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Friday, August 22, 2003
Is it that time of year once again? Indeed it is. Just like last year, when I ceased blogging for the last week of August, this year no new updates will appear here until Monday, September 1, 2003. At that time, I'll try to recap any events of significance that occurred while I was away. In the interim, you may happen to find me here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and/or here.
Something to look forward to -- on Tuesday, September 2, 2003, I will be posting online the September 2003 installment of "20 questions for the appellate judge." September's interviewee will be Judge William Curtis Bryson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Posted at 23:50 by Howard Bashman "Judge Suspended for Defying Court on Ten Commandments": Saturday's edition of The New York Times will contain this report. Posted at 23:46 by Howard Bashman The Supreme Court of California is ready to rule in DVD trade secret/free speech case: The Supreme Court of California has announced that on Monday, August 25, 2003 it will issue its decision in DVD Copy Control Assoc. v. Bunner. The case presents the question "Does a preliminary injunction under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Civ. Code, sec. 3426 et seq.) barring the posting of DVD deencryption software on the Internet violate the First Amendment to the federal Constitution as a prior restraint on protected speech?" The decision will be made available for download here at 1 p.m. eastern, 10 a.m. pacific time on Monday. This case has already received plenty of media coverage. The Recorder provided an article about the oral argument headlined "California High Court Hears Clash of Speech, Trade Secrets Law." SecurityFocus reported here that "California Supremes Hear DeCSS Case." The Electronic Frontier Foundation issued press releases entitled "California Supreme Court Hears DVD Trade Secret Case; Civil Liberties Groups Seek Internet Publication Protection" and "California Supreme Court to Hear DVD Case." Finally, you can access here the ruling that the California Supreme Court is reviewing. The decision struck down a preliminary injunction that prohibited the posting of the information. The Court of Appeal reasoned that Bunner's free speech rights took precedence. Posted at 23:08 by Howard Bashman "Harvard Radical": Lawrence Summers is the subject of the cover story in this Sunday's edition of The New York Times Magazine. Posted at 23:04 by Howard Bashman "Georgia courthouse keeps commandments": Saturday's edition of The Augusta Chronicle will contain this article. Posted at 23:00 by Howard Bashman On your way out of town, please be sure to take advantage of the world-renowned bridges: Today's edition of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports here that "Lawyers hoping to capitalize on Madison County's reputation as a 'plaintiff's paradise' will be looking closely at a ruling issued Thursday by the Illinois Supreme Court." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Illinois at this link. Update: A reader emails to note that the Madison County with the famous bridges is in Iowa, not Illinois. One lesson of successful blogging is that you can't let the facts get in the way of a clever remark. Posted at 22:47 by Howard Bashman "High court says attorney client privilege not absolute": The Associated Press has this report from North Carolina. And News 14 Carolina reports here that "The State Supreme Court wants a Raleigh lawyer to talk." You can access today's decision of the Supreme Court of North Carolina at this link. Posted at 22:41 by Howard Bashman Available online at law.com: Tony Mauro has an article headlined "A Peek Into Justice White's FBI File." Jason Hoppin reports that "Doctors Can't Rat on Patients." Shannon P. Duffy reports that "3rd Circuit Rules District Courts May Consider Torture Claims." In other news, "Secret Energy Settlement Gets California High Court's OK." And an article reports that "Federal Circuit Hands Palm a Setback." Posted at 22:35 by Howard Bashman Latest news from Alabama: Saturday's edition of The Washington Post will contain an article headlined "Ala. Judge Relents on Monument; Commission Suspends Chief Justice for Defying Federal Order." The Montgomery Advertiser reports here that "Moore barred from performing duties" and here that "Protesters bring cash to the city." Finally for now, you can access here the complaint that the Judicial Inquiry Commission of the State of Alabama brought against Chief Justice Roy S. Moore of the Supreme Court of Alabama. Posted at 22:19 by Howard Bashman Reuters is reporting: You can access here an article entitled "Ten Commandments Judge Suspended in Alabama" and here an article entitled "Fox Loses Bid to Stop Sale of Franken Book." Posted at 22:12 by Howard Bashman "Pipes to Be Named to Think Tank; Controversial Mideast Scholar Will Be Recess Appointment": This article appeared in today's edition of The Washington Post. And today the White House did make that and other recess appointments (see the official announcement here), although no recess appointments were made today to the federal judiciary. Posted at 22:09 by Howard Bashman "Lobbying fierce on concealed-weapons veto vote": This article appears in today's issue of The Kansas City Star. Posted at 19:49 by Howard Bashman "Judge suspended over Ten Commandments": CNN.com provides this report. And today's edition of The Kansas City Star contains an editorial entitled "Thou shalt not display in court." Posted at 19:43 by Howard Bashman You know they're criminals because they have aliases: I must admit that it never ceases to amuse me when the federal government indicts defendants in criminal cases and invariably includes aliases in the caption of the case. So, for example, if an indictment is handed up against one "Joseph Smith," chances are the indictment will also specify "a/k/a 'Joe.'" Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion in which the judges on the panel may have wished that the defendants had straightforward aliases. Unfortunately, the government had assigned no aliases to these defendants. Today's opinion begins, "Chittakone Chanthasouxat ('Chanthasouxat') and Keopaseuth Xayasane ('Xayasane') (collectively, 'Defendants') appeal their convictions for drug-related offenses." [Of course, a persuasive argument can be made that all three of those parentheticals are unnecessary too, but don't get me started. Update: This post did manage to get acclaimed legal writing expert Eugene Volokh started. You can view his comments here.] Posted at 19:39 by Howard Bashman Federal district courts have jurisdiction to consider habeas corpus petitions filed by INS* detainees alleging violation of the Convention Against Torture: So the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled in this very interesting opinion issued today. [*I am aware that on March 1, 2003, the INS became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. However, no suitable acronym has yet arisen to replace INS.] Posted at 19:27 by Howard Bashman Department of "no comment": The AP reports here that "Moussaoui Worried on Self-Representation." You can access the two most recent orders of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in this case here and here. Posted at 19:06 by Howard Bashman Alabama Chief Justice Roy S. Moore suspended over ethics complaint: The Associated Press is reporting that "Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is suspended pending the outcome of an ethics complaint for defying a federal court order to move a Ten Commandments monument." Update: The AP now offers this more detailed report. Posted at 18:39 by Howard Bashman "Alabama Officials Mull Removal of Ten Commandments": Reuters offers this coverage. Posted at 18:35 by Howard Bashman "Fox loses over Franken's 'Lies' book": CNN.com provides this report. Posted at 18:34 by Howard Bashman "Women's Med Center to stay open; U.S. court judge blocks state rule that required specific backup doctors": The Dayton Daily News published this article on Tuesday. And on Wednesday, that newspaper reported that "Right to Life stages protest at clinic; Judge's ruling allows Kettering center to stay open." Posted at 17:04 by Howard Bashman "Roy's Rock: Alabama residents are wreaking a nasty revenge on the woman who took their state's chief justice to court over his religious monument." Newsweek's Eleanor Clift has this "online exclusive" essay today. Reuters reports here that "Christian Conservatives Defend Ten Commandments." And The Associated Press reports here that "Commandments dispute underscores evangelical split on tactics." Posted at 16:56 by Howard Bashman "Chefs in stew over foie gras; Some rethink menu after violence over controversial fare": This article appears today in The San Francisco Chronicle. In somewhat related news, The Associated Press reports here that "Fires break out at California car dealership, vehicles vandalized at three other dealerships." Posted at 16:06 by Howard Bashman "Any other litigant might be embarrassed, but in litigation the government never blushes." A former law clerk to Eleventh Circuit Judge Ed Carnes had this to say today via email about a concurring opinion from his former boss that I first linked to here yesterday: Judge Carnes' observation in U.S. v. Brown that "in litigation the government never blushes" is particularly noteworthy coming, as it does, from a jurist who spent his entire career before taking the bench as a prosecutor and appellate counsel for the government. When I clerked for Judge Carnes, he urged me to follow a similar path into public service, and I did. One lesson I learned was that, while the law often allows the government to take uncommon liberties with its position, every time the government chooses that path it burns up a bit more of its credibility with the bench. The long-term result is a frequently skeptical judiciary -- even among judges who once served as counsel for the government.Very well said. Posted at 15:52 by Howard Bashman "Commandments debate spans nation; For now, the ‘shalt not’ side has upper hand": MSNBC's Kari Huus has this report. And from Georgia comes an AP report that "ACLU giving Barrow County 'time' on 10 Commandments." Posted at 15:24 by Howard Bashman Will the real Marcus Howard please stand up? This opinion that Seventh Circuit Judge Terence T. Evans issued today illustrates how a defendant's criminal history can affect a sentence of imprisonment imposed in federal court under the Sentencing Guidelines. (This post's heading patterned on lyrics from "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem.) Posted at 14:32 by Howard Bashman "No Charges Seen in Ten Commandments Case": The Associated Press provides this update. Today's edition of The Birmingham Post-Herald reports here that "Chief Justice Moore may face suspension from court; Expected to meet with judicial commission." And The Brainerd (Minn.) Daily Dispatch reports here that "Courthouse has its own monument, but not any controversy" (plus photo here). Posted at 14:10 by Howard Bashman No worries: A reader who just began a clerkship for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit emails to suggest that I point out that Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski is among the federal appellate judges who have not agreed to follow the so-called "Law Clerk Hiring Plan." Accordingly, this post of mine from very early this morning need not cause clerkship applicants excessive aggravation except to the extent that they find themselves without shelter in an electrical storm. Posted at 13:53 by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit en banc panel rules 8-3 that no "dangerous patient" exception exists to federal testimonial privilege for psychotherapist-patient communications: You can access today's ruling by an eleven-judge en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. The majority opinion notes that a circuit split already existed on this issue even before today's ruling. Posted at 13:30 by Howard Bashman "State readies removal of Ten Commandments monument": CNN.com provides this update. And WTVM-9 of Columbus, Georgia reports that "Plaintiffs will NOT Seek to Hold Chief Justice Roy Moore in Contempt of Court." Posted at 13:20 by Howard Bashman "Guardian Sought for Fetus of a Retarded Floridian": This article appears today in The New York Times. The Miami Herald reports here that "Guardian for fetus a knotty issue for 3 judges; Debate centers on unborn child of retarded woman." And The Orlando Sentinel reports here that "Court hears debate on rights of fetuses." Posted at 12:09 by Howard Bashman Choose targeted mail solicitations: Today's edition of The Tallahassee Democrat contains an article that begins: "Democrats and abortion-rights advocates Thursday criticized House Speaker Johnnie Byrd for