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Tuesday, August 12, 2008 "Judge says UC can deny class credit to Christian school students": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, "A federal judge says the University of California can deny course credit to applicants from Christian high schools whose textbooks declare the Bible infallible and reject evolution." The University of California issued this press release in response to the ruling. You can access last Friday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California at this link. "Justice at Gitmo: Releasing Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the former driver for Osama bin Laden, after he has served his time is the right thing; It's also smart policy." This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:58 PM by Howard Bashman "'Unabomber' Objects to Cabin's Use in Newseum Display": The Washington Post provides this news update. The Associated Press reports that "Unabomber objects to cabin display at Newseum." "The Smoking Gun" web site offers an item headlined "Kaczynski Angered By Predatory Home Loan; Unabomber raps feds for allowing cabin's display at D.C. museum." And the Newseum today issued a press release headlined "Unabomber Ted Kaczynski Protests Newseum Exhibit." You can take an online tour of the Unabomber's cabin via this link. "Juror's challenge raises legal issue": This article appeared Sunday in The Boston Globe. According to the article, "To a casual observer, the question in the Boston courtroom might merely have been the musing of a juror with some knowledge of American history. But US District Court Judge William G. Young said the note and others that followed represented something he had never seen in 30 years as a judge: a rogue juror challenging the legitimacy of a criminal law used to prosecute a defendant. Young was so alarmed by the actions of Thomas R. Eddlem, a 42-year-old technology coordinator at a Catholic high school and former John Birch Society official, that he recently wrote a 43-page memorandum plumbing the history of 'jury nullification' and how it threatens democracy." You can access the opinion of U.S. District Judge William G. Young of the District of Massachusetts at this link. "To rule and rescue": This past Saturday's edition of The Santa Fe New Mexican contained an article that begins, "Two of federal appellate Judge Paul J. Kelly's favorite things to do are play golf and dash in and out of burning buildings." In July 2004, Tenth Circuit Judge Paul J. Kelly participated in this blog's "20 questions for the appellate judge" feature. You can read his interview at this link. "Attorney general sees systemic partisanship in Justice hiring": Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. The New York Times provides a news update headlined "Mukasey Won't Pursue Charges in Hiring Inquiry." The Washington Post provides a news update headlined "Illegally Rejected Justice Dept. Applicants May Get Another Look." The Associated Press provides a report headlined "Mukasey: No prosecutions in Justice hiring scandal." Reuters reports that "Mukasey rules out prosecutions from hiring scandal." And Bloomberg News reports that "Aides in U.S. Hiring Scandal Won't Be Prosecuted, Mukasey Says." You can view the video of the Attorney General's remarks today at the American Bar Association's 131st annual meeting in New York City by clicking here. "South Dakota Vote Draws Attention": The Wall Street Journal today contains an article that begins, "Two years after a strict abortion ban here was overturned by voters, backers have brought a similar measure -- but one laced with complexities that could bode well for its passage, and ultimately could bring about the challenge to Roe v. Wade desired by abortion foes nationwide." Posted at 05:54 PM by Howard Bashman "No decision on Exxon Valdez interest payments": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The Supreme Court has declined to decide whether Exxon Mobil Corp. must pay interest to victims of the nation's worst oil spill that would roughly double the $507 million judgment the high court approved in June. In a brief order Tuesday, the court said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, should decide the matter of interest arising from the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Exxon Valdez Interest Issue Left Unresolved by Court." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Court declines to rule on Exxon interest." You can access the judgment that the U.S. Supreme Court issued today at this link. "This appeal presents questions of first impression for our Court: (1) Under what circumstances may a plaintiff file a complaint using a pseudonym? and (2) What standard governs our review of a district court's decision to permit or deny a request to file under a pseudonym?" A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today issued this decision addressing those questions in a case captioned Sealed Plaintiff v. Sealed Defendant #1. Posted at 11:50 AM by Howard Bashman "US court won't resurrect lawsuit in CIA leak case": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal appeals court has refused to resurrect a lawsuit that former CIA operative Valerie Plame brought against members of the Bush administration." You can access today's ruling, by a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, at this link. "F.B.I.'s Use of Phone Records Shows Need to Protect the Press, Senators Say": The New York Times contains this article today. Posted at 09:02 AM by Howard Bashman "In Guantanamo, Locals Adapt to Life With an Unwelcome Neighbor": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:57 AM by Howard Bashman "In U.S., Expert Witnesses Are Partisan": Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak has this article, the latest in his "American Exception" series. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman "James takes a step to appeal conviction; But his filing says he'll represent himself": Today's edition of The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contains an article that begins, "Former Newark mayor Sharpe James has filed a notice that he intends to appeal his corruption conviction, but in an unusual twist, his court papers say he's now representing himself." Posted at 08:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Gay marriage ruling secures chief justice's legacy": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "California Chief Justice Ronald George has spent more than half his life cultivating an image of a cautious jurist and earning a reputation as a politically skilled court administrator. But his unlikely legacy as gay rights pioneer was sealed May 15, when he heard the roar of a crowd gathered below his office as his majority decision legalizing same-sex marriage was announced." As a result, according to the article, "[h]e will likely have to mount an aggressive and expensive campaign to retain his seat in the 2010 election." "Federal Judge Wants Fewer Capital Cases": The New York Sun today contains an article that begins, "A sitting federal judge who is working on a book is calling on the Justice Department to ease off in pursuing the federal death penalty in New York City cases. Speaking at an American Bar Association event yesterday, the judge, Frederic Block of U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, criticized the government for spending millions of dollars in pursuit of death sentences and ignoring what he said were New Yorkers' views on capital punishment. Washington often seeks death sentences when it has virtually no chance of success, he said, sometimes even over the objections of the local U.S. attorneys tasked with prosecuting the cases." As for the book, the article's final paragraph states, "At yesterday's panel, Judge Block distributed an excerpt from a book he is writing about the death penalty and other issues in the judicial system." "If the Government Plans to Hold Salim Hamdan Indefinitely, Despite His Sixty-Six Month Sentence, What Was the Point of Putting Him on Trial?" Michael C. Dorf has this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman  
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