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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 "'85 Alito memo outlines stealth strategy against Roe": Stephen Henderson and Howard Mintz of Knight Ridder Newspapers provide this report. And Thursday's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer will contain an article headlined "Alito to face questioning on affirmative action, voting rights." In Thursday's edition of The Washington Post: Charles Lane will have an article headlined "Roberts Seeks Middle Ground; Court Hears Appeal on Parental Notification of Abortion." And a front page article will report that "Alito Helped Craft Reagan-Era Tack To Restrict 'Roe'; Supreme Court Nominee Wrote Memo In 1985 as Justice Department Lawyer." In Thursday's edition of The New York Times: Linda Greenhouse will have an article headlined "For New Court, Abortion Case Takes Old Path." And in other news, "Reagan-Era Files Show Alito Role on Abortion Law." "Justices weigh parental notification law": Jan Crawford Greenburg of The Chicago Tribune provides this news update. Additional coverage from Ms. Greenburg can be accessed here (transcript with link to audio) via the PBS program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." Allen Pusey of The Dallas Morning News provides an update headlined "Little drama as high court gets abortion cases; Roberts appears to back letting N.H. broaden notification exception." Bill Adair of The St. Petersburg Times provides a news update headlined "Court skips big abortion questions; The New Hampshire parental notification dispute is not the 'monumental' case some had predicted." Thursday's edition of The Guardian (UK) reports that "Appeal will test US supreme court's line on abortion under new chief justice." Thursday's edition of The Independent (UK) reports that "Supreme Court to hear pro-abortion challenge." The Associated Press reports that "Ayotte says she expected tough questions." And Thursday in The Washington Post, Dana Milbank's "Washington Sketch" column will be entitled "A Chip Off the Old Bloc." "Hooked on the Web: Help Is on the Way." This article will appear Thursday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices shy away from fight on abortion": Patti Waldmeir will have this article in Thursday's edition of Financial Times. Posted at 08:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court hears abortion case": The Knight Ridder Newspapers provide this report. Posted at 07:58 PM by Howard Bashman On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "High Court Hears Arguments on Abortion Consent" (featuring Nina Totenberg); "Alito Documents: 'We Disagree With Roe v. Wade'"; and "RIM Shares Fall on Blackberry Patent Ruling." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 07:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Nibbling Away at Roe v. Wade: For the Supreme Court, Ayotte is an hors d'oeuvre." Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate. Posted at 07:45 PM by Howard Bashman "High Court Weights Notification for Teen Abortions": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation." Posted at 05:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Government rebuffed on Padilla": At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, "The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, apparently nettled by the Justice Department's shift in position on terrorism suspect Jose Padilla, refused on Wednesday to order his immediate release from military custody and threatened to cast aside its ruling in the government's favor in the case." Posted at 05:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Roberts signals support for abortion curbs; In high court argument, chief justice hints at upholding New Hampshire law": Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report. Posted at 05:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Weighs New Hampshire Parental Notification Law; Abortion-rights case is the first heard in five years and the first under new Chief Justice John Roberts": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this news update. Posted at 04:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Wisdom from Judge Carnes on post-Booker appellate review": The blog "Sentencing Law and Policy" offers this post about an interesting concurring opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today. Posted at 04:18 PM by Howard Bashman "High Court Hears New Hampshire Abortion Case": This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 03:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Hears First Abortion Case in 5 Years; At Issue: N.H. Law Requiring Parental Notification for Underage Women Seeking Abortions." Charles Lane of The Washington Post provides this news update. Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman In news from Hawaii: The Honolulu Star-Bulletin today contains articles headlined "'Ice' addict cleared of killing newborn; The state Supreme Court rules an unborn child is not a 'person'" and "Ruling stirs debate but won't change laws on unborn." And The Honolulu Advertiser today reports that "Meth mother's conviction overturned." I provided links to the ruling in this post from yesterday evening. "Justices Stay Evenhanded on Abortion Case": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. Posted at 03:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Oral Argument: Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England." C-SPAN has posted the oral argument online here (RealPlayer required). From the length of the oral argument audiotape, it would appear that counsel for respondents only used twenty of her allotted thirty minutes for oral argument and that the Chief Justice allowed New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte to reserve "the balance of her time for rebuttal" when that balance equaled zero. Update: In addition, The Associated Press has posted the audio online here (RealPlayer required). "A look at Judge Alito's rulings on eligibility for Social Security disability benefits," featuring Robert Schwaneberg, legal affairs correspondent for The Newark Star-Ledger: This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of C-SPAN's "Washington Journal." Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge deals RIM blow in BlackBerry case": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 02:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Top court reviews abortion notice law": James Vicini of Reuters provides this report. Posted at 02:45 PM by Howard Bashman "The adjudication of these cases at the administrative level has fallen below the minimum standards of legal justice." Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner has more harsh words for those who adjudicate immigration cases at the administrative level in this opinion issued today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel. Posted at 02:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito Urged U.S. to Seek to Limit Abortion Rights": Bloomberg News provides this report. Bloomberg News also reports that "U.S. Supreme Court Justices Seek Middle Ground in Abortion Case." In news updates available online from The Toronto Globe and Mail: The newspaper offers updates headlined "RIM suffers another blow" and "Judge lifts Homolka release restrictions." Posted at 02:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Abortion: narrowing the focus." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 02:15 PM by Howard Bashman Do not pass go, do not collect $200: Today, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision holding that a previously deported alien does not commit the federal criminal offense of attempted illegal reentry into the United States when he crosses the border separating the United States from Mexico with the intent only to be imprisoned in the United States. Posted at 01:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Documents Reveal More About Alito's Views": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "As a Reagan administration lawyer in 1985, Samuel Alito made clear his hope that the Supreme Court would one day overturn a landmark ruling that established abortion rights." I linked to the documents in question in this earlier post. Posted at 12:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Considers Limits to Abortion Protests": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 12:33 PM by Howard Bashman C-SPAN has just begun its broadcast of the oral argument audio in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood: The broadcast began nine minutes earlier than expected. Links to C-SPAN's broadcast are here (three posts below). Posted at 12:06 PM by Howard Bashman "US appeals court delays Padilla jail transfer": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 12:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Weigh Parental Notification Law": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this updated report. Posted at 12:04 PM by Howard Bashman Listen online to the audiotape of this morning's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood: In approximately fifteen minutes from now, C-SPAN will broadcast the oral argument audio. You can listen using either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player. Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Demonstrators Out in Force for Abortion Case": The AP provides this report. Posted at 11:40 AM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Jesse J. Holland reports that "Alito Favors Exercise of Judicial Restraint." Gina Holland reports that "Justices Step Into Abortion Rights Case." And in other news, "Appeals Court Holds Up Padilla Transfer." Access online Third Circuit Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr.'s responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee's questionnaire: National Review Online has posted the document at this link. Posted at 11:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Records Pertaining to Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. -- Record Group 60: Department of Justice." The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration has just posted online two sets of new documents, "Files of the Attorney General, Edwin Meese III" and "Files of Charles Cooper." Update at 11:20 a.m.: Likely to garner much attention is a document described as "Memorandum concerning Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, No. 84-495 and Diamond v. Charles, No. 84-1379 from Samuel A. Alito to the Solicitor General, (May 30, 1985)." What appears to be the final draft of that memo is available here. "Harvard Law On A Heterodox Spree, Listing To Right; In Age of John Roberts, New Kind of Legal Expert Sought by Elena Kagan": Anna Schneider-Mayerson has this article in the December 5, 2005 issue of The New York Observer. Posted at 10:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices weigh retardation safeguard in death penalty cases": The Newark Star-Ledger contains this article today. Posted at 10:42 AM by Howard Bashman "The not-so-dirty bomber": This editorial appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman Available today from National Review Online: Clarke D. Forsythe has an essay entitled "Supreme Opportunity: Will the Court fix its abortion mess?" And Kathryn Jean Lopez has an essay entitled "Meet Jane: Portrait of a teenager protected by New Hampshire's parental-notification law." "Rocking the Bus: A Colorado woman takes a stand against arbitrary ID checks." Jacob Sullum has this essay online today at Reason. In the essay, Sullum writes, "A civil case raising similar issues in the context of airport ID checks is scheduled to be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit the day before Davis' arraignment." Posted at 10:25 AM by Howard Bashman "House budget sleeper splits the 9th Circuit": The San Francisco Chronicle today contains an article that begins, "A little-noticed provision in the massive House budget bill would fulfill the longtime goal of conservatives to split the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, creating a new 12th circuit appellate court and allowing President Bush to name a slate of new federal judges." Posted at 10:22 AM by Howard Bashman "How the Building Crumbles: Could bird poo have made a chunk of marble fall off the Supreme Court Building?" Daniel Engber has this explainer essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Step Into Abortion Rights Case": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. And James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Top court reviews abortion notice law." In today's edition of The Concord (N.H.) Monitor: An article reports that "Abortion case hits high court; New Hampshire law could tighten access." From The Associated Press, "Supreme Court a familiar stop for N.H. cases; Current case not state's first time in spotlight." And an op-ed is entitled "Counting votes and giving Ayotte the benefit of the doubt." "High Court to Weigh Parental Notification for Abortion": Nina Totenberg had this report (RealPlayer required) on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 09:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Take Up Rule Against 'Tying' Products; The high court leans toward making it harder for competitors to sue over the sales practice": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito Showed Even Keel in Court Dispute": The Associated Press provides this report, which focuses on proposed Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1. The Washington Times reports today that "Alito foes focus on drug case as omen on privacy." And The Badger Herald reports that "Law panel deliberates on Alito's nomination." In commentary, Newsday contains an op-ed by Rosario A. Iaconis has an op-ed entitled "Alito can be proud of his heritage; Critics of the court nominee are resorting to anti-Italian smears, but he has a majestic patrimony behind him." In The Oregonian, Nick Fish has an op-ed entitled "The Alito nomination: On the wrong side of history for women." And in The Philadelphia Daily News, Rotan E. Lee has an op-ed entitled "A Brave New Court, Part I." "Justices to weigh parental notice for abortions": This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun. The New York Sun reports today that "Health Exception Seen as Central To High Court Case." Gallup News Service reports that "Americans Favor Parental Involvement in Teen Abortion Decisions; Think laws should require parental consent." The Boston Globe reports that "Abortion case puts spotlight today on Roberts's queries; The scope may color Alito's possible impact." The Manchester Union Leader reports that "In 12 years since law school, Ayotte's career has taken off." The Burlington Free Press reports that "N.H. abortion case has Vermont roots." The Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World reports that "Status quo at stake; New generation may face abortion questions." And The Winston-Salem Journal reports that "N.C. one of first states to allow abortion; Procedure legalized in 1967; if Roe was overturned, push for changing law probable." In commentary, The New York Times contains an editorial entitled "The Next Abortion Decision." And those with TimesSelect can access an item entitled "Talking Points: The Waning Power of Roe v. Wade." The Washington Times contains an editorial entitled "Abortion and the Roberts court." In The Denver Post, columnist Al Knight has an op-ed entitled "Cases could define new direction of high court." And in The Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass has an op-ed entitled "Parents are the only judges who matter." "Former clerk discusses Supreme Court procedures": The Daily Princetonian contains this article today. Posted at 07:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Sidestepping Courts in the War on Terrorism; U.S. seeks leverage by moving detainees or changing their status before scheduled hearings; Critics call it legal dodge ball": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:10 AM by Howard Bashman "One Person, One Filibuster? Judge Alito's Controversial Comment on a Supreme Court Voting Rights Case." Law Professor Richard L. Hasen, author of the "Election Law" blog, has this essay today at FindLaw. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, November 29, 2005 "An Eminent Domain High Tide: Riviera Beach, Fla., wants to displace about 6,000 of its residents and raze their homes to build a yachting and residential complex." The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that reports, "In what has been called the largest eminent-domain case in the nation, the mayor and other elected leaders want to move about 6,000 residents, tear down their homes and use the emptied 400-acre site to build a waterfront yachting and residential complex for the well-to-do" Posted at 11:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Abortion-notification case could test changing court": Joan Biskupic will have this article Wednesday in USA Today, along with an article headlined "High court case may signal shift on abortion." Meanwhile, on Thursday evening, you can see and hear Biskupic speak at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. In Wednesday's edition of Financial Times, Patti Waldmeir reports that "The US Supreme Court will today hear its first major abortion case in five years - the first big test of how the new chief justice, John Roberts, will rule on this controversial issue." And FOXNews.com reports that "Precedent at Stake in Supreme Court Abortion Case." "Pa. Justices Sued for Alleged Violation of Due Process; Attorney aims at use of dismissal to enforce appellate issue limits": law.com tonight has made Shannon P. Duffy's article, which I mentioned here earlier today, freely available at this link. Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to hear 2 abortion cases": Allen Pusey will have this article tomorrow in The Dallas Morning News. Posted at 10:14 PM by Howard Bashman "The Supreme Court Tackles Abortion: A Look at Mandatory Parental Involvement Laws." That was the title of last week's broadcast of NPR's "Justice Talking," which you can listen to online here (Windows Media) and here (mp3). Posted at 09:02 PM by Howard Bashman Sealed Appellee 1 defeats Sealed Appellant 1: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today issued its ruling in Sealed Appellant 1 v. Sealed Appellee 1. The second 1 won. All celebration of victory and bemoaning of loss will occur under seal. Posted at 08:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Splitting the 9th Circuit": This editorial appears today in The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Yesterday, The Register-Guard of Eugene, Oregon contained an editorial entitled "A court divided." And The Honolulu Star-Bulletin recently published an editorial entitled "Splitting 9th Circuit would hurt Hawaii." "25th Annual Federalist Society Student Symposium, Columbia Law School--February 24 & 25, 2006": Details here. Posted at 08:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Eskridge, Polsby Debate Solomon Amendment Case": You can access the debate via this link, at "ACSBlog." Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Pregnant woman's manslaughter conviction reversed": The Honolulu Advertiser provides a news update that begins, "The Hawai'i Supreme Court this morning reversed the manslaughter conviction for a 32-year-old woman whose use of crystal methamphetamine during her final days of pregnancy in 2001 led to the death of her two-day-old son. In a 38-page opinion, the court ruled that state law does not permit the prosecution of a mother's prenatal conduct that causes the death of her baby. The prosecution was the first of its kind in Hawai'i and lawyers believed the court would be the only one in the country to uphold that type of conviction." Today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Hawaii can be accessed online (opinion of the court; concurring opinion; and additional concurring opinion). "Third time the charm? Scheidler case goes back to high court Nov. 30." This article appears in the current issue of The Catholic New World. And The Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently published a related editorial entitled "It keeps going and going." "Solomon's Choice -- Or Hobson's?" Paul Horwitz has this post at "PrawfsBlawg." And that blog's founder, Dan Markel, today has a jurisprudence essay entitled "Innocents Lost: Who needs David Gale when you have Ruben Cantu?" online at Slate. "A one-stop shop for the 'best' blogs; By gathering an elite group of widely read bloggers, a young media company hopes to make them more attractive to advertisers": This article will appear Wednesday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 05:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Injured fan's Phillies suit tossed out": The Harrisburg Patriot-News today contains an article that begins, "More than two years after catching a thrown baseball with his face, Jeremy Loughran struck out in his quest for damages from the Philadelphia Phillies. The state Superior Court in Harrisburg, in a 2-1 decision last week, upheld last year's Philadelphia County Court ruling that Loughran, of Holland, Bucks County, assumed the risk of getting injured when he attended a July 5, 2003, game between the Phillies and the Atlanta Braves at Veterans Stadium." You can access last week's ruling of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania at this link. "Women drop sexual harassment suit against gorilla's caretaker": CourtTV.com provides a report that begins, "Two women who claimed they were pressured to show their breasts to Koko, the famous gorilla who communicates with humans through sign language, have dropped their sexual harassment lawsuit after reaching a settlement agreement earlier this week." And Justin Scheck of CalLaw.com reports that "Gorilla Lawsuit Nippled in the Bud." Posted at 05:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Litigation Group Argues 50th Supreme Court Case": The organization Public Citizen has issued a press release that begins, "Public Citizen Litigation Group argued its 50th case in front of the Supreme Court on Monday, November 28, in Will v. Hallock, an important case involving citizen access to the courts." Posted at 04:42 PM by Howard Bashman "National Archives to Release Online Materials Relating to Samuel Alito": More documents tomorrow, according to this press release issued today. Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Abortion debate makes Republicans fear for votes": This article will appear in Wednesday's edition of Financial Times. And BBC News provides a report headlined "US abortion rights in the balance?" "EBay Arrives at Supreme Court: A Landmark Patent Case." The blog "Patently-O: Patent Law Blog" provides this post. In advance of the actual oral argument, the case will be mooted before a bench consisting of bobblehead U.S. Supreme Court Justices purchased at auction on eBay, and whichever side appears to receive more nods of agreement from the bench will be adjudged the winner. Posted at 04:05 PM by Howard Bashman "High Court Seems Ready to Dismiss Market-Power Precedent": law.com's Tony Mauro provides a news update that begins, "The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed ready to hand a victory to patent holders in a closely watched antitrust case that could have a broad impact on intellectual property law." In earlier coverage, Mauro reported that "High Court to Hear Case on 43-Year-Old Antitrust Precedent." And Daniel B. Ravicher has an op-ed entitled "They've Got the Power: The Supreme Court should stick by the antitrust presumption that patents create market power" in the current issue of Legal Times. "BlackBerry Held Hostage: Pay Up--or You're Done For; Patent cases have always been costly; Could they now be fatal too?" The December 12, 2005 issue of Fortune magazine contains an article that begins, "What would Osama bin Laden give to be able to knock out every BlackBerry in America and achieve an instant, sweeping disruption of commerce? The good news is he can't do it. The weird and disconcerting news is that a company called NTP can and, unless it's paid off, probably will sometime before Christmas." Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Court weighs girls' access to abortion; The tribunal hears a case Wednesday on a state's parental-notification law": Warren Richey will have this article in Wednesday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor. And CNN.com reports that "Abortion returns to high court's docket; Justices to hear two high-profile cases this week." "Alito's Appeals Court Record on Race, Gender": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." The audio segment seems to conclude with the drum track from The Knack's "My Sharona." Update: In actuality, the music at the end of the segment was "This One" by Scanty Sandwich. Posted at 03:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Liberals Can't Solidify Alito Opposition": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 03:08 PM by Howard Bashman Two interesting Seventh Circuit opinions issued today written by Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook: In United States v. Cannon, the court holds that a mandatory third-strike sentence of life imprisonment without parole for cocaine possession with intent to distribute cannot be avoided by a federal district court's finding that the defendant's two earlier felony drug offenses were relatively minor. And in Gates v. Towery, the court examines whether named plaintiffs who have initiated a federal civil rights class action challenging the procedures that Chicago uses for dealing with property that the police seize when making custodial arrests remain viable class representatives after the City provides them with checks for the money that was taken from them upon their arrests and the promise of interest. "Abortion Case Offers U.S. Chief Justice Chance to Reshape Law": Bloomberg News provides this report. Posted at 02:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Abortion and Alito": This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Law Professor Jack M. Balkin, whose blog you can access here, appeared on today's broadcast of the public radio program "Here & Now." Posted at 02:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Time Warner's Stupid Gag Order: Which Lloyd Grove spits out." Online at Slate, Jack Shafer has a press box essay that begins, "What on earth did Time Warner Chairman Richard D. Parsons have in mind when he waited until the last minute to declare the Nov. 21 interview of Justice Antonin Scalia by Time Inc. Editor in Chief Norman Pearlstine before 100 journalists and businessmen at Time Warner's New York headquarters as 'off the record'?" Posted at 01:48 PM by Howard Bashman "N.H. AG to argue parental notification case": Foster's Daily Democrat contains this article today, along with an article headlined "Even in pro-choice N.H., public favors the law to keep parents involved." Meanwhile, in commentary, The Concord (N.H.) Monitor today contains an editorial entitled "Having a child must not be a punishment." And The Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader contains an editorial entitled "Ayotte's big case: AG makes a name for herself." "Moussaoui's Prosecutors Draft Slew of Questions for Jury Pool": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Parents Ask Ninth Circuit to Rehear Sex Survey Case; Liberty Counsel filed a petition requesting the entire Ninth Circuit to rehear the case": The organization Liberty Counsel has issued this press release today. Posted at 11:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Side With Landlord Over Renters": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Pa. Justices Sued for Alleged Violation of Due Process; Epstein Aims at Use of Dismissal to Enforce Appellate Issue Limits": Today in The Legal Intelligencer, Shannon P. Duffy has an article (subscription required) that begins, "Attorney Alan B. Epstein and his firm, Spector Gadon & Rosen, have filed a federal civil rights suit alleging that the Pennsylvania Superior Court violated their due process rights when it dismissed their appeal of a $1.7 million judgment against them on the grounds that they had raised too many appellate issues. The suit was filed by attorneys Richard A. Sprague, Joseph R. Podraza Jr. and Thomas E. Groshens of Sprague & Sprague and names all seven justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as defendants." The Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling about which this newly-filed federal lawsuit complains can be accessed here. The Legal Intelligencer's earlier coverage of that ruling came in an article headlined "Court Tosses Appeal After Finding Lawyers Filed 'Preposterous' Number of Issues." And I focused on that ruling in my January 2005 monthly appellate column, also published in The Legal Intelligencer, entitled "Attempting To Preserve 104 Issues For Appeal Results
