Sen. Jon Kyl said Thursday he did not intend to deceive the U.S. Supreme Court by submitting a fabricated discussion into the Congressional Record." Posted at 01:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Dole, Salon.com trade slaps over Boyle": This article appears today in The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina. Posted at 01:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Appellants, current and former Navy chaplains of 'non-liturgical Protestant' faiths and their endorsing agency, brought suit alleging the Navy has unconstitutionally established and maintained a religious quota system for the promotion, assignment, and retention of Navy chaplains that disadvantages chaplains of non-liturgical Protestant faiths." So begins an opinion that Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown issued today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Big Award on Tobacco Is Rejected by Court": This article appears today in The New York Times. The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Fla. High Court Won't Reinstate Tobacco Verdict; In a victory for cigarette makers, the landmark $145-billion class-action award remains lifted." The Miami Herald reports that "Smokers' damages, class suit snuffed; The Florida Supreme Court erased a decade of tobacco legal history with a ruling that ended a smokers' class-action case against major cigarette manufacturers." The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that "Tobacco verdict tossed; Florida high court rules $145 billion too high." And The Palm Beach Post reports that "$145 billion tobacco suit reversed." My earlier coverage appears at this link. "The Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Broader Protection for Employees Who Suffer Retaliation When They Complain About Discrimination": Joanna Grossman and Deborah Brake have this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 06:30 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, July 06, 2006 Available online from law.com: An article reports that "N.Y. High Court Ends Same-Sex Marriage Fight." In other news, "Reversal of $145 Billion Punitives Verdict for Fla. Smokers Upheld." And Veronica Mullally has an essay entitled "Supreme Court Avoids the Patentable Subject Matter Dilemma -- For Now." On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "State Can Bar Same-Sex Unions, N.Y. Court Rules" and "Lay's Death May Lead Court to Toss Case" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 10:45 PM by Howard Bashman "New York Judges Reject Any Right to Gay Marriage": This article will appear Friday in The New York Times, along with a news analysis headlined "For Gay Rights Movement, a Key Setback." Friday's edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will contain an article headlined "Ga. keeps ban on gay marriage; State justices rule amendment passed in 2004 constitutional." The Washington Post on Friday will report that "Same-Sex Marriage Ruled Out in New York, Georgia; Courts Back Man-Woman Couples." And Friday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor will contain an article headlined "Two states say 'no' to gay marriage; New York's highest court says a constitutional right to marry does not exist; Georgia's upholds a constitutional ban." "Lawyer Sues Over Alleged Defamation on Dating Website": The Legal Intelligencer provides this news update. And yesterday, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a related editorial entitled "The perils of dating: Suing is not the answer to an unhappy date." My earlier coverage appears at this link. "Laws are not 'harsh' or 'pointless' in any value-free framework; they seem harsh or pointless by reference to a given judge's beliefs about how things ought to work, which is why a claim of power to revise 'harsh' or 'pointless' laws elevates the judicial over the legislative branch and must be resisted." Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook issued this interesting opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman "This appeal raises the question of whether the Eleventh Amendment prevents a disabled student from suing a state university for damages under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990." A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit today issued an opinion holding that "state sovereign immunity is not a defense to this action." Posted at 05:00 PM by Howard Bashman Sure sign of a slow news day: As happens once every year, the U.S. Supreme Court has begun docketing cases with the numerical prefix consisting of the final two digits of the year assigned to the upcoming Term, Lyle Denniston of "SCOTUSblog" reports here. In a related development, one of my many gimlet-eyed readers emails to note that case number 06-1 is the second of two cases mentioned in my apparently memorable post from April 4, 2006 titled "Tea and crackers." Jurisprudence essays available online from Slate: Emily Bazelon has an essay entitled "Crazy Law: The