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Monday, February 28, 2011 "Ford Pickup Suit Revived by High Court After Mazda Ruling": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 11:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Orie takes stand to defend against corruption charges": The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has this news update. And The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a news update headlined "Orie denies ordering political work during office hours." "U.S. Supreme Court denies pharmaceuticals' appeal on overtime pay": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger has this news update. Posted at 11:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Generals' complaint targets Phelps lawyers": The Topeka Capital-Journal has a news update that begins, "Nine retired U.S. Air Force generals have filed a complaint with state regulators to seek disbarment of 10 lawyers who are members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka." Posted at 11:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Jury Can Hear Dying Man's Words, Justices Say": Adam Liptak will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times. Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Court: Victim's dying words may be used at trial." In Tuesday's edition of The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage will have an article headlined "Supreme Court says dying victim's statement can be used in court; The justices' 6-2 ruling breaks somewhat from recent decisions forbidding the use of 'hearsay' statements to police, creating a new rule for when officers are dealing with 'an ongoing emergency.'" The Washington Times has a news update headlined "Court rules words of dying man are admissible at trial; Justices Scalia, Ginsburg dissent." The Detroit News has an update headlined "Supreme Court says Detroit dying witness statement OK at trial." The Detroit Free Press has a news update headlined "Detroit shooting victim fingered gunman; Supreme Court denies a new trial." And Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Supreme Court rules dead man's accusations can be used at trial; The Supreme Court rules that statements given to authorities during an emergency may be introduced as evidence in a trial even if the source dies before the trial." "Half-Empty: The Obama administration's new DOMA position may help a handful of gay couples at the expense of all the rest." Law professor Aziz Huq has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 11:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Says Senate Is Injuring Federal Judiciary": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post that begins, "The slowing confirmation rate for federal judges means litigants aren't getting their cases heard in a timely way and fewer people are willing to be nominated, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said today." Posted at 05:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama has a new vacancy to fill on Atlanta appeals court": In Saturday's edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bill Rankin had an article that begins, "Judge Susan Black of the federal appeals court in Atlanta on Friday notified President Barack Obama she was taking senior status, opening up a second vacancy on the bench." Posted at 03:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court says dying victim's statement can be used in court; The 6-2 Supreme Court ruling breaks somewhat from recent rulings forbidding the use of 'hearsay' statements to police, creating a new rule for when officers are dealing with 'an ongoing emergency'; The decision, says Justice Antonin Scalia in his dissent, leaves the Constitution 'in shambles'": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. And Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "High court says victim's dying words can be used in court." "Morphed child pornography utilizing the face of a child and the body of an adult is not protected expressive speech under the First Amendment." So rules a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a decision issued today. Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman Today's opinion in an argued case and Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court today issued one opinion in an argued case. Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the Court in Michigan v. Bryant, No. 09-150. Justice Clarence Thomas issued an opinion concurring in the judgment. And Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Gibsburg each issued dissenting opinions. You can access the oral argument via this link. You can access today's Order List at this link. The Court did not grant review of any new cases, but the Court did request the views of the Solicitor General's office on two cases. In news coverage from The Associated Press, "Court says dying witness statement OK at trial"; "High court nixes church appeal in defamation case"; "Court won't hear appeal over blocked taxicab rule"; and "Texas killer of 2 loses high court appeal." "Judge says depression, accident led to cocaine, stripper troubles": In yesterday's edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bill Rankin had an article that begins, "A decades-long battle with depression and brain damage from a bicycling accident led ex-judge Jack Camp to make the self-destructive choices of using drugs and striking up an affair with a stripper, court filings say." And The Associated Press has an article headlined "Ex-Ga. judge: depression led to drug conviction." "Diehl-Armstrong gets life plus 30 years in 'pizza bomber' case": The Erie Times-News has this update. And The Associated Press reports that "Pa. woman gets life plus 30 in collar bomb death." "Judge: Cheshire Trial To Stay In New Haven." The Hartford Courant has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Request to move Conn. home invasion trial rejected." The New Haven Register has posted the trial court's ruling at this link. Programming note: In a few moments, I will be departing the office to meet with co-counsel in connection with an oral argument that I will be presenting tomorrow to a three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. At 10 a.m. eastern time today, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to issue an Order List, which you can access via this link once it is posted online. If the Court issues any opinions today, you can access those via this link. And if any Justices issue opinions relating to orders, you can access those via this link. In addition, "SCOTUSblog" is likely to offer prompt coverage of today's Order List and opinions (if any). Additional posts will appear here this afternoon. "Legal system doesn't work for ordinary people, top judge says": Today's edition of The Vancouver Sun contains an article that begins, "Canada's top judge is warning that the legal system doesn't work for ordinary people and courts are fast becoming the domain of the rich or the indigent." Posted at 09:06 AM by Howard Bashman "Can legal use of medical marijuana get you fired? State Supreme Court to decide; Washington voters approved the use of medical marijuana, but state law is murky on whether workers can be fired for legally using pot." The Seattle Times contains this article today. Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Williston students run Supreme Court Web site inspired by Justice Breyer's Springfield visit": This article appears today in The Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts. Posted at 09:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Same-sex weddings, now: Gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry while the Proposition 8 case works its way through the system." Today's edition of The Los Angeles Times contains an article that begins, "Although the federal courts expedited their handling of the lawsuit challenging Proposition 8, the issues are far from resolved. And now that the California Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in, the case could be delayed for another year or more. Enough already. Gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to wed while the case works its way through the system." Posted at 08:56 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to hear arguments in Stanford patent dispute": This article appears today in The San Jose Mercury News. Posted at 08:55 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, February 27, 2011 "With three new justices, some say rest of court safe": The Associated Press has this report from Iowa. Posted at 10:25 PM by Howard Bashman "The Obama administration's 'risky move' in Florida": Politico.com has a report that begins, "U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson has already dealt the Obama administration a staggering blow on health reform, and this week the administration may get another one from the fiery Florida judge." Posted at 08:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Massive tobacco suit gets revived": Yesterday's edition of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch contained an article that begins, "A lawsuit that led to a $10.1 billion Madison County Circuit Court verdict against tobacco giant Philip Morris -- once thought dead after the Illinois Supreme Court overturned it -- has been revived by a lower appeals court." And The Associated Press reports that "Ill. appeals court revives cigarette lawsuit." "Supreme Court confronts conflict between constitutional rights and protecting children": Robert Barnes will have this article Monday in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Defiant Clarence Thomas fires back": Politico.com has this report. Posted at 08:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Storey speaks on entering gay marriage ban case": This article appears today in The Imperial Valley Press. Posted at 10:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Thurgood Marshall helped shape Judge Keith's legacy": Trevor W. Coleman has this essay today in The Detroit Free Press. Posted at 09:55 AM by Howard Bashman "US citizen recalls 'humiliating' post-9/11 arrest": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Iowa split 3 ways on same-sex marriage": This article appears today in The Des Moines Register. Posted at 09:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Should bloggers be held liable for defamation?" Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 09:48 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, February 26, 2011 "Cal Supreme Court to define 'pimp'": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Must Presidents Defend Laws They Don't Like?" Adam Liptak will have this article in the Week in Review section of Sunday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 08:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Hope for Queens couples' immigration rights after Obama's abandoning of Defense of Marriage Act": This article appears today in The New York Daily News. Posted at 12:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Meat the Mets! Lawyer has delicate question for case's higher authority." Today's edition of The New York Daily News contains an article that begins, "A Federal judge's Amazin' apparel caused some consternation Friday during a hearing on whether kosher hot dogs can be sold at Citi Field on the Jewish Sabbath." Posted at 12:23 PM by Howard Bashman "A teaching moment -- More on: Is it usual to use 'big poster/charts' in oral arguments?" Marcia Oddi has this post at "The Indiana Law Blog." Posted at 10:05 AM by Howard Bashman "3 to 2 for Health Care Reform": This editorial appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 09:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama defends Ashcroft in Supreme Court terror case": Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 09:47 AM by Howard Bashman "Speed Trap: Why the Supreme Court should decline to rush to judgment on health reform." Simon Lazarus and Timothy Jost have this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices weigh dispute over child-abuse cases": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 09:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Hearing could reopen case of Barnes art move": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 09:34 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, February 25, 2011 "Court reverses videotape conviction": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court has overturned the conviction of a West Texas man charged with one count of production of child pornography for secretly videotaping a 16-year-old girl at an Odessa tanning salon." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. Earlier coverage of the case from The Odessa American can be accessed here, here, and here. "Shift on Gay-Marriage Law Will Affect Array of Policies": Geoffrey A. Fowler and Evan Perez have this article today in The Wall Street Journal. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Justification asked for DOMA plan; A federal judge orders the U.S. government to explain its plan to enforce the federal ban on benefits for legally-married same-sex couples even while taking the position that the ban is unconstitutional." "Christian legal group appeals health care ruling": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A Christian legal group is appealing a judge's dismissal of its lawsuit against President Barack Obama's requirement that all Americans get health insurance." Posted at 05:30 PM by Howard Bashman Handouts and demonstratives at an appellate oral argument: For reasons that I'd be more than happy to discuss further in the event that anyone is interested, I'm not a huge fan of using handouts or demonstrative exhibits at an appellate oral argument. Moments before my en banc oral argument was to begin Wednesday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, opposing counsel handed me a collection of documents that he proposed to distribute to the judges to walk them through his presentation. That was, frankly, the first time that I had had that happen to me or seen that happen in more than 20 years of appellate work. The representatives of the Third Circuit's clerk's office in the courtroom would not allow the handout to be distributed to the judges without my consent. I decided not to consent, because the best use of my time in the moments before the oral argument was not perusing opposing counsel's proposed handout, and there was nothing that had precluded opposing counsel from finding out earlier in advance of the oral argument that my consent was needed and then requesting my consent at that earlier time. Yesterday, Class Counsel filed this motion for leave to file the handout. My response to the motion, which I have just electronically filed, can be accessed here. "Federal court upholds Starbucks win in Kraft case": The Associated Press has this report on a non-precedential ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today. Posted at 04:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Gubernatorial appointments render Iowa one of only three states with all-male high court": The National Center for State Courts has issued this revised and corrected backgrounder today. Posted at 04:52 PM by Howard Bashman "With Friends Like These: The Troubling Implications of the Government's Recent Effort to Block Amicus Curiae Briefs in a Controversial White Collar Criminal Appeal." Attorneys Anthony J. Franze and R. Stanton Jones of Arnold & Porter LLP have published this essay in Bloomberg Law Reports. Posted at 01:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Jury Nullification Advocate Is Indicted": This article will appear in Saturday's edition of The New York Times. And at "The Volokh Conspiracy," law professor Eugene Volokh has a related post titled "Suppression of Jury Nullification Advocates' Speech Outside Courthouse." "Imperial County, Calif., renews gay marriage fight": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 01:33 PM by Howard Bashman In the March 2011 issue of ABA Journal magazine: Mark Walsh has an article headlined "Corporate Giant Wal-Mart Faces a Huge Class Action By Female Workers." John Gibeaut has an article headlined "Candidates Say Public Campaign Funds Chill Their 1st Amendment Rights." And Mark Curriden has an article headlined "Lawyer's Attempt to Keep His Head Above Water Landed a Client on Death Row." "Scrushy talks appeal, life after prison": These interview excerpts appear online at the web site of the Birmingham Business Journal. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Court Likely to Uphold Constitutionality of 'Nude' Airport Scanners": David Kravets has this post at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog. Posted at 08:16 AM by Howard Bashman "High court orders briefs in Facebook juror case": Today's edition of The Sacramento Bee contains an article that begins, "The California Supreme Court wants to take a closer look at the Facebook juror case that originated in Sacramento." Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Legal fight over Facebook continues; Brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who maintain that Mark Zuckerberg ripped them off to build Facebook, are contesting an out-of-court settlement reached three years ago": This article appeared yesterday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Pennsylvania court reviewing teen's abortion case": Today's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contains a front page article that begins, "For the first time, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has acknowledged it is reviewing the case of a pregnant teenager who was denied permission for an abortion by a county judge." Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, February 24, 2011 "Federal Judiciary Braces for Possible Government Shutdown": Mike Scarcella has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 10:48 PM by Howard Bashman Notwithstanding this blog's generally woeful coverage of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces: This afternoon, I received the following email from someone affiliated with that court: Good Afternoon Sir/Madam,Instead of my displaying that information, which merely lists the scheduled speakers, you can access the entire Schedule of Events (including the speakers for each session) by clicking here. I won't be speaking at that event, but law professors Doug Berman, Bernard Hibbitts, and Stephen Gillers will be. In addition, attorney Andrew J. Pincus will speak on the topic "Litigating in Today's Supreme Court." Posted at 04:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Gubernatorial appointments render Iowa one of only three states with all-male high court": The National Center for State Courts issued this backgrounder today. Update: An email that I've just received from the NCSC organization states, "The tabular information in the NCSC Backgrounder titled 'Gubernatorial Appointments Render Iowa One of Only Three States with All-Male High Court' contained significant errors. A corrected and accurate version will be released tomorrow, Feb. 25." As a result, the link to the document provided above no longer works. Stay tuned, as I will link to the corrected version tomorrow once I'm alerted to its existence. Upcoming CLE presentations: Over lunch on Tuesday, March 15, 2011, I will be one of the panelists at a Philadelphia Bar Association Antitrust Law Committee CLE Program titled "DeBeers: Class Action Settlements in Antitrust Cases." And exactly four months from today, on Friday, June 24, 2011, I will be one of six panelists speaking on the subject of "Opening Up: Can the Courts Be More Open and Better Understood?" at the Judicial Conference of the Fourth Circuit taking place in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The New Yorker's Jeffrey Toobin will also be participating as a speaker on that panel. "Law Profs Urge Ethics Rules for Supreme Court Justices": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 02:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Attorney-Client Privilege Is a Two-Way Street, High Court Rules": The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers, has posted online a news update written by Gina Passarella that begins, "Pennsylvania lawyers finally have some guidance from the state Supreme Court about the status of the attorney-client privilege after the justices ruled Thursday that it attaches not only to communication from the client to the lawyer, but to communications going the other way around as well." Yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consists of a majority opinion and two dissenting opinions (here and here). "Goodwin Liu to Get Second Hearing": David Ingram has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Feds Appeal Warrantless-Wiretapping Defeat": At Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog, David Kravets has a post that begins, "The Obama administration is appealing the first -- and likely only -- lawsuit resulting in a ruling against the National Security Agency's secret warrantless-surveillance program adopted in the wake of the 2001 terror attacks." And in other coverage, Bob Egelko reported in Sunday's edition of The San Francisco Chronicle that "U.S. appeals ruling that warrantless wiretap illegal." In commentary available online at Slate: Dahlia Lithwick has a jurisprudence essay entitled "Indefensible: Why the Obama administration changed its mind about the Defense of Marriage Act." And Arthur Allen has an essay entitled "The Real Problem With Vaccines: Our system for compensating injured children is hurting--and this week's Supreme Court ruling doesn't help." "Same-sex marriage: Courts expected to heed Obama move." Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And in today's edition of The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz reports that "Same-sex couples urge immediate resumption of gay marriages." "Judge Waits To Rule On Bid To Change Komisarjevsky Trial Site": The Hartford Courant today contains an article that begins, "In rejecting concerns by defense attorneys last year that widespread pretrial publicity prejudiced prospective jurors in the first Cheshire home-invasion killings trial, Judge Jon C. Blue cited Connecticut's unique jury selection system as a means to screen for bias." And today's edition of The New Haven Register reports that "Komisarjevsky lawyers argue for venue change; 'Pre-judgment of guilt' found in expert's survey." "Attorney general mum on refusal to defend gay unions ban": The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today contains an article that begins, "U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, speaking yesterday at Duquesne University, declined to address the Obama administration's decision to stop defending a federal law banning same-sex marriage." Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Is Anyone Watching?" Linda Greenhouse has this post at the "Opinionator" blog of The New York Times. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Branstad taps three for Supreme Court; 'The ones I chose were the best'": This article appears today in The Des Moines Register. Today's edition of The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi contains an article headlined "Gov. selects King for state high court; Choice 'was very clear,' Barbour says of judicial appointee." And The Hartford Courant reports that "Malloy Nominates Lubbie Harper Jr. To State Supreme Court; Appellate Judge Would Fill Vacancy Left By Joette Katz." "Bill aims to bar gay marriage, review by court": Today's edition of The Des Moines Register contains an article that begins, "County recorders would be prohibited from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and the Iowa Supreme Court would be unable to rule on the issue under a bill sponsored by six conservative House Republicans." Posted at 08:06 AM by Howard Bashman "Tapes reveal Thurgood Marshall's rocky road to the Supreme Court": Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report. And a related item is headlined "Johnson to Marshall: 'I have a rather big problem.'" Posted at 08:03 AM by Howard Bashman "Betty Boop creator's family loses copyright case": Reuters has this report. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Third Circuit Court hears appeal on federal DNA collection": Nathan Gorenstein has this article today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. And on Monday, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review previewed the oral argument in an article headlined "DNA collection before conviction fought in federal court." You can access the audio of yesterday's spirited oral argument before the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit via this link (73.0MB Windows Media audio file). Wednesday, February 23, 2011 "N.J. lawsuit over severed fingers leads to U.S. Supreme Court case on product liability": The Newark Star-Ledger has this news update. Posted at 10:44 PM by Howard Bashman "McEwen sees justice in tell-all": Today's edition of The Washington Post contains an article that begins, "Four months after Lillian McEwen broke a two-decade silence about her longtime relationship with Clarence Thomas, the retired administrative law judge has written a book." Posted at 10:42 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court considers Louisville man's crack-cocaine sentence": The Louisville Courier-Journal has this news update. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Professors ask Congress for an ethics code for Supreme Court": This article will appear Thursday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Branstad's Supreme Court choices: Edward Mansfield, Thomas Waterman and Bruce Zager." The Des Moines Register has a news update that begins, "Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad this afternoon appointed two judges and an attorney to the Iowa Supreme Court." And in related news, IowaStateDaily.com reports that "House seeks to alter Supreme Court nominations." Access online the audio of the Third Circuit en banc oral argument in which I participated this morning: You can download the oral argument via this link (81.5MB Windows Media audio file). Posted at 10:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Allows Lawsuit Over Rear Seat Belts": Adam Liptak will have this article Thursday in The New York Times. Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Court says Mazda can be sued over seat-belt death." In Thursday's edition of The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage will have an article headlined "Supreme Court OKs lawsuits over cars' lack of best safety equipment; The ruling reverses California court decisions in the case of a man's claim against Mazda that his wife would have survived a crash if her seat had a lap and shoulder belt, not just a lap belt." The Detroit News has an update headlined "Court: Family can sue Mazda over seat belt death." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Supreme Court allows lawsuits against automakers over seat belt design; Federal law does not shield automakers from potential lawsuits filed on behalf of passengers injured while wearing lap-only seat belts, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Auto Industry Can Be Sued Over Seatbelt Design, U.S. Supreme Court Rules." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court allows lawsuits over seat belts." And at her "Crossroads" blog, Jan Crawford of CBS News has a post titled "In twist, Supreme Court allows seatbelt lawsuit." "Supreme Court upholds California's loose rules for inmate appeals": Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 10:12 PM by Howard Bashman Betty Boop, on appeal: A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this ruling today. Posted at 02:56 PM by Howard Bashman "Work for Utah's federal judges piling up while D.C. stalls out": This article appears today in The Salt Lake Tribune. Posted at 02:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Court: Family can sue Mazda over seat belt death." Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has this report on one of the two argued cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court issued rulings this morning. Justice Stephen G. Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court in Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc., No. 08-1314, reversing a California-based appellate court other than the Ninth Circuit. All non-recused Justices joined in the ruling except for Justice Clarence Thomas, who issued an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the decision. You can access the oral argument via this link. And Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court in Walker v. Martin, No. 09-996, reversing the Ninth Circuit in a habeas case. You can access the oral argument via this link. "Gov't drops defense of anti-gay marriage law": Pete Yost of The Associated Press has a report that begins, "In a major policy reversal, the Obama administration said Wednesday it will no longer defend the constitutionality of a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage." The AP also has a related report headlined "WH: Obama still 'grappling' with gay marriage." In other coverage, Charlie Savage of The New York Times has a news update headlined "Obama Orders End to Defense of Federal Gay Marriage Law." David G. Savage and James Oliphant of The Los Angeles Times have a news update headlined "Gay marriage: Obama administration won't defend part of marriage act; In a key shift on gay rights, the administration says a section of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional as applied to gay couples who are legally married under state law; The administration vows not to defend the law against two lawsuits brought by same-sex couples." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "U.S. says DOMA ban invalid." The U.S. Department of Justice has posted online the "Letter from the Attorney General to Congress on Litigation Involving the Defense of Marriage Act." Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Programming note: On Wednesday morning, I'm scheduled to argue before nine judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit sitting en banc. At 10 a.m. eastern time on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to issue one or more opinions in argued cases. You can access those rulings via this link as the Court posts them online. In addition, "SCOTUSblog" is likely to offer prompt coverage. Additional posts will appear here Wednesday afternoon. Update: If you don't enjoy presenting oral argument to an en banc federal appellate court, then you should not be operating an appellate law blog. That said, I will link to the oral argument audio when it becomes available via the Third Circuit's web site. In addition, the court ordered that a copy of the transcript be filed, and I will post the transcript to the blog when it becomes available. "Court Weighs the Power of Congress": Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. In Wednesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin will have an article headlined "Justices Weigh 10th Amendment." And The Philadelphia Inquirer has a news update headlined "High court hears Pennsylvania case of love, poison, and rights." "Federal appeals Judge David R. Thompson dies at 80; Judge Thompson came from a family that has been part of the fabric of San Diego's legal community for 100 years": The San Diego Union-Tribune has posted this obituary online today. Posted at 09:24 PM by Howard Bashman "The Case of the Poisoned Lover: The Supreme Court gets its sexiest case ever, but all it wants to talk about is standing." Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Benefitting from confusion." "Five Years Later, Justice Thomas Still Silent": Nina Totenberg had this report on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 09:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court bars lawsuits over side effects from children's vaccines; The Supreme Court upholds a federal law that offers compensation to victims while shielding vaccine makers from lawsuits by parents": David G. Savage will have this article Wednesday in The Los Angeles Times. And Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Supreme Court rules vaccine makers protected from lawsuits." "High court debates implications of poisoned paramour case": Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report. Posted at 06:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Upholds Law on Vaccine Suits": Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update. Posted at 06:12 PM by Howard Bashman "High court rules against Mt. Lebanon girl's vaccine suit": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this news update. Joan Biskupic of USA Today has a news update headlined "High court rules against parents in drug vaccine case." The Washington Times has a news update headlined "Court backs law protecting vaccine makers." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Parents can't sue drug firms when vaccines cause harm, Supreme Court says; A federal law grants drug companies immunity from certain lawsuits from injuries or deaths tied to vaccines, the US Supreme Court affirmed Tuesday." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Suits Against Vaccine Makers Curbed by U.S. Supreme Court in Pfizer Case." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court rules for vaccine makers on lawsuits." And at her "Crossroads" blog, Jan Crawford of CBS News has a post titled "Supreme Court rejects vaccine lawsuit." "N.C. Voters: Campaign Contributions Influence Court Ruling." The organizations Justice at Stake Campaign and the N.C. Center for Voter Education issued this news release today. Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "[U]npublished orders like those the amicus cites may be considered persuasive authority, but they do not constrain a panel of the court from reaching a contrary conclusion in a published opinion after full consideration of the issue." A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued this decision today addressing the precedential effect of that court's unpublished decisions. Posted at 02:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Conn. home invasion defense: Client not the devil." The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 12:36 PM by Howard Bashman "Robust and Wide-Open": Law professor Justin Driver had this review (free access) of the book "Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion" by Seth Stern and Stephen Wermiel in the February 17, 2011 issue of The New Republic. Posted at 12:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Court seems likely to let jilted lover appeal": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The Supreme Court seems likely to allow a woman who tried to get back at her husband's pregnant lover with toxic chemicals to challenge her federal anti-terrorism conviction." Update: You can access the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Bond v. United States, No. 09-1227, by clicking here. "Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Mourns Death of Senior Judge David R. Thompson": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued this news release. Posted at 11:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice praises selection system": Today's edition of The Daily Iowan contains an article that begins, "Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins said the only problem with the process to retain Iowa Supreme Court justices is they're not running against another person but the notion of an ideal judge." Posted at 10:38 AM by Howard Bashman Access online today's opinions in argued cases and Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court today issued two opinions in argued cases. 1. Justice Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court in CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Alabama Dept. of Revenue, No. 09-520. Justice Clarence Thomas issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined. You can access the oral argument via this link. 2. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC, No. 09-152. Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Ginsburg joined. Justice Kagan did not take part in the ruling. You can access the oral argument via this link. You can access today's Order List at this link. The Court today granted review in two cases and invited the views of the Solicitor General's office in two cases. In early news coverage, The Associated Press has reports headlined "Court rules against parents in drug vaccine case"; "Court: Railroad can challenge Alabama tax"; "High court rejects appeal over divided jury"; "High court rejects new case on 10 Commandments"; and "Court won't stop Nevada from banning brothel ads." "DNA Privacy Case Highlights List of 3rd Circuit En Banc Arguments": Shannon P. Duffy has this article today in The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers. The article summarizes all three of the en banc cases to be argued tomorrow before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, including the case that I'll be arguing. Additional information about that case can be accessed via this post from two weeks ago. "Biotech alfalfa success still uncertain despite court victory": This article appears today in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Orie's office called 'frantic' over intern complaint": Today's edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains an article that begins, "A former Senate staffer described an office 'in frantic mode' the day that a former colleague resigned, charging that state Sen. Jane Orie, R-Mc-Candless, had used her district office and staff to aid her sister's campaign for the state Supreme Court." And today's edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contains an article headlined "Witness: Orie office in 'frantic mode' after activities reported." In news from Sweden: The Local reports that "Texas Hold'em case heads for supreme court." As noted in this earlier post, two clients of mine have a similar case now pending before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on petition for allowance of appeal. "Judge on federal appeals court in Calif. dies": The Associated Press has this report. And at his "Election Law" blog, law professor Rick Hasen has a related post titled "Very Sad News: The Judge for Whom I Clerked, Ninth Circuit Judge David R. Thompson, Has Passed Away." "Supreme Court Back in Session; Nine Cases to Watch: Legality of Military Funeral Protests, Other High Profile Cases on Docket." Ariane de Vogue has this report at ABCNews.com. Posted at 07:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Poison case heads to high court": This article appears today in The Bucks County (Pa.) Courier Times. And on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition," Nina Totenberg had an audio segment entitled "Constitutional Questions Arise In Chemicals Case." Monday, February 21, 2011 "Branstad to announce Iowa Supreme Court picks by Saturday": The Sioux City Journal has this news update. Posted at 10:02 PM by Howard Bashman "High court to hear case against Ashcroft": Joan Biskupic will have this article Tuesday in USA Today. Posted at 09:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court hears soap opera story of interest to the tea party": Robert Barnes will have this article Tuesday in The Washington Post. And Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "High court to hear case of woman convicted of chemical weapon crimes." The Ninth Circuit's web site is reporting that Senior Circuit Judge David R. Thompson has died: Judge Thompson was scheduled to preside over an oral argument tomorrow at the University of San Diego School of Law, but the Ninth Circuit's online announcement of that oral argument now contains a watermark notice that it has been cancelled due to Judge Thompson's death. The cancellation of the oral argument can also be noted here. In addition, the University of San Diego School of Law's web site confirms "the sudden death over the weekend of the Honorable David R. Thompson" at this link. "A domestic dispute, gone global: The Court on Tuesday will hear one hour of oral argument on whether a private individual, facing federal criminal charges, may challenge the law at issue by claiming it unconstitutionally intrudes on states' rights protected by the Tenth Amendment; Will the outcome be sweeping or narrow?" Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 05:54 PM by Howard Bashman "From a Book Review to a Criminal Trial in France": Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 01:40 PM by Howard Bashman "The justices' junkets": This editorial appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 09:40 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, February 20, 2011 "Don't Make Federal Case Out of It, Says Woman Who Tried to Poison Best Friend": Andrew Cohen has this post at Politics Daily. Posted at 10:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to Hear Material Witness Case": Adam Liptak will have this article Monday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Al-Zayat Takes $8 Billion German Bond Claim to U.S. High Court": Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 10:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Lack of chemists slows drug trials in Bristol County, across Massachusetts": Today's edition of The Herald News of Fall River, Massachusetts contains an article that begins, "A small bag of cocaine that put a Boston man in jail has now put prosecutors in a bind all over the state of Massachusetts. A U.S. Supreme Court review of a minor Boston drug case resulted in an order that state chemists must be present for cross examination at every drug trial." Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman "The justices' partisanship": This editorial appears today in The Providence (R.I.) Journal. And today's edition of The New York Times contains letters to the editor published under the heading "The Justices and Political Activity." "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Using Twitter to build WikiLeaks case." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 10:00 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on 0-15 losing streak; Supreme Court has reversed every decision since 2008, including five death penalty cases": Dan Horn has this article today in The Cincinnati Enquirer. Posted at 09:57 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, February 19, 2011 "Judge hears 'I ♥ Boobies!' arguments; Easton students say ban on breast cancer awareness bracelets violates rights": This article appears today in The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Posted at 08:34 AM by Howard Bashman "Gender diversity on Iowa's high court is lacking": In today's edition of The Des Moines Register, Grant Schulte has an article that begins, "Iowa will be one of only three states without a female justice on its supreme court if Gov. Terry Branstad decidees not to select the sole woman in the pool of nine finalists for the bench." Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama Lawyers Urge Court to Reject Banks on Loans": Greg Stohr and Bob Ivry of Bloomberg News has this report. And The Wall Street Journal has a report headlined "Justice Dept.: High Court Shouldn't Consider Fed Disclosure Case." "Senators Introduce Sunshine in the Courtroom Act": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Karen Hudson has a post that begins, "Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) have introduced legislation to permit federal and appellate judges to allow the use of cameras in the courtroom." Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "After U.S. Supreme Court ruling, local juveniles seek to have sentences thrown out": The Palm Beach post contains this article today. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, February 18, 2011 "Teen rights to abortion in dispute; News outlets seek to make high court decision public": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Warrants in AZ shooting case remain sealed; San Diego federal judge presiding over case says he may soon make them public": Greg Moran of The San Diego Union-Tribune has a news update that begins, "A federal judge from San Diego declined Friday to unseal search warrants served in the investigation of Arizona shooting defendant Jared Loughner but indicated the documents could well be made public in the near future." The Arizona Republic has a news update headlined "Request to unseal Loughner search warrants denied." And The Associated Press reports that "Judge delays records release in Arizona shooting." "Fla. ruling Big Tobacco won comes back to bite it": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A Florida Supreme Court ruling that threw out a $145 billion award against cigarette makers is biting Big Tobacco back, making it dramatically easier for thousands of smokers to sue and turning the state into the nation's hot spot for damage awards." Posted at 01:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Ten Commandments in school stirs fight in Va. district": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 12:05 PM by Howard Bashman "The Thomas Issue": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, "When the Supreme Court hears arguments next week, it will mark the fifth anniversary of Justice Clarence Thomas's silence during oral argument -- unless he chooses to re-enter the give-and-take. We hope he will." In addition, the newspaper offers an online discussion on this topic under the heading "Does Clarence Thomas's Silence Matter? Can a Supreme Court justice effectively perform his duties without participating in oral arguments?" "Judge throws out Padilla suit over alleged torture": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal judge on Thursday threw out a lawsuit brought by a man convicted of plotting terrorism and who alleged he was tortured at a Navy brig in South Carolina, saying a trial would create 'an international spectacle.'" And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Padilla torture claim rebuffed." That blog has posted the decision at this link. Earlier this week, The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier published an article headlined "Padilla's attorneys push civil lawsuit; Terrorism conspirator's lawyers want case about treatment at Navy brig in Hanahan to go forward." "Black files new highest court appeal": National Post today has an article that begins, "Conrad Black has again sought the intervention of the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling in his protracted legal battle." The Canadian Press reports that "Conrad Black's lawyers ask top U.S. court to review two remaining convictions." And CBC News reports that "Conrad Black appeals to U.S. top court." I have posted the petition for writ of certiorari, filed yesterday in the U.S. Supreme Court, at this link. Thursday, February 17, 2011 "4th Circuit Finds Maryland Strip Club Law Overbroad": Marcia Coyle has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link. "PG, other news organizations seek to unseal abortion case; State Supreme Court hearing Allegheny County case appeal": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this news update. And The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania has a news update headlined "Newspapers sue for records in abortion case; State Supreme Court appeal deals with minor's right to seek procedure." "N.J. Senate asks Supreme Court Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto to resign": The Newark Star-Ledger has this news update. Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "McKenna confirmed for high court": In today's edition of The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Ken Kobayashi has an article that begins, "Family Court Judge Sabrina McKenna promised to do her best after state senators unanimously approved her appointment yesterday to the Hawaii Supreme Court." Posted at 09:06 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama signs bill naming courthouse for slain judge": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "In a bittersweet moment for Arizona, President Barack Obama signed into law on Thursday a bill that named a new federal courthouse in the state after slain federal Judge John M. Roll." Posted at 05:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Barnes Foundation move opponents go back to court": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 05:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Coburn considers Tulsa judge nomination dead": The Tulsa World has a news update that begins, "U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn said Thursday that he viewed the nomination of Arvo Mikkanen to be the next federal judge in Tulsa as dead and urged the White House to withdraw it." Posted at 05:04 PM by Howard Bashman In Bashman news from here and there: In headline news from Australia, which seems to be the world's most frequent source of Bashman news, comes the report that "Thugs bash man unconscious." And The Nation newspaper published in Lagos State, Nigeria today contains an article headlined "Day students honoured a SAN" that begins, "A visit by a final year Law student, Mohammed Bashman, to show appreciation to the lawyer John Baiyeshea (SAN) who assisted him to regain his studentship after expulsion expelled by the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), has turned a moment of honour for the SAN." According to the article published in The Nation, Mohammed Bashman had been expelled for having undertaken too ambitious of a courseload. More specifically, he was studying both law and mass communication, perhaps in the hope of one day becoming Nigeria's leading law blogger. Unfortunately, the article goes on to report that it was merely a "rumour that Mohammed Bashman was given N15 million as compensation," suggesting that those who were hoping to borrow millions of naira from Bashman are likely to be disappointed. "High court asked to end non-unanimous convictions": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 03:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Free Speech Coalition Files Appeal of 2257 Suit Dismissal; The law's flaws which Judge Baylson refused to consider are ripe for appellate review": Mark Kernes of AVN News has this report. And XBIZ.com reports that "FSC Files Appeal of 2257 Suit Dismissal." You can access at this link the brief for appellants filed yesterday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. "Judiciary Approves Carney, Sends 2nd Circuit Nomination to Senate": Edmund H. Mahony of The Hartford Courant has this blog post. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post titled "Nominee for 2nd Circuit Wins Committee Vote." "President Barack Obama plans to sign a bill Thursday to name a new courthouse in Yuma after U.S. District Court Judge John M. Roll": So reports The Associated Press in an article that can be accessed here. Posted at 11:10 AM by Howard Bashman "House Democrat to seek transparency of Supreme Court conflicts of interest": Online at The Hill, Pete Kasperowicz has a blog post that begins, "Rep. Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.) said Wednesday he would introduce legislation after next week's break that would require Supreme Court justices to publicly disclose why they have recused themselves from cases." Posted at 10:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Do Judicial Emergencies Matter? Nomination and Confirmation Delay during the 111th Congress." The Brookings Institution has posted online this paper by Russell Wheeler and Sarah A. Binder. Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, February 16, 2011 "Stephen Breyer praises U.S. Supreme Court's deliberative process despite differences in beliefs": The Palm Beach Daily News has this update. Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Peterson prosecutors argue against 'Drew's Law'": The Chicago Tribune has a news update that begins, "In attempting to get hearsay statements admitted in Drew Peterson's murder case, Will County prosecutors today found themselves arguing against the very law they helped create." And The Chicago Sun-Times has a news update headlined "Court hears appeal on usage of Peterson's dead ex's statements." "California high court to rule on key Prop. 8 issue": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this news update. Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update headlined "California Supreme Court jumps back into gay marriage fray." The Associated Press reports that "Calif court to answer question on gay marriage ban." Bloomberg News reports that "California Court to Rule on Prop. 8 'Standing' Issue." And Reuters reports that "Gay marriage case back in California court, adds delay." You can access today's order and news release of the Supreme Court of California at this link. "Obama Admin Weighs Appeal of Contempt Ruling in Offshore Drilling Moratorium Case": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report. Posted at 08:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Third Circuit Judge Denies Lawyer's Request for Order That 'Will Compel . . . Volokh to Remove His . . . Blog [Post]'": Eugene Volokh has this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy." Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Asked about WikiLeaks, Breyer gives away little": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer tantalized a Florida audience with his comments about the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but gave away little about his legal stance." Posted at 03:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Political fight over Guantanamo won't die": Pete Yost of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "CIA: If caught, bin Laden would be sent to Gitmo." The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 02:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Dangerous Threats": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, "Representative Denny Rehberg, a Republican and Montana's House member, boasts that he brings Made-in-Montana solutions to Washington. His latest, proposed last week in a speech advocating states' rights to the State Legislature, is to put a judge 'on the Endangered Species List.'" Posted at 11:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Copyright lawsuits filed over pat-down photo": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A law firm that targets the unauthorized use of news content on the Internet has filed 32 lawsuits in federal court in Colorado seeking to stop the use of a Denver Post photograph showing an airport pat-down." Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman One week from today: One week from today, I will be delivering my first oral argument to the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in my nearly 20 years of litigating appeals in private practice. I previewed that oral argument and provided links to the supplemental en banc briefing, the three-judge panel's opinion, and the transcript and audio of the original oral argument in this post from last week. In the interim, Class Counsel have filed a Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28(j) letter to draw new authority to the court's attention, and this morning I filed this FRAP 28(j) response letter. Last but not least, the en banc Third Circuit must now decide whether it wishes also to hear from counsel for other appellants at the en banc reargument next Wednesday morning. My client was the only appellant who raised the issues that were the subject of the three-judge panel's ruling, and -- when the case was argued before the three-judge panel -- I was the only counsel for appellant from whom the three-judge panel requested oral argument. Class Counsel's petition for rehearing en banc focused exclusively on the issues that only my client had raised, as did the Third Circuit's order requesting supplemental briefing at the en banc stage. Nevertheless, the grant of rehearing en banc brings the entire case before the en banc court, and thus counsel for other appellants raising issues that the original three-judge panel never reached wish to share argument time at the en banc hearing. Whether the en banc Third Circuit wishes to hear from other counsel arguing other issues that the original panel saw no need to address on the merits remains to be seen. "Who'll replace Graves on bench? Governor must appoint replacement until 2012 election." This article appears today in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi. Posted at 07:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Anthrax report casts doubt on scientific evidence in FBI case against Bruce Ivins": Jerry Markon has this front page article today in The Washington Post. The New York Times reports today that "Expert Panel Is Critical of F.B.I. Work in Investigating Anthrax Letters." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Evidence linking anthrax to Bruce Ivins 'not as definitive as stated,' panel says; Researchers say they have no reason to believe federal scientist Bruce Ivins was not involved in mailing letters containing anthrax that killed five people; But they find some cracks in the FBI's conclusions." The Wall Street Journal reports that "Panel Questions Key Evidence in Anthrax Case." And The Washington Times reports that "Review panel faults FBI on anthrax probe; Report questions conclusions in 2001 attacks." "In Orie trial, witnesses continue to testify that campaign work was done on state time": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains this article today. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today that "Habay case didn't deter Orie work, staffers say." "Prosser, Kloppenburg to face off for Supreme Court seat": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman "California Supreme Court to consider key issue in battle over same-sex marriage": Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has this blog post. Posted at 07:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Are conservatives endangering the high court?" Columnist Katrina vanden Heuvel has this essay online at The Washington Post. Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, February 15, 2011 "Michael Dreeben on Supreme Court Advocacy, Appellate Practice, and the SG's Office": Orin Kerr has this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy." Posted at 09:30 PM by Howard Bashman "The Right To Remain Silent: Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court silences are less worrisome than his private speeches." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. And Bloomberg News columnist Ann Woolner has an essay entitled "When Keeping Your Mouth Shut Doesn't Make Sense." "Graves says he feels 'pressure' to do good job": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James Graves says he'll feel pressure to do a good job on the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans." Posted at 09:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge again opens door to habeas challenges from Bagram": Josh Gerstein has this post at his "Under the Radar" blog at Politico.com. Posted at 03:32 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will deliver the keynote address at the 30th Annual Federalist Society Student Symposium." More information is available from the web site of the University of Virginia School of Law by clicking here. Posted at 03:22 PM by Howard Bashman Brief opposing Pa. Supreme Court review filed yesterday: Yesterday I filed in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania this brief in opposition to a petition for allowance of appeal. The Pa. Superior Court's ruling in the case can be accessed here. This blog's earlier coverage of the case can be accessed here, here, and here. "Appeals court overturns release of Gitmo detainee": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post titled "D.C. Appeals Court Overturns Guantanamo Detainee's Release." By a vote of 6-5, the en banc Ninth Circuit holds that "capital defendants do not have a per se constitutional right to inquire about the possibility that a penalty-phase jury has reached a preliminary decision against imposing the death penalty": You can access today's en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. The lead dissenting opinion, by contrast, begins with a somewhat different view of the case: "By all indications, the jurors in James Harrison's capital trial had decided to acquit him of the death penalty. They had informed the trial judge that they were deadlocked between life with parole and life without parole." "Chapman Kelley's Mutilated Garden: The Seventh Circuit is set to decide if the Park District had the right to destroy an artwork." This article appeared in the December 3, 2009 issue of Chicago Reader. And even earlier, The Art Newspaper published an article headlined "Artist Chapman Kelley launches federal appeal over Chicago Wildflower work; Challenges ruling that work is not original enough to be protected by US copyright law." Today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued this ruling on the case. "Feds ask court to hide photos showing Loughner injuries": Josh Gerstein has this post today at his "Under the Radar" blog at Politico.com. Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Panel OKs bill saying life starts at conception": The Des Moines Register contains this article today. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Barry Bonds Trial May Test Tweeting Jurors": Ginny LaRoe of The Recorder has this report. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Bid to expand Arizona's high court dies in committee": Howard Fischer has this article today in The East Valley Tribune. Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Legislators want role in same-sex divorce case": The Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune contains this article today. Posted at 08:16 AM by Howard Bashman "Orie employees testify that they did political work on state time": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And today's edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contains an article headlined "Witness: Staffers pretended to be Jane Orie in campaign calls." "10% turnout expected for Tuesday primary; Supreme Court race is only statewide contest": Today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, "As few as one in 10 Wisconsin voters could decide Tuesday how to narrow the field for a seat on the state Supreme Court, state election officials say." Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Graves confirmed to 5th Circuit; Miss. justice appointed to serve on federal bench": Jerry Mitchell has this article today in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi. Posted at 07:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Dancing at the Jefferson Memorial: Prohibited Behavior?" At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has this post about an appeal argued yesterday before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Posted at 07:46 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, February 14, 2011 "If New York Faces Apocalypse, Courts Have a Guide": This article will appear Tuesday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Florida Supreme Court sides with a Legislature that often criticizes it": Columnist Howard Troxler will have this essay Tuesday in The St. Petersburg Times. Posted at 09:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Iowa House subcommittee passes bill declaring life begins at conception": The Des Moines Register has this news update. Posted at 09:56 PM by Howard Bashman "Common Cause Asks Court About Thomas Speech": Tuesday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, "Discrepancies in reports about an appearance by Justice Clarence Thomas at a political retreat for wealthy conservatives three years ago have prompted new questions to the Supreme Court from a group that advocates changing campaign finance laws." Posted at 09:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Ecuador Court Orders Chevron to Pay $8.6 Billion": The Wall Street Journal has this news update. The Associated Press reports that "Chevron fined $8 billion in Ecuador." Bloomberg News reports that "Chevron to Appeal $8.2 Billion Ecuador Pollution Case." And Reuters has an article headlined "Ecuador court orders Chevron to pay $8 billion: lawyer." "Senate Set to Vote on Nominee for 5th Circuit": Today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post that begins, "James Graves Jr. is expected to make history today when he becomes the first African American from Mississippi to be confirmed for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit." Posted at 03:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Laurence Tribe's Name Pulled From Supreme Court Brief": Tony Mauro has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 10:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Inflammatory words inflame": Four children of U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy (D. Mont.) had this op-ed yesterday in The Helena Independent Record. Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman "New York Takes Step on Money in Judicial Elections": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Delaware courts: States scramble for solution to shortage of drug used in executions; New drug for executions could bring legal challenges." Sean O'Sullivan had this article yesterday in The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware. Posted at 10:04 AM by Howard Bashman "A confession but no body: Is that enough to convict? A 25-year-old woman has appealed a jury's verdict that found her guilty of killing her newborn in Burnsville." This article appears today in The Minneapolis Star Tribune. Posted at 10:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Brown considers an activist for state Supreme Court appointment; Thomas A. Saenz is among six believed to be on Brown's short list to replace Justice Carlos R. Moreno, who is stepping down": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court confronts conflicting laws on post-conviction DNA testing": Robert Barnes has this front page article today in The Washington Post. And in today's edition of The Wichita Eagle, Ron Sylvester has articles headlined "Is convicted murderer really a victim? Washburn law students say Ronnie Rhodes' case bears hallmarks of wrong convictions"; "How innocent people end up behind bars"; and "Dallas DA established unit to look into old cases." Sunday, February 13, 2011 "How to end the judicial nomination blockade in Congress": The Grand Rapids Press contains this editorial today. Posted at 08:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Few are charged over threats against US officials": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court watchers: Roberts, Alito no sure bets against health-care mandate." Robert Barnes will have this article Monday in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Declassified Ike papers show range of concerns": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Newly released documents show President Dwight D. Eisenhower expressed great faith in the capabilities of Earl Warren to serve as U.S. Supreme Court justice." Posted at 10:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Ginsburg chills healthcare speedup hopes." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 10:11 AM by Howard Bashman "No Argument: Thomas Keeps 5-Year Silence." Adam Liptak has this front page article today in The New York Times. Last year, Justice William W. Bedsworth of California's Fourth District Court of Appeal had a related essay entitled "Carpentry Without Tools." "Sometimes, Justice Can Play Politics": In today's edition of The New York Times, law professor Noah Feldman has an op-ed that begins, "What is it about those robes? They are only flimsy bits of wools, enlivened in a few cases by some very European lace at the collar. Yet the moment our Supreme Court justices put them on, a segment of the concerned public imagines that they have become priests consecrated to the sacred order of the Constitution." Posted at 10:02 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, February 12, 2011 "To Defend the Accused in a Tucson Rampage, First a Battle to Get Inside a Mind": Sunday's edition of The New York Times will contain this article. Posted at 08:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Orie ex-staffers claim work included politics; Defense challenges former employees' motives, credibility": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today that "More former Orie staffers say they did political work on state time." "Court wades through manure case, sides with Alberta farmer; Pipeline firm failed to restore or reclaim land": The Calgary Herald today contains this article reporting on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Canada issued yesterday. Posted at 02:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Oversight led SJC to withdraw decision; Court did not address sealing of divorce case": Jonathan Saltzman has this article today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Ad won't trigger additional funds for court candidates; Opponents still seeking block to public funding": Today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, "In the first test of a new campaign finance law, election officials have ruled a conservative group's ad promoting state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser won't trigger additional taxpayer funds for Prosser's opponents." Update: The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "We back Prosser: David Prosser is a hard-working, experienced justice; He is not the primary cause of the Supreme Court's squabbling." Friday, February 11, 2011 "Senators Skip Over Federal Circuit Nominee": Today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post that begins, "One of President Barack Obama's nominees for an appellate judgeship has been waiting 10 months for a confirmation hearing, an unusual length of time given that the president's party has control of the U.S. Senate. Edward DuMont was nominated April 14, 2010, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit." Posted at 11:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Chief justice: Budget cuts, politicization threaten Iowa court system." The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier has a news update that begins, "Iowans should resist the urge to politicize the state's court system in the wake of a historic election that ousted three sitting state Supreme Court justices in November, the court's new chief justice said." And The Sioux City Journal reports today that "Petition calls for end to judicial impeachment move." "First Do No Harm: Why judges should butt out of the fight over health care reform." Law professor Christopher Jon Sprigman has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. In the February 24, 2011 issue of The New York Review of Books, law professor David Cole has an essay entitled "Is Health Care Reform Unconstitutional?" And at Reason.com, Damon W. Root has an essay entitled "Are We All Originalists Now? The debate over ObamaCare highlights a growing division on the legal left." "Retired Supreme Court Justice Joe Greenhill dies in Austin; 'Giant' among Texas jurists left deep mark on state high court": Chuck Lindell of The Austin American-Statesman has this news update. Posted at 10:32 PM by Howard Bashman If you read no other appellate case summaries today: Be sure to read this one from law professor Shaun Martin at his "California Appellate Report" blog. Posted at 06:18 PM by Howard Bashman "DOJ Moves to Limit Star Law Professor's Role in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Case": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire today has an article that begins, "The Justice Department has intervened to minimize the role of prominent Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe in an upcoming Supreme Court case that touches on the volatile subject of climate change." Posted at 05:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Former Chief Justice Joe Greenhill, who in 25 years on the Texas Supreme Court was the longest-serving justice in Texas history, died Friday in Austin at 96." So begins a news release that the Supreme Court of Texas issued today. Posted at 04:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court of New Jersey Will Review Attorneys' Fee Enhancement Case": Bruce Greenberg has this post today at his "New Jersey Appellate Law" blog. At issue in the case is whether New Jersey state courts should adopt as a matter of state law the U.S. Supreme Court's holding last Term in Perdue v. Kenny A. Posted at 12:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Teen's 'bitch' yell in theater ruled disorderly conduct": Online at the First Amendment Center, David L. Hudson Jr. has this report. Posted at 12:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Prosecutors drop some charges against Barry Bonds": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. The New York Times reports today that "Prosecutors Reduce Charges Against Bonds." And The Associated Press reports that "Bonds seeks exclusion of recording from trial." "Investment firm's secrets slip out": Today in The Boston Globe, columnist Steven Syre has an essay that begins, "If it hadn't been for a strange turn of events at the state's highest court, sensitive details about the vast wealth of secretive Boston investment firm Wellington Management Co. might have never seen the light of day." Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Kin lose awards tied to '82 killings; Court says suits filed too late": The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, "After decades of legal wrangling, the families of two men who were gunned down on Boston's waterfront in 1982 by longtime FBI informant James 'Whitey' Bulger proved the government was to blame and were awarded nearly $8.5 million two years ago. But, yesterday, a federal Appeals Court reversed the decision, ruling that the families of Michael Donahue and Edward 'Brian' Halloran were not entitled to anything because they filed their civil suits against the government too late." My earlier coverage of yesterday's First Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Three challengers seek Prosser's court seat": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The newspaper also contains an article headlined "Supreme Court candidates support review of lawyer discipline; 2 want investigations made public earlier." "Orie sisters' ethics trial opens; Defense attorney calls accusations a hit 'below the belt'": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains this article today. And today's edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contains an article headlined "Campaign chores took 'whole days.'" "Access to justice becoming a privilege of the rich, judge warns": Today in The Toronto Globe and Mail, Kirk Makin has an article that begins, "The middle class has been shut out of a justice system that caters primarily to the very rich and the very poor, the country's top judge has told a group of legal luminaries." Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Thomas visits Omaha": This article appears today in The Omaha World-Herald. Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Ginny Thomas puts her husband at risk": Dan K. Thomasson of Scripps Howard News Service has this essay. Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "New chief justice urges local lawyers and judges to work with Legislature": Denny Walsh has this article today in The Sacramento Bee. Posted at 08:06 AM by Howard Bashman "What Would Shirley Do?" Linda Greenhouse has this post at the "Opinionator" blog of The New York Times. Posted at 08:03 AM by Howard Bashman "Loughner lawyers fight mugshot release": Josh Gerstein of Politico.com has this post at his "Under the Radar" blog. The Arizona Republic reports today that "Jared Loughner lawyers try to halt release of mug shots." And earlier this week, The Oklahoman reported that "Oklahoma judge to take cases of judge killed in Arizona; U.S. District Judge Tim Leonard, a federal judge in Oklahoma City, will handle some of the criminal cases that were assigned to U.S. District Judge John Roll, an Arizona federal judge who died in a mass shooting last month at a congresswoman's event in Tucson, Ariz." "Drug defendant retried on high court's order is acquitted": Today's edition of The Boston Globe contains an article that begins, "A Jamaica Plain man has been acquitted in a retrial of a cocaine trafficking case that went to the US Supreme Court and resulted in a landmark decision affecting evidence in criminal trials around the country. A jury found Luis Melendez-Diaz, 32, not guilty yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court." And The Associated Press has an article headlined "Acquittal for Mass. man in Supreme Court case." Thursday, February 10, 2011 "Ruling against health insurance mandate is a 'tea party' milestone; The decision by a federal judge in Florida gives voice to the tea party's rallying cry that the Constitution put strict limits on the national government": David G. Savage and Kathleen Hennessey will have this article Friday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Deanell Tacha named as Pepperdine University's dean of law": The Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World has this news update. And today Pepperdine University issued a news release headlined "Distinguished U.S. Court of Appeals Circuit Judge Named Dean of Pepperdine University School of Law." "No damages for families of Boston mob victims": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court says the families of two men who were gunned down by Boston mobsters in 1982 will not receive $8.5 million in damages because their wrongful death lawsuits against the FBI were filed two years after a legal deadline." You can access today's ruling by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit at this link. "Musical Chairs: Judge Tacha To Take Over as Dean of Pepperdine Law." David Lat has this post at "Above the Law." In January 2004, then-Chief Judge Deanell Reece Tacha of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit was my interviewee in this blog's "20 questions for the appellate judge" feature. You can access the interview by clicking here. "Court Upholds Federal Teacher-Protection Law": At the "School Law" blog of Education Week, Mark Walsh today has a post that begins, "A federal statute meant to give teachers and school administrators protection from legal liability over their efforts to maintain safe and orderly schools has been upheld against a constitutional challenge. The Missouri Supreme Court, ruling in a lawsuit in which a student who had been slashed by another student sought to hold a school superintendent liable, held that the federal law was a valid exercise of Congress' powers under the spending clause in Article I of the Constitution." You can access Tuesday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Missouri at this link. "Calif. court: Merchants can't ask patrons for ZIPs." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The California Supreme Court says merchants in the state can no longer ask credit card customers for their ZIP codes." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link. "Makeover Urged for Federal Court Web Sites": Tony Mauro has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 04:18 PM by Howard Bashman "One giant health care case? Virginia asks the Court to gather up all of the health care law's challenges from the federal appeals courts, and decide all of them in one omnibus proceeding dealing with every issue; The constitutional controversy has mired the nation in uncertainty, the state argues." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Decide Definition of 'Public Charity'": Paul Caron has this post at his "TaxProf Blog." My most recent earlier coverage of this case, in which I represent the party that sought Pa. Supreme Court review, appears at this link. "Leroy R. Hassell Sr., Virginia's first black chief justice, dies at 55": The Washington Post contains this obituary today. Today's edition of The Richmond Times-Dispatch contains an obituary headlined "Virginia Supreme Court Justice Leroy R. Hassell Sr. dies at 55." And The Virginian-Pilot contains an obituary headlined "Virginia Supreme Court Justice Leroy Hassell dies at 55" and an editorial entitled "A justice for all Virginians." "Hot news v new media": This post appears at the "Babbage" blog of The Economist. Posted at 08:16 AM by Howard Bashman "Pa. Supreme Court to hear appeal on cultural trust's tax exemptions": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains this article today. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today that "Nonprofit's tax fight heads to high court." "Cuccinelli asks Supreme Court to expedite health-care ruling": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Bloomberg News reports that "Republican Governors in 28 States Request Fast Review of Health Law Suits." And ABCNews.com has a report headlined "Should Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Elena Kagan Sit Out Health Care Case? Seventy-Four Democrats Say Justice Thomas Should Recuse Himself Because of Wife's Lobbying." "Dining with a justice": Today in The Basehor (Kan.) Sentinel, Rae Sedgwick has an essay that begins, "I had dinner on Friday night with an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. I am still pinching myself." Posted at 08:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Opening arguments to begin in Orie trial": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. And The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that "Judge refuses ethics expert testimony." "'3 strikes' sentence overturned for lack of jury": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "Common Cause suddenly uncommonly forceful in fighting Koch Industries": Dan Eggen has this article today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman "State chemist testifies in retrial of drug case heard by high court; Defendant's right to cross-examine experts was issue": Today's edition of The Boston Globe contains an article that begins, "A chemist from the state Department of Public Health, testifying in the retrial of a defendant in a 2004 Boston drug case that reached the nation's highest court, described yesterday how she had scrutinized a powdery white substance in her lab." Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Governor will keep high court nominees secret": Ken Kobayashi has this article today in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Posted at 07:38 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, February 9, 2011 "13 states ask for federal help on execution drug shortage": CNN.com has this report. Posted at 10:38 PM by Howard Bashman "6th Circ. Fast Tracks Health Care Reform Fight": Law360 has this report. Posted at 05:52 PM by Howard Bashman Pa. Supreme Court grants review to address issues of separation of powers and judicial deference to the legislative branch arising in a case involving whether an organization qualifies as a "purely public charity" under Pennsylvania's Constitution: I was very pleased to learn a short time ago that today the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania granted review in a case in which I filed a petition for allowance of appeal on January 28, 2010. The order granting review is not yet available online, but the docket entries in the case evidencing the grant of review can be accessed here. The specific question that the court has granted review to consider and resolve is: Whether the Pennsylvania Legislature's enactment of criteria in Act 55 for determining if an organization qualifies as a "purely public charity" under Pennsylvania's Constitution is deserving of deference in deciding whether an organization qualifies as "a purely public charity" under Pennsylvania's Constitution, or has the test provided in Hospital Utilization Project v. Commonwealth, 487 A.2d 1306 (Pa. 1985), occupied the constitutional field, leaving no room for legislative influence and input?The petition for allowance of appeal that I filed in the case can be accessed here. The argument in favor of granting review of that issue appears under the heading, "This Case Squarely Presents The Very Issues That This Court Has Described As 'Fundamental And Foundational' Regarding The Proper Roles Of The Legislature And The Judiciary In Deciding Whether An Organization Qualifies As A 'Purely Public Charity' Under Pennsylvania's Constitution." I linked to some additional information about the case in this post from January 28, 2010. Coincidentally, that's the same date on which I argued the Third Circuit appeal that I will be rearguing en banc two weeks from today. Apparently the appeals on which I worked that day were not destined for prompt resolution. As a result of today's order, the Pa. Supreme Court will next receive briefing on the merits, and the case will thereafter be scheduled for oral argument, which probably will occur in Harrisburg. Update: The order granting review can now be accessed online via this link. "Cranberry Farmer, EPA Still Nose to Nose in 20-Year-Old Wetlands Fill Case": John McArdle of Greenwire today has this report, the second in a three-part series. Part one can be accessed here. Posted at 04:58 PM by Howard Bashman Three-judge Ninth Circuit panel rejects challenge to Arizona's manner of imposing the death penalty: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman "American Indian leader praises Obama's first judicial nominee in Oklahoma; Chickasaw Nation Lt. Gov. Jefferson Keel says 'politics' behind senators' complaints": This article appears today in The Oklahoman. In today's edition of The New York Times, Jonathan Bernstein has an op-ed entitled "Empty Bench Syndrome." Scripps Howard News Service has an essay by Dale McFeatters entitled "President, Congress slow to act on shortage of judges." The Salem (Ore.) Statesman Journal has an editorial entitled "Hernandez earned federal appointment; Ascent to district court was held up by Senate logjam." And The Oregonian contains an editorial entitled "What a long, strange trip to the federal bench." Speaking of Portland, clips from the TV show "Portlandia" are freely available online via Hulu, including "I Dream of the 90s" and, from episode 3 featuring Aimee Mann and Sarah McLachlan, "This Bar Is Over." "Va. Supreme Court Justice Hassell dies at 55": The Richmond Times-Dispatch has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Virginia's first black chief justice dies." "Virginia Files Its Cert Petition in the Mandate Case": Orin Kerr has this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy." You can access the petition for writ of certiorari by clicking here (via "The CockleBur"). Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman "How Judges Decide: A Multidimensional Empirical Typology of Judicial Styles in the Federal Courts." Law professor Corey Rayburn Yung has today posted this article online at SSRN. According to an email that I just received from the article's author, the article "includes Ideology, Activism, Partisanship, and Independence Ratings of 178 Courts of Appeals judges based upon data from over 10,000 cases. Based upon those 4 measures, it further includes a typology of nine distinct judging styles exhibited by judges. It identifies the judicial style of all 178 judges studied (i.e., Judge Posner is a Pragmatic Moderate Repbulican and Judge Reinhardt is a Steadfast Liberal Democrat)." Two weeks from today: Two weeks from today, I will be delivering my first oral argument to the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in my nearly 20 years of litigating appeals in private practice. I have, however, previously addressed the en banc Third Circuit at a ceremonial sitting, and the text of those remarks can be accessed here. As the Third Circuit's order requesting supplemental briefing at the en banc stage makes clear, one of the central issues in the case is: "Does including class members in a settlement-only class who do not have either a shared valid claim under the applicable substantive law, or a shared issue of fact relevant to different valid claims, preclude a finding that common issues of fact or law predominate under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3)?" The original three-judge panel's ruling in the case can be accessed here, and the oral argument audio can be accessed via this link (37.7MB Windows Media audio file). Earlier this week, I learned that an unofficial transcript of the three-judge panel oral argument exists, and you can access the transcript by clicking here. At the rehearing en banc stage, I have prepared and filed a Supplemental Brief for Appellant, a Supplemental Reply Brief for Appellant, and a Response to Amicus Briefs on Rehearing. Class Counsel's Supplemental Brief for Appellee can be accessed here. "A Potpourri of Hits and Misses in Appellate Law": This month's installment of my monthly "Upon Further Review" column appeared yesterday in The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers. Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Pfizer Told to Pay $10 Million Over Prempro Verdict": Jef Feeley and Phil Milford have an article that begins, "Pfizer Inc. must pay more than $10 million in damages to an Arkansas woman who blamed her cancer on the company's Prempro menopause drug, after an appeals court reinstated a jury verdict. A Pennsylvania appeals court overturned a judge's ruling that Pfizer's Wyeth unit deserved a new trial in connection with Mary Daniel's claim that Prempro caused her breast cancer." You can access Monday's ruling of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania at this link. "Republicans Push Antiabortion Bills": Naftali Bendavid has this article today in The Wall Street Journal. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports today that "Ohio Republican lawmakers introduce slew of bills aimed at restricting access to abortions, including first-of-its-kind 'heartbeat' proposal." The Kentucky Post reports that "Ohio could be new abortion battleground; 'Heartbeat Bill' introduced Wednesday." Yesterday's edition of The Dayton Daily News contained an article headlined "'Heartbeat Bill' called a likely loser in court; Right to Life Society won't back measure that has support in Ohio House." The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Monday that "Ohio bill would ban abortions once heartbeat is detected." And The Arizona Republic reports today that "Arizona lawmakers to consider anti-abortion bills; Legislature set to begin debate on restrictions." "North Carolina takes TVA pollution case to high court": Today's edition of The Chattanooga Times Free Press contains an article that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court could end up deciding how quickly the Tennessee Valley Authority shuts down or upgrades some of its aging coal-fired power plants." Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Republicans ask court to toss climate case": Politico.com has an article that begins, "Two top House Republicans and the Senate's leading global warming skeptic asked the Supreme Court Monday to throw out a lawsuit seeking to force electric utilities to slash greenhouse gas emissions." And Laurence Hurley of Greenwire reports that "GOP Lawmakers Take Obama Admin's Side in Supreme Court Greenhouse Gas Case." "Judge tours California's rebuilt death chamber; U.S. judge is reviewing the state's revised lethal injection procedures and facilities, five years in the making, to determine whether executions can resume; But other legal challenges could get in the way": Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Today in The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz reports that "Federal judge tours new San Quentin execution chamber." And The Stockton Record contains an article headlined "No ruling on death chamber; Judge inspects remodeled facility; more hearings to come." "Testimony in Orie case to begin Thursday; Judge says jury trial could last two weeks": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today that "Seventy could testify at Sen. Jane Orie's corruption trial." "Scalia and the Commerce Clause: Could a conservative judge vote to uphold Obamacare?" Robert VerBruggen has this essay today at National Review Online. Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, February 8, 2011 "Look at justice candidates' backgrounds, Branstad told": Today in The Des Moines Register, Grant Schulte has an article that begins, "Gov. Terry Branstad may want to consider the mix of legal backgrounds before him as he considers whom to tap for the three open seats on the Iowa Supreme Court, legal scholars and lawyers say." Posted at 10:18 PM by Howard Bashman "N.J. Supreme Court considers journalism shield laws in blogger case": The Newark Star-Ledger has a news update that begins, "In a courtroom on the eighth floor of the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton today, everyone agreed the internet has changed the face of news gathering and dissemination." Posted at 10:04 PM by Howard Bashman "US appeals court upholds dismissing OPEC lawsuits; Lawsuits alleged OPEC fixed crude oil, gasoline prices; Court ruled it lacked jurisdiction; Obama administration sided with OPEC over fuel retailers": Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today. Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "4th Circuit Nominee Describes Selection Process": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post that begins, "A questionnaire filled out by Judge Henry Floyd, a nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, sheds a little light on how he became a rare cross-party choice for an appellate judgeship." Posted at 06:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Ginsburg on health care timing: Out of Court, Justice Ginsburg suggests that Virginia will not be allowed to pursue an immediate appeal to challenge the new federal health care law." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 02:47 PM by Howard Bashman "States Depend on Unapproved Foreign Drugs for Executions; U.S. Shortage of Lethal-Injection Drug Forces Some States to Use Non-FDA Approved Drug": Ariane de Vogue has this report at ABCNews.com Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "On Health Care, Justice Will Prevail": Law professor Laurence H. Tribe has this op-ed today in The New York Times. Posted at 02:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal judicial vacancies reaching crisis point": Jerry Markon and Shailagh Murray have this front page article today in The Washington Post. A related chart can be accessed here. Posted at 08:44 AM by Howard Bashman "In Arguments on Corporate Speech, the Press Is a Problem": Adam Liptak has this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in today's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Just shy of 40 years together, Rendells call it quits": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Daily News. And The Philadelphia Inquirer reports today that "Power Couple Splits." The newspapers have reprinted the text of an e-mail that former Gov. Ed Rendell and his wife, federal judge Marjorie O. Rendell, sent to friends yesterday. Monday, February 7, 2011 "Supreme Court's Murky Clean Water Act Ruling Created Legal Quagmire": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire today has an article -- the first in a three-part series -- that begins, "Lawyers rarely agree on anything, but here's an exception: They all say the Supreme Court bungled Rapanos v. United States, a major wetlands case, almost five years ago." Posted at 04:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Philly tour guides can't sue, for now, over tests": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Tour guides upset over a rule that would require them to pass a test to lead visitors around Philadelphia can't proceed with a free-speech lawsuit while the tests are on hold because of budget woes." You can access today's non-precedential ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. "Deadlocked Finality on (and for?) the Alien Tort Statute at the Second Circuit": Richard Samp has this post today at "The Legal Pulse" blog of the Washington Legal Foundation. Posted at 03:32 PM by Howard Bashman "The majority seems to imagine 'probable cause' as a cloud that follows certain people around, created by their idiosyncratic habits and irresponsible friends, and persisting even though the individuals are not suspected of any particular crime." So begins the opinion of Circuit Judge Marsha S. Berzon, dissenting from the ruling that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. The opening paragraph of Judge Berzon's dissent continues: This "probable cause" cloud, the majority imagines, is available for invocation by law enforcement to justify virtually any search. But, as the case law makes clear, probable cause does not exist in the air. And probable cause to think that someone is odd or a slob or that his friend is a negligent father does not justify seizing and searching his computers.The final substantive paragraph of Judge Berzon's dissent begins, "I cannot help but think that had this case involved anything but child pornography, it would come out differently." Because the deciding vote on the three-judge panel was provided by a senior U.S. District Judge visiting from outside of the Ninth Circuit, this case may have a better than average prospect for rehearing en banc. "Md.'s wine shipment laws create smuggling routes from D.C. and Va." This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Loudoun judge defies Va. Supreme Court, continues to reopen immigrants' cases": Tom Jackman has this article today in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:33 AM by Howard Bashman "The Information: How the Internet gets inside us." Adam Gopnik has this "A Critic at Large" essay in the February 14, 2011 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 08:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Judges: Senate should confirm Graves." The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi contains this editorial today. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Personal Privacy and the Right to Know": This editorial appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Badger Catholic case may go to U.S. Supreme Court": The Daily Cardinal, the student newspaper of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, contains this article today. Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice talks possible health care repeal case": Today's edition of The GW Hatchet contains an article that begins, "Americans should not expect a case examining the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care law to be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Thursday night." At Newsweek.com, columnist Ezra Klein has an essay entitled "The Justice Will See You Now: The fate of Obama's health-care law may rest with one man." And at National Review Online, Robert VerBruggen has an essay entitled "An Obamacare Roadblock: Does the Florida court ruling shut down implementation?" "Patrick's choices may change little on SJC": The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, "With yet another vacancy opening this spring, Deval Patrick has an opportunity to put a bigger stamp on the Supreme Judicial Court than any governor since Francis W. Sargent in the 1970s. But Patrick, over the long run, is unlikely to transform the ideological imprint of a bench that, even when dominated by Republican appointees, became the first high court in the nation to legalize gay marriage." Posted at 08:11 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, February 6, 2011 In commentary published in today's edition of The Des Moines Register: The newspaper contains an editorial entitled "Stand firm on civil rights, Iowa" that begins, "No one ever said fighting for equal rights was easy. And no one ever said it was quick, either. In 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling that paved the way for gay marriage. It was a victory to be celebrated. But it wasn't the end of a quest to obtain equality for all Iowans." The newspaper's editor, Rick Green, has an op-ed entitled "Register will report, air both sides of this story." Columnist Kathie Obradovich has an op-ed entitled "Yes, judges: Try a dose of politics" that begins, "Former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Michael Streit can quote the alt-rock band Green Day with nearly the same degree of credibility that he holds forth on abstract points of jurisprudence. He's a natural politician, and I mean that in the best possible way." An excerpt from Iowa Governor Terry Branstad's recent discussion with the newspaper's editorial board appears under the headline "Branstad: I think the court made a mistake." An excerpt from Iowa state senate majority leader Mike Gronstal's recent discussion with the newspaper's editorial board appears under the headline "Gronstal: I won't put your rights to a vote." Stephanie Bell has a very interesting op-ed entitled "I thought I understood Iowa." And Ingrid Olson has an op-ed that begins, "Growing up on a farm in rural Iowa, my dreams were those of other young girls . . . marrying the love of my life. Reva and I have been together for 13 years and married for a year and a half. We were among the plaintiff couples in the lawsuit that sought the right to marry." "Bar None: Lawyers' clients kept in dark on past issues." This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 08:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawyer won admiration at Penn, Supreme Court": Today's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an obituary that begins, "Ralph Spritzer, 93, emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a leading appellate lawyer who argued more than 60 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, died of leukemia Sunday, Jan. 16, at his home in Tempe, Ariz." Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "GOP-led House is moving to restrict funding of abortions": McClatchy Newspapers have this report. Posted at 03:06 PM by Howard Bashman "Next test of corporations' liability? The Second Circuit has set the stage for a major dispute over corporations' liability for wrongdoing to move on to the Supreme Court; The appeals court left intact a decision that they cannot be sued under a 1789 law." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 10:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Funds from odd places: Plaintiff firms helped fund Alabama Supreme Court Republican candidates." This article appears today in The Birmingham News. Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Questions surround judicial nomination of Arvo Mikkanen for Tulsa": Today's edition of The Tulsa World contains an article that begins, "The White House enlisted surrogates to validate its pick to fill a vacant judicial slot in Tulsa, but it remained unclear whether that would be enough to rescue one of the few American Indians selected for the federal bench in U.S. history." Posted at 09:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Congress' power at heart of fight over health law": John Lantigua has this article today in The Palm Beach Post. Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Ga. Supreme Court Justice travels amid Egypt uprising": This article appeared yesterday in The Union-Recorder of Milledgeville, Georgia. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Constitutional showdown: A Florida judge distorted the law in striking down healthcare reform." Law professor Akhil Reed Amar has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 09:37 AM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Will Egyptian alliance come back to bite us?" Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 09:33 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, February 5, 2011 "Justice Clarence Thomas Delights Audiences at Ave Maria and Naples": The Ave Herald has this report. Posted at 11:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Doing the Judicial Math on Health Care": Adam Liptak will have this article in the Week in Review section of Sunday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 11:06 PM by Howard Bashman "Slain U.S. judge's ruling upheld in immigrant case": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "A federal appeals court has upheld $78,000 in damages to illegal immigrants who were held at gunpoint by a rancher in the southern Arizona desert, a case that prompted death threats against a federal judge who was fatally shot last month in Tucson." The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Court upholds verdict against Arizona rancher who detained illegal immigrants on his land; A federal appeals court rules that Arizona rancher Roger Barnett must pay $87,000 to four illegal immigrants he detained at gunpoint; The court says the immigrants were not armed and didn't threaten him." And The Arizona Daily Star reports that "Assault ruling upheld against rancher; now must pay $87K." You can access Thursday's non-precedential ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "Politics and the Court": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, "When it comes to pushing the line between law and politics, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas each had a banner month in January." Posted at 11:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Nominee to Supreme Court easily wins Senate panel's OK": Ken Kobayashi has this article today in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The "Record on Appeal" blog covered yesterday's confirmation hearing live, and you can access that coverage via this link. Friday, February 4, 2011 "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas talks about 'life's calling' during impromtu visit to Ave Maria University": The Naples (Fla.) Daily News has this update. And Politico.com reports that "Justice Thomas's wife Virginia Thomas now a lobbyist." "2nd Cheshire Suspect's Lawyers Want Trial Moved To Stamford; Cite Widespread Publicity In First Case": The Hartford Courant has this news update. The New Haven Register has a news update headlined "Komisarjevsky attorneys file motions seeking to move murder trial out of New Haven, disqualify judge." And The Associated Press reports that "2nd Conn. home invasion suspect wants trial moved." By a vote of 5-5, the Second Circuit fails to grant rehearing en banc of three-judge panel decision holding that corporations are not subject to liability under the Alien Tort Statute: Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an order denying panel rehearing (accompanied by separate opinions) and an order denying rehearing en banc by an evenly divided vote (also accompanied by separate opinions). My earlier coverage of the original three-judge panel's lengthy ruling can be accessed here. Second Circuit holds that prosecution's reliance on criminal defendant's tattoo to establish guilt did not violate that defendant's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination: You can access today's interesting ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. Today's ruling reasons that, although the tattoo was used in a manner that was testimonial and incriminating, the voluntary tattooing of an incriminating word on the defendant's arm was not the result of government compulsion, and therefore no Fifth Amendment violation occurred. "Fla. doctor's terrorism conviction is upheld": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a doctor accused of offering to treat injured al-Qaida fighters." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. "[I]n this case the amount in controversy is $75,000 exactly--one penny short of the jurisdictional bar that Congress has set." As a result, diversity of citizenship jurisdiction does not exist in federal court, and therefore the case in question must be returned to state court (from whence it had been removed) to be relitigated from the outset. You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. Posted at 11:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge rejects Orie request to delay corruption trial": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains this article today. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today that "Pa. GOP wants Orie's charges tossed." "A Push to Open Hearings in Judge-Misconduct Cases": The New York Times contains this article today. Posted at 08:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Antonin Scalia shoots from the hip on 'undemocratic' European Union": This article appears today in The Australian. And The Australia Associated Press has an article headlined "Cut the jargon and apply cocktail party test, says judge." "Panel OKs Graves nomination again; Judiciary Committee's vote was second time Mississippi jurist approved": The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi today contains an article that begins, "The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Thursday to approve the nomination of Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James Graves for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals." Posted at 08:37 AM by Howard Bashman "Wash. prosecutors want defeated justice off cases": The Associated Press has an article that begins, "Prosecutors in five Washington counties want former Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders barred from continuing to rule on cases -- an effort he calls a blatant attempt to manipulate the court." Earlier, Wednesday's edition of The Daily Herald of Everett, Washington contained an article headlined "Justice Sanders lost election but is still ruling on nearly 70 cases; Richard Sanders was appointed to continue work on his unfinished cases, angering some prosecutors." "Williams' e-mail 'plea' was simply Internet scam": This article appeared yesterday in The Providence (R.I.) Journal. And The Associated Press reports that "Retired RI chief justice victim of e-mail hack." "Richland Co 'poster' judge hopes for hearing by US Supreme Court": The Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal contains this article today. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Hatch: Kagan should sit out health care debate." This article appears today in The Salt Lake Tribune. And The Hill has a blog post titled "Hatch: Kagan should recuse herself from any challenge to healthcare reform." "Targeted judges will likely need own ads, Streit says": Today in The Des Moines Register, Grant Schule has an article that begins, "The three Iowa Supreme Court justices who were voted out of office in November did not actively campaign because they falsely believed voters would see through the political attacks on the court, one of the ousted members said Thursday." Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Cuccinelli seeks expedited review of health-care suit by U.S. Supreme Court": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. The Washington Post reports today that "Virginia to seek expedited Supreme Court review of suit over health-care law." The New York Times reports that "Virginia to Ask Supreme Court to Rule on Health Law." Greg Stohr and Justin Blum of Bloomberg News report that "Obama Go-Slow Approach at Supreme Court on Health Law May Build Support." And at The Atlantic's web site, law professor Garrett Epps has a blog post titled "The Vinson Ruling and the Strange Nature of American Judicial Review." Thursday, February 3, 2011 "Recap of Justice Alito's Presentation" in Hawaii last week: Rebecca Copeland had this post at the "Record on Appeal" blog last Thursday. Posted at 11:06 PM by Howard Bashman "D.C. Circuit Argument on Victim's Right to Restitution in Child Pornography Cases": Paul Cassell has this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy." Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama names nominee for Tulsa federal court post; Arvo Mikkanen's nomination immediately drew negative reactions from key members of the Oklahoma congressional delegation": This article appears today in The Tulsa World. And The Oklahoman reports today that "President nominates federal prosecutor to be U.S. judge in Tulsa; Sen. Tom Coburn objects to Obama's nomination of Arvo Mikkanen as U.S. judge in Tulsa, calling him 'unacceptable.'" The news release that The White House issued yesterday states that Mikkanen previously "served as a trial and appellate judge for Court of Indian Offenses and Court of Indian Appeals for the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Wichita, Caddo, Delaware, Fort Sill Apache, Ponca, Pawnee, Kaw, Otoe-Missouria, and Tonkawa Tribes" and served as "Chief Justice of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Supreme Court." That same news release also announced the nomination of former Assistant to the Solicitor General Paul A. Engelmayer to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. "Supreme Court to Hear Fourth Clinic Case of Term": The University of Virginia issued this news release yesterday. Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Ruling blocks freedom for two Bay Area murderers": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "A U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting federal judges from overturning state parole decisions has nullified court orders favoring two men convicted of Bay Area murders." Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court rules against Richland County judge, bans poster; Ruling: Ten Commandments display violates separation clause." This article appears today in The Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal. And The Columbus Dispatch reports today that "Judge commanded to remove Ten Commandments poster." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Sixth Circuit ruling appears here and here. "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visiting Ave Maria University": The Naples Daily News has this report. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "High court nominee Waterman was Branstad campaign donor": Grant Schulte has this article today in The Des Moines Register. Today's newspaper also contains an essay by columnist Marc Hansen entitled "It won't be easy to kill same-sex marriage." "New chief justice says California Supreme Court will decide soon on entering Proposition 8 fray; Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye discusses the possibility of weighing in on the federal appeal of Proposition 8 and her hope that a vacancy on the California Supreme Court be filled by a Southern California Latino": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:46 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Sotomayor Becomes a Forceful Voice as Obama Top Court Appointee": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. The Contra Costa Times reports today that "Sotomayor presides over UC Berkeley law competition." And Berkeleyside reports that "Justice Sotomayor visits Rosa Parks Elementary." Wednesday, February 2, 2011 "Obama's D.C. Circuit Pick Meets Skeptical Republicans": David Ingram has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." You can view the video of today's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing at this link. "Gaming the System: At the Supreme Court, could legal precedent be less important than popular opinion?" Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Ohio judge cannot display 10 Commandments": The Associated Press has this report. My earlier coverage of today's Sixth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "AP names Schulte as Lincoln, Neb., correspondent": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Grant Schulte, a state and federal courts reporter at The Des Moines Register, has been named Lincoln, Neb., correspondent for The Associated Press." The article notes that "In four years at the Register, Schulte led the paper's coverage of the removal of three Iowa Supreme Court justices following a ruling that legalized gay marriage in Iowa." "Grassley now in a position to end gridlock on judges": Law professor Carl Tobias has this op-ed today in The Des Moines Register. Posted at 02:33 PM by Howard Bashman Sixth Circuit affirms ruling against Richland County, Ohio's "Ten Commandments" judge: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in American Civil Liberties Union v. DeWeese at this link. According to the first paragraph of today's Sixth Circuit ruling, "The district court granted Plaintiff American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation, Inc.'s summary judgment motion for declaratory and injunctive relief, holding that the poster Defendant hung in his Richland County, Ohio courtroom violated the Establishment Clauses of the United States and Ohio Constitutions." "Justices weigh rights to Lake Erie beachfront access": Today's edition of The Columbus Dispatch contains an article that begins, "The Ohio Supreme Court waded into a dispute yesterday between Lake Erie property owners and the state over who should have access to 312 miles of North Coast shoreline." The Toledo Blade reports today that "Ohio high court hears case on Lake Erie property lines." And The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that "Lake Erie property line dispute reaches the Ohio Supreme Court." The Supreme Court of Ohio has posted online this preview of the case. And you can view the video of yesterday's oral argument via this link. "The Kochs fight back": Politico.com has a lengthy article that begins, "Faced with an avalanche of bad publicity after years of funding conservative causes in relative anonymity, the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, Charles and David, are fighting back." Posted at 08:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Lawmakers press Supreme Court for verdict on healthcare law": Alexander Bolton of The Hill has this report. Posted at 08:47 AM by Howard Bashman "W.Va. Supreme Court Justice Will Delay Annual Photo Trip to Egypt": Today's edition of The Intelligencer of Wheeling, West Virginia contains an article that begins, "West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin interprets today's law on a daily basis, but once a year he travels to Egypt to photograph ancient historical artifacts." Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage stalls amid signs of support": The Des Moines Register contains this article today. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Chevron complaint names Phila. law firm Kohn Swift; The oil company says the legal outfit is using a suit involving a claim of pollution in Ecuador to extort money from it": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 08:36 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, February 1, 2011 "Obama's Lawyer Previews New Push to Confirm Judges": David Ingram has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 03:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Panel: Girls in 'Wild' video to remain anonymous." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court has ruled that two underage girls can keep their names under wraps in their lawsuit against 'Girls Gone Wild' producer Joe Francis." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. "Nevada Supreme Court denies Halverson request to return to bench": This article appears today in The Las Vegas Review-Journal. And The Las Vegas Sun reports today that "Judge Halverson permanently removed after losing Supreme Court appeal." "Lokuta attorneys cite complaints against judges in new motion": The Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania today contains an article that begins, "Attorneys for Ann H. Lokuta, whose bid for reinstatement to the Luzerne County bench was blocked by the state Supreme Court last month, are now arguing that ethics complaints filed against two members of the high court have compromised its ability to give her a full and fair hearing." The newspaper has posted the reargument request at this link. "An Arkansas Supreme Court justice said Monday that she won't hear any cases involving a Texarkana attorney she is dating who has given her more than $99,000 in jewelry, trips, electronics and other gifts." So begins this report from The Associated Press. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court's divisions get messy public airing; Sniping traced back to Gableman case": The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today contains an article that begins, "The state's Supreme Court justices accused each other of retaliation as they sniped at each other Monday over court spending during a daylong public meeting. Two factions on the court found few areas where they agreed, but it became clear that simmering resentment over the ethics case against Justice Michael Gableman fuels much of the tension on the court. The justices spent more than an hour discussing how competing opinions were released seven months ago in that case, in which justices deadlocked 3-3." Posted at 08:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Fla. judge in Obama health suit has own med story": The Associated Press has this report. And in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Ashby Jones has an article headlined "Contentious Clause at Heart of Health-Law Challenges." "Justice on the stand at U. of C. Law School; Justice Sonia Sotomayor opens up during campus visit": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. The Chicago Maroon reports today that "Sotomayor speaks at Law School; Sotomayor gave advice to Law School students at a talk Monday morning." And The Associated Press reports that "Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor advises Chicago law students to unplug, chill with friends." 
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