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Tuesday, October 31, 2006 "Justices Weigh Limits on Punitive Damages": Linda Greenhouse will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. Posted at 11:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Court: Woman Can't Say No After Start Of Sex." The Associated Press provides this report on a ruling that Maryland's intermediate appellate court, the Court of Special Appeals, issued yesterday. Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman In Wednesday's issue of The New York Times: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain articles headlined "Battle Over Abortion Focuses on South Dakota Vote" and "China Acts to Reduce High Rate of Executions." Posted at 11:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Blocks Ruling on Tobacco Industry": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal appeals court blocked a landmark judgment against the tobacco industry Tuesday, allowing the companies to continue selling 'light' and 'low tar' cigarettes until their appeals can be reviewed." Posted at 10:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Editor and justice take the stand; Witnesses defend judge, newspaper": The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, "An Illinois Supreme Court justice and a managing editor took the stand Monday in a rare defamation case pitting the bench's chief justice against a Kane County newspaper." In earlier coverage, on Saturday the newspaper reported that "Judge unbiased, court told; Gorecki's testimony downplayed by paper." And on Friday, the newspaper reported that "Defamation suit testimony begins; State's chief justice clashes with newspaper." In other coverage, The Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Illinois reports today that "Newspaper's practices criticized during libel trial; Attorneys for chief justice say paper did not ensure columnist's information was true." The Kane County Chronicle reports today that "Journalism ethics considered during trial." And The Associated Press reports that "Ill. Supreme Court Justices Testify." Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that "Justices May Return Punitive Damages Case to Oregon High Court." In other news, Shannon P. Duffy reports that "3rd Circuit Revives Case Against Asbestos Class Action Lawyers." You can access at this link today's ruling by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. And Philip L. Gordon and Katherine Cooper Franklin have an essay entitled "Can Law Firms Keep the Blogosphere at Bay?" "Philip Morris Asks Court for Relief; Cigarette Maker Challenges $79.5 Million Damage Award": Charles Lane will have this article Wednesday in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:55 PM by Howard Bashman "[I]t seems a basic principle of fairness and good judgment that no party should lose a case solely because his lawyer listed the name and address of a law firm above, rather than below, the lawyer's signature." So writes Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith in an opinion issued today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Posted at 08:25 PM by Howard Bashman Yu Kikumura is on the verge of being released from the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado: A 262-month sentence may have sounded like a long time in prison when it was imposed in 1988, but according to this opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued today, Kikumura's release is scheduled to occur on April 18, 2007. You can access this blog's recent earlier Yu Kikumura coverage at this link. "Up in Smoke: The Supreme Court makes one of the year's biggest cases disappear." Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate. Posted at 07:15 PM by Howard Bashman "High Court Reviews High-Dollar Cigarette Judgment": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 06:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Sixth Circuit Issues Three Opinions on Ohio Voter ID Appeal": Law Professor Rick Hasen has this post linking to the opinions at his "Election Law" blog. Posted at 05:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Is a trial unfair if accused can't confront accuser? The Supreme Court looks at the conviction in a 1988 child-abuse trial. One possible outcome is a flood of appeals." Warren Richey will have this article Wednesday in The Christian Science Monitor. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Major test on Crawford, habeas." "Court Considers Florida Death Row Case": The Associated Press provides this report. You can access the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Lawrence v. Florida at this link. Posted at 05:05 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court hears argument in Oregon Case": The Oregonian provides this news update. Posted at 05:00 PM by Howard Bashman "High Court Reviews Big Award in Tobacco Case": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 04:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Punitive Damages Case Could Return to Oregon Supreme Court; Justices more troubled over technical matters than debating the constitutionality of high punitive damages": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this report. Posted at 04:50 PM by Howard Bashman Punitive damages -- punishing the defendant for its conduct toward the plaintiff or punishing the defendant for conduct that injured not only the plaintiff but also many others? One of the interesting issues lurking in Philip Morris USA v. Williams -- the tobacco liability punitive damages case argued today (access the oral argument transcript here) in the U.S. Supreme Court -- is the extent to which a jury may properly consider the harm the defendant caused to others in deciding how great of a punitive damages award to impose. In BMW v. Gore, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Alabama could not punish the automaker for having engaged in a fraudulent car repainting scheme throughout the entire United States because in some States BMW's actions did not constitute fraud. In the Williams case argued today, the Oregon jury was allowed to consider how Philip Morris's conduct harmed other Oregon smokers in deciding how much punitive damages to award to the plaintiff. A key question before the U.S. Supreme Court in today's case is the extent to which, if any, a jury may rely on the fact that the defendant's conduct harmed other Oregonians in addition to the plaintiff in deciding the amount of punitive damages to award. From my read of today's oral argument transcript, it appears that Philip Morris is arguing that if its course of conduct injured 100 different Oregonians and if the maximum amount of punitive damages that Philip Morris could be required to pay as a result of that course of conduct was $100 million, then the most in punitive damages that any single plaintiff could receive was $1 million. Not surprisingly, that