mailing owners of the state's 'Choose Life' license plates letters promoting a constitutional initiative requiring parental consent for minors' abortions." Posted at 12:03 by Howard Bashman "U-M gay studies class leads lawmakers to seek controls; Bill would give state legislators the power to prohibit courses": This article appeared in yesterday's issue of The Ann Arbor News. Posted at 11:56 by Howard Bashman "Wrongly convicted Detroiter tiptoes into life of freedom; Lloyd slowly adjusts to new world after 17 years in prison": The Detroit News today provides this report. Posted at 11:53 by Howard Bashman "TV case explores the bare facts; Man goes to court over nudity and free speech": This article appears today in The Detroit Free Press. Posted at 11:51 by Howard Bashman Sadly, the cert. petition contains no mention of the "oopsy-daisy clown car": On Monday, the Consumers Union of the United States, which publishes Consumer Reports magazine, filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of a recent Ninth Circuit decision that allows Suzuki Motor Corp. to pursue a product disparagement claim based on a very unfavorable series of reviews of the Suzuki Samurai that the magazine had published. You can access the cert. petition at this link. Back in May 2003, a total of eleven Ninth Circuit judges dissented from an order denying rehearing en banc and joined in an opinion dissenting from the denial of rehearing en banc written by Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski. This cert. petition may contain more references to Judge Kozinski than any other cert. petition ever filed, or maybe not. Sadly, however, the cert. petition fails to quote one of my favorite references from the Kozinski dissent to an "oopsy-daisy clown car." You can access my earlier coverage of the Ninth Circuit's order denying rehearing en banc at this link. Posted at 10:58 by Howard Bashman Even more Ten Commandments-related coverage: The Associated Press reports here that "Defiant Judge Meets on Ten Commandments." Another AP report is entitled "Finding References to God Easy in America." The Mobile Register reports here that "Sculptor finds his work at center of controversy" and here that "Supreme Court justice sought son's counsel; Seniority led Gorman Houston Jr. to try to lead justices to consensus." An article in The Birmingham News bears the headline "Locked out, 100 gather on steps of judicial building." Today's issue of The Boston Globe contains an editorial entitled "Thou shalt not." The Baltimore Sun contains an editorial entitled "Monumental demagoguery." The Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News contains an editorial entitled "Thou shalt obey the law." Columnist Cal Thomas has an essay entitled "Conflicting thoughts on Alabama." And in The Austin American-Statesman, John Kelso has an essay entitled "'Tain't Moses who found these stones." Finally for now, The AP reports from Oklahoma that "'In God We Trust' Posters Finding Way Into Schools; ACLU: Posters Violate Separation Of Church And State." Posted at 10:27 by Howard Bashman "PA Committee Members Resign Over Ten Commandments": WPVI-6, Philadelphia's ABC affiliate, has this report from Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was James Carville who defined Pennsylvania as "Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between." Posted at 10:16 by Howard Bashman This morning's Ten Commandments news: The Montgomery Advertiser reports here that "Moore's colleagues vote to move display"; here that "Supporters say freedom's on the line"; and here that "Supporters continue their protests." You can access one photo gallery here and another here. And an editorial is entitled "Justices did what was right." The Mobile Register reports here that "Monument is shielded, in place" and here that "Commission will review complaint; Filings say Chief Justice Moore violated the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics." And an editorial is entitled "Commandments safe, despite Roy Moore." The Birmingham News reports here that "Justices overrule Moore; monument ordered out." And an editorial is entitled "Taking a stand: Court upholds law in Ten Commandments fight." The Crimson White reports here that "State justices disagree with Moore's stance; Hundreds rally around monument as chief justice refuses to back down." And an editorial is entitled "Political recognition, a media circus, Ten Commandments and one chief justice." The Huntsville Times contains an editorial entitled "Back from the brink: Once again, Alabama flirted with disaster." In news and opinion from elsewhere, The Athens Banner-Herald reports here that "Alabama boils; Barrow quiet." The Globe and Mail contains an item headlined "Behold the armies of the Lord." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contains an editorial entitled "Constitution rules in Alabama." The St. Petersburg Times contains an editorial entitled "Alabama extremist unfit to judge." The Charlotte Observer contains an editorial entitled "Render unto Caesar: Defiant judge's self-serving monument trivializes religion." The Erie Times-News contains an editorial entitled "Justice Moore's contempt for law." And The Helena Independent Record has an op-ed by Marianne Means entitled "Monument and judge should go." Posted at 06:25 by Howard Bashman Volokh to clerk for Kozinski: Who says lightning can't strike twice. Posted at 00:35 by Howard Bashman Ten Commandments monument coverage in Friday's newspapers: The New York Times contains an article headlined "Thou Shalt Not, Colleagues Tell Alabama Judge." The Washington Post offers an article headlined "Commandments Statue Removed From View; Ala. Justices Say They Were Following Court Order." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports here that "Court nominee draws spotlight in Ala. saga." Finally for now, you can access Wednesday's order of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link. Posted at 00:16 by Howard Bashman Thursday, August 21, 2003
In Thursday's newspapers: The Washington Post reports here that "GOP Bill Would Add Anti-Terror Powers." In other news, "Former Militant Is Granted Parole; Upcoming Release Angers Victim's Family, Others." You can access here an article headlined "Busy Thumbs and Crossed Fingers; BlackBerry Users Not Likely to Be Left Empty-Handed." An editorial is entitled "Mr. Ashcroft's Roadshow." And Bob Barr has an op-ed entitled "Leave Marriage To the States."