Supreme Court beats up on the insanity defense." And Peter Scheer has an essay entitled "Take the Fifth: Reporters are looking to the wrong amendment to protect them." From the "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up" department: BBC News reports that "Driver who moved road sign jailed; A driver who moved a 40mph road sign to a 30mph zone to try to dodge a speeding ticket has been ordered to spend his weekends behind bars." Reuters provides a report headlined "Speeding fine? Just switch the road sign." The Telegraph (UK) yesterday published an article headlined "Jail for driver who moved 40mph sign." And The Guardian (UK) yesterday published an article headlined "Speed cheat caught on own film." From today's broadcast of C-SPAN's "Washington Journal": "Linda Greenhouse, New York Times, Supreme Court Correspondent talks about the impact of Chief Justice John Roberts, in his first year on the Supreme Court." You can view the video segment by clicking here (RealPlayer required). Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman Another big win for Big Tobacco: Bloomberg News provides a report headlined "Florida Top Court Rules Out $145 Bln Tobacco Verdict" that begins, "Philip Morris USA and other cigarette makers don't have to pay $145 billion to Florida smokers, the state's top court ruled, refusing to reinstate a punitive-damage award the companies said would bankrupt them." And The Associated Press reports that "Fla. High Court Rejects Tobacco Verdict." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Florida at this link. "Ga. Top Court Reinstates Gay Marriage Ban": The Associated Press provides this report. And The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides a news update headlined "Gay marriage ban upheld; State Supreme Court reinstates Constitutional amendment." Update: The Supreme Court of Georgia's opinion is now available at this link. "Justices Won't Overturn Stay of Execution": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:33 AM by Howard Bashman Access online the History of the Sixth Circuit: Via this link. Posted at 10:32 AM by Howard Bashman "N.Y. Top Court Rules Against Gay Marriage": The Associated Press provides this report. And The New York Times provides a news update headlined "N.Y. Court Says Lawmakers Should Consider Gay Marriage." "Network Analysis and the Law: Measuring the Legal Importance of Supreme Court Precedents." A group of authors too numerous for me to identify individually has posted this article (abstract with links for download) online at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). Posted at 09:22 AM by Howard Bashman "We hold that the New York Constitution does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex. Whether such marriages should be recognized is a question to be addressed by the Legislature." So begins the plurality opinion announcing today's ruling of the New York State Court of Appeals, that State's highest court. The court's ruling was by a margin of 4-2, with one judge not participating. Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Legal Secretary Can Sue Shapiro Over Her Firing": The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, "A legal secretary who was fired after she accused well-known Los Angeles attorney Robert Shapiro of overbilling clients can sue his law firm for wrongful termination, a state appeals court has ruled." You can access last week's non-precedential ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District at this link. "Afghan Detainee Maintains His Innocence, as Many Do Before the U.S. Review Board; Denials complicate the panel's decision as to whether a prisoner poses a security threat": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:18 AM by Howard Bashman "The Court Hands Congress an Opportunity": Today in The Washington Post, columnist David S. Broder has an op-ed that begins, "Justice John Paul Stevens, author of the majority opinion in last week's historic decision on Guantanamo Bay detainee trials, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford." Posted at 07:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Killer gets off death row after N.J. top court's ruling; Earlier votes to spare man's life in murder-for-hire were combined": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contains this article today. My earlier coverage is here. Posted at 07:04 AM by Howard Bashman "DA's office won't try Mack case": This article appears today in The Reno Gazette-Journal. Instead of having the Washoe County District Attorney's Office handle the prosecution, according to the article "The Clark County district attorney staff will prosecute Mack, a wealthy Reno businessman charged with the murder of his estranged wife, Charla, and the attempted murder and battery with a deadly weapon of Family Court Judge Chuck Weller." Posted at 06:54 AM by Howard Bashman "The Roberts court: Seeing is believing; At the Senate confirmation hearings for Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, critics feared that the glossy image of the two jurists being put forth did not reflect their true leanings; How right the critics were." Law Professor Jonathan Turley has this op-ed today in USA Today. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman In commentary available online at FindLaw: Edward Lazarus has an essay entitled "Assessing the Supreme Court at the Close of Its Current Term: New Justices, Public Critiques, and the Law Clerk Issue." And Law Professor Douglas W. Kmiec has an essay entitled "In the Wake of the Supreme Court's Hamdan v. Rumsfeld Decision, Should We Opt for An International Tribunal for Gitmo Detainees?" Wednesday, July 05, 2006 "Enron Founder, Awaiting Prison, Dies in Colorado": This article will appear Thursday in The New York Times, along with articles headlined "Lay's Death Complicates Efforts to Seize Assets" and "A Quiet Influence in Aspen" and an obituary headlined "Kenneth L. Lay, 64, Enron Founder and Symbol of Corporate Excess, Dies." Thursday's edition of The Deal will report that "Lay's Death Clouds Legal Process, Attorneys Say." Thursday's edition of The Washington Post will contain a front page article headlined "Enron's Lay Dies Of Heart Attack; Convicted Founder Faced Life in Prison." In addition, Henry Allen will have an essay headlined "Ken Lay's Last Evasion; To Some, CEO Is Cheating Them One More Time," while business columnist Steven Pearlstein will have an essay entitled "Ken Lay's Optimism Was Outpaced by Reality." The Houston Chronicle provides a news update headlined "Preliminary report says Lay died of natural causes." And The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Enron Founder Ken Lay, 64, Dead of Heart Attack." San Diego Padres 6, Philadelphia Phillies 3: My son and I had the pleasure of spending this evening at Citizens Bank Park, where thanks to a colleague we had tickets eight rows behind home plate in the Diamond Club section. Unfortunately, San Diego's closer proved a bit more dependable than Philadelphia's this evening. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps are available here and here. Posted at 11:34 PM by Howard Bashman "How Scalia Lost His Mojo: Why the Supreme Court's most exciting justice is becoming much less fun to read." Conor Clarke has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman Twenty-four circuit and district judges from across the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sign letter expressing overwhelming support for the passage of legislation splitting that circuit: You can view the letter, dated June 29, 2006, online at this link. Posted at 04:14 PM by Howard Bashman Does massive fraud, followed by massive heart attack resulting in death, leave Kenneth Lay as though he had never been indicted or convicted? Both "White Collar Crime Prof Blog" and The Wall Street Journal's "Law Blog" offer thoughts on that question. Posted at 04:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Because proportionality review and penalty review both determine whether a death sentence was properly imposed, votes in the two reviews must be combined. A combined vote in DiFrisco's proportionality review and penalty review reveals that a majority of this Court concluded that DiFrisco should receive a life sentence." The Supreme Court of New Jersey issued this interesting decision today. Although a death row inmate lost two separate challenges to his death sentence before that court, the combined effect of those two rulings against him -- we learn in today's opinion -- is that the inmate must be released from death row. Thanks to "Capital Defense Weekly" for the pointer. Posted at 04:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Timeline of Uncertainty for Bush Judicial Nominee": The Center for Investigative Reporting has posted this timeline today related to the nomination of Terrence W. Boyle to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The latest development, occurring today, is a letter to the editor (second item) from the editor in chief of Salon.com responding to an op-ed from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) that The Washington Times published recently. Posted at 03:55 PM by Howard Bashman Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook has harsh words both for tax protesters filing frivolous appeals and for the U.S. Department of Justice's Tax Division, which may have overstated the cost of responding to such appeals: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued this interesting opinion today. Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman "In short, I don't believe that it is appropriate or reasonable for a lawyer to pluck a few words from the middle of a sentence and pretend that they say something very different from what they mean in context. This is true of every lawyer who appears before us, but it goes doubly for lawyers who represent the government in criminal cases." So writes Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski in a concurring opinion issued today. Posted at 03:30 PM by Howard Bashman "'The Good Guys' Won?! Why Americans don’t trust liberals on national-security issues." Robert Alt has this essay today at National Review Online. Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman "A 'split-the-difference' Court": Lyle Denniston provides this end-of-Term analysis at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman New York Court of Appeals may rule today in same-sex marriage cases, but then again perhaps it won't: The New York Times today contains an article headlined "Top State Court's Ruling on Gay and Lesbian Marriage Is Awaited" that begins, "New York's highest court is expected to rule today on what one legal scholar called a contest between judicial hearts and minds, a parsing of legal texts and private sympathies: whether to permit gay and lesbian marriage." Although the day is far from over, the list of decided cases that the Court of Appeals of New York has posted to its web site today does not, as of this moment, include any ruling in the same-sex marriage cases. Update: I am now reliably advised that the opinion will not issue today. "Enron founder Ken Lay dies; 64-year-old former energy executive was awaiting sentencing for fraud": CNNMoney.com provides this report. The Associated Press reports that "Enron Founder Kenneth Lay Dies at 64." The Houston Chronicle provides a news update headlined "Enron's Ken Lay dies after heart attack." And KHOU.com reports that "Ken Lay dead of massive heart attack." "How Guantanamo Detainees May Have Their Day in Court": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. Posted at 09:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Predicting Technology's Impact on Appellate Oral Argument": This week's installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com can be accessed here. Posted at 09:04 AM by Howard Bashman "An AIDS Case Tests California Law": Andrew Cohen has this essay online today at washingtonpost.com. Posted at 08:57 AM by Howard Bashman "Coincidentally, a few weeks ago I switched my default font to Century Schoolbook. In an upcoming post, I'll tell you why I did that." At "the (new) legal writer" blog, appellate lawyer Raymond P. Ward offers this suspenseful post. Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "GOP Conundrum: Heed the High Court, or Play Politics?" Columnist Harold Meyerson has this op-ed today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:23 AM by Howard Bashman "Judicial nominee asked about club": This article appears today in The Washington Times. Posted at 07:18 AM by Howard Bashman "California Court Allows Defendant's Sexual History Into HIV Case; California justices rule that those who don't inform their partners of previous relationships can be liable for transmitting diseases": Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. My earlier coverage appears here. Posted at 07:15 AM by Howard Bashman On the editorial page of The Los Angeles Times: Today's newspaper contains an editorial entitled "An insane definition: The Supreme Court rolls back 100 years of defining mental illness." And yesterday's newspaper contained an editorial entitled "Protecting whistle-blower blowback: The Supreme Court was right to recognize that workplace retaliation comes in many varieties." "The Kennedy Center: The Supreme Court's Balance Is Precarious." Columnist Ruth Marcus has this op-ed today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Democrats Not Eager to Emulate Texas's Redistricting": This news analysis appears today in The Washington Post, along with an editorial entitled "Tolerating Texas Rules: The Supreme Court makes clear it won't do anything about partisan redistricting." Posted at 07:02 AM by Howard Bashman Retired judge's conviction at penis-pump trial could give rise to penis-pump conviction appeal: The Associated Press reported this past weekend that "Thompson bonds out, attorneys weigh options." And yesterday's edition of The Sapulpa (Okla.) Daily Herald contained an article headlined "Transcript: Brewster tried to influence testimony" that begins, "A defense lawyer for former judge Donald Thompson could be in deep trouble with the Oklahoma Bar Association." "Mack puts together diverse legal team": This article appeared Sunday in The Reno Gazette-Journal. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "The Flag Fetish: Better to burn a banner than to deface the Constitution." Christopher Hitchens had this essay yesterday at OpinionJournal. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Senators Kyl and Graham's Hamdan v. Rumsfeld Scam: The Deceptive Amicus Brief They Filed in the Guantanamo Detainee Case." John W. Dean has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 06:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Top State Court's Ruling on Gay and Lesbian Marriage Is Awaited": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "New York's highest court is expected to rule today on what one legal scholar called a contest between judicial hearts and minds, a parsing of legal texts and private sympathies: whether to permit gay and lesbian marriage." Posted at 06:33 AM by Howard Bashman "No Bad Executions? Justice Scalia should study these death penalty cases." This editorial appeared yesterday in The Washington Post. Posted at 06:30 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, July 04, 2006 "Detainee Suits Caught Between Congress, High Court": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 09:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Massey sues court reporter in West Virginia": According to this post from the "SW Virginia law blog," the unavailability of a trial transcript in a case that produced a $50 million judgment has caused the losing party to sue the court reporter. Posted at 08:25 PM by Howard Bashman "New York's Highest Court to Rule on Gay Marriages": The New York Times provides a news update that begins, "In what one legal scholar called a contest between judicial hearts and minds, parsing of legal texts and private sympathies, New York's highest court is expected to rule Wednesday on whether to permit gay and lesbian marriages in the state." Thanks to Chris Geidner's "Law Dork" blog for the pointer. "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito offers an inspirational message in front of Independence Hall as part of the Let Freedom Ring Fourth of July celebrations in Philadelphia Tuesday, July 4, 2006": The Associated Press provides this photograph, along with two other related images (here and here). Posted at 08:09 PM by Howard Bashman "Kentucky bans blogs in state offices; Bloggers and state employees are speaking out about what they say is a violation of free speech": Wednesday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor will contain this article. Posted at 08:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court More Conservative, Fragmented": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 09:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Ruling expands liability on HIV; Court limits privacy in some cases": Claire Cooper, legal affairs writer for The Sacramento Bee, today has this article in that newspaper. In The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko today has an article headlined "Liability for HIV infection: Top court rules man in lawsuit must tell sexual history to wife." And in The New York Times, Adam Liptak reports that "People Who Pass On AIDS Virus May be Sued." My earlier coverage appears at this link. "Supreme Court Gives Cross in San Diego a Reprieve": This article appears today in The New York Times. The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Jurist Puts Hold on Order to Remove Mt. Soledad Cross; U.S. Supreme Court justice says the San Diego landmark can remain until he or the entire panel issues a further ruling." And The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that "Cross gets high court reprieve; U.S. justice issues stay on Aug. 1 removal date." "Judicial Audacity, Well-Founded": Columnist Richard Cohen has this op-ed today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, July 03, 2006 "Legal blawgs gaining popularity": This article appears today in The Jacksonville Financial News & Daily Record. Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Clear case of misplaced sympathy: David Hicks's supporters are in denial about the nature of his actions." In Tuesday's edition of The Sydney Morning Herald, columnist Gerard Henderson has an op-ed that begins, "It's all but official. The United States, on George Bush's watch, is not a fascist state, despite what some Bush critics allege. The decision of the US Supreme Court in Hamdan v Rumsfeld, handed down last week, shows that the rule of law still prevails in the US democracy." Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman "In Alaska, Crisis over Marijuana Is One of Identity": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 09:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Congressional Record: The Court's stunning Hamdan decision." Law Professor Cass R. Sunstein has this essay online at The New Republic. And also at TNR Online, Spencer Ackerman has an essay entitled "Down By Law: Inside Guantanamo's military tribunal." "Hamdan, Redistricting Rulings Mark New Roberts Court's First Term": This segment (transcript with link to audio) featuring Stuart Taylor Jr. and Law Professors Kathleen M. Sullivan, Douglas W. Kmiec, and Jeffrey Rosen appeared on this evening's broadcast of the PBS program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Legal Experts: Follow Guantanamo Ruling." The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 08:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court justice delays order to remove Soledad cross": The San Diego Union-Tribune provides this news update. Posted at 04:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Detainees' Lawyers Oppose More Filings": The Associated Press provides |