In The Preservation Of None." "Clumsy tactics: Fight against military recruitment farfetched." The Independent Florida Alligator, the student newspaper of the University of Florida, today contains this Solomon Amendment-related editorial. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman Today's U.S. Supreme Court opinion in an argued case: At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Court clarifies jurisdictional issue." Today's unanimous ruling, delivered by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, comes in the case of Lincoln Property Co. v. Roche, No. 04-712 (oral argument transcript here). Posted at 10:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Al Franken Overrules Antonin Scalia": John Nichols has this post at his blog "The Online Beat," hosted by The Nation. Posted at 09:58 AM by Howard Bashman "8th Circuit finds Missouri abortion law unconstitutional": The St. Louis Post-Dispatch contains this article today. And The Kansas City Star reports today that "Panel rules against abortion law." "Top Court to hear N.J. border fight": This article appears today in The Newark Star-Ledger. And The Gloucester County Times reports today that "Border dispute headed to court." "High Court to Tackle Death Penalty Appeals": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 09:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Pa. Supreme Court expenses reviewed; But tighter rules on justices' spending may not save money": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Reject F.B.I. Translator's Appeal on Termination": Linda Greenhouse has this article today in The New York Times, along with an article headlined "Justices Agree to Consider EBay Appeal in Patent Case." The Washington Post reports today that "Supreme Court Will Hear eBay Appeal." The Toledo Blade reports that "Richey death sentence is reinstated; U.S. Supreme Court sides with Ohio in 1986 arson murder case." The Lima News reports that "Supreme Court reinstates death penalty against Richey." And The Wilmington News Journal reports that "Supreme Court to rule on gas pier; Del. says N.J. plant would be on its turf." "Jose Padilla's America": This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Case Reopens Abortion Issue for Justices": Linda Greenhouse has this article today in The New York Times. In The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports today that "High court revisits state abortion laws; At issue is N.H. statute that parents must be notified." And The Sacramento Bee reports that "Stakes high for court on abortion." Meanwhile, in commentary, Martha Davis has an op-ed entitled "Conflicting rights" in The Boston Globe. "Offering Abortion, Rebirth: Yes, an Arkansas doctor says, he destroys life; But he believes the thousands of women who have relied on him have been 'born again.'" This lengthy front page article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:12 AM by Howard Bashman Supreme Court loses its marble: The Washington Post today contains an article headlined "Omen on the High Court? Marble Falls From Building's Facade, Spurring Theories of Symbolism." The Washington Times today contains an article headlined "Supreme Court descent." And The Rutland Herald reports that "High court stones likely quarried in Vermont." "Alito Sided With Federal Authorities; The high court nominee, in 1986 memos, said the FBI could investigate government employees and the IRS could secretly record talks": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. The New York Times reports today that "Alito Memos Supported Expanding Police Powers." The Boston Globe reports that "Alito, in '80s, had an expansive view of police powers; Voiced stance under Reagan." The Chicago Tribune contains an article headlined "Should Alito's philosophy be fair game? Foes agree nominee is `bright, capable,' but not acceptable." The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger reports that "Alito said FBI reach trumped 2 courts; Justice Dept. releases his opinions from '80s." And The New York Sun reports that "The City Council Eyes Resolution Opposing Alito." In commentary, The St. Petersburg Times contains an editorial entitled "Follow the leader: Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has shown conspicuous deference to lower courts and a reluctance to recognize racial discrimination." In The Washington Times, John R. Lott Jr. has an op-ed entitled "Biden's risky business." And in The Philadelphia Daily News, columnist John Baer has an op-ed entitled "Arlen sticks to the points, etc." Monday, November 28, 2005 "'86 Alito Memo Argues Against Foreigners' Rights; Work for Justice Dept. Points to Views That May Affect Anti-Terrorism Rulings on High Court": This article will appear Tuesday in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:30 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: T.R. Goldman has an article headlined "Inside the Alito Memo." And in other news, "Ruling Clears Way for Payment of Austrian Holocaust Claims." In news from Great Britain: Tuesday's edition of The Times of London reports that "Death-row Scot's appeal overturned by Supreme Court." Tuesday's edition of The Scotsman reports that "Richey thrown back on Death Row." Tuesday's edition of The Independent (UK) reports that "Briton could return to death row after US court overrules decision." Tuesday's edition of The Telegraph (UK) reports that "Supreme Court blocks ruling on death row Briton." And Tuesday's edition of The Guardian (UK) reports that "Death row Scotsman's conviction is upheld." "RIM keeps an eye on patent appeal": Tuesday's edition of The Toronto Globe and Mail will contain this article. Posted at 10:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Gambling foes lose big hand; U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear suit challenging New York State's right to OK casinos on Indian land": This article will appear Tuesday in Newsday. Posted at 10:01 PM by Howard Bashman "Lethal landmark for America's death penalty; Tomorrow will mark the 1,000th execution since 1977": This article appears in Tuesday's edition of The Telegraph (UK). Posted at 09:55 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear NJ suit against Delaware"; "U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear case against newspaper"; and "Jackpot! Court refuses to hear gambling case; U.S. Supreme Court's refusal could open up New York to more casinos on tribal lands." Posted at 09:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Strip-Search Case a Likely Topic at Alito Hearing": FOXNews.com provides this report. Posted at 09:45 PM by Howard Bashman "US Supreme Court to look at patent injunctions": Patti Waldmeir will have this article Tuesday in Financial Times. Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Moore Makes More Now Than As Ala. Justice": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 08:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Both Sides of Abortion Debate Speculate on Alito": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 08:12 PM by Howard Bashman Watch out for the falling granite, Anna Nicole: The U.S. Supreme Court today issued its calendar for the oral argument session beginning February 21, 2006. The calendar reveals that the case of Marshall v. Marshall (previewed here) will be argued on February 28, 2006. Posted at 05:30 PM by Howard Bashman "The Costs of Doing Business": Will Baude's post today at "PrawfsBlawg" about a recent Seventh Circuit ruling that I previously noted in a post titled "The rental cars may be on a budget, but the legal fees apparently are not" has spawned some interesting comments. Posted at 05:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito Faulted Government Ethics Office": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "As a Justice Department lawyer, Samuel Alito quarreled with the head of the government ethics office over proposed requirements on personal financial disclosures, according to documents released Monday." Posted at 04:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Liability Waivers Flawed; Top Court Says Facilities Answerable For Negligence": Today in The Hartford Courant, Lynne Tuohy has an article that begins, "Gregory Hanks and his children had planned a simple day of snow tubing, not launching an epic legal battle." Posted at 04:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Death row Richey's appeal setback; The US Supreme Court has overturned a decision to quash the conviction of a Briton on death row for 18 years": BBC News provides this report. Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Campbell alumnus breaks the mold": Campbell University today issued a news release that begins, "A military brat who never even graduated from an Ivy League school, David Bragdon was more than a little overwhelmed when he got the news he'd been selected to clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas." Posted at 04:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court upholds decision striking down Missouri abortion ban": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 03:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Should girls have to tell their parents? Teenagers, young women weigh in on abortion case." The Concord (N.H.) Monitor contains this article today. Posted at 03:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Death row: Does personal reform count? A clemency request in California revives the debate over rehabilitation's role." This article will appear Tuesday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Practicing for the real thing: Mock arguments held for 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' case headed for Supreme Court." This article, reporting on a recent moot court appearance of mine, appeared in Bay Windows. And on a somewhat related note, the blog "Frequent Citations" offers a post titled "Nonsense and High Ideals." Federal government obtains extension until December 16, 2005 of the due date for its Brief in Opposition to Jose Padilla's cert. petition: The current U.S. Supreme Court docket entries can be viewed at this link. Before the extension was granted, today had been the due date for the federal government's BIO. Posted at 03:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Jurors' Religion Issue in Moussaoui Trial": The Associated Press provides this report. The proposed jury questionnaire that the federal government filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia can be accessed here. Unanimous three-judge Second Circuit panel rejects Fourth Amendment challenge against New York's DNA statute, which requires certain classes of convicted felons to provide DNA samples to be maintained in a state database: You can access today's ruling at this link. The ruling totals 71 pages because each judge on the panel issued an opinion. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman Jane Doe regains her anonymity [see correction appended to this post]: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit today has taken off-line the Brief for Appellant in the case I previously reported on here, here, and here. I suspect that the brief will be put back on-line once the Circuit Rule 26.1 disclosure statement revealing the plaintiff's actual name is redacted or removed. Correction: Further review of the Seventh Circuit's web site discloses that all that has happened is that the court deactivated the original link for the Brief for Appellant (where that brief had been accessible since it was originally posted online in early June 2005) and last week reposted the brief (in its entirety, including the disclosure statement) at this new link. "Law student argues before U.S. Supreme Court justice": This article appears today in The Journal News of Westchester, New York. Posted at 02:05 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Argues to Protect Agents From Suit": The Associated Press provides this report on a case argued today at the U.S. Supreme Court. Posted at 02:00 PM by Howard Bashman Unanimous three-judge Eighth Circuit panel affirms federal district court's grant of summary judgment holding unconstitutional Missouri's ban on "partial-birth" abortion: You can access today's ruling at this link. Posted at 11:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Blawg Review #34": Available here, at the blog "PHOSITA." Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman BREAKING NEWS -- "Part of Supreme Court Facade Collapses": The Associated Press reports here that "Part of the marble facade on the front of the Supreme Court collapsed Monday morning, falling onto the steps leading into the venerable building. No injuries were reported." Update: Additional details are available in an updated AP report headlined "Pieces of Marble Fall From Court Facade." You can view photos here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. And in case anyone was worried, Lyle Denniston at "SCOTUSblog" has a post titled "The Court is NOT falling down." Today's U.S. Supreme Court Order List and per curiam summary reversal: Today's Order List can be accessed here. The Court today granted review in three cases and asked for the views of the Solicitor General in an additional case. Also, the Court issued a unanimous per curiam summary reversal in Bradshaw v. Richey, No. 05-101. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston provides an early report in a post titled "Court to hear three new cases." And in news coverage, Gina Holland of The Associated Press reports that "Court Throws Out Ohio Death Case Ruling." The AP also reports that "Supreme Court Denies FBI Translator's Case" and "Supreme Court Passes Up PLO Case." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Court allows punishment sign for mail thief" and "Supreme Court rejects appeal by fired FBI linguist." Reuters also reports that "Supreme court to hear eBay patent appeal" and "Court seeks gov't view on Weyerhaeuser." "Group To Study Solomon; HLS students will examine ways to curb effects of the Solomon Amendment": This article appears today in The Harvard Crimson. And The Arbiter of Boise State University today contains an article headlined "BSU has not joined national debate about military recruitment on campus." "Liberal concerns about abortion: Pro-choicers need to face the reality of abortion today; In too many cases, it's not a sign that women are in control; It's a sign that they aren't." Garance Franke-Ruta has this essay (pass-through link) in today's issue of The New Republic. Posted at 09:35 AM by Howard Bashman At the risk of being one of those blogs that highlights earlier posts for readers who may have missed them: This past Wednesday night, on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Justice Stephen G. Breyer appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live." As I noted in this earlier post, a transcript of the broadcast can be accessed here. Posted at 09:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Being Quoted 'on the Record' on What You Might Have Said": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "The journalistic phrase 'off the record' seemed to lose all meaning last week at an event featuring Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court. He was the latest guest in a Time Warner series of interviews conducted by Norman Pearlstine, the departing editor in chief of Time Inc. Just before the program began on Monday, Richard D. Parsons, chairman of Time Warner, told the audience of more than 100 journalists and businesspeople that what was said was off the record. But both The New York Daily News and The New York Post subsequently ran articles about the event, quoting Mr. Scalia and reflecting his views on a range of subjects." The referenced items can be accessed here (NY Daily News) and here (NY Post). "Rulings spur proposal to break up court; Its reversals of death-penalty cases open old wounds for police, families": The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, California today contains an article that begins, "The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the nation's largest judicial circuit, with 28 judgeships covering nine states, including California. It handles three times more appeals than the average for the other federal circuits. A proposal in Congress aims to break it up." Posted at 09:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Will Roberts steer court to protect rights of gays?" Columnist Deb Price has this op-ed today in The Detroit News. Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Exemptions for health prove murky; In practice, abortion laws that include provision can be tricky": The Concord (N.H.) Monitor today contains an article that begins, "The state's parental notification law is being challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court because it doesn't give a minor the opportunity to bypass the law and get an abortion if her health is at risk. But even in states that provide such an exemption, the definition of a heath risk can change from one doctor to the next." And in commentary, The Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg, Virginia today contains an editorial entitled "Dissent on consent; Parental rights at issue in Supreme Court abortion case." "A clash of traditions: Lawyers vs. cowboys; Man's death in bullring at Mexican-style rodeo brings American-style reaction in Lake County." This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge in Indian Case Holds Little Back": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth may have long ago chosen to work in straight-laced Washington, but he radiates his love for his home state of Texas." The article goes on to state, "Lamberth's decisions, however, have been anything but boring. Fans and detractors alike have marveled at how this cowboy has sided with the Indians." Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito's Record Provides a Target, Creates Risks for Democrats": Bloomberg News provides this report. Meanwhile, in commentary, The Salem Statesman Journal today contains an editorial entitled "Oregon cases show impact of justice selections; Much of national debate over Samuel Alito is off the mark." The Allentown Morning Call contains an editorial entitled "Ads that use emotion, distort Alito record are a dis-service to confirmation process." The Times Argus of Barre, Vermont contains an editorial entitled "Who's the sucker?" In The Baltimore Sun, Law Professors Steven Lubet and David McGowan have an op-ed entitled "Judicial temperament." And in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Gary Cass has an op-ed entitled "Alito fits mold of mainstream." "The stage is set: As local players line up on either side, New Hampshire's attorney general on Wednesday will try to persuade US Supreme Court justices to reinstate a controversial abortion notification law." This article appears today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 06:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito and Abortion: Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided, but he shouldn't say if he'd overturn it." Roger Pilon has this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 06:20 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, November 27, 2005 "Poll: Americans back abortion limits, oppose ban; Supreme Court set to hear cases on notification, clinic protests." CNN.com provides this report. Posted at 11:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito keeps favor of conservatives, moderates": This article will appear Monday in USA Today. And in somewhat related news, Monday's edition of The New York Times will contain a profile headlined "Intense, Yes, but Not Always Hugely Successful" of Steve Schmidt, described as among other things "chief White House strategist in charge of selling the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. on Capitol Hill." Monday's edition of The New York Times reports on foreign judges: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain articles headlined "Tribunal Leader in Hussein's Case Is Target of Plot" and "A Judge Tests China's Courts, Making History." Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Advocacy Groups Targeting Vulnerable Senators on Alito Vote": This article will appear Monday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Court considers expense account revisions; Changes could be implemented in January": The Harrisburg Patriot-News today contains an article that begins, "One month after The Patriot-News reported on spending by the state's top court justices, Supreme Court Chief Justice Ralph Cappy wrote an e-mail suggesting revisions to the judges' expense accounts." Posted at 07:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Judicial Independence: Packing the courts." This editorial will appear Monday in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Posted at 07:50 PM by Howard Bashman "The Solomon choice: By standing up for the right to oppose the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, some fear law schools could undermine two landmark civil rights laws." The Boston Globe today contains this article. And Minnesota Public Radio today provides a written report headlined "Universities and federal government at odds over military recruiting." "Abortion Wars, Once Again: The case being argued this week before the Supreme Court may determine just how far state restrictions can go." This article will appear in the December 5, 2005 issue of U.S. News & World Report. Posted at 06:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Court guide on abortion limits access; Rules keep judicial review to work hours": The Concord Monitor today contains an article that begins, "Attorney General Kelly Ayotte is defending the state's abortion law by arguing that it doesn't need a health exception because girls who can't tell a parent they need an emergency abortion can ask a judge for permission at any hour, even on weekends and holidays. But the rules the state Supreme Court has approved for a 'judicial bypass' do not give a pregnant girl or her doctor anything close to the access Ayotte envisions. The rules allow a doctor to fax a bypass request for an emergency abortion to a court at any time, but they clearly state that the fax machine would not be checked until the next business day." Posted at 06:20 PM by Howard Bashman In news and commentary from Hawaii: The Honolulu Advertiser yesterday contained an article headlined "Court rejects group's cave danger claim." And The Honolulu Star-Bulletin yesterday contained an op-ed entitled "Don't rely on court to uphold aerial ban." "Splitting 9th Circuit bad for Ariz." Columnist Jim Kiser has this op-ed today in The Arizona Daily Star. Last Monday, The Arizona Republic contained an op-ed by Roxie Bacon and Don Bivens entitled "Rhetoric, not 9th Circuit, is what's overloaded." In response to that op-ed, the newspaper yesterday printed a letter to the editor under the heading "'9th Circus' is a court full of clowns." And in somewhat related news, The Seattle Times yesterday published an article headlined "Once again, Magnuson the talk of Washington." "Parents, Children, Sex and Judges": Columnist Ruth Marcus has this op-ed today in The Washington Post. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Medical marijuana case heads back to court": Thursday's edition of The Contra Costa Times contained this article. Posted at 03:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Abortion case could hinge on a vote by Alito": This article appears today in The Washington Times. The Boston Globe today contains an editorial entitled "Alito's attitudes." And in The Los Angeles Times, Law Professor Goodwin Liu has an op-ed entitled "Life and death and Samuel Alito: All the attention being paid to the nominee's position on abortion has diverted attention from his history with capital punishment." "Abortion law troubles both sides; Florida's law requiring a teen to win judicial permission for an abortion without notifying her parents has critics questioning its efficacy": The Miami Herald contains this article today. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "USU twins helped put Roberts on high court; Which one is which? Both land jobs on the Judiciary Committee and cause some double takes." This article appears today in The Salt Lake Tribune. Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Why keep cameras out of the court? We can watch Paris having sex, but we can't see our Supreme Court justices deliberate; Weird." Columnist Steve Chapman has this op-ed today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, November 26, 2005 The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Alito's Abortion Stance Tough to Decipher" and "Court to Weigh Never-Enforced Abortion Law." Posted at 06:50 PM by Howard Bashman "As Execution Date Nears, Gang Founder Stirs Debate; Ex-Crips Leader Has High-Profile Supporters and Detractors": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Gov. to Consider Clemency for Killer." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Governor agrees to Williams hearing; Convicted killer gets closer to possible clemency." And The Sacramento Bee reports that "Governor to rule on Williams case; A private clemency hearing will be held by Schwarzenegger for Crips co-founder." The Los Angeles Times is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "Justice Is Another Victim of Katrina; Some suspects go free because the system lacks the means to charge them; more wait behind bars; And cases mount along with new crimes" and "Pregnant and Unwed, Teacher Fights Church; A civil liberties group files a complaint on behalf of a woman fired from a Catholic school." Posted at 04:33 PM by Howard Bashman In Sunday's issue of The New York Times: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain an article headlined "From Alito's Past, a Window on Conservatives at Princeton." And Adam Liptak will report that "In Terror Cases, Administration Sets the Rules." "Alito Put Faith in the 1st Amendment; The nominee upheld the rights of many religions, a subject of perpetual disputes in the courts": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, in commentary, The Birmingham News today contains an editorial entitled "The real truth about Sam Alito." And in The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, columnist Barry Saunders has an op-ed entitled "Judging a job application, 20 years on." Friday, November 25, 2005 "New Chief Justice Faces Abortion Issue; Ruling in Case Involving Parental Notification Could Be Far-Reaching": Charles Lane will have this article Saturday in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Two guys are sitting on a desert island with their backs against a single palm tree. 'I miss blogging.'" At McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Scott Underwood provides "In-Progress Ideas for New Yorker Cartoons." Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Nominee Deals With Ethics Criticism": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Judge Samuel Alito has said he did not break a federal ethics law when he ruled in a case involving the company that handles his mutual fund investments." Posted at 09:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Military Recruiters on Campus": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 07:25 PM by Howard Bashman "It is well-known that Henry J. Friendly was one of the greatest judges in our nation’s history.... What is not known is that in 1970, three years before Roe v. Wade, Judge Friendly wrote an opinion in the first abortion-rights case ever filed in a federal court." The text of D.C. Circuit Judge A. Raymond Randolph's Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture, delivered at the Federalst Society's recent annual meeting, can be accessed here (via "Crime & Federalism"). Posted at 07:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito, Then and Now": This editorial will appear in the December 5, 2005 issue of The Weekly Standard. Posted at 07:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Quest for a vow of silence: Ex-Roslyn schools chief's longtime partner says judge should treat them like spouses and bar Tassone from testifying against him." Yesterday's edition of Newsday contained this article. Posted at 10:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Unfinished Transcripts May Nullify Convictions; An ex-court reporter in Colorado is ordered to finish the task for eight cases on appeal; Her refusal may send her to jail and trigger retrials": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Students join debate on intelligent design; Campus clubs set up to defend concept": The Chicago Tribune contains this article today. Posted at 10:38 AM by Howard Bashman "Limits on Eminent Domain May Go Too Far, Experts Warn": This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 10:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Political smears or free speech? Some in politics are suing others for defamation." L. Stuart Ditzen has this article today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Padilla in Court: When did he become the 21st century's Alger Hiss?" This editorial appears today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito critics focus on 10 appellate opinions; Say he would shift top court to right": Michael McGough has this article today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports today that "Hearings for Alito likely to be tough." The Boston Globe reports that "Alito's remark on strip search of girl, 10, prompts questions." And in commentary, Rich Noyes has an op-ed in The Washington Times entitled "Case of Supreme bias." Thursday, November 24, 2005 "Alito's Stance on One Man, One Vote Is Debated": This article will appear Friday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Alito Media Battle Heats Up Ahead of Senate Hearings" and "Citing New Law, Gun Lobby Pushes to Dismiss Suits." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 09:15 PM by Howard Bashman In news from Tampa: The St. Petersburg Times reports today that "Lafave's life will never be the same; The former teacher avoided prison but can't avoid the stigma of being a sex offender." And The Tampa Tribune today contains articles headlined "Al-Arian Could Face Deportation" and "Al-Arian Jury Still Undecided." "Santa Ana Recall Petitions Faulted; Lopez-ouster papers, in English only, were unfair to 3 Latino voters, an appeals panel rules": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. Posted at 01:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Shift on Suspect Is Linked to Role of Qaeda Figures": This article appears today in The New York Times. And Neil A. Lewis reports that "Indictment Portrays Padilla as Minor Figure in a Plot." The Baltimore Sun reports today that "Padilla move is seen as showdown stopper." And The Washington Times reports that "Padilla case mum on 'dirty bomb.'" In commentary, Newsday contains an editorial entitled "Don't drop Padilla case: Supreme Court must decide if U.S. can hold citizens for years without charge." And in The Boston Globe, columnist Thomas Oliphant has an op-ed entitled "Padilla case tests the Patriot Act." "Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer Interview": Via CNN.com, you can access here a transcript of yesterday evening's "Larry King Live" interview. Posted at 11:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Abortion waiting period upheld; State high court ruling ends 10-year legal battle; clinics have followed law since 2003": This article appears today in The Indianapolis Star. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports today that "Indiana law on abortion upheld; Suit challenged wait, in-person counseling." And The Courier & Press of Evansville, Indiana reports that "Abortion wait gets court OK." Thanksgiving lame poetry: Once upon a time there was a federalHappy Thanksgiving everyone! Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito Dissent Draws Scrutiny; Liberal groups say the Supreme Court nominee supported the strip-search of a 10-year-old, but experts say that's a distortion": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press reports that "Alito Ad Flap Centers Over Strip Search." And The Washington Times reports today that "Senate conservatives praise Alito." "Conviction With an Angle Is Upheld by Court of Appeals": Yesterday's edition of The New York Times contained an article that begins, "Pythagoras won his day in court on Tuesday." You can access Tuesday's ruling of the Court of Appeals of New York -- that State's highest court -- at this link. Posted at 09:30 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, November 23, 2005 On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Alito Asylum Rulings Raise Questions" and "Librarian Fights Gag Order on Records Request." Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "O'Connor Fires Back on Judicial Independence": law.com's Tony Mauro provides this report. Posted at 10:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Original Intent: Revisionist rhetoric notwithstanding, the founders left God out of the Constitution--and it wasn't an oversight." Susan Jacoby will have this essay in the December 2005/January 2006 issue of Mother Jones magazine. Posted at 04:08 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained a segment entitled "Slate's Jurisprudence: Padilla Finally Gets Day in Court" featuring Dahlia Lithwick. And today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained segments entitled "U.S. Indicts One Terrorism Suspect, Convicts Another" and "ACLU Suit Targets Taxes on 'Religious' Books." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. The San Francisco Chronicle publishes dueling op-eds on the subject of splitting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: In today's newspaper, U.S. Representative Mike Simpson (R-ID) has an op-ed entitled "Breakup is inevitable." Taking the opposite view, Law Professor John C. Yoo and Eric M. George have an op-ed entitled "A flawed plan to isolate California." "Alito's CAP Connection": Eyal Press will have this essay in the December 12, 2005 issue of The Nation. Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman Justice Antonin Scalia bobblehead doll ends up selling for $500.00 at auction on eBay: Details on the auction, which ended earlier today, are available here. Posted at 03:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Ninth Circuit Decides Interesting Voting Rights Case Apparently Requiring that Recall and Initiative Petitions Be in Multiple Languages, Creating a Circuit Split": The "Election Law" blog offers this post about a ruling that a divided three-judge Ninth Circuit panel issued today. Posted at 03:05 PM by Howard Bashman Claims against Austria for property taken by the Nazi regime are dismissed as nonjusticiable under the political question doctrine after the United States, appearing as amicus curiae, urged dismissal to facilitate Austria's resolution of claims through a general settlement fund created in January 2001: A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued this decision today. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Splitting the court would be a mistake": Merrilee MacLean and David Burman have this op-ed today in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Posted at 02:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Ind. Court Upholds Abortion Waiting Period": The Associated Press provides this report on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Indiana issued today. Posted at 11:22 AM by Howard Bashman Anti-abortion protesters hope that three-judge Ninth Circuit panel will treat them better than Ezra: The Honolulu Star-Bulletin yesterday contained an article headlined "City ban on aerial banners challenged" that begins, "Huge aerial banners depicting graphic images of aborted fetuses are political speech that deserve First Amendment protection, the attorney for an anti-abortion group contends." You can access the audio from Monday's Ninth Circuit oral argument in Honolulu via this link (Windows Media). Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Admirers and detractors can unite on at least one thing - the performance was, ahem, god-awful." So reports The Sacramento Bee today in an article headlined "Newdow tests the musical waters." Posted at 10:38 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito needs to shed his CAP": In yesterday's edition of The Daily Princetonian, Stephen R. Dujack had an op-ed that begins, "Almost 20 years ago, the Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP) collapsed like a modern House of Usher, so rotten from within from its own deceptions and peculiar madness that it could no longer sustain its own weight." Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman "As foreman, Kerry wins praise from fellow jurors": The Boston Globe contains this article today. And The Boston Herald today contains an article headlined "Kerry reports for jury duty: Courtroom service a first for the senator." "Sex with student brings no jail time for Lafave; Amid a media frenzy and at the urging of her victim's family, prosecutors accept a plea deal from former teacher Debra Lafave": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. The Tampa Tribune today contains articles headlined "Lafave Signs Plea" and "Spouse Says Lafave Radically Changed Before Her Arrest." The Ocala Star-Banner contains an article headlined "'I am sorry'; Lafave pleads guilty, avoids serving time in jail." And The Villages Daily Sun reports that "Teacher's plea in sex case accepted at request of 14-year-old victim's family." "Still Searching for a Strategy Four Years After Sept. 11 Attacks": Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak has a news analysis that begins, "Four years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the government has yet to settle on a consistent strategy for holding and punishing people it says are terrorists. Its efforts remain a work in progress, notable for false starts and a reluctance to have the executive branch's broadest claims tested in the courts." And the newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Um, About That Dirty Bomb?" The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Terror Suspect Indicted After 3 Years in Jail; The counts against Jose Padilla don't refer to the 'dirty bomb' plot he was first accused of; The U.S. citizen's detention has been a legal flashpoint." The Chicago Tribune reports that "U.S. indicts Padilla; Charges allege overseas conspiracy; No mention of a 'dirty bomb' plot." The Miami Herald contains articles headlined "Padilla to face terror charges here; Jose Padilla, whose arrest and detention more than three years ago as an 'enemy combatant' sparked a Supreme Court battle with the Bush administration, was indicted in South Florida's biggest terrorism case" and "Choice could show Bush's fear of defeat in top court; The Bush administration's decision to shift Jose Padilla from enemy combatant to criminal defendant represents the latest move to avoid a legal showdown, legal experts said." The Boston Globe reports that "Longtime US detainee indicted; Charges make no mention of 'dirty bomb' plot." In The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Michael McGough reports that "Alleged 'dirty bomber' indicted on other charges; Held since May 2002 as enemy combatant." The Washington Times reports that "Padilla to face federal charges." USA Today reports that "Padilla accused of aiding terrorists; No mention of ‘dirty bomb' or al-Qaeda in indictment" and "Padilla case brings questions about legal strategy; Suspect charged with conspiracy, not with plotting terror attacks." Newsday reports that "U.S. indicts terror suspect Jose Padilla; Feds now say man they had held as an enemy combatant should face trial on conspiracy charges." The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that "White House reverses field on 'dirty bomb' suspect." The Detroit News reports that "Feds link ex-Detroit school official to terror case; Accused is on leave from post at Wayne State; Indictment says he gave material support to suspected terrorists." And The Detroit Free Press reports that "Ex-city schools official accused of terror role; U.S. says Jayyousi has links to Muslim radicals." In commentary, The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled "Three Years Late." The Dallas Morning News contains an editorial entitled "Caught in Legal Limbo: No American should be held without charges." The San Jose Mercury News contains an editorial entitled "A trial for Jose Padilla." The Denver Post contains an editorial entitled "Padilla charge avoids legal test." And The Rocky Mountain News contains an editorial entitled "Padilla indictment was justice delayed." "White House Says Alito Was Assuring on Districting": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "Moving to defend the Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. against attacks on his stance on civil rights, the White House said Tuesday that he had assured senators last week of his commitment to the principle of one person one vote." In commentary, The Las Vegas Review-Journal today contains an editorial entitled "Judge Alito's paper trail: Democrats using the word 'filibuster.'" In The Boston Globe, columnist Derrick Z. Jackson has an op-ed entitled "The masking of a conservative." In The Naples Daily News, Dan K. Thomasson has an op-ed entitled "A warning about the issue of abortion that has become fact." In The Philadelphia Daily News, Michael Smerconish has an op-ed entitled "Planned Parenthood vs. (Bobby) Casey." And in The New York Sun, Peter Roff has an op-ed entitled "Leaving 'Las Vegas'" that begins, "The debate over Samuel Alito's nomination has focused thus far on those thoughtful and weighty issues generally thought of as constitutional matters." "U.S. Ends Prosecution Of Arthur Andersen; Former Partner Moves to Withdraw 2002 Guilty Plea": The Washington Post contains this article today. And The Houston Chronicle reports today that "Government won't retry Andersen criminal case; Court likely to dismiss charges against firm; employee who pleaded guilty could go free." Tuesday, November 22, 2005 "In Legal Shift, U.S. Charges Detainee in Terrorism Case": This article will appear Wednesday in The New York Times. Posted at 11:20 PM by Howard Bashman National Public Radio covers today's developments in the Jose Padilla case: This evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained a segment entitled "U.S. Indicts Padilla After Three Years in Custody." Today's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" contained a segment entitled "Jose Padilla Indicted." And today's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained a segment entitled "Suspected 'Dirty Bomber' Indicted for Conspiracy." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Available online from law.com: An article reports that "Padilla's Indictment Ends Years of Detention Without Charge." And Marcia Coyle reports that "Congress Moves to Limit Prisoner Habeas; AG, not appellate courts, would review states' indigent defense work." "Padilla Is Indicted on Terrorism Charges; No Mention Made Of 'Dirty Bomb' Plot": This front page article will appear Wednesday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "God Help Him: Alito gets religion." Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:08 PM by Howard Bashman What's next: Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Antonin Scalia slap-fight on the Jerry Springer show? On tomorrow night's broadcast of CNN's "Larry King Live," "What do Supreme Court justices think of their new chief and the new nominee? One-on-one with Justice Stephen G. Breyer." Posted at 08:02 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Fox News Won't Show Ad Opposing Alito" and "Survivors, Victims to View 9/11 Sentencing." Posted at 07:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Suspected Terrorist Padilla Indicted": The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. And Knight Ridder Newspapers report that "'Dirty bomb' suspect indicted for alleged overseas plot." "No jail time for Lafave; The former middle school teacher pleaded guilty to the charges in Hillsborough and Marion counties; She will serve three years of community control": The St. Petersburg Times provides a news update that begins, "Debra Lafave, the former Tampa middle school teacher accused of having sex with a 14-year-old male student, will avoid prison under a plea deal announced Tuesday." Tampa Bay Online reports that "Lafave Avoids Prison Time." And The Associated Press reports that "Fla. Teacher Pleads Guilty in Sex Case." "Prepared Remarks of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales at the Press Conference Regarding the Indictment of Jose Padilla": You can access them online here, while the indictment itself can be viewed at this link. And the memorandum from President Bush authorizing the transfer of Jose Padilla from the control of the U.S. Military to the control of the U.S. Department of Justice is here. Posted at 06:25 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: This afternoon, my day job requires my presence at the Philadelphia headquarters of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Posted at 11:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Statewide property-tax cap ruled unconstitutional; But State Supreme Court rules Texas schools are adequately funded": The Austin American-Statesman provides this news update. And The Houston Chronicle provides a news update headlined "Court rules state school finance system unconstitutional." Today's opinions (majority and dissenting) and orders of the Supreme Court of Texas can be accessed via this link. "Of Sex Tapes, Pseudonymous Litigation, and Judicial Bungling": Daniel J. Solove has this post at "Concurring Opinions." At "Crescat Sententia," Will Baude has a post titled "Insult and Injury." And the blog "No Oil for Pacifists" offers a post titled "Good News for Paris Hilton." As perhaps the first person to notice that the Brief for Appellant posted online at the Seventh Circuit's web site (at page 2 of the PDF file) contained the unredacted actual name of the plaintiff/appellant, who was litigating under a pseudonym with the permission of the federal district court in which the case was filed, let me offer these additional thoughts. The Seventh Circuit's oral argument audio (mp3 format) reveals that neither counsel for the parties to the appeal nor the appellate judges had noticed that the Brief for Appellant posted online revealed the plaintiff's true identity. In the future, you can be sure that in pseudonymous party cases, Seventh Circuit law clerks will be instructed to check the briefs posted online to make sure that none of the parties revealed any secret identities. In terms of assessing blame, however, in my view it is the attorney for the pseudonymous party who bears the responsibility to ensure that the appellate briefs posted online -- and surely the Seventh Circuit's practice of posting briefs online comes as a surprise to no one -- do not reveal the actual identity of the lawyer's pseudonymous client. Under these circumstances, I wouldn't be surprised if the Seventh Circuit panel that issued yesterday's opinion soon issues an amendment holding that the matter of plaintiff's anonymity is now moot due to the failure by plaintiff's lawyer to ensure that the Brief for Appellant as posted online by the Seventh Circuit did not reveal the plaintiff's true identity. What should have happened here was that plaintiff's counsel should have moved to file the Circuit Rule 26.1 disclosure statement under seal and should not have included that statement, in unredacted form, in the electronic copy of plaintiff's Brief for Appellant filed with the court and thereafter posted online. There is no way that an appellate court's clerk's office can review filings for the purpose of making appropriate redactions; that is the job of counsel for the parties. "Jose Padilla charged in federal indictment": The Miami Herald provides this news update. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Padilla indicted." "Limiting Raich": Randy Barnett has this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy." Posted at 10:38 AM by Howard Bashman "'Dirty Bomb' Suspect Padilla Indicted": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "'Dirty Bomb' suspect Jose Padilla, held by the U.S. as an enemy combatant for more than three years, has been indicted on federal charges in Miami, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday." Posted at 10:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Two Burlington grads worked for Supreme Court nominee": Yesterday's edition of The Burlington Free Press contained this article. Posted at 10:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Scalia raps Gore for '00": This article (registration required) appears today in The New York Post. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman Now if only the D.C. Circuit had a judge with the last name Janice: As this opinion issued today reveals, that court is merely one person away from having a semble that could be introduced at the outset of an opinion as "Before: Janice, Rogers and Brown, Circuit Judges." Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman "HLS Holds Moot Court Finals": Friday's edition of The Harvard Crimson contained an article that begins, "Harvard Law School students last night debated the constitutionality of juvenile curfews before Supreme Court Justice David Souter in the annual Ames Moot Court competition." Posted at 10:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Lefkow family's killer drafted letter to cardinal": This article appeared Sunday in The Chicago Sun-Times. Posted at 10:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Becket Fund to Defend 'Under God' Before Ninth Circuit": The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty issued this press release concerning the notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that the organization filed yesterday in Newdow v. U.S. Congress. The trial court's permanent injunction against recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public school, entered last Friday but stayed until the exhaustion of all appellate proceedings, can be accessed at this link. In related news, The Associated Press reported Sunday that "Tiny protest targets effort to remove God from money." "Seventh Circuit Adds Insult to Injury in Teen Sex Tape Case": Law Professor Lior Strahilevitz has this post today at "The Faculty Blog" of the University of Chicago Law School. My earlier coverage is here. Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito's Critics Mine His Record To Expand Attacks Vs. Nominee": Investor's Business Daily provides this report. The Washington Times today contains an editorial entitled "Alito on abortion." Today in The Boston Globe, columnist Peter S. Canellos has an op-ed entitled "An Earl Warren shadow sheds some light on Alito." In The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Don Erler has an op-ed entitled "Yea or nay on Samuel Alito?" And The Washington Post offers letters to the editor under the heading "Judge Alito's Record." The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Alito's ABA Rating Due in Coming Weeks" and "Justices Have Acted on Some Alito Choices." I'm quoted in both articles. Posted at 06:45 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Justin Scheck reports that "9th Circuit Vents at Immigration Panel." In other news, "2nd Circuit Upholds Sanction Over 'Dismal' Work." And am article reports that "Rules Secrecy Ends, but Direct Transfer of Cases Continues in Florida." Monday, November 21, 2005 A book deal for "Article III Groupie"? "Gawker" has the gossip here. Posted at 05:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito Could Swing Death Decisions to the Right": Brent Kendall had this article Friday in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Feinstein Crafts Plan to Scuttle 9th Circuit Split; Judiciary Senators Miffed by House's Legislative Tactic": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 04:05 PM by Howard Bashman Trial court correctly rejected patent infringement challenge to Amazon.com's "1-click system" for purchasing, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rules: You can access today's ruling at this link. And the blog "Patently-O: Patent Law Blog" offers a post on the ruling titled "System Claim that Includes a Method Step is Invalid as Indefinite." Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman Federal wiretapping statute may make ex-boyfriend liable in damages to his ex-girlfriend for his email distribution of a video he secretly made of them having sex: Seventh Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook issued this opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel. The appellate briefs (appellant; appellee; appellant's reply) and the appendix are also available online. And the oral argument audio can be downloaded in mp3 format via this link. Update: On this day when the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has issued a news release commemorating that "Electronic Case Filing in Federal Courts Reaches Milestone," it is worth pondering who bears responsibility when an electronically-filed document (such as the Brief for Appellant in this case) reveals the identity of the appellant proceeding under a court-approved pseudonym and the document is posted, in unredacted form, online at the federal appellate court's website. Based on the oral argument audio and today's Seventh Circuit opinion, neither the appellate court nor counsel for appellant knew of this disclosure, but all that they had to do to discover the fact was look at the Brief for Appellant as posted on the Seventh Circuit's web site. In news from Rhode Island: The Providence Journal yesterday contained articles headlined "Judge rails against drug sentencing; Federal sentencing guidelines treat 5 grams of crack as the equivalent of 500 grams of powder cocaine" and "Court upholds convicted drug dealer's life sentence; Two other men involved in the South Providence crack-house case have been granted resentencing." Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Sexual predator program under fire by lawmakers; Costly treatment is mandated despite little hope of rehabilitation": This article appears today in The Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World. In somewhat related news, The Toronto Globe and Mail reports today that "Handlers shadow pedophiles; Correctional service 'setting precedents' in trying new ways to protect B.C. public." "Electronic Case Filing in Federal Courts Reaches Milestone": The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts issued this news release today. Posted at 02:04 PM by Howard Bashman At eBay, a Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist bobblehead joins the Justice Antonin Scalia bobblehead now up for auction: Let the spending of obscene amounts of money begin. Posted at 02:00 PM by Howard Bashman Blogging and the First Amendment: David L. Hudson Jr. of the First Amendment Center provides this detailed report, which includes a discussion of "Unmasking anonymous bloggers" and "Losing jobs from blogging." Posted at 01:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Steroids Probe May Affect Privacy Rights": Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, "The government's legal stance in an ongoing investigation of steroid use by Major League Baseball players could put at risk the privacy rights of all Americans who have ever taken a drug test, federal appeals court judges warned last week." I previously linked here to the oral argument audio. Posted at 12:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Alito & the new First Amendment defenders": Ronald K.L. Collins has this essay online today at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 11:54 AM by Howard Bashman The Concord (N.H.) Monitor looks at the operation of Minnesota's parental abortion notification law: Yesterday's article begins, "When New Hampshire lawmakers wrote their parental notification law two years ago, they nearly copied Minnesota's, which requires a girl to tell her parents or a judge before she has an abortion. If Minnesota continues to be a model, New Hampshire could face significant challenges should the U.S. Supreme Court uphold its law." Posted at 11:50 AM by Howard Bashman In news from Kansas: The Lawrence Journal-World today contains an article headlined "Lawrence attorneys to fight death penalty" that begins, "Two lawyers who live in Lawrence will go before the U.S. Supreme Court next month to argue that Kansas' death-penalty law is unconstitutional." And The Associated Press on Friday reported that "Matthew Limon back in court on new charge." The article begins, "Matthew R. Limon, whose case resulted in the Kansas Supreme Court saying the state can't punish underage sex more harshly if it involves homosexuals, will be back in court next week on a new charge in the same case." "Specter on Judiciary Issues": Saturday's installment of C-SPAN's "America & the Courts" can be viewed by clicking here (RealPlayer required). Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Governor dreading decision on life or death; Without clemency, Williams' execution is just weeks away": This article appears today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition" contained a segment entitled "Facing Execution, Tookie Williams Hopes for Clemency" (RealPlayer required). "Alito And His Critics: Who Is Outside The Mainstream?" Stuart Taylor Jr. has this essay in today's edition of National Journal. Posted at 09:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Executed man's co-defendant says years of guilt have led him to try to clear his friend's name; Silence vow blamed for ultimate penalty": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "And when his superiors learned of his other existence, he was ordered to stop the blogging, for which he had not been given permission. He may even soon be jobless as well as blogless." The fate of "Article III Groupie" has begun to receive international attention (so perhaps it's now on the U.S. Supreme Court's radar screen). See Marcel Berlins' essay (second item) today in The Guardian (UK). Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Blawg Review #33": Available here, at "Overlawyered." Posted at 07:12 AM by Howard Bashman "The Senate Votes to Curb Habeas Corpus Petitions by Guantanamo Bay Detainees: How the Bill Threatens the 'Unwritten Constitution.'" FindLaw commentator Michael C. Dorf has this essay today. Posted at 07:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Student blogs spur concern over safety, privacy loss": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 07:02 AM by Howard Bashman "In fairness, let's appoint all judges": Columnist Kate Riley has this op-ed today in The Seattle Times. Posted at 07:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Wild case interrupts the party; The creator of 'Girls Gone Wild' finds himself involved in a legal drama": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito Often Ruled for Religious Expression": Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times, which also contains an article headlined "Nominee's Fans and Foes Localize the Debate." The Baltimore Sun reports today that "Moderates grow in influence; Pressure on GOP makes center crucial." The New York Daily News contains an article headlined "Pol shifts, hints Alito filibuster." And The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that "Penn, Yale profs give Alito mixed reviews; Professors, scholars call him 'able but very conservative.'" In commentary, The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled "Judge Alito on the States." And The Palm Beach Post contains an editorial entitled "Judge Alito by his 'essay.'" "After Eminent Domain Victory, Disputed Project Goes Nowhere": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "They have still not moved out. Not Susette Kelo. Not the Derys. Not Byron Athenian or Bill Von Winkle or the others. Five months after the United States Supreme Court set off a national debate by ruling that the City of New London could seize their property through eminent domain to make way for new private development, no one has been forced to leave." Posted at 06:44 AM by Howard Bashman "The journey of Judge Joan Lefkow -- Nine months ago, Judge Joan Lefkow discovered her husband and mother murdered in her home: Grief; Guilt; A devastated life; How would she go on?" Mary Schmich had this lengthy special report (single-page version here) yesterday in The Chicago Tribune. And on Friday, that newspaper issued a press release entitled "Judge Joan Lefkow Breaks Her Silence with Chicago Tribune's Mary Schmich; Story to Appear Sunday, November 20." Posted at 06:40 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, November 20, 2005 "2,500 Arrested Before Katrina Are Still in Limbo; At the heart of the problem is a public defender system almost too broke to function": Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Voting Cases Could Shape Debate Over Alito; Court Nominee's Views on Reapportionment Decisions Puzzle Scholars, Anger His Critics": Jess Bravin will have this article (free access) Monday in The Wall Street Journal. And in Monday's edition of Financial Times, Patti Waldmeir reports that "Television advertising wars break out over Supreme Court nomination." "A Fight with a Twist: Democrats have a crafty new weapon against Samuel Alito's abortion stance; But will it backfire?" This article will appear in the November 28, 2005 issue of Time magazine. Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Lincoln's words, our pledge": Friday in The Los Angeles Times, columnist David Gelernter had an op-ed that begins, "The Pledge of Allegiance has been in legal jeopardy for years, all because it contains the words 'under God' -- a phrase Abraham Lincoln stamped on the American consciousness when he used it on Nov. 19, 1863, 142 years ago, in the Gettysburg Address." Posted at 10:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Detroit 'Sleeper Cell' Prosecutor Faces Probe; Grand Jury Considering Indictment for Misconduct": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 09:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Transcript: Sen. Joe Biden on 'FOX News Sunday.'" The context of today's filibuster reference can be ascertained here. Posted at 08:54 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Biden: Alito's Views May Bring Filibuster"; "Jewish Group Votes to Oppose Alito"; "How Patent Suit Became Judge's Nightmare"; and "Commandments Draw 300 to Okla. Courthouse." Posted at 08:40 PM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The New York Times: In news from California, "University Is Accused of Bias Against Christian Schools." An article headlined "Deals and Consequences" reports on the former head of investment banking at Merrill Lynch who is now serving a 30-month jail sentence for his role in Merrill Lynch's purchase of three Nigerian barges from Enron in 1999. And sports columnist Selena Roberts has an essay entitled "Nothing Sacred, or Secret, on the Web" (TimesSelect subscription required). "A Wolf in Burberry Clothing or, The Dirty Underbelly of A3G's Outing": You can access this post at Chris Geidner's "Law Dork" blog. Posted at 07:50 PM by Howard Bashman "5th Circuit headed back to New Orleans; Katrina forced appeals court to temporarily set up shop in Houston": Harvey Rice had this article yesterday in The Houston Chronicle. Posted at 05:54 PM by Howard Bashman "The forces that molded Judge Alito: Family and the law figure prominently in shaping the character of court nominee." Warren Richey will have this article Monday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 05:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Did Texas execute an innocent man? Eyewitness says he felt influenced by police to ID the teen as the killer." This front page article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. Posted at 05:05 PM by Howard Bashman "17 Chief Justices to speak at int'l judicial conference": The Manila Bulletin contains this article today. Posted at 05:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito: New (Old) Attack Plan." This Periscope item will appear in the November 28, 2005 issue of Newsweek. And late Friday, Newsweek posted online an essay by Howard Fineman entitled "The Alito Schism: How a 20-year-old job application may push the Senate to the 'nuclear' brink." "9th Circuit split: House's abusive bypass." Law Professor Carl W. Tobias will have this op-ed in the November 21, 2005 issue of The National Law Journal. Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Still standing: The resilience of Roe v. Wade." Jeffrey Toobin will have this "Annals of Law" essay in the November 28, 2005 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Weblogs are so Hebrew Year 5765 it's not funny": Jeremy Blachman, who knows a thing or two about writing a blog using a fictional persona, has this to say about the unmasking of "Article III Groupie" of "Underneath Their Robes." Posted at 10:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Lafave judge silences attorneys; His gag order applies to both prosecutor and defense attorney, who was dealt several blows from rulings Friday": Yesterday's edition of The St. Petersburg Times contained this article. Earlier, Friday's newspaper reported that "Prosecutor wants Lafave attorney silenced; The State Attorney's Office seeks a gag order against the defender of the teacher accused of a sex crime, calling his remarks inaccurate." And The Tampa Tribune reported yesterday that "State Riles Lafave Defense." Meanwhile, in commentary, The SPTimes today contains an editorial entitled "Gag is out of order." "After the Storm, Chertoff Vows to Reshape DHS; Secretary Pledges to Learn From Mistakes of Katrina": This article appeared last Monday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito and the Death Penalty: The Supreme Court nominee was overruled on capital punishment in an appeal that some say tipped his hand on the subject." Richard A. Serrano has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has articles headlined "Alito's record has feminists ready for battle" and "Alito ruling gave women grounds for asylum; Key decision cited by number of courts, although he also set high burden of proof." The Newark Star-Ledger contains an article headlined "Judging Alito: 7 weeks to go; Nominee encounters criticism but reserves testimony for hearings." The Hartford Courant's NE Magazine contains a lengthy article headlined "Alito's Yale Years; Early Signs Of Brilliance In A Shy, Religious Scholar." The Austin American-Statesman reports that "Alito document spurs clash over future of women's rights." And The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana reports that "La.'s Vitter backing Alito." "The Alito Memo": The Washington Post contains this editorial today. The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina today contains an editorial entitled "Alito's tilt: Having once trumpeted strong conservative views, Samuel Alito Jr. should face tough questions in his Supreme Court bid." In The Los Angeles Times, Law Professor Vikram Amar has an op-ed entitled "Who's the real Alito?" In The San Francisco Chronicle, columnist Vicki Haddock has an op-ed entitled "The Bush dynasty and Roe vs. Wade; Rubbery politics runs in the family." In The Oregonian, Garrett Epps has an op-ed entitled "Refereeing from the bench: A football ref doesn't ask for a show of hands on making decisions; neither do judges, and that's not 'judicial activism.'" And in The News & Record of Greensboro, North Carolina, Edward Cone has an op-ed entitled "We need thoughtful middle ground on abortion." "Don't split the Ninth Circuit": This editorial appears today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And on Thursday, The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, California published an editorial entitled "Downsize the 9th." Saturday, November 19, 2005 "Snoop Dogg Rallies for Crips Co-Founder": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Rapper Snoop Dogg urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday to grant clemency to convicted murderer and Crips co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams so he can continue his work with young people." And in related coverage, The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined "State Seeks to Block Killer's Defense Tactic; Attorney general's office says motion by a lawyer for Stanley Tookie Williams is too late" and "Has Founder of Crips Earned Right to Live? As execution date nears, religious leaders debate the issues of redemption and retribution." "The Nominations of Brett Kavanaugh and Terrence Boyle": Hugh Hewitt has this blog post today. Hugh's post contains no mention of Henry W. Saad, William Gerry Myers III, and William James Haynes II. Posted at 11:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Bogus ethics charge against Judge Alito": This editorial appears today in The Mobile Register. Posted at 11:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Authentically Unhip: Samuel Alito was never a rebel, or a romantic, or cool; That's what makes him real -- and oddly appealing." Daphne Merkin's essay from tomorrow's issue of The New York Times Magazine, which I earlier previewed here, is now freely available at this link. Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Changing Room: The Court's Dynamics Have a Way of Altering a Justice's Approach to the Law." Lee Epstein and Jeffrey A. Segal will have this op-ed Sunday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "In 12 Oral Arguments Before the Supreme Court, Alito Scored 10 Victories": Adam Liptak will have this article in Sunday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman "A Bench Mark: The chief justice of the Supreme Court keeps his promise to judge a competition at WFU." This article appears today in The Winston-Salem Journal. And the Wake Forest University School of Law's web site reports that "Law School's Moot Court Competition Judged By 'Supreme' Panel." "Newdow files slogan suit; pledge case heads to appeal": The Sacramento Bee today contains an article that begins, "Michael Newdow, whose legal challenge to the phrase 'Under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance was heading to an appellate court Friday, has now sued the United States government over the slogan 'In God We Trust' on American money." Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Author recalls judge; Panel discusses retiring O'Connor": The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Virginia contains this article today. Posted at 10:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Senate, House Differences Complicate Spending Bill; In seeking compromise, the GOP could find itself caught between conservative and moderate factions within its own party": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. According to the article, "The House bill, meanwhile, contains two items not in the Senate version: splitting the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals into two benches and changing mining laws to permit the sale of public lands in the West for private development. Both provisions face opposition in the Senate." Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, November 18, 2005 "U.S. Seeks Athletes' Urine, Blood in Steroid Probe": Bloomberg News provides this report based on listening to a Ninth Circuit oral argument audiotape. According to the report, "U.S. attorneys asked a federal appeals court in San Francisco for access to players' 2003 samples and other records seized last year at labs in California and Nevada, according to a recording of a Nov. 15 hearing." The oral argument audiotape in Seal 1 v. Seal 2 -- a case in which the parties' true identities are confidential -- can be downloaded via this link. Posted at 11:10 PM by Howard Bashman "PFAW Seeking Access to Records of 'Concerned Alumni of Princeton'; Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito touted membership in reactionary organization": People For the American Way issued this press release today. Posted at 11:02 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: An article headlined "Blog's Demise May Chill Other Federal Lawyers' Online Comments" begins, "Whether or not David Lat loses his job for dishing dirt about federal judges, the abrupt end to his Web log may pour cold water on other U.S. Justice Department lawyers eyeing online outlets for their creativity." Tony Mauro has an article headlined "High Court Recusals: No Rules, but Plenty of Controversy." And in other news, "Wiccan Lawsuit May Spell Toil, Taxes and Trouble for Fla. Justices." "Repeal challenge likely": The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today contains an article that begins, "Law offices and judicial chambers across Pennsylvania are buzzing with strategy sessions about a legal challenge to restore the judicial pay raise that lawmakers repealed this week along with their own controversial salary hike." My earlier coverage is here. Posted at 08:55 PM by Howard Bashman "The Fifth Circuit Announces Return to New Orleans": The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts issued this news release today. Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Arguments Available to Media": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The Supreme Court will release audio tapes immediately after argument sessions in upcoming cases involving abortion rights and a protest of the Pentagon's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy for gays." Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Upstate in crosshairs of prayer battle; Residents rally for elected officials' freedom of speech": The Greenville (S.C.) News today contains an article that begins, "The Upstate is in the crosshairs of a Constitutional controversy over prayer at government meetings, with battle lines being drawn by elected officials on one side and the American Civil Liberties Union on the other." Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Had The Skinny on A3G": Nearly all of Justin Scheck's newsbrief (subscription required) from today's issue of The Recorder of San Francisco can be freely accessed here at "Legal Pad," the blog of CalLaw.com. In other related posts of interest, "Chateau d'If" has a post titled "The Robe Is Off." And the blog "Previously Unpublished" offers these thoughts. "In Delta Bankruptcy, Judge's Ruminations Are Legal Sideshow": This very interesting article (pass-through link) appears today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman "The court concludes that using a username/password combination as intended--by entering a valid username and password, albeit without authorization--does not constitute circumvention under the DMCA." The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia last week issued this opinion in a case involving an unusually interesting set of facts. Posted at 03:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Questioning Samuel Alito": This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Law Professor Jonathan Turley appeared on yesterday's broadcast of the public radio program "Here & Now." Posted at 03:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Releases Contents on Mayor's Laptop": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A judge on Thursday granted a newspaper's request to make public gay-themed material from Spokane Mayor James E. West's City Hall laptop computer, but placed restrictions on the release of images from a gay-oriented Web site." And in local coverage, The Spokesman-Review today contains an article headlined "Photos public, yet private; 'Adult' pictures on West's computer kept secret for fear of 'outing' subjects." "Prosecutors say Death Row inmate deserves execution; Williams' supporters hope governor will commute sentence": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And in The Los Angeles Times, Henry Weinstein reports that "Killer's Fate Rests With Governor; D.A., other officials press Schwarzenegger not to grant Stanley Williams clemency; He says he is facing the decision with dread." "I have repeatedly said that while I currently feel that my externship at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has been an utter and complete waste of my time, I believe that it will prove to be valuable in ways I currently do not understand." The blog "Psycho Lawyer: A crazy man's journey into the practice of Law" links to me, causing me to find this interesting post bearing yesterday's date. Posted at 02:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Bring It On: Why are conservatives chickening out of their big national conversation on judges?" Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Meanwhile, for those who'd rather read Slate's review of the newest Beavis & Butt-Head DVD collection, there's hope. "Court: Lesson on Muslims OK; Christian students, parents challenged role-playing exercise." Claire Cooper, legal affairs writer for The Sacramento Bee, has this article today in that newspaper. And today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "Court clears school of pushing religion with lesson on Islam." You can access yesterday's non-precedential ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. U.S. House of Representatives passes legislation that mandates split of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: According to this press release from Earthjustice, the provision was a part of the budget reconciliation bill that passed the House by a vote of 217-215 early this morning. See page 519 of this PDF file for the text of the provision. The Los Angeles Times reports today, in an article headlined "House GOP Passes Cuts, Barely; The late-night victory helps Republicans save face after the chamber's rejection of a compromise spending bill earlier in the day," that "One provision of the House bill would split the nine-state 9th Circuit Court of Appeals into two, long a goal of conservatives who have regarded the San Francisco-based bench as too liberal." "Lights, camera, arguments?" Yesterday in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, columnist Linda P. Campbell had this op-ed about televising federal court proceedings. Posted at 11:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Overloaded circuit: The 9th has too many cases, too much jurisdiction, too little justice." Monday's edition of The Arizona Republic contained an editorial that begins, "Momentarily, we will start toting up a list of reasons the San Francisco-based U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals desperately needs to be split, and why a 12th Circuit, likely based in Phoenix, should be created from that split. They are compelling reasons. Indeed, they are profoundly obvious reasons. On the basis of rational judgment alone, to say nothing of fealty to the American principle of swiftly rendered justice, it must be split." Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from The American Prospect: Harold Meyerson has an essay entitled "Alito's Smoking Gun: His personal -- and constitutional -- beliefs are now out in the open; He'll have a lot to answer for at his confirmation hearing." And Simon Lazarus and Lauren Saunders have an essay entitled "Gunning For Congress: Samuel Alito's federalist bent makes John Roberts look like a moderate." "Ruminations on Status Anxiety": The blog "Grayhame: Law and Law School" contains a post that begins, "The more I read about the outing and true identity of 'Article III Groupie,' the more sad I get." Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Profs Debate Foreign Law": The Harvard Crimson today contains an article that begins, "Judge Richard A. Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals criticized the use of foreign precedents in American jurisprudence--an issue that has been thrust into the spotlight by a recent court decision on juvenile execution--at the Harvard Law Review's (HLR) annual Supreme Court Forum yesterday evening." Posted at 11:14 AM by Howard Bashman "New Sixth Circuit Judge: Judge Susan Bieke Neilson was sworn in as a circuit judge on November 16, 2005." So reports the home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Prosecutor of drug case found killed; Assistant U.S. attorney for Md. discovered shot, beaten and stabbed in Pa.; 'We will find out who did this'; Authorities retrace Luna's steps, ask for public's help": This article appeared in The Baltimore Sun on December 5, 2003. The two-year anniversary of this unsolved event will occur in about two weeks from now. My earliest coverage of this matter can be found at this link, and much additional coverage can be viewed by scrolling up the page from there. Posted at 09:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Disability Law, Moving Backward": This editorial appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Kozinski had name of blogger all along": Today in The Recorder of San Francisco, California, Justin Scheck has a newsbrief (paid subscription required) that reports, "But for one Ninth Circuit judge, there was no mystery. 'I knew about a year ago,' said Judge Alex Kozinski, who bestowed the nickname 'A3G' on Lat's online persona. It turns out that during Kozinski's attempt to get nominated to the list of federal judiciary 'superhotties' (he eventually won), one of the judge's clerks -- a Lat law school classmate -- had a hunch. And an e-mail trace proved him right. But Kozinski kept quiet, he said, out of fear that outing the blogger would bring her -- um, him -- professional repercussions." Update: I'll leave it to others to speculate whether this information calls into question the results of A3G's "male superhotties of the judiciary" contest. "One Nominee, Two Very Different Portraits in a New Round of Ads": The New York Times contains this article today. The Washington Post today reports that "Television Ad War On Alito Begins; Liberals Try to Paint Court Pick as Tool Of the Right Wing." And Michael Kinsley has an op-ed entitled "What Abortion Debate? Talking About Alito's Respect for Precedent Avoids the Real Questions." The Boston Globe reports that "Ad war targets N.E. senators on Alito nomination; Groups try to sway GOP moderates from Maine, R.I." The Houston Chronicle reports that "Alito's backers, opponents start airing attack ads; The debate over the Supreme Court nominee intensifies with news of 1985 abortion remarks." The Washington Times reports that "Democrat in 'Gang of 14' raises doubts about Alito." The Rocky Mountain News reports that "Salazar has 'strong concerns' about Alito." The Denver Post reports that "Alito visit leaves Salazar with 'grave concern.'" The New York Sun reports that "S.D. Senator Warns Democrats Against Obstruction Tactics." And The Daily Princetonian reports that "Alito '72 joined conservative alumni group; Concerned Alumni of Princeton known to be anti-coeducation." In commentary, The St. Petersburg Times contains an editorial entitled "Alito's way: Documents released this week reveal much more at stake in the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court than just Roe vs. Wade." And in The Wilmington News Journal, Law Professor Alan E. Garfield has an op-ed entitled "Judge judges on how they use their power." "Supreme Court puts the bite on pit bull ads by Fort Lauderdale lawyers": This article appears today in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The St. Petersburg Times today contains an article headlined "Court: Lawyers can't be 'pit bulls'; Ads by a firm comparing itself to the tenacious canine demean all lawyers, the state's high court rules." And The Miami Herald contains an article headlined "Bull-dogged: Two Broward lawyers advertising themselves as legal 'pit bulls' got a sharp rebuke and penalty from Florida's highest court." Available online from law.com: Marcia Coyle reports that "Justices Debate a Key Issue of Attorney Fees; Whether to award fees when a removed case is sent back to state courts." And in news from California, "Adjudication in Strip Club Gets Judge Stripped of Position." My earlier coverage appears in a post titled "Life somewhat imitates The Onion." Thursday, November 17, 2005 "Extension of Patriot Act Faces Threat of Filibuster": This article will appear Friday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman Pennsylvania's judicial pay raise repeal, and the Pennsylvania Constitution: Section 16(a) of Article V of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides: Justices, judges and justices of the peace shall be compensated by the Commonwealth as provided by law. Their compensation shall not be diminished during their terms of office, unless by law applying generally to all salaried officers of the Commonwealth.The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that "Repeal of pay raises passes quickly, 50-0, as leaders ask for forgiveness." According to the article, "There has been some concern that a judge might sue to overturn the repeal, based on a constitutional provision saying judges' salaries can't be reduced once they've been set. But Mr. Brightbill said judges' salaries alone cannot be cut, but when they are reduced as part of an overall package that reduces the salaries of all salaried state officials they can be, and that is what the repeal bill did." The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports today that "Finally, lawmakers kill their unpopular pay raise." The article states, "Authors of the repeal said they have designed it to avoid violating a clause in the state constitution designed to protect judges' salaries. The constitution states that judicial salaries cannot be cut without reducing the pay of the state's other salaried officers, a provision to ensure judges are not punished for unpopular rulings. Earlier this month, the House and Senate clashed over language to ensure the judges' pay would be cut. Some said they are worried that the repeal might be challenged by one of the state's 1,000 jurists. House and Senate leaders agreed to add language to the repeal stating that those who received the raises 'constitute the salaried officers of the commonwealth.' Brightbill said the repeal is not intended to single out the judiciary or 'be punitive.'" The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that "Pay raise ends with apologies." According to the article, "All that threatens the repeal now would be a lawsuit seeking to overturn the repeal of judges' pay. Under the Pennsylvania Constitution, lawmakers can't lower judicial salaries except as part of a general government-wide salary cut. The provision is meant to keep the judiciary independent, so that lawmakers can't cut the pay of judges who hand down decisions they don't like. Anti-pay raise activist Gene Stilp said it is a 'high probability' that someone will sue. 