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Saturday, October 31, 2009 "Luzerne DA to reopen some 'cash-for-kids' cases": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Today's edition of The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader contains an article headlined "How juvie scandal was uncovered: Juvenile Law Center attorneys spoke to parents, juveniles as they left courtroom." And The Reading Eagle reports that "Judge from Berks involved in review of Luzerne juvenile cases hopes for restoration of public trust in courts there." "Deal in Senate on Protecting News Sources": Charlie Savage has this article today in The New York Times. According to the article, "Protection under the so-called shield law would also be extended to unpaid bloggers engaged in gathering and disseminating news." And The Washington Post reports today that "White House, senators agree on media shield law." Friday, October 30, 2009 Third Circuit decides appeal challenging the constitutionality of Pittsburgh ordinance regulating protests and confrontations at health care facilities providing abortions: You can access today's lengthy ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. Posted at 11:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Congress Set to Take Aim at Judicial Recusals; House Judiciary Committee's interest marks the first time Congress has flirted with recusal guidelines since a 2004 scrap between congressional Democrats and Justice Scalia": law.com has this report. Posted at 11:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Both sides claim victory with al-Marri sentencing; Terror agent's brother reacts with disappointment": This article appears today in The Peoria Journal Star, along with an article headlined "Al-Marri 'very happy' with 8-year sentence; Sleeper agent could get out of prison in about five years." And in today's edition of The New York Times, John Schwartz reports that "Admitted Qaeda Agent Receives Prison Sentence." "Racy pics stir penalty, ACLU": This past Wednesday's edition of The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana contained an article that begins, "The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Smith-Green Community School Corp. and a principal in federal court on behalf of two girls punished for summer postings on MySpace." And The Associated Press reports that "School sued for punishing teens over MySpace pix." "US Supreme Court case to test funds' fee structure": Ross Kerber and James Vicini of Reuters have this report. Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman "US: Mass. can't force gay marriage benefits." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "States that allow gay marriage can't force the federal government to provide benefits to those couples, the Obama administration argued Friday in court papers in a lawsuit by Massachusetts." Posted at 05:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate, White House agree on reporter protections": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Senate supporters of a bill protecting a reporter's right to protect confidential sources in federal court said Friday they've reached a compromise with the Obama administration and media groups that gives the government authority to override those rights in certain national security cases." Posted at 12:24 PM by Howard Bashman Second Circuit, over the dissent of four judges, denies rehearing en banc in case involving a doctor's application for discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector: You can access today's order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denying rehearing en banc, together with opinions concurring in and dissenting from that order, at this link. The original three-judge panel's ruling, which I noted in this post on the day it issued, can be accessed here. For those interested in the "in banc" versus "en banc" controversy in which the Second Circuit sometimes finds itself embroiled, it is interesting to note that the judges' opinions correctly refer to rehearing "en banc," while the Clerk of Court's order officially denying full-court review still uses the now-abandoned "in banc." "Fees Case Strikes at Heart of Mutual Funds; Supreme Court to Weigh How Much Money-Management Firms Can Charge; Defining Fiduciary Duty": Jess Bravin and Jane J. Kim have this article today in The Wall Street Journal. And today's edition of USA Today reports that "Fees land mutual funds in top court; Justices to consider whether industry is fair to individuals." "Top court race drips with mud": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In addition, columnist Salena Zito has an op-ed entitled "Judging gender's impact." And today's edition of The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania contains an article headlined "GOP sees Panella linked to scandal; Democrats brush off the claim as a candidate's last-minute political posturing." "Monsanto asks Supreme Court to review alfalfa ban": Today's edition of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch contains an article that begins, "Monsanto Co. asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court's decision to ban the planting of genetically modified alfalfa until an environmental review is complete." Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Kansas Supreme Court hears arguments about caps on damages awarded to patient; Case against Lawrence physician attracting great deal of attention": This article appears today in The Lawrence Journal-World. Posted at 07:38 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge robbed twice in 3 days; 2 men arrested in home invasions": Today's edition of The Columbus Dispatch contains an article that begins, "Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Craig Wright was the victim of two separate home-invasion robberies in Whitehall last week, police said." Posted at 07:35 AM by Howard Bashman "11th Circuit Obscenity Case Tests Community Standards on the Internet; Prosecutors have described the films at issue in the case as 'sadistic, masochistic and violent'": Alyson M. Palmer has this article today in the Fulton County Daily Report. And online at Reason, Greg Beato has an essay entitled "In Defense of Extreme Pornography: Why Janet Romano and Rob Zicari have no business being in federal prison." Thursday, October 29, 2009 "Local attorneys to face off at Supreme Court": Today's edition of The Standard Speaker of Hazleton, Pennsylvania contains an article that begins, "Attorneys Gino Andreuzzi of Drums and William Schwab of Lehighton both started practicing law in 1976. Since then, they have contested several bankruptcy cases against one another. Now they're going to the U.S. Supreme Court together because a catering business of a Ukrainian immigrant failed." According to the article, the case is scheduled to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday of next week. "Pa. high court dismisses juvenile convictions": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has dismissed thousands of juvenile convictions issued by a judge charged in a corruption scandal." You can access today's order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania at this link. In related coverage, The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania today contains an article headlined "Judge flap: Who is liable? Parties at a hearing Wednesday seek immunity from lawsuits filed on behalf of juveniles." And The Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre today contains an article headlined "Lawyers in civil lawsuit pull no punches." Fourth Circuit orders additional trial court proceedings to determine whether Barbara Bush may be involuntarily medicated to stand trial on charges of threatening federal judges: Of course, the case doesn't involve that Barbara Bush. You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link. Posted at 03:05 PM by Howard Bashman "7th Circuit: Group can't display pamphlets at Ill. state park." David L. Hudson Jr. has this news analysis online at the First Amendment Center. My earlier coverage of the Seventh Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Ariz. court rules records law covers 'metadata'": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Hidden data embedded in electronic public records must be disclosed under Arizona's public records law, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a case that attracted interest from media and government organizations." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Arizona at this link. "Attorney General's Office blasts Kevin Cooper's innocence claims in petition response": Today's edition of The Contra Costa Times contains an article that begins, "The state Attorney General's Office responded this week to Death Row inmate Kevin Cooper's petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, and urged the court to deny Cooper's September request for intervention in his decades-old case." The newspaper has posted the brief in opposition online at this link. Posted at 01:57 PM by Howard Bashman "State justices hear arguments on parental waivers; In rare 'road trip,' state Supreme Court hears case on whether liability can be signed away": This article appears today in The Detroit News. Posted at 12:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court's future in hands of next governor": Mary Fuchs has this article today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. Posted at 12:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Court of Appeals, Supreme Court moving to Post building": The Denver Post today contains an article that begins, "The Colorado Judicial Branch will relocate the state's two highest courts to The Denver Post Building next year." Posted at 12:22 PM by Howard Bashman "4th Circuit Nominee Gets Committee Backing": David Ingram has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 11:57 AM by Howard Bashman "Gregory Katsas to rejoin Jones Day": The Jones Day law firm issued this press release today. Update: At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Jeff Jeffrey has a post titled "Top DOJ Official Rejoins Jones Day." "U.S. Supreme Court Considers Life Sentences For Juveniles": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. And today in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that "Justices will scrutinize life sentences for youths; Cases of two Florida juveniles raise questions about penalty for non-homicide crimes." "State high court says campaign donations can't force recusals": Today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, "A deeply divided state Supreme Court adopted a rule Wednesday that says endorsements, campaign contributions and independently run ads in themselves are not enough to force a judge off of a case." And The Associated Press has a report headlined "Wis. high court: Donations don't require recusals." The Supreme Court of Wisconsin has made some background information available online via this link. "Bat maker found liable for player's death": Today's edition of The Helena Independent Record contains an article that begins, "After 12 hours of deliberation, a jury sided with the parents of former Miles City American Legion baseball pitcher Brandon Patch in a civil suit over the player's death during a 2003 game in Helena." Posted at 10:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Welcome to the Big Bash": Okay, it's not exactly "Bashman news from Australia," but it is what the cover of the November 2, 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated happens to say. The articles mentioned on the cover can be accessed here and here. Posted at 10:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Pa. Supreme Court race draws complaints": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. And today's edition of The Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania contains an article headlined "State GOP: Scandal taints candidate." "Appeals court backs state washing machine rules": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "A federal appeals court revived California's effort Wednesday to increase water efficiency in home washing machines, a plan that state regulators say would ease the water shortage and save households money." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "A New California Law Places Paparazzi Under the Spotlight": Dionne Searcey has this article today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Loosening of F.B.I. Rules Stirs Privacy Concerns": Charlie Savage has this article today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "No sex needed to get her Series tickets": Today's edition of The Philadelphia Daily News contains an article that begins, "Susan Finkelstein, the 43-year-old Southwest Philadelphia woman allegedly willing to trade sex for Phillies tickets, is getting her tickets without sex. On Friday, Finkelstein, the assistant PR director of Penn's Wistar Institute, will receive two tickets for Saturday's Phillies-Yankees game, the first one to be played in Philadelphia and the third in the World Series." And today's edition of The New York Daily News contains an article headlined "Was just flirtin', says Phillies fan Susan Finkelstein in sex-for-tickets bust." "Mother challenges Texas law allowing parents to show children pornography": This article appears today in The Dallas Morning News. Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, October 28, 2009 "Lawyer Reposa loses bid to overturn contempt finding": Chuck Lindell of The Austin American-Statesman has this post today at that newspaper's "Austin Legal" blog. And the "Tex Parte Blog" of Texas Lawyer today has a post titled "Austin solo Adam Reposa, who made obscene gesture before judge, loses fight at CCA." You can access today's unpublished ruling of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, that State's highest court in criminal matters, at this link. "Court of Appeal: Vulgar Language in Text Messages Was Not Obscene." Today's edition of Metropolitan News-Enterprise contains an article that begins, "The Third District Court of Appeal yesterday reversed the delinquency adjudication on a juvenile for making threatening or obscene telephone communication to his ex-girlfriend in a series of text messages which included a multitude of expletives derived from sexually-related themes. In the published portion of its decision, the panel explained that isolated words cannot be extracted from a private message for purposes of imposing criminal liability based on their abstract offensiveness and that the vulgar language employed by the juvenile, a 16-year old identified as C.C., was not obscene." And at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog, Kevin Poulsen has a post titled "Appeals Court Says Swearing In Text Messages Isn't a Crime." You can access yesterday's ruling of California's Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District at this link. "Appeals court reinstates Zicam lawsuit": Howard Fischer of The East Valley Tribune has a news update that begins, "A federal appeals court on Wednesday reinstated a shareholder lawsuit against Scottsdale-based Matrixx Initiatives over what company officials knew about potential dangers from its popular Zicam cold remedy." My earlier coverage of today's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Attorneys argue Conahan, Ciavarella liable for actions on bench": The Times Leader of Wikles-Barre, Pennsylvania has a news update that begins, "Attorneys appeared before a federal judge today to argue whether former judges Michael Conahan, Mark Ciavarella and certain other defendants are immune from liability in a lawsuit that alleges juveniles were improperly incarcerated." The Citizens Voice of Wilkes Barre has a news update headlined "Ciavarella in court today for hearing." And The Associated Press reports that "Judges seek immunity in Pa. 'kids for cash' case." "Batmaker found liable for baseball player's death": The Helena Independent Record has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Mont. jury awards $850,000 in aluminum bat lawsuit." Unanimous three-judge Ninth Circuit panel issues a decision holding that "a national community standard must be applied in regulating obscene speech on the Internet, including obscenity disseminated via email." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. XBIZ.com -- which describes itself as "the leading adult industry news source" -- reports on the ruling in an item headlined "9th Circuit: Obscenity Should Be Defined by U.S. Community Standards." "US appeals court reverses dismissal of Zicam complaint against Matrixx": Reuters has this short report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. Posted at 04:57 PM by Howard Bashman Things not mentioned earlier today at "How Appealing": 1. Game one of the 2009 World Series is tonight, as the New York Yankees host the Philadelphia Phillies. The Honolulu Advertiser today contains this related article. As noted in this post from May 2009, my son and I had the pleasure of rooting for the Phillies at the new Yankee Stadium earlier this year. 2. Today is my 45th birthday. The Associated Press, The New York Times, and Wikipedia provide information about other even more noteworthy things that have happened on October 28th. "Ceded lands suit to be dismissed": Today's edition of The Honolulu Advertiser contains an article that begins, "The Hawaii Supreme Court yesterday ordered the dismissal of claims by the final plaintiff in the ceded lands case, setting the stage for the end of 15 years of litigation." And The Associated Press reports that "Hawaii Supreme Court ending ceded lands case." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Hawaii at this link. "Supreme Court election crucial to redistricting, leaders say": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. And today in The Philadelphia Daily News, columnist John Baer has an op-ed entitled "Judicial campaigning under the rule of flaw." "Judge Alex Kozinski apologizes for distributing crude jokes; A panel concludes its investigation of the 9th Circuit's chief judge after he says he has stopped e-mailing his 'gag list'; No action is taken against him": Scott Glover has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Yesterday's ruling of the Judicial Council of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit does not yet appear to be freely available online. If this sounds like deja vu all over again to you, you're right. Update: The Third Circuit Judicial Council's ruling that is the subject of today's article in The Los Angeles Times is dated May 28, 2009 and can be accessed here (via "Patterico"). Tuesday, October 27, 2009 "This case presents the novel issue of whether an individual can have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy' in a storage unit rented with a stolen identity." The quote that forms the title of this post is not the plot of an upcoming episode of "Mad Men." Rather, it's the opening line of an opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Case Spurs Pharmacies' Fears of Lawsuits Over Drug Abuse": Wednesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal will contain this article about a case pending before the Supreme Court of Nevada. You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News. Posted at 10:37 PM by Howard Bashman "US Dem Reps Craft Bill To Prevent Easily Dismissing Lawsuits": Dow Jones Newswires have a report that begins, "Three Democratic lawmakers plan to introduce a bill next week that would override a recent Supreme Court ruling, and make it easier for plaintiffs to get their cases heard in court." Posted at 10:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Small Law Firm Open Thread: Appellate Law." David Lat has this post today at "Above the Law." Posted at 10:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Full judicial panel to decide if torture suit should go to trial; Three judges of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that the claims by five men that they were tortured could go to trial; The Justice Department sought and was granted a rehearing": Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. My earlier coverage of today's Ninth Circuit order granting rehearing en banc appears here and here. This evening's DVD selection: The film "American Violet." You can access reviews here and here. Posted at 10:11 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Wins Bid for Court Rehearing in CIA Torture Suit": Bloomberg News has this report. And Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update headlined "Court to reconsider suit against S.J. company linked to torture flights." My earlier coverage of today's Ninth Circuit order granting rehearing en banc appears at this link. "Appeals panel dismisses Fla. Christian frat case": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today. Posted at 03:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Waiter, There's a Gavel in My Soup": Yesterday at the "City Room" blog of The New York Times, Gay Talese had a post that begins, "My writer friend Sidney Offit and I were dining at Lumi's on 70th Street and Lexington Avenue on Saturday night with our mutual friend, the enduringly beautiful 78-year-old model Carmen Dell'Orefice; and seated next to our table, quietly engaged in conversation with his wife, Jane, while sipping red wine, was the chief justice of the United States, John G. Roberts Jr." (Via WSJ.com's "Law Blog"). Posted at 02:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Wis. group: Justices shouldn't have to step aside." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A powerful business group that spent millions of dollars to help elect two Wisconsin Supreme Court justices is proposing a rule that would allow them to hear its cases." And in somewhat related commentary, The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin has posted online an editorial entitled "Gableman's bias is showing." "Judge seals damage award against Wyeth": Today's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an article that begins, "A Philadelphia jury yesterday awarded punitive damages to an Illinois woman who said Wyeth's Prempro hormone replacement therapy caused her breast cancer, but the world will have to wait at least another month before anyone knows how much." And Bloomberg News reports that "Pfizer Unit's Prempro Punitive Damages Verdict Remains Secret." "Court to reconsider CIA 'torture flight' ruling": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, "A federal appeals court granted the Obama administration's request today to reconsider a ruling allowing foreign captives to sue a Bay Area company that reportedly helped to plan CIA flights to countries where the prisoners were allegedly tortured." Via the ACLU's web page devoted to the case, you can access the federal government's petition for rehearing en banc and the plaintiffs' opposition thereto. You can access today's order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granting rehearing en banc at this link. In April 2009, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel issued this ruling in the case, which revived the rendition lawsuit. Next, in August 2009, the three-judge panel issued this amended ruling. My posts covering the Ninth Circuit's original ruling can be accessed here and here. And my posts covering the original Ninth Circuit oral argument of the case and previews of that oral argument can be accessed here, here, here, here, and here. "For Class Actions, It's All About Location": Today in The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley has an article that begins, "When the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in a major class action case next month, trial lawyers in California will face a severe threat to their ability to file certain claims in plaintiff-friendly state courts." Posted at 12:05 PM by Howard Bashman "DC sniper Muhammad set to die by lethal injection": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 11:58 AM by Howard Bashman Eleventh Circuit affirms denial of qualified immunity to two police officers who shocked a man, who was neither accused nor suspected of a crime, with a Taser gun at least eight times over a two minute span, ultimately leading to his death: You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, October 26, 2009 "Obama Administration Sides With Investors In Merck Securities Case": Brent Kendall of Dow Jones Newswires has this report. Posted at 10:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Courthouse Bible plaintiff now targets Houston council prayer": Mary Flood of The Houston Chronicle has a news update that begins, "The woman who successfully sued to have a Bible removed from a Harris County courthouse display is now suing to stop city council from opening meetings with prayers that she believes are too Christian." Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Cape Girardeau man released after arrest for flag desecration": This article appeared yesterday in The Southeast Missourian. Posted at 10:47 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Justices debate, draw laughs at Tucson event": The Arizona Daily Star has a news update that begins, "U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer drew laughs from taking a few good-natured jibes at one another, while raising thought-provoking questions about how to interpret the Constitution in an evolving society." In The East Valley Tribune, Howard Fischer has a news update headlined "Scalia: Some on court inventing rights." The Associated Press has a report headlined "Justice Scalia: Rival doctrine seeks rigidity." And the Office of University Communications at the University of Arizona has issued a news release headlined "What Would the Founders Think? During a UA-sponsored event, U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer discussed their personal judicial philosophies in determining how the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted." Via the web site of Arizona Public Media, you can view today's event online by clicking here. "Pa. jury returns verdict in Prempro-cancer case": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A Philadelphia jury returned a sealed punitive-damages verdict Monday against drugmaker Wyeth Pharmaceuticals after finding a link between a woman's breast cancer and the hormone-replacement drug she took." Posted at 10:12 PM by Howard Bashman Even more Bashman news from Australia: Tuesday's edition of The Warrnambool Standard contains an article headlined "Hit men: Thugs paid $50 each to bash man." You can learn more about Warrnambool at this link. "Pa. Jury Weighs Damages in Prempro-Cancer Case; Jury weighs punitive damages in finding Prempro-breast cancer link; thousands of cases pending": The Associated Press has this report from Philadelphia. Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Judicial Nominations in the Bush and Obama Administrations' First Nine Months": Russell Wheeler of The Brookings Institution has this report. Posted at 03:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Cooke affirmed for dismissing count against Ben Kuehne": David Oscar Markus has this post at his "Southern District of Florida Blog" about a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Halloween Costume Comes Back to Haunt Woman in Sexual Harassment Case": The blog "Siouxsie Law" -- self-described as "an offbeat-gothic-legal blog" -- has this timely post about a recent ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Posted at 03:22 PM by Howard Bashman "In Battle Over Gay Marriage, Timing May Be Key": Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 03:14 PM by Howard Bashman "The Bench in Purgatory: The new Republican obstructionism on Obama's judicial nominees." Doug Kendall has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:35 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, October 25, 2009 "9/11 Conspirator Seeks Appeal": Yesterday evening's broadcast of C-SPAN's "America & the Courts" featured the audio of last month's Fourth Circuit reargument of Zacarias Moussaoui's appeal. You can view the broadcast online, on-demand by clicking here. Posted at 11:30 PM by Howard Bashman "An Affectionate Portrait of Bill Rehnquist, Regular Guy": Law professor Rod Smolla has this book review today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Posted at 11:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Ginsburg, Scalia onstage in Washington National Opera's 'Aridane'": Today at the "Clef Notes" blog of The Baltimore Sun, you can access this post, featuring photos. And The Associated Press reports that "Scalia, Ginsburg play nonspeaking opera roles." "Botched surgery case to test pain, suffering limits": This article appears today in The Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World. Posted at 11:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Merit selection process for R.I. judges to get a close analysis": Today in The Providence Journal, columnist Ed Fitzpatrick has an op-ed that begins, "In the last few weeks, news about the Rhode Island judiciary has been dominated by accounts of how retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams is embroiled in a messy divorce case involving his former driver." Posted at 11:20 PM by Howard Bashman "New Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman ready to face challenges": This interview appears online at the web site of The Dallas Morning News. Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "State court deal nears $2 billion": Today's edition of The Sacramento Bee contains an article that begins, "An effort to create a centralized computer system for California's state courts, originally conceived as a modest upgrade in a few counties, now faces total costs approaching $2 billion and is years away from large-scale implementation, an investigation by The Bee has found." Posted at 11:03 PM by Howard Bashman Saturday, October 24, 2009 "Most state judges in the US must retire in 70s": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 10:58 PM by Howard Bashman "To Build Practice, Ex-Bush SG Embraces Liberal Clients": law.com's Tony Mauro has this report. Posted at 10:34 PM by Howard Bashman "2 Supreme Court justices taking stage in DC opera": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman Friday, October 23, 2009 "Pfizer Unit Must Pay Prempro Damages, Jury Concludes": Bloomberg News has a report that begins, "A Pfizer Inc. unit concealed the breast-cancer risks of its hormone-replacement therapy drug Prempro and is liable for $3.7 million in damages to an Illinois woman, a Philadelphia jury ruled in the second phase of a trial." Posted at 11:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Candidates for Pa. Supreme Court debate": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. And today in The Philadelphia Daily News, columnist John Baer has an essay entitled "West meets East in Supreme Court debate dustup." "State lets parks crack down on nude beachgoers": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "The California Supreme Court poured cold water on skinny-dippers Thursday, allowing state parks officers to enforce a ban on nudity at state beaches, including those that have been informally designated as 'clothing optional.'" Metropolitan News-Enterprise reports today that "Supreme Court Denies Review of Nude Sunbathing Ruling." The Orange County Register reports that "Nudists lose fight to keep beach clothing-optional; The state's highest court refused to hear a naturist group's appeal for Trail 6 in San Onofre." And The Marin Independent Journal reports that "State can crack down on nude bathers, but probably won't in Marin." "Minnesota Supreme Court rules water in woman's bong counts as drug": The St. Paul Pioneer Press contains this article today. You can access yesterday's 4-3 ruling of the Supreme Court of Minnesota at this link. "Police for Profit: A big property seizure case hits the Supreme Court." This editorial will appear Saturday in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 08:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Skilling's Enron Appeal: Is 'Honest Services Fraud' a Bogus Charge?" Time magazine has this report. Posted at 08:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Chief Justice Roberts dedicates Stanford Law School's Rehnquist courtyard; In a salute to William Rehnquist, his successor on the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts said Rehnquist will be remembered for changing how law is considered": Stanford News Service has this report. Posted at 08:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Coakley had tough time in court; Fails to mention loss in Washington": Today's edition of The Boston Globe contains an article that begins, "It was a bold decision to argue the case herself, as Attorney General Martha Coakley chose to represent Massachusetts personally before the US Supreme Court last year in a nationally watched case involving the right of criminal defendants to challenge crime lab reports in court." Posted at 08:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Thomas to other Supreme Court justices: Hush!" The Associated Press has this report. The Tuscaloosa News has an update headlined "US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visits UA." And earlier, today's edition of The Crimson White contains an article headlined "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to speak to students." "Scalia, Breyer to Discuss Constitution at UA-Hosted Event; The UA's William H. Rehnquist Center is hosting this rare opportunity to watch two sitting Supreme Court justices discuss the U.S. Constitution; Arizona Public Media will broadcast the discussion live": The Office of University Communications at the University of Arizona issued this news release yesterday. Once the discussion gets underway on Monday, it will be streamed live, online via this link by Arizona Public Media. "Strict Oklahoma abortion laws spark court battles": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 05:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Paul Clement, 43, Celebrates His 50th (Argument)": Tony Mauro has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 02:00 PM by Howard Bashman Supreme Court of Kansas holds that a criminal defendant must have used actual force to justify a self-defense jury instruction: Today, the Supreme Court of Kansas issued a ruling in which the majority opinion begins: "The issue presented is whether a defendant must use actual force to justify a jury instruction on self-defense. We answer this question 'yes.'" The court's Chief Justice issued a dissenting opinion, in which another justice joined, giving an example of the absurdity of the majority's holding: Consider the following example. One evening, a large man approaches a woman in a menacing manner and threatens, "I'm going to hurt you!" Worried for her life, the woman takes a gun from her purse, points it at her assailant, and says, "Stay where you are!" The assailant turns and runs.Thanks to a Kansas-based reader for bringing the decision to my attention. Posted at 11:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Now a Black Firefighter Is Suing New Haven: Did the Supreme Court leave the city holding the bag in last summer's Ricci ruling?" Law professor Richard Thompson Ford has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, October 22, 2009 "Blogger charged with threatening judges free on bail": Today's edition of The Bergen County (N.J.) Record contains an article that begins, "Internet blogger and talk show host Harold 'Hal' Turner, jailed as a danger to the community after his June arrest by the FBI, was freed on bail Wednesday pending trial on charges of threatening the lives of federal judges in Chicago." Posted at 10:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Orly Taitz appeals judge's $20,000 sanction; Calls Land's remarks 'political lynching'": The Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer has this news update. You can access the unusually lengthy and argumentative notice of appeal at this link. Posted at 10:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Bankruptcy: New Haven For Student