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Saturday, December 31, 2011 Happy New Year! Wishing "How Appealing" readers all the best in 2012. Believe it or not, this blog will turn ten years old on May 6, 2012. Posted at 07:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Roberts defends Supreme Court colleagues on recusal issue": Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has this news update. David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled "Chief Justice Roberts says high court not exempt from ethics rules." Joan Biskupic of USA Today has a news update headlined "Chief Justice defends Supreme Court's recusal policy." Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal has a news update headlined "Chief Justice Responds to Recusal Calls in Health-Care Case." You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News. Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Chief justice addresses ethics and recusal questions in year-end report." Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has a blog post titled "Chief Justice Roberts Responds to Judicial Ethics Critics." The Associated Press reports that "Chief justice defends court's impartiality." Seth Stern of Bloomberg News reports that "U.S. Chief Justice Offers Confidence in Recusals." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Roberts defends justices on healthcare recusal issue." At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "In Annual Report, Roberts Defends Supreme Court Ethics Procedures." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "A defense of Justices' ethics." You can access at this link the "2011 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary" that Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. issued this evening. "Michigan Supreme Court orders Rosa Parks estate returned to longtime friend, institute": David Ashenfelter has this article today in The Detroit Free Press. Posted at 02:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Court wisely draws a line of privacy; Owner goes too far when he installed a camera": Today's edition of The Des Moines Register contains an editorial that begins, "If a tree falls in the forest when no one is present, does it make a sound? If a hidden camera is installed in a bathroom but isn't used, has anyone's privacy been invaded? The first question is a matter of philosophy or physics, the second is a matter of law. The Iowa Supreme Court's answer is yes, it is possible to invade someone's privacy by installing a camera in a bathroom even if there is no evidence it was used." You can access the rulings that the Supreme Court of Iowa issued two Fridays ago in two related cases here and here. Friday, December 30, 2011 "Citing Gableman legal work, DA asks justices to reopen bargaining case": Patrick Marley of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a news update that begins, "The Dane County district attorney asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to reopen this summer's collective bargaining case because he said Justice Michael Gableman was wrong to participate in the matter." The Wisconsin State Journal has a news update headlined "Ozanne asks high court to vacate ruling on collective bargaining law." And The Associated Press reports that "DA asks Wis. Supreme Court to reopen union lawsuit." The Wisconsin State Journal has posted online the motion for recusal, the memorandum of law in support thereof, and a related affidavit. "Supreme Court upholds state ban on corporation spending": The Billings Gazette has this news update. The Associated Press reports that "MT court restores corporate campaign spending ban." At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "A Citizens United sequel: different result." And at "The Volokh Conspiracy," Eugene Volokh has a post titled "Montana Supreme Court vs. the United States Supreme Court." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Montana at this link. "Holder's Voting Rights Gamble: The Supreme Court's voter ID showdown." Law professor Richard L. Hasen -- author of the "Election Law Blog" -- has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 01:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Analysis: Health care's legal, political fate." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Gary Haugen describes life on death row; He slams governor for granting reprieve": This article appears today in The Statesman Journal of Salem, Oregon. Posted at 08:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Janine Orie ordered to stand trial": Today's edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contains an article that begins, "The former chief law clerk for state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin told a judge Thursday that she did political work on state time -- from speech writing to working polls -- at the direction of the justice's sister." And in today's edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Paula Reed Ward has an article headlined "'I knew it was wrong,' former law clerk says; Orie sister accused of using state staff for judge campaign." Thursday, December 29, 2011 "The 'People's Veto': A way to keep the courts in check." Thomas Donnelly has this essay online at The Washington Post. Posted at 11:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Telecom customers may sue government over wiretapping, court says; An appellate panel reinstates a lawsuit against the federal government over post-9/11 warrantless wiretapping and sends the case back to U.S. district court for trial": Carol J. Williams will have this article Friday in The Los Angeles Times. And at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog, David Kravets has a post titled "Court Revives NSA Dragnet Surveillance Case." My earlier coverage of today's three related Ninth Circuit rulings (rulings that can be accessed here, here, and here) appears at this link. "Heller Attorneys Awarded $1.1M in Fees, One-Third of Their Request": Sam Skolnik has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." And The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Judge orders D.C. to pay $1.1 million in legal fees for handgun ownership lawsuit." My earlier coverage of today's ruling appears at this link. "When the police find a plastic baggie full of suspected drugs attached to a man's penis, does it violate the Fourth Amendment for the police to cut it off with a knife?" So begins a post at "walshslaw" reporting on a ruling that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued today. Lest there be any misunderstanding, the "it" that was cut off was the baggie, and not the man's penis. Update: At "The Volokh Conspiracy," Orin Kerr has a post titled "Fourth Circuit Overturns Conviction Because Officer Used A Knife to Remove the Crack Tied Around An Arrestee's Private Parts." And "walshslaw" has a follow-up post titled "How likely is it that a police officer will mistakenly cut when using a knife to remove a drug-containing baggie tied around a particular male body part?" "DC ordered to pay $1M in historic gun case": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The District of Columbia has been ordered to pay more than $1 million in attorneys' fees as a result of a historic gun case that was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia at this link. "2011: The Year Intellectual Property Trumped Civil Liberties." David Kravets has this post today at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog. Posted at 02:50 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. court upholds telecom immunity for surveillance": Dan Levine of Reuters has a report that begins, "A U.S. appeals panel on Thursday upheld immunity for telecom companies that assist the U.S. government in conducting surveillance of American citizens." The same three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued three separate decisions on three related appeals today, and you can access those three rulings here, here, and here. Update: In other coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Federal court revives government wiretapping suit." "California Supreme Court allows redevelopment money grab": Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has this update. Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled "State Supreme Court upholds abolition of redevelopment agencies." The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update headlined "State wins right to abolish redevelopment agencies." The San Diego Union-Tribune has a news update headlined "Redevelopment dead, court says; California Supreme Court says local agencies can't remain by paying state." The Sacramento Bee has a blog post titled "California high court says state can eliminate redevelopment." And The Associated Press reports that "Court splits decision over redevelopment funding." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link. "King Newt takes on the judges": Roger Pilon has this op-ed today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 09:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Alabama voters often in the dark on judicial races": This article appears today in The Birmingham News. Posted at 09:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Man charged with felony for reading wife's e-mail ready to take case to Michigan Supreme Court": Today's edition of The Detroit Free Press contains an article that begins, "A Rochester Hills man charged with a five-year felony for reading his wife's e-mail pledged Wednesday to take the matter to the state's highest court after a lower court refused to dismiss the charge." And The Daily Tribune of Mount Clemens, Michigan reported yesterday that "E-mail snooper loses appellate bid." You can access Tuesday's unpublished ruling of the Michigan Court of Appeals at this link. "Gingrich's plan on courts would face resistance": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 08:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Gov. Jerry Brown weighs clemency petition for a grandmother; Brown is being asked to commute the 15-year-to-life sentence of Shirley Ree Smith, convicted of killing her grandchild; An appeals court had overturned her conviction; the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, December 28, 2011 "Immigration laws pose a test of states' rights in Supreme Court; Strict new immigration laws in six states have been partially blocked by lower courts, but they are expected to receive a more favorable ruling by the Supreme Court": David G. Savage and Carol J. Williams will have this article Thursday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 09:12 PM by Howard Bashman "What We Think About When We Think About the Court": Linda Greenhouse has this post at the "Opinionator" blog of The New York Times. Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman Received in today's mail: A copy of the book "Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy," written by Mark Herrmann and David B. Alden. Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Jury awards $100,000 in torso pictures case; Photos were published in Riverfront Times; woman's lawyers had sought millions": This article appeared in the November 17, 2009 issue of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issue a ruling that agreed with the woman's argument that she was entitled to a new trial on the issue of punitive damages. "At U. of Iowa College of Law, an Allegation of Political Hiring": Dan Slater had this post at WSJ.com's "Law Blog" back in January 2009. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued this ruling in the case. Posted at 03:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court: Ark. can't stop desegregation funds." The AP has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued today. Posted at 01:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court upholds convictions in Fort Dix plot": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued today. Posted at 01:44 PM by Howard Bashman "This time, the 9th Circuit's 'judicial activists' got it right": Columnist George F. Will has this essay today. Posted at 11:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Federal court upholds ruling that billionaire investor Phillip Anschutz owed $94 million in taxes": This article appears today in The Denver Post reporting on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued yesterday. Posted at 08:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Overturning of Prop. 13 sought in lawsuit": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 08:16 AM by Howard Bashman "Gingrich, Perry dismiss ability of courts to end anti-abortion law": The Hill has a report that begins, "GOP presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry said the Supreme Court should not be able to challenge anti-abortion measures during a GOP candidates' forum Tuesday night." Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "County says Supreme Court should hear prayer case": Today's edition of The Winston-Salem Journal contains an article that begins, "Forsyth County has filed its final brief in its effort to have the U.S. Supreme Court take up its appeal of a lower court's ruling against sectarian prayers at meetings of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners." Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, December 27, 2011 "Romney slams Gingrich on 'activist judges' stance": The Boston Globe has this news update. Posted at 09:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Battling Anew Over the Place of Religion in Public Schools": Wednesday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, "It has been nearly 50 years since the Supreme Court ruled that officially sponsored prayer in public schools violated the separation of church and state." Posted at 09:46 PM by Howard Bashman "Copyright Troll's Domain Name Auctioned to Pay Legal Fees": David Kravets has this post at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog. Posted at 09:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawyer McKenna sues R.I. chief justice, officials over probe of his finances": The Providence Journal has this news update. And WPRI 12 reports that "Outspoken attorney sues Supreme Court; Former AG candidate says First Amendment violated." You can view a copy of the complaint initiating suit at this link. "Proposed Guantanamo rule change sparks backlash": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The new commander of the Guantanamo Bay prison is seeking to impose significant changes to communications allowed between lawyers and prisoners facing war-crimes charges at the U.S. base in Cuba, The Associated Press has learned." Posted at 04:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Holder's Legacy": Online today at The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin has a blog post that begins, "Two years ago, the Supreme Court decided a case that may, it now appears, save Barack Obama's chances at reelection--and, more importantly, preserve a precious corner of American democracy." Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Viewing justices, First Amendment through rhetorical lens": Ronald K.L. Collins has this essay online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman In the January 2012 issue of The ABA Journal magazine: Mark Walsh has an article headlined "A Fox Rerun: Justices Get a New Look at the Old Problem of Dirty Words." Anna Stolley Persky has an article headlined "An Arresting Development: Courts Split Over DNA Testing for Those Merely Charged with a Crime." And Kevin Davis has an article headlined "Journalism & Justice: Did Innocence Project Student Reporters Get Too Close to Lawyers?" "The Solicitor General of the United States: Tenth Justice or Zealous Advocate?" Adam D. Chandler has this comment in the December 2011 issue of The Yale Law Journal. Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Third Circuit's En Banc Opinion in De Beers Class Action Is No Gem, More Rough Than Diamond": Law professor Kevin C. Walsh has this post at his blog, "walshslaw." Posted at 09:57 AM by Howard Bashman "More proof that Canada's judges need closer scrutiny": Jacob Ziegel has this essay today in The National Post. Posted at 08:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Reynolds selects case to take to high court; At issue: people who smoked before warning-labels law": Today's edition of The Winston-Salem Journal contains an article that begins, "Reynolds American Inc. appears to have chosen at least one Engle legal case to take before the U.S. Supreme Court." Posted at 08:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Glass's Road to Redemption": In today's edition of The New York Times, columnist Joe Nocera has an op-ed that begins, "Early next week, a lawyer will file a brief with the California State Supreme Court, arguing that his client has the good moral character to be admitted to the California Bar. His client is Stephen Glass." Posted at 08:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Analysis: Health care's Medicaid expansion." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 08:26 AM by Howard Bashman "California executions remain in everlasting limbo": Howard Mintz has this article today in The San Jose Mercury News. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Houston man whose case advanced gay rights dies": This obituary appears today in The Houston Chronicle. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "GOP campaign showcases role of federal judiciary": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Sandra Day O'Connor promotes civics education; Retired U.S. Supreme Court justice helped initiate an online program called iCivics because not enough Americans know how government works": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:07 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, December 26, 2011 "Rare but Grudging Judicial About-Face in Bias Case": Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. My most recent earlier coverage of the ruling in question can be accessed here. "Could Prop. 13 fall? A lawsuit argues that Prop. 13 was improperly approved; If it succeeded, it would wipe out a system that has governed California for more than 30 years." Columnist Jim Newton has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:09 AM by Howard Bashman "Saskatoon man's LEGO Supreme Court takes off online": Postmedia News of Canada has this report. You can view images of the LEGO replica here and here. "Stephen Glass' lies in focus as he seeks law license": Bob Egelko has this front page article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Lawyer relishes tough and unpopular cases before Supreme Court; Paul D. Clement is taking on the Obama administration in politically charged disputes over healthcare, immigration and redistricting": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, December 25, 2011 "Abortion opponents heartened by Pennsylvania high court ruling": This article appeared yesterday in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. My earlier coverage of the Pa. Supreme Court's ruling appears at this link. "Yes, Virginia, there is a Supreme Court": UPI has this report. Posted at 10:05 PM by Howard Bashman Saturday, December 24, 2011 "California chief justice urges reevaluating death penalty; Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, one of the high court's more conservative members, says the death penalty is no longer working for the state": In today's edition of The Los Angeles Times, Maura Dolan has an article that begins, "Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who heads the state's judicial branch and its highest court, said in an interview that the death penalty is no longer effective in California and suggested she would welcome a public debate on its merits and costs." Posted at 01:33 PM by Howard Bashman "New Pro Bono Case on Whether First Amendment Libel Rules Are Limited to Institutional Media Defendants": Eugene Volokh has this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy." My earlier coverage of this case appears here and here. "John Lawrence, Plaintiff in Gay Rights Case, Dies at 68": Adam Liptak has written this obituary published today in The New York Times. Posted at 01:18 PM by Howard Bashman Friday, December 23, 2011 "Chief counsel McDonald appointed to Md. high court; Governor fills 9 other judicial vacancies": This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun. And yesterday, Maryland's Governor issued a news release headlined "Governor O'Malley Appoints Judges to the Court of Appeals, Court of Special Appeals, Circuit Courts." The outfit worn by the judges serving on Maryland's highest court is particularly appropriate to this time of year. Thursday, December 22, 2011 "Court blocks Florida inmates from having pen pal ads": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Barry Bonds Appeals Obstruction of Justice Conviction in Steroids Probe": Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Pa. court: Not telling parents isn't basis for judges to deny permission for girls' abortions." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A county judge should not have decided a girl could not have an abortion simply because the teen did not tell her mother she was pregnant, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday as it clarified how minors can obtain the procedures." Today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consists of a majority opinion and an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. "Appeals court tosses Obama birthplace challenge": The Associated Press has this report on a lengthy ruling that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued in typescript today. Posted at 05:12 PM by Howard Bashman The perils of courtside seats at an NBA game: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in an unpublished per curiam opinion issued today, has reversed the dismissal of assault and battery claims against NBA superstar Kobe Bryant arising from contact between Bryant and a man seated front-row courtside during a game. Sadly, the spectator has since died, and the lawsuit alleges, among other things, that the death was due to the injuries sustained at the game. On a happier note, my son and I had the pleasure of sitting front-row courtside at a Philadelphia 76ers game last season. It was an amazing experience, and no injuries -- fatal or otherwise -- were sustained. Update: In other coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court in Ohio rules in fan-Bryant lawsuit." "Pa. court: Defendants must prove mental disability." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The state Supreme Court said on Wednesday juries will have to rule in most instances when a defendant in a death penalty case wants to argue that he or she is mentally disabled and therefore ineligible for execution." Yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consists of a majority opinion and an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. Poetic justice: Justice J. Michael Eakin of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, who on occasion will issue a rhyming opinion in the nature of poetry, did so again yesterday, via an opinion announcing the judgment of the court reversing an insurance fraud conviction. A three-page dissenting opinion, in which two justices have joined, is somewhat less poetic, although it does have the virtue of brevity. Update: At WSJ.com's "Law Blog," Joe Palazzolo has a post titled "Another Rhyming Opinion from Justice Eakin." At the ABA Journal's "Law News Now" blog, Debra Cassens Weiss has a post titled "Pennsylvania Justice Issues Another Rhyming Opinion." And The Associated Press reports that "Pa.'s rhyming justice pens insurance fraud opinion." Wednesday, December 21, 2011 "Utah Supreme Court rules unborn children qualify as minors": Today's edition of The Deseret News contains an article that begins, "The state's high court has determined that an unborn child qualifies as a minor child and, therefore, wrongful death lawsuits may be filed on behalf of those who die before birth. The decision stemmed from a case of a Utah County couple who filed a lawsuit after their child was stillborn in 2006. While the Utah Supreme Court justices did not issue a single majority opinion in the case, four of the five justices, through differing logic, came to the same conclusion." And The Salt Lake Tribune reports today that "Utah high court OKs wrongful death suits over fetuses; Couple sued government-subsidized clinic in Provo over delivery of stillborn boy in 2006." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Utah at this link. "Supreme Court Short List: Who Will Be America's Next Top Conservative Justice?" Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has this report. Posted at 08:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Challenge to NY campaign finance laws fails: US appeals court." Reuters has a report that begins, "A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday tossed out a challenge to New York City anti-corruption campaign finance laws, finding the so-called 'pay to play' rules do not violate free speech rights." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. "Texas pushes its election map": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." The post currently includes a "Note to Readers" that begins, "All briefs have now been filed in the Texas redistricting cases." Posted at 04:26 PM by Howard Bashman "Advertising Sex for World Series Tickets Is Not Attempted Prostitution": Eugene Volokh has this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy." Eugene helpfully links to this online copy of yesterday's unpublished memorandum opinion of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Yesterday, I had this post collecting news coverage of the ruling. Perhaps now that this perplexing legal uncertainty has been cleared-up, the Philadelphia Phillies will see fit to return to the World Series in 2012. "Court affirms $295 million De Beers settlement": Terry Baynes of Reuters has this report. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Newt and His Surprising Liberal Allies: He's not the only one who thinks there is a huge problem with giving the Supreme Court final say on the Constitution." Law professor Eric Posner has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 02:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Judges question Belle Meade Country Club membership after colleague's reprimand": This article appears today in The Tennessean. Posted at 02:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Gingrich Leads Revolt Against Judges": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 01:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Full appeals court to review whether Chafee can refuse to turn over accused killer in possible death-penalty case": The Providende (R.I.) Journal has a news update that begins, "The full 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider whether Governor Chafee has the right to refuse to surrender an accused murderer to federal authorities." You can access here the successful petition for rehearing en banc that the federal government filed in the case. I have posted today's order granting rehearing en banc at this link. Finally, you can access here my earlier coverage of the original three-judge panel's ruling. In the news: In today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers, Gina Passarella has an article headlined "3rd Circuit Revives $295 Million Antitrust Settlement With De Beers" in which I am quoted. My earlier coverage of yesterday's 171-page en banc Third Circuit ruling appears at this link. And today's edition of The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania contains an article headlined "Health trust appeal decision to come soon; Judge says he will rule on matter before his time on the bench ends Dec. 30" in which I am mentioned. Tuesday, December 20, 2011 "Group files formal request for Gableman ethics investigation": Patrick Marley of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a news update that begins, "A watchdog group filed a formal request Tuesday with the state Judicial Commission to investigate state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman's receipt of free legal services." Posted at 10:44 PM by Howard Bashman "A Matter of Trusts: What a lonely dissent in a trusts case tells us about Sonia Sotomayor." John Paul Rollert has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Court's file-sharing ruling favors Veoh Networks": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, "A federal appeals court ruled in favor of online file-sharing sites Tuesday in a battle with the music industry, saying a website owner that tries to keep users from posting copyrighted videos can't be sued for infringement by the publishing company that owns the copyrights." The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court upholds ruling in favor of Veoh." Terry Baynes of Reuters reports that "UMG loses appeal against video-sharing site." And The Hollywood Reporter has a blog post titled "Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Makes Landmark Ruling In Copyright Case; In an important victory to website owners, appellate circuit affirms that UGC site is eligible for statutory safe harbor from copyright liability." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. Received in today's mail: The Justice Harry A. Blackmun bobblehead doll, created by The Green Bag. And in somewhat related news, yesterday at :"The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro had a post titled "Roberts, Kagan Among Winners of Legal Writing Awards." "Court overturns sex for Phillies tickets case": The Philadelphia Inquirer has a news update that begins, "The Superior Court of Pennsylvania on Tuesday reversed the attempted prostitution conviction of a woman who was famously tried for trying to trade sex for Phillies World Series tickets." The Bucks County Courier Times has a news update headlined "Court overturns woman's sex-for-Phillies-tickets conviction." And The Associated Press reports that "Pa. court tosses sex-for-tickets conviction." I will post a link to today's ruling of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania once that court places the ruling online. Update: The Superior Court's electronic docket sheet for this appeal reveals that the decision reversing the conviction is an unpublished memorandum opinion, which means that the Superior Court won't itself be posting the decision online. By a vote of 7-2, en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed class certification of De Beers diamond nationwide antitrust settlement, notwithstanding that the laws of many states preclude indirect purchaser recovery: You can access today's 171-page ruling -- which consists of a majority opinion, a concurring opinion, and a lengthy and passionate dissenting opinion -- at this link. In the interest of full disclosure, I briefed and argued this case on behalf of the objector who prevailed before the original three-judge Third Circuit panel but who has not prevailed before the en banc court. Day one of the 90-day period in which to file a petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States is tomorrow. Programming note and today's music selection: I am in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania this morning in connection with a new appellate matter. Additional posts will appear here this afternoon. In the meantime, I am pleased to present today's music selection -- the song "Little Talks" by the Icelandic group Of Monsters and Men, video via KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle. "Gableman voted with law firm after receiving free legal services; He cast key vote in collective bargaining case": In today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Patrick Marley has an article that begins, "State Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman in two cases cast the deciding vote in favor of parties represented by a law firm that gave him tens of thousands of dollars of free legal services, a review of state records shows." Posted at 06:17 AM by Howard Bashman "A Landlord's Uphill Fight to Ease Rent Restrictions": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 06:14 AM by Howard Bashman "New cookbook: eating like a Supreme Court justice." The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 06:11 AM by Howard Bashman "Health trust board to appeal ruling; Group was directed to refund Dallas and Pittston Area school districts $5.1 million": This article, in which I am mentioned, appears today in The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Posted at 06:10 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, December 19, 2011 "On death row for 30 years, convicted Alabama cop-killer wins another appeal; A federal appeals court ruled Monday that convicted cop-killer Billy Joe Magwood, on death row since 1981, was not properly charged under Alabama statutes to qualify for capital punishment": Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this article. You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. "Supreme Court to hear arguments in March on healthcare law; The justices schedule 5 1/2 hours of argument, the most for a case since the 1960s, a sign they see it as a landmark test of federal regulatory power": David G. Savage will have this article Tuesday in The Los Angeles Times. Adam Liptak of The New York Times has a blog post titled "Supreme Court to Hear Health Care Case in Late March." The Washington Times has a news update headlined "Supreme Court to hear health care suit in March." The Wall Street Journal has news updates headlined "High Court to Hear Health-Care Case in March" and "Business Owner's Bankruptcy Disclosed to Supreme Court." Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press reports that "Court schedules week of health care arguments." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Health-Care Hearing Before U.S. Supreme Court Scheduled for March 26-28." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court sets Obama healthcare arguments." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Dates set for Supreme Court health care reform arguments." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has an article headlined "Obama Health Care Law: Supreme Court Sets Dates To Hear Oral Arguments." And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Marcia Coyle has a post titled "Supreme Court to Hear Healthcare Arguments Over Three-Day Period in March." "Courting Disaster: Newt Gingrich's ill-advised war on the only branch of government that people believe in." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:26 PM by Howard Bashman "Shelby, Thomas speak at federal courthouse dedication ceremony": The Tuscaloosa News has an update that begins, "With a spirit harking back to the founding of this country, the Tuscaloosa Federal Building and United States Courthouse officially was unveiled today with a formal dedication ceremony that featured U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby." And al.com reports that "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks at Tuscaloosa federal building dedication." Programming note: I will be in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania today and tomorrow morning in connection with a new matter. Additional posts will appear here later today. Posted at 07:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Affirmative-action foes urge Supreme Court to take Texas case": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Twice in a month, a Reed Smith lawyer appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court; David J. Bird, 37, a senior associate in the national appellate practice, accomplishes a dream": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Analysis: Health care's other mandate." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 07:24 AM by Howard Bashman "The Price to Play Its Way": In yesterday's edition of The New York Times, David Segal had this lengthy article about how needing to obtain American Bar Association accreditation significantly increases the tuition at new law schools. Posted at 07:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Thoughts on the Oral Arguments in United States v. Nosal": Orin Kerr has this post today at "The Volokh Conspiracy." Posted at 07:12 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, December 18, 2011 "Senators block Oklahoma City federal prosecutor from judge post; Opposition from Sens. Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe effectively kills chances for Arvo Mikkanen, an assistant U.S. attorney in Oklahoma City, who would have been the only American Indian on the federal bench": This article appears today in The Oklahoman. Posted at 11:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Gingrich Says He Would Arrest Judges With Capitol Police Or U.S. Marshals": Sam Stein of The Huffington Post has a report that begins, "With just weeks to go before the Iowa Caucus, Newt Gingrich has turned his presidential campaign into a veritable megaphone warning about the dangers and elitism of America's judicial system." The New York Times has a blog post titled "Gingrich Continues His Crusade Against Activist Judges." CBSNews.com has a report headlined "Gingrich: Gov't branches should rule 2 out of 3." The Associated Press reports that "Gingrich, again, assails judges." And Reuters has an article headlined "Under fire, Gingrich targets judges." "State supreme court to hear alienation of affection suit": Yesterday's edition of The Rapid City Journal contained an article that begins, "The South Dakota Supreme Court has agreed to hear a man's claim that the Pennington County state's attorney's actions violated a rarely invoked law leading to the breakup of his marriage." Posted at 02:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Congress' new terrorism rules leave open questions": Pete Yost of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 02:46 PM by Howard Bashman "Courthouse dedication set for Monday; Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Sen. Richard Shelby expected to speak": The Tuscaloosa News today contains an article that begins, "A grand opening and dedication ceremony will be held Monday morning at the Tuscaloosa Federal Building and Courthouse." You can view images of the new federal building and courthouse, along with related news coverage, here, here, and here. "Analysis: Deficit may be biggest threat to healthcare reforms." Reuters has a report that begins, "A mounting U.S. deficit could pose a much greater threat to the survival of President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms than either the Supreme Court or 2012 elections." Posted at 02:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Ending race-based admissions": Columnist Jeff Jacoby has this op-ed today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 02:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Arizona, Texas and healthcare reform." UPI has an article that begins, "The challenge to Arizona's stringent illegal alien law accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court last week is just the tip of the spear in the much larger battle over federalism, which pits the rights of the states against the steady concentration of federal power. Two other high-profile cases accepted by the Supreme Court this term, the challenge to the U.S. healthcare reform law and the fight over redistricting in Texas, also fit squarely into the federalism paradigm." Posted at 09:30 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, December 17, 2011 "Supreme Court's 2012 Decisions Could Sway Presidential Election": Law professor Adam Winkler has this essay online at The Daily Beast. Posted at 11:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Kentucky Supreme Court to hear Amish appeals": The Louisville Courier-Journal today contains an article that begins, "The Kentucky Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeals of nine Amish men who were convicted in Graves County for refusing on religious grounds to use a bright orange-red safety triangle on their horse-drawn buggies." Posted at 11:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Joan Orie Melvin's sister faces four additional charges": Today's edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contains an article that begins, "Allegheny County prosecutors filed new corruption charges on Friday against a sister of state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin and painted a picture of a judicial office immersed in partisan politics for almost two decades." And today's edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains an article headlined "New charges filed against Janine Orie; Justice Melvin's staff offers testimony." The newspaper has also posted online the grand jury presentment and the criminal complaint. "Brief filed against Forsyth appeal on prayer": The Winston-Salem Journal has an article that begins, "Attorneys for two women who sued Forsyth County over sectarian prayers at county commissioners' meetings are asking the U.S. Supreme Court not to consider the county's appeal of a lower-court ruling that bans such prayers." Posted at 10:36 PM by Howard Bashman "Republicans block recess appointments": Politico.com has this report. Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Newt Gingrich says he'd defy Supreme Court rulings he opposed": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Newt Gingrich's assault on 'activist judges' draws criticism, even from right." The New York Times has a blog post titled "Gingrich Looks to Make 'Activist' Judges an Issue." McClatchy Newspapers report that "Gingrich rails at courts, suggests ignoring rulings." The Washington Times has a news update headlined "Gingrich expands call to reel in federal courts." And The Hill reports that "Gingrich ramps up objections to judicial branch's power." "Illegal immigrants have no right to arms -- court": Terry Baynes of Reuters has this report. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Eighth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Appeals court backs off 'boy' ruling": Today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bill Rankin has an article that begins, "The federal appeals court in Atlanta has backed off a controversial ruling issued a year ago that threw out a race discrimination verdict in favor of an African-American poultry worker who had been called 'boy' by his white supervisor at a Tyson Foods plant." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. Friday, December 16, 2011 "Judge mulls overturning federal marriage law": Reuters has a report that begins, "A U.S. judge appeared sympathetic to a lesbian federal employee's bid to strike down a law denying health-insurance benefits to her spouse, in the first hearing since the Obama administration decided to quit defending the statute." The Associated Press reports that "Lesbian federal worker gets assist from DOJ lawyer." And at Metro Weekly, Chris Geidner has a blog post titled "Golinski Has Her Day in Court, DOJ Sends Senior Lawyer To Argue DOMA's Unconstitutionality." "Bonds gets one month house arrest for obstruction": Will Kane and Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle have a news update that begins, "A federal judge said today that baseball slugger Barry Bonds must serve 30 days house arrest for obstructing justice during a federal investigation into his alleged use of steroids." And The Associated Press reports that "Judge gives Bonds house arrest, then delays it." "Court sides with unions in airline dispute": Reuters has a report that begins, "A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that a hotly disputed change in federal labor law making it easier for unions to organize is lawful." My earlier coverage of today's D.C. Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Georgia, Alabama ask appeals court to stay proceedings on immigration law": This article appears today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Posted at 01:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate Confirms Nomination of Morgan Christen to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued this news release. Posted at 01:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Bonds to be sentenced for obstruction of justice": The Associated Press has this report. Bloomberg News reports that "Barry Bonds Judge Didn't Jail Two Other Athletes in Sport-Drugs Probe." Lance Williams of The San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that "Judge could send Barry Bonds to jail Friday." And Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News reported yesterday that "Judge set to sentence Barry Bonds on Friday." A majority of those eligible to vote or merely a majority of those actually voting? A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued this decision today in a case involving statutory construction of the Railway Labor Act. Posted at 11:22 AM by Howard Bashman In agreement with the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit holds that illegal aliens do not possess any Second Amendment rights: You can access today's one-paragraph, per curiam Eighth Circuit ruling at this link. Posted at 11:16 AM by Howard Bashman "We consider whether federal courts possess exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction over state-based legal malpractice claims that require the application of federal patent law." So begins an interesting majority opinion that the Supreme Court of Texas issued today. The case was decided by a 5-to-3 vote, with one justice recused. You can access the dissenting opinion at this link. The dissent argues that the two Federal Circuit rulings that the majority decided to follow, and a Fifth Circuit ruling that adhered to those two Federal Circuit rulings, "represent a novel method of determining federal question jurisdiction, and one which this Court should not adopt." You can access the briefs filed in the case via this link. "Voting Rights Controversies Wreak Havoc in Texas": Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has this blog post. Posted at 10:57 AM by Howard Bashman "Computer-Crime Statute Gets Ninth Circuit Workout": Ginny LaRoe of The Recorder has a report (subscription required) that begins, "Toss together Alex Kozinski and an untested computer-crime statute, and you can imagine the result. At oral arguments before an 11-judge panel on Thursday, the Ninth Circuit chief judge repeatedly challenged the Justice Department's