'What lawyer wouldn't want to be on the good side of judges by challenging this?' Stilp said. Senators said yesterday that the repeal bill, which states the Legislature isn't trying to intimidate judges, will withstand a challenge." In other coverage, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that "Pay-hike death warrant signed." And The York Daily Record reports that "Pay raise repeal final; Senators passed the latest bill, and Rendell signed it Wednesday." "Dueling ads paint far different portraits of Alito; Liberal, conservative groups wage advertising war over high court nominee": Pete Williams, justice correspondent for NBC News, provides this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Kerry cautious on Alito" and "Talent praises Alito after meeting, leans toward confirmation." "For Alito: The More Religion, The Better." This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 07:00 PM by Howard Bashman "It's no wonder that more than 75 percent of Ninth Circuit decisions are overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court." So reported CNN correspondent Casey Wian, in covering legislation to split the Ninth Circuit, on yesterday's broadcast of "Lou Dobbs Tonight." The transcript is here (segment appears approximately three-quarters of the way down the page). Thanks to reader Josh Gerstein for having drawn this to my attention. Posted at 06:55 PM by Howard Bashman In other news from the Supreme Court of Canada: The Toronto Globe and Mail provides a news update headlined "Court to hear bookstore's fight for legal fees" that begins, "A Vancouver gay bookstore has been given the go-ahead to argue in front of the Supreme Court of Canada that the government should fund its legal dispute with Canada Customs." The article later explains that "The bookstore has been fighting Canada Customs because the federal agency blocked the importation of several books and magazines at the U.S. border, claiming they were obscene." Posted at 05:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito Supporters, Foes Start Ad Campaigns": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 05:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Anonymous blogging": The blog "Half Sigma" offers these thoughts. And Daniel J. Solove offers his thoughts on the subject at "Concurring Opinions." "Alito vs. Ginsburg: Take a look; You decide." Edward Whelan has this essay today at National Review Online. And at NRO's "Bench Memos" blog, Matthew Franck has a very interesting post titled "Views, Personal and Constitutional" in which he writes, "Ever since Sammon of the Washington Times broke the story of Alito's statement in his job application to work for Attorney General Ed Meese in 1985, this has been a very strange week." "Salazar expresses 'strong concerns' about Alito": The Rocky Mountain News provides this update. And The Denver Post has a news update headlined "Salazar concerned about Alito." "Privacy right would not enable abortion": Tom Lehman has this op-ed today in The Yale Daily News. Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Fla. Supreme Court Muzzles 'Pit Bull' Ad": The Associated Press provides this report. And Reuters provides a report headlined "Pit bull ad insults lawyers: court." The ruling is available here. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman A blockheaded ruling? The Toronto Globe and Mail provides a news update headlined "Court sides with Mega Bloks" that begins, "Mega Bloks Inc. was the one left standing in the epic battle of the blocks Thursday after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that its interlocking toy bricks are not an infringement of Danish toy giant Lego System AS's distinctive product. In a landmark decision that is believed to have wide-ranging implications for trademark law, the Supreme Court dismissed Lego's claim, which sought to force Mega Bloks to market its product with a disclaimer that its bricks are not Lego blocks." And Reuters reports that "Top Canada court backs Mega Bloks in Lego tussle." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada at this link. "Suck-up ipsa loquitur!" Lily at "The Kitchen Cabinet" offers these thoughts on what she calls an "[u]nder-commented-on aspect of the A3G unveiling controversy." Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal Courts Seek Congressional Action on 68 New Judgeships": The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts today issued a press release that begins, "The federal courts, coping with caseloads that 'increased fairly relentlessly' over the last 15 years, need 68 new judgeships so they can continue serving justice properly, a federal judge has told Congress." A list of the proposed new judgeships is here, while the text of the testimony presented to Congress yesterday can be accessed here. More information about yesterday's hearing can be accessed at this link. "Bid to punish judges has eye on state; Proponents of the South Dakota measure hope California's next": Claire Cooper, legal affairs writer for The Sacramento Bee, today has an article that begins, "An initiative providing for the ouster and criminal indictment of judges who make bad decisions appears headed for a test vote in South Dakota next year and, if it succeeds there, will be attempted in other states, sponsors of the measure said this week." Posted at 02:05 PM by Howard Bashman The sexual hostility was inhuman: In discussing (and ultimately reversing) a federal district court's ruling which held that a hospital could not be found liable for a sexually hostile work environment where the alleged purveyor of the hostility was an independent contractor physician, Seventh Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook observes in an opinion issued today: Because liability is direct rather than derivative, it makes no difference whether the person whose acts are complained of is an employee, an independent contractor, or for that matter a customer. Ability to "control" the actor plays no role. Employees are not puppets on strings; employers have an arsenal of incentives and sanctions (including discharge) that can be applied to affect conduct. It is the use (or failure to use) these options that makes an employer responsible--and in this respect independent contractors are no different from employees. Indeed, it makes no difference whether the actor is human. Suppose a patient kept a macaw in his room, that the bird bit and scratched women but not men, and that the Hospital did nothing. The Hospital would be responsible for the decision to expose women to the working conditions affected by the macaw, even though the bird (a) was not an employee, and (b) could not be controlled by reasoning or sanctions. It would be the Hospital's responsibility to protect its female employees by excluding the offending bird from its premises.You can access the complete ruling at this link. Posted at 01:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Abortion ruling causes confusion": The St. Louis Post-Dispatch today contains an article that begins, "Is the 24-hour waiting period for abortions in Missouri now in effect? Attorney General Jay Nixon's office says it is. Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region says it is not. The two sides disagree on the effect of Wednesday's ruling by the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which either lifted or altered District Judge Scott O. Wright's order that has prevented enforcement of the waiting period for more than a year." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Eighth Circuit ruling can be accessed here. "How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else)": The Electronic Frontier Foundation provides this guide to the subject of anonymous blogging, a topic that I discussed here earlier today. Posted at 01:10 PM by Howard Bashman "fla. high court puts down Pape & Chandler's Pit Bull": The blog "f/k/a...." provides this post on an interesting attorney advertising-legal ethics decision that the Supreme Court of Florida issued today. Posted at 01:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito tells Snowe he erred on 1991 abortion decision": The Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine today contains an article (registration required) that begins, "U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito Jr. admitted he made a mistake in a 1991 opinion when he backed a Pennsylvania law that women needed permission from their husbands to get an abortion, he told U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe." The article proceeds to explain, "Alito told Snowe that his lone dissent on a 1991 abortion case mistakenly interpreted Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's opinion on what constitutes an undue burden. He believed her support of parental notification could be extended to include spousal notification, Snowe said. 'He was trying to anticipate what she (O'Connor) would uphold and he said obviously he got it wrong,' Snowe said. He would not answer whether he would vote to uphold Roe v. Wade, if confirmed, she said." "Stealth attack on court: Budget bill is sneaky venue for partisan goal of breaking up 9th Circuit." The San Jose Mercury News contains this editorial today. Posted at 11:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Scandal tapes reveal sordid details of battle with Fieger; Cox denies allegation of a second affair": The Detroit Free Press today contains an article that begins, "Sex in a courthouse stairwell, threesomes, adultery, political espionage and spies -- that was the stuff of secretly taped conversations at the heart of the investigation into allegations that Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger attempted to blackmail state Attorney General Mike Cox, according to transcripts released to the Free Press on Wednesday." The newspaper also offers transcript excerpts and the complete transcripts. And in related coverage, The Freep reports that "Cox wins skirmish in court: Judge says Fieger must cede records in ad campaign; State says it suspects series of felonies" and "Fieger donated $1,000 to Cox political group." The Detroit News, meanwhile, reports today that "Tapes weave sleazy tale; Fieger and Cox are compared to 'two dope dealers' trying to ruin each other with stories of illicit sex." And in related news, "Judge limits Cox's role; The Attorney General's Office may look at Fieger records, but the scope of warrants is narrowed." The DetNews has also posted "Key excerpts from the police probe," along with audio clips (here and here; Windows Media Player required). And in earlier coverage, The Detroit News yesterday published an article headlined "Sex, lies & lawyers: Gorcyca won't charge Fieger, but believes Cox about blackmail threat." And on Tuesday, The DetNews contained an article headlined "Cox hires justices' wives for staff; Conflict-of-interest questions surface as Gorcyca decides on alleged Fieger extortion." "The R.H.S.A.A. and the Goblet of Fire": This post appears today at the blog titled "The Right Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr." Posted at 11:05 AM by Howard Bashman I spy with my little eye: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an interesting opinion today that begins, "This case presents the question whether certain housing code and property tax inspections of the exterior of a house within the 'curtilage' in a remote rural setting constitute a 'search' within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment." Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "As qualified nominee for court, Alito deserves up-or-down vote": U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) had this op-ed (registration required) Sunday in The Omaha World-Herald. Posted at 10:48 AM by Howard Bashman Anonymous blogging -- Is it even possible? In the famous New Yorker cartoon (which can be viewed here and here), a dog sitting at a computer terminal says to another dog, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." Perhaps in 1993, when the cartoon first appeared, that level of ignorance about how the internet works could be excused, especially among canines. These days, however, most users of the internet understand that every bit of information communicated electronically leaves electronic fingerprints that can be used to trace the source of the information, even if the source hoped to remain anonymous. To be sure, there are ways to anonymize emails and other forms of communication, but they tend to be complicated to use and difficult to figure out. This background is useful to keep in mind in contemplating Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Lat's decision to reveal that he was the author of the "Underneath Their Robes" blog. As I have earlier hinted, in 2004 I discovered that "Article III Groupie" had sent me an email from a U.S. Department of Justice web server, using an otherwise anonymous Yahoo email account, promoting that new blog. At the time, I was amazed to contemplate that the author of "UTR" might be a USDOJ employee. Indeed, in my opinion, USDOJ employees ranked near the top of my list of unlikely "UTR" authors: 1. Death row inmates.Nevertheless, I was not alone in the discovery that the author of "UTR" was a USDOJ employee. And after Monday's revelation in The New Yorker of the identity of the author of "UTR," I emailed a former Ninth Circuit law clerk who had (incorrectly) been my number one suspect. The former clerk replied: I'm flattered that your money was on me. Nice that someone would think I was that funny, but I don't actually have to suffer the consequences of being A3G, which I would imagine are going to be pretty grave.And I am hearing from others that they, too, had more-or-less figured out who the author of "UTR" was before Monday. This is not to say, of course, that anyone would have unmasked David Lat as the author of "UTR" had he not chosen to do so himself. I, for one, had kept silent about my strong suspicion that the author of "UTR" worked for the USDOJ, just like I haven't gone public with my strong suspicion (backed-up by similarly strong evidence) concerning the identity of "Juan Non-Volokh." Nevertheless, I'm sure that the author of "UTR" was well-aware that others knew who he was, and that may have made his voluntary unmasking somewhat less than "voluntary" in fact. In conclusion, to return to the question presented in the title of this post, I doubt whether anonymous blogging is possible. It surely isn't possible if the blogger conducts email correspondence with others and fails to mask his or her internet protocol address. Plus, even the act of logging on to a blogging service provider, such as TypePad or blogger, leaves electronic fingerprints, and I'd have to assume that "UTR" had a TypePad subscription, enabling someone to subpoena the blog owner's identity and/or payment information. So, to you anonymous bloggers out there, have fun, but don't fool yourselves into thinking that simply by not providing your identity you are doing an effective job of remaining hidden. "Benched": Al Kamen's "In the Loop" column published yesterday in The Washington Post began, "Underneath Their Robes was the hottest, most irreverent blog about the federal judiciary." According to Kamen's column, "Monday morning, A3G issued a critique of the New Yorker article, with 'final comments' noting that 'the views expressed in this blog are exclusively those of A3G, and no one else; and (2) Dave Lat is a very interesting individual, and he has asked A3G to mention that he would be happy to entertain further media inquiries.' Maybe not all that happy. We're still awaiting a return call." Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "1995 Suit May Be Focus in Milberg Weiss Probe; Prosecutors have granted immunity to several participants in the case brought by the law firm, sources say": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito disagreed with court decisions on reapportionment; Written statement in '85 challenged Warren era rulings": The Boston Globe today contains this article, along with an article headlined "GOP leader fears backlash if Roe v. Wade is overturned." The New York Times reports today that "Some Judges Criticize Court Nominee on Civil Rights." The Washington Post contains articles headlined "1985 Memo by Alito Has Legal Weight, Senators Say" and "Rep. Davis Warns of Backlash if Roe v. Wade Is Overturned." The Washington Times contains articles headlined "Democrats say Alito not a sure thing" and "Alito backed search of minor." The Chicago Tribune reports that "Democrats kick up criticism of Alito; Leading senators express reservations and concerns about high court nominee." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "Dems intensify criticism of Alito; Judiciary members cite reservations on court nominee." And Michael McGough has a news analysis headlined "Alito's '85 thoughts a hot potato." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Dems' leader tells of 'concerns' on Alito; Reid won't rule out filibuster option over abortion rights." The Newark Star-Ledger reports that "Democrats sound alarm over Alito." The New York Sun reports that "Schumer Assails Alito On 'Pattern.'" In addition, R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. has an op-ed entitled "Judge Alito's 'Smoking Gun.'" The Wilmington News Journal reports that "Alito's views still a worry to Biden; Confirmation isn't a certainty, Democrats say." The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Allen meets with Alito, signals support." The Helena Independent Record reports that "Burns likes high court nominee." The Naples Daily News reports that "Pro-choice group protests Supreme Court nominee." The San Antonio Express-News reports that "Planned Parenthood of S.A. demonstrates against Alito." And The Allentown Morning Call reports that "Bucks rally protests U.S. Supreme Court nomination; Abortion rights group wants committee to be tough on Alito." "Federal prosecutor's superheated blog is put on ice": This article appears today in The Newark Star-Ledger. According to the article, "U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie yesterday declined to say if Lat faced disciplinary action. Christie said he only learned of Lat's role in the blog on Monday night, as he was leaving on a business trip. Christie said he has since read about 150 pages of the blog but had not yet spoken with Lat. Christie said prosecutors aren't prohibited from such extracurricular activity as blog writing, but said assistants are required to get a superior's approval before talking to the media, which Lat apparently did not do." Wednesday, November 16, 2005 "Post Reporter Is Held in Contempt in Civil Suit": The Washington Post on Thursday will contain an article that begins, "A federal judge found a Washington Post reporter in contempt of court yesterday for refusing to reveal who gave him information about an investigation of nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee." You can access online both today's opinion and order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Posted at 11:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Criticism of Voting Law Was Overruled; Justice Dept. Backed Georgia Measure Despite Fears of Discrimination": Thursday's edition of The Washington Post will contain a front page article that begins, "A team of Justice Department lawyers and analysts who reviewed a Georgia voter-identification law recommended rejecting it because it was likely to discriminate against black voters, but they were overruled the next day by higher-ranking officials at Justice, according to department documents." Posted at 11:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate Debate Over Alito Escalates in Wake of '85 Memo": This article will appear Thursday in The New York Times. The Chicago Tribune on Thursday will report that "Democrats signal Alito faces rockier confirmation process." Thursday's edition of The Hill will report that "Dems resume Alito battle." And The Billings Gazette provides a news update headlined "Burns meets, supports court nominee." Available online from law.com: Marcia Coyle reports that "High Court May Review Judicial Elections; Candidates' rights an unsettled issue." And Justin Scheck reports that "With DOJ Shift, the Fight Over Splitting the 9th Circuit Heats Up." Life somewhat imitates The Onion: Last night, I linked here to a newsbrief published in The Onion headlined "Activist Wet-T-Shirt Judge Votes For Girlfriend." Today, The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "L.A. Judge Ousted for Ethical Violations" that begins, "A Los Angeles judge who tried out for a reality television show by arbitrating a dispute between an erotic dancer and a strip club was removed from the bench today for ethical violations and lying to the state commission that reviews complaints against judges." According to the article, "Ross arbitrated the dispute for television inside a Los Angeles strip club with 'zebra carpet, neon, mirrors, pole' and asked the plaintiff for details of the wet T-shirt contest she lost." "The End of News?" Michael Massing will have this essay in the December 1, 2005 issue of The New York Review of Books. Posted at 08:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Can I Get a Little Privacy?" Dan Savage has this op-ed today in The New York Times asking the question, "If the Republicans can propose a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, why can't the Democrats propose a right to privacy amendment?" Posted at 08:15 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Jesse J. Holland reports that "Democrats Focus on 1985 Alito Document." And in other news, "House Scolds Court on Sex Survey Suit Toss." More details are available in this earlier post. "Court backs release of items seized in Columbine case; It's up to the Jeffco sheriff to decide whether to release material taken from Eric Harris' and Dylan Klebold's homes": This article appears today in The Denver Post. And The Rocky Mountain News reports today that "Columbine records not private, court says; Release of tapes, writings depends on Jeffco sheriff." My earlier coverage is here. "Counting on other people to have a sense of humor is a very dangerous business": Law Professor Ann Althouse comments on Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner's quote at the conclusion of today's article headlined "Mystery of Gossipy Blog on the Judiciary Is Solved" published in The New York Times. Posted at 06:00 PM by Howard Bashman "The Alito Precedent: Nominations and Roe." Ramesh Ponnuru has this essay today at National Review Online. Posted at 05:55 PM by Howard Bashman "House Urges Ninth Circuit to Rehear Sex Survey Case": CNSNews.com provides this report. The text of the Resolution -- "Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit deplorably infringed on parental rights in Fields v. Palmdale School District" -- can be viewed at this link. The roll call vote is here. And the Ninth Circuit's ruling in question is here, while my earlier coverage of the ruling is here. Posted at 05:15 PM by Howard Bashman "One Local Jurist Prepares To Join The Supreme Court, While Another Prepares To Leave It": The most recent installment of my monthly appellate column appeared Monday in The Legal Intelligencer, and column is now freely available online at this link. Posted at 04:40 PM by Howard Bashman Justice Antonin Scalia bobblehead doll auction: Some celebrity is auctioning his Scalia bobblehead doll here at eBay. You can be the first to bid if you have a spare fitty. Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Authentically Unhip": In this upcoming Sunday's issue of The New York Times Magazine, Daphne Merkin will have an essay that begins: Nerd. Dweeb. Geek. Dork. Misfit. Right-wing monk. Or, as some have darkly insinuated, a "determined reactionary." Lord knows, you have only to take one look at Sam Alito's college yearbook photo, Princeton class of '72, to spot all the fateful symptoms, the revealing semiotic trail of blatant uncoolness, even if you didn't know that he was a Nixon supporter and an R.O.T.C. recruit at a time when campuses across the country were jumpy with activism. First, consider those totemic Clark Kent glasses, a sure giveaway of hopeless doofusness when everyone was on to Warren Beatty-imprimatured aviators. Then there's the ear-clearing hairstyle, which looks as if a mother had lovingly combed it, not to mention the lack of character-obscuring sideburns. And what about the set of the jaw, which appears pleasantly determined but not uncompliant, as if this guy actually believed people over 21 might have some wisdom to impart.For now, the essay is available only to TimesSelect subscribers. Posted at 03:12 PM by Howard Bashman All your Berry are belong to us: Bloomberg News reported on Monday that "Research In Motion Sues Companies Over Names With 'Berry.'" And The Boston Herald yesterday contained an article headlined "Berry, berry bizarre - BlackBerry sues over CranBerry." Posted at 03:08 PM by Howard Bashman Mission (not exactly) accomplished? Someday, perhaps, I'll be able to bring readers of "How Appealing" a message from David B. Lat, "Article III Groupie," or some combination thereof. For now, here are my current thoughts. Jeffrey Toobin's current Talk of the Town essay in the November 21, 2005 issue of The New Yorker -- which became available online and at newsstands on Monday of this week, and was then mailed to that magazine's subscribers across the world -- contains this explanation for why "Article III Groupie" decided to unmask herself: "Although he intended to remain anonymous, the success of the blog made coming clean irresistible. 