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Saturday, March 31, 2012 "A Health Law at Risk Gives Insurers Pause": The New York Times contains this front page article today. And business columnist James B. Stewart has an essay entitled "Broccoli Mandates and the Commerce Clause." "Fighting a Drawn-Out Battle Against Solitary Confinement": This front page article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 03:27 PM by Howard Bashman Friday, March 30, 2012 "A Court of Radicals: If the justices strike down Obamacare, it may have grave political implications for the court itself." Law professor Richard L. Hasen has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court affirms ruling on Open Beaches Act": Chuck Lindell of The Austin American-Statesman has this post at that newspaper's "Austin Legal" blog. The Galveston County Daily News has an update headlined "Court: Public beach easement does not roll." And The Associated Press reports that "Texas Supreme Court limits Open Beaches Act." Today's ruling on reargument of the Supreme Court of Texas, on certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, consists of a majority opinion, a concurring opinion, and three dissenting opinions (here, here, and here). "Supreme Court takes up healthcare in secrecy": James Vicini and Joan Biskupic of Reuters have this report. Posted at 04:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Lacking GPS Data, Prosecutors Turn To Cell Tower Information": Mike Scarcella has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Health-Law Case Puts Roberts in Crucible; Chief Justices Maneuver to Shape Landmark Rulings With One Eye on History, Another on Supreme Court's Reputation": Jess Bravin has this article today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 11:18 AM by Howard Bashman Perhaps they are still writing 2011 on their checks: An opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today states at the outset that the case was "Argued February 16, 2012" and "Decided March 30, 2011." That may set a new record for speed of decision. Update The court has corrected the typo in the version of the opinion posted at the court's web site, meaning that you'll have to click here to view the version of the opinion that the court originally posted online this morning. Available online from The New Republic: Law professor Jeffrey Rosen has an essay entitled "One Simple Argument Could Have Saved Obamacare; Too Bad Verrilli Didn't Make It." Simon Lazarus has an essay entitled "In Defense of Don Verrilli: Why the Solicitor General Actually Did a Great Job Defending Obamacare." William Galston has an essay entitled "Why the Supreme Court Justices Won't Be Crudely Political When They Rule on Obamacare." And Simon Meiners and Perry Stein have a blog post titled "Off the Record: The Ineffective Archival Methods of the Supreme Court." "Frank J. Montemuro Jr., 86, former Pa. justice": This obituary appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Super PACs, donors turn sights on judicial branch": This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 09:30 AM by Howard Bashman "In Health Case, Appeals to a Justice's Idea of Liberty": In today's edition of The New York Times, Adam Liptak has a news analysis that begins, "The way to frame a Supreme Court argument meant to persuade Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is to talk about liberty." In today's edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes has an article headlined "The Supreme Court will decide on the health-care law soon; It will tell you later." The Los Angeles Times has articles headlined "For government lawyer Verrilli, tough week on healthcare case" and "Bad omen for healthcare law: Many comments from the justices." Richard Wolf of USA Today reports that "Supreme Court likely to vote on health care law Friday." Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has an article headlined "Can you predict an outcome from Supreme Court justices' questions?" The Washington Times reports that "Parties likely to spin Supreme Court's Obamacare ruling; Decision expected by June." Linda Feldmann of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "If Supreme Court scraps health-care law, who wins politically? Harsh questioning from the Supreme Court majority has touched off new political calibrations over President Obama's health-care law; In some ways, Democrats could be the winners." And the current issue of The Economist contains articles headlined "Full-court press: Barack Obama's health-care law moves to America's highest court, and looks to be in danger; The case could transform the power of the federal government" and "Umpire of liberty: In addition to its polarised Congress, America has a polarised Supreme Court." "Justice Department