Borrowers? High court decision could have big effect on college loan industry." Asher Hawkins has this report online at Forbes.com. Posted at 06:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court weighs fate of whistleblowers; Person who doesn't want to testify should be forced to explain why not, Polygone lawyers argue": Today in The Toronto Globe and Mail, Kirk Makin has an article that begins, "A confidential media source who was instrumental in exposing the Quebec sponsorship scandal may be the last such hero if the courts fail to protect her anonymity, the Supreme Court of Canada was told Wednesday." Posted at 06:20 PM by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit panel issues opinion explaining why it would allow the release of the names of those who signed petitions seeking a voter referendum on whether to give same-sex couples the same rights as married couples in Washington State: You can access today's opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. Posted at 06:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Is it Important to Be Important? Evaluating the Supreme Court's Case Selection Process." Law professor Frederick Schauer has posted this article online at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). Posted at 02:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Ten Commandments: Secular or religious? Case examines intent behind displays at Kentucky courthouses." This article appeared Tuesday in The Cincinnati Enquirer. Posted at 10:34 AM by Howard Bashman "Chief justice: I was asleep during my son's party." Yesterday's edition of The Des Moines Register contained an article that begins, "Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus says she was home sleeping the night her husband, her son and a group of teenagers were charged by Polk County sheriff's deputies investigating an underage beer party on Ternus' property. Ternus says she was unaware of the party until a deputy arrived at the house to investigate a complaint of loud noises on her 29-acre property near Grimes. Ternus commented on the case for the first time Tuesday, shortly after her husband, Dennis Drake, entered an Alford plea to a misdemeanor charge of harassment of a public official." The Globe Gazette of Mason City, Iowa reported yesterday that "Justice's husband gets probation in drinking case." The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported yesterday that "Chief Justice speaks about son's party night." And Radio Iowa reported yesterday that "Husband of Chief Justice enters plea in drinking case." "Nevada abortion statute targeted; Activist pursues personhood petition": This article appears today in The Las Vegas Review-Journal. Posted at 10:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice's old house finds a new home": Today's edition of The Arizona Republic contains an article that begins, "Known for her stoicism, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said she could not mask her emotion at the sight of her 1958 adobe house restored on a desert bluff in Papago Park." Posted at 10:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Williams steps down from R.I. Supreme Court": Yesterday's edition of The Providence Journal contained an article that begins, "Frank J. Williams, the retired chief justice of the state Supreme Court, whose constant presence has been cited as a cause in the divorce case of his former driver, announced Tuesday that he will no longer sit on the state's highest court." Posted at 10:23 AM by Howard Bashman "Equal pay crusader says she'll always be 'second-class citizen'": The Tampa Tribune today contains an article that begins, "After a life of anonymity in Jacksonville, Ala., Lilly Ledbetter made a name for herself when her gender discrimination lawsuit against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. reached the Supreme Court two years ago." Posted at 10:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Guantanamo Uighurs know justices took their case; At Guantanamo Bay, a BBC news article was posted on a bulletin board to announce the decision by Supreme Court justices to to consider the case of the Uighyr detainees": Carol Rosenberg has this article today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Gableman participates in disputed Supreme Court case": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Ex-Yale Students Settle Internet Defamation Lawsuit": The Hartford Courant today contains an article that begins, "Two former Yale University law school students have quietly settled a high-profile lawsuit they brought against about two dozen anonymous authors who the students said defamed and threatened them by posting malicious falsehoods on an Internet message board." Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Nashville attorney breezes through confirmation hearing for judgeship": The Tennessean has a report that begins, "Nashville attorney Jane Branstetter Stranch easily made it through her confirmation hearing on Wednesday on her nomination to become a U.S. Circuit Court Judge for the Sixth Circuit." Posted at 09:44 AM by Howard Bashman "One Reporter's Lonely Beat, Witnessing Executions": Yesterday's edition of The New York Times contained this article about Michael Graczyk, a Houston-based reporter for The Associated Press. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "School tax credit to go to US high court": Today in The Arizona Daily Star, Howard Fischer has an article that begins, "A challenge to Arizona's controversial tax credits to help students go to private and parochial schools will have to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a split decision Wednesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found foes of tuition tax credits for private and parochial schools are entitled to try to prove they are unconstitutional, upholding an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel." And The Arizona Republic reports today that "Attorneys to ask high court to review Ariz. tuition tax credits." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit order denying rehearing en banc, from which eight judges noted their dissent, can be accessed here. "Adelphia's Rigases Win Appeal on Conspiracy Charge": Bloomberg News has this report. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Third Circuit ruling appears here and here. "Paparazzi's publishers now in the picture as lawsuit targets": This front page article appears today in The Sacramento Bee. Posted at 08:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Judges reject California plan to cut prison crowding; The panel threatens to impose its own plan if the state does not submit an acceptable one within three weeks": The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, "Three federal judges on Wednesday forcefully rejected a Schwarzenegger administration proposal to ease prison overcrowding, threatening to impose their own plan for reducing the inmate population if the state does not submit an acceptable one within three weeks." Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "Court, governor dig in heels on prison crowding." In The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz reports that "Court rejects governor's plan to solve prison overcrowding." The Sacramento Bee reports that "Governor blames budget woes on judges 'going absolutely crazy.'" And The Associated Press reports that "Court rejects Calif. plan to cut prison population." I have posted online at this link yesterday's order of a three-judge U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Northern Districts of California. Wednesday, October 21, 2009 For the second year in a row, the Philadelphia Phillies are the National League Champions! Congratulations to my home team for its return to the World Series. As was the case last year (see posts here, here, and here), my son and I again have tickets to game five (if necessary) of the World Series, where the Phillies will face either the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Posted at 11:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Former Adelphia Executives Win Chance to Quash Conspiracy Case": Shannon P. Duffy will have this article Thursday in The Legal Intelligencer. My earlier coverage of today's Third Circuit ruling appears at this link. In Bashman news from Australia: Today's edition of The Ipswich Queensland Times reports that "Teens bash man in his front yard." Recent earlier installments of this feature can be accessed here, here, here, here, and here. Eight active judges on the Ninth Circuit note their dissent from today's order denying rehearing en banc of a decision reinstating a lawsuit alleging that Arizona's private school scholarship tax credit program, as applied, violates the Establishment Clause: You can access today's order denying rehearing en banc, the concurrences in that order, and the dissent from that order at this link. It is interesting to note that one of the judges who jointly authored the main concurrence is a senior Circuit Judge who served on the original three-judge panel but, due to her senior status, does not have the ability to vote for or against rehearing en banc. My earlier coverage of the three-judge panel's ruling, from April 2009, can be accessed here. In coverage of today's order, The East Valley Tribune has a news update headlined "Private school tax credits dealt setback." And The Associated Press reports that "Court challenge to state tax credit stands." "Navajos may try to buy popular Arizona ski resort": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The Navajo Nation may try to buy a popular Arizona ski resort to stop snowmaking on one of the tribe's most sacred mountains, the San Francisco Peaks." Posted at 09:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Court: Rigas case might be double jeopardy." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The imprisoned founder of Adelphia Communications Corp. and his son are closer to avoiding a second federal fraud trial. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia agreed Wednesday with the Rigases that it might be double jeopardy to subject them to a trial in Pennsylvania." You can access today's ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. "Stephen Barnett, UC law professor, dies": Bob Egelko has this obituary today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Earlier this week, the Metropolitan News-Enterprise published an obituary headlined "Former UC Berkeley Law Professor Stephen Barnett Dies." And The Associated Press has an article headlined "First Amendment prof, Stephen Barnett, dies at 73." Among other things, Professor Barnett was an ardent opponent of appellate court rules that prohibited parties and their lawyers from citing to so-called "unpublished" and "non-precedential" opinions. "L.A. medical pot dispensary may get back seized funds; The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals concludes the federal government could not prove the money was tied to illegal sales": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Justices return Corcoran death-row appeal": Today's edition of The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana contains an article that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court weighed in Tuesday in the capital murder case against Joseph E. Corcoran, sending it back to the U.S. Court of Appeals and delaying the state's desire to put the quadruple murderer to death." You can access yesterday's per curiam ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court -- the first opinion of the new Term -- at this link. And the Seventh Circuit's earlier ruling in the case can be accessed here. "Fate of White House Counsel Is in Doubt": This article will appear Thursday in The New York Times. Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman In the November 2009 issue of ABA Journal magazine: The magazine's cover story, written by Richard B. Schmitt, is headlined "A Death in the Office: Mark Levy had talent, a top-flight resume and friends in high places; But when he lost his job, none of that was enough." A related sidebar, by Mark Hansen, is headlined "The Less Final Option: For lawyers suffering from depression, there is help." David L. Hudson Jr. has an article headlined "Adult Time for Adult Crimes: Is life without parole unconstitutional for juveniles?" And John Gibeaut has an article headlined "Drawing the Line: Court looks again at how much immunity prosecutors have." "Poker ruled game of skill for good reason -- because it is": Apropos of my appellate oral argument this morning, I see that earlier this month in The San Antonio Express-News, columnist Chuck Blount had this essay. Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: I'm in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania this morning to argue on behalf of the defendants-appellees opposing the prosecution's appeal of a case in which the Superior Court of Pennsylvania is being asked to decide whether skill or luck predominates in determining success at the game known as Texas hold 'em poker. You can access at this link the Brief for Appellees that I filed on my clients' behalf, while an amicus brief in support of affirmance can be accessed here. The student newspaper of Bloomsburg University has posted the trial court's ruling at this link. Additional posts will appear later today. Update: The oral argument seemed to go very well. Tuesday, October 20, 2009 "Ashcroft: Judges should rehear 9/11 witness case." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Former Attorney General John Ashcroft has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling that he can be held personally responsible for wrongfully detaining people as material witnesses after the 9/11 terrorist attacks." Posted at 10:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Michigan town's resolve to take Guantanamo detainees wavers; Standish, Mich., is dependent on its federal prison, which is about to close; It says still wants the Guantanamo detainees to fill the void, but opponents are pushing to recall members of city council": The Christian Science Monitor has this report today. Posted at 09:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Court tells feds to return pot club's money": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, "A Los Angeles medical marijuana clinic is entitled to recover more than $186,000 that was seized in an illegal police search and then claimed by the federal government, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "Justices to Decide on U.S. Release of Detainees": Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Supreme Court to consider Uighurs' plea for freedom." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Supreme Court will decide who can order the release of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay; At issue is whether a judge or the president can decide the fate of a prisoner who is not an 'enemy combatant'; The ruling could complicate Obama administration's plans to close the prison." Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that "Supreme Court to rule on release of Guantanamo detainees into U.S." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Supreme Court to hear appeal of Uighurs still at Guantanamo; The Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to hear the case of Uighur detainees remaining at the Guantanamo prison camp; Their release into the US has been blocked by the White House and Congress." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that "Guantanamo detainees case reaches Supreme Court." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "U.S. top court to hear Guantanamo Uighurs appeal." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Guantanamo Inmates Get High Court Review on Release." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Detention and the 3 branches." You can access today's Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link. "Roberts speaks out on drunk driving case": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has this report. Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Roberts: Decision could give drunk drivers 'one free swerve.'" David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Supreme Court upholds ban on traffic stops based on a caller's tip; Justices uphold ruling in a drunk driving case that officers must see a suspicious act before stopping a vehicle; Chief Justice Roberts dissents, saying that will give drunk drivers 'one free swerve.'" And Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Supreme Court declines to set rule on drunk driving stops; The Supreme Court lets stand a Virginia court ruling that police must actually see erratic driving -- and not just rely on anonymous tips -- to stop a suspected drunk driver." You can access today's order of the U.S. Supreme Court denying certiorari and the Chief Justice's dissent therefrom at this link. "Ohio high court hears online communications case": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Booksellers, video game dealers, newspaper publishers and other critics of an online child protection law encountered skepticism from state Supreme Court justices Tuesday for their free-speech arguments." The case is pending before the Supreme Court of Ohio on certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Ohio Supreme Court's Office of Public Information has a summary of the case headlined "Court Asked to Confirm Attorney General's Reading of State Law Protecting Children from Internet Obscenity." "U.S. Supreme Court: Ref. 71 names to remain sealed for now; The U.S. Supreme Court today ordered that signatures collected to get Referendum 71 on Washington's ballot are to remain sealed until it decides whether to hear an appeal in the case." The Seattle Times has this news update. Wednesday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined "Justices Uphold Ban on Releasing Names on a Petition." And The Associated Press reports that "Court blocks names in gay partnership referendum." You can access today's U.S. Supreme Court order at this link. "Admiral: I can empty Guantanamo camps in 10 days." Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Senate OKs transfer of Gitmo prisoners for trials." "Ex-Enron executive free of charges after ruling": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Alito troubled by concerns over court's Catholics": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:45 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: A case in which I helped write the appellants' briefs on the merits is being argued today before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania sitting in Philadelphia. Additional posts will appear here later today after I return from that oral argument. Posted at 07:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Study: States can't afford death penalty." Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report. Posted at 06:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice blocks names in gay rights ballot measure": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has temporarily blocked Washington state officials from releasing the names of people who signed a ballot measure on gay rights." Posted at 06:57 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, October 19, 2009 Programming note: This evening, I'll be at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia to see game four of the National League Championship Series as the Philadelphia Phillies host the Los Angeles Dodgers. You can access previews of tonight's game at this link. Additional posts will appear here on Tuesday morning. Update: Final score -- Philadelphia Phillies 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 4. You can access the box score at this link. You can view the game-winning, walk-off 2 RBI double by Jimmy Rollins by clicking here. Additional video highlights from the game can be accessed via this link. And in coverage from MLB.com, you can access articles headlined "Phils walk off in ninth, one win from Series; Rollins' two-out, two-run double sinks Dodgers in Game 4" and "Dodgers, Broxton stung by Phils in ninth; Rollins laces walk-off double, putting L.A. in 3-1 hole." "Hurricane Katrina Victims Have Standing To Sue Over Global Warming": Nathan Koppel has this post today at WSJ.com's "Law Blog." And Greenwire (via the web site of The New York Times) reports that "Courts Follow Landmark 2nd Circuit Ruling With 2 Greenhouse Gas Decisions." My earlier coverage of last Friday's Fifth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "D.C. Circuit Tries to Untangle Eminent Domain Battle": Mike Scarcella has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 02:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Jan Crawford Greenburg Leaves ABC for CBS": The blog "TVNewser" had this post late Friday. And today, CBS News has issued a press release that begins, "Jan Crawford Greenburg will become CBS News Chief Legal Correspondent, it was announced today by Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports. Her appointment will be effective January 4, 2010." "The price of vanity plates: XXXXXXX car tag nets man $19,000 in tickets." This article appeared Friday in The Birmingham (Ala.) News. Posted at 09:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Inmate-abortion fight continues; Arpaio, ACLU clash over transport fees": Today's edition of The Arizona Republic contains an article that begins, "Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been battling with the American Civil Liberties Union over a jail inmate's right to be transported to an abortion clinic since 2004, and Arpaio has lost the battle all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court." Posted at 07:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Death sentence for killer 'freakish'": Bill Rankin has this article today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Are you voting for Panella or Melvin? Who? For what?" Today in The Philadelphia Daily News, columnist John Baer has an op-ed that begins, "Way below the noise of the national health-care debate and the state budget debacle is a whisper of a race for state Supreme Court with possible loud and long-term impact." Posted at 07:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Review death penalty law, ex-governor urges; White worries about execution of the innocent": The Houston Chronicle contains this article today. Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Sotomayor LAW '79 returns to speak at Law School reunion": This article appears today in The Yale Daily News. Posted at 07:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court's Stevens keeps cards close to robe; Long-serving justice, 89, a force behind the scenes": Joan Biskupic has this front page article today in USA Today. And a related item is headlined "Personalities shape questioning from bench." Posted at 07:14 AM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: An headlined "11th Circuit: Don't Break the Law to Comply With It; Federal appeals court rejects collection company's defense against debtor's suit" reports on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued last week. In other news, "5th Circuit to Interpret Departing-Lawyer Rule." And in news from the Ninth Circuit, "Lawyer Facing Possible Discipline Digs Hole a Little Deeper." Sunday, October 18, 2009 "Flags of convenience: Ideological foes apply constitutional principles inconsistently." Roy T. Englert Jr. and Alex Potapov will have this essay in the October 19, 2009 issue of The National Law Journal. Posted at 12:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court race 'a dead heat,' says pollster": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Perry uses clemency sparingly on death row; Governor has never called off an execution on a claim of innocence": The Houston Chronicle contains this article today. Posted at 10:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice system failings in wake of Hurricane Katrina left wounds that remain unhealed": This article appears today in The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court: Gun control on culture war's front burner." Michael Kirkland of United Press International has this report today. Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman "California gives the poor a new legal right; Under a new law, the state will provide lawyers in key civil cases, such as those dealing with eviction and domestic abuse; Advocates say underprivileged litigants will get a better shot at justice": Carol J. Williams had this article yesterday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice returns to city: Sotomayor is star at 30th reunion": Today's edition of The New Haven Register contains this article. Posted at 10:12 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, October 17, 2009 "U.S. Supreme Court case could impact beach renourishment projects": This article appears today in The Florida Times-Union. Posted at 11:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of NCLB Suit": Mark Walsh has this post today at "The School Law Blog" of Education Week. My earlier coverage of yesterday's en banc Sixth Circuit affirmance by an equally divided court can be accessed here. "Suspect can be extradited, court rules; Supreme Court overturns Ontario Court of Appeal decision": Today's edition of The Toronto Globe & Mail contains an article that begins, "An Arizona man can be extradited on a murder charge despite the fact that evidence against him does not equate with Canadian legal requirements, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled yesterday." The Arizona Daily Star reports today that "Man charged in wife's death to be extradited." And Bloomberg News reports that "Canada Supreme Court Orders U.S. Murder Suspect's Extradition." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada at this link. "Legal changes open doors to working women; Decades of action by Congress and courts broke down many of the barriers": Pete Williams, Justice correspondent for NBC News, has this report. Posted at 11:12 PM by Howard Bashman "A U.K. Court Without the Wigs; New Supreme Bench, Patterned on America's, Stirs Debate": Cassell Bryan-Low and Jess Bravin have this article today in The Wall Street Journal. And at YouTube, C-SPAN has posted a video titled "Opening of UK Supreme Court." "Clash of schools, blogs raises free-speech issues; Butler sues student; district responds to teacher's allegations": The Indianapolis Star contains this article today. Posted at 10:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Right to counsel should include competence: When a guilty plea could mean deportation, a lawyer should be able to give his client good advice." This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Issue of Gableman recusal divides state Supreme Court": Today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, "Justices on the deeply divided state Supreme Court hurled dueling statements this week, with one contingent accusing the other of delaying decisions on how to handle requests to force the newest member of the court off criminal cases. The fight brewing between justices comes as they wrestle with when judges must remove themselves from cases. It signals that the ethics case against the newest member, Justice Michael Gableman, may be a flashpoint for the court." Posted at 10:42 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, October 16, 2009 Fifth Circuit reinstates lawsuit alleging that the operation of energy, fossil fuels, and chemical industries in the United States caused the emission of greenhouse gasses that contributed to global warming, resulting in the harms caused by Hurricane Katrina: According to today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: Plaintiffs' public and private nuisance claims assert that defendants intentionally and unreasonably used their property so as to produce massive amounts of greenhouse gasses and thereby injure both plaintiffs and the general public by contributing to global warming, which caused the sea level rise and added to the ferocity of Hurricane Katrina, the combined effects of which resulted in the destruction of plaintiffs' private property, as well as their loss of use of certain public property in the vicinity of their dwellings.Today's ruling holds only that the plaintiffs have standing to assert these claims, and that the claims do not present non-justiciable political questions. Whether the claims have merit or are otherwise valid are issues that remain to be addressed, in the first instance by the trial court. Posted at 09:32 PM by Howard Bashman En banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issues evenly divided ruling on lawsuit challenging the legality of the federal law known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: You can access today's order, affirming the federal district court's ruling by an evenly divided court, at this link. In addition, four judges on the Sixth Circuit issued opinions totaling over 90 pages explaining their views of the case. Back in January 2008, a three-judge Sixth Circuit panel issued this ruling on the case, and I had this post about the ruling on the day it issued. Update: In news coverage of today's ruling, The Associated Press reports that "Feds prevail in dispute over education law." Does this ruling issued today exemplify or refute the Second Circuit's supposed distaste for en banc rehearings? I and others have remarked on occasion about the Second Circuit's notable unwillingness to use the rehearing en banc procedure provided under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. A decision that a three-judge panel issued today (see page 4 of the PDF ruling) shows that the Second Circuit is not reluctant to use a procedural shortcut to a full-flung rehearing en banc to overrule an earlier Second Circuit ruling. Posted at 12:21 PM by Howard Bashman If a co-conspirator in a bank robbery is accidentally killed in a car crash that occurs while attempting to flee from police, does federal law mandate life sentences for those convicted of the offense? A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued this interesting decision today. The federal statute at issue, 18 U.S.C. sec. 2113(e), provides: Whoever, in committing any offense defined in this section, or in avoiding or attempting to avoid apprehension for the commission of such offense, or in freeing himself or attempting to free himself from arrest or confinement for such offense, kills any person, or forces any person to accompany him without the consent of such person, shall be imprisoned not less than ten years, or if death results shall be punished by death or life imprisonment.According to the lead opinion issued today: Read literally, this suggests that a killing carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, but a killing in which death results carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment. Needless to say, this purports to set out a nonsensical distinction, since every killing, by definition, results in death.To be sure, the statute is not a praiseworthy example of legislative draftsmanship, yet the statute seem to be saying that if someone is taken hostage in an escape or attempted escape, the minimum penalty is ten years in prison, but where death results from an escape attempt, the minimum sentence is life imprisonment. Thus, the statute could be construed in a way that is not entirely nonsensical, although it certainly can also be construed in a nonsensical manner. Posted at 12:12 PM by Howard Bashman "White House readies phone-tap case concession": At Politico.com, Josh Gerstein and John Bresnahan have an article that begins, "The Obama administration may be on the verge of a major concession in a long-running legal battle over records about so-called telecom immunity." Posted at 11:58 AM by Howard Bashman "3rd Circuit Rejects Online Activists' Free-Speech Defense of Attacks on Animal Testing Firm; Defense attorney says he expects the ruling will be appealed and is 'fairly sure we will wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court'": Shannon P. Duffy has this article today in The Legal Intelligencer. My earlier coverage of Wednesday's Third Circuit ruling appears here and here. "Queen Elizabeth II opens new UK Supreme Court": The Associated Press has this report. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "Isaac Lidsky: From Supreme Court to London for Akin Gump." Thursday, October 15, 2009 "Judge sex case: High court says state judiciary exempt from open records; The state Supreme Court has ruled that the judiciary branch of government is exempt from the state's Public Records Act." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The judiciary in Washington is exempt from public disclosure requirements under the state's Public Records Act, the state Supreme Court ruled today, creating what a critic called a 'huge black hole' in government accountability." Today's ruling of the Washington State Supreme Court consists of a majority opinion, a concurring opinion, and a dissenting opinion. "Firefighter Test Brings New Haven a Fresh Suit": This article will appear Friday in The New York Times. And The Associated Press reports that "New Haven Firefighter Sues Over Promotion Test." "Former chief justice hired godchild's grandmother": The Providence (R.I.) Journal has a news update that begins, "Frank J. Williams, former chief judge of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, acknowledged yesterday that he hired the grandmother of his 6-year-old godchild as a cleaning lady at the courthouse two years ago." Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Skilling, Black Say Ditch 'Honest Services' Law": Bloomberg News columnist Ann Woolner has this essay. Posted at 10:37 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama Criticized as Too Cautious, Slow on Judicial Posts": Michael A. Fletcher will have this article Friday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Holder: Guantanamo Detainee Decision Soon." This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." And Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Obama's Guantanamo, counterterror policies similar to Bush's? Afghanistan's Bagram is becoming the new Guantanamo, one legal scholar said at a gathering of the American Constitution Society." "Gay-rights opponents to appeal ruling on Ref. 71 names": The Seattle Times has a news update that begins, "Protect Marriage Washington, which collected the signatures to get Referendum 71 on the November ballot, said it will appeal today's federal appeals court ruling that cleared the way for public release of the names of those who signed petitions for the measure." And The Associated Press reports that "Court allows release of domestic partner petitions." "Court upholds verdict against tobacco firms": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "A state appeals court has upheld a San Francisco jury's award of $2.85 million in damages to the family of a woman who died of lung cancer after smoking cigarettes for 27 years, ruling that she relied on tobacco companies' claims that their products were safe." You can access yesterday's unpublished ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District, Division Two, at this link. Is the New York Thruway toll discount for residents of Grand Island, New York unconstitutional? Today' a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a ruling that reinstated, in part, a lawsuit challenging as unconstitutional a toll discount for residents of Grand Island, New York when crossing the Grand Island Bridges. Today's decision holds both that "plaintiffs have stated a claim under the dormant Commerce Clause" and "plaintiffs have stated a claim for infringement of their right to travel in violation of the Equal Protection Clause and the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment." As a result, today's ruling overrules in various respects a federal district court's decision that had dismissed the case in its entirety. "Supreme Court Hands Petrocelli 'First Breakthrough' for Skilling": Tony Mauro has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this week that "Supreme Court's tackling of 'honest services' law could affect Blagojevich's corruption case." And at the blog "Houston's Clear Thinkers," Tom Kirkendall has a post titled "The reeling prosecution in the Skilling case." "ACLU Back as a Whipping Boy": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post that begins, "As Republicans try to block some of President Barack Obama's nominees for the federal judiciary, they're focusing on a familiar target: the American Civil Liberties Union." Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Commenter Incensed over Onion Report on Sotomayor's Dead Kennedys Tactic": Debra Cassens Weiss has this post today at the ABA Journal's "Law News Now" blog. Posted at 03:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Ginsburg briefly hospitalized, released Thurs." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Supreme Court officials say Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had cancer surgery earlier this year, was briefly hospitalized overnight after having a bad reaction to some medicine." Reuters reports that "Justice Ruth Ginsburg hospitalized for drowsiness." At his "Washington Briefs" blog, Lawrence Hurley of The Daily Journal of California has a post titled "Justice Ginsburg In Hospital Again" in which he reports that "Ginsburg was on her way to London for the official opening of the new U.K. Supreme Court along with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justice Stephen G. Breyer and Justice Antonin Scalia. Breyer was the only one of the other justices to be on the same flight. He disembarked with Ginsburg but then took a later flight to London, according to the court." And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "Ginsburg Released After Hospital Stay." "Federal court upholds convictions of animal-rights activists that threatened Somerset County lab": The Associated Press has this report. And today's edition of The Times of Trenton, New Jersey has an article headlined "Court upholds verdicts" that begins, "A federal appeals court yesterday upheld the convictions of six activists, including a Hamilton resident, found guilty of using their internet website to incite threats and harassment against a company that tests products on animals." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Third Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Why Filling Lower Federal Court Vacancies Must Be A Top Priority": Law professor Carl Tobias has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Skilling review fuels debate over Enron prosecutors": Today in The Houston Chronicle, Mary Flood has an article that begins, "Was it faulty prosecution or brilliant defense work that made Jeff Skilling's case the third Enron-related conviction to be chosen for scrutiny by the very selective U.S. Supreme Court?" Posted at 10:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Hear Arguments on Property Seized by Police": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal reports today that "Justices Focus on Procedural Rules in Police-Confiscation Case." And The Chicago Sun-Times reports that "Asset seizure law challenged; High court hears case of Chicago woman who waited 3 years to get car back" and "U of C law students help prepare case challenging forfeiture law." "N.J. High Court Weighs Limits of Fair-Reporting Privilege": law.com provides this report. The Associated Press reports that "Reporting on lawsuits is challenged in libel case." And columnist Bob Braun of The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger has an essay entitled "For defendants in bogus lawsuits, a lost reputation is high price for freedom of the press." "When lawyers don't matter": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Chief Justice John Roberts once famously and controversially described a judge's role as akin to an umpire who merely calls balls and strikes." Today in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that "Justices Weigh $4.5 Million Bonus Awarded Lawyers in Ga. Litigation; Judge Was Impressed by Attorneys' Work on Foster-Care Case." And online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has a Supreme Court dispatch entitled "The $5 Million Man: Paul Clement schools the high court on why some attorneys are worth every last penny." Wednesday, October 14, 2009 "High Court Justices Doubt Lawyers Should Be Paid Extra for Winning": law.com's Tony Mauro has an article that begins, "The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are all lawyers, but most showed little empathy for their fellow attorneys on Wednesday as they debated whether legal fee awards can be enhanced for superior performance or exceptional results under a federal fee-shifting statute." You can access the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Perdue v. Kenny A., No. 08-970, at this link. "William Jefferson's sentencing pushed back to Nov. 13": Bruce Alpert of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans has a news update in which he reports, among other things, that today "the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals released a March 2007 ruling that allowed the Justice Department to use material from Jefferson's congressional office." You can access the Fourth Circuit's ruling from March 2007, unsealed today, at this link. "Convictions of animal rights activists upheld": The Times of Trenton, New Jersey has a news update that begins, "A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld the convictions of six activists, including a Hamilton resident, found guilty of using their internet website to incite threats and harassment against a company that tests products on animals." The three judges on the panel that issued today's ruling unanimously rejected the argument that the federal law known as the Animal Enterprise Protection Act violates the First Amendment. You can access today's ruling of a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. "Court decision seen as good sign for ex-Ala. gov": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Attorneys for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and ex-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy said Wednesday they see a positive sign in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear the appeal of former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling." Posted at 10:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge refuses to toss suit challenging Prop. 8": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, "A federal judge refused today to dismiss a lawsuit challenging California's ban on same-sex marriage, setting the stage for the nation's first trial on the constitutionality of a law allowing only opposite-sex couples to wed." And Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update headlined "U.S. judge refuses Prop. 8 backers' request to dismiss gay-marriage case." Update: The Associated Press reports that "Judge refuses to dismiss gay marriage ban lawsuit." "$6.4M fine in Ohio for illegal practice of law": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered two estate planning companies and their co-owners to pay nearly $6.4 million, the state's largest-ever fine for the fraudulent practice of law." And The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch has a news update headlined "Companies that duped thousands of Ohio senior citizens fined $6.4 million." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Ohio at this link. The court also issued a related news release headlined "Court Imposes $6.3 Million Civil Penalty on 'Trust Mill' Companies and Owners." "N.J. Supreme Court hears libel case involving The Record's report on lawsuit": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger has a news update that begins, "The state Supreme Court today considered the right of the press to report on court documents in cases that have not yet gone to trial. In a libel suit against the Record of Bergen County, a state appeals panel decided last year that media outlets should not be allowed to publish material from pretrial filings and may be sued if the allegations are determined to be false." Posted at 03:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Cases could affect gay marriage; How New York defines same-sex marriages could hinge on decisions by state high court": This article appears today in The Times Union of Albany, New York. And The New York Times reports today that "Top State Court Hears Cases on Gay Marriage." "Top NY court hears challenge to arena land-taking": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawyers in federal appeals invariably frame their arguments in language taken from Supreme Court opinions. In this case, which involves a First Amendment issue, the lawyers have treated us to a barrage of unhelpful First Amendment jargon." So writes Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner in an opinion issued today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in a case about asbestos contamination at Illinois Beach State Park. Posted at 03:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Court may re-examine pretrial publicity": Tony Mauro has this news analysis online today at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 03:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Abu Ghraib appeal centers on military confusion": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 11:47 AM by Howard Bashman "Leahy's Bench Press: Senate Democrats try to pack the federal courts." This editorial appeared yesterday in The Wall Street Journal. Late yesterday, WSJ.com posted this response to the editorial from U.S. Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT). "Flores case is unlikely to end regardless of ruling": The Des Moines Register today contains an article that begins, "Terry Harrington spent 25 years behind bars before the Iowa Supreme Court decided he had been wrongfully convicted. Free now, the Omaha man is waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide this fall whether he can sue the prosecutors who put him behind bars." Posted at 08:39 AM by Howard Bashman "Court Weighing Eminent Domain; New York Case Pits State Against Land Owners Opposing a New NBA Arena": This article appears today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 08:34 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Seem Sympathetic to Defendant Given Bad Advice": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. Today in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that "Justices Ponder Lawyers' Obligations; Man Facing Deportation Says Attorney Misadvised Him on Consequences of Plea." The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that "High court hears Kentucky case on lawyers' duties." And The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that "Supreme Court asks tough questions in Kentucky immigration case." "3 back N.C. in water dispute; Charlotte, Duke Energy and a third group want to take part in Supreme Court case": This article appears today in The Charlotte Observer. And The Greenville News reports today that "High court justices seem to side with state at water war hearing; Duke Energy, Charlotte want their say." "Justices Weigh Rules on Recovering Seized Assets": Jess Bravin has this article today in The Wall Street Journal. You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News. And Chicago Public Radio reports that "Supreme Court to Look at Chicago Police Car Seizure Practices." "Williams barred from visiting former driver's family": Today's edition of The Providence (R.I.) Journal contains an article that begins, "Frank J. Williams, the former chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, was barred on Tuesday from visiting or having any other contact with his 6-year-old goddaughter who is part of a messy divorce case." Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court agrees to hear Skilling appeal; Former Enron CEO challenges fraud law": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. And today in The Houston Chronicle, Mary Flood reports that "Supreme Court takes Jeff Skilling's case." Tuesday, October 13, 2009 "US Supreme Court Justices Note Concern Over Class-Action Costs": Dow Jones Newswires has this report on a statement respecting the denial of the petition for writ of certiorari in which three U.S. Supreme Court Justices joined today. Posted at 10:38 PM by Howard Bashman "A Day About Bad Lawyering at the High Court": law.com's Tony Mauro has this report. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a news update headlined "U.S. Supreme Court hears case about Cleveland State University killer." And The News-Enterprise of Elizabethtown, Kentucky has a news update headlined "Supreme Court hears appeal to local drug conviction; Defendant faces deportation if plea deal upheld." "Supreme Court to hear case on property seized in drug busts; The Supreme Court Wednesday looks at whether Chicago officials took too long to return property seized in drug busts to owners who turned out to be innocent": Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report. Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Ex-Justice Sandra Day O'Connor holds court in Cincinnati": The Cincinnati Enquirer has a news update that begins, "Anyone who thought former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor would go quietly into retirement didn't see her in action Tuesday in Cincinnati." Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman "GQ on D.C. Clout: Who's Mightier than Chief Justice Roberts?" Jess Bravin has this post at WSJ.com's "Washington Wire" blog. Posted at 10:27 PM by Howard Bashman "NY court hears case against gay marriage benefits": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A Christian legal group seeking to stop New York agencies from recognizing same-sex marriages performed outside the state argued in the state's highest court Tuesday that the practice amounts to a policy decision that requires approval by lawmakers." Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman "10 Commandments case heads back to court": The McCreary County (Ky.) Voice has a report that begins, "The 10-year battle over the posting of the 10 Commandments in the McCreary County Courthouse is retracing earlier steps made to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. The trip could just be a layover, as those closest to the case expect to take their argument back to the U.S. Supreme Court." Posted at 10:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court justices active in Carolinas water fight": James Rosen of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. And Gannett reports that "Justices hear Carolinas water war case." "Supreme Court to hear case about 'sex slave' Web site": Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report. Posted at 10:11 PM by Howard Bashman In news from Canada: Law Times reports that "Appeals a 'very hot' legal topic; Trend spawns practice groups and new resources for lawyers." Posted at 10:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Rivera-Soto not an issue in '09 race": The blog "Politicker NJ" has a post that begins, "Roberto Rivera-Soto has not been an issue in the 2009 gubernatorial campaign, even though the winner will have to decide whether to reappoint the controversial Associate Justice to a tenured term on the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2011." Posted at 10:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Court to Hear Ex-Enron Chief Appeal": Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. In Wednesday's edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes will have an article headlined "Supreme Court to Review Ex-Enron CEO's Conviction." Wednesday's edition of The Los Angeles Times will report that "Enron ex-CEO Skilling to get a Supreme Court hearing." And Wednesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal will report that "Supreme Court to Hear Appeal of Enron's Skilling." "'Honest services' law in jeopardy?" Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 04:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Court considers death sentence for Ohio neo-Nazi": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The Supreme Court appears inclined to reinstate a death sentence for a neo-Nazi convicted of murdering three men in Ohio more than a quarter century ago." Posted at 02:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Court to decide constitutionality of bad advice": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 12:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court takes Jeff Skilling's case": The Houston Chronicle has this news update. Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to hear appeal by Enron's Skilling": James Vicini of Reuters has this report. Posted at 11:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Skilling Gets U.S. Supreme Court Review on Enron Conviction": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman Warning, "The Onion" is a humor publication: Whenever I post appellate-related items from "The Onion," I wrestle with whether I should indicate that the publication is an attempt at humor. I generally decide not to so indicate, because "How Appealing" readers either know that "The Onion" is a humor publication or the item I'm linking to will certainly give that away to anyone who reads it. Last night at 10:52 p.m., I linked to a new article published at The Onion headlined "Sotomayor Misses Supreme Court Case After Failing To Get Out Of Jury Duty." This morning at 3:34 a.m., I received an email at this blog's email account titled "Sotomayor stinks!" in which the author of the email writes: I just read your article: "Sotomayor Misses Supreme Court Case After Failing to Get Out of Jury Duty."The Onion article that elicited this email can be accessed here. Posted at 10:38 AM by Howard Bashman Access online today's Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court has posted today's Order List at this link. The Court today granted review in four cases, including Jeffrey K. Skilling v. United States, No. 08-1394. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Court to hear new Enron case." And in early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Supreme Court will hear appeal of Enron's Skilling" and "High court will review 'S&M Svengali' case." "Law Prof Blog Rankings": Law professor Paul L. Caron has this post today at his "TaxProf Blog." If I were a law professor, and if I'm correctly adding up the information found here, the "How Appealing" blog would rank 9th on the list of "page views" and 8th on the list of "visitors." Available online from law.com: Marcia Coyle reports that "Conservative, Liberal Groups Unite in Legal Fee Case at High Court." Tony Mauro has an article headlined "The Supreme Court, as Seen on Television: Justices grant rare, revealing interviews to C-SPAN." My earlier posts linking to the video and the transcripts of the interviews and the other C-SPAN broadcasts can be accessed here, here, and here. And an article headlined "Calling Defendant by 'Murder' Nickname Wins Him New Trial" reports on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued last Thursday. "Abortion foes push for license plates; Battle often in court as states shun debate": This article appears today in USA Today. Posted at 09:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Preventing Age Discrimination": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "The Supreme Court issued a poorly reasoned ruling in June that makes it much harder for older workers to prove illegal age discrimination. Fortunately, bills have been introduced in the Senate and House to undo the damage and put age discrimination cases on an equal footing with other employment-discrimination claims." Posted at 09:34 AM by Howard Bashman "Crime and Banishment: A truck driver facing deportation because of bad legal advice deserves recourse from the Supreme Court." This editorial appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 09:29 AM by Howard Bashman "At legal crossroads: Parties in Mount Soledad case watching how Supreme Court handles Mojave cross." Greg Moran has this article today in The San Diego Union-Tribune. Posted at 09:25 AM by Howard Bashman "NY top court to consider gay marriage benefits": The Associated Press has this report about an oral argument that the New York State Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear this afternoon. When that court's oral arguments are underway, you can watch them live, online by clicking here. Monday, October 12, 2009 "Sotomayor Misses Supreme Court Case After Failing To Get Out Of Jury Duty": The Onion has this report. Posted at 10:52 PM by Howard Bashman "'Water War' case goes before Supreme Court Tuesday": This article appears today in The Lake Wylie (S.C.) Pilot. Posted at 08:00 PM by Howard Bashman "You've Got Mail: Why is it illegal to blackmail David Letterman?" Lizzie Widdicombe has this law-related Talk of the Town essay in the October 19, 2009 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 07:58 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear libel suit filed against The Courier; Suit previously dismissed by circuit, state supreme courts": This article appeared yesterday in The Courier of Russellville, Arkansas. Posted at 07:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Penn Law students participate in Supreme Court case": Penn Current has a report that begins, "Eight Penn Law students and their professor will be at the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 13, watching their work in action as the case Padilla v. Kentucky goes before America's highest court." Posted at 07:45 PM by Howard Bashman "NY court to hear challenge to planned arena land": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "New York's top court will soon decide if the state has the power to seize private property to build the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, which includes a planned new arena for the New Jersey Nets." The case is scheduled to be argued Wednesday before the New York State Court of Appeals. "Proposition 8 case headed back to court": Today in The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz has an article that begins, "The legal showdown over California's ban on gay marriage heats up again this week as a federal judge considers an attempt to short-circuit the challenge to Proposition 8, the voter-approved law putting a halt to same-sex weddings in this state." Posted at 07:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Pa. court rules trademark law 'too vague'": This article appears today in The Collegian, the student newspaper of Penn State University. My earlier coverage of the ruilng appears at this link. "A Question of When Dishonesty Becomes Criminal": Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 07:33 PM by Howard Bashman "On Judicial Elections and Judicial Recusal": Tony Mauro has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Diversity on the federal bench: The Obama administration deserves credit for nominating large numbers and percentages of highly qualified, diverse candidates." Law professor Carl Tobias has this op-ed in this week's issue of The National Law Journal. Posted at 11:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Top German court receives Demjanjuk appeal": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 10:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Merits, Pitfalls of the Adversarial Method of Appendix Preparation on Appeal": That's the title of this month's installment of my "Upon Further Review" column, which appears today in The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers. Posted at 10:03 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, October 11, 2009 C-SPAN's "Supreme Court Week" has posted online the video and transcripts of its interviews with the other two active U.S. Supreme Court Justices: The following video clips and transcripts are now available online -- Originally aired Sunday, October 11, 2009: Interview with Chief Justice Roberts -- Video | Transcript; and Interview with Justice Stevens -- Video | Transcript. In earlier posts that you can access here and here, I provided links to the video and transcripts of the previously aired segments of this broadcast. "Restoring judicial restraint: Running roughshod over GOP precedents would only diminish court's moral authority." This interesting editorial appears today in The Detroit Free Press. Posted at 03:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Bergen Record case could hold fate of how courts are covered": The Cliffview Pilot web site has a report today that begins, "The state Supreme Court this week could well determine the future of media in New Jersey when it reviews a lower court ruling that the Bergen Record can be sued for reporting allegations from a lawsuit before the case has gone to trial." In earlier coverage, The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger reported on January 14, 2009 that "N.J. newspaper wins round in lawsuit-libel case." "Justice in gun case ruling is a gun dealer; Some legal scholars cry foul, while others say ruling's relevance too narrow to present any conflict of interest": The Charlotte Observer today contains an article that begins, "The N.C. Supreme Court drew national attention a few weeks ago as the country's first court to rule that a convicted felon has a right to own a gun. What got little notice is that Edward Thomas Brady, the justice who wrote the 5-2 decision in August, is a federally licensed gun dealer and gun maker who has earned more than $5,000 a year from gun sales since 2007." And The Associated Press reports that "Justice in gun case sells weapons." You can access the ruling -- which the Supreme Court of North Carolina issued on August 28, 2009 -- at this link. "Cruelty in the Court: Crush videos and foie gras." Columnist George F. Will will have this essay in the October 19, 2009 issue of Newsweek. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Ohio Death Penalty Case May Influence Lethal Injection Protocols": The Washington Post has this news update. Posted at 03:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Returning civility to Arizona government": Sandra Day O'Connor has this op-ed today in The Arizona Republic. Posted at 10:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge's ruling nudges Texas back into gay marriage fight; Decision based on U.S. Constitution unsettles some gay rights activists while rallying opponents": Chuck Lindell has this article today in The Austin American-Statesman. Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, October 10, 2009 C-SPAN's "Supreme Court Week" has posted online the video and transcripts of its interviews with seven active and one retired U.S. Supreme Court Justices: The following video clips and transcripts are now available online -- Originally aired Friday, October 9, 2009: Interview with Justice Kennedy -- Video | Transcript; Interview with Justice Ginsburg -- Video | Transcript; Interview with Justice Scalia -- Video | Transcript; and Interview with Retired Justice O'Connor -- Video | Transcript. Originally aired Saturday, October 10, 2009: Interview with Justice Sotomayor -- Video | Transcript; Interview with Justice Breyer -- Video | Transcript; Interview with Justice Thomas -- Video | Transcript; and Interview with Justice Alito -- Video | Transcript. Tomorrow evening, C-SPAN will broadcast its interviews with the Chief Justice and with Justice John Paul Stevens. I will link to those videos and transcripts once they become available online. "California chief justice criticizes initiative process; The moderate Republican says it has made 'state government dysfunctional'; he signals a sense of urgency and willingness to push for reforms": Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. Sunday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined "Top Judge Calls Calif. Government 'Dysfunctional.'" The Sacramento Bee reports today that "California chief justice criticizes initiative process." And The Associated Press reports that "Calif. top justice slams state referendum process." Friday, October 9, 2009 Available online from law.com: David Ingram has an article headlined "Despite Drumbeat About Departure, White House Counsel Vows to Stay." And Shannon P. Duffy reports that "Ohio Death Penalty Case Might Determine Abu-Jamal's Fate." "The Supreme Court Faces the Question of Who Can Sue to Challenge a Religious Display": Vikram David Amar has this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 11:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Suit Alleging Wiretaps, Surveillance Heard--Again": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has this post about a case reargued yesterday before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. My earlier coverage of the three-judge panel's now-vacated original ruling from February 2009 appears at this link and includes mentions of mad cow disease, Australia, and a Latham associate with a cool-sounding name. "Judge hears argument to drop charges against Supreme Court justice's husband": Today's edition of The Des Moines Register contains an article that begins, "A Polk County judge will decide next week whether the husband of Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus must stand trial for allegedly interfering with a deputy investigating a beer party on Ternus' property." Posted at 10:58 PM by Howard Bashman "O'Connor Leaves Court Then Gripes About the Result": Bloomberg News columnist Ann Woolner has this essay today. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Sotomayor Puts Stamp on a Court Day": Adam Liptak will have this article Saturday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:47 PM by Howard Bashman "A Conversation with Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.-Friday, Sept. 11, 2009, Ann Arbor, Mi." The University of Michigan Law School has posted this video online. Posted at 12:27 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from law.com: Shannon P. Duffy reports that "$567 Million Fee Award Upheld in Fen-Phen Litigation." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. And in other news, "11th Circuit Bounces Attorney's Contempt Sentence Back to Florida Federal Judge; Question of whether criminal contempt is a felony or a misdemeanor called a case of first impression for 11th Circuit." "Attorneys Who Have Argued Before The Court": You can access last night's installment of C-SPAN's "Supreme Court Week" program by clicking here. This installment features Drew Days III and Maureen Mahoney. Last night, I linked here to the earlier installments of the program. Thursday, October 8, 2009 C-SPAN is now offering online access to its "Supreme Court Week" television programs: You can access the video via this link. The installments that are now available online are titled "The Supreme Court: Home To America's Highest Court"; "Journalists On The Workings Of The Supreme Court" (featuring Lyle Denniston and Joan Biskupic); "Clerk Of The Supreme Court William Suter"; and "Historians On The Supreme Court Building" (featuring Jim O'Hara and Frank Gilbert). Update: Thursday night's installment was titled "Attorneys Who Have Argued Before The Court" (featuring Drew Days III and Maureen Mahoney). The Oyez Project has now posted online the audio of all oral arguments and opinion announcements from the U.S. Supreme Court's 2008 Term: So advises Jerry Goldman, the creator and director of the Oyez Project. Posted at 07:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Houston's Guzman first Latina on Texas high court": Mary Flood of The Houston Chronicle has this news update. Posted at 05:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Demjanjuk attorney will appeal case to high court": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "John Demjanjuk's attorney says he plans to ask Germany's high court to block his trial on charges of being an accessory to the murder of thousands at a Nazi death camp." Posted at 01:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Ninth Circuit Sitting in Honolulu Includes Visit to University of Hawaii": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this news release yesterday. Posted at 01:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Highest military court hears Abu Ghraib appeal": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Lawyers for a former Army dog handler convicted of abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq told the U.S. military's highest court Thursday that he had been following orders when he allowed his unmuzzled dog to bark and lunge at prisoners." Posted at 01:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices zero in on Congress' role in Mojave-cross dispute": Tony Mauro has this news analysis online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman "The issue in this case is whether it is probable that someone who pays approximately $80 for a subscription to a web site is likely to use that subscription." So begins the opinion that the majority on a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued today in a case in which the defendant was charged with the federal crime of receiving child pornography. The ruling overturns a suppression order that a federal district court had issued in the defendant's favor. Update: At "The Volokh Conspiracy," Orin Kerr has a post titled "Probable Cause and Internet Accounts in United States v. Frechette." "Supreme Court debates legality of Mojave cross; Justices take up the issue of whether the display of a cross in a national preserve is a violation of the 1st Amendment ban on establishment of religion": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Today in USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that "Court argues meaning of memorial cross; ACLU challenges tribute to those who died in WWI." In The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin reports that "Justices Are Open to Cross in Mojave Preserve." The Washington Times reports that "High court questions cross as memorial; Mojave plot in VFW hands." The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, California reports that "Supreme Court takes up Mojave cross issue." And law.com's Tony Mauro has an article headlined "At High Court, Cross Words Over Mojave Memorial." "MLB in hunt for counterfeit Phillies gear": The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains an article that begins, "Despite a state Supreme Court decision this week that appeared to throw them a curve ball, Major League Baseball officials were back on the streets of Philadelphia yesterday on the lookout for vendors hawking counterfeit Phillies merchandise." My earlier coverage of the ruling appears at this link. "OSU law professor drafted to argue case before U.S. Supreme Court; Appointment came after no parties were willing to defend appeals court ruling in complex copyright case": This article appears today in The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, October 7, 2009 "Religion Largely Absent in Argument About Cross": Adam Liptak will have this article Thursday in The New York Times. In Thursday's edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes will have an article headlined "Court Wades Shallowly Into Church and State; Argument Over Cross on Public Land Deals Minimally With the Broader Issue." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Supreme Court debates legality of Mojave cross; Justices take up the issue of whether the display of a cross in a national preserve is a violation of the 1st Amendment ban on establishment of religion." Joan Biskupic of USA Today has a news update headlined "Justices appear divided over cross on park land." Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that "Supreme Court debates cross on California national parkland." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Supreme Court weighs arguments over Mojave cross; Did Congress try to bypass court orders and keep a cross on federal land? That's one question in the Supreme Court case about a cross erected in a national park in 1934 to honor the war dead." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has a report headlined "Sharp debate at high court over cross on US land." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court hears dispute on cross on park land." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Cross Removal Order Divides U.S. High Court Justices." Bill Mears of CNN.com has articles headlined "Justices weigh constitutionality of war memorial cross" and "For caretakers, cross is about a promise to a friend." At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "Cross-Currents Muddle Mojave Cross Case." At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "A case of disappearing issues." This evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained an audio segment entitled "High Court Hears Religious Symbol Case" (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg. And online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has a Supreme Court dispatch headlined "Cross-Eyed: The high court looks again at religious symbols on public lands." You can access at this link the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Salazar v. Buono, No. 08-472. Programming note: This morning, I'll be meeting with co-counsel to prepare for an upcoming oral argument before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. And this afternoon, I'll be attending game one of the National League Division Series between the Colorado Rockies and the Philadelphia Phillies. Additional posts will appear here later today. Update: The Phillies won this afternoon's game by the score of 5-1. You can access the box score at this link. MLB.com reports that "Rockies' bats silent against Lee; Jimenez cruises through first four innings before faltering." And The Philadelphia Inquirer has a news update headlined "Lee stymies Rockies in Game 1." "Court hears arguments about cross on park land": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. At ABCNews.com, Ariane de Vogue has a report headlined "Supreme Court Hears Mojave Cross Case; Justices to Decide if Memorial to WW I Vets Constitutional." The New York Times contains an editorial entitled "The Constitution and the Cross." And The Los Angeles Times contains an editorial entitled "The Mojave cross case: Will the Supreme Court stand up for the 1st Amendment?" "Court Wary of Ban On Cruelty Videos; Animal Rights Law Finds Little Support": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "Supreme Court weighs free speech vs. animal cruelty; Justices ponder the possibility of a 'Human Sacrifice Channel' in a case involving a man who sold videos of pit bulls fighting; Some fear reviving a law against such films could lead to its misuse." Joan Biskupic of USA Today has an article headlined "Animal cruelty law too broad, justices suggest; Case examines whether rules against heinous images restrict free speech." Paula Reed Ward of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "Justices hear a dogfight over speech, animal rights." And law.com's Tony Mauro reports that "Hypotheticals Dominate Animal Cruelty Argument at High Court." "In Code and in Specifics, Judges Debate Lewd Office Talk; Plaintiff argues that workplace use of gender-based slurs is discrimination": law.com has this report on an en banc oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Posted at 07:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Does the Second Amendment Bind the States?" Michael C. Dorf has this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 07:04 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, October 6, 2009 Nina Totenberg of National Public Radio is reporting: She has a written report headlined "High Court Weighs Legality Of Memorial Cross." The audio will appear on tomorrow's broadcast of "Morning Edition." And on this evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered," she had an audio segment entitled "High Court Hears Animal Cruelty Video Case" (RealPlayer required). "Supreme Court Hears First Amendment Case Involving Dogfight Videos": Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. Posted at 08:35 PM by Howard Bashman "New justice adept at getting a few words in edgewise": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. Posted at 08:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court takes up case of cross on federal land; A white cross has stood in the Mojave National Preserve since 1934; On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will look at issues related to the First Amendment's separation of church of state": Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston previews tomorrow's oral argument in a post titled "Salazar v. Buono: The cross in the desert." And in Wednesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Ted Cruz and Kelly Shackelford will have an op-ed entitled "War Memorials and the Constitution: Does the First Amendment really prohibit a cross on public land?" "This Case Is a Dog: The Supreme Court mauls the law banning animal-cruelty videos." Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate. Posted at 08:05 PM by Howard Bashman "High court debates dog fighting videos": Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report. Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Animal Cruelty Law Questioned at U.S. Supreme Court." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "U.S. justices question animal cruelty video law." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Supreme Court questions animal cruelty law; Are dog-fighting videos free speech? Supreme Court justices Tuesday heard a case challenging a federal law covering depictions of animal cruelty." The Scripps Howard News Service reports that "Supreme Court weighs animal cruelty vs. free speech." And Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal has a news update headlined "Justices Express Concern Over Animal-Cruelty Law." "High Court Won't Block Release Of Priest Sex Abuse Documents": This article appears today in The Hartford Courant. Posted at 07:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Former R.I. chief justice Williams cited in divorce case involving his ex-driver": The Providence (R.I.) Journal has this news update, along with a related blog post titled "Johnston dad felt 'intimidated' by ex-RI chief justice." The newspaper has posted online two related court filings here and here. "Obama nominates 2 for appeals court openings": The Associated Press has this report. And The Providence (R.I.) Journal has a news update headlined "Obama nominates Thompson to First Circuit court." The White House today issued a news release headlined "President Obama Nominates Judge Denny Chin for United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson for United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit." "Sex toy case doesn't pique high court interest": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. My earlier coverage of the Federal Circuit's ruling appears at this link. "U.S. Supreme Court won't review Florida Pledge of Allegiance law; The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a Florida law requiring students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance without a parent's note; But some Florida school districts don't enforce the law strictly": This article appears today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 04:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Court asks for Obama's stance on Healthy S.F." Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 04:20 PM by Howard Bashman "FBI Investigated Coder for Liberating Paywalled Court Records": At Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog, Ryan Singel has a post that begins, "When 22-year-old programmer Aaron Swartz decided last fall to help an open-government activist amass a public and free copy of millions of federal court records, he did not expect he'd end up with an FBI agent trying to stake out his house." Posted at 04:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Merritt on the Merits That No One Else Will Argue": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 04:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Bill would counter Supreme Court age bias ruling": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 04:12 PM by Howard Bashman By a vote of 4-3, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has ruled that the Commonwealth's Trademark Counterfeiting Statute is unconstitutional because it criminalizes speech protected by the First Amendment: Yesterday's ruling consists of a majority opinion, a concurring opinion, and two dissenting opinions (here and here). In news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Pa. high court overturns trademark protection law." "Supreme Court Skeptical of Law Criminalizing Animal Cruelty Depictions": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 03:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama's Gitmo blame game": At Politico.com, Josh Gerstein has a report that begins, "Greg Craig, the top in-house lawyer for President Barack Obama, is getting the blame for botching the strategy to shut down Guantanamo Bay prison by January -- so much so that he's expected to leave the White House in short order." Posted at 03:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Demjanjuk trial in Germany to start Nov. 30": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 03:04 PM by Howard Bashman "First-Day Recusals From the Supreme Court": Tony Mauro has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 01:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Court takes up free-speech case of pit bull videos": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Justices Indicate Support for Free Speech in Graphic Video Case." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Justices talk dog-fighting videos, 'Human Sacrifice Channel'; A Supreme Court argument about 1st Amendment rights and animal cruelty conjures the specter of programs about people being killed." Paula Reed Ward of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a news update headlined "Law too broad, attorney tells Supreme Court justices." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Animal cruelty law in trouble." You can access the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in United States v. Stevens, No. 08-769, at this link. "Sotomayor takes vocal role on her first day; The newest Supreme Court justice doesn't play the shy rookie, but peppers lawyers with questions, more even than Scalia and Ginsburg; The court takes a close look at the Miranda rule": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And law.com's Tony Mauro reports that "High Court Debates Value of Attorney-Client Privilege." "The divisive Mojave cross: Even as a war memorial, the Mojave cross only serves to undermine the sacrifices of soldiers of other faiths." Israel Drazin had this op-ed yesterday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman "A Supreme Court gunfight: A Chicago gun-control case will hinge on the 14th Amendment and the Bill of Rights." This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Free speech at heart of Supreme Court dogfighting video case": Jason Cato has this article today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that "Court takes up free-speech case of pit bull videos." And today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial entitled "Animal Cruelty and Free Speech." Monday, October 5, 2009 "Sotomayor Takes Active Role on Court's First Day": Robert Barnes will have this article Tuesday in The Washington Post. And Tuesday in The New York Times, Adam Liptak will have an article headlined "Justices Decline to Hear Some 2,000 Cases." Available online from National Public Radio: Nina Totenberg has a written report headlined "Dogfighting Case Gets Its Day In Court." The audio will appear on tomorrow's broadcast of "Morning Edition." This evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained an audio segment entitled "High Court Begins New Term" featuring Totenberg. And today's broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" contained an audio segment entitled "Major Decisions Anticipated From Supreme Court" featuring David G. Savage and Dahlia Lithwick. "Sotomayor shows she's no Clarence Thomas as Supreme Court opens": Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 07:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court's new term offers cases that could overturn precedent": This article appears today in The Kansas City Star. Posted at 07:38 PM by Howard Bashman Available online from The Christian Science Monitor: Warren Richey has articles headlined "Supreme Court to decide case on animal cruelty and free speech; Do depictions of animal cruelty fall short of First Amendment protection? The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday"; In addition, Rick DeJesus-Rueff has an op-ed entitled "Justice Sotomayor hits the high court -- what about empathy? The heated debate over the word is cool at the moment; But now is a great time to reconsider its value." Bill Mears of CNN.com is reporting: He has articles headlined "Supreme Court begins new term with a new justice"; "High court to decide if war memorial violates Constitution"; and "Death row female inmate denied high court review." Posted at 07:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court in NYC upholds Rigas' sentencing": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court in New York has upheld prison sentences given to a father and son who built Adelphia Communications into a cable television powerhouse." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. "Scotus rebuffs Scientology tax case": Josh Gerstein has this post at his "Under the Radar" blog at Politico.com. Posted at 05:17 PM by Howard Bashman "New Term, New Justice for Supreme Court": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 05:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Court opens with case on prisoner's bid for lawyer": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The Supreme Court began its new term Monday by indicating a willingness to limit how long a suspect's request for a lawyer should remain valid, and new Justice Sonia Sotomayor wasted little time in letting her voice be heard by questioning the lawyers." You can access at this link the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Maryland v. Shatzer, No. 08-680. "Gun bans, political cash on Supreme Court docket": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 05:02 PM by Howard Bashman James Vicini of Reuters is reporting: He has articles headlined "US top court rejects Qwest ex-CEO Nacchio's appeal" and "Top court rejects U.S. govt's oil royalty appeal." Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Nacchio Rejected by U.S. Supreme Court on Conviction Appeal": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Decline Review of Pledge, Other School Cases": Mark Walsh has this post at "The School Law Blog" of Education Week. Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "New Court Term Hints at Views on Regulating Business": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times, together with an article headlined "Other Major Cases This Term." Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Court halts Ohio execution, cites injection flaws": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:34 AM by Howard Bashman Access online today's Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court has posted today's Order List at this link. The Court has requested the views of the Solicitor General of the United States in four cases and the views of the Solicitor General of Texas in one case. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "No action on detainee case." And in early news coverage, The Associated Press has reports headlined "Court won't force Ill. to have 'Choose Life' plate"; "High court refuses to hear insider trading appeal"; "Court won't review Fla. Pledge of Allegiance law"; "Court won't block release of sex abuse papers"; "High court won't review death penalty in Louisiana"; "High court won't review oil royalties case"; "Court refuses to get involved in church dispute"; "Court won't hear Ill. foot doctor's death sentence"; "Court turns down former prosecutor in libel case"; and "Court nixes case of fired deputy who ran vs. boss." "A Changed Court Faces Key Decisions In New Term": Nina Totenberg had this audio segment (RealPlayer required) on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 09:57 AM by Howard Bashman Yale Law School's Supreme Court Clinic has posted online audio segments from its recent conference titled "'Important Questions of Federal Law': Assessing the Supreme Court's Case Selection Process." You can access the audio via this link. Posted at 08:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Liberty Legal takes up cross for religion": Todd J. Gillman had this article yesterday in The Dallas Morning News. Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman In commentary published today in The Los Angeles Times: Law professor Jonathan Turley has an op-ed entitled "Justice Sonia Sotomayor's free-speech tests: Supreme Court observers will be watching to see whether the new justice's rulings will depart from the liberal voting record of her predecessor." And law professor Bernard E. Harcourt has an op-ed entitled "Sending children to prison for life: Our laws make allowances for juveniles' immaturity; judges should too." Joan Biskupic of USA Today is reporting: In today's newspaper, she has front page articles headlined "Animal-abuse videos are test of free speech; Supreme Court weighs reach of anti-cruelty laws" and "O'Connor says rulings 'dismantled'; Diversity crucial to highest court." Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman "South Carolina to ask court to protect Catawba water supply; Carolinas at odds over how much can be withdrawn from river": Yesterday's edition of The Greenville News contained this article. This morning at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a related post titled "First Argument of Supreme Court Term Postponed." "Sweeping Changes Possible In Federal Judiciary In Connecticut": This article appears today in The Hartford Courant. Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Gansler to argue for limits to Miranda before high court; State is appealing overturned conviction of Hagerstown man": Today's edition of The Baltimore Sun contains an article that begins, "Seventeen years ago, before he was chief justice, John G. Roberts Jr. argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that a suspect's invocation of Miranda rights should have certain limits. But he never got the chance to find out if the justices agreed because the respondent in the case died, rendering it moot." Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Florida pushes ahead with an all-digital courthouse; The Florida Supreme Court is expected to approve new rules that will make most courthouse documents and records available to anyone who can get onto the Internet": This article appears today in The Orlando Sentinel. Posted at 07:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Britain's new Supreme Court swings into action": The Associated Press has this report. And today's edition of The Guardian (UK) contains an article headlined "State and the individual -- supreme court takes on weighty first case; Justices to rule on counter-terrorism laws; Poll shows many think new body unnecessary." "Companies Seek Turnaround at Supreme Court as Sotomayor Joins": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. And The New York Times today contains an editorial entitled "The Supreme Court Returns." Sunday, October 4, 2009 In Bashman news from Massachusetts via Australia: The Sydney Morning Herald has a report from The Associated Press headlined "Impatient couple bash man as they wait for KFC." And in local coverage, The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Massachusetts reports that "Slow chicken order leads to assault arrest at Norwell KFC." "Life in Prison for Minors--Cruel and Unusual? Supreme Court Will Take Up Two Cases on the Constitutionality of a Sentence That Gives Juveniles No Chance at Redemption." Jess Bravin will have this article Monday in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 10:17 PM by Howard Bashman "The Supreme Court Slams the Door": Online at The Nation, law professor Herman Schwartz has an essay that begins, "A Supreme Court ruling in May, Ashcroft v. Iqbal, on how much information civil complaints in a lawsuit must contain, might seem a narrow technical matter, of interest only to lawyers and law journals. Yet, it is on just such 'technicalities' that the legal rights of victims of public or private wrongdoing often hinge. For almost four decades the Court's right wing has been perfecting such technicalities as legal weapons to deny Americans an opportunity to enforce their rights in court." Posted at 10:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Kennedy: Constitution open to interpretation." Friday's edition of The Norman (Okla.) Transcript contained an article that begins, "The authors of the U.S. Constitution intentionally made it open to interpretation so that it could be adapted to meet changing societal issues, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said Thursday in Norman." And Friday's edition of The Oklahoma Daily reported that "Anthony Kennedy speaks to members of the law school." Finally, The GW Hatchet reported last week that "Justice will speak at law school; Anthony Kennedy will keynote symposium." "Questions surround start of new Supreme Court term: How will Sonia Sotomayor vote? Is John Paul Stevens soon to retire? Will John Roberts and Samuel Alito be more unabashedly conservative? The term begins Monday." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report. Nina Totenberg of National Public Radio has a written report headlined "A Changed Court Faces Key Decisions In 2009-10." The audio will appear on tomorrow's broadcast of "Morning Edition." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "US court term has major gun rights, business cases." And Agence France-Presse reports that "US Supreme Court to examine terrorism, gun rights." According to "SCOTUSblog," the U.S. Supreme Court's October Term 2009 will be off to an unusual start, as the first case that was to be argued tomorrow morning has been postponed due to "family emergencies" affecting "two of the advocates scheduled to argue" the case. "New Battle in the Gun War Heads to the Supreme Court; The Highest Court in the Land Will Hear Case of Chicago Residents Who Want the City's Handgun Ban Overturned": ABCNews.com has this report. Posted at 08:45 PM by Howard Bashman "O'Connor addresses W&M law students": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. And The Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia reports today that "Retired justice implores schools to start learning." Michael Kirkland of UPI reports on Justice John Paul Stevens: Kirkland has articles headlined "Stevens is on the legal front lines" and "Stevens knew his own mind in Bush vs. Gore." Posted at 08:34 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to hear appeal of man jailed for dogfight videos": Today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Paula Reed Ward has an article that begins, "Are graphic depictions of dogfighting similar to child pornography, or are they no different from images routinely published in hunting and fishing magazines? This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will take on a Western Pennsylvania case that pits animal cruelty opponents against First Amendment advocates." Posted at 08:25 PM by Howard Bashman "6 members of Supreme Court attend Catholic Mass": The Associated Press has this report. At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "Red Mass in D.C. Draws Six Justices, Vice President." And at WSJ.com's "Washington Wire" blog, Jess Bravin has a post titled "Supreme Court Majority Opinion: Attend Red Mass." Saturday, October 3, 2009 "New term and new justice for nation's high court": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. At ABCNews.com, Ariane de Vogue has a report headlined "Supreme Court, Sotomayor Face Contentious Issues in New Term; Religious Symbols on Public Property, Campaign Finance, and Juvenile Sentencing Among Cases Justices Will Hear." And U.S. News & World Report has an article headlined "Supreme Court to Decide Hot Button Issues; The Court will look hear cases on life sentences for minors, a cross on federal land, and more." "For Roberts, Alito, a New Visibility; Their Views on First Amendment Cases May Be Key": Robert Barnes will have this article Sunday in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Sonia Sotomayor not selling Greenwich Village pad over weak housing market": This article appears today in The New York Daily News. Posted at 06:57 PM by Howard Bashman "NY appeals court rules for Canadian energy company": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court in New York has ruled that a lawsuit alleging that a Canadian energy company aided genocide in its pursuit of oil in Sudan was properly thrown out." And Bloomberg News reports that "Talisman Court Upholds Sudan Genocide Suit Dismissal." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. "The Propriety of Criticizing Judges": Joel Cohen and Katherine A. Helm have this essay online at law.com. Posted at 03:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Texas Battle on Gay Marriage Looms": This article appears today in The New York Times. And The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has articles headlined "For gay couple, divorce ruling is bittersweet" and "D-FW activists applaud gay divorce ruling; GOP leaders back appeal." "Botox Maker's Suit Injects New Life Into Off-Label Marketing Debate": law.com provides this report. And today's edition of The New York Times contains an article headlined "Botox Maker's Suit Cites Free Speech." You can access the complaint initiating suit at this link. My earlier coverage appears here. "A Detainee's Case Shows the Hurdles That a Release Poses": Sunday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, "To understand how hard it is proving for President Obama to close the American military prison at Guantanamo Bay, consider the case of Alla Ali Bin Ali Ahmed, Internee Security No. 692." Posted at 02:11 PM by Howard Bashman "The Supreme Court, Appealing": Today in The Washington Post, Hank Stuever has this preview of C-SPAN's "Supreme Court Week," which begins tomorrow at 9 p.m. eastern time. Posted at 02:10 PM by Howard Bashman Friday, October 2, 2009 "The State of Guns: The Supreme Court is again poised to decide a historic Second Amendment question." This editorial appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Newer Justices Could Transform Supreme Court": Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has this news update. Posted at 11:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge sorry for allowing cameras into federal courtroom": The News-Gazette of Champaign, Illinois today contains an article that begins, "U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade has apologized for allowing cameras to record a Champaign schools consent decree hearing in September. McDade issued the written apology after Judge Frank Easterbrook, chief judge of the 7th Circuit, chided McDade in a written opinion for allowing video and still photography and live broadcasting of a Sept. 15 fairness hearing over the Champaign school district's consent decree." (Via WSJ.com's "Law Blog.") The Judicial Council of the Seventh Circuit has posted online this order and this memorandum by Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook and this letter of apology from U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade of the Central District of Illinois. "Do Women Make Better Judges? Asked and answered--with data." Stephen Choi, Mitu Gulati, Mirya Holman, and Eric Posner have this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. A more in-depth explanation of their findings can be found in their paper titled "Judging Women" posted at SSRN (via "The Volokh Conspiracy"). "Experts: NJ voting buffer zone ruling won't stand." The Associated Press has this report. My earlier coverage of Wednesday's Supreme Court of New Jersey ruling can be accessed here. "Obama begins to overhaul key US appeals court": The Associated Press has a report about the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that begins, "President Barack Obama has begun reshaping the nation's most conservative federal appeals court, one that has handled many high-profile terrorism and detainee cases and generally supported the anti-terrorism initiatives of former President George W. Bush." And a related AP report is headlined "Obama moving slowly on judges." "Appeals Court: Guard Can Be Sued Over Shackled Inmate In Labor." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court has ruled that a jail guard can be sued by a prisoner who was shackled while in labor, but also found that the Correction Department director is immune from the suit." By its use of the term "in labor," The AP means that a female prisoner was forced to remain shackled while giving birth to a child. You can access today's ruling of the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link. The en banc court divided 6-5 on the aspect of the decision that allows the lawsuit against the guard to proceed. "All Eyes on Sunday's Red Mass, Unofficial Start of Supreme Court Season": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Allergan suing FDA over off-label policy": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Allergan Inc., the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment, challenged the government's ban on off-label drug marketing to doctors, saying it violates the company's right to freedom of speech." According to The AP's report, "Allergan is represented in its lawsuit by Paul D. Clement, a partner at King & Spalding LLP in Washington, D.C., and formerly the Solicitor General of the United States." Allergan, Inc. issued this news release about the lawsuit yesterday. "Court to hear case on material support for terrorists": Tony Mauro has this report online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman The U.S. Department of Justice has a new web site: You can access the new web site at this link, while a blog post announcing the new web site can be accessed here. Posted at 10:58 AM by Howard Bashman Divided three-judge Sixth Circuit panel affirms the dismissal of antitrust lawsuit brought by travel agencies alleging that major airlines had conspired to reduce, cap, and eventually eliminate the payment of base commissions to drive plaintiffs out of business: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. Posted at 10:52 AM by Howard Bashman "German court says Demjanjuk trial can go ahead": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 10:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Benched: Why the Supreme Court is irrelevant." Law professor Barry Friedman has this article online at The New Republic. And for another recent mention of Barry Friedman here at "How Appealing," see this post from last Sunday. "NJ court reinstates ban on voting site exit polls": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The New Jersey Supreme Court has reinstated a ban on exit polls, surveys taken of people as they leave their voting places." You can access Wednesday's ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link. "N.J. Supreme Court Likely to Ease, Not Lift, Ban on Comparative Lawyer Advertising": law.com has this report. Posted at 08:27 AM by Howard Bashman "High court prods panel in Sanford ethics case; Justices want more arguments about releasing report on governor": The State of Columbia, South Carolina today contains an article that begins, "The S.C. Supreme Court has asked a state ethics panel to submit arguments by noon Monday on whether it can release a preliminary investigation of Gov. Mark Sanford to lawmakers." Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Red Mass: lobbying high court or simple prayer service?" Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Prayer policy Lodi's next hurdle; New language up to city attorney": The Record of Stockton, California contains an article today that begins, "Now that the Lodi City Council has endorsed holding uncensored invocations at its regular meetings, most certainly there will be more prayers to Jesus. What about Satan?" The Lodi News-Sentinel reports today that "Lodi may be headed for prayer lawsuit; Freedom From Religion Foundation will 'see how it pans out.'" The Sacramento Bee reports today that "Lodi, other cities put faith in prayer diversity." And The New York Times reports that "City Decides to Continue Pre-Meeting Invocation." "Dallas judge paves way for gay couple to get divorce": The Dallas Morning News today contains an article that begins, "In a first for Texas, a judge ruled Thursday that two men married in another state can divorce here and that the state's ban on gay marriage violates the U.S. Constitution." The Associated Press reports that "Texas judge clears way for gay divorce." And the "Tex Parte" blog of Texas Lawyer has a post titled "State district judge finds Texas' ban on gay marriage unconstitutional." The judge who issued the ruling has this reelection web site. "The Courts and Privacy": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, "To the delight of headline writers, the Alabama Supreme Court recently decided the case of 1568 Montgomery Highway Inc. -- also known as Love Stuff -- v. the City of Hoover. In a 7-to-2 ruling, it upheld a state law banning the sale of sex toys. The dispute may seem a bit frivolous, but it rests on a fundamental question: After the Supreme Court's 2003 ruling striking down sodomy laws, how free is the majority to impose its morality through the law?" My earlier coverage of last month's Alabama Supreme Court ruling appears at this link. "Down the Memory Hole: Justice David H. Souter has agreed to share his Supreme Court papers, but with a 50-year lock." Linda Greenhouse has this op-ed today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Thomas Speaks About His Silence on the Bench": law.com has a report that begins, "For a U.S. Supreme Court justice who remains mum during oral arguments, Clarence Thomas shared a lot on Wednesday during a 90-minute conversation before an audience of 2,300 at Southern Methodist University in Dallas." Yesterday's edition of The SMU Daily Campus contained an article headlined "Thomas reflects on Supreme Court appointment, addresses unfair media coverage." And yesterday's edition of The Daily Skiff of Texas Christian University contained an article headlined "Justice: Oath to constitution a priority." Video of Justice Clarence Thomas's remarks as a speaker in the Willis M. Tate Distinguished Lecture Series may eventually appear at this link. Meanwhile, last week Justice Thomas spoke at a Lincoln conference at Washington and Lee. The Waynesboro News Virginian reported that "Justice speaks at W&L." You can download the audio of Justice Thomas's remarks at the Lincoln conference via this link (40.6MB mp3 audio file). "Sotomayor won't sell NY apartment in this economy": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 07:20 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, October 1, 2009 Programming note: I'll be in Washington, DC today preparing for the oral argument later this month of a case in which the Superior Court of Pennsylvania is being asked to decide whether skill or luck predominates in determining success at the game known as Texas hold 'em poker. You can access at this link the Brief for Appellees that I filed on my clients' behalf, while an amicus brief in support of affirmance can be accessed here. My most recent earlier coverage of the case appeared in this post from June 2009. "Supreme Court Adds 12 Cases to Docket, Including a Second Amendment Sequel": Tony Mauro and Marcia Coyle have this article online at law.com. Posted at 07:14 AM by Howard Bashman 
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