position on the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act -- a position that could lead to the criminalization of seemingly innocuous computer activity, like providing false information on Facebook or Match.com in violation of terms of use agreements or using work computers in violation of employer policies." You can access via this link the audio of yesterday's oral argument before an 11-judge en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Nosal. "Hearsay is not a breach of human rights says Council of Europe": This article appears today in The Independent (UK). The Guardian (UK) contains articles headlined "European court backs British judges over hearsay evidence; European court of human rights upholds British doctor's indecent assault conviction in landmark ruling"; "Time for the UK supreme court to think again on hearsay; Once again, the European court of human rights has protected a right apparently better understood abroad than at home"; and "At last, Strasbourg heeds our supreme court; Today's al-Khawaja judgment shows the European Court of Human Rights is listening to UK judges." The Telegraph (UK) reports that "Gangster wins human rights pay out but UK still scores victory; A gangster has been awarded £15,000 after European judges ruled evidence used to convict him breached his human rights." The Daily Mail (UK) reports that "UK wins in European human rights court as judge rules hearsay evidence can be used in criminal trials." BBC News reports that "Hearsay evidence backed by human rights judges; Hearsay evidence in a trial does not automatically breach a defendant's human rights, EU judges have ruled." And the "UK Human Rights Blog" has a post titled "Use of hearsay evidence does not automatically prevent a fair trial, rules Strasbourg." You can access yesterday's ruling of the European Court of Human Rights at this link. "High Court Spotlight on Right to 'Credit Bid'": Law professor Stephen J. Lubben has this post at the "Dealbook" blog of The New York Times. Posted at 08:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Gableman not charged legal fees in ethics case; Justice's arrangement with firm raises questions about cases, ethics rules": In today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Patrick Marley has an article that begins, "State Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman received free legal service worth thousands of dollars from one of Wisconsin's largest law firms as it defended him against an ethics charge, according to a letter released Thursday by the firm." Posted at 08:30 AM by Howard Bashman "New book gives behind-the-scenes look at colorful high court": Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report. Posted at 08:26 AM by Howard Bashman "High-Profile Cases Fill Supreme Court's Docket": This 30-minute audio segment featuring David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times appeared on yesterday's broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation." Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Margaret H. Marshall to Teach at HLS; Former Massachusetts Supreme Court Chief Justice to join HLS faculty": This article appears today in The Harvard Crimson. Yesterday, Harvard Law School issued a news release headlined "Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall will join HLS faculty." "Medical Mind Control: A new breed of patent may determine how your doctor makes decisions." Timothy Lee has this essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to mess with Texas": Politico.com has this report. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Ruling upholds Lower Merion schools in redistricting suit": The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains this article reporting on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued on Wednesday. And at the "School Law" blog of Education Week, Mark Walsh has a post titled "Appeals Court Upholds Race-Conscious Student Assignment Plan." "In letters from prison, Komisarjevsky says he may be 'beyond redemption'": This article appears today in The New Haven Register. Posted at 08:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama judicial nominee Morgan Christen confirmed, at last; After a 202-day delay, the Senate confirms Alaska Supreme Court Justice Morgan Christen to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals": Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:00 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, December 15, 2011 "Appeals court throws out child porn conviction": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued yesterday. My earlier coverage appears at this link. The U.S. Senate has confirmed Morgan Christen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: You can access the official roll call vote tally at this link. The vote to confirm was 95-to-3. Currently, Christen serves as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Alaska and was the second woman to serve on that court. In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "US Senate confirms judicial nominee." "States seek to delay action on immigration laws": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "After the U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to rule on Arizona's controversial law targeting illegal immigrants, some states with similar statutes want to delay legal challenges against their own laws pending the high court's decision." Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Second Circuit Weighs Closed Courtrooms": At WSJ.com's "Law Blog," Chad Bray has this post about a case that was reargued en banc (or as the court that hosted the argument is still wont to call it on occasion, "in banc") yesterday before the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Posted at 04:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Oregon Recognizes Contributions of Senior, Recalled Judges": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued this news release today. Posted at 01:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Corporate Personhood Debate, Tortured Reasoning In Tow, Heads Back To Supreme Court." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has this report. Posted at 01:34 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court Judges Grill Arpaio's Lawyer on Alleged First Amendment Violations": Peter Jamison has this blog post at SF Weekly. According to the post, "Kozinski also delivered a tongue-lashing to GilBride [Sheriff Joe Arpaio's lawyer] for her lack of preparation for the [en banc] hearing, as the lawyer let slip at one point that she had not brought briefs in the case to court with her and was apparently unaware that one of the current issues in the case is whether Arpaio was engaged in a conspiracy against Lacey, Larkin, and the New Times." And Kate Moser of The Recorder reports that "Newspaper Wins Judges' Sympathies in Arpaio Suit." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted online at this link the audio of yesterday's oral argument before an 11-judge en banc panel in the case captioned Lacey v. Arpaio. "Animal rights activists challenge 2006 federal law": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A group of animal rights activists sued the U.S. government Thursday to challenge the constitutionality of a rarely used law they say treats them like terrorists if they cause a loss in profits for businesses that use or sell animal products." Posted at 01:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Not your Gingrich's Supreme Court: The Supreme Court rediscovers federalism just in time for 2012 election." Law professor Barry Friedman and Dahlia Lithwick have this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 01:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Clarence Thomas '74 Visits the Law School; Meets with Student Groups, Teaches Class": Yale Law School issued this news release yesterday. Posted at 12:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal magistrate has a shot at appeals court position, sources say": Today's edition of The Tulsa World contains an article that begins, "A beleaguered process that repeatedly has failed to put Oklahomans in key federal positions reportedly has produced a potential nominee to fill a year-old vacancy on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals." Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman A victory for the "blame it on the dead guy" defense, on appeal in a child pornography case no less: A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued this decision yesterday. Circuit Judge E. Grady Jolly's dissenting opinion begins, "The record does not reflect whether the jury box had more than twelve chairs, but we do know--and we know for sure--that two more jurors are trying to crowd into the box. I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion, which is little more than a presentation of the defendant's case and the substitution of the views of judges for the views of jurors." "Number of death sentences hits a 35-year low": Joan Biskupic of USA Today has this report. Today in The Wall Street Journal, Ashby Jones has an article headlined "New Death Sentences Fall to Lowest Level in 35 Years." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Executions, death sentences continue steady declines in 2011." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has an article headlined "Report: US death sentences reach 35-year low." Terry Baynes of Reuters reports that "Study finds death penalty use in decline." And today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition" contained an audio segment entitled "Death Sentences Drop To Historic Lows In 2011." "Ohio justice urges repeal of death penalty": In today's edition of The Toledo Blade, Jim Provance has an article that begins, "Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer said Wednesday he believes it's only a matter of time before the death-penalty law he helped write 30 years ago will end. He urged the House Criminal Justice Committee to make that date sooner rather than later." And The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports today that "Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer urges lawmakers to repeal death penalty in Ohio." "Relentless anti-abortion crusader takes her fight to Supreme Court; Grandmother, 63, has been arrested, jailed many times for protesting at clinics": Postmedia News of Canada has this report. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Texas Counties in Voting Chaos Over Redistricting Case": The New York Times contains this article today. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "DFW sidewalks at center of legal dispute over disabled access": This article appears today in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Posted at 08:06 AM by Howard Bashman "Rock Bottom": At the "Opinionator" blog of The New York Times, Linda Greenhouse has a post that begins, "Now that another highly qualified judicial nominee has been left as road kill, the question is how much lower can the confirmation process sink." Posted at 07:45 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, December 14, 2011 "Bonds' sentencing brings BALCO saga near a close": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 05:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Top judge relaxes rules on Twitter in court; Journalists will no longer have to ask for permission to tweet in court under new rules issued by Britain's most senior judge, paving the way for more live coverage of trials": The Telegraph (UK) has this news update. The Guardian (UK) has news updates headlined "Judge tells court reporters: 'Twitter as much as you wish'; Guidance from lord chief justice means journalists no longer have to make application to tweet, text or email from courts" and "Judges will decide who can tweet from court; Despite uncertainty over who's a legal commentator or journalist and who isn't, Lord Judge's guidance shouldn't lead to problems." The Daily Mail (UK) has a news update headlined "'Twitter all you like!' Top judge gives reporters the right to tweet or email from courtrooms in historic decision." And BBC News has reports headlined "Tweeting from court is given the go-ahead by top judge; Journalists and legal commentators in England and Wales no longer have to ask permission to tweet, text or email from court" and "Scottish courts tweeting ban continues; Journalists covering court cases in Scotland will not be allowed to openly use live text-based communication." Careful readers of the headlines contained in this post will note that the last name of the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is, conveniently, Judge. You can access the "Live text based communication guidance" that Lord Judge issued today by clicking here. "Analysis: Supreme Court immigration case a federal-state test." James Vicini of Reuters has this report. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "NYC conviction in Azerbaijan oil bribe case upheld": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today. Posted at 11:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Foxwoods files appeal to Pa. high court to save casino project": The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today. Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Newest Virginia justice says reading takes up most of her time": This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Posted at 07:56 AM by Howard Bashman "Political trouble ahead for the Supreme Court": Lyle Denniston had this post yesterday at the "Constitution Daily" blog of the National Constitution Center. Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Genachowski's top aide leaving FCC": Politico.com has this report about Edward Lazarus. Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, December 13, 2011 "Supreme Court Lines up Potentially 'Explosive' Election Year Docket": This segment (transcript with link to video) featuring Marcia Coyle and Jeff Schesol appeared on this evening's broadcast of The PBS NewsHour. Posted at 11:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Elena Kagan recusal judged on the blogs": This article appears at Politico.com. Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Reality check: States tough on abortion face legal costs." Reuters has this report. Posted at 10:56 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court justice to visit": The Pacific Daily News of Guam has an update that begins, "U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor plans to make a trip to the Marianas next month. One of the main reasons she's visiting from Jan. 25 to 30 is to attend Guam's and the Northern Mariana Islands' 2012 District Conferences." Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Chef Supreme: New cookbook honors late husband of Justice Ginsburg." Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court won't review statutory rape case": Today's edition of The Newark (Ohio) Advocate contains an article that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court won't review an Ohio Supreme Court decision that eliminated statutory rape charges for children younger than 13." Posted at 10:34 PM by Howard Bashman "Utah teen may face criminal charges in abortion beating case; Utah Supreme Court says state's abortion statute doesn't include 'procedures' like a beating-for-hire": The Salt Lake Tribune has this news update. And The Deseret News has an update headlined "Utah Supreme Court: Teenager who paid for assault in hope of abortion liable." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Utah at this link. "Supreme Court an 'enormous issue' for 2012": Josh Gerstein has this article online at Politico.com. Posted at 09:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Conn. home invasion killers close by on death row": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 04:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Top Courts Value the Attorney-Client Privilege Differently": Traditionally, a new U.S. Supreme Court Justice's first opinion for the Court is supposed to be unanimous and noncontroversial. Justice Sonia Sotomayor's first majority opinion, which issued in December 2009, was nearly unanimous, but it has proved to be at least somewhat controversial. Indeed, only last month the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a decision reaching the opposite result. This month's installment of my monthly "Upon Further Review" column appears in today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Pennsylvania's daily newspaper for lawyers, and addresses the subject of this disagreement. You can access my column by clicking here. "Supreme Court Can't Dodge Health Care Law's Fate Under Bill From GOP Lawmaker": Mike Sacks and John Celock of The Huffington Post have this report. Posted at 03:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Courtside: An early (and accidental) peek at today's orders and opinions." Tony Mauro of The National Law Journal had this article (PDF) online yesterday. Both this blog and Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post are mentioned in the article. Posted at 03:33 PM by Howard Bashman "The Roberts Court v. America: How the Roberts Supreme Court is using the First Amendment to craft a radical, free-market jurisprudence." Law professor Jedediah Purdy has this essay (available online in both PDF and HTML formats) in the Winter 2012 issue of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman Access online the video of this morning's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Ninth Circuit nominee Paul J. Watford: You can access the video by clicking here. Posted at 03:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Michigan's Balkanizing Bottle Redemption Law Treads on Commerce Clause": Cory Andrews has this post today at "The Legal Pulse" blog of the Washington Legal Foundation. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Health care case adds pressure for cameras in Supreme Court": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. Posted at 02:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals panel hears new science about arsons that could free man": Emilie Lounsberry has this article today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 11:25 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, December 12, 2011 "The 'Fill in the Blanks' Court Game of Indefinite Detention": Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 08:47 PM by Howard Bashman "Tobacco Companies Preparing for Supreme Court Review of Graphic Labels": Zoe Tillman has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 08:30 PM by Howard Bashman In jurisprudence essays available online at Slate: David Gans and Doug Kendall have a jurisprudence essay entitled "The Meaning of Equal: Conservative originalists are rethinking their narrow reading of the 14th Amendment." And Ian Millhiser has a jurisprudence essay entitled "Hecklers Vetoes: Debunking Eric Segall's liberal arguments for a Kagan recusal in the health care case." "Justices ask Obama admin to weigh in on pollution permitting for logging roads": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report. Posted at 05:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Can Ecuadorean plaintiffs keep funding case against Chevron?" Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report. Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman "7th Circuit strikes down part of Wisconsin election law": Bruce Vielmetti of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this blog post reporting on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued today. Posted at 02:01 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to Rule on Immigration Law in Arizona": Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update. Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Supreme Court to hear challenge of Arizona's restrictive immigration law." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Supreme Court to review Arizona immigration law." Joan Biskupic of USA Today has a news update headlined "High court will look at state immigration laws." The Arizona Republic has a news update headlined "Supreme Court to look at Arizona immigration law." Howard Fischer of The Arizona Daily Star has a news update headlined "High court agrees to rule on SB1070." Stephen Dinan of The Washington Times has a news update headlined "Supreme Court will hear Arizona immigration case; Kagan recuses herself." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Supreme Court takes Arizona immigration law case in key test of federal power; The Supreme Court has agreed to consider the tough Arizona immigration law, setting the stage for a potentially landmark ruling on whether states have rights to set immigration policy." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "AZ Immigration Law Gets Supreme Court Review." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court to decide Arizona immigration law." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post reports that "Arizona Immigration Law Faces Supreme Court Ruling." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Another landmark ruling in the offing." "DOMA and Its Discontents": Will Baude has this guest post today at "The Volokh Conspiracy" relating to his forthcoming law review article titled "Beyond DOMA: Choice of State Law in Federal Statutes." Posted at 11:30 AM by Howard Bashman "When Truth Survives Free Speech": In today's edition of The New York Times, David Carr has an essay that begins, "Last week, a story came across my desk that seemed to suggest that a blogger had been unfairly nailed with a $2.5 million defamation award after a judge refused to give her standing as a journalist." The NYTimes is also hosting a "Room for Debate" discussion titled "Are All Bloggers Journalists?" Access online today's Order List and opinion in an argued case of the U.S. Supreme Court: The nation's highest Court has posted online today's opinions and Order List some 30 minutes before they will be announced in open court. You can access today's Order List at this link. The Court granted review in three cases, including Arizona v. United States (with Justice Elena Kagan's recusal noted in that case). The Court also called for the views of the Solicitor General in two cases. Justice Kagan delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court in Judulang v. Holder, No. 10-694. You can access the oral argument transcript at this link. The Court today also issued a unanimous per curiam summary reversal in Hardy v. Cross, No. 11-74. Update: No doubt recognizing its early posting error, the Court has temporarily removed its Order List and these opinions from the Court's web site. If you haven't obtained access to them yet, you will simply need to wait until 10 a.m. There could also be additional opinions announced in argued cases, as the early posting of Justice Kagan's opinion in the Judulang case did not indicate whether any other opinions in argued cases will issue today. The Court announces signed majority opinions in reverse seniority order, meaning that on a day when Justice Kagan has one or more signed majority opinions to announce, her opinion(s) will be announced first. Second update: The Court is only issuing one opinion in an argued case today. Stay tuned for news coverage of how the Court managed accidentally to make public its Order List and opinions 30 minutes early. And perhaps the SEC can look into whether any unusual trading took place during that 30 minutes based on the information contained in the Order List. In early news coverage, The Associated Press has reports headlined "High court to look at state immigration laws"; "Court overturns deportation decision"; and "Court: Can lawsuit against casino go forward?" On today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition": Nina Totenberg had an audio segment entitled "At The High Court, A Tribute To A 'Chef Supreme'" (transcript with link to audio). And the program also contained an audio segment entitled "Florida's Infamous Voting Machines Sold By Collector" (link to audio). "Internal DOJ Email: Kagan Was Brought Into Loop on Mark Levin's Obamacare Complaint." Terence P. Jeffrey has this report at CNSNews.com. Posted at 09:26 AM by Howard Bashman "Senate blocking Xenia native court nominee with filibuster; Filibuster against Xenia native puts agreement at risk": This article appears today in The Dayton Daily News. And today's edition of The New York Daily News contains an editorial entitled "Caitlin Halligan & Richard Cordray blocked by partisan GOP; Obama nominees deserve up or down Senate votes." "The Next Roe v. Wade?: Jennie McCormack's Abortion Battle; Jennie McCormack was arrested for terminating her pregnancy with an abortion pill; The case that could transform the reproduction wars." The current issue of Newsweek contains this article. Posted at 09:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Texas Elections Are in Limbo Over Redistricting Issue": This article appears today in The New York Times. And The Texas Tribune reports that "Redistricting Orders Throw Texas Politics Into Disarray." "Justice Sotomayor Speaks In Randolph": Vermont Public Radio has this report. Posted at 09:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Breyer: A view from the bench." CBS News.com has this report. Justice Stephen G. Breyer was a guest on this morning's broadcast of the CBS News program "The Early Show." Posted at 09:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Philippine Supreme Court chief justice impeached": The AP has this report. Posted at 09:04 AM by Howard Bashman "High court could look at state immigration laws": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:57 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, December 11, 2011 "Texas voting in 2012: A three-court puzzle." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Will Justice Kennedy Rescue Texas Republican Redistricting?" Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 10:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Law creates barriers to getting care for mentally ill; Forty years ago, a new legal standard for mental health commitment emerged from a Milwaukee lawsuit to become the law of the land; It has proved to be tragically inadequate": This lengthy article, part one in a two-part series, appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court may weigh in on Arizona immigration law; It would be the second hot political issue, after Obama's healthcare law, the justices could rule on during a presidential election year": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And yesterday in The East Valley Tribune of Tempe, Arizona, Howard Fischer had an article headlined "Supreme Court to decide Monday on SB 1070 injunction." "Americans Favor Televising Supreme Court Healthcare Case; Large majorities of Republicans and Democrats favor cameras in the high court for this case": Gallup issued this news release last Friday. Posted at 10:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Beyond Guantanamo, a Web of Prisons for Terrorism Inmates": Scott Shane has this front page article today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Free speech and 'touching' Dick Cheney." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, December 10, 2011 "US Supreme Court takes up Texas redistricting case; The case involves four new congressional seats and the rising political clout of Latinos in Texas, a state with a history of racial discrimination; Republicans say a map redrawn by a panel of federal judges usurps the role of elected officials": Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report. Posted at 11:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge sides with Citizens' Voice in decade-long defamation battle": Yesterday's edition of The Citizens' Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania contained this article. And yesterday's edition of The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre reported that "Judge's ruling reverses $3.5 million verdict against CV." "Failure to name judge threatens to hamper court; In spite of being given two names, President Obama has yet to nominate a replacement for Judge Kermit Lipez on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals": This article appears today in The Portland (Me.) Press Herald. Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman "When Computer Misuse Becomes a Crime": Ginny LaRoe of The Recorder has this report. Posted at 09:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Joshua Komisarjevsky Gets Death; Jury Deliberates Nearly 20 Hours Over Five Days On Sentence For Cheshire Killer": This article appears today in The Hartford Courant, along with an article headlined "Both Sides In Death-Penalty Debate Vow To Fight On; Legislative Bid For Repeal Would Face Tough Challenge In 2012." Today's edition of The New Haven Register contains articles headlined "Jury gives Komisarjevsky death penalty; Petit: 'We believe justice has been done'" and "Residents in Cheshire agree with Komisarjevsky verdict." And The New York Times contains an article headlined "Death Penalty for 2nd Man in Connecticut Triple-Murder Case." "Supreme Court blocks redistricting plan for Texas": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. In today's edition of The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "Supreme Court intervenes in Texas redistricting case; Justices grant an emergency appeal from Texas Republicans, putting on hold a map that would give Democrats a good shot at picking up at least three congressional seats in 2012." And The Austin American-Statesman reports that "U.S. Supreme Court blocks Texas redistricting maps." An obituary for "Julia Howard Bashman" appeared yesterday in The Daily Independent of Ashland, Kentucky: You can views the obituary at this link. Additional research, however, has revealed that the deceased's actual name is Julia A. Howard Basham. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, December 9, 2011 "Yale, Harvard, Stanford . . . UC Irvine?" Reuters has a report that begins, "Every year, thousands of third-year law students across the country apply for coveted federal judicial clerkships, and every year, the same law schools -- Yale, Stanford, and Harvard -- top the list of those whose graduates populate federal judges' chambers." Posted at 10:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Court to Hear Texas Dispute on Drawing New Districts": Adam Liptak will have this article Saturday in The New York Times. Joan Biskupic of USA Today has a news update headlined "Supreme Court to hear Texas redistricting dispute." The San Antonio Express-News has an update headlined "Supreme Court stays interim-redistricting map." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a news update headlined "Supreme Court blocks use of court-drawn redistricting maps." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that "High court halts new Texas electoral maps." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Texas Republicans Get Emergency Supreme Court Hearing on Election Maps." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "High court to decide Texas election maps." Politico.com reports that "SCOTUS blocks Texas remap." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post reports that "Supreme Court Steps Into Texas Redistricting Fight." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Texas election maps blocked, for now." You can access this evening's order of the Supreme Court of the United States at this link. "Perry flubs name, number of Supreme Court justices": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 04:46 PM by Howard Bashman "Joshua Komisarjevsky Gets Death; Jury Deliberates Nearly 20 Hours Over Five Days On Sentence For Cheshire Killer": The Hartford Courant has this news update. The New Haven Register has a news update headlined "Jury gives Komisarjevsky death penalty on all 6 capital counts." And The Associated Press reports that "Man condemned to death in Conn. home invasion." "First Amendment Center celebrates 20 years": Brian J. Buchanan of the First Amendment Center has this report. Posted at 02:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Stepfather/Stepdaughter 'Incest' Is Still a Crime in Ohio; Ohio still leads other states for being most deeply in the Sexual Dark Ages": Mark Kernes has this news analysis online at AVN News. Posted at 02:13 PM by Howard Bashman Federal prosecutors held in contempt in connection with the Ted Stevens public corruption case lose their D.C. Circuit appeal: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link. Update: At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post titled "Appeals Court Backs Civil Contempt Ruling In Ted Stevens Case." The Associated Press reports that "Contempt against Stevens' prosecutors upheld." And James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Court rules against prosecutors in US Sen. Stevens case." "New York City Landlord Takes Rent Regulation Fight To Supreme Court": Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has this report. Posted at 12:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Samsung slays Apple in tablet war": The Sydney Morning Herald has this news update. The Associated Press reports that "Australian court rules Samsung can sell Galaxy." Reuters reports that "Samsung wins round in long legal fight with Apple." And Bloomberg News reports that "Samsung Wins Approval for Galaxy Tablet Sales in Australia as Apple Loses." "Apple to Appeal Lost U.S. Court Bid to Block Samsung Sales": Bloomberg News has this report. And Dan Levine of Reuters reports that "Apple appeals Samsung ruling in U.S." "Supreme Court to Take a Look at Arizona's Immigration Law Friday": Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has this blog post. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court hears challenges in Prop. 8 case": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. In today's edition of The Los Angeles Times, Maura Dolan reports that "U.S. appeals court seems unlikely to dismiss ruling against Prop. 8; A three-judge panel appears unswayed by Prop. 8 backers' argument that the judge who issued the original ruling was in an undisclosed same-sex relationship; The panel also appears reluctant to make videos of the trial public." And Carol J. Williams reports that "Gay marriage proponent who urged halt to Prop. 8 enforcement dies; With his partner, Ed Watson had sought the ability to marry before advancing illness claimed his life; His death came on the eve of a court hearing on the same-sex marriage ban." Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News reports that "Appeals court appears reluctant to find Proposition 8 judge biased." The New York Times reports that "Proposition 8 Appeals Case Winds Down." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Gay marriage: Court weighs validity of Prop. 8 ruling by gay judge; Proponents of California's Prop. 8 gay marriage ban say the 2010 ruling against it should be vacated because the judge failed to disclose that he was in a long-term gay relationship." The Associated Press reports that "CA same-sex marriage ban gets another day in court." Dan Levine of Reuters reports that "Appeals court skeptical of California gay marriage appeal." Bloomberg News reports that "Same-Sex Marriage Foes Seek Reversal of Ruling by Gay Judge." And Ginny LaRoe of The Recorder reports that "Circuit Weighs Walker's Handling of Prop 8 Case." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted online the audio of yesterday's oral arguments here and here. Thursday, December 8, 2011 "A Liberal's Lament on Kagan and Health Care: Should Elena Kagan recuse herself in the ACA case?" Law professor Eric Segall has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Judges, lawyers clash over right to testify with face covered": In Friday's edition of The Toronto Globe and Mail, Kirk Makin will have an article that begins, "There was no mistaking the impatience in Supreme Court of Canada Justice Morris Fish's voice when he demanded the name of a single lawyer who would willingly cross-examine a witness whose face was concealed by a veil." The Toronto Star has a news update headlined "Women have right to wear niqab during trials, court told." And Postmedia News reports that "Supreme Court hears arguments in niqab case." Bloomberg News is reporting: In today's hormone replacement therapy breast cancer news from Philadelphia, "Pfizer Wins Review of Punitive-Damages Award in Prempro Case" and "Pfizer Settles Prempro Case That Led to $72.6 Million Award." Posted at 10:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Indiana's top judge says he'll retire in March; As nation's longest-serving chief justice, Randall Shepard has gained recognition for his opinions on state's high court": This article appears today in The Indianapolis Star. As you might expect, extensive additional coverage is available from "The Indiana Law Blog." "Supreme Court Hears Case on Patents for Individualized Medicine": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. In today's edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that "Supreme Court has hard time finding an easy test for patents on medical processes." Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press reports that "Justices consider 'personal medicine' patent issue." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Blood-Test Patents Debated at U.S. Supreme Court as Einstein Invoked." Reuters reports that "Supreme Court hears arguments on personal medicine." At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "For want of a good hypothetical." At the "Patently-O" blog, law professor Jonas Anderson has a post titled "Summary of Mayo v. Prometheus Oral Argument." And at his "Washington Briefs" blog, Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has a post titled "Chief Justice plays with fire." You can access at this link the transcript of yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., No. 10-1150. "Murder conviction overturned because of tweeting, sleeping jurors": Arkansas News Bureau has a report that begins, "The state Supreme Court overturned a death-row inmate's murder conviction today because of jurors who tweeted and slept during his trial." And The Associated Press reports that "Death row inmate gets new trial because of tweet." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Arkansas at this link. Update: In other coverage, Reuters reports that "Arkansas death row inmate gets new trial because of tweets." "Andrew Cohen, Award-Winning Legal Commentator, To Add New Role As Legal Analyst For '60 Minutes'": Congratulations to "How Appealing" reader Andrew Cohen, who is the subject of this press release that CBS News issued today. Posted at 02:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Hears Dispute Over Ownership of Montana's Rivers": This segment (transcript with link to video) featuring Marcia Coyle appeared on yesterday evening's broadcast of The PBS NewsHour. Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire reports that "Justices weigh ownership of Mont. riverbeds." And The Associated Press reports that "High court hears Montana dam dispute." You can access at this link the transcript of yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in PPL Montana, LLC v. Montana, No. 10-218. "Federal appeals court to revisit funeral protests": This article appears today in The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. Posted at 11:52 AM by Howard Bashman On federal habeas review of an Ohio state court conviction, the Sixth Circuit rejects argument that Lawrence v. Texas should preclude man's conviction for engaging in consensual sexual intercourse with his 22-year-old stepdaughter: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman "D.A. will not seek death penalty against Abu-Jamal": Joseph A. Slobodzian has this article today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. According to the article, "Faulkner [the widow of the slain Philadelphia police officer] spoke for about five minutes in an angry, at-times emotional tirade against the federal appeals courts and judges who heard Abu-Jamal's multiple appeals. Faulkner called the judges of the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 'dishonest cowards' who imposed their personal opposition to capital punishment on the public." And today's edition of The Philadelphia Daily News contains an article headlined "D.A.: Abu-Jamal can go rot in cell." "Analysis: If the health insurance mandate falls..." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 11:05 AM by Howard Bashman Pa. Supreme Court grants review of award of punitive damages in a hormone replacement therapy breast cancer case: You can access Monday's order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which the court posted online Tuesday, at this link. In this post from June 2, 2011, I linked to Wyeth's petition for allowance of appeal, plaintiffs' answer in opposition (on which I worked), and the Pa. Superior Court's ruling in the case. Wednesday, December 7, 2011 "Court to review decision in funeral protest ban": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court agreed Wednesday to take another look at whether a St. Louis suburb can enforce a funeral protest ordinance drafted in response to the picketing of an anti-gay Kansas church -- a move that could push the issue closer to the U.S. Supreme Court. The full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis will meet Jan. 9 to reconsider a three-judge panel's October ruling in favor of members of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan." My earlier coverage of the original three-judge panel's ruling appears at this link. "Texas redistricting show judicial activism is in the eye of the beholder": In Thursday's edition of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, columnist Linda P. Campbell will have this op-ed in which both I and this blog are mentioned. Posted at 11:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Muslim charity leaders lose appeal in Hamas case": Reuters has this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court affirms convictions of 5 from Muslim charity tied to funding terrorist group." You can access today's 170-page ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. "Texas challenges race case": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." And at the blog "Just Enrichment," Adam Chandler has a post titled "Texas's Brief Opposing Supreme Court Review in Fisher v. University of Texas." "'Investigative blogger' doesn't get journalist's protection, Portland judge rules": This article appears today in The Oregonian. And The Associated Press has an article headlined "Federal judge: Montana blogger is not journalist." I have posted last Wednesday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon at this link. "Supreme Court Spouses Publish Cookbook in Tribute to Martin Ginsburg": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 10:27 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: This afternoon, I'll be at the National Press Club in Washington, DC as a participant in the final discussion panel of the day at the American Antitrust Institute's "5th Annual Future of Private Antitrust Enforcement Conference." You can access the complete agenda at this link. The panel on which I am participating is scheduled to get underway at 3:10 p.m. As a result, additional posts will not appear here until tonight. "Cady touts value of courtroom cameras; Iowa Chief Justice gives testimony to U.S. Senate in D.C." The Messenger of Fort Dodge, Iowa contains this article today. Posted at 07:38 AM by Howard Bashman "A sense of belonging: Law professor Anita Hill, scolded and hailed for speaking up, talks about sexual harassment, her foundations, and the concept of home." This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Bonds Seeks to Avoid Prison Term on Steroids Probe Obstruction Conviction": Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 07:30 AM by Howard Bashman "O'Connor tells of path to Supreme Court equality": The Yuma (Ariz.) Sun contains this article today. Posted at 07:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Admissible Evidence, or a Backdoor Ploy? Justices Ask." Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Phila. jury orders Pfizer to pay 3 women $72.6 million in damages over menopause drugs": This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 07:14 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, December 6, 2011 "Supreme Court again considers defendants' right to confront their accusers": Robert Barnes will have this article Wednesday in The Washington Post. In Wednesday's edition of USA Today, Joan Biskupic will have an article headlined "Can lab tests stand in court, short of expert testimony?" And David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled "Are lab analysts 'witnesses'? Supreme Court considers." "Court Rules Bone Marrow Donors Can Be Paid": This audio segment featuring Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation." Posted at 10:26 PM by Howard Bashman "Netflix-Backed Bill on Video Disclosure Passed by U.S. House": Bloomberg News has this report. AVN News reports that "House Updates 'Judge Bork' Video Rental Record Law." The Hill has a blog post titled "House votes to update Bork-era video rental record law." And The Washington Times has a blog post titled "Congressman talks porn on House floor." "Filibuster by Senate Republicans Blocks Confirmation of Judicial Nominee": Charlie Savage and Raymond Hernandez will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. Wednesday's edition of The Washington Post will contain an article headlined "Senate Republicans block Obama appeals court nominee" and an editorial entitled "An unworthy filibuster by the Senate on Caitlin Halligan." James Oliphant of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Senate GOP blocks Obama's pick for D.C. appeals court." Roll Call reports that "Filibuster Tests Senate Agreement on Judicial Nominees." CNN.com reports that "GOP senators filibuster D.C. Appeals Court nominee." Nina Totenberg of NPR reports that "Judicial Wars Flare As Senate Blocks Obama Nominee." And "The Note" blog of ABC News has a post titled "Senate GOP Filibusters Obama Judicial Nominee." "Punch and Judge Judy: Senate Republicans spend a long day protecting the courts in order to trash them." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. And online at The Huffington Post, White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler has an essay entitled "Judicial System Continues to Fall Victim to Republican Obstruction." "Justice Anthony Kennedy Confronts Sixth Amendment Case, Hints At Change Of Heart, Cites Hamlet": Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has this report. Posted at 08:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Pfizer Loses $72.6M Verdict in Cancer Suit": Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 08:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court ready for TV? It's a split decision." James Vicini of Reuters has this report. Posted at 05:07 PM by Howard Bashman In posts of interest at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Andrew Ramonas has posts titled "Witnesses Doubt Congress' Authority to Impose Cameras on Supreme Court" and "D.C. Circuit Nomination Fails Cloture Test." Posted at 04:26 PM by Howard Bashman Eighth Circuit issues amended order granting rehearing en banc to consider further Planned Parenthood's challenges to revisions enacted in 2005 to the South Dakota law on informed consent to abortion: You can access today's order, which clarifies the scope of the en banc rehearing, at this link. My most recent coverage of yesterday's grant of rehearing en banc can be assessed here and here. You and your dam dispute: The Associated Press reports that "Dam dispute draws on Lewis and Clark's travels." Posted at 03:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Court questions lab test used to convict rapist": The Associated Press has this report. You can access at this link the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Williams v. Illinois, No. 10-8505. My appearance tomorrow at the National Press Club in Washington, DC: Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be a participant in the final discussion panel of the day at the American Antitrust Institute's "5th Annual Future of Private Antitrust Enforcement Conference." You can access the complete agenda at this link. The panel on which I am participating is scheduled to get underway at 3:10 p.m. Posted at 02:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Court rules in favor of transgender editor at Legislature": Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a news update that begins, "The federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled in favor of Vandy Beth Glenn, a transgender woman who was fired as a legislative editor at the General Assembly after she disclosed she was going to make the transition from man to woman." You can access today's ruling of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. Update: In other coverage, The Associated Press has a report headlined "Court: Ga. transgender woman should get job back." "Circuit court rules for American Air in security suit": Reuters has this report on a partially redacted ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today. Posted at 02:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Senators pushing for televised court arguments": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 02:04 PM by Howard Bashman In today's mail: Volume 12, Issue 1 of The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process. You can view the issue's table of contents by clicking here. Posted at 01:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Judicial filibuster battles return with GOP blockade": The Washington Times has this news update. David Ingram and Thomas Ferraro of Reuters report that "Republicans block Obama nominee for U.S. judgeship." And Politico.com reports that "GOP filibusters judicial nominee." "Republicans block Obama appellate court nominee": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Senate Republicans have blocked President Barack Obama's nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, as majority Democrats failed to break a filibuster." The U.S. Senate has posted the official roll call tally of the cloture vote at this link. "Key appeals court nominee faces test vote today": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has an article that begins, "A lawyer President Obama nominated to serve on the appeals court that handles most of the legal challenges to environmental regulations faces a make-or-break procedural vote in the Senate today." Posted at 11:46 AM by Howard Bashman "Will Foreigners Decide the 2012 Election? The Extreme Unintended Consequences of Citizens United." Law professor Richard L. Hasen -- author of the "Election Law Blog" -- has this essay online at The New Republic. Posted at 11:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Secret Service hopes for immunity in Cheney protest arrest": Tony Mauro has this news analysis online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Outrage machine grinds away": Today's edition of The Boston Globe contains an editorial that begins, "Discrediting perfectly qualified nominees to the federal judiciary is a dreary, familiar business -- one whose latest target is Caitlin Halligan, a former New York solicitor general who once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Ever since President Obama nominated her for the DC Circuit Court of Appeals last year, critics have been combing her record for evidence of dangerous radicalism." Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Analysis: Health care's mandate -- Part III." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 08:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court weighs suit against deputy in Los Angeles house raid; Justices are deciding whether a Los Angeles sheriff's deputy can be sued over the seizure of guns at a home where a wanted gang member was thought to be living": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And in today's edition of The New York Times, Adam Liptak reports that "Justices Hear Arguments in a Police Search Case." "Justice Writes To Student": The Albuquerque Journal today contains an article that begins, "When Lincoln Middle School seventh-grader Priscilla Duenas agreed to write an extra-credit essay in her Spanish class, she never dreamed the subject of her essay, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, would read it." Posted at 08:16 AM by Howard Bashman "Access to the Court: Televising the Supreme Court." At 10 a.m. eastern time today, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts will hold a hearing on this subject. You can access the witness list and a link to a live webcast by clicking here. In other coverage, Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has a blog post titled "Senate Judiciary to Hold Hearings on Cameras in Court on Tuesday." Radio Iowa reports that "Iowa Chief Justice to tell U.S. Senate about coverage of the courts." And C-SPAN reports that "Congress Considers Televising Supreme Court Arguments." "Abortion issue appeal gets January hearing; St. Louis appeals court to decide whether doctor must tell women of increased suicide risk after having abortion": The Sioux Falls Argus Leader today contains an article that begins, "A federal court said Monday it will hear arguments next month concerning a 2005 South Dakota law that requires a doctor to tell a woman seeking an abortion that she would face a higher risk of suicide by going through with the procedure." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Eighth Circuit order granting rehearing en banc appears at this link. Monday, December 5, 2011 "Justice Prosser says intestinal infection sidelined him": The Wisconsin State Journal has this news update. Posted at 10:46 PM by Howard Bashman "Churches to Lose Use of School Space After a Legal Push Fails": This article will appear Tuesday in The New York Times. And Tuesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal will contain an article headlined "Churches Grapple With School Ruling." "Supreme Court to Consider the Arrest of a Cheney Critic": Adam Liptak will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times. Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Supreme Court to decide whether man arrested for confronting Cheney can sue." In Tuesday's edition of The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage will have an article headlined "Supreme Court to hear case on arrest at Cheney event; A Colorado man says his 1st Amendment rights were violated when he was arrested in 2006 after criticizing the Iraq policies of then-Vice President Dick Cheney." At WSJ.com's "Law Blog," Jess Bravin has a post titled "Supreme Court to Review Lawsuit by Man Arrested for Touching Cheney." Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has a blog post titled "Supreme Court to Hear Case on Dick Cheney's Secret Service Detail." And Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Justices to hear dispute over free speech at Cheney event." "Supreme Court Debates Search Warrant In Case Of Guns, Gangs And Good Faith": Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has this report. And at "The Volokh Conspiracy," Orin Kerr has a post titled "Thoughts on the Oral Argument in Messerschmidt v. Millender." You can access at this link the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Messerschmidt v. Millender, No. 10-704. "Guidelines a surprise as UT case awaits Supreme Court consideration": Tuesday's edition of The Austin American-Statesman will contain an article that begins, "New guidelines from the Obama administration on the use of affirmative action in college admissions have stirred up the legal waters just as the U.S. Supreme Court is about to consider whether to hear a case involving the University of Texas." According to the article, "The university is expected to file papers Wednesday urging the court to reject the case, which was originally filed in 2008 by two white students who were denied admission." "Blood-Test Case at Top U.S. Court May Send Patent 'Shock Waves'": Greg Stohr and Susan Decker of Bloomberg News have this report. Online at Forbes, Daniel Fisher has a blog post titled "Mayo Clinic Case Asks If A Doctor's Method Can Be Patented." And Tuesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal will contain an editorial entitled "Hold the Mayo: Personalized medicine on trial at the High Court." "Agency scourge Gene Scalia to challenge CFTC's swaps regulation": Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report. Posted at 09:55 PM by Howard Bashman Eighth Circuit grants rehearing en banc to consider further Planned Parenthood's challenges to revisions enacted in 2005 to the South Dakota law on informed consent to abortion: I have posted today's order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit granting rehearing en banc at this link. Thanks to a reader of this blog for sending along word of today's development along with a copy of the order. My earlier coverage of the partially divided three-judge panel's ruling in the case can be accessed here. "Exclusive: Apple vs. Samsung ruling divulges secret details." Dan Levine and Carlyn Kolker of Reuters have this report. And Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has a report headlined "Why Judge Koh nixed Apple bid to bar Samsung phones and tablets." Update: Via Dan Levine of Reuters on Twitter, you can access the unredacted ruling at this link. "Highlight the redactions, hit copy, then paste it into a Word file" or any other text file. "Va. inmate appeals dismissal of sex change lawsuit": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 03:36 PM by Howard Bashman "Komisarjevsky Jury To Begin Deliberating Today At About 2:45; Judge excuses the four remaining alternate jurors; same jury forewoman as in trial's evidence phase": The Hartford Courant has a news update that begins, "Jurors will begin deliberating the fate of Cheshire home invasion killer Joshua Komisarjevsky this afternoon at about 2:45." Posted at 03:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court rejects worship at public school appeal": James Vicini of Reuters has this report. Posted at 01:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Kennedy Dissents: What Campaign Finance And The Sixth Amendment Have In Common." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has this report. Posted at 01:16 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to hear Cheney-Secret Service case": James Vicini of Reuters has this report. Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Cheney Mall Confrontation Over Iraq Draws Top U.S. Court Review." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Supreme Court to weigh: Can man sue Secret Service agents in Dick Cheney case? Two Secret Service agents arrested a Colorado man who criticized US policy in Iraq during a public appearance by Dick Cheney in 2006; The Supreme Court agreed Monday to take the case." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Free speech and the Veep." "High Court Declines Case on Weekend Worship Services at School": Mark Walsh has this post at the "School Law" blog of Education Week. Posted at 10:51 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 granted review today in one case. My earlier coverage of the case granted review today can be accessed here and here. In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "High court to hear suit over Cheney event arrest" and "NYC ban on after-school worship services stands." "Primary could decide race for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Alabama's Republican race for chief justice features an inÂcumbent who's new to stateÂwide politics taking on a well-known former attorney general and a former chief justice who's fighting to get back the job he lost over the Ten ComÂmandments." Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Who owns the Great Falls?" This article appears today in The Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court weighs GOP appeal over Texas election map; Justices may decide this week whether to act on a request to block a redistricting plan that could help Latino Democrats win seats in Congress": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Oswalt appeals case to high court; Prosecutor wants U.S. Supreme Court to overturn state ruling in juvenile rape case": Saturday's edition of The Newark (Ohio) Advocate contained this article. Posted at 07:51 AM by Howard Bashman "Mayo takes patent case to U.S. Supreme Court; Mayo will take its fight against such protection to the Supreme Court": This article appears today in The Minneapolis Star Tribune. Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman "High court mulls suit over Cheney event arrest": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 07:34 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, December 4, 2011 "Fetal Heartbeat Bill Splits Anti-Abortion Forces": This article will appear Monday in The New York Times. Posted at 10:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Hurdle for Health-Law Suit: Shop's Closing, Owner's Bankruptcy Complicate Argument Against Overhaul." In Monday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Emily Maltby, Vanessa O'Connell, and Jess Bravin will have an article that begins, "The woman chosen to represent the legal challenge to the Obama administration's health-care overhaul filed for bankruptcy in September after her business failed, a move that could pose problems for the high-profile lawsuit." Also in Monday's newspaper, Michael B. Mukasey will have an op-ed entitled "The ObamaCare Recusal Nonsense: The left doesn't want Justice Thomas to hear the case; The right says Justice Kagan is too biased; The full court should decide the case." "Tiny church in NYC awaiting Supreme Court decision": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 07:50 PM by Howard Bashman "State Supreme Court justice proposes private discussion; Plan puts most administrative matters behind closed doors": Today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, "A state Supreme Court justice wants to make it easier to keep some of the often-fractious court's discussions private. Wisconsin's Supreme Court in 1999 started holding public meetings on virtually all of its administrative matters, making it one of the first -- if not the first -- high court in the country to do so. Now, Justice Patience Roggensack wants to roll back the court's policy so that many issues are discussed in public only if a majority of the court votes to do so." Posted at 11:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court could be next for case charging threats to Obama": Josh Gerstein has this post at his "Under the Radar" blog at Politico.com. Posted at 11:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Closing arguments made to name new courthouse": Today's edition of The Buffalo News contains an article that begins, "The legal debate is all but over. The effort to place U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson's name on the new federal courthouse at Niagara Square got a huge boost Saturday morning during a brief ceremony inside the recently opened building." Posted at 11:11 AM by Howard Bashman "Estate sale provides a rare look at the world of Justice Potter Stewart": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Redistricting ... a fight as big as Texas." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 11:06 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, December 3, 2011 "Argument preview: Patients' reaction, patents' scope." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 12:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Apple Loses Bid for Court Order in Effort to Block Samsung Galaxy Sales": Bloomberg News has this report. Dan Levine of Reuters reports that "U.S. judge rejects Apple bid to halt Galaxy sales." PCMag.com reports that "U.S. Judge Denies Apple's Request to Ban Samsung Smartphones, Tablet." And the blog "FOSS Patents" has a post titled "Denial of US preliminary injunction against Samsung shows low strategic value of Apple's design patents." That blog has posted a copy of yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California at this link. Friday, December 2, 2011 "Prosser not participating in cases because of health issue": Saturday's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will contain an article that begins, "State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser is not participating in any oral arguments this month because of a health issue that is not life-threatening, sources close to Prosser said. That will leave six justices to hear several cases, raising the possibility of 3-3 splits on the deeply divided court. Prosser has not said if he is permanently off the cases, or if he will participate in decisions when he recovers and returns to the bench." Posted at 11:30 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Urges Creativity by Colleges to Gain Diversity": Saturday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, "The Obama administration on Friday urged colleges and universities to get creative in improving racial diversity at their campuses, throwing out a Bush-era interpretation of recent Supreme Court rulings that limited affirmative action in admissions." Posted at 11:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Oregon Supreme Court orders $99 million award against Philip Morris": The Oregonian has this news update. And The Associated Press has an updated report headlined "Oregon court tells Philip Morris to pay judgment." My earlier coverage of today's Oregon Supreme Court ruling appears at this link. "1st Circuit revives defamation suit against sugar documentary": Terry Baynes of Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge reprimanded for belonging to discriminatory club": Carlyn Kolker of Reuters has this report. My earlier coverage of yesterday's amended decision can be accessed here. "Analysis: Health care's mandate -- Part II." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." And James Oliphant of The Los Angeles Times reports that "Kagan, Thomas pressed to stay out of healthcare fight." Unanimous Supreme Court of Oregon holds that cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris owes State of Oregon over $99 million representing that state's statutory share of the punitive damages awarded to the plaintiff in Williams v. Philip Morris Inc. You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Oregon at this link. According to the court's media release, "Today, the Oregon Supreme Court held that the State of Oregon did not release its statutory interest in part of the punitive damages awarded to the plaintiff in Williams v. Philip Morris when it and 45 other states entered into a settlement agreement in State v. Philip Morris." Update: In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Phillip Morris Oregon court order upheld." And Philip Morris USA has issued a news release headlined "Oregon Supreme Court Overturns Lower Court's Decision in Long-Running Williams Case." After receiving complainant's reconsideration request, the federal judiciary's Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability issues amended decision characterizing its opinion as a "public reprimand" of judge who belonged to country club that discriminated on the bases of race and sex: I have posted at this link the text of the complainant's reconsideration request, which I received in a format that does not reveal the complainant's identity. Yesterday, in apparent response to that reconsideration request, the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability of the Judicial Conference of the United States issued an Amended Memorandum of Decision that -- unlike the committee's original decision issued two weeks earlier -- expressly characterizes the decision as a "public reprimand" of the judge whose conduct was at issue in the case. My most recent earlier coverage of this matter can be accessed here and here. "Cloture filed on Halligan nomination": According to a post from last night at the web site of the U.S. Senate's Democrats, "This evening Senator Reid filed cloture on the nomination of Caitlin Joan Halligan, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia. By unanimous consent, at 11am on Tuesday, December 6, there will be 1 hour for debate prior to a vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Halligan nomination." Update: At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post titled "Senate Democrats Pushing Caitlin Halligan For D.C. Circuit." And Carlyn Kolker of Reuters reports that "DC Circuit nominee Halligan headed for vote showdown." "Pay ban on donor organs doesn't include bone marrow, court says; With marrow now being extracted from the bloodstream, a federal appeals court calls it blood parts, not organ parts; The new reading of the federal prohibition could attract thousands more donors": Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears here and here. "Senate Declines to Clarify Rights of American Qaeda Suspects Arrested in U.S." In today's edition of The New York Times, Charlie Savage has an article that begins, "The Senate on Thursday decided to leave unanswered a momentous question about constitutional rights in the war against Al Qaeda: whether government officials have the power to arrest people inside the United States and hold them in military custody indefinitely and without a trial." Posted at 08:30 AM by Howard Bashman "The White House needs to come clean on Elena Kagan and the Affordable Care Act": U.S. Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) has this op-ed today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:24 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court to review issue of whether teenage murderers should get life without parole": This article appears today in The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "The Bill of Rights Doesn't Come Cheap": Law professor Jeffrey L. Fisher has this op-ed today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Komisarjevsky Trial: Closing Arguments Friday; Jury Faces Complex Process Of Life-Or-Death Decision." This article appears today in The Hartford Courant. Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman Ariane de Vogue of ABC News is reporting: She has an article headlined "Health Care Law: Does One Supreme Court Justice Hold Its Future?" and a blog post titled "What Do the Supreme Court Justices Think of Cameras in Court?" Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Price-fixing appeals go to top court": Today's edition of The Toronto Globe and Mail contains an article that begins, "The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear appeals in two B.C. class-action cases launched against corporate giants on behalf of consumers who allegedly overpaid for computers and soft drinks, in an effort to settle contradictory judgments from lower courts on a key legal issue. The court will weigh in on the question of whether 'indirect purchasers,' or consumers who bought computers or soft drinks from retailers, not from manufacturers directly, can sue over price-fixing allegations." And The Vancouver Sun reports that "Supreme Court agrees to hear arguments for class action suits on computers, corn syrup." Thursday, December 1, 2011 "Bankruptcy judges stake out turf in wake of Anna Nicole ruling": Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has a report that begins, "Chief Judge Barbara Houser of Dallas federal bankruptcy court seems to be exasperated with the muddle the U.S. Supreme Court created by its June 2011 ruling in Stern v. Marshall, otherwise known as the Anna Nicole Smith case." Posted at 10:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Says Some Donors of Stem Cells Can Be Paid": This article will appear Friday in The New York Times. Friday's edition of The San Francisco Chronicle will contain an article headlined "Court OKs compensation for some bone marrow donors." Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled "Bone marrow donors can be compensated, appeals court rules." And Terry Baynes of Reuters reports that "Court allows payment for bone marrow donations." My earlier coverage of today's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Insight: Apple vs Samsung lawsuit full of secret combat." Dan Levine and Carlyn Kolker of Reuters have this interesting report. Posted at 10:36 PM by Howard Bashman "Prop. 8: Circuit Court schedule." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 10:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Joan Donoghue weighs in on World Court": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "International law has become a bogeyman in American judicial politics - conservative Supreme Court justices denounce it, Republican senators regularly grill court nominees about its dangers, and some states are trying to prohibit their courts from considering Islamic Shariah law or any legal rules from abroad." Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Court: Some bone marrow donors can be paid." The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. Senior Circuit Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld's opinion for the court concludes: It may be that "bone marrow transplant" is an anachronism that will soon fade away, as peripheral blood stem cell apheresis replaces aspiration as the transplant technique, much as "dial the phone" is fading away now that telephones do not have dials. Or it may live on, as "brief" does, even though "briefs" are now lengthy arguments rather than, as they used to be, brief summaries of authorities. Either way, when the "peripheral blood stem cell apheresis" method of "bone marrow transplantation" is used, it is not a transfer of a "human organ" or a "subpart thereof" as defined by the statute and regulation, so the statute does not criminalize compensating the donor.You can access the complete ruling at this link. Posted at 02:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Analysis: Health care's mandate -- Part I." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman The December 2011 issue of the ABA Journal magazine is now available online, featuring "The 5th Annual ABA Journal Blawg 100": You can access the ABA Journal's listing of its top 100 law blogs by clicking here. This year's write-up of "How Appealing" states, "We defy you to open the home page and not feel compelled to click on a link." Also in this month's magazine, Mark Walsh has an article headlined "Patents and Patients: Personalized Medicine Is at the Heart of High Court Case." "Court appears ready to hand legal victory to transgender woman": Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a news update that begins, "A panel of three federal appeals court judges on Thursday appeared strongly inclined to grant a legal victory to Vandy Beth Glenn, a transgender woman who was fired as a legislative editor at the General Assembly after she disclosed she was going to make the transition from man to woman." And The Associated Press reports that "Court reviews Ga. firing of transgender woman." "Court weighs trademark on Maker's Mark wax seal": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The red wax seal atop a Maker's Mark bottle makes the bourbon stand out on store shelves. Whether the bourbon company can keep that distinction is up to a panel of three federal judges." Posted at 01:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Notice to Media, Public Regarding Oral Arguments in Perry v. Brown": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this announcement yesterday. Posted at 01:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Biting Ruling Slams Lawyer for Misleading Appeal Court": Kate Moser of The Recorder has an article that begins, "In a scathing opinion Tuesday, a California court of appeal sanctioned a lawyer, making an example out of him while cautioning trial courts to scrutinize the evidence instead of rubber-stamping default judgments." Justice William W. Bedsworth wrote the opinion on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of California's Fourth District Court of Appeal. "Komisarjevsky Lawyer: 'The Scale Tips In Favor Of Life'; Judge Denies Defense Request; Jury Will Decide Convicted Killer's Fate." This article appears today in The Hartford Courant. And The New Haven Register reports today that "Komisarjevsky jury must weigh alleged mitigating and aggravating factors." "State high court to hear dispute about abortion parental notification law": The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, "The Illinois Supreme Court will take up the dispute over a long-dormant state law that prohibits minors from getting an abortion without notifying a parent or guardian." Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Hill compares outcome of 1991 Thomas hearing to today": This article appears today in The Tulsa World. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Question for Justices: If Privacy Act Is Violated, When Is the Government Liable?" Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Recusal fight could bedevil Supreme Court health care ruling": Politico.com has this report. Posted at 08:09 AM by Howard Bashman "Sins of the Parents": Linda Greenhouse has this post at the "Opinionator" blog of The New York Times. Posted at 07:46 AM by Howard Bashman 
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