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Saturday, April 30, 2011 "Stem cell research can continue to get federal funding, appeals court rules; Scientists hail the decision as a victory for medical progress; The ruling reverses a lower court's stance that using federal money to study human embryonic stem cells appeared to violate a congressional ban on funding of research in 'which embryos are destroyed'": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. The New York Times reports today that "Court Lets U.S. Resume Paying for Embryo Study." And The Washington Post reports that "Appeals court lifts ban on human stem cell funding." And Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Appeals court lifts ban on federal funding for stem-cell research." My earlier coverage of yesterday's D.C. Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor recounts experiences at Princeton University": The Trenton Times has this news update. National Journal reports that "Sotomayor Pessimistic Public, Senate Will Ever Be Pleased With Judicial Confirmations." And News at Princeton has a report headlined "Sotomayor shares insights on journey to the Supreme Court." Friday, April 29, 2011 "Appeals court grants stay, lockout back on": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The NFL may be headed back to a lockout. A federal appeals court in St. Louis late Friday granted the owners' request to temporarily put on hold U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson's ruling that lifted the lockout." Bloomberg News reports that "NFL Team Owners Win Temporary Stay of Court Order Blocking Player Lockout." And Reuters reports that "Court grants NFL temporary stay on injunction." You can access at this link the order that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued this evening. "In Written Responses, Verrilli Tells Senate He'd Resign If Asked to Play Politics": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 03:16 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court overturns stem cell research ban": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A divided federal appeals court has ruled that opponents of taxpayer-funded stem cell research are not likely to succeed in a lawsuit to stop it." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link. "Supreme Court Notebook: Justices staying put." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 07:56 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, April 28, 2011 "Florida Supreme Court overhaul hits resistance in Senate": This article will appear Friday in The St. Petersburg Times. And The Orlando Sentinel has a news update headlined "Split Supreme Court plan jams up Senate." "SJC nominee's record is hotly disputed at hearing": Today's edition of The Boston Globe contains an article that begins, "In the space of seven hours yesterday, Barbara A. Lenk was both savaged as an immoral participant in a plan to convert children into homosexuals and lauded as a learned and compassionate lawyer and mother whose wisdom is sorely needed by Massachusetts." Today's edition of The Boston Herald contains an article headlined "Councilors play dirty at hearing." The Standard Times of New Bedford, Massachusetts reports that "Cipollini presses openly gay SJC nominee on same-sex marriage." And The Associated Press reports that "Confirmation hearing held for Mass. SJC pick." "How the Law Accepted Gays": Law professor Dale Carpenter will have this op-ed Friday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "The Case for Early Retirement: Why Justices Ginsburg and Breyer should retire immediately." Law professor Randall Kennedy has this essay online at The New Republic. Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman "A Conversation With John Paul Stevens: In a rare interview, the former Supreme Court justice talks about the book he's writing and why he decided to retire last year." Bill Barnhart has this blog post today online at The Atlantic. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "Justice Stevens Reveals Plan to Write a Book, Talks About Decision to Retire." Ninth Circuit reinstates criminal charges under Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in United States v. Nosal: According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which participated in the appeal as an amicus on the defendant's behalf, the charges at issue "would turn any employee use of company computers in violation of corporate policy into a federal crime." Earlier, at "The Volokh Conspiracy," Orin Kerr had a post about the case titled "Lori Drew, Take 2?: The Government's Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Prosecution in United States v. Nosal." Today, the majority on a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling reinstating the charges in question. Warrant not required for 60-hour GPS tracking of automobile, majority on divided three-judge Seventh Circuit holds: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit at this link. Each of the three judges on the panel issued an opinion. Posted at 02:37 PM by Howard Bashman "Prop. 8 video flap goes to Walker's replacement": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "San Francisco's new chief federal judge now must decide whether his predecessor can keep the video recordings of the trial over California's ban on same-sex marriage - and whether he should have disqualified himself from presiding over that trial." Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "NFL takes lockout fight to appeals court": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 10:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court says arbitration agreements can ban class-action efforts": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. In today's edition of The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "Companies can block customers' class-action lawsuits, Supreme Court rules; Justices rule in a Southern California case that firms can force customers to arbitrate their complaints individually; The ruling is seen as a major victory for corporations." In USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that "Supreme Court backs AT&T, limits class-action suits." Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Supreme Court rejects class-action arbitration." On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition," Nina Totenberg had an audio segment entitled "Supreme Court Imposes Limits On Class Actions." And via law.com, Petra Pasternak of The Recorder reports that "Class Action Ruling an Earthquake for California Litigation." "Guantanamo Detainee's Lawyer Seeks a Voice on WikiLeaks Documents": This article appears today in The New York Times. In related news, "Advisers on Interrogation Face Legal Action by Critics." And an article reports that "A 9/11 Judge Sets a Timer for a Month." Wednesday, April 27, 2011 "Ruling on Arizona voter law to be reconsidered": The Arizona Republic has this news update. Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update headlined "New life for Arizona's voter citizenship law." Howard Fischer of The Yuma Sun has a news update headlined "Appeals court to hear Arizona voter ID case." And Bloomberg News reports that "Arizona Voter Citizenship Proof Law Gets Second Panel Review." My earlier coverage of today's Ninth Circuit order granting rehearing en banc can be accessed here. Client and her lawyer may face sanctions from the Second Circuit for having pursued appeal from dismissal of lawsuit against high-ranking federal officials alleging "a fantastical alternative history" of 9/11 attacks: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. Posted at 10:00 PM by Howard Bashman Recent posts from Ronald Dworkin at the "NYR Blog" of The New York Review of Books: He has posts titled "Bad Arguments: The Roberts Court & Religious Schools" and "More Bad Arguments: The Roberts Court & Money in Politics." Posted at 04:28 PM by Howard Bashman "High court wary of Vt. limits on Rx data mining": Tony Mauro has this news analysis online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 04:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Ruling Places Limits on Class Actions": Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update. David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Companies can block customers' class-action lawsuits, Supreme Court rules; Consumers have been able to band together to sue corporations, but the Supreme Court rules in a Southern California case that firms can force customers to arbitrate their complaints individually; The ruling is seen as a major victory for corporations." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "At Supreme Court, another ruling in favor of corporations, critics say; The Supreme Court's 5-to-4 decision is a victory for business groups that favor tough enforcement of arbitration agreements; Critics say it puts the rights of corporations over individuals." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Court rules for company in dispute over taxes on 'free' cell phone." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Class Actions Limited as U.S. Supreme Court Supports AT&T." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court rules for AT&T in arbitration case." And at WSJ.com's "Law Blog," Ashby Jones has a post titled "After AT&T Ruling, Should We Say Goodbye to Consumer Class Actions?" "The Political Divides in DC Appellate Practices -- A Comment on the Clement Kerfuffle": Orin Kerr has this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy." Posted at 03:47 PM by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit grants rehearing en banc to consider before 11-judge panel whether Arizona's requirement of proof of citizenship to register to vote is preempted by the National Voter Registration Act: You can access today's order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. My earlier coverage of the divided three-judge panel's ruling can be accessed here. Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor had provided the dispositive vote on the original three-judge panel, but she will be unable to participate in the decision on rehearing en banc. "Quirks of N.F.L.'s Case May Foil Anyone's Guess": In today's edition of The New York Times, John Schwartz has this article about the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Posted at 12:48 PM by Howard Bashman "High court hears dispute over Nev. ethics law": The Associated Press has this report. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Scalia guarding the slope: Hearing its final argument of the Term, the Court openly resists creating a new First Amendment right for legislators when they cast their votes on pending bills." Access online today's ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in an argued case: Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, No. 09-893. Justice Clarence Thomas issued a concurring opinion. And Justice Stephen G. Breyer issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan joined. You can access the oral argument via this link. In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Court imposes limits on class actions." "Supreme Court Examines State, Local Ethics Laws": Nina Totenberg had this audio segment on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Ethics on the City Council: The Court, in its final oral argument of the Term, on Wednesday examines the free speech rights of members of elected legislatures, like a city council, when they vote on policy issues." "D.A. to appeal court ruling for Abu-Jamal resentencing": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Daily News. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Third Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Detainees' Lawyers Can't Click on Leaked Documents": The New York Times contains this article today, along with articles headlined "Secret Case Against Detainee Crumbles" and "In WikiLeaks' Growth, Some Control Is Lost." Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices' Debate Turns to Privacy for Doctors": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. And in today's edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that "Supreme Court skeptical that prescription data laws don't violate free speech." "Atheists Seek Chaplain Role in the Military": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "The Best Offense Is a Good Defense: Why even opponents of DOMA should want it to get a vigorous defense." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 07:34 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, April 26, 2011 "Experts: Judge's sexual orientation is non-issue." The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 10:34 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices weigh privacy and drug marketing; A Vermont law bans pharmacies from selling doctors' confidential prescription records to drug makers; Firms say they have a free-speech right to buy and sell information to market their products": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. In Wednesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin will have an article headlined "Justices Question Drug-Sales Law." In Wednesday's edition of USA Today, Joan Biskupic will have an article headlined "Supreme Court hears prescription-drug data mining case." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "High court hears case over 'data mining' of drug prescription data." Greg Stohr and William McQuillen of Bloomberg News report that "Drug-Marketing Limits May Be Voided by U.S. Supreme Court in Vermont Case." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "U.S. top court questions state drug data limits." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Supreme Court hears case: Is Vermont restricting drug companies' speech? Drug companies tell the Supreme Court that by barring access to doctors' drug prescribing records, Vermont is discriminating against the firms' protected commercial speech." On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered," Nina Totenberg had an audio segment entitled "Court Hears Arguments In Data Mining Case." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Yes, it's about commercial free speech; The Court indicates in oral argument that it views a Vermont law seeking to curb the use of drug prescription data to sell brand-name drugs as an attack on corporate free speech." "Court questions limits on use of prescription data": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. You can access at this link the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc., No. 10-779. "Abu-Jamal gets chance to escape death row": Nathan Gorenstein of The Philadelphia Inquirer has a news update that begins, "Mumia Abu-Jamal was awarded a new sentencing hearing today by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, but an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court appears likely by the district attorney." And The Associated Press reports that "US court grants new sentencing for Mumia Abu-Jamal." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. Access online today's ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in an argued case: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court in United States v. Tohono O'odham Nation, No. 09-846. Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which Justice Stephen G. Breyer joined. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a dissenting opinion. And Justice Elena Kagan took no part in the ruling. You can access the oral argument via this link. In early news coverage, The Associated Press has a report headlined "Court: Tribe can't sue in dual courts." "Senate committee passes Supreme Court overhaul plan": The St. Petersburg Times contains this article today, along with an article headlined "House Democrat: Speaker Dean Cannon tried to trade favorable treatment for support on court bill." The Tampa Tribune reports today that "In surprise move, Senate passes Supreme Court split." And The Palm Beach Post reports that "Senate compromises on Supreme Court overhaul to jump-start budget talks with House." "Supreme Court Weighs Whether To Limit Data Mining": This audio segment featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Many freed Guantanamo inmates join terrorists, files say; Detainees from Yemen and Saudi Arabia are the most problematic, according to classified documents released by WikiLeaks; And with Yemen roiled in political upheaval, some worry that the former inmates will see an opportunity": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today, along with an article headlined "Mohammed says he beheaded U.S. reporter despite warnings; Chilling portraits of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind, and other Guantanamo detainees emerge in the latest release of classified material from WikiLeaks." And today's edition of The New York Times contains an article headlined "In Dossier, Portrait of Push for Post-9/11 Attacks" and an editorial entitled "The Guantanamo Papers." "U.S. Supreme Court denies Cuccinelli's bid to expedite health suit": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. In today's edition of The New York Times, Adam Liptak reports that "Justices Reject Request for Fast Health Law Ruling." Robert Barnes of The Washington Post reports that "Supreme Court turns down Va.'s request to expedite review of health-care law." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that "Supreme Court refuses to skip lower courts on healthcare reform law; The Supreme Court rejects an appeal from Virginia's attorney general, who had asked the justices to expedite review of the Affordable Care Act; The court's action likely puts off a ruling until at least next year." Joan Biskupic of USA Today reports that "Supreme Court rejects request to hear Va. health care case." The Virginian-Pilot reports that "High court denies Va.'s request on federal health law." And The Washington Times reports that "Supreme Court won't expedite health care ruling." Monday, April 25, 2011 "Law firm quits marriage act case, a win for gay-rights groups; King & Spalding says it won't defend the Defense of Marriage Act, but prominent partner Paul Clement quits the firm and says he'll stick with the case": David G. Savage will have this article Tuesday in The Los Angeles Times. Tuesday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined "Law Firm Won't Defend Marriage Act." And in Tuesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Ashby Jones will have an article headlined "Partner Quits Firm in Rift Over Gay Marriage." The newspaper will also contain an editorial entitled "Knave and Spalding: A law firm drops a politically incorrect case." "WikiLeaks: Just 8 at Gitmo gave evidence against 255 others." Tom Lasseter and Carol Rosenberg of McClatchy Newspapers have this report. Posted at 10:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Holder says he's not going anywhere": Jerry Markon of The Washington Post has a news update that begins, "He has been a focus of criticism and a longtime target of congressional Republicans, one of whom recently called for his resignation. But Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. made it clear Monday that he's not going anywhere." Posted at 10:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Viet Dinh's firm aims for appellate big leagues with Clement hire": Tony Mauro of The National Law Journal has this report. And at "The Faculty Blog" of The University of Chicago Law School, Steve Sanders has a post titled "Paul Clement, DOMA, and the role of lawyers for unpopular causes." "Appeals Court to Hear Arguments on Pace of Offshore Drilling Permits": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has an article (via The New York Times) that begins, "The latest phase in the legal fight over offshore drilling permits that was kick-started by last year's Deepwater Horizon disaster begins this week with two back-to-back arguments in a federal appeals court in New Orleans." Posted at 10:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Prop. 8 side: Gay judge shouldn't have heard case." Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, "The federal judge who struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage should have disqualified himself because he is a gay man with a longtime partner he could marry as a result of his ruling, sponsors of the ballot measure said in a court filing Monday." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Prop. 8: Plea to throw out ruling." "Chief Justice Roberts and the First Amendment": David L. Hudson Jr. has this essay online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 03:53 PM by Howard Bashman "Firm defending Defense of Marriage Act withdraws from case": The Washington Post has this news update. James Oliphant of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Defense of Marriage Act defender resigns from law firm amid pressure from gay rights advocates." "The Caucus" blog of The New York Times has a post titled "Law Firm Backs Out of Defending Marriage Act." Ariane de Vogue and Devin Dwyer of ABCNews.com report that "Republicans' Defense of Marriage Act Lawyer Quits Top Firm After It Dumps DOMA Defense." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Law firm backs out of defending federal Defense of Marriage Act." The Associated Press reports that "Firm hired by GOP ends work on gay marriage ban." And Reuters reports that "Clement breaks with King & Spalding over Marriage Act." "NY court upholds ruling in Connecticut school case": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court in New York has agreed that Connecticut school officials acted reasonably and constitutionally when they disciplined a student for an Internet posting she wrote off school grounds." Today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Doninger v. Niehoff begins, "We are once again called to consider the circumstances in which school administrators may discipline students for speech relating directly to the affairs of the school without running afoul of the First Amendment." "King & Spalding Asks to Withdraw from Marriage Litigation": David Ingram has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." And in related news, according to an email that I have just received, former Solicitor General Paul D. Clement today has tendered his resignation from the King & Spalding law firm. The letter of resignation that I received as an attachment to that email can be accessed here. USA Today is confirming Clement's resignation in a news update headlined "Law firm withdraws from gay marriage case." And Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a news update headlined "King & Spalding to withdraw from defending DOMA." Update: A follow-up email contains a press release that begins, "Paul D. Clement, the 43rd Solicitor General of the United States, has joined the firm of Bancroft PLLC as Partner." "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times" now has a new post titled "Clement Leaves King & Spalding to Continue Same-Sex Marriage Litigation." "Hosanna-Tabor case to test our church-state divide": Law professor Richard W. Garnett has this op-ed today in USA Today. Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices Turn Down New Theory on Failure to Warn in Pharma Case": In today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers, Amaris Elliott-Engel has this article in which I am quoted. Posted at 10:12 AM by Howard Bashman Access online today's Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court has posted today's Order List at this link. The Court did not grant review in any new cases. In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "High court rejects quick review of health care law." "States vs. data collectors at the Supreme Court": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. Today's edition of The New York Times contains an article headlined "A Fight Over How Drugs Are Pitched." And The Day of New London, Connecticut contains an article headlined "Norwalk firm to argue that mining prescription drug data is free speech." A longer version of the article can be accessed here. "Texas may strip away transgender marriage rights": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Defense lawyers take case against documentation penalties to state high court": Today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, "A record 17 times last year, Wisconsin's Court of Appeals hit lawyers with $150 'summary sanctions' when judges thought briefs were missing some supporting documentation." Posted at 07:54 AM by Howard Bashman "WikiLeaks discloses new details on whereabouts of al-Qaeda leaders on 9/11": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The Los Angeles Times reports today that "WikiLeaks releasing documents on Guantanamo; Thousands of pages outline the U.S. prison operation at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with details on the self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind and others; The White House condemns the leak." Coverage of "The Guantanamo Files" from The Guardian (UK) can be accessed via this link. Today's coverage includes articles headlined "Guantanamo leaks lift lid on world's most controversial prison; Innocent people interrogated for years on slimmest pretexts; Children, elderly and mentally ill among those wrongfully held; 172 prisoners remain, some with no prospect of trial or release"; "Guantanamo Bay files: Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time; Almost half of 212 Afghan prisoners either innocent or forced to fight for Taliban, while foreigners were simply rounded up"; and "What are the Guantanamo Bay files? Understanding the prisoner dossiers." The Miami Herald reports that "WikiLeaks reveal prison camp secrets." And The Associated Press reports that "Leaked files reveal new info on Gitmo detainees." Sunday, April 24, 2011 Robert Barnes of The Washington Post is reporting: In Monday's newspaper, he will have articles headlined "Supreme Court confronts whether Nev. conflict-of-interest law violates free speech" and "Court asked to balance information age advances with constitutional protections." Posted at 10:56 PM by Howard Bashman "Former Justice Cantero: Florida Supreme Court does not need more members." Raoul G. Cantero III has this op-ed today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 10:52 PM by Howard Bashman The New York Times posts online a series of articles under the heading "The Guantanamo Files": The articles, which will appear in Monday's edition of the newspaper, are headlined "Classified Files Offer New Insights Into Detainees"; "Judging Detainees' Risk, Often With Flawed Evidence"; "As Acts of War or Despair, Suicides Rattle a Prison"; and "Libyan Shifts From Detainee to Rebel, and U.S. Ally of Sorts." Tomorrow's newspaper will also contain "A Note to Readers: The Background" and "A Statement by the United States Government." Additional coverage, which The New York Times describes as "based on a huge trove of secret documents leaked last year to the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks and made available to The New York Times by another source on the condition of anonymity," is available from National Public Radio in articles headlined "Military Documents Detail Life At Guantanamo" and "Detainees Transferred Or Freed Despite 'High Risk.'" "Christie v. Court: Is threat for real? He has considered ignoring N.J. justices if they order more school funding; Legal scholars said that would be a historic breach." This front page article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 11:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Oregon Senate votes to close loophole in child pornography law": Friday's edition of The Oregonian contained an article that begins, "In response to a Oregon Supreme Court ruling this year, the Oregon Senate voted today to make it a crime to view child pornography online for free." My earlier coverage of the Oregon Supreme Court's rulings (here and here) can be accessed at this link. "U.S. Supreme Court to hear challenge to automatic inmate strip-searches brought by N.J. man": This article appears today in The Newark Star-Ledger. Posted at 11:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: The bizarre world of the 'birther.'" Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 11:16 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, April 23, 2011 "Guantanamo Bay: Why Obama hasn't fulfilled his promise to close the facility." Peter Finn and Anne E. Kornblut will have this lengthy article Sunday in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Shielding the Privacies of Life": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, "The Supreme Court has never heard a case challenging the government's authority to search a computer. It is time, after a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit opened the way last month to vast government intrusion." Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman "The Supreme Court: How a Harper majority could really change Canada." This article appears today in The Toronto Globe and Mail. Posted at 09:12 PM by Howard Bashman In Bashman news from Australia: Sky News reports that "Young people bash man with bricks in NSW." Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Pittsburg woman back at work after star turn at U.S. Supreme Court": Today's edition of The Contra Costa Times contains an article that begins, "Betty Dukes was back greeting customers this week at the Walmart here, a long way in distance and circumstance from the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard her gender-discrimination case against the retail giant last month." Posted at 08:56 PM by Howard Bashman "Count on some chaos in state Supreme Court recount": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 08:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Paulsen's words kill effort to impeach justices": Today's edition of The Des Moines Register contains an article that begins, "Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen on Friday quashed an effort by conservative Republican lawmakers to impeach four justices of the Iowa Supreme Court." Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman Friday, April 22, 2011 "Ed DuMont's 'Controversial' Federal Circuit Nomination Continues to Languish after One Year": This somewhat controversial post appeared yesterday at the "Patently-O" blog. Posted at 10:56 PM by Howard Bashman "Richard J. Lazarus appointed Professor of Law at Harvard": Harvard Law School issued this news release earlier this week. Posted at 10:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Candidates reach recount deal; Some areas to get hand tally in court race": Today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, "Backing off stronger stances, Supreme Court Justice David Prosser and Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg found a courtroom compromise Thursday that called for a statewide recount, with a hand tally for ballots from the entire city of Milwaukee and other communities." Posted at 10:06 PM by Howard Bashman "Charges revived against guards in Blackwater case; A federal appeals court reverses an earlier ruling about the 2007 incident in Iraq, which left 14 civilians dead": The Los Angeles Times has this news update. The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court revives Blackwater shooting case." Bloomberg News reports that "Blackwater Guards' Iraqi Civilian Death Case Reinstated." Reuters reports that "U.S. court reinstates Blackwater Iraq shooting case." CNN.com reports that "Federal appeals court rejects dismissal of Blackwater prosecutions." And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post titled "Appeals Court Reinstates Blackwater Manslaughter Case in D.C." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link. Programming note: Today I'll be taking my son to look at some local colleges (such as here and here). Additional posts will appear later today. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, April 21, 2011 "Neo-Nazi Freed, Online Speech Protected": David Kravets has this post today at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog. Yesterday's edition of The Chicago Tribune contained an article headlined "Judge throws out conviction of white supremacist; Ruling: Online comments don't prove man intended harm." Yesterday's edition of The Roanoke Times reported that "Judge tosses William A. White verdict; The federal judge overturned the jury's conviction of the Roanoke neo-Nazi, meaning, soon, he will be free." And The Associated Press reports that "White supremacist's conviction overturned." You can access Tuesday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois at this link. Opening brief for appellant filed today in the Pa. Supreme Court in case raising issues of separation of powers and judicial deference to the legislative branch concerning whether an organization qualifies as a "purely public charity" under Pennsylvania's Constitution: Although most people may think of the federal government when the issue of separation of powers arises, state governments also recognize the principle. Today, I filed this brief for appellant on behalf of my client in a case now pending before Pennsylvania's highest court. I have also received in today's mail the amicus brief of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania filed in support of my client. A separate amicus brief is being filed in support of my client's position by the Elected Leaders of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and I will post that amicus brief online when I receive the final version of brief. [Update: The amicus brief of the Elected Leaders of the Pennsylvania Senate can be accessed here.] My earlier coverage of the Pa. Supreme Court's grant of review in this case appears at this link. "High court asked to reinstate FCC indecency policy": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 05:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Was FBI too quick to judge anthrax suspect the killer?" Greg Gordon of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 02:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Inmates lose a remedy for religion-rights violations": Tony Mauro has this news analysis online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 02:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Ruling finds company using 'judicial hell hole' defense": The St. Louis Post-Dispatch contains this article today. Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Utah seeks U.S. Supreme Court ruling on roadside memorial crosses": This article appears today in The Deseret News. And The Salt Lake Tribune reports today that "Shurtleff asks U.S. Supreme Court to hear case of UHP highway crosses." "Judicial nominee logjam creates 'crisis' in some federal courts": Bill Mears of CNN.com has this blog post. Posted at 11:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Missing in Action": Linda Greenhouse has this post at the "Opinionator" blog of The New York Times. Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court notebook: Kagan absences no big deal." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 09:44 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, April 20, 2011 "This appeal presents issues related to the amount of restitution that a district court may order a defendant convicted of possessing child pornography to pay to one of the children depicted in the images." So writes a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in a per curiam ruling issued today. All three judges on the panel joined in a special concurring opinion that called on the Fifth Circuit to rehear the case en banc together with In re: Amy Unknown, a ruling that the Fifth Circuit issued almost one month ago. My earlier coverage of that ruling appears at this link. "Mead Johnson Loses Bid to Cancel $13.5 Million Jury Verdict": Bloomberg News has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued today. Posted at 09:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal court upholds ruling to toss Norfolk Four conviction": The Virginian-Pilot has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court in Va. clears 1 of 'Norfolk 4.'" You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link. "Dish in contempt of court in TiVo patent fight": The Associated Press has this report. Bloomberg News reports that "TiVo Shares Rise as U.S. Court Finds Dish in Contempt." And Reuters reports that "Court upholds EchoStar contempt filing, TiVo up." You can access today's en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit at this link. "Kloppenburg requests recount in Supreme Court race": The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Wis. court challenger will seek statewide recount." Programming note: Due to an afternoon activity that my son and I are hoping to enjoy together, additional posts will appear here later today. Update: The final score of this afternoon's game was Philadelphia Phillies 4, Milwaukee Brewers 3. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. Access online today's ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in an argued case: The Court today issued its ruling in Sossamon v. Texas, No. 08-1438. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Stephen G. Breyer joined, Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the decision. You can access the oral argument via this link. Posted at 10:09 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, April 19, 2011 "Feds to Supreme Court: Allow Warrantless GPS Monitoring." David Kravets has this post at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog. Posted at 11:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Second look at who owns the beaches; High court justices' questions might hint that their 1st ruling won't change": The Houston Chronicle has this news update. Posted at 11:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Only 3% of State Supreme Court Justices in U.S. Are Latino": Fox News Latino has this report. Posted at 11:22 PM by Howard Bashman "5th Circuit: Ex-prosecutor doesn't have immunity." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court panel has upheld a ruling that former U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton does not have immunity from a lawsuit filed against him by former Mississippi Supreme Court Judge Oliver Diaz Jr." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. "Appeals court backs MacDonald on review of new evidence": The Fayetteville Observer has a news update that begins, "A federal appeals court has sided with convicted killer Jeffrey MacDonald, ordering a second review of his claims of newly discovered evidence." And The Associated Press reports that "Court orders new hearing in 'Fatal Vision' case." You can access today's ruling of a unanimous two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link. "The Death of Roe v. Wade -- Supporters and opponents of abortion seem to agree: It's no longer the law of the land." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Skeptical on Role of Courts in Setting Emissions Standards": Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. In Wednesday's edition of The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage will have an article headlined "Supreme Court indicates it will dismiss 6-state global warming lawsuit; The suit, filed by California and others, seeks limits on carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants; Justices say the EPA, not the courts, should regulate greenhouse gases." In Wednesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin will have an article headlined "Justices Skeptical in Emissions Case." Ariane de Vogue of ABCNews.com reports that "Global Warming Comes to the Supreme Court; Justices Skeptical of Suit Filed by States Against Power Industry." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Supreme Court wary of empowering judges to order greenhouse gas cuts; A lawsuit asking a federal judge to order big power companies to cut greenhouse gases, because the emissions are a public nuisance, got a skeptical reception Tuesday at the Supreme Court." And Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire reports (via The New York Times) that "States' Emissions 'Nuisance' Argument Seems to Fall on Deaf Ears in Supreme Court." "Orie retrial delayed until Oct. by appeal; Defense appeals corruption case to state high court": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains this article today. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today that "Sen. Jane Orie seeks expanded jury pool for October retrial." "Gay Marriage Cases Could Cost House $500K or More": David Ingram has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 02:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter": This diavlog featuring Dahlia Lithwick and Ann Althouse was posted online today at Bloggingheads.tv. Posted at 02:20 PM by Howard Bashman "D.C. Circuit: Child Pornography Victim Owed More Restitution." At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has this post on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today. Posted at 02:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Court casts doubt on states' global warming suit": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Searching for a judicial formula: The Court, tempted to keep global warming cases in the federal courts, confronts the seeming likelihood that such lawsuits would be too complex for judges actually to handle." You can access at this link the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in American Elec. Power Co. v. Connecticut, No. 10-174. Even the Chief Justice of the United States misspells a case name every now and then: As though further proof that everyone's human were needed, a reader emails to note that in his dissenting opinion issued today, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. has misspelled the "Coeur" in the case name Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho as "Couer" some three times. So, the next time you happen to misspell a case name, remember that you're in good company. And in early news coverage of today's ruling, The Associated Press reports that "Court reinstates Va. mental health lawsuit." In early 2009, a lovely new federal courthouse opened its doors in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, as noted in this earlier post. Coincidentally, the Chief Justice visited Idaho in 2009, although according to the University of Idaho College of Law the Chief Justice visited in person only Boise and Moscow -- and appeared in Coeur d'Alene only via compressed video feed. Update: As of 4:10 p.m. eastern time, the Court has corrected the misspelling in the version of the decision available for download from the Court's web site. The original version of the opinion containing the misspelling, which was available for download from the Court's web site earlier today, can be accessed here. "Falk Demands En Banc Rehearing on Facebook Settlement": Ginny LaRoe of The Recorder has this report, which links to the petition for rehearing en banc filed yesterday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Posted at 10:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Prosser says there's no need for recount": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. And The Associated Press reports that "Prosser's team urges Kloppenburg to drop 'frivolous' recount." Access online today's ruling in an argued case of the U.S. Supreme Court: Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court in Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy v. Stewart, No. 09-529. Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor joined in the opinion of the Court. Justice Kennedy also filed a concurring opinion, in which Justice Thomas joined. The Chief Justice issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined. And Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the ruling. You can access the oral argument via this link. Posted at 10:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Court Hears Microsoft Patent Case": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. The Seattle Times reports today that "Microsoft-i4i case before high court could have far-reaching reverberations." Financial Post reports that "Chairman of i4i confident Microsoft defeated." And Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Patent Challenges Debated as Top Court Hears Microsoft Case." "GOP hires ex-solicitor general to defend federal same-sex marriage ban": This article appears today in The Washington Post. In today's edition of The Los Angeles Times, James Oliphant reports that "GOP taps ex-solicitor general to defend gay marriage law." The Washington Times reports today that "GOP steps up defense of law on marriage; Lawyer hired in lieu of Justice." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Boehner hires top lawyer for fight over marriage law, sources say." Ariane de Vogue and Devin Dwyer of ABCNews.com report that "House Republicans Hire Lawyer to Take Defense of Marriage Act Cases; Boehner Appoints Lawyer to Defend DOMA, Seeks Justice Dept Budget Cuts to Cover Cost." At his "Under the Radar" blog at Politico.com, Josh Gerstein has a post titled "Boehner wants Justice Department to fund fight for Defense of Marriage Act." And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post titled "Former Solicitor General Paul Clement Signs Up to Defend Marriage Law." "DOJ argues for rehearing in Secret Service lawsuit": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 09:37 AM by Howard Bashman "Justices hear case on boosting criminals' sentences; The Supreme Court hears arguments on whether a prisoner can be given a longer sentence in order to undergo rehabilitation; A woman caught smuggling immigrants into California awaits the outcome": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 09:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Judges See Sentencing Injustice, but the Calendar Disagrees": Adam Liptak has this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in today's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 09:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Chipotle loses disabled-access case": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 09:28 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, April 18, 2011 "Harvard twins appeal Facebook settlement ruling": The AP has this report. Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Court hears arguments in Microsoft patent case": The Associated Press has this report. You can access at this link the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. Partnership, No. 10-290. Access online today's Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court has posted today's Order List at this link. The Court today granted review in one case and called for the views of the Solicitor General's office in one case. And in Kiyemba v. Obama, No. 10-775, Justice Stephen G. Breyer issued a statement respecting the denial of the petition for writ of certiorari, in which statement Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor joined. Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the consideration of that case. In early news coverage, The Associated Press has reports headlined "Court turns away new appeal from Uighurs at Gitmo"; "High court takes no action on Va. health care case"; "Court won't stop lawsuit against Chipotle"; "Court denies appeal over inmate's long sentence"; and "Court turns down appeal in murder plot case." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Uighurs' plea denied." "Showdown time for i4i, Microsoft": The Toronto Globe and Mail contains this article today. Today's edition of Financial Post contains an article headlined "High noon in i4i-Microsoft fight." The Canadian Press reports that "Microsoft vs. i4i case at U.S. Supreme Court has big implications for patent law." Brent Kendall of Dow Jones Newswires reports that "Microsoft patent fight divides business community." And cnet News reports that "Microsoft takes patent battle to Supreme Court." "Busy Job of Judging Video-Game Content to Be Ceded to Machines": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:52 AM by Howard Bashman "High court will hear '95 Navy SEAL innocence claim": Frank Green has this article today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Posted at 07:38 AM by Howard Bashman "Cuccinelli Makes Long-Shot Court Bid to Overturn Obama's Health-Care Law": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, April 17, 2011 "Don't tamper with state's Supreme Court; Legislature's attempt to overhaul judicial system is based on spite": This editorial appears today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 10:16 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court case weighs conflict of interest": In Monday's edition of USA Today, Joan Biskupic will have an article that begins, "Michael Carrigan, a member of the City Council in Sparks, Nev., says he was trying to make sure his vote on a proposed casino, one that his campaign manager helped develop, did not pose an ethics problem." Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "You Get the Judges You Pay For": In Monday's edition of The New York Times, law professors Erwin Chemerinsky and James J. Sample will have an op-ed that begins, "Legal elites must come to terms with a reality driven by the grass-roots electorate: judicial elections are here to stay. Given this reality, we should focus on balancing important First Amendment rights to financially support campaigns with due process concerns about fair trials." Posted at 10:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Guantanamo, on trial": This editorial appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices face conflict of interest questions": Joan Biskupic will have this article Monday in USA Today. Posted at 07:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Like the South, will line item veto rise again?" Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 07:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice challenges ruling on GPS use; Surveillance key in drug ring trial": This article appears today in The Washington Times. Posted at 07:35 PM by Howard Bashman "New climate change case headed to Supreme Court": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. And in Monday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin and Stephen Power will have an article headlined "States Seek Greenhouse-Gas Curbs." "Douglas Kmiec resigns as U.S. ambassador to Malta; Ambassador Douglas Kmiec rejects the inspector general's conclusion that his interfaith advocacy is outside his official mission": The Los Angeles Times contains this article today. The Times of Malta reports that "US Ambassador tenders resignation." And The Associated Press reports that "US envoy criticized for religious activism resigns." Saturday, April 16, 2011 "In Oregon, medical pot and guns go hand in hand; But some local sheriffs don't think medical marijuana users should be allowed to obtain concealed weapons permits; The case is before the state Supreme Court": This article will appear Sunday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 11:18 PM by Howard Bashman "A conservative defense of ObamaCare: A Reaganite scholar expounds on its constitutionality." Columnist Steve Chapman will have this op-ed Sunday in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Sandra Day O'Connor gives civics lesson at OCU; Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke Thursday at Oklahoma City University's School of Law about her new iCivics program and her life as the first woman to serve on the nation's highest court": This article appeared yesterday in The Oklahoman. Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Heartbeat bill seen as possible challenge to Roe v. Wade": The Dayton Daily News has this update. And a related news update reports that "Abortion battle heats up in Ohio, nation; 7 bills pending in Ohio; 374 have been introduced throughout U.S." "Branstad sees high court's Wiggins facing tough retention vote next year": This article appears today in The Des Moines Register. Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman "With students' help, UT professor wins Supreme Court decision in death row case": Sunday's edition of The Austin American-Statesman will contain an article that begins, "In October, 11 University of Texas students from the School of Law's Capital Punishment Clinic traveled to Washington to hear their professor present his plea for death row inmate Hank Skinner in front of the U.S. Supreme Court." Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman Update on challenge to the class certification of the De Beers antitrust settlement now pending before the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit: As I noted in my most recent update on this case, in which I represent the objector who prevailed before the three-judge panel, the en banc Third Circuit had issued an order allowing Class Counsel to file a response and my client to file a reply relating to my client's response to Class Counsel's motion for leave to file the handout that Class Counsel had wanted to use at oral argument. Class Counsel filed their response on March 31, 2011, and yesterday I filed my client's reply. "Ethics Are for Other People: Why do Supreme Court justices think they can ignore the same rules of conduct that bind other federal judges?" Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Take it to climate court? Global warming lawsuits are a misuse of the judiciary branch." Law professor Laurence H. Tribe has this op-ed today in The Boston Globe. In yesterday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey had an op-ed entitled "Climate Change Heads to the Supreme Court." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "The courts and global warming." "Bonds conviction on obstruction: Will it stand?" The Associated Press has this report. And Ginny LaRoe of The Recorder has an article headlined "Bonds Team Seen as Having 'Powerful' Appellate Argument." Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting: In today's newspaper he has an article headlined "Prop. 8 backers want trial videos withheld." And in yesterday's newspaper, he had an article headlined "State court to review long sentences for teens." "County Results Find Incumbent the Victor in Wisconsin": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an article that begins, "David T. Prosser Jr., a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice whose re-election became intertwined with the state's battle over cuts to collective bargaining rights, won the race by 7,316 votes, results from the state's counties showed on Friday." Posted at 10:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Patently Obvious": In today's edition of The New York Times, law professor Doug Lichtman has an op-ed that begins, "On Monday the Supreme Court will consider whether to fundamentally alter the way American patent law is litigated." Posted at 10:06 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court defuses showdown between federal and state judges": The Deseret News contains this article today. And The Salt Lake Tribune reports today that "Judicial feud, FLDS land deal put on hold; Appeals court brings a temporary halt to federal judge's rulings." Friday, April 15, 2011 "Do Cellphones Cause Brain Cancer?" This article will appear in this upcoming Sunday's issue of The New York Times Magazine. Posted at 08:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Gov't asks high court to take GPS tracking case": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post titled "DOJ Pitches GPS Surveillance Case to Supreme Court." "Judge Copies Most of His Decision from a Party's Briefs -- Why Is That Wrong?" Eugene Volokh has this post today at "The Volokh Conspiracy." My earlier coverage of yesterday's British Columbia Court of Appeal ruling appears at this link. "Ex-federal judge reports to prison": The Associated Press has this report. And earlier this month in the Daily Business Review, R. Robin McDonald and Janet L. Conley had a lengthy article headlined "Felony to misdemeanor: How Jack Camp did it." "Ballots are now totaled: Prosser wins by 7,316." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Canvass shows conservative wins Wis. court race." "Panel Eyes Impact of Punitives in Hormone Therapy Cases": In today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers, Amaris Elliott-Engel has this article in which I am quoted. Update: In somewhat related coverage, the Week in Review section of last Sunday's edition of The New York Times contained an article headlined "The Women's Health Initiative and the Body Politic." Thursday, April 14, 2011 Fifth Circuit judge achieves rare appellate trifecta: An opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today identifies Circuit Judge James L. Dennis as the author of the majority opinion and as the author of a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. Posted at 10:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Fla. high court rules on drug dogs' 'sniff test'": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that police must get a warrant before they can do a 'sniff test' by a drug-detection dog at the front door of a home." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Florida at this link. "B.C. judge's plagiarism results in $5-million judgment thrown out": The Vancouver Sun has a news update that begins, "A new trial has been ordered and a $5-million judgment thrown out because B.C. Supreme Court Justice Joel Groves plagiarized most of his ruling. In a staggering decision involving an expensive 30-day trial about a brain-damaged baby, the B.C. Court of Appeal said it is only the fourth time in Canadian history a judge has substantially reproduced all of the submissions of a participating party in a lawsuit as reasons for judgment." And CBC News reports that "Plagiarized B.C. judgment prompts new trial." You can access today's ruling of the British Columbia Court of Appeal at this link. "Top court allows prostitution appeal": The Vancouver Sun has a news update that begins, "The Supreme Court of Canada decided Thursday to allow an appeal involving a legal challenge of prostitution laws by a group of sex trade workers in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside." Posted at 08:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Gay adoptive dads lose birth-certificate appeal; Court says state may name just 1 on form": The Washington Times has this news update. My earlier coverage of the Fifth Circuit's en banc ruling appears at this link. "Tainting Justice With Politics": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, "The furiously contested election of a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice shows, once again, how politics and money can debase the law." Posted at 08:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Letter by Vaughn Walker in response to Motion for Order Compelling Return of Trial Recordings": This letter was filed today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in response to Appellants' Motion for Order Compelling Return of Trial Recordings. Earlier, in today's edition of The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article headlined "Prop. 8 trial video clip illegal, critics claim." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Prop. 8 judge challenged anew." "Health care law gets day in court": Joan Biskupic of USA Today has this report. Posted at 06:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Breyer, Kennedy Testify on Budget, Tweeting, and the Supreme Court's Front Door": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." At WSJ.com's "Washington Wire" blog, Jess Bravin has a post titled "Justices Kennedy and Breyer Charm Lawmakers." Brent Kendall of Dow Jones Newswires reports that "Justices, Lawmakers Talk Tweets At Hearing On Supreme Court Funding." And at ABCNews.com, Ariane deVogue reports that "Justices Kennedy and Breyer Testify at House Appropriations Hearing; Justices Defend Supreme Court Budget, Chat About Twitter and Softball." "Court dismisses suit over National Day of Prayer": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court has thrown out a ruling that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional and ordered that the lawsuit against it be dismissed." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit at this link. Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook wrote the majority opinion. You can access a recording of the audio of the appellate oral argument via this link (9.67MB mp3 audio file). C-SPAN will provide live video stream of Justices testifying on SCOTUS budget Thursday 10 a.m. eastern time: Scheduled to testify at today's hearing are Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Stephen G. Breyer. You can view C-SPAN live, online by clicking here. Posted at 09:14 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, April 13, 2011 "Seeking Execution Drug, States Cut Legal Corners": John Schwartz will have this article Thursday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court rejects Orie's bid to halt retrial": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this news update. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a news update headlined "State Superior Court rejects Jane Orie's trial appeal." "Judge Rules for Counsel, Saying Baby Comes First": John Schwartz will have this article in Thursday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 08:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Bonds found guilty of obstruction of justice, jury deadlocks on three perjury counts": Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has this update. The New York Times has a news update headlined "Bonds Guilty of Obstruction of Justice." MLB.com reports that "Bonds found guilty of obstruction of justice; Mistrial declared on three remaining perjury charges." And The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Barry Bonds verdict: A conviction likely to satisfy no one; Following a 12-day trial and four days of deliberation, the jury in the trial of baseball star Barry Bonds convicted him of obstruction of justice for lying to a grand jury in 2003 about steroid use." "Barry Bonds convicted of obstruction of justice in steroids case": Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. Lance Williams of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update headlined "Barry Bonds guilty of obstruction of justice." And The Associated Press reports that "Bonds guilty of obstruction of justice." "Justices Kennedy and Kagan return to Harvard Law School for Reunion Weekend": Harvard Law School issued this news release this past Sunday. Posted at 04:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Judicial vacancies create a 'crisis' for federal courts": Today's edition of The Daily Record of Jacksonville, Florida contains an article that begins, "The federal court system is facing a crisis with pending vacancies, The Jacksonville Bar Association was told Tuesday. 'We presently have a crisis in the federal judiciary in our country,' said Chief Judge Joel Dubina of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals." Posted at 03:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Stop using politics to block Liu's appointment to the 9th Circuit: The politics that have blocked Goodwin Liu's appointment to U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals help neither party." This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 09:26 AM by Howard Bashman "Craigslist ad leads to lawyer's suspension; Lancaster attorney offered to write academic papers for a fee": Today's edition of The Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette contains an article that begins, "A Lancaster lawyer has lost his job with the state Appeals Court and has been suspended from practice for six months after running an advertisement on Craigslist offering to write and edit papers and essays for students." Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Amendment would raise age limit for Ohio judges to 75": This article appears today in The Columbus Dispatch. Posted at 07:56 AM by Howard Bashman "State appeals court meets in Berks for first time": The Reading (Pa.) Eagle contains this article today. Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Kagan's government money grab; Obama team makes feds, not citizens, supreme": This editorial appears today in The Washington Times. Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Still no verdict in Barry Bonds trial after 3 days": Lance Williams has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. The New York Times reports today that "Jury to Continue Deliberating in Bonds Perjury Case." And The Associated Press has a report headlined "Bonds trial: Jury to deliberate for 4th day." "Wisconsin Awaits Outcome of Supreme Court Vote": This article appears today in The New York Times. And The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports today that "Nickolaus fends off calls for resignation; Waukesha County clerk vows to implement improved practices." "Appeals court says Orlando can restrict feeding of homeless downtown": The Orlando Sentinel contains this article today. My earlier coverage of yesterday's en banc Eleventh Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Federal judge rules Easton Area School District cannot ban 'I Heart Boobies' bracelets during lawsuit": The Express-Times of Easton, Pennsylvania contains this article today. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports today that "U.S. judge sides with middle schoolers suspended for wearing 'I (heart) Boobies' bracelets." And The Allentown Morning Call reports that "Judge: 'Boobies' bands OK; Easton Area middle school students' bracelets are ruled not lewd or disruptive." My earlier coverage of yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania appears at this link. Tuesday, April 12, 2011 "Virginia Thomas builds tea party network": Politico.com has this report. Posted at 08:45 PM by Howard Bashman Majority on divided three-judge Fourth Circuit panel rules against so-called "frozen sperm kid": The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued this ruling today. My post from June 2004 about a Ninth Circuit ruling that reached the opposite result can be accessed here. And a related post from January 2008 can be accessed here. "Orlando can restrict feeding the homeless, rules 11th Circuit; Feeding the hungry may be an expression of free speech, but cities can still put 'reasonable' restrictions on it, ruled the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in a unanimous decision": Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Court upholds Orlando's homeless feeding rules." You can access today's ruling of a unanimous en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. "Gay dads lose La. birth certificate case": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today. My earlier coverage of the case appears at this link. "Justices, Judges, Lawyers Poke Fun at Mock Trial": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 06:18 PM by Howard Bashman "You Call That a Trial? A Costly Superior Court Waiver Ruling." In today's installment of The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers, appears this month's installment of my "Upon Further Review" column. The ruling from last month of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania that is the subject of my column this month can be accessed here. "Students can wear 'I ♥ Boobies' bracelets; Judge: Easton middle school students' jewelry is not lewd or disruptive." The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "'Boobies' bracelets ruled OK in Pa. school for now." I have posted online today's opinion and order of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Now researchers can undertake to ascertain whether any previously issued judicial opinion makes more frequent use of the ♥ symbol. Monday, April 11, 2011 Programming note: On Tuesday morning, I will be attending the oral argument of two related appeals before a three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Some earlier news coverage of these cases can be accessed here and here. Additional posts will appear on Tuesday afternoon. Posted at 11:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Padilla appeals decision over alleged torture": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A man convicted of plotting terrorism has appealed a judge's decision to throw out his lawsuit, which claimed he was tortured at a Navy brig in South Carolina. Court documents show Jose Padilla appealed his case April 5 to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals." Posted at 09:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court blocks Arizona immigration law": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this news update. Tuesday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined "Appeals Court Rules Against Arizona Law." The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Federal appeals court upholds injunction blocking Arizona immigration law; The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals turns down a request by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who had asked the jurists to lift an injunction imposed last year by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton; The immigration law had raised fears that Latinos would be harassed and had sparked strong protests." And The Associated Press reports that "Court won't lift stay on Arizona immigration law." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "Appeals court upholds Facebook deal from 2008; The federal appeals panel rules that the deal between Mark Zuckerberg and Harvard colleagues Divya Narendra and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss is valid and enforceable": Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. Tuesday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined "Court Upholds Facebook Settlement With Twins." Tuesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal will contain an article headlined "Winklevoss Twins Can't Back Out of Deal on Facebook, Judge Says." The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Winklevoss twins fraud case: Is 'Social Network' saga finally over?; Winklevoss twins lawyers argued that the twins' settlement with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg -- chronicled in 'The Social Network' -- was fraudulent; An appeals court disagreed, but the Winklevoss twins vow to fight on." Tuesday's edition of Financial Times reports that "Winklevoss twins lose Facebook fight." The Associated Press has a report headlined "Court: Harvard twins stuck with Facebook agreement." Bloomberg News reports that "Facebook Wins Decision Enforcing Winklevoss Settlement." And Reuters has a report headlined "Winklevoss twins must accept Facebook deal -- court." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "TN Senate to debate abortion revisions; Vote on constitutional amendment could put issue on Tenn. ballot": The Tennessean contains this article today. According to the article, "The Senate is taking up a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Tennessee Supreme Court ruling that has served as the foundation for abortion law in the state for more than a decade." Posted at 09:38 AM by Howard Bashman "Wanted: Supreme Court justice; Question is whether a woman replaces retiring Meierhenry." This article appears today in The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Posted at 09:34 AM by Howard Bashman "Discrimination case may not go all Wal-Mart's way": Reuters Legal has this news analysis. Posted at 09:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge allows lead-paint lawsuit to proceed; Adelman ruling contradicts peer's": Today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, "A federal judge in Milwaukee has issued a ruling that allows children poisoned by lead paint to pursue lawsuits against manufacturers through a 'risk contribution' theory that the state Legislature eliminated in a tort reform bill earlier this year. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman contradicts a decision issued in June by another federal judge, Rudolph Randa, and adds another layer to the conflicted picture of lead paint litigation in Wisconsin." Posted at 09:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Prisoners: The Guantanamo quagmire." Hendrik Hertzberg has this comment in the April 18, 2011 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Maine's 1st Circuit judge to take senior status": Saturday's edition of The Bangor Daily News contained an article that begins, "The only judge from Maine on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will assume senior status later this year and the search to replace him has begun." Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, April 10, 2011 "In Federal Court, a Docket Number for Global Terror": This article will appear Monday in The New York Times. Posted at 11:12 PM by Howard Bashman "N.Y. Times publishes opinion piece by man who sued D.A.'s office": The Times-Picayune of New Orleans has this news update. The article reports on the op-ed entitled "The Prosecution Rests, but I Can't" that John Thompson has in today's edition of The New York Times. "Several pivotal voting rights cases with N.C. ties still resonate; As legislators in the state and nationwide start redistricting, the names Gingles, Shaw and Strickland will be heard": This article appears today in The Charlotte Observer. Posted at 08:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court declines to clarify rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees": Robert Barnes will have this article Monday in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal judge, 103, still hearing cases in Kansas": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Prosser open to Waukesha County recount": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 08:14 PM by Howard Bashman "High court to address issue of lawyering": Today's edition of The Arizona Republic contains an article that begins, "Daniel Cook was scheduled to die by lethal execution last Tuesday morning in Florence for murdering two men in 1987. Cleve Foster was scheduled for execution that same evening in Huntsville, Texas, for a 2004 murder. But in the eleventh hour, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the executions of both men. The issue: how to address claims that their convictions and death sentences arose out of bad lawyering." Posted at 08:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Can you patent the building blocks of life?" Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 08:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Critics fault retired Justice O'Connor over ethics": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:02 PM by Howard Bashman Saturday, April 9, 2011 "Prosecutor's close in Bonds trial swings momentum": The Associated Press has this report. Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Lance Williams has an article headlined "No Bonds verdict - jurors rehear trainer on tape," while Bob Egelko reports that "Bonds' personal trainer released from prison." And The New York Times contains an article headlined "In San Francisco, Giants' Celebration Is Undimmed by Bonds's Trial." "Election officials scrutinize Waukesha County results; Supreme Court candidates line up top lawyers": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, along with an article headlined "Brookfield's totals, turnout are consistent; Supreme Court race results, which once-missing votes, align with usual patterns." Posted at 02:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Surfside's pride may be last for a while; Texas high court's decision likely to limit the rebuilding of beaches": Harvey Rice has this article today in The Houston Chronicle. Posted at 02:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Failed effort to remove Judge Steven Servaas now puts former state Supreme Court justice in hot seat": This article appears today in The Grand Rapids Press. Posted at 02:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Last week I had my day in (U.S. Supreme) Court": Fergus Cullen has this op-ed today in The Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader. Posted at 02:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Delay likely for Orie retrial; Lawyer files appeal, claiming bias, double jeopardy": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today that "Orie attorney appeals to state Superior Court." "Federal Judge Again Approves Bonus Fees to Civil Rights Lawyers; Despite high court's limits on bonuses to civil rights lawyers, judge says counsel for foster kids deserve one; the question is: 'How much?'" R. Robin McDonald of the Fulton County Daily Report has an article that begins, "The federal judge in Atlanta, whose bonus award to civil rights attorneys prompted the U.S. Supreme Court last year to place strict limits on such fees, has again found that a child welfare organization and its Atlanta legal partners deserve additional money for their work in reforming Georgia's foster care system." Posted at 02:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Virginia Lacks Standing to Challenge Obama's Health-Care Law, U.S. Says": Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 01:58 PM by Howard Bashman "A judge blasts the Court: A senior federal Circuit judge bitterly assails the Supreme Court for its 2008 ruling in a major Guantanamo case, and suggests the Court lacks courage to take responsibility for the aftermath in lower courts; He also targets the Justice Department." Lyle Denniston had this post yesterday at "SCOTUSblog." And at the "Lawfare" blog, Benjamin Wittes has a post titled "Thoughts on Judge Silberman's Opinion." My earlier coverage of yesterday's D.C. Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Jan Crawford named CBS News political correspondent": Congratulations to "How Appealing" reader Jan Crawford of CBS News on her new assignment for the network, which is likely to result in significantly more airtime in the weeks and months ahead. Mike Allen has the news in today's installment of his "Playbook" column at Politico.com. No word yet on who will take over covering important U.S. Supreme Court rulings for the network. Posted at 01:42 PM by Howard Bashman Friday, April 8, 2011 Tony Mauro is reporting at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Today he has posts titled "Supreme Court Will Stay Open Through Shutdown -- At Least for a Week" and "Silberman Speaks Out on Supreme Court Ethics." Posted at 09:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Wis. court challenger raising recount dollars": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 05:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Phil Donahue to pinch hit for Justice Breyer at Truman event": The Kansas City Star has this news update. Posted at 05:22 PM by Howard Bashman "One does not have to be a 'Posnerian' -- a believer that virtually all law and regulation should be judged in accordance with a cost/benefit analysis -- to recognize this uncomfortable fact." In a concurring opinion issued to explain why Guantanamo detainees suspected of engaging in the war on terror should bear a heavier burden than the common domestic criminal to obtain freedom, Senior Circuit Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today gives a shout-out to Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner. And for those who wish that there were more than just one Richard Posner opining on legal issues, you are in luck! Earlier this week in The Nottingham (UK) Post, Richard Posner had an op-ed entitled "Expect jail even if you grow cannabis just for yourself." "Senate panel again OKs Liu for appellate court": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post titled "Alito Opposition Still Haunts 9th Circuit Nominee." "Corrected Brookfield tally puts Prosser ahead after 7,500-vote gain": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, along with an article headlined "Waukesha turnout low before discovery; 14,000 additional votes put it on par." The New York Times reports today that "Justice Surges to Lead After Clerk Reports Vote Error." The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin reports that "High-profile lawyers retained for possible Supreme Court recount." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Wisconsin high court election turned on its head; The challenger to conservative Supreme Court Justice David Prosser had already declared victory in a vote that drew national attention because of the state's union battle; Then Waukesha County's clerk announced she had neglected to count 14,000 votes." And The Wall Street Journal reports that "Incumbent Justice Leads." "Bonds was either truthful or hiding his secret": Lance Williams has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. In today's edition of The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz reports that "Federal jury now deciding Barry Bonds perjury case." Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times reports that "Prosecutor says Bonds lied under oath to protect 'powerful secret'; The assistant U.S. attorney says the home run king took steroids to make him strong but couldn't admit it because it was too humiliating; Defense lawyers say the government pursued him because he refused to be intimidated." And The New York Times contains an article headlined "After Final Entreaties, Jury Gets Bonds Case." Thursday, April 7, 2011 "Appeals court rebuffs man seeking Obama birth certificate": The Honolulu Star-Advertiser has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Hawaii appeals court rejects 'birther' appeal." Today's ruling of the Intermediate Court of Appeals of Hawaii consists of the opinion of the court and a concurring opinion. "Prosser gains 7,500 votes in Waukesha County": The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a news update that begins, "In a political bombshell, the clerk in a Republican stronghold released new vote totals adding a net total of 7,582 new votes in the tight state Supreme Court race to Justice David Prosser, swinging the race significantly in his favor." The newspaper also has a related update headlined "Prosser's huge gain comes after Waukesha County flub is caught." And in other coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Wis. corrects vote count, gives incumbent big lead." Ninth Circuit mentioned on this week's episode of NBC's "The Event": In this past Monday's episode of NBC's "The Event," President Martinez stated that his predecessor appointed an extra-terrestrial judge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. President Martinez, however, did not disclose the identity of the Ninth Circuit judge in question. Posted at 05:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Latest vote counts give edge to Prosser": The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a news update that begins, "Wisconsin's whipsaw of a Supreme Court election kept jiggling Thursday, as the first statewide recount in two decades loomed and the ongoing process of officially counting ballots appeared to swing the unofficial winner from the challenger to the incumbent." Posted at 05:04 PM by Howard Bashman "The appeal requires us to construe the statutory term 'sexual activity'--surprisingly an issue on which there is very little law." So explains an opinion that Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued today on behalf of the majority on a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Posted at 03:04 PM by Howard Bashman "How to fix 'massive crisis' in immigration courts": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 12:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Ark. court strikes down law barring gay adoptions": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Arkansas issued today. Posted at 12:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Greenbrier to close casino during judicial conference": This article appeared yesterday in The Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette. Posted at 12:06 PM by Howard Bashman "E-mail trail shows SG office's maneuvers on Kagan and health care": Tony Mauro of The National Law Journal has this report (free registration required) about an article headlined "Should Kagan Recuse from Health Cases? Internal DOJ Emails Raise Questions" and related documents that CNSnews.com has posted. Posted at 08:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Gov. Rick Scott agrees to a loan to keep state court system running": The St. Petersburg Times contains this article today. And The Associated Press reports that "House speaker presents revised court reform bills." "High court to weigh smoking-ban fines": This article appears today in The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. And Jim Provance of The Toledo Blade reports today that "Ohio Supreme Court to weigh ban on smoking." "Vaughn Walker, retired judge, reflects on Prop. 8": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And Dan Levine of Reuters has an article headlined "U.S. gay judge never thought to drop marriage case; Prop 8 judge discusses his orientation for first time; Retired from federal bench in February." "Barry Bonds trial: Defense rests, case soon to jury." Lance Williams has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. In today's edition of The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz reports that "Barry Bonds rests his case without taking a swing." Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times reports that "Barry Bonds' defense rests without calling a single witness in perjury trial; Prosecutors drop one of five felony counts against the Giants slugger, who is accused of lying under oath when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs." And The New York Times reports that "Jury May Get Bonds's Case Thursday." "Gitmo Fatigue at the Supreme Court": Linda Greenhouse has this post at the "Opinionator" blog of The New York Times. Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "State Supreme Court race headed for likely recount; First statewide recount in more than 20 years raises political stakes, fuels union battle": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, April 6, 2011 "Senate must confirm Goodwin Liu to appellate court": This editorial appears today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "With 100% of vote counted, Kloppenburg clings to narrow lead; recount expected": The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this news update. And The Wisconsin State Journal has a news update headlined "Supreme Court vote doesn't shake Walker's resolve." "Appeals court says Skilling convictions will stick": The Houston Chronicle has this news update. The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court upholds ex-Enron CEO's convictions." Bloomberg News reports that "Enron Ex-Chief Jeffrey Skilling's Convictions Confirmed by Appeals Court." And Reuters reports that "U.S. appeals court upholds Jeff Skilling conviction." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. "Judiciary Could Limp Through Shutdown -- for a While": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post that begins, "As most of the federal government and those who depend on it brace for a possible partial shutdown, the federal judiciary says there should be no visible disruption in its operations for two weeks." Posted at 06:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Wis. court election courts disaster": Law professor Richard L. Hasen, author of the "Election Law Blog," has this essay at Politico.com. Posted at 05:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court Hands Big Win to Advocates of Free Faculty Speech in Ruling on Pundit-Professor": The Chronicle of Higher Education has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued today. Posted at 05:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court race too close to call; Kloppenburg has narrow lead over Prosser": The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this updated report. According to NBC affiliate TMJ4, with 100% of precincts reporting, challenger Joanne Kloppenburg received 740,090 votes, while incumbent David Prosser received 739,886 votes. Kentucky's "direct observation" method to obtain urine samples from pretrial releasees for drug testing does not violate the Fourth Amendment, majority on divided three-judge Sixth Circuit panel holds: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. Posted at 11:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court race still too close to call, Kloppenburg has narrow lead": The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this news update. The current vote tally (as of 10:12 a.m. central time) shows challenger Joanne Kloppenburg with a 311 vote lead over incumbent David Prosser. "Get Your Hands Off My Tax Deduction: The Supreme Court muddles through tax and religion." Avi Schick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Breyer: Little Rock rich in symbols." Arkansas News Bureau has this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Supreme Court's Breyer speaks on judges' role." "House push to remake Florida Supreme Court slows in Senate": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Chance and skill to Texas Hold'em: Swedish court." The Local of Stockholm, Sweden has this report. Posted at 08:34 AM by Howard Bashman "Supremely bad? Area case a top court 'worst'; Even the U.S. Supreme Court can get it horribly wrong, legal scholars say, and a 1930s ruling in a case from Luzerne County was a classic." Today's edition of The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania contains an article that begins, "A case that began in Luzerne County has been named one of the U.S. Supreme Court's biggest blunders by a panel of legal experts. The high court's 1938 decision in the Erie v. Tompkins case changed the procedure by which civil suits involving parties from different states are decided in federal court." Posted at 08:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Chief Justice Roberts makes under-the-radar visit to Utah": Today's edition of The Salt Lake Tribune contains an article that begins, "Third-year law student Rachel Wertheimer expected one of her professors or a guest lawyer to hear her argue for a hypothetical travel agency being sued by a Muslim man who claimed he had been wrongly fired because of his religion. So she was stunned when Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts heard her case, giving her the full Supreme Court treatment, diving in with questions before she finished her first sentence." Posted at 08:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge bars use of secret tape in Barry Bonds trial": Lance Williams has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Today in The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz reports that "The prosecution rests in Barry Bonds perjury trial." And The New York Times reports that "Recording Is Excluded in Case Against Bonds." "Bordentown man's jailhouse searches now a case for the Supreme Court": This front page article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 07:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court race still too close to call, Prosser has narrow lead": The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains this article today. The Wisconsin State Journal reports today that "Recount possible as Supreme Court race remains too close to call." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Wisconsin judicial election testing GOP's power is a nail-biter; With 97% of precincts reporting, a normally quiet election that became a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker's battle against public employee unions is too close to call." And The Wall Street Journal has a news update headlined "Wisconsin Judicial Vote Appears Headed for Recount." According to NBC News affiliate TMJ4, with 99% of precincts reporting, incumbent David Prosser has received 733,074 votes, while challenger Joanne Kloppenburg has received 732,489 votes. Tuesday, April 5, 2011 "Might a military jury deny 9/11 suspect's death wish? Under military commission rules, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed cannot plead guilty to a crime that carries the death penalty, even though he wants it; And a military jury might be less likely than a civilian one to grant his wish." The Los Angeles Times has this news update. Posted at 10:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Wisconsin Labor Battle in Background of Judicial Race": The New York Times has this news update. You can view updated election results for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race by clicking here. "Gitmo: The prison that keeps causing trouble." Pete Yost of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 06:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Lisa Montgomery's conviction upheld": The Kansas City Star has a news update that begins, "A federal appeals court panel today upheld Lisa Montgomery's conviction in the 2004 slaying of Bobbie Jo Stinnett of Skidmore, Mo., and the kidnapping of Stinnett's unborn child." Today's ruling of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed both the conviction and death sentence that resulted. Distinguishing between "lascivious" and "mere nudity": The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued this ruling today. Posted at 04:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Immigration court: Troubled system, long waits." The Associated Press has this lengthy report, the first in a multi-part series Posted at 04:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Tulane law professor being vetted for possible federal appeals court appointment": Bruce Alpert of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans has a news update that begins, "The White House is vetting a Tulane University law professor for a possible appointment to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Stephen Griffin wasn't on a list of four potential nominees that Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., sent to President Barack Obama last November, but is undergoing a background check for the court vacancy, sources said Monday." Posted at 03:44 PM by Howard Bashman "In a Reversal, Military Trials for 9/11 Cases": Charlie Savage has this article today in The New York Times. In today's edition of The Miami Herald, Carol Rosenberg reports that "US reverses, alleged 9/11 plotters to get tribunals." The Washington Post reports that "Khalid Sheik Mohammed to be tried by military commission." The Los Angeles Times reports that "Obama administration won't pursue civilian trials for 9/11 suspects; The administration acquiesces to GOP demands that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four suspected co-conspirators be tried before a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay." And Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "In abrupt reversal, 9/11 suspects to get Guantanamo military tribunals; The Obama administration had wanted to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 suspects in a civilian court in New York; It abandoned that plan Monday in favor of military tribunals." "Senate Confirms Reyna Judicial Nomination": The blog "SENATUS" has this post. And the Hispanic National Bar Association has issued a news release headlined "U.S. Senate Confirms Jimmie V. Reyna, Esq. as Circuit Judge; First Latino to Serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit." "Appeals Court Strengthens Warrantless Searches at Border": David Kravets had this post yesterday at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog. Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Cowardly, Stupid, and Tragically Wrong: The Obama administration's appalling decision to give Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a military trial." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court restores death sentence in 1982 Tarzana murders; By a 5-4 vote, the justices conclude that federal judges were wrong to have overturned Van Nuys resident Scott Pinholster's original sentence after evidence of his childhood brain injuries was presented": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that "Supreme Court reinstates death penalty for California killer." "Student fights music-sharing fine; Case is first to hit federal appeals court": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. And The Boston Herald reports today that "Appeals heard in BU student's illegal-downloading case." The blog "Recording Industry vs The People" links to the appellate briefs in a post that you can access here. You can download the audio of yesterday's oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit via this link (19.0MB mp3 audio file). "Contentious races on ballot; Ballot includes state Supreme Court, Milwaukee County executive": The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains this article today. Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, April 4, 2011 "Wisconsin Judicial Election Is a Referendum on a Lightning-Rod Governor": This article will appear Tuesday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Wisconsin Supreme Court Race May Help Decide Union Law's Fate": Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 09:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge race's next stop: U.S. Supreme Court." The Cincinnati Enquirer has a news update that begins, "The winner of Hamilton County's juvenile court judge race might be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court." Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Patrick nominates first openly gay justice to Mass. high court": The Boston Globe has this news update. The Boston Herald has a news update headlined "Governor names openly gay Barbara Lenk to SJC." And Tuesday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined "Lesbian Judge Chosen for Top Massachusetts Court." "U.S. Supreme Court to hear case on strip searches performed on N.J. man accused of unpaid traffic fine": The Newark Star-Ledger has this news update. The Philadelphia Inquirer has a news update headlined "High Court to hear S.J. strip-search case." And Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "High court to examine strips searches for minor offenses." "Judges Leaning Toward Massey in Upper Big Branch Case": Laurence Hurley of Greenwire has this report (via The New York Times) on a case argued today at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Posted at 08:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Allow Tax Credit for Religious Tuition": Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update. David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Supreme Court supports tax breaks that subsidize religious schools; The court rules, 5-4, in favor of Arizona tax credits for those who give money to parochial schools and says the credits cannot be challenged as unconstitutional; Justice Elena Kagan dissents, objecting to the court's distinction between tax breaks and tax subsidies." The Arizona Republic has a news update headlined "High court upholds Arizona's tuition tax-credit program." And Howard Fischer of The Arizona Daily Star has a news update headlined "Supreme Court upholds Arizona's private school tax break." "Nice Argument Counselor, but Let's Hear Mine": In Tuesday's edition of The New York Times, Adam Liptak will have a new installment of his "Sidebar" column that begins, "If you didn't know it was a Supreme Court argument, you might think you were seeing a catastrophically overbooked cable television show. The justices of late have been jostling for judicial airtime in a sort of verbal roller derby." Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Bonds' trial delayed, feds unearth new recording": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A juror called in sick at the Barry Bonds perjury trial Monday, forcing testimony to be postponed, while the government tried to get new evidence admitted that could abruptly turn the case in its favor." Posted at 02:37 PM by Howard Bashman "With Stakes High, N.F.L. Relies on a Star Lawyer": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 01:20 PM by Howard Bashman "In Reversal, 9/11 Plotter to Be Tried by Military Panel": Charlie Savage of The New York Times has this news update. Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald has a news update headlined "Obama reverses course: No civilian trial for 9/11 plotters." And Pete Yost of The Associated Press has a report that begins, "AP source: 9/11 suspects to face military tribunal." "Medical marijuana users fight for gun rights": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman Access online today's Order List and rulings in argued cases of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court today issued two rulings in argued cases. 1. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court in Cullen v. Pinholster, No. 09-1088. You can access the oral argument via this link. The Chief Justice and Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony M. Kennedy joined the ruling in full. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. issued an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment. Justice Stephen G. Breyer issued an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan joined in part. Justices Ginsburg and Kagan also joined in the majority opinion in part. 2. And Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court in Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, No. 09-987. You can access the oral argument via this link. The Chief Justice and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito joined in the ruling. Justice Scalia issued a concurring opinion, in which Justice Thomas joined. Justice Kagan issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor joined. You can access today's Order List at this link. The Court granted review in two cases. In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Court leaves in place Ariz. school tax break"; "Court reinstates death penalty for inmate"; and "High court nixes new appeals from Gitmo detainees." "Government appeals judge's health care ruling": The Associated Press has this report on the appellate brief that the federal government has filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Update: You can access the opening brief that the federal government filed in the Eleventh Circuit by clicking here (via "aca litigation blog"). "Union fight hits Wisconsin court race": Politico.com has this report. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Money Talks: The Supreme Court looks set to hand the G.O.P. another victory." Jeffrey Toobin has this comment in the April 11, 2011 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, April 3, 2011 "Santa Cruz County loses drug suit at high court": Jason Hoppin has this article today in The Santa Cruz Sentinel. Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman "High court takes on custody rights": This article appears today in The Omaha World-Herald. Posted at 10:37 AM by Howard Bashman "In St. Louis, a protest sign meets government arrogance": In today's edition of The Washington Post, columnist George F. Will has an op-ed that begins, "A dialectic of judicial deference and political arrogance is on display in St. Louis." Posted at 10:34 AM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Women may get the shaft in Walmart suit." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 10:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Bit players dominate state Supreme Court race; Candidates' resumes largely forgotten as co-stars take center stage in Prosser, Kloppenburg race": This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 10:11 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, April 2, 2011 "Little headway made at Guantanamo; Lawyers fighting to free detainees thought they gained ground in 2008 when the Supreme Court gave prisoners the right to a trial and Obama was elected president; But nothing much has changed, and now a series of appeals may be doomed": David G. Savage will have this article Sunday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman Law professors debate federal healthcare mandate in Sunday's edition of The Boston Globe: Law professor Laurence H. Tribe will have an op-ed entitled "Congress can compel action due to public necessity." And law professor Randy E. Barnett will have an op-ed entitled "Congress has no power to mandate purchases." "Supreme Court shields prosecutors in wrongful convictions; Though new DNA testing has shown hundreds of convicts to be innocent, the court has protected prosecutors from lawsuits and balked at letting prisoners reopen cases": David G. Savage will have this article Sunday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 11:38 PM by Howard Bashman "When a Lawsuit Is Too Big": Adam Liptak will have this article in the Week in Review section of Sunday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 11:35 PM by Howard Bashman "A Statistical Test Gets Its Closeup": WSJ.com's "The Numbers Guy" blog has a post that begins, "My print column this week examines the concept of statistical significance -- a concept that the Supreme Court recently weighed in on, but that remains elusive even to some scientists who use it to determine whether their experimental findings are worth reporting." The print column in question is headlined "Making a Stat Less Significant," and it begins, "A group of mathematicians has been trying for years to have a core statistical concept debunked. Now, the Supreme Cout might have done it for them." "Report: Outside interests have spent $2.16 million on Supreme Court race ads." This article appears today in The Wisconsin State Journal. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Man Wrongly Convicted: Are Prosecutors Liable?" Nina Totenberg had this audio segment on today's broadcast of NPR's "Weekend Edition Saturday." Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Making a case vs. Obama's health care law; Legal scholar's opposition gets attention": Today's edition of The Boston Globe contains an article that begins, "Libertarian legal scholar Randy Barnett, a former Boston University professor who now teaches at Georgetown, fulfilled a lifelong wish three years ago when he appeared in a low-budget sci-fi movie -- a genre-blending legal drama about an adolescent parasite from outer space. Most critics ignored it." Posted at 10:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Facebook's off the hook, but juror posting case could go far": The Sacramento Bee contains this article today. Posted at 09:57 AM by Howard Bashman "The Phillies' Four Aces": This article will appear in tomorrow's edition of The New York Times Magazine. Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Legal scholars examine the U.S. high court's 'Supreme Mistakes'; A high-powered gathering of legal scholars at Pepperdine's law school look at five decisions widely considered the worst in the court's history; The rulings are presented as learning opportunities as well as thwarted justice": Carol J. Williams has this article [link corrected] today in The Los Angeles Times. Additional information on yesterday's program can be accessed via this link. Friday, April 1, 2011 "As Wisconsin's Battle Heads to Court, Unions Try to Oust a Judge; Next Tuesday's judicial election could swing the state Supreme Court majority from right to left": Columnist John Fund will have this op-ed Saturday in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 09:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Cruel but Not Unusual: Clarence Thomas writes one of the meanest Supreme Court decisions ever." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 09:26 PM by Howard Bashman Congratulations to "How Appealing" reader Ali Nathan: Yesterday, the White House issued a news release headlined "President Obama Names Alison J. Nathan as Nominee for the United States District Court." Posted at 09:24 PM by Howard Bashman On the agenda: It may be snowing outside, but here in Philadelphia it's also opening day for the Phillies. And that's where I'll be this afternoon. Additional posts will appear here later today. Update: Philadelphia Phillies 5, Houston Astros 4. You can access the MLB.com recaps and box score via this link. Additional coverage is available from The Philadelphia Inquirer; The Philadelphia Daily News; The Houston Chronicle; and The Associated Press. "Senate to Vote on Reyna Judicial Nomination": So reports the "SENATUS" blog in a post that you can access here. Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Denies $14 Million in Damages to Wrongly Convicted Louisiana Man; John Thompson Spent 14 Years on Death Row; Prosecution Withheld Evidence That Would Free Him": Ariane de Vogue of ABCNews.com has this report. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Ex-judge's battle could go to U.S. Supreme Court after state's rebuff; State court rejects Lokuta's attempt to return to bench": This article appears today in The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Ron Ramsey backs bill requiring judicial elections to force system's hand; Top Republican says he wants justices' attention": Today's edition of The Tennessean has an article that begins, "Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey says he will push through a bill that would require elections for the Supreme Court unless justices agree to help put the current appointment-based system into the state constitution." Posted at 08:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Cady will continue as chief justice": This article appears today in The Des Moines Register. Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "An ex-federal judge is expected to join prison ranks in El Reno": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A former federal judge sentenced to 30 days in prison for drug-related crimes involving a stripper was ordered to report to a federal prison in Oklahoma on April 15." Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Barry Bonds trial: Surgeon contradicts key witness." Lance Williams has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. In today's edition of The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz has an article headlined "Best of days, worst of days for Bonds prosecution." And The New York Times reports that "Former Assistant Testifies She Saw Trainer Inject Bonds." 
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