The Los Angeles Times reports here that "Court Ruling Keeps Recall on Track for Oct. 7 Ballot; A federal judge rejects a request to delay the election over the use of punch-card voting." An article reports that "San Francisco Wins Voting-System Suit; Public-interest groups lose bid to force use of instant-runoff balloting in the Nov. 4 election." In other news, Mrs. Gray Davis now has a blog. An article reports that "Californians May Win Right to Sue Brokerages; Appellate ruling could lead to a precedent allowing investors to bypass arbitration." You can access here an article headlined "N.Y. Parole Board OKs Freedom for 1960s Radical; Kathy Boudin has spent 22 years in prison for her role in a robbery that left three dead." An article reports that "Megan's Law Data Out of Date, State Audit Finds." In local news, "Accused Judge Had a Drinking Problem, Former Lover Testifies; The Lompoc jurist who allegedly pulled a gun on her partner was struggling with work and domestic troubles, her ex-partner says." And an editorial is entitled "Private Justice for a Judge." The New York Times reports here that "Former Radical Granted Parole in '81 Killings." And in other news, "Penalty in Crown Heights Case Means a Little More Jail Time." USA Today reports here that "10 Commandments appeal fails Monument ordered out of Ala. building." The Christian Science Monitor reports here that "Tart humor gets its day in court." And an editorial is entitled "Ashcroft's Whistle-Stops." The Boston Globe reports here that "Judge rules against foes of wind farm; Says state lacked a right to block the test tower." The Washington Times reports here that "Cadaver-dog handler charged with rigging evidence searches." An editorial is entitled "Smearing the Patriot Act." And an op-ed by William Murchison is entitled "Prevailing tendencies," and Posted at 23:35 by Howard Bashman "High court to decide if Diaz to see documents": The Clarion-Ledger provides this coverage from Mississippi. Posted at 23:33 by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: An article reports that "State Supreme Court expands wrongful death law to cover unborn fetuses," and you can access today's en banc ruling of the Supreme Court of Mississippi at this link. Elsewhere, an article reports that "High court rules for 3M in breast implant case," and you can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Minnesota at this link. David Kravets reports that "California Supreme Court upholds energy rate hikes stemming from power crisis," and you can access the opinion here. In other news, you can access here an article entitled "Judge rejects media request to see details of Kobe Bryant case"; here "Scott Peterson's attorneys appeals order opening preliminary hearing to public"; here "Boudin Parole Shocks Victims' Families"; and here "Five Gun Dealers Settle Calif. Lawsuit." Posted at 23:15 by Howard Bashman The Supreme Court of California delivers bad news for sexually violent predators: See this decision issued today. Posted at 23:09 by Howard Bashman Bomb repair update: Here, from the Yale Law School. Posted at 23:06 by Howard Bashman "Judge rebuffs ACLU bid to push vote to March; Ruling turns away concerns over punch-card ballots": Bob Egelko has this report in today's issue of The San Francisco Chronicle. In response to my post yesterday about how the Ninth Circuit's ruling on appeal could very well depend on which three judges are assigned to hear and decide the case, a recent former law clerk to a Ninth Circuit judge today emailed to observe: Because it's a preliminary injunction appeal, it will in all likelihood be heard by a motions and screening panel. This month's panel consists of Chief Judge Schroeder and Judges Hawkins and Tashima. They can, of course, kick it to the next available merits panel, but by then it might be too late.Of course, if the appeal is not taken until next month, presumably the composition of the motions and screening panel will change. The current panel is neither the most liberal nor the most conservative panel that could have been drawn from the judges serving on that court, although I think that most would rank the panel left of center. Circuit Judge Michael Daly Hawkins participated in my Web log's "20 questions for the appellate judge" feature in June 2003, and you can access his interview at this link. Posted at 23:04 by Howard Bashman Yale Law Professor Jack M. Balkin discusses the recent events in Alabama: Here you can access a post entitled "Chief Justice Moore As Administrator, Not Judge" and here a post entitled "Keep Alabama Baptist." Both are worth a look. Posted at 22:49 by Howard Bashman "Scientology wanted millions, gets $4,500; Jurors don't buy the church's argument that a lawyer involved in a wrongful death case owes it more than $2-million." The St. Petersburg Times contains this article today. Posted at 22:43 by Howard Bashman "Teens have right to have sex, lawyer argues": This article appears in today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 22:38 by Howard Bashman "'Moses of Alabama' fights for his Rock": The Telegraph (UK) has this report. Posted at 21:12 by Howard Bashman "Moore 'disappointed' with fellow judges' order": The Montgomery Advertiser provides this update. Posted at 20:00 by Howard Bashman "Advocates debate the First Amendment, Ten Commandments": CNN.com offers this transcript. Posted at 18:59 by Howard Bashman "Thou Shalt Not Pray: Does the Constitution hate God?" Dahlia Lithwick has this essay online at Slate. Posted at 18:56 by Howard Bashman "Any other litigant might be embarrassed, but in litigation the government never blushes." A case that the Supreme Court of the United States remanded to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit for reconsideration in light of the position of the Solicitor General of the United States has today produced a very interesting concurring opinion from Eleventh Circuit Judge Ed Carnes. Judge Carnes writes: In his concurring opinion, my good friend, Judge Hill, suggests that