'I felt frustrated that I was putting a lot of time into this and was unable to get any credit for it,' Lat said." Today, U.S. Attorney David B. Lat's authorship of "Underneath Their Robes" is the subject of an article in The New York Times, is a headline at The Drudge Report, and is the subject of an article on The Associated Press's nationwide newswire. Thus, Lat certainly has succeeded, perhaps even beyond his wildest dreams, in getting credit for his site. At the same time, sadly, since Monday evening the blog "Underneath Their Robes," the site for which Lat desired to have credit, has not been readily available online because its password-protection feature has been enabled. Thus, on the one hand, Lat is receiving credit for the site from many major media outlets, while on the other hand members of the public curious to view the site are unable to access it. Having to take the site down so soon after Lat's identity as author of the site was revealed could not have been the outcome that Lat envisioned. The Bergen (N.J.) Record reports today that "A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said it was a 'mutually agreed upon decision' to remove the site." That quote, which lacks any further context in the article, suggests that Lat's employer, the U.S. Department of Justice, has "asked" him to take "UTR" off-line, and that Lat has agreed. Reading between the lines, here is where I gather things stand at this moment. Except for the notable absence thus far of The Newark Star-Ledger, Lat is receiving an amazing amount of media attention for his having authored the "UTR" blog. At the same time, "UTR" is off-line, presumably at the request of Lat's employer, the U.S. Department of Justice. Moreover, if the USDOJ won't allow Lat's earlier "UTR" posts to be readily accessed, it follows that the USDOJ won't allow him to add new posts to the site. And the ultimate conclusion thus seems to be that if the USDOJ won't permit Lat to run, or readers to access, "UTR" now that Lat is known to be the site's author, Lat shouldn't (in the USDOJ's view) have been operating the blog secretly while in the USDOJ's employ, whether he ran the blog entirely on his own time or in part from the office. As always, readers with differing (or even similar) opinions on this matter are free to share them with me via email for publication. "Pa. Senate approves pay repeal, sends bill to Rendell": The Philadelphia Inquirer provides this news update, which notes that "The raises touched off an intense populist backlash that culminated earlier this month with voters refusing to give state Supreme Court Justice Russell M. Nigro another 10-year term." And The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provides a news update headlined "Senate repeals pay hike." Although the repeal purports to return state judicial salaries to their pre-pay hike levels, the Pennsylvania Constitution may in fact prohibit this diminution in pay. Perhaps some judges who are too old to care about retention elections will sue to invalidate this aspect of the pay hike repeal. "Judicial blogger is actually male prosecutor, not female lawyer": The Associated Press's New Jersey newswire provides this report, while the nationwide version of The AP article is here. Posted at 01:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Top Senate Democrat Concerned About Alito": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. [Update: The text of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid's remarks can be accessed here.] And today's edition of The Washington Times reports that "Alito denies bias on abortion cases." "A popular search term: 'Underneath Their Robes.'" This post appears today at "Evan Schaeffer's Legal Underground." Posted at 11:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Attack of the Career-Killing Blogs: When academics post online, do they risk their jobs?" Robert S. Boynton has this essay online at Slate. Posted at 11:48 AM by Howard Bashman Divided three-judge Eighth Circuit panel decides appeal seeking to overturn preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of Missouri's revised abortion informed consent law: Today's ruling, which upholds the preliminary injunction in large measure, can be accessed at this link. Posted at 11:35 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. marshals ordered not to routinely use leg chains; Policy ruled out for federal courts in Los Angeles": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Federal Court Gives Leg Chains the Boot." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling, by a divided three-judge panel, can be accessed here. Access the U.S. Department of Justice's letter, dated Monday of this week, endorsing a split of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: I have posted a copy of the letter online at this link. Posted at 11:05 AM by Howard Bashman "McDermott, Boehner back in court": This article appears today in The Hill. Posted at 10:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Ensign: DOJ Supports splitting Ninth Circuit court." U.S. Senator John Ensign (R-NV) issued this press release yesterday. If anyone has an electronic copy of the U.S. Department of Justice's letter that I can post online, please send it along. Posted at 10:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Let the Borking Begin: Alito and the Haynsworth playbook." Horace Cooper has this essay today at National Review Online. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Jury is still out on fate of lawyer-blogger": This follow-up article on the author of the (now defunct) blog "Underneath Their Robes" appears today in The Bergen (N.J.) Record. Posted at 09:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Can Transsexuals Sue Their Employers For Sex Discrimination?" FindLaw commentator Sherry F. Colb has this essay today. Posted at 09:40 AM by Howard Bashman And then he proceeded to found a highly-acclaimed U.S. Supreme Court boutique: Today in The Los Angeles Times, Henry Weinstein has an article headlined "Both Sides State Cases on Death Penalty Bill; Supporters say it would stop lengthy delays between convictions and executions; Critics worry that it will erode fundamental liberties" that begins, "After spending 24 years in prison for the murder of a Long Beach man, Thomas Goldstein was freed in 2004 when five federal judges ruled he had been wrongly convicted, largely on the word of an unreliable jailhouse informant." Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito Prefers Scalpel to Sledgehammer; Allies Hope Less-Combative Style Makes Judge More Effective in Moving Court to the Right": Jess Bravin has this article (free access) today in The Wall Street Journal. In The New York Times, Linda Greenhouse reports today that "Death Penalty Case Gives a Clue to Alito's Methods." The Boston Globe contains articles headlined "A coauthor says Alito was instrumental in Roe v. Wade brief" and "Alito tries to temper his '85 opposition to a right to abortion." In The Los Angeles Times, Richard A. Serrano and David G. Savage have an article headlined "That Was Then, This Is Now, Nominee Says; Alito tells senators that he was 'seeking a job' when he wrote a 1985 memo, and that as a judge he would not impose his opinions." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Insight into Alito." The Yale Daily News reports that "Profs say there is no consensus on Alito." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Alito tries to assuage Democrats; Nominee says views on abortion rights 'very different' now." The Rocky Mountain News reports that "Allard says he's firmly in nominee's corner." The Denver Post reports that "Alito gains Allard's backing for seat on Supreme Court; Colorado's GOP senator says he believes Alito would not be an 'activist judge' who would legislate from the bench." And Bloomberg News reports that "Democrats Avoid Criticism of Court Nominee Alito on Abortion." In commentary, The Birmingham News contains an editorial entitled "Imagine Bush picking a conservative." In The Washington Post, columnist Harold Meyerson has an op-ed entitled "Alito's Smoking Gun." And in The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Judge Stephen K. Lindley has an op-ed entitled "Justices diverge in interpreting Constitution." "9th Circuit can be split reasonably": Today in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Michael B. King and John B. Schochet have an op-ed that begins, "As Democrats and appellate lawyers who practice in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, we support splitting the circuit because we believe it is simply too large to function effectively." Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, November 15, 2005 "Court Nominee Plays Down '85 Remarks": This article will appear Wednesday in The New York Times. And the newspaper will also contain an editorial entitled "Ignore the Man Behind That Memo." The San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday will report that "Personal views won't sway judicial decisions, Alito tells senator." The Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday will report that "Alito's view of precedent may indicate approach to Roe." The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined "Law Comes Before Personal Views, Alito Says." The Denver Post provides a news update headlined "Allard endorses Alito." And The Associated Press reports that "Kennedy voices concern after meeting Supreme Court nominee Alito." Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that "Former Clerks Hold Public Rally to Back Alito." In other news, "11th Circuit Confronts Fight Over Insurance Payback Demands." An article is headlined "A Savvy Way to Trim Pensions: United gets around bankruptcy laws." And in news from Florida, "A Pre-emptive Strike in Eminent Domain Battle." "Mystery of Gossipy Blog on the Judiciary Is Solved": Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. The newspaper has also made available online the text of "Judge Kozinski's 'Nomination Letter.'" Posted at 10:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Court: Indian Money Accounting Impossible." The Associated Press provides this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate votes to limit detainees' access to courts": This article will appear tomorrow in The Miami Herald. Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Harvard Law Review Supreme Court Issue": As Orin Kerr notes here at "The Volokh Conspiracy," the issue is available online via this link and includes a Foreword by Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner. Posted at 09:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Activist Wet-T-Shirt Judge Votes For Girlfriend": The brand new edition of The Onion contains this newsbrief. Posted at 09:54 PM by Howard Bashman "RIP A3G": Denise Howell -- my inspiration for taking up law blogging -- has this interesting post at Corante's "Between Lawyers." Posted at 09:12 PM by Howard Bashman "White House Backs Dividing Appeals Court": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "The Justice Department is backing efforts by congressional Republicans to split up the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the nation's largest federal appeals court and the frequent source of anti-Bush administration rulings." Posted at 09:02 PM by Howard Bashman Skepticism merited: A bit earlier today, I had a post that began: Is a report about a fake blog published on a separate fake blog the equivalent of hearsay within hearsay? The blog "The Right Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr." offers a post titled "Don't Cry for A3G, Argentina."The foregoing link no longer works, and the author of the "Alito" blog has a new post titled "A Terrific Misunderstanding" admitting that the former, now disappeared post, which purported to reproduce a statement from the author of the "Underneath Their Robes" blog, was fictional in the sense that the statement didn't in fact come from the author of the "UTR" blog. Whether this means that we should in fact cry for A3G, Argentina, remains to be seen. Update: An email from the email address shown on the "Alito" blog as belonging to that blog's author states: I am writing to let you know that I am not, have not been in contact with, have never met, and do not know Article III Groupie, David Lat, or anyone pretending to be either one of them.Whether this matter could become any more surreal remains to be seen. Posted at 08:10 PM by Howard Bashman At least he wasn't blogging as a woman: The Associated Press reports that "Cop May Lose Job for Dressing As a Woman." And in other news from The AP, "Rep. Wants Taped-Call Ruling Overturned" and "No Charges in Alleged Mich. Blackmail Case." "Kennedy vs. Alito by Proxy: The Vanguard frenzy is much ado about nothing." Edward Whelan has this essay today at National Review Online. Posted at 05:55 PM by Howard Bashman The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "ACLU: Extend tax break to all religious books" and "Groom, 15, and pregnant bride, 37, add up to trouble." Posted at 05:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Splitting 9th Circuit is Costly, Conservative Ploy": Law Professor Erwin Chemerinsky has this essay today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 05:00 PM by Howard Bashman Is a report about a fake blog published on a separate fake blog the equivalent of hearsay within hearsay? The blog "The Right Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr." offers a post titled "Don't Cry for A3G, Argentina." Meanwhile, one of my readers emails: I see that you are closely following the David Lat story and I thought I'd pass on the following thoughts (since I don't blog myself -- for professional reasons ;)): David and I were colleagues and close friends at WLRK during his "thousands and thousands" of hours there. (I sometimes think I may have mentored him right out of private practice during a particularly gruesome privilege log experience).Thanks much! Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Slate's Jurisprudence: High Court Rulings, Alito Docs" (featuring Dahlia Lithwick) and "Gitmo Diaries: Inside the U.S. Prison in Cuba, Part 2." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 04:33 PM by Howard Bashman Don't worry, he's perfectly fine with the "All others pay cash" part: Or maybe not. The Sacramento Bee reports today that "Newdow targets 'In God We Trust'; Local atheist's latest fight will be to halt use of motto on money." And speaking of that motto, The Dispatch of Lexington, North Carolina reports today that "Supreme Court opts not to hear motto case." "Following Harriet Miers?": At "PrawfsBlawg," Dan Markel has a post that begins, "So, where did A3G and David Lat disappear?" Posted at 04:10 PM by Howard Bashman Alice in chains no more while a pretrial detainee in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this opinion today. Posted at 04:08 PM by Howard Bashman "The result of these habeas corpus proceedings is, of course, disturbing. The defendant is set free because he meant to kill his victim." Because this state court habeas petitioner intended to kill his victim, he must be set free, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled today in an opinion that you can access here. Posted at 03:55 PM by Howard Bashman Too much information: This opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today appears to have a couple of bonus pages attached at the end. [Fixed in record time, but the bonus pages are still available here.] Posted at 03:44 PM by Howard Bashman Someone who has known David Lat for more than ten years emails: "I had no idea of his parallel life as A3G, and as someone who's fed some recent items to UTR, the idea that it was really Dave on the other end of the computer is kind of weirding me out. (No, I didn't hit on 'her' or anything -- thank goodness!) I haven't talked to him since he outed himself, and have no idea why he decided to do so, or of what his boss thinks. I imagine that the powers-that-be in the U.S. Attorney's Office can't be too pleased, however." I've also received word of a David Lat sighting at the Federalist Society's annual conference last weekend in Washington, DC. And the blog "T&A" offers a post titled "Tom Cruise, A3G, and the value of not showing too much." Posted at 03:38 PM by Howard Bashman "High court rules on Columbine case": The Denver Post provides a news update that begins, "The Colorado Supreme Court today agreed with The Denver Post that items seized from the homes of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold are criminal justice records, which clears the way for their release if Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink determines the release would benefit the public." And The Rocky Mountain News provides an update headlined "High court sends Columbine records dispute back to judge." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Colorado at this link. "Courts hears challenge to minimum federal sentences": The Rocky Mountain News provides an update that begins, "Three judges of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday over a 55-year prison sentence imposed on a Salt Lake City man, a first offender, for selling small amounts of marijuana and having guns." Posted at 03:28 PM by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski has no comment on the unmasking of A3G: The reigning "male superhotty of the federal judiciary" has declined comment, perhaps in objection to a newspaper article headline that I recently linked here. When I was in Monterey, California a couple of weekends ago, one of the U.S. District Judges in attendance asked me, with evident curiosity, whether I thought that Judge Kozinski could be the author of the "UTR" blog. Fortunately, my hunch in answering that question proved correct. Email from Amy Klein, reporter with North Jersey Media Group: I sent some questions to the reporter whose article headlined "Anonymous blog can't find judicial funny bone" appears today in The Bergen Record. Here is the text of my email to Ms. Klein: I write the blog "How Appealing" hosted by Legal Affairs magazine. Was David Lat at work yesterday, and were you able to draw any conclusion for why his site "Underneath Their Robes" went off-line late yesterday. E.g., do you think it was at the instruction of his employer, the USDOJ? And did Mr. Lat suggest that he was planning to leave his job with the federal government and do something else? Also, did you ask him whether it was his decision to go public as the site's author or was he going to be outed whether he participated or not?And Ms. Klein responded as follows: I did reach David Lat at work around 4 p.m. yesterday, but the only things he said to me I put in the story (that he would have to check with his employer, and then that he would not comment). Shortly after he refused to comment, the site went offline -- I don't know if that was at the instruction of the USAO or whether Lat made that decision himself.I thank Ms. Klein for allowing me to quote her response here. Posted at 12:40 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Jesse J. Holland reports that "Alito Downplays 1985 Abortion Statement." And in related news, "Alito Lucky Specter Doesn't Hold Grudge." An article headlined "Judge Blocks Detainee's Military Trial" reports on this opinion and order that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued yesterday. And in other news, "Ex-U.S. Attorney Denies Secret Donations." Email from Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner: I emailed Judge Posner moments ago seeking his reaction to yesterday's news that "[i]n real life, A3G is a thirty-year-old Newark-based assistant U.S. attorney named David Lat." Judge Posner responded as follows: You may recall that that back on September 1, 2004, your blog carried an item about an ABAJ interview with me in which I had said that I thought A3G was male. So I feel vindicated. I also think that the disclosure will ruin Underneath Their Robes, because the hyperfeminine shtick is too discordant with the known male identity of the blogger.I thank Judge Posner for his very prompt response to my inquiry, and the post of mine from September 2004 to which I think he's referring can be accessed here. Posted at 11:25 AM by Howard Bashman My email interview with Jeffrey Toobin of The New Yorker: Following-up further on yesterday's breaking news, I conducted an email interview this morning with Jeffrey Toobin, whose Talk of the Town essay posted online yesterday revealed that "In real life, A3G is a thirty-year-old Newark-based assistant U.S. attorney named David Lat." The questions were posed by me, and the answers were supplied by Mr. Toobin: Q. Was it David Lat's decision to go public, or did you plan to reveal his identity whether he cooperated or not?I thank Mr. Toobin for his very prompt responses to these questions. Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Where is David Lat?" At "The Right Coast" blog, Law Professor Thomas A. Smith has this post. I'm in the midst of doing some original reporting myself (perish the thought!). For now, I reprint in full the first email I received from Article III Groupie at 12:03 a.m. on June 10, 2004: Dear Mr. Bashman:Although "UTR" may be off-line now, between Bloglines and the internet wayback machine, nothing that was once online is ever offline again. Posted at 11:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Abortion not a right, Alito wrote in 1985; Nominee also faulted racial, ethnic quotas": This article appears today in The Newark Star-Ledger. Jan Crawford Greenburg of The Chicago Tribune reports today that "Alito argued against Roe; Nominee questioned legality in '85 form." The Los Angeles Times contains an article headlined "Old Job Form, New Questions; Alito, pushing for a promotion in 1985, cited his work against racial quotas and his view that the right to an abortion isn't in the Constitution." The Boston Globe reports that "Alito papers dispute right to abortion." Newsday reports that "Alito went on record on abortion; Memo from 1985 quotes high court nominee saying Constitution doesn't protect abortion, taking stand against affirmative action." The Washington Times contains articles headlined "Alito papers evince a conservative" and "Liberals rap Alito's anti-Roe stance." USA Today reports that "Alito abortion remarks concern some; 1985 view: Right is not protected by Constitution." And The New York Sun reports that "Roe v. Wade an Issue Ahead of Alito Hearing." Meanwhile, in commentary, The Washington Post contains an op-ed by columnist Richard Cohen entitled "Ivy-Covered Court." And columnist Ruth Marcus has an op-ed entitled "The Ginsburg Fallacy." "Justices to Hear Prison Case Alito Ruled On; As an appellate judge, the high court nominee sided against inmates and with state officials": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that "Court to rule on Pa. inmate reading priveleges." The Washington Times reports that "Supreme Court lets stand ban on voting by felons." The Miami Herald reports that "State's ban on felons voting stands; The nation's highest court rebuffed civil-rights groups by letting stand a Florida law that strips felons of their right to vote." And The St. Petersburg Times reports that "Court passes on felon voters law; Democrats may mount a ballot initiative in 2006 after the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to consider a challenge to the state's ban on voting rights for former felons." "Senators Agree on Detainee Rights; Deal Would Allow Some Court Access": The Washington Post contains this front page article today. The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Dealing With Detainees." The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Senate Vote Nears on Guantanamo Detainee Rights; Showdown is set today on a measure that would bar prisoners' access to federal court." And in The New York Times, Anthony Lewis has an op-ed entitled "Prisoners of the Senate." "Anonymous blog can't find judicial funny bone": This article about the blog "Underneath Their Robes" appears today in The Bergen (N.J.) Record. And a screen-shot of the final "UTR" post is available here via "Evan Schaeffer's Legal Underground." Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, November 14, 2005 In Tuesday's edition of The New York Times: Tomorrow's newspaper will contain an article headlined "'85 Document Opens Window to Alito Views." And Linda Greenhouse will report that "Parents Carry Burden of Proof in School Cases, Court Rules." "Alito rejected Constitutional right to abortion, '85 document shows": Jan Crawford Greenburg will have this article Tuesday in The Chicago Tribune. In Tuesday's edition of Financial Times, Patti Waldmeir reports that "Liberals angry over Alito's anti-abortion past." The Hill on Tuesday will contain an article headlined "GOP focus on war powers" that begins, "Some Republican senators say they will use the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel Alito to stake out the limits of President Bush's power to conduct the war on terrorism as public concern over the administration's handling of the war is growing and congressional leaders are being criticized for lack of oversight." And online at The Village Voice, James Ridgeway has an essay entitled "Alito Abortion Letter Appeals to the Right; Democrats may fret over Supreme Court pick, but they're not the target audience." Available online at Slate: Dahlia Lithwick has a jurisprudence essay entitled "Three-Quarter Truths: The sloppy mischaracterizations of Alito's abortion decisions." And Emily Bazelon has a jurisprudence essay entitled "Senate Demerit: Lindsey Graham gets the law of detention wrong." "Senators Reach Gitmo Detainees Compromise": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A bipartisan group of senators reached a compromise Monday that would allow detainees at Guantanamo Bay to appeal the rulings of military tribunals to the federal courts." Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman In Tuesday's edition of The Washington Post: Front page articles will carry the headline "No Right to Abortion, Alito Argued in 1985; Reagan-Era Papers Show Staunch Conservatism" and "In Special-Ed Case, Court Backs Montgomery Schools; Parents Challenging Plans Have Burden of Proof." And Charles Lane will report that "Supreme Court to Review a Pa. Prison Policy That Alito Backed in Dissent." "Man talks about his pledge lawsuit": This article appeared yesterday in The Oklahoman. And The Associated Press reports that "Atheist Plans Lawsuit Challenging Motto on U.S. Currency." "Fla. Federal Judges Slammed for Secret Docketing; Judges have been reprimanded by 11th Circuit for hiding cases -- but is the practice continuing?" law.com provides this report. Posted at 10:10 PM by Howard Bashman "BC Law hosts Solomon conference; Scholars evaluate case that challenges military recruiting policy": Today's edition of The Heights, the student newspaper of Boston College, contains this article (free registration required). Posted at 08:54 PM by Howard Bashman On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Alito Wrote Abortion Isn't a Protected Right" and "Court: Parents Have Burden of Proof in Special Ed Cases." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito Dissent Resonates in Supreme Court Case": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. Posted at 08:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Backlash to ruling on eminent domain": This front page article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 08:32 PM by Howard Bashman A3G's last post at "Underneath Their Robes"? Over at the "Greedy Clerks" board, "Pre-Judged" has a post that states: Surprising, yes. Disappointing, perhaps. Creepy, no. But, apparently all the attention has apparently forced A3G off line. http://underneaththeirrobes.blogs.com/main/2005/11/this_blog_has_b.htmlIf anyone can email to me the text of the referenced post, which doesn't appear to have been picked up by Bloglines but which should still remain in your web browser's cache if you viewed it before "UTR" went offline, I'd be most appreciative. Update: According to a reader, "The text of A3G's final post was simply 'This blog has been taken offline.' It was up for less than an hour before the password prompt replaced it. A sad day in the blawgosphere if you ask me." Indeed. Get me some of that Google cache: A reader emails to note that the "Underneath Their Robes" site now appears to be "password protected." But by clicking "cancel" on the password prompt for the Goolge cached page, you can access the site sans today's interesting post. Update: The very same reader helpfully follows-up that today's post can still be accessed at this link via Bloglines. Posted at 05:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Alito as an Opponent of One Person, One Vote?" Law Professor Rick Hasen has this post at his "Election Law" blog. Posted at 05:20 PM by Howard Bashman "'Nutty 9th' Circuit Court could be bound for breakup": This article appears today in The News Tribune of Tacoma, Washington. Posted at 04:45 PM by Howard Bashman Only an "h" away from being called nice: At "Outside the Beltway," James Joyner has a post titled "Andrew Sullivan Blog Moving to TIME" in which he writes, "Quite a few popular bloggers, including niche bloggers such as Howard Bashman, have gone in-house." Posted at 04:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Under Whose Robes?" The blog "Wonkette" offers these thoughts. Posted at 04:28 PM by Howard Bashman The U.S. Constitution may contain no express mention of a right to abortion, but the Bible contains no express prohibition: Or so said The New York Times, in support of the latter point, in a Week in Review article published yesterday headlined "On Abortion, It's the Bible of Ambiguity." And a related graphic accompanying the article is titled "Three Passages, Two Interpretations, One Controversy." Posted at 04:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito's Opposition to Abortion Revealed in Job Application": The Los Angeles Times provides this news update. Posted at 04:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Samuel Alito Newly Released Documents": Available here from the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. Posted at 03:55 PM by Howard Bashman On today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day": The broadcast contained segments entitled "Report: Alito Wrote Abortion Not Protected Right"; "Gitmo Diaries: Life Inside the U.S. Prison in Cuba"; and "Mulling the Limits of Freedom of Speech in Churches" ("TaxProf Blog" provides additional coverage). RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Jesse J. Holland has an article headlined "Documents Reveal Alito's Abortion View." And in other news, "Judges in S.D. May Lose Immunity." The article links to a website operated by supporters of the change. Following Gonzales v. Raich, unanimous three-judge Fourth Circuit panel rejects argument "that Congress's Commerce Clause authority does not extend to his private, intrastate production and possession of child pornography": Today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit can be accessed at this link. Posted at 02:54 PM by Howard Bashman The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library has posted online the document that is the subject of today's article headlined "Alito rejected abortion as a right" in The Washington Times: See pages 15 and 16 of this PDF file. Additional documents that the Reagan Library released today, and made available online, pertaining to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito, Jr. can be accessed via this link. Posted at 02:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Dude Blogs Like a Lady": This post -- asking the important questions "What is driving this conservative Yalie cyber-transvestitism? Is it getting to the point that a conservative woman can't blog without being suspected of being a middle-aged man? And what does this mean for our own bloggers, 'Rebecca,' 'Nicole,' and 'Irina'?" -- appears today at the "Yale Law Federalist Society" blog. Posted at 02:30 PM by Howard Bashman "US court nominee Alito earlier opposed abortion": Thomas Ferraro of Reuters provides this report. Posted at 02:20 PM by Howard Bashman "A Split Could Create a More Liberal Court; GOP May Do Better By Focusing on 9th Circuit Appointments": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. One week ago today, Hurley had an article headlined "Court Nominee is Well-Versed on Guidelines; Alito Could Shape the Way Justices Approach Sentencing Reform." Finally, back on November 3, 2005, Hurley had a very interesting article headlined "Spotlight on Congressional Authority: Senators Prepare to Pepper Alito With Questions on High Court's Disrespect." "Article III Groupie: Under Her Robe." The blog "Underneath Their Robes" features this new post today. It also answers a question I didn't think appropriate to ask, namely whether anyone has a photo of David B. Lat. Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Sandra Day O'Connor: A new look at the Supreme Court's enigmatic 'controlling force.'" Online at Slate, Cliff Sloan reviews Joan Buskupic's new book, "Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice." Posted at 11:09 AM by Howard Bashman Today's U.S. Supreme Court Order List and opinion in an argued case: Today's Order List can be viewed at this link. The Court granted review in two cases and asked for the views of the Solicitor General in an additional case. The Court issued one opinion today in an argued case. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court in Schaffer v. Weast, No. 04-698. Justice John Paul Stevens joined in the majority opinion and issued a separate concurrence. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer each issued dissenting opinions. The Chief Justice did not participate. And in Maryland v. Blake, No. 04-373, a case argued on November 1, 2005, the Court unanimously dismissed the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted. The question on which the Court had granted review can be viewed at this link. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Court rules against parents, denies felons' vote." In early coverage, Gina Holland of The Associated Press reports that "Justices to Hear Inmate Case for News." The case arises from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, where Circuit Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. dissented from the ruling. Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times all but predicted this grant of cert. on November 2d in an article headlined "Supreme Court Could Hear an Alito Case." The case was also mentioned more recently in an article published in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review under the headline "Alito favors authority" and in David L. Hudson Jr.'s essay for the First Amendment Center entitled "Alito has history of rejecting prisoner First Amendment claims." In other coverage, The AP's Gina Holland reports that "Court Sidesteps 'In God We Trust' Dispute." The AP also reports that "Court Rules Against Special Ed. Parents" and "Court Dismisses Police Questioning Case." And James Vicini of Reuters has articles headlined "Court to review restrictions on inmates" and "Court lets stand law denying felons a vote." "Pot-sale case puts focus on mandatory sentences; For a first offense, a Utahn got 55 years in prison; A Circuit Court appeal says that's unconstitutional": This article appears today in The Denver Post. And The Salt Lake Tribune reports today that "Appeal of pot dealer's 55-year prison term to be heard Tuesday; His prosecutors say it's fair, but many on both sides say the punishment is unjust." The blog "Sentencing Law and Policy" offers more in a post titled "Tenth Circuit argument in Angelos mandatory minimum case." Who is David Lat? This morning's big news -- other than that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito, Jr. once wrote "I personally believe very strongly" that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion" -- is that David Lat is the man trying to be a woman trying to be a man trying to be a woman who writes the wonderful blog "Underneath Their Robes." Now that the secret is out, new questions arise that I will group into three categories: 1. Who is David Lat? With whom did he have a judicial clerkship? What sort of work does he do at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, New Jersey? And what else is known about him? [Lots of answers to this first category of questions can be found in the updates, below.] 2. Why did he decide to reveal his identity now? Was the decision purely voluntary, or was he about to be outed? 3. And, finally, for how much longer will he be working for the U.S. Department of Justice, and will the decision to leave be his or that of his employer? Readers who'd like to respond to any or all of these questions are invited to email me at appellateblog@hotmail.com. Update at 9:00 a.m.: A reader emails that searching "David B. Lat" on Google reveals that Mr. Lat clerked for Ninth Circuit Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain. And, as is often the case with Google, the search also reveals much more, including this archive of his writings for The Harvard Crimson. Update at 9:10 a.m.: Another reader emails, "The NJ Lawyer's Diary lists David Lat as an assistant United States Attorney in the D.N.J., admitted in 2000 to the New Jersey Bar (he may have been admitted elsewhere before or after, but that isn't counted in the N.J. Lawyer's Diary). He is listed as one of the four attorneys in the Appellate Division of that office." Update at 9:15 a.m.: Demonstrating his basketball prowess, Mr. Lat won Harvard's Hoopes Prize for Outstanding Senior Theses. And his first brush with blogging fame came in 1998 when his Yale Law Journal note was published in the same volume as an article co-written by Eugene Volokh. Update at 9:55 a.m.: At "Crescat Sententia," which published a 20 questions interview with A3G, Will Baude writes: "The rumor that Lat (a YLS grad) was Article III Groupie has bumped around the law school for a while, but others resolutely insisted that A3G was really Judge Kozinski." Update at 10:20 a.m.: At "The Volokh Conspiracy," Orin Kerr has a post titled "Article III Groupie Comes Out of the Closet." "Thomas blasts confirmation process; In visit to UA, Supreme Court justice participates in Q&A": This article appears today in The Crimson White. And last Friday, the newspaper previewed the visit in an article headlined "Supreme Court justice to speak today; Thomas will address law school at 2 p.m." Posted at 07:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Blawg Review #32": Available here today at "JAG Central." Posted at 07:12 AM by Howard Bashman BREAKING NEWS -- "In real life, A3G is a thirty-year-old Newark-based assistant U.S. attorney named David Lat." Jeffrey Toobin has this Talk of the Town essay in the November 21, 2005 issue of The New Yorker. Toobin's revelation confirms what I gleaned from an email that I received long ago from the author of the blog "Underneath Their Robes," sent from an IP address belonging to the U.S. Department of Justice. Posted at 06:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito rejected abortion as a right": The Washington Times today contains an article that begins: Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, wrote that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion" in a 1985 document obtained by The Washington Times.And The Washington Times also contains an op-ed by Nat Hentoff entitled "Questions for Judge Alito." The Los Angeles Times today reports that "Alito's Sole Trial Before a Jury Was a Gamble That Paid Off." And Gallup News Service reports that "Americans Generally Favor Alito Appointment; Closer to Roberts than to Miers in popularity." In commentary, The Wall Street Journal today contains an editorial entitled "Alito's Sock Drawer: If you can't beat him on philosophy, try ethics." The Charlotte Observer contains an editorial entitled "Judging Bush's judge: Democrats who oppose Alito will have an uphill battle." In The Wilmington News Journal, Harry F. Themal has an op-ed that begins, "Nominees go bump behind closed doors." And in The Miami Herald, Law Professor Reynaldo Anaya Valencia has an op-ed entitled "A single vote can make a big difference for Hispanics." Sunday, November 13, 2005 "Unwavering Bush Ally Acts Quickly on Court Choices and Legislation": This article will appear Monday in The New York Times, along with an article headlined "Liberal Coalition Is Making Plans to Take Fight Beyond Abortion." Posted at 11:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Terrorism Trial's Strategies Revealed; Moussaoui Has Said He Wants to Testify": Monday's edition of The Washington Post will contain this article. And P. Sabin Willett will have an op-ed entitled "Detainees Deserve Court Trials." "Fieger attorney: Cox hurt probe; Campaign finance investigation by Oakland County at risk because of disclosure, lawyer says." This article appears today in The Detroit News. And The Detroit Free Press yesterday contained an article headlined "Cox financed judge targeted by Fieger" that begins, "Attorney General Mike Cox contributed $34,000 from a political action committee to the 2004 campaign of a state Supreme Court justice who became the target that same year of a secret campaign by Geoffrey Fieger to defeat him." "Gov't: Executions, Death Sentences Decline." The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate measure would undercut court's authority; The Senate vote to strip rights granted to Guantanamo Bay detainees by the Supreme Court stunned legal experts": The Miami Herald contains this article today. Posted at 10:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Nominee's record suggests a conservative, not crusader": This editorial will appear Monday in USA Today. Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "A matter of life and death: Holdouts frustrate other jurors." This article about juries and the death penalty appears today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "The Hard Road: Inside the Jennifer Porter Case." This five-part series begins today in The St. Petersburg Times with a lengthy article headlined "Twilight." In addition, the newspaper today contains an editorial entitled "The Jennifer Porter case: Her lenient sentence reopened the debate about how race and class figure into our criminal justice system; It's a problem that needs to be addressed." "Mostly measured, but Alito can get fiery; Many of his opinions indicate the Supreme Court nominee is largely dispassionate, but certain topics draw out his energy": Bill Adair has this article today in The St. Petersburg Times. Posted at 08:55 PM by Howard Bashman "The Citation of Unpublished Opinions in the Federal Courts of Appeals": You can access at this link Law Professor Patrick J. Schiltz's article published in the October 2005 issue of the Fordham Law Review. Professor Schiltz serves as Reporter for the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. Posted at 08:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Scalito?" Gene C. Schaerr and Steffen N. Johnson will have this essay in tomorrow's issue of The National Law Journal. Posted at 05:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Democrats urged to keep option of blocking Alito": Thomas Ferraro of Reuters provides this report. Posted at 05:11 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from C-SPAN: From Thursday, "U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy and Stephen G. Breyer discuss the role of the judiciary in promoting the rule of law." And from today's broadcast of "Washington Journal," "Cass Sunstein, Professor, Univ. of Chicago Law School and Author, 'Radicals in Robes,' on Samuel Alito nomination to the Supreme Court and his new book." RealPlayer is required to launch these video segments. "Chief Justice Roberts returns to Wake Forest to judge student-lawyer contest; He will join 2 appeals-court judges in hearing mock case": Thursday's edition of The Winston-Salem Journal contained an article that begins, "Less than two months after his confirmation to the nation's highest court, Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court will be at Wake Forest University next week to judge a law-student competition." (Via "Confirm Them"). Posted at 01:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Free Speech Libertarian: Judge Alito has an expansive view of the First Amendment." Law Professor Eugene Volokh's op-ed published yesterday in The Wall Street Journal is now freely available here via OpinionJournal. Posted at 09:15 AM by Howard Bashman "This time, Alito, it's personal": Kate Michelman has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Today in The Washington Times, Paul Greenberg has an op-ed entitled "Filibuster bluster." And in The Sacramento Bee, Robert Cohen has an essay entitled "The battle over confirmation." "Alito is religion-friendly, but how far will he go?" Charles C. Haynes has this essay today at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 09:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Three Samples Of Sam Alito: A school's speech code banning negative comments about clothing or social skills was, he said, 'brave, futile or merely silly.'" Columnist George F. Will will have this essay in the November 21, 2005 issue of Newsweek. Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Liberals aim to stir a fight over Alito; Groups intend to raise doubts on nominee, but senators seem wary of taking the bait": The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains this article today. And The Newark Star-Ledger today contains an article headlined "A judge who goes by the book; Alito record shows a detail man whose rulings reflect days as prosecutor." Saturday, November 12, 2005 "The Democrats and Judge Alito": This editorial will appear Sunday in The New York Times. The Denver Post, meanwhile, today contains an editorial entitled "Alito smoothing his path in the Senate; Supreme Court nominee follows in the footsteps of Justice Roberts, assuring senators of his respect for precedent; Moderates breathe a little easier." "Don't split the 9th Circuit": U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:45 PM by Howard Bashman Sadly, Chief Justice John Marshall's head doesn't bobble: The Supreme Court Historical Society announces that "The 2005 commemorative silver dollar honoring Chief Justice John Marshall is now available for sale." Via the United States Mint's web site, you can view and order the Chief Justice John Marshall Proof Silver Dollar and/or the Chief Justice John Marshall Uncirculated Silver Dollar. "The Supremes' Next Swing Man: The court's fresh lineup may leave Anthony Kennedy as the man in the middle." This article will appear in the November 21, 2005 issue of U.S. News & World Report, along with a Washington Whispers item headlined "For a Frugal Alito, Safeway's the Way." Posted at 07:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Abortion Dominates Debates on Nominees": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 04:35 PM by Howard Bashman "At Yale, Frowns for Alumni Nominated to Court": Adam Liptak will have this article Sunday in The New York Times. Posted at 02:22 PM by Howard Bashman "The Nigro ouster, informed or not, was...merited": Columnist Paul Carpenter had this op-ed yesterday in The Allentown Morning Call. Yesterday in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, columnist Eric Heyl had an op-ed entitled "Let him eat cake (and pay for it)." Yesterday in The Philadelphia Inquirer, columnist John Grogan had an op-ed entitled "Nigro's loss is Pa. voters' win." And yesterday in The Philadelphia Daily News, columnist Jill Porter had an op-ed entitled "Justice Newman - thankfully - was spared." Available online from The Nation: Sharon Lerner has an essay entitled "What Would Alito Do?" And Eyal Press has an essay entitled "Darwin on Trial." Available online from National Public Radio: Yesterday evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained a segment entitled "Case Studied for Clues on Alito's Views of Federalism." Yesterday's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained a segment entitled "A Survey Course on Alito Legal Views" featuring Nina Totenberg. Yesterday's broadcast of "Day to Day" contained segments entitled "Getting the Cuban Perspective of Guantanamo Prison" and "Preview: Representing Detainees at Guantanamo." And yesterday's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" contained a segment entitled "Teaching Evolution Update." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "For conservative lawyers, a time to celebrate; Influential Federalist Society helps fill ranks of Bush-appointed judiciary": Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report. Posted at 10:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Democrats Provided Edge on Detainee Vote": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "Democrats who had voted previously to prohibit abusive treatment of detainees in American custody provided the margin of victory on Thursday for a Republican-backed measure that would deny prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the right to challenge their detention in federal courts." And today's newspaper also contains a related editorial entitled "Playing With Fire." "Debbie does Washington: Masturbation lights up your brain like a parade; It makes you stop talking to your wife; Yes, just another day at the Senate hearing on pornography." Michael Scherer provides this report at Salon.com. The prepared texts of statements introduced at this past Thursday's hearing, entitled "Why the Government Should Care about Pornography," of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights can be viewed via this link. Available online from the Fulton County Daily Report: Via law.com, you can access articles headlined "High Court Hitching Post Win Leads to Loss in Alabama" and "Court Takes On Booze and Nude Dancing." Posted at 09:22 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from The Wall Street Journal: Today's newspaper contains an op-ed by U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) entitled "'Guarantees Are for Used Cars, Not Judicial Nominees'" and an op-ed by Law Professor Eugene Volokh entitled "Free Speech Libertarian?" (temporary free access). And via OpinionJournal, you can access online the text of Karl Rove's speech Thursday night to the Federalist Society Annual Convention, entitled "Against Judicial Imperialism." The federal government is addicted to CrackBerry: The Washington Post reports today that "Government Enters Fray Over BlackBerry Patents; Agencies Depend on Devices, Lawyers Say." The Wall Street Journal reports today that "U.S. Weighs In on Patent Case To Keep Its BlackBerrys Running" (temporary free access). And The Los Angeles Times contains an article headlined "Cut Off Their BlackBerrys? Feds Give It Thumbs Down." Perhaps the federal government's attorneys could also find a way to spare from any service shut-off the BlackBerry of a certain appellate law blogger whose site is heavily relied on by senior employees in each of the three branches of the federal government. Friday, November 11, 2005 "Supreme Court Confirmations Are as Messy as They Should Be": Law Professor Jeffrey Rosen has this review of four books in today's issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education (via "OUPblog"). Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Vote to strip rights of Guantanamo prisoners may be reconsidered": This article will appear Saturday in The Miami Herald. Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Bush's Conservative Judge Harbors Libertarian Streak": Jonathan D. Glater and Adam Liptak will have this article Saturday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman In today's edition of The Sacramento Bee: The newspaper contains an article headlined "Former Loretto High School teacher reaches settlement" that begins, "The Loretto High School drama teacher fired last month for volunteering at a Planned Parenthood clinic has reached a settlement with the Catholic all-girls school, attorneys for the teacher and school said Friday." In addition, the newspaper contains an editorial entitled "Short-circuited: 9th Circuit doesn't need breaking up." "The High Court Looks Abroad; As Congress Backs Bush Foreign Policy, Justices Voice Qualms": Charles Lane will have this article Saturday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Thomas: Abortion Holds Judiciary Hostage." The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Federal court appointments are being held hostage by the abortion issue, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Friday in advocating a briefer, less intrusive confirmation process. Speaking to law students at the University of Alabama, Thomas said former clerks and other lawyers often tell him they're not interested in federal judgeships because of the potential for bruising confirmation battles." Posted at 09:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Answer Key: Decoding Samuel Alito Jr." Law Professor Jeffrey Rosen will have this article (pass-through link) in the November 21, 2005 issue of The New Republic. Posted at 09:00 PM by Howard Bashman Back home from Boston: Stay tuned for new posts. Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman "No Smoke, No Fire: Alito, the hard-ass." Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 07:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito & First Amendment protection for sexual expression": Robert Corn-Revere has this essay online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 07:38 AM by Howard Bashman "Some Abortion Foes Unsure About Alito; Single-issue groups are growing concerned that the Supreme Court nominee might not be an ally in their effort to overturn Roe vs. Wade": Maura Reynolds has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. The Newark Star-Ledger today contains articles headlined "Alito says he wasn't wrong to hear 2 cases" and "Public practitioners of faith often found a friend in Alito." Michael McGough of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "Alito says he never ruled when he should have recused himself." The Washington Times reports that "Alito pressed on conflict worries." Newsday reports that "Alito denies ethical slips; He defends his hearing of appeals involving investment firms despite 1990 pledge to Senate." USA Today contains an article headlined "Alito: Recusal promise was too 'restrictive'; Nominee says he didn't violate ethics rules." The Wall Street Journal contains an article headlined "Alito Replies to Issues Involving Investments" (temporary free access). The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that "Alito might hesitate to overturn Roe vs. Wade, Kohl says; Nominee avoids specifics in talk with senator." The Asbury Park Press reports that "Lautenberg wants to learn more about Alito." And The Columbia Missourian reports that "MU law professor worked closely with Alito." "Romney rips SJC's justices on values; Says personal views swayed marriage ruling": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Engaged in a Very Civil War; The Federalist Society has reshaped the legal system without ever going to court": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. In related coverage, "Rove Says the Tide Is Running in Conservatives' Favor; The White House aide gives a speech criticizing liberal judicial activism as speculation continues over whether he'll be indicted over a CIA leak." The New York Times reports today that "Despite Recent Gains, Conservative Group Is Wary on Direction of Court." The Washington Post reports that "Rove Addresses Federalist Society." And The Washington Times reports that "Rove slams court activism in speech to lawyers' group." Thursday, November 10, 2005 "Senate Approves Limiting Rights of U.S. Detainees": This article will appear Friday in The New York Times. The Washington Post on Friday will report that "Senate Approves Plan to Limit Detainee Access to Courts." The Miami Herald on Friday will report that "Senate votes to strip Guantanamo detainees of their right to sue." And The Associated Press reports that "Senate Votes No Terror Suspects in Courts." "Rove re-emerges at conservative lawyers' group; President's advisor addresses the Federalist Society": Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report. Posted at 11:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito Denies 1990 Vow, 2002 Case Conflict": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. The Washington Post on Friday will report that "Alito Defends His Actions In Two Appeals Court Cases; In Letter to Senators, Nominee Denies Conflict of Interest." Newsday provides an update headlined "Alito denies ethical slips; He defends his hearing of appeals involving investment firms despite 1990 pledge to Senate." And Thomas Ferraro of Reuters reports that "High-court nominee denies conflicts of interest." Via The Washington Post, you can access at this link the letter that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) sent today to Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on this subject, while Judge Alito's response can be viewed here. Greetings from Newton, Massachusetts: Where tomorrow afternoon I'll be arguing the federal government's position in a moot court of the Solomon Amendment case at the Boston College Law School. More details of tomorrow's event are available here. Posted at 11:10 PM by Howard Bashman "From Federalist Society, Praise for Alito": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman Access online the Senate Judiciary Committee's questionnaire for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito, Jr.: It is available online at this link (via National Review Online's "Bench Memos"). Posted at 04:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Gonzales: Justices shouldn't cite foreign laws." This article appears today in The Chicago Sun-Times. The text of the Attorney General's remarks, delivered yesterday at the University of Chicago Law School, can be accessed here. Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Don't Flyspeck Sam Alito": Law Professor Richard A. Epstein has this interesting post at "The Faculty Blog" of the University of Chicago Law School. Posted at 04:10 PM by Howard Bashman Press releases available online from Liberty Counsel: Today the organization issued a press release entitled "Kentucky Counties Vote to Take Ten Commandments Case to Trial." And earlier this week, the organization issued a press release entitled "California Parents Will Ask for Rehearing of Ninth Circuit Court's Ruling on Outrageous Sex Questionnaire Given to First Through Third Grade Children; Liberty Counsel joins the fight and becomes lead counsel for the parents." "Key senators oppose House move to split 9th Circuit": Earlier today, I linked here to this report from The Associated Press. The letter, from Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), can be viewed at this link. Posted at 04:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Liberal Groups Ready for Alito Opposition": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 03:48 PM by Howard Bashman "For all these reasons we conclude that, absent diversity jurisdiction and the requisite amount in controversy, a district court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to decide an indemnification payment dispute between the surety on a bond posted in federal court and that surety's indemnitor." Circuit Judge Ed Carnes issued this interesting opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The case involves a federal criminal defendant who failed to appear for sentencing and the neighbor who posted security for the $60,000 in bail that had secured the defendant's pre-sentencing release. Posted at 03:02 PM by Howard Bashman "11/10/05 FOX Poll: Alito Seen as Qualified." FOXNews.com provides this report. The complete results of the poll can be viewed at this link. Posted at 02:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Isn't That Spousal: Alito, abortion, sexism, and the polls." William Saletan has this essay online at Slate. Posted at 02:08 PM by Howard Bashman "US House backs bill to improve court protection": Reuters provides a report that begins, "The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill on Wednesday to increase penalties for crimes against judges, lawyers and other courthouse personnel and help state and local governments improve court security." And yesterday, the Ohio State Law Journal held a symposium entitled "The Madness in the Shadows of Modern Life: Judicial Security and Politics in the 21st Century." "Nigro calls vote to oust him 'an irrational thing'; The Pa. Supreme Court justice says he was the wrong target for voters' outrage over the pay raise": L. Stuart Ditzen has this article today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "High Court Benching: Voters say take a hike." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that "Anger over pay spelled defeat for Justice Nigro." The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports that "State's most discontented areas toppled Nigro." The York Daily Record reports that "Pay raises cost one judge his job; York and Adams counties' voters voted down the retention of both judges." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contains articles headlined "Voters batter Nigro, Newman" and "Help wanted: Bench warmer for Pa. court." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Rejecting Nigro: It is a revolution." The Express-Times of Easton, Pennsylvania reports that "State-level judge likely won't be the last to go." And The Associated Press reports that "GOP helps judge duck pay-raise backlash; One justice keeps seat while another loses Supreme Court post." In commentary, meanwhile, The Philadelphia Daily News contains an editorial entitled "Angry voters spill some blood; Now let's use that ire to propel real reform." And columnist John Baer has an op-ed entitled "Tuesday's vote: The lion is loose." "I have evaluated the situation and conclude that neither federal statutes, nor federal rules, nor the Model Code of Judicial Conduct of the American Bar Association provide that a judge should disqualify himself in any case involving a mutual fund company simply because the judge owns mutual funds that the company manages": Law Professor Ronald D. Rotunda provides his opinion at the request of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) (via National Review Online's "Bench Memos"). Posted at 10:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Gay marriage backers before appeals court": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 10:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Key senators oppose House move to split 9th Circuit": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Is Bankruptcy Chopped Liver?" At "Crescat Sententia," Will Baude has a post taking issue with the assertion, contained in today's article by Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times, that a case argued yesterday "was the Roberts Court's first encounter with the unfinished business of the Rehnquist Court's federalism revolution, during which the court curbed Congress's power to make federal law binding on the states." Posted at 09:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Cox: Fieger made threat over affair; He wanted campaign probe dropped, attorney general says." This article appears today in The Detroit Free Press. The Detroit News today contains articles headlined "Sex scandal: Tearful Cox admits affair, claims political foe Fieger tried to extort him by threatening to reveal it" and "Political experts gauge impact; They say admission is more likely to hurt attorney general than his challenger, Fieger." And The Detroit News has also posted online the text of "Mike Cox's statement." "Roberts Court Hears Its First Case in Federalism Debate": Linda Greenhouse has this article today in The New York Times. In today's edition of The Washington Post, Charles Lane reports that "Court Hears Paraplegic Inmate's Case." In USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that "Court weighs disabled inmates' right to sue states." And Michael McGough of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "Disabled prisoner wants right to sue state." "Alito May Favor Recruitment; Nomination means more controversy over military recruitment on campus": Daniel J. Hemel today has this article, in which I am quoted, in The Harvard Crimson. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Democrats Press Court Designee Over Mutual Fund Case": The New York Times contains this article today. And in commentary, Law Professor John F. Manning has an op-ed entitled "Balancing Act." The Washington Post reports today that "Democrats Query Nominee On Ethics; At Issue Is Alito's Failure to Recuse Himself Twice." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Alito Case Raises Question of Conflict; Democrats request data on why the high court nominee did not recuse himself from hearing a suit involving Vanguard, with which he has funds." The Boston Globe reports that "Alito reviewed '95 case involving sister's firm; Questions persist about conflicts." Newsday reports that "Dems vet Alito's link to mutual fund." The Newark Star-Ledger reports that "Democrats press Alito on fund case." The Trinidad & Tobago Express reports that "Trini objects to US Supreme Court nominee." The Washington Times reports that "Top Democrats say Alito likely to get nod." And in commentary, Thomas Sowell has an op-ed entitled "Irrelevant questions." The New York Post reports that "Alito grows on Chuck." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that "Feingold, Alito find some common ground; But concerns remain after two meet." The Forum of Fargo, North Dakota reports that "Conrad 'hits it off' with Alito." And The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota reports that "Thune praises nominee Alito: Passion for law impresses senator; S.D. senator says Alito has Roberts' qualities." In commentary, The Allentown Morning Call contains an op-ed by Flavia Colgan entitled "Judge Alito isn't what conservatives, liberals think he is." In The Jersey Journal, columnist Joe Albright has an op-ed entitled "Alitos, father and son, have done a lot for our state." And in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, columnist John Sonderegger has an op-ed entitled "Christian right in St. Charles is supportive of Alito." "Cameras Could Get Rolling on High Court Sessions; A Senate panel looks at proposals to let federal and Supreme Court proceedings be televised": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 06:35 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, November 09, 2005 Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro has articles headlined "Supreme Court Asked to Hear Voting Rights Case; More than 600,000 Floridians with felony convictions claim 1968 law improperly bans them from voting" and "Bill Allowing Cameras in Supreme Court Gains Momentum." In other news, "Inmate Rights, States' Rights Clash Before High Court; Georgia prisoner seeks $1.2 million in damages under disability law." And in news from Florida, "Lawyers' Group Investigates Leak of Online Comment to Judge; Sanctions possible, after confidentiality of trial lawyers' Web forum is breached." "School board that backed intelligent design ousted": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports today that "Dover voters reject 'intelligent design' board; Voters dump incumbents over intelligent design." The York Daily Record reports today that "Dover boots board; Board members who made changes to science class received the fewest votes." The York Dispatch reports today that "Dover dumps designers; Group opposed to intelligent design sweeps school board." And this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained a segment entitled "Intelligent Design Candidates Voted Out in Penn." (RealPlayer required). Law bloggers at the Supreme Court of the United States: Yesterday was a two-blogger day at the U.S. Supreme Court (see here and here). Was it the first time that ever happened? By contrast, today was merely a one-blogger day at the U.S. Supreme Court (see here). Three law bloggers arguing at the U.S. Supreme Court in two consecutive days. Is that a record? "Ramps in the Big House: The Supreme Court contemplates disability rights for prisoners." Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate. And this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained a segment entitled "High Court Weighs Rights of Disabled Prisoners" (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg. The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Senate Judiciary Dems Take Aim at Alito" and "Roe v. Wade Attorney Leaning Against Alito." In other news, "Utah Asks Court to Reject Nuclear Dump." An article reports that "Kansas Senator Leads Push Vs. Gay Marriage." And an article is headlined "Senator: Bar Terror Suspects From Court." "Supreme Court to Hear Case on Military Tribunals": This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Law Professor Neal Katyal appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation." Posted at 06:04 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: An article reports that "Alito Favored Equal Treatment on Adultery." And in other news, "Senators Push for Cameras in Courts." The prepared texts of statements presented at today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing can be accessed via this link. Third Circuit Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr.'s law clerks urge his confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court: Please increase the value of our clerkships, they urge in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that you can access here (via National Review Online's "Bench Memos"). Posted at 05:15 PM by Howard Bashman "How Judge Alito Applied the First Amendment on Campus: His Important Decision On a Public School's Anti-Harassment Policy." FindLaw commentator Julie Hilden has this essay today. Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito & the law of defamation": Gayle Sproul has this essay online at the First Amendment Center. And Mark Goodman has an essay entitled "Nominee's opinions reveal respect for student speech." "Times and Reporter Reach Agreement on Her Departure": The New York Times provides a news update that begins, "The New York Times and Judith Miller, a veteran reporter for the paper, reached an agreement today that ends her 28-year career at the newspaper and caps more than two weeks of negotiations." Posted at 05:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Pentagon: Detainees Must Be Treated Well." This report from The Associated Press states, in its concluding paragraphs: In a related matter, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is considering proposing legislation that would eliminate habeas corpus rights for detainees captured in the war on terrorism.I have posted online the text of the proposed jurisdiction-stripping amendment at this link. Posted at 03:54 PM by Howard Bashman Available online at Reason: Jacob Sullum has an essay entitled "When Leviathan Is a Republican: Democrats should appreciate the advantages of federalism." And Harvey A. Silverglate has an essay entitled "Give Alito a Chance: The Supreme Court nominee shows sensitivity to civil liberties." "The Little Supremes -- Meet the Next Generation of Robertses and Alitos: Blazers, No Nose Rings, Strunk and White Sarcasm; 'If They Wanted It,' One Says, 'They Wouldn't Say It.'" This article appears in the November 14, 2005 issue of The New York Observer (via "Underneath Their Robes"). Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Slate's Jurisprudence: Does ADA Apply Behind Bars?" This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Day to Day." Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Clemency bid for Nobel-nominated killer; Crips gang leader's books urge others not to emulate him": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And in The Los Angeles Times, Henry Weinstein reports that "Gov. Is Asked to Spare Inmate; Attorneys for Stanley 'Tookie' Williams ask Schwarzenegger to commute his death sentence; He is scheduled to be executed Dec. 13." This past Sunday, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra J. Saunders had an op-ed entitled "No clemency for 'Tookie.'" "Supreme Court Shocker: Nigro Ousted; Newman Survives by Slim Margin": The Legal Intelligencer provides this news update. Posted at 02:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Defense Casts Al-Arian as Fighter Akin to Heroes of American Revolution": Josh Gerstein has this article (pass-through link) today in The New York Sun. The St. Petersburg Times reports today that "Prosecution rests case against Al-Arian, others; A defense attorney says the government has edited and spun the defendants' words to create a false impression of ties to terrorism." And The Tampa Tribune today contains an article headlined "Defense: Al-Arian Exercised His Rights." "The ADA in prisons": At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a report on one of today's oral arguments that begins, "The death of the Supreme Court's 'federalism revolution' might have been pronounced prematurely." Posted at 02:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Consider Disabled Inmate's Suit": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 12:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate considers circuit breakup": This article appears today in (of all places) The Daily Tar Heel of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. And The Seattle Post-Intelligencer today contains an editorial entitled "Federal Courts: Don't split the 9th." "Justices Hear Home-Search Case": Charles Lane has this article today in The Washington Post. In today's edition of USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that "Supreme Court seems split on police searches of homes." Stephen Henderson of Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that "Supreme Court hears arguments in case over house search." Michael McGough of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "High court debates house-search case; Justices rule with workers in pay dispute." The Houston Chronicle reports that "Consent for police searches of homes divides high court; Justices to decide what happens when one resident gives permission but another objects." And online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has a supreme court dispatch headlined "Stay Out of My Sock Drawer: The Supreme Court asks if a wife can let the police look for her husband's drugs." Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained segments entitled "Supreme Court Weighs Prisoner's Disability Suit" (featuring Nina Totenberg) and "Florida Terrorism Trial Winds Down." And yesterday evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained a segment entitled "High Court Rules in Favor of Workers in Pay Case." RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments. "Texas Court Clears Way for New Yates Trial": The AP provides a report that begins, "The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Wednesday to reconsider a lower court's decision to overturn Andrea Yates capital murder convictions for drowning her children in a bathtub in 2001." Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Calif. Split on Abortion Notification"; "Pa. Voters Oust a Supreme Court Justice"; and "Pennsylvania Voters Oust School Board." Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "High Court Rules In Favor of Workers In Pay Dispute": Jess Bravin has this article today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 10:48 AM by Howard Bashman Sixth Circuit reverses grant of summary judgment against Spirit Airlines, and in favor of Northwest Airlines, on Spirit's claim that Northwest engaged in predatory pricing and other predatory tactics in the leisure passenger airline markets for the Detroit-Boston and Detroit-Philadelphia routes: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito's Senior Thesis on the Italian Constitutional Court": Law Professor Roger P. Alford provides this analysis at the "Opinio Juris" blog. Posted at 09:55 AM by Howard Bashman Virginia is for lovers, but no oral sex please: The Associated Press provides a report headlined "Appeals court upholds conviction in Va. Beach sodomy case" that begins, "The Virginia Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld the conviction of a Virginia Beach man who police say solicited oral sex from an undercover officer in a department store restroom. The court rejected defense arguments that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down anti-sodomy and similar state laws nullified a Virginia statute outlawing oral sex." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Court of Appeals of Virginia at this link. "Cameras in the Courtroom": Thanks to cameras in the U.S. Senate, you can watch this morning's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing live by clicking here (RealPlayer required). Details of the hearing are available at this link. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Gonzales raps justices for citing foreign laws; But scholars say no rulings rely on them": The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, "Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales is traveling to Chicago to take a pointed stand Wednesday against the practice by some Supreme Court justices of citing international law and norms in their opinions." Posted at 07:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito Signals Reluctance to Overturn Roe v. Wade": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. And the newspaper also contains articles headlined "At Seton Hall, Professor Alito Wore a Cloak of Inscrutability" and "Her Idea of Justice: Absolutely Not Alito; Confirmed Liberal Nan Aron Seeks Same." The New York Times reports today that "Designee Woos Senators on Both Sides of Abortion Debate." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Senators Feel Assured on Abortion After Alito Visit; A moderate Democrat and Republican think the high court nominee will not overturn Roe; An abortion foe also praises the judge." USA Today reports that "Alito ad storm waiting to strike after the holidays." In The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage reports that "Senators say Alito voiced respect for Roe; Moderates Collins, Lieberman quote from private talks." And in related coverage, "Democrats seek answers from Alito on Vanguard case." And in commentary, columnist Jeff Jacoby has an op-ed entitled "Privacy by decree." The Newark Star-Ledger reports that "Alito rejects 'idea of philosophical labels'; Top court nominee describes himself as a 'traditionalist.'" The Washington Times reports that "Alito tells senators he respects precedent." The Daily Princetonian reports that "Alito thesis offers few new clues" and "With low draft number, Alito joined ROTC." The Hartford Courant reports that "Alito Reassures Moderates; Lieberman Encouraged By Nominee's Stance On Roe, Other Precedents." And in commentary, columnist Michele Jacklin has an op-ed entitled "What's At Stake: The Right To Privacy." The Kansas City Star contains an article headlined "'The type of nominee I've been asking for'" that begins, "Sam Brownback finally found a Supreme Court nominee he could embrace." The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that "Rep. Brown writes concerns about Alito on worker-rights." The Forum of Fargo, North Dakota reports that "Conrad meets with Alito." The Norwich Bulletin contains an article headlined "Lieberman: No promise for nominee." And The New Britain Herald reports that "Lieberman calls Alito decision challenging." In other commentary, in The Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Jennifer Hunter has an op-ed entitled "Court nominee 'regressive.'" And in The Denver Post, columnist Al Knight has an op-ed entitled "Court reform not easy." "Advice to the Chief Justice: To You, I'm Known as Nino." Linda Greenhouse has this very interesting article today in The New York Times. Posted at 06:58 AM by Howard Bashman In case you thought that the U.S. Courts of Appeals should have more than three active judges with the last name Smith: law.com reports that "White House Looks at Two Names for 9th Circuit." According to the article, those names, for two Ninth Circuit vacancies, both happen to be Smith. Posted at 06:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice voted out for 1st time; Voter anger over pay raises led to a narrow loss for Russell Nigro; Justice Newman was retained": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports that "Nigro ousted from top court; Newman wins; Citizens seize their first chance to make a statement to elected state officials and, through the Supreme Court, they make it a historic one." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "Voters reject Supreme Court Justice Nigro." And in The Philadelphia Daily News, columnist John Baer has an op-ed entitled "Pa. Justice Nigro is scapegoat for pay rage." Current election returns can be viewed at this link. Tuesday, November 08, 2005 "Justices Take on Case of Ga. Lawyer's Drug Search": law.com provides this report. Posted at 08:14 PM by Howard Bashman "An Introduction to the Italian Constitutional Court": Princeton University has posted online Samuel A. Alito, Jr.'s senior thesis. In news coverage, The Daily Princetonian offers an update headlined "Alito's thesis offers few clues to his judicial philosophy." The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Case Asks if Senator Can Also Be a Judge" and "Kan. School Board OKs Evolution Language." Posted at 05:54 PM by Howard Bashman Access online the American Constitution Society's recent panel discussion on the Alito nomination: A transcript is here, and you can view video of the event here (RealPlayer required). Posted at 05:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Court weighs household privacy": Lyle Denniston at "SCOTUSblog" offers this post on today's oral argument. Posted at 05:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito repudiated speech code": Law Professor Robert M. O'Neil has this essay online at the First Amendment Center. And David L. Hudson Jr. has an essay entitled "Alito has history of rejecting prisoner First Amendment claims." "Legal Pressure Shutters Grokster; Recording Industry Cheers Move": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The New York Times reports today that "Grokster Calls It Quits on Sharing Music Files." The Wall Street Journal today contains an article headlined "For Grokster, It's the Day the Music Died" (temporary free access). The Los Angeles Times reports that "Grokster Surrenders to Labels." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Grokster settles industry lawsuit; File-sharing firm to pay $50 million, stop distribution." The San Jose Mercury News contains articles headlined "Grokster shut down, plans legal service" and "Hollywood breathes sigh of relief over Grokster's demise, settlement," along with an editorial entitled "Grokster: gone but not forgotten." And The New York Daily News reports that "It's curtains for Grokster." "'The Ketchup Song,' The Next Craze"? Whether or not this "next craze" evaded your notice, the song makes a comeback today as the central focus of this ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman First Circuit affirms federal district court's decision denying preliminary injunction against Maine's Unfair Prescription Drug Practices Act: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit at this link. Posted at 04:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Suit filed over rules barring judicial candidates' commentary; Lifting of rules sought in suit": Late last month, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania published an article that begins, "A federal judge is considering a request by a conservative family values group to lift the rules that bar Pennsylvania judicial candidates from commenting on issues." And in other coverage, The Associated Press late last month reported that "Group sues over rules for judicial candidates' speech." Last Friday, Senior U.S. District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo of the Middle District of Pennsylvania rejected the lawsuit on standing and ripeness grounds. Her opinion can be accessed here. "Supreme Court Considers Police Searches": Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Court questions searches when spouses disagree." In earlier coverage, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports today that "Search case in U.S. high court today; 2001 incident at Americus home at issue." And The Augusta Chronicle reported yesterday that "Two Georgia cases could clarify rules." Tax law nerds say enough with Planned Parenthood v. Casey; Where does Alito stand on Commissioner v. Casey? Via "TaxProf Blog," you can access online Lee A. Sheppard's news analysis headlined "The Tax Opinions of Judge Alito." Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Welcome to no-choice America: PBS's Frontline special 'The Last Abortion Clinic' shows us why the dark ages of illegal abortions and unwanted children are already here." At Salon.com, Heather Havrilesky has this essay today. The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi today contains an article headlined "Jackson facility focus of documentary; 'Frontline' examines state's anti-abortion movement, effects." And The Boston Globe contains a review headlined "'Clinic' looks at abortion battle from both sides." "Senators Say Alito Respects Roe Decision": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 02:30 PM by |