argument in practice would greatly benefit Philip Morris, because some of the 100 plaintiffs may never file suit, or may file suit too late and thus lose due to expiration of the statute of limitations, or may settle instead of going to trial and thus fail to receive the greatest possible value on their claims. Thus, under the approach that Philip Morris advocates, the likelihood that the company will ever be required to pay the full amount of punitive damages that due process would allow is remote at best. On the other hand, assume a system in which the first plaintiff to get to court receives a judgment awarding compensatory damages plus all $100 million in punitive damages that due process would allow. Assume further that the remaining 99 plaintiffs would not be entitled to recover any punitive damages on their claim, given that the punitive award in favor of the first plaintiff was the most that due process would allow as punishment for the conduct of the defendant. Under this scenario, what legitimate objection does Philip Morris have to being punished to the greatest extent that due process would allow? In my view, Philip Morris would have no valid due process objection whatsoever. "$79M tobacco award stumps Supreme Court; Justices split on issue of imposing large fines in product liability cases": Bill Mears of CNN.com provides this report. Posted at 03:37 PM by Howard Bashman "Not cool" is not a legal argument, Wisconsin appellate court holds: See footnote four of this not-for-publication ruling that the Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued today. Yet to be decided are whether "Cool!" and "Cool [appropriate dramatic pause] NOT!" qualify as legal arguments. Posted at 03:35 PM by Howard Bashman What is the holding of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Rapanos v. United States? Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit becomes the most recent federal appellate court to try to decipher the holding of Rapanos, and what results is a majority opinion and an opinion dissenting in part. You can access today's First Circuit ruling at this link. Today's majority opinion notes that "we do not share the reservations of the D.C. Circuit about combining a dissent with a concurrence to find the ground of decision embraced by a majority of the Justices." Today's ruling comes on panel rehearing. My coverage of the original ruling by this same three-judge panel, a pre-Rapanos decision in which each of the three judges issued a separate opinion, can be accessed here. "Did a Supreme Court judge throw away the briefs?" The Toronto Globe and Mail today contains an article that begins, "Some Supreme Court judges seek relief from work stress in the comfort of their families. Others love nothing more than to curl up with a good book. And could it be, for at least one of them, a nude romp on the high seas was just the ticket? The anonymous judge's alleged unconventional vacation choice -- a nude cruise -- came to light in a San Francisco Chronicle travel article in the spring." The travel article, which appeared in the April 2, 2006 issue of The San Francisco Chronicle, appeared under the headline "Finally, the naked truth about nude cruises" (using that link, the article's reference to "Canadian Supreme Court justice" appears in bold type). If Jon Stewart's "America (The Book)" had instead depicted naked Canadian Supreme Court Justices, he would have been to some extent prescient. Thanks to "Althouse" for the pointer. Access online the transcript from today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Philip Morris USA v. Williams, the tobacco liability punitive damages case: The transcript is available at this link. Posted at 02:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Philip Morris challenges smoker award in top court": James Vicini of Reuters provides this report. Posted at 02:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Hears Cigarette Co. Penalty Case": The Associated Press provides this updated report. Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Analysis: Tobacco case going back?" Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "O'Connor speaks to women in Salt Lake City": This article appears today in The Deseret Morning News. And The Salt Lake Tribune reports today that "Retired justice shares memories in SLC." "Justices urged to review Salt Lake case": The Deseret Morning News today contains an article that begins, "Four former U.S. attorneys general and 141 other top former justice officials from across the United States are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case of a Salt Lake man sentenced to 55 years for selling marijuana. The case of Weldon Angelos has become a rallying point by legal experts who say the high court is overdue in reviewing the constitutionality of minimum mandatory sentences in the federal system." If anyone sends me an electronic copy of the amicus brief that is the subject of this newspaper article, I'll be sure to post the brief online. "Padilla: Dismiss charges because I was tortured; The suspect in a terror case said charges against him should be dropped because, he said, he was tortured in U.S. custody while being detained as an 'enemy combatant.'" This article appears today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 11:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Considers Punitive Damage Limits": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 09:20 AM by Howard Bashman "The Supreme Court's Gatekeepers: The Role of Law Clerks in the Certiorari Process." Law Professor David R. Stras has this essay (abstract with link for download) online at SSRN. According to the essay's abstract, the essay "reports the results from the first empirical examination of every pool memo from four Terms of the Supreme Court: October Terms 1984, 1985, 1991 and 1992." Posted at 08:57 AM by Howard Bashman "Money trails lead to Bush judges: A four-month investigation reveals that dozens of federal judges gave contributions to President Bush and top Republicans who helped place them on the bench." Will Evans has this article today at Salon.com. The complete 66-page report from the Center for Investigative Reporting can be accessed at this link. "Ex-air marshal fired over leak sues TSA": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge Is Asked To Block Libby Defense From Discussing Lack of Stronger Charges": Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun. And The Associated Press reports that "Prosecutor Argues Issues for Leak Trial." "Abortion in Latin America illegal, risky--but not rare; Brazil, other nations fiercely debate laws": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Free speech test for judicial reform; Nevada fundraising ban constitutional, advocate says": The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, "Banning judges from personally soliciting or accepting campaign