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Thursday, October 15, 2009 "Judge sex case: High court says state judiciary exempt from open records; The state Supreme Court has ruled that the judiciary branch of government is exempt from the state's Public Records Act." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The judiciary in Washington is exempt from public disclosure requirements under the state's Public Records Act, the state Supreme Court ruled today, creating what a critic called a 'huge black hole' in government accountability." Today's ruling of the Washington State Supreme Court consists of a majority opinion, a concurring opinion, and a dissenting opinion. "Firefighter Test Brings New Haven a Fresh Suit": This article will appear Friday in The New York Times. And The Associated Press reports that "New Haven Firefighter Sues Over Promotion Test." "Former chief justice hired godchild's grandmother": The Providence (R.I.) Journal has a news update that begins, "Frank J. Williams, former chief judge of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, acknowledged yesterday that he hired the grandmother of his 6-year-old godchild as a cleaning lady at the courthouse two years ago." Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Skilling, Black Say Ditch 'Honest Services' Law": Bloomberg News columnist Ann Woolner has this essay. Posted at 10:37 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama Criticized as Too Cautious, Slow on Judicial Posts": Michael A. Fletcher will have this article Friday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Holder: Guantanamo Detainee Decision Soon." This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." And Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Obama's Guantanamo, counterterror policies similar to Bush's? Afghanistan's Bagram is becoming the new Guantanamo, one legal scholar said at a gathering of the American Constitution Society." "Gay-rights opponents to appeal ruling on Ref. 71 names": The Seattle Times has a news update that begins, "Protect Marriage Washington, which collected the signatures to get Referendum 71 on the November ballot, said it will appeal today's federal appeals court ruling that cleared the way for public release of the names of those who signed petitions for the measure." And The Associated Press reports that "Court allows release of domestic partner petitions." "Court upholds verdict against tobacco firms": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "A state appeals court has upheld a San Francisco jury's award of $2.85 million in damages to the family of a woman who died of lung cancer after smoking cigarettes for 27 years, ruling that she relied on tobacco companies' claims that their products were safe." You can access yesterday's unpublished ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District, Division Two, at this link. Is the New York Thruway toll discount for residents of Grand Island, New York unconstitutional? Today' a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a ruling that reinstated, in part, a lawsuit challenging as unconstitutional a toll discount for residents of Grand Island, New York when crossing the Grand Island Bridges. Today's decision holds both that "plaintiffs have stated a claim under the dormant Commerce Clause" and "plaintiffs have stated a claim for infringement of their right to travel in violation of the Equal Protection Clause and the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment." As a result, today's ruling overrules in various respects a federal district court's decision that had dismissed the case in its entirety. "Supreme Court Hands Petrocelli 'First Breakthrough' for Skilling": Tony Mauro has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this week that "Supreme Court's tackling of 'honest services' law could affect Blagojevich's corruption case." And at the blog "Houston's Clear Thinkers," Tom Kirkendall has a post titled "The reeling prosecution in the Skilling case." "ACLU Back as a Whipping Boy": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post that begins, "As Republicans try to block some of President Barack Obama's nominees for the federal judiciary, they're focusing on a familiar target: the American Civil Liberties Union." Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Commenter Incensed over Onion Report on Sotomayor's Dead Kennedys Tactic": Debra Cassens Weiss has this post today at the ABA Journal's "Law News Now" blog. Posted at 03:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Ginsburg briefly hospitalized, released Thurs." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Supreme Court officials say Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had cancer surgery earlier this year, was briefly hospitalized overnight after having a bad reaction to some medicine." Reuters reports that "Justice Ruth Ginsburg hospitalized for drowsiness." At his "Washington Briefs" blog, Lawrence Hurley of The Daily Journal of California has a post titled "Justice Ginsburg In Hospital Again" in which he reports that "Ginsburg was on her way to London for the official opening of the new U.K. Supreme Court along with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justice Stephen G. Breyer and Justice Antonin Scalia. Breyer was the only one of the other justices to be on the same flight. He disembarked with Ginsburg but then took a later flight to London, according to the court." And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "Ginsburg Released After Hospital Stay." "Federal court upholds convictions of animal-rights activists that threatened Somerset County lab": The Associated Press has this report. And today's edition of The Times of Trenton, New Jersey has an article headlined "Court upholds verdicts" that begins, "A federal appeals court yesterday upheld the convictions of six activists, including a Hamilton resident, found guilty of using their internet website to incite threats and harassment against a company that tests products on animals." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Third Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Why Filling Lower Federal Court Vacancies Must Be A Top Priority": Law professor Carl Tobias has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Skilling review fuels debate over Enron prosecutors": Today in The Houston Chronicle, Mary Flood has an article that begins, "Was it faulty prosecution or brilliant defense work that made Jeff Skilling's case the third Enron-related conviction to be chosen for scrutiny by the very selective U.S. Supreme Court?" Posted at 10:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Hear Arguments on Property Seized by Police": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal reports today that "Justices Focus on Procedural Rules in Police-Confiscation Case." And The Chicago Sun-Times reports that "Asset seizure law challenged; High court hears case of Chicago woman who waited 3 years to get car back" and "U of C law students help prepare case challenging forfeiture law." "N.J. High Court Weighs Limits of Fair-Reporting Privilege": law.com provides this report. The Associated Press reports that "Reporting on lawsuits is challenged in libel case." And columnist Bob Braun of The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger has an essay entitled "For defendants in bogus lawsuits, a lost reputation is high price for freedom of the press." "When lawyers don't matter": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Chief Justice John Roberts once famously and controversially described a judge's role as akin to an umpire who merely calls balls and strikes." Today in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that "Justices Weigh $4.5 Million Bonus Awarded Lawyers in Ga. Litigation; Judge Was Impressed by Attorneys' Work on Foster-Care Case." And online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has a Supreme Court dispatch entitled "The $5 Million Man: Paul Clement schools the high court on why some attorneys are worth every last penny."  
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