the entire Court ought to consider in this case whether the Renfro decision should be overturned. Of course, each active judge of the Court will consider that when reading the opinions in this case. However, to the extent that Judge Hill thinks we ought to grant rehearing en banc for that purpose, I respectfully disagree. The Supreme Court's action in returning this case to us originated in a suggestion of the Solicitor General that we had erred in concluding that we lacked jurisdiction to review the order of the magistrate judge because the appellant did not raise it before the district court. The Solicitor General's position is that we can review the magistrate judge's order but only for plain error of which he says there is none. So the government's position now is that we reached exactly the right result, but for the wrong reason.You can access the complete ruling at this link. Posted at 17:29 by Howard Bashman "Chief justice defiant on monument; Alabama jurist says he will again ask U.S. high court to intervene in divisive case": MSNBC offers this report, which includes a link to a video of Chief Justice Roy S. Moore's speech to his supporters this afternoon. Posted at 17:24 by Howard Bashman Call him Ishmael: Just how difficult can it sometimes be for a criminal convicted in federal court to win a habeas corpus action? This very short ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today provides one interesting example. Posted at 17:09 by Howard Bashman "Ten Commandments displays at issue across the nation": The Scripps Howard News Service has this report. Posted at 17:00 by Howard Bashman "Flag-burning teen indicted for arson": Today's edition of The Houston Chronicle contains this article. Posted at 16:58 by Howard Bashman "Refugee claimed she'd be persecuted for obesity": Canada's National Post today offers this report. Posted at 16:55 by Howard Bashman The economics of religion: A dissenting opinion that Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued yesterday in a case challenging Chicago's zoning ordinance for religious uses is quite interesting. Posted at 16:53 by Howard Bashman "Chief justice vows to fight monument removal order": CNN.com has just placed online this report. And United Press International reports here that "Conflict continues over religious monument." Posted at 16:18 by Howard Bashman "Alabama Judges Order Removal of Ten Commandments": Reuters provides this report. Meanwhile, from Pennsylvania comes a report headlined "More Controversy Over Altoona's Ten Commandments Plaque." Posted at 15:53 by Howard Bashman "Alabama Justices Overrule Chief on Monument; The state Supreme Court orders removal of the embattled Ten Commandments monument, in line with a federal court decision. Chief Justice Roy Moore wanted to continue the fight." The Los Angeles Times offers this update. And Robert A. Martin, Editor and Publisher of The Montgomery Independent, has an essay in today's issue entitled "Moore ordered to appear before Judicial Inquiry body on Friday." Posted at 14:57 by Howard Bashman "Justices Order Ten Commandments Monument Removed": The New York Times provides this update. Posted at 14:28 by Howard Bashman "Statement By Gov. Bob Riley On The Ten Commandments Monument": You can access here the statement that Alabama's Governor has issued today. Posted at 14:10 by Howard Bashman Access online the order entered by the eight Associate Justices of the Alabama Supreme Court ordering the removal of the Ten Commandments monument: It is available here, via FindLaw. Posted at 14:02 by Howard Bashman "Statement of Attorney General Bill Pryor Regarding the Order of the Alabama Supreme Court to Require the Judicial Building Manager to Comply with the Federal Injunction": You can access this statement, issued today, at this link. Posted at 14:00 by Howard Bashman "Chief Justice Condemns Order To Remove Monument; District Judge Had Set Today As Deadline For Removal From Public View": Birmingham, Alabama's NBC-13 provides this report. And WSFA-12 reports here that "Monument to Go: Attorney General Says No One Above the Law." Finally for now, The Associated Press offers an article headlined "Riley: Court Orders on Monument Wrong, But Must Be Followed." Posted at 13:53 by Howard Bashman "Truly, we have no finer friend than the dog." The very lengthy footnote 13 contained in the opinion in this police dog bite case that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided today may strike some as a bit over the top. Posted at 13:43 by Howard Bashman "Ala. justices overrule Moore, order monument removed; U.S. Supreme Court had refused to block federal court order": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution offers this updated report, which states that "Moore and his attorneys are scheduled to appear before the judicial ethics panel in a private meeting Friday." Posted at 12:45 by Howard Bashman "Transcript: Justice Moore on His Monumental Battle." FOXNews offers this transcript of an interview broadcasted yesterday. Posted at 12:35 by Howard Bashman "Moore Not Likely to Back Down": The Associated Press offers an article from Gallant, Alabama that begins, "Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is in the fight of his life over a Ten Commandments monument, and his brother can't help but think how little has changed since they were kids growing up in this foothills town." And this AP article from Nebraska reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is currently considering a Ten Commandments case involving "a similar marker in a city park in Plattsmouth." Posted at 12:32 by Howard Bashman "Alabama Judge Orders Removal of 'No Parking' Signs": ScrappleFace offers this commentary. Posted at 12:22 by Howard Bashman "Justices: Move Ten Commandments Display." The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 11:33 by Howard Bashman BREAKING NEWS: "Monument to Go." WSFA-12, the NBC affiliate in Montgomery, Alabama, reports here that "Senior Associate Justice Gorman Houston has told WSFA that all eight associate justices of the Alabama Supreme Court have issued an order countermanding the order of Judge Roy Moore concerning the Ten Commandments monument. Houston says they have notified the building supervisor to make immediate plans to remove the monument. Attorney General Bill Pryor is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11:00 a.m." That would be 11 a.m. central time, presumably. Posted at 11:16 by Howard Bashman "Makeshift wall in front of Ten Commandments monument removed": Talk about your separation of Church and State. The Associated Press provides this update. Posted at 11:13 by Howard Bashman The invisible Ten Commandments: Montgomery, Alabama's NBC affiliate, WSFA-12, is reporting here that "Early Thursday morning a curtain/partition went up around the Ten Commandments monument in the Alabama Judicial Building. It is unclear at this time whether or not the plywood-like curtain/partition went up to provide a private viewing area for the monument or as a precursor to the movement of the monument. However, WSFA has confirmed the order to put up the curtain/partition came from Alabama Supreme Court's associate justices." WTVM-9 in Columbus, Georgia reports here that "The Ten Commandments monument is no longer in plain view at the Alabama Judicial Building where Christian activists are conducting prayer sessions. Its unclear why the plywood-like covering was placed over the two-and-a-half ton stone monument. Yesterday the US Supreme Court declined to get involved in the case. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore did not comply with a midnight deadline to remove it. Court officials have closed the public entrance. Onlookers were told they would not be allowed inside unless they have official court business." And The Associated Press reports here that "Ten Commandments monument walled off from public in building." In other news, The Birmingham News reports here that "Circuit judge gives chamber a look at Moore case possibilities." Posted at 10:23 by Howard Bashman Look who's not paying attention now: Today's issue of The Houston Chronicle contains an article headlined "Burdine case has Harris County, TDCJ bickering; Issue: killer's parole eligibility." And yesterday that newspaper reported that "Mix-up says Burdine is eligible for parole; 'Sleeping lawyer' convict had agreed to life." Posted at 09:24 by Howard Bashman "Court to hear fetus, guardian arguments": This article appears today in The Orlando Sentinel. Posted at 09:20 by Howard Bashman "Man who crashed abortion clinic wins legal respite": The Houston Chronicle reported here yesterday that "Charges against a man accused of driving his van through the front entrance of a Houston abortion clinic in March were dismissed by a federal judge who ruled a part of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act unconstitutional." Posted at 09:19 by Howard Bashman "Tortolita still does not exist." So begins an article from The Associated Press about this ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued yesterday. Posted at 09:12 by Howard Bashman "Court vows ruling on same-sex unions": This article appeared in yesterday's issue of The Arizona Republic. Posted at 09:10 by Howard Bashman Other Ten Commandments-related news: Today's issue of The Toledo Blade contains an article headlined "Prayer rally at courthouse here to support display of biblical law." The Associated Press reports from Miles City, Montana that "County votes to move Ten Commandments." And The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina reports that "Battle over Ten Commandments was waged in Charleston County." Posted at 09:06 by Howard Bashman Additional news and commentary pertaining to the Ten Commandments monument in the Alabama Judicial Building: Montgomery, Alabama's NBC affiliate, WSFA-12, provides a report entitled "What's Next in the Case of the 10 Commandments." The Mobile Register offers an article headlined "Johnstone led failed effort to move the monument" and an editorial entitled "Here's why Moore is losing." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports here that "Commandments Appeal Fails; The Supreme Court refuses to intervene hours before a judicial deadline for removal of a religious display from a state building." The Montgomery Advertiser contains an editorial entitled "Justices must find mettle to intervene." And at Town Hall, Marvin Olasky has an essay that begins, "Say what you will about Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court, he does know how to restart a vital national debate that had been stalled." Posted at 08:39 by Howard Bashman This morning's Ten Commandments monument news from Alabama: The Montgomery Advertiser reports here that "Protesters removed, monument stays." The Birmingham News reports here that "Court won't stop monument move." A related editorial is entitled "Test of courage: Other state officials must act if Moore will not." The Mobile Register contains an article headlined "They came from all over for glimpse of the drama." And The Crimson White reports here that "Monument defenders undeterred." This morning's edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports here that "Commandments feud spurs arrests; Supreme Court stays out of dispute in Alabama." And CNN.com reports that "Alabama justice not giving up monument fight; Ten Commandments still in place as deadline passes." Finally for now, blogger Timothy Sandefur offers his thoughts on this matter. Posted at 06:19 by Howard Bashman "Supporters Begin Round the Clock Vigil: Alan Keyes Issues a Call to Montgomery": WSFA-12, Montgomery, Alabama's NBC affiliate, provides this late report. Posted at 00:13 by Howard Bashman Wednesday, August 20, 2003
"Jurist Defies Deadline on Monument; $5,000-a-Day Fines May Begin": Thursday's edition of The Washington Post will contain this report from Montgomery, Alabama. And Thursday's edition of The New York Times will report here that "Alabama's Top Judge Defiant on Commandments' Display."
Posted at 23:21 by Howard Bashman
Election law expert Rick Hasen provides his analysis of today's federal court ruling denying a stay of California's recall election: You can access Rick's evaluation here. How the Ninth Circuit rules will very likely depend on which three judges from this very large group are selected to hear and decide the forthcoming appeal. Posted at 22:41 by Howard Bashman "Alabama Judge Defiant Hours Before Deadline": Reuters provides this report. Birmingham, Alabama's NBC-13 reports here that "Moore Says He Will Not Remove Monument; Judge Claims Moving Monument Would Violate The Oath Of His Office." The Montgomery Advertiser reports here that "16 protesters arrested at monument." And National Public Radio offers an audio report entitled "Ten Commandments Judge Won't Budge" (Real Player required). My reader who works in the Alabama Judicial Building emails from home this evening: Well, I see that reports of the arrests have made all the news. Probably 10-15 deputy sheriffs, court security officers, and other law enforcement officers arrested 20 or so persons who had been gathered around the monument since this morning. Those busted were for the most part orderly -- singing Amazing Grace, clutching their Bibles, etc. No real violence, only a few people going stiff and refusing to stand up as they were taken away. These "hard resisters" were dragged off; fortunately the rotunda's stone floor is quite smooth, so the going was easy (more like a slide). No rough trade. The officers making the arrests were very solicitous of the persons being arrested. All those arrested were handcuffed as they were led away. I think they were loaded into an old school bus and hauled off to jail. Probably 50 or more employees at the Judicial Building watched the action from the second floor, above the main floor. (Before the arrests started, I noticed some of the law officers looking up nervously at the onlookers; maybe they aren't used to having so many folks watch them effect arrests.) Yes, court officials pretty much closed the building to the public at 4:00 and chased away the willing and most of the press. The news cameras had to settle for taping the action through the windows at the building's entrance. At 5:45, the building manager told us gawkers that all the indoor action was finished and that Justice Moore was going to give two "live interviews" in front of the monument later this evening. For some reason, two individuals who had been guarding the Rock were not taken away. One of them was an elderly lady in an electric wheelchair. Anyway, no one seems to know how the Rock will be removed. If it must be taken out the front doors, things will get interesting, because as of 6:00 p.m., 100 or more activists, onlookers, and other assorted oddballs were gathered near the steps just outside the building entrance.The letter that I linked to earlier from Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor to Representative Jim Carns, the Minority Leader of the Alabama House of Representatives, is quite interesting. First, Pryor makes the point that he does not have official authority over the inside of the Alabama Judicial Building. And, as earlier news reports made clear, a majority of the Justices serving on the Alabama Supreme Court today failed to vote in favor of a proposal to move the monument to a private area of the building. Second, Pryor's letter strongly suggests that had he been in control of the defense of the litigation against Chief Justice Roy S. Moore, the result may have been different. That's quite a gutsy thing to imply. Finally, the letter proudly trumpets many of Pryor's accomplishments that provide the basis for the filibuster against his nomination that is underway in the U.S. Senate. I'd have to think that he realizes he will not be joining the Eleventh Circuit anytime soon to have made those accomplishments such a central focus of his letter. Update: Law Professor Tung Yin has an op-ed entitled "A justice's contempt for rule of law" in today's issue of The Iowa City Press-Citizen. (Via Law Professor Jeff Cooper, who shares some pertinent thoughts of his own here.) Posted at 22:11 by Howard Bashman "Arrests Begin at Monument Showdown": WSFA-12, Montgomery, Alabama's NBC affiliate, provides this report (with photos). And WTVM-9 in Columbus, Georgia has a report entitled "Busload Arrested and Led Away from Ten Commandments" which states that "Associate Justice Douglas Johnston[e] issued a statement saying he had proposed moving the monument to a private area of the judicial building after six o'clock this evening. He said that would avert any fines while Moore pursues appeals that could take months. But he said fewer than five of the justices concurred, and his proposal was not approved. The associate justices have indicated they may take action later." Update: Here's another interesting, related item from the WSFA-12 site entitled "Attorney General Responds to House Leader." The description explains that "Attorney General Bill Pryor has released a response to Alabama House Minority Leader Jim Carns answering questions concerning the Ten Commandments rulings and the state's position on the matter. " An official copy of the letter from Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor can be viewed here (PDF file). Posted at 19:35 by Howard Bashman "Conn. Media Seek Secret Court 'X-Files'": The AP offers this coverage. Posted at 19:27 by Howard Bashman Recall effort abandoned as "too difficult": That's what this Associated Press report says has happened with the effort to recall "six Nevada Supreme Court justices who set aside a constitutional mandate requiring a two-thirds legislative vote to pass taxes." Posted at 19:13 by Howard Bashman "High Court Nixes Ten Commandments Appeal": The Associated Press provides this update from Montgomery, Alabama, and the report states that "After the court acted, Montgomery police handcuffed about 20 Moore supporters who had kneeled and stood at the monument inside the building rotunda and refused to leave. Police then led the participants out of the building." An earlier update from The Montgomery Advertiser was headlined "Monument supporters locked inside Judicial Building." Posted at 19:05 by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Dashes Hopes of Alabama Judge": Reuters provides this report. Posted at 17:30 by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: You can access here an article entitled "Hawaii Kamehameha Ordered to Admit Student"; here "Dems Start Group to Try to 'Recall' Bush"; and here "60s Radical in Heist Granted Parole." Posted at 17:27 by Howard Bashman Access today's ruling that refused to delay the vote on California governor recall: It is available online here. Posted at 17:20 by Howard Bashman "Court Rejects Ten Commandments Appeal": Gina Holland of The Associated Press has this report. Next stop -- the International Court of Justice at The Hague? You can access the U.S. Supreme Court docket entries at this link. Finally for now, the University of South Alabama's student newspaper, The Vanguard, contains an editorial entitled "Moore Stupidity." Posted at 16:29 by Howard Bashman Federal judge refuses to delay vote on California governor recall: Thanks to Rick Hasen for emailing the news. I was on the phone a bit earlier with a reporter for a nationwide television news outlet, and the reporter was very interested in learning all about the Ninth Circuit, the federal appellate court with jurisdiction over California. CNN.com offers this report on the ruling, and you can access an Associated Press report here. Posted at 16:08 by Howard Bashman "Counting the Cloture Votes: Analyzing Senators' Support for Judicial Nomination Filibusters." Tom Jipping offers this analysis (17-page PDF document; via "Southern Appeal"). Posted at 16:05 by Howard Bashman "Moore appeals again as clock ticks": The Montgomery Advertiser offers this updated report. Posted at 16:00 by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: You can access here an article entitled "Fla. Prosecutor Cleared of Ethics Flap" and here an article entitled "Flaws Eyed in Calif. Sex Offenders Lists." Posted at 15:58 by Howard Bashman "Ten Commandments Judge Puts Hopes in Supreme Court": Reuters offers this coverage. Posted at 15:15 by Howard Bashman "Sky-high smut: Raunchy ad rises in Times Sq." The New York Daily News provides this report. Posted at 14:28 by Howard Bashman "Scientology seeks millions as punishment; A lawyer involved in a wrongful death suit should pay more than $2-million, the church contends." This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. Posted at 14:26 by Howard Bashman A reader's report from inside the Alabama Judicial Building: The following email arrived just moments ago: From the Alabama Judicial Building. I know the word has been overused with regard to this story, but it's a circus around here. It's Wednesday, about 11:20 a.m. CDT, and the Rock is still in place. The media have the building surrounded with their trucks. Everyone and his uncle is being interviewed in the rotunda area, near the Rock. Dozens of people milling about out front. And there's an assortment of Christian activists prostrate on the front steps (praying), some guy driving a tricked-up RV pasted with anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-federal government slogans. He's flying what looks to be some sort of religious flag and an upside-down US flag atop his war wagon. Let's see: Alabama's Head Atheist, Larry Darby, is here and dressed especially swell for the occasion -- he's even wearing some kind of 1940s-style men's hat. The man can sniff out a reporter's microphone from 50 paces. Across the street, sitting in his beach chair and drinking from his thermos, is a Hare Krishna (I think), wearing only a robe and some sandals. As you know, AG Pryor has vowed to act to remove the Rock if the deadline passes without further word from the fed courts. Security guards looking worried, police officers here and there around the building, with several motorcycle cops out front. Yellow traffic cones have been placed near the street. I wonder if they are going to cordon off the area when the time comes to move the Rock. I think it will only get busier as the day goes on. I imagine there's no freight elevator that could handle the thing if they (the people charged with moving it) h |