contributions would not represent an improper restriction on their constitutional rights and would help restore the integrity of Nevada's troubled judiciary, an advocate for reform has argued. The Nevada Supreme Court is expected to decide in coming months whether to implement the ban. The measure would put Nevada in line with much of the rest of the nation, and advocates believe it would mark a significant step in judicial reform." Posted at 08:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Civil unions on track for legalization; Trenton sees consensus opposing gay marriage": This article appears today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. Posted at 08:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Ban on abortions trails in new poll": The Washington Times today contains an article that begins, "A South Dakota ballot measure to ban almost all abortions in the state is likely to fail by a wide margin, a new poll says." And The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota reports today that "Tribes might sway abortion vote; Traditional views would tend to support ban." "Campaign to End Race Preferences Splits Michigan": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court Blocks South Dakota Law on Doctors' Statement to Seekers of Abortion": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports today that "Changes won last year in South Dakota abortion law put on hold." And The Associated Press reports that "Abortion law still not to be enforced; Court upholds ban on enforcement of warning statute in South Dakota." My earlier coverage appears at this link. "China Changes Death Penalty Law": The Associated Press provides this report. And Xinhua reports that "China changes law to limit death sentence." "Assessing the Damages": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "The Supreme Court has been struggling to address the thorny question of when, if ever, punitive damages become so large that they violate the Constitution." Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Attention, Voters: Have Your ID Ready; In Many States, New Rules On Identification at the Polls Spark Confusion, Controversy." The Wall Street Journal contains this article (free access) today. Posted at 08:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Evidence in Williams case draws high court's attention; Prosecutor calls post-shooting acts fair game for retrial": This article appears today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. And The New York Times today contains an article headlined "Debate Over What Evidence to Allow in Ex-Net's Retrial." "Tobacco Comes To The Supreme Court: Philip Morris seeks to torpedo punitive damage awards in lung cancer case." Jessica Holzer provides this report at Forbes.com. Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman On this date in 2005: One year ago today, President Bush announced that he was nominating Third Circuit Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. You can access a transcript and video of the announcement via this link. And my coverage from one year ago today can be accessed at this link. Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman "The New Jersey Supreme Court's Same-Sex Marriage Decision: Couples Get the Benefits of Marriage, but Will They Also Get the Name?" Joanna Grossman and Linda McClain have this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 06:47 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, October 30, 2006 "Opponent of racial preferences takes quest to Michigan; Public colleges less diverse, but initiative backers tout fairness": The San Francisco Chronicle contains this article today. And Time.com provides a report headlined "Campaign '06: A Fight Over Affirmative Action in Michigan; The man behind the California racial preference ban is back at it again, this time in Michigan, where his ballot initiative could prevail over a strong, organized opposition." "Perdue's pick for court to rattle ranks": This article appears today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And The Associated Press reports that "Supreme Court candidates duke it out in bitter debate." "Pitcairn islanders lose appeal; Six men found guilty of child rape and indecent assault on the remote Pacific island of Pitcairn have failed in their appeals against conviction": BBC News provides this report. The New Zealand Herald provides a news update headlined "Pitcairn Islanders lose final appeal." Reuters reports that "Her Majesty's tiniest jail set for island rapists." And The Associated Press reports that "British court rejects Pitcairn appeal." Update: You can access the ruling of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council at this link. The Associated Press is reporting: An article is headlined "Colombian Supreme Court: grabbing a woman's behind is a crime." And from North Carolina, "Judge declines to block public financing of appellate court races." "Sandra Day O'Connor shares memories at Utah women's conference": The Salt Lake Tribune provides this news update. Posted at 09:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court hears arguments on legal immunity for feds": GovExec.com provides a report that begins, "The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday about the extent of federal employees' immunity from on-the-job lawsuits." Posted at 09:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Ninth Circuit Split Inevitable, Tashima Tells Gathering": This article appears in today's issue of Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Posted at 09:24 PM by Howard Bashman "High stakes in high court tobacco hearing; Ruling could have big impact on many punitive damages awards": MarketWatch provides this report. Posted at 09:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Terror suspect alleges torture, seeks dismissal of charges": Tuesday's edition of The Miami Herald will contain an article that begins, "Jose Padilla, the former enemy combatant now accused of joining a suspected South Florida terror cell, says a federal judge should throw out an indictment against him because he was 'tortured by the United States government without cause or justification.'" Posted at 09:15 PM by Howard Bashman "GOP seeks to benefit from gay marriage ruling": McClatchy Newspapers provide this article. Posted at 09:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court considers cases from Michigan inmates": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court case: Are jury awards too high? The High Court hears Tuesday a case where the widow of an Oregon smoker got $79.5 million." Warren Richey will have this article Tuesday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 05:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Whimsical Punishment: The Vice of Federal Intervention, Constitutionalization, and Substantive Due Process in Punitive Damages Law." Jenny Miao Jiang has this fortuitously-timed article (abstract with link for download) online at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). Posted at 05:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Lost in the fog": Last week in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, columnist Linda P. Campbell had an op-ed that begins, "The ruling exonerating Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht of ethical violations gives new definition to the word tortuous." Posted at 05:04 PM by Howard Bashman Where are the writers from The Late Show with David Letterman when you need them? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued documents titled "Top 10 Reasons Why Formal Briefs Are Rejected" and "Top 10 Reasons Why Motions Are Rejected." Predictably, the answers the court has provided fall far short of achieving their comedic potential. Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman Corresponding with the end of daylight savings time, the time for releasing same-day SCOTUS transcripts falls back: On the first day of the October 2006 oral argument session, same-day transcripts were posted online at 2:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. It's now 4:40 p.m. on the first day of the November 2006 oral argument session, and no same-day transcripts have yet been posted online for today's argued cases. Update: At 5:18 p.m., "SCOTUSblog" had this post noting that the transcripts of today's oral arguments are now available online. Here's hoping that the transcript of tomorrow's punitive damages oral argument appears online a bit earlier in the day. "Panel wants lawyers disbarred; 2 accused of extortion in Demoulas battle": On Saturday, I linked here to an article published that day in The Boston Globe. You can access the recent ruling of the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers at this link. The "Legal Profession Blog" covers the ruling in posts titled "The Massachusetts Decision"; "More on the Massachusetts Discipline Matter Alleging Extortion Plot"; and "Massachusetts Update." "Let’s have order in court coverage: It can start with clarity from bench." Today in The Boston Herald, Paul J. Martinek has an op-ed that begins, "In recent remarks to the National Italian American Foundation, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia expressed disenchantment over the way courts are covered by the news media." Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Latham is the 'in' spot for high court clerks; Firm's higher profile lures six clerks; academia, government lure others": Marcia Coyle has this article in the latest issue of The National Law Journal (via the currently all-italics "Above the Law"). Posted at 03:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Gobs of judicial (and law-firm) time have been squandered by the combination of sloppy drafting, repeated violations of Rule 65(d), and inattention to all sources of subject-matter jurisdiction. If these lawyers were physicians, their patients would be dead." So writes Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in an opinion issued today in Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association v. American Express Company. This trademark litigation arose when Blue Cross sued American Express after AmEx decided to issue its own Blue Card. Posted at 03:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Argument Tuesday 10/31/06: Punishing Big Tobacco": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman Divided three-judge Eighth Circuit panel affirms preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of measures enacted in 2005 revising South Dakota's law on informed consent to abortion: You can access today's ruling at this link. The majority opinion's discussion of likelihood of success on the merits concludes, "Because the challenged disclosures could be found to violate both the First Amendment rights of physicians and the due process rights of women seeking abortion, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in holding at this preliminary stage that Planned Parenthood demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits." Earlier, the majority opinion noted: "The district court found that the challenged disclosures express the state's ideology on an 'unsettled medical, philosophical, theological, and scientific issue.' Planned Parenthood of South Dakota v. Rounds, 375 F. Supp. 2d 881, 887 (D.S.D. 2005) (citing Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)). The court concluded that the requirement that physicians give these messages likely violates their First Amendment rights against compelled speech and that Planned Parenthood had shown that it was likely to succeed on the merits." The statute that is the subject of today's decision can be viewed at this link. A front page article headlined "S.D. Makes Abortion Rare Through Laws And Stigma; Out-of-State Doctors Come Weekly to 1 Clinic" that The Washington Post published in December 2005 mentioned the statute. "ABA: Wallace is not qualified; Appellate judge seat is at stake." This interesting article appears today in The Biloxi Sun Herald. Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Court denies antitrust immunity case": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." You can access today's U.S. Supreme Court Order List at this link. The Court issued no grants of review today. In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Court Denies Appeal of Rape Sentence." "Jayson Williams on Supreme Court docket": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger's news blog provides this post. Via this link, you can view live the oral argument, scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. eastern time before the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Posted at 09:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Duke case could bring changes; Key question is how EPA should measure pollution": The Charlotte Observer today contains an article that begins, "Duke Energy Corp. and environmental groups are scheduled to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday about how to interpret the federal Clean Air Act, a case that could force utilities to add modern pollution controls to older power plants." Posted at 09:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Court revives voter-ID measure; Attorney for plaintiffs might take their case to U.S. Supreme Court": This article appears today in The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman In the November 13, 2006 issue of The Nation: Jeremy Scahill and Garrett Ordower have an essay entitled "From Whitewater to Blackwater." Jennifer Baumgardner has an essay entitled "Driving Planned Parenthood." And Jonathan Schell has an essay entitled "The Torture Election." In the November 6, 2006 issue of The Weekly Standard: William Kristol has an essay entitled "Of Senators and Judges: There is still time to remind voters of what is at stake as they cast their Senate votes." And Law Professor David M. Wagner, author of the "Ninomania" blog, has an essay entitled "Gay Marriage Lite: New Jersey's high court doesn't quite go all the way." Available today from National Review Online: Matthew J. Franck has an essay entitled "Adam Cohen, Editorial Pretzel: Taking on nonexistent right-wing judicial activism on the Supreme Court." And Michael O'Brien has an essay entitled "Race-Colored Classes: The University of Michigan badly needs MCRI." "Making the Most of Appellate Oral Argument": That's the title of this week's installment of my "On Appeal" column for law.com. Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Roberts, Alito Will Decide Punitive Damage Caps at High Court": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News provides this report. Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman "New gay rights leave Catholics with questions; Church struggles for answers": This article appears today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. The Washington Times today contains articles headlined "Gay ruling may boost N.J. values vote" and "Colorado faces gay split decision." And in The Boston Globe, Cathy Young has an op-ed entitled "Marriage and unions." "When $25,000 is the limit on a life: State funding cap restricts efforts to ensure justice, experts say." The Austin American-Statesman contains this article today, part two of a two-part series titled "Writs gone wrong." Today's newspaper also contains related articles headlined "Older cases can be frustrating for new attorneys; It's an uphill battle for new lawyers who believe old writs were poorly done"; "Attorney rolls out new appeals, old arguments; He was rebuked for using issues 'nearly verbatim' from one filing to another"; and "Lawyer's writs come up short; Peers say he violated key doctrine by omitting crucial information from filings." "American's journey to extremism: How Adam Gadahn became tied to terror." This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 07:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Stopping the government's property grab: Proposition 90 would make the state think twice before seizing land or curbing property owners' rights." Roger Pilon has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 06:47 AM by Howard Bashman "Sex crime residency laws exile offenders; California voters weigh restrictions similar to those passed in Iowa": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman "A Case for Strengthening Marriage": Leah Ward Sears, formerly Georgia's Chief Justice, has this op-ed today in The Washington Post. Posted at 06:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Damage Limits at Stake in Tobacco Appeal": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 06:35 AM by Howard Bashman "The Lawsuits Against Google: Why Outdated Concepts of Copyright Law Don't Click With the Internet": Julie Hilden has this essay today at FindLaw. Posted at 06:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Blawg Review #81": Available here, at "Bag and Baggage." Posted at 06:24 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, October 29, 2006 "Top court to review Microsoft patent case": Patti Waldmeir of Financial Times provides this report. Posted at 11:59 PM by Howard Bashman "'Partial-birth' cases test abortion rights' limits; Central question facing justices: Is procedure medically necessary?" Joan Biskupic will have this article Monday in USA Today. Posted at 11:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court broadcasts: Do it on a trial basis." David Drachsler will have this essay in tomorrow's issue of The National Law Journal. Posted at 11:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Wades Into Fracas Over Punitives; Tobacco Penalty Case Tests Constitutional Limits for Awards": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this report. In addition, Roy T. Englert Jr. and Daniel R. Walfish have an essay about the case entitled "Too Much? Yes," while Deborah Zuckerman and Elizabeth J. Cabraser argue the opposing proposition in an essay entitled "Too Much? No." Earlier today, I read the merits briefs available online here from the American Bar Association. The brief arguing for affirmance of the large punitive damages award struck me as surprisingly persuasive. "This Land Is My Land: How an eye-popping Supreme Court decision set off one of this year's most passionate election fights." This article will appear in the November 6, 2006 issue of Time magazine. Posted at 08:17 PM by Howard Bashman On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Muslim Woman's Court Case Tossed over Veil" and "Understanding the Veil in Islam, Western Societies." Posted at 08:14 PM by Howard Bashman In the November 6, 2006 issue of U.S. News & World Report: The magazine will contain articles headlined "A Bitter War's Latest Front: South Dakota voters will pass judgment on the nation's toughest abortion law" and "A Host of Questions: Voters will take on eminent domain and a lot more." Posted at 02:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Army reserve doctor fights call-up; Waterford anesthesiologist claims conscientious objector status, takes case to Army and federal court": This article appeared Friday in The Detroit News (via "Religion Clause"). Posted at 01:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Sharing a colorful past with old Hall of Justice; As renovation begins, a judge whose career coincided with much of the building's history takes a stroll down a storied memory lane": The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, "Judge Arthur L. Alarcon identifies with Los Angeles' old downtown Hall of Justice: It was built in 1925, the same year the federal appeals court judge was born, and is where he started his legal career more than 50 years ago." Posted at 12:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Ready to be dads, but they're going to need help; For a baby of their own, David and Chad will have to draw on science, the law, their families -- and most of all, each other": This lengthy article appears today in The Los Angeles Times, along with a related article headlined "Parents-to-be face legal maze." Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Sloppy lawyers failing clients on death row; For 11 years, top Texas court largely ignored shoddy work as 273 people were executed": The Austin American-Statesman contains this article today, the first in a series titled "Writs gone wrong." The newspaper today also contains related articles headlined "Supreme Court may be headed toward raising standards"; "Complaint attempts to force State Bar to levy punishment; Group that disciplines lawyers has been slow to respond to lackadaisical legal work, critics charge"; and "Attorney cuts, pastes convicted client's letter." "Death penalty debate hits home; As referendum approaches, families of victims divided as much as any other group": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 11:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Firm lead for 'No'; Rape or incest exception would switch many votes": The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota today contains an article that begins, "A new poll finds most South Dakotans would vote against the state's ban on almost all abortions. But, as a previous poll found, the ban would have broader support if it allowed women to receive abortions for cases of rape and incest." Posted at 09:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Affirmative action: A lot at stake if ban is passed; Critics see proposition as threat to progress." This article appears today in The Detroit Free Press. Posted at 09:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Gay Marriage Through a Black-White Prism": Adam Liptak has this article today in the Week in Review section of The New York Times. And The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article headlined "The cradle of civil unions: What Vermont can teach New Jersey on same-sex ceremonies." Saturday, October 28, 2006 "Canada seeks to expel U.S. sex offender": This article appeared yesterday in The Toronto Globe and Mail. Today's newspaper, meanwhile, reports that "PM unhappy after U.S. sex offender freed." And The Buffalo News reported yesterday that "Ex-teacher in sex abuse held in Ontario." "Treason: Who Decides? The Military Commissions Act of 2006 subverts who we are as Americans. Beware." Nat Hentoff has this essay in the current issue of The Village Voice. Posted at 11:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice honors Brennan's legacy": This article appeared yesterday in Washington Square News. Posted at 11:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Martinsburg attorney meets U.S. Chief Justice": Wednesday's issue of The West Virginia Record contained this article. Posted at 09:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Roberts holds court at Mead": This article appears in this week's issue of The Middlebury Campus, along with an editorial entitled "About our evening with the Chief Justice." Posted at 09:15 PM by Howard Bashman "America's abortion battlefield: Things may not be perfect in Britain, but they are far worse in the US; Suzanne Goldenberg reports from the front line in South Dakota." Yesterday's edition of The Guardian (UK) contained this article. Posted at 09:03 PM by Howard Bashman "T-shirt case taken to Supreme Court": This article appears today in The San Diego Union-Tribune. My earlier coverage appears here. Posted at 09:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Court rules Confederate letters not public documents": The Associated Press provides this report. My earlier coverage appears at this link. Posted at 08:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court visits NCCU; Students get to see judges in action": A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments yesterday at North Carolina Central University School of Law, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reports today in an article that you can access here. Posted at 08:55 PM by Howard Bashman On this date in "How Appealing" history: One year ago today, the major media was busy covering the news from one year and one day ago that President Bush had withdrawn his nomination of Harriet E. Miers to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition, posts from this date in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 all have something in common. "Businesses Seek New Protection From Litigation": This article will appear Sunday in The New York Times. Posted at 01:18 PM by Howard Bashman c|net News.com is reporting: An article reports that "Supreme Court to review Microsoft patent appeal." And Declan McCullagh has an article headlined "Police blotter: Web cookies become defendant's alibi." You can access the recent not-for-publication ruling of the Court of Appeals for the Second District of Texas at this link. "Furor Over Cheney Remark on Tactics for Terror Suspects": Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times. The Washington Post reports today that "Cheney Defends 'Dunk in the Water' Remark; Addressing Alarm Over the Comment, Vice President Says He Was Not Referring to Waterboarding." And The Los Angeles Times reports that "Cheney calls dunking of terror suspects a 'no-brainer'; Vice president later says: 'I didn't say anything about water-boarding.'" "Supreme Court race gets political; Supporters of Owens and Johnson fall along party lines": The Seattle Post-Intelligencer contains this article today. Posted at 10:57 AM by Howard Bashman "With Rolling's execution, vindication seemed out of grasp; A lawyer spent 16 years living under a shadow of suspicion": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Banner in honor of Picagli hung near home": The New Haven Register today contains an article that begins, "Daniel P. Picagli grew up in Fair Haven, not far from where police erected a banner Friday to remember the fallen officer, struck and killed by an SUV earlier this month." Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Panel wants lawyers disbarred; 2 accused of extortion in Demoulas battle": The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, "The state Board of Bar Overseers has recommended that the Supreme Judicial Court disbar two lawyers accused of using extortion and intimidation in an attempt to discredit a judge, who had ruled against their client in a family feud over assets of the Demoulas Supermarkets chain. The board recommended the suspension of a third lawyer." My earlier coverage of this matter, from May 2005, appears at this link. "High Court to Rule on Deadly Force in Police Chases": Charles Lane has this article today in The Washington Post. And David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Justices to rule on police ramming car to end chase." Earlier, syndicated columnist James J. Kilpatrick had this essay previewing the case. "Civil Union or Marriage? A Long Wait in New Jersey." This article appears today in The New York Times, along with an article headlined "For Gay Couples, Ruling Has a Cash Value." And The Los Angeles Times today contains an article headlined "Marriage ruling resonates." "Poll: Americans don't want politicians constraining judges." CNN.com provides this report. In addition, Bill Mears provides a report headlined "O'Connor: Don't call us 'activist judges.'" And by clicking here, you can launch a CNN.com video segment in which "CNN's Jeffrey Toobin talks with one former and one sitting Supreme Court Justice about 'activist judges.'" Friday, October 27, 2006 "White House denies Cheney endorsed water boarding": McClatchy Newspapers provide this report. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Marcia Coyle reports that "Supreme Court Revisits Punitive Damages; With justices divided 4-3 over constitutional limits, views of Roberts and Alito may shape jurisprudence." In other news, "9th Circuit Rejects Overtime for Adjusters in Farmer's Insurance Class Action." An article reports that "11th Circuit Asked to Clarify Corporate Liability." And the new installment of my "On Appeal" column is headlined "Making the Most of Appellate Oral Argument." "ACLU Drops Patriot Act Challenge": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Agree to Hear 1925(b) Case": The Legal Intelligencer provides this news update. I discussed the case in question in my recent "On Appeal" column for law.com headlined "How Many Issues Should You Raise on Appeal?" Posted at 05:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Maryland judge: Topless photo didn't violate privacy." The Associated Press provides this report. And you can access last week's opinion of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland at this link. The Daily Record of Baltimore provided earlier coverage when the lawsuit was filed. (Via "Above the Law.") Posted at 05:20 PM by Howard Bashman "That possession is nine-tenths of the law is a truism hardly bearing repetition. Statements to this effect have existed almost as long as the common law itself." A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today issued an opinion that begins, "This case concerns the ownership of papers from the administrations of two governors of South Carolina during the Civil War." In that opinion, written by Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, the Fourth Circuit affirms a federal district court's ruling that the State of South Carolina "failed to establish that the papers constituted public property under South Carolina law of the Civil War era." As a result, a man who, according to today's opinion, "found the papers in 1999 or 2000 in a shopping bag in a closet at his late stepmother's home" retains ownership of the documents. In October 2004, Civil War News published a report headlined "South Carolina Claims Documents General's Family Wants To Sell." And in August 2005, The Associated Press reported that "Judge rules Confederate letters belong to state." That bankruptcy court ruling was later reversed by the federal district court ruling that the Fourth Circuit affirmed today. "A Big Night for Judge Wallace in San Diego": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued a news release that begins, "Senior Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit received the American Judicature Society's 2005 Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award at an Oct. 19 ceremony in San Diego." A list of past recipients of the award can be accessed here. Posted at 02:50 PM by Howard Bashman "ADF attorneys appeal Poway 'T-shirt' case to U.S. Supreme Court; Nation's highest court asked to reverse the 9th Circuit's approval of censorship of Christian students": Alliance Defense Fund issued this press release today. You can access the cert. petition at this link. Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "White House Denies Cheney OK'd Torture": The Associated Press provides this report. My earlier coverage appears here. Posted at 02:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Court to hear four new cases": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." You can access today's Order List at this link. In early news coverage, The Associated Press provides reports headlined "Supreme Court Intervenes in Patent Fight"; "High Court to Hear Autism Lawsuit Case"; and "Supreme Court to Hear Police Chase Case." "Crack Cocaine Sentencing Rules Hit 20": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." I previously published here some additional views on the issue. In jurisprudence essays available online from Slate: Law Professor Judith Resnik has an essay entitled "When the Justice Department Played Defense: Congress gives the 2002 torture memos a weird upside." And Law Professor Tim Wu has an essay entitled "Does YouTube Really Have Legal Problems?: How the Bell Lobby helped midwife YouTube." "To 'respect and protect': Bishop ordained, speaks in favor of state abortion ban." The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota contains this article today. Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "G.O.P. Moves Fast to Reignite Issue of Gay Marriage": This article appears today in The New York Times, along with articles headlined "Corzine Tells Legislators He Backs Civil Unions Over Same-Sex Marriage" and "Clinton Wouldn't Block Law if Albany Backs Gay Marriage." The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains articles headlined "Lawmakers cool to gay marriage; State legislators showing more support for civil union law"; "Fight to add amendment is still uphill"; "Kean insists he supports civil unions; Senate candidate says he hasn't switched positions on gay rights"; and "A prudent move but hardly a timid one, court experts say." The Trenton Times reports that "Gay marriage lacks political support; After court ruling, legislators lean to civil unions." The Washington Post contains articles headlined "Religious Conservatives Cheer Ruling on Gays as Wake-Up Call" and "N.J. Ruling Could Yield Backlash at Nov. Polls." The Los Angeles Times contains articles headlined "A state with gay-friendly laws faces a fight over partnerships; New Jersey's Legislature has 180 days to legalize same-sex marriage or civil unions" and "A letdown for state's same-sex couples; This week's ruling in New Jersey is likely to make California justices more 'restrained' on the question of gay marriage, experts say." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Right approach on gay marriage: As California prepares to review the issue, a New Jersey court upholds the rights of all committed couples." The Boston Globe reports that "GOP seizes on N.J. ruling to rally religious conservatives; Presses voters to back bans on same-sex nuptials." In addition, the newspaper contains an editorial entitled "New Jersey's opportunity." The Chicago Tribune contains an editorial entitled "Marriage by any other name." And USA Today contains an editorial entitled "This time, judges find sensible compromise on gay unions; N.J. court protects rights, leaves ‘marriage' up to lawmakers," while Peter Sprigg has an op-ed entitled "Where's judicial restraint? N.J. court just can't go around ordering Legislature to make laws." "Justice's TV ad a hard hitter; Wiggins rebuts Hunstein attack": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today contains an article that begins, "One of the most personal attack ads of Georgia's election season is up and running on television, and it doesn't involve any candidates for governor. It's from an incumbent Georgia Supreme Court justice." Posted at 08:42 AM by Howard Bashman "3,000 to be called for jury selection in Padilla trial": This article appears today in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman No rest for the Wiccans: From Florida, The Associated Press reports that "Court rejects Wiccans' tax challenge." You can access yesterday's order of the Supreme Court of Florida at this link. "Alito protege sworn in as U.S. attorney in Miami; R. Alexander Acosta was officially sworn in as the U.S. attorney in Miami by his former boss, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito": Yesterday's edition of The Miami Herald contained this article. Posted at 08:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Jury says paralegal guilty in stabbing; The jury rejects the 'stand your ground' defense in the manslaughter case": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. Posted at 08:27 AM by Howard Bashman The Harvard Crimson is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "More Similarities in Law Prof's Book; For second time, passages found in Ogletree's work nearly identical to other text" and "Crimson Cuts Columnist for Lifting Material; Online magazine Slate says it won't pursue action against paper." The second of these two items also receives coverage today in The Boston Globe, in an article headlined "Harvard Crimson says writer lifted material; Student paper expresses regret." What is the numerical value of "not guilty"? The Washington Post reports today that "Murder Trial Juror Booted for Invoking Numerology." Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Malvo Questioned In Arizona Shooting": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Cheney's Remarks Fuel Torture Debate; Critics Say He Backed Waterboarding": The Washington Post contains this article today. And McClatchy Newspapers report that "Cheney confirms that detainees were subjected to water-boarding." "Law Firms Are Starting to Adopt Outsourcing": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Reprimand for a Justice Who Met With Inmates": Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak has an article that begins, "A special panel of the Washington Supreme Court made up of nine substitute judges reprimanded one of the court’s justices yesterday for visiting a facility that holds sexually violent predators." And The Seattle Times reports today that "Justice admonished for visiting inmates." My earlier coverage appears at this link. "Sen. Arlen Specter on how Democrats' control of Senate could affect future Supreme Court": The Wall Street Journal Online is today providing free access to this video segment. Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman "$79.5M in punitive damages at core of Supreme Court case; Philip Morris says judgment violates guarantee of due process of law": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. Posted at 07:42 AM by Howard Bashman "How Will the Roberts Court Interpret the Establishment Clause? The Consequences of a Shift Away from Justice O'Connor's 'Endorsement' Test for Government-Sponsored Displays of Religious Messages and Symbols." Vikram David Amar and Alan Brownstein have this essay today at FindLaw. Posted at 07:35 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, October 26, 2006 "Justice Thomas Opens Up on 'Aggressive' Appellate Judges": law.com provides this interesting report. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Big Tobacco and the Supreme Court: Double Jeopardy, Civil-Style?" Ted Frank has this essay today at American Enterprise Institute. Posted at 08:20 PM by Howard Bashman "N.J. boost for gay couples buoys GOP; Wednesday's ruling in favor of full legal rights for gay couples may galvanize certain voters": This article will appear Friday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 08:14 PM by Howard Bashman Artist Jeff Koons did not commit copyright infringement when he used in one of his collage paintings a copyrighted photograph, Second Circuit holds: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link (large PDF file). Earlier this year, artnet Magazine provided coverage of the federal district court's ruling that the Second Circuit affirmed today. "Chief Justice Roberts addresses challenge of emerging technologies in Middlebury address": This article appeared yesterday in The Burlington Free Press. And additional coverage is available from Vermont Public Radio. Middlebury College's press release, which I originally linked to here, now contains a link to online video of the Chief Justice's remarks and the question-and-answer session that followed. To access the video, click here (RealPlayer required). We're number one! On Monday of this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit became the federal appellate court with the most current vacancies among its active judgeship ranks -- four. The Philadelphia-based court is authorized to have fourteen active judges but now has only ten. The latest vacancy occurred Monday when Circuit Judge Franklin S. Van Antwerpen took senior status, two years and five months after having been confirmed to that seat. Two of the four vacancies have nominees who are likely to be confirmed, while the other two vacancies have no nominees. Judge Van Antwerpen has his chambers in Easton, Pennsylvania, and he filled the vacancy created when the late, great Edward R. Becker took senior status. Judge Becker's chambers had been in Philadelphia, which is probably the region that the next nominee for this seat calls home. "Second hearing on Neff's nomination refused": The Grand Rapids Press today contains an article that begins, "The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee has refused to grant a second hearing on the nomination of Michigan Court of Appeals Justice Janet Neff to the federal bench. The move removes one route for resolving the objections to her nomination from a conservative senator following a same-sex commitment ceremony at which Neff spoke. Neff's nomination remains on hold. Meanwhile, a letter from Neff gives her version of the controversial September 2002 event that stalled her nomination. The letter marks the first time her version of the event has been aired." Yesterday, the newspaper contained an article headlined "Senator hits back on judges." The article begins, "All or nothing. That's U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow's position on three federal judge nominations made in a compromise with President George W. Bush. One of three nominations, that of Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Janet Neff of East Grand Rapids, is on hold. U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, halted her nomination after he learned Neff spoke four years ago at the commitment ceremony of a lesbian couple." The Associated Press reports that "Same-Sex Marriage Questions Stall Judge." And Tuesday's issue of The Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts contained an editorial entitled "Love in the Berkshires not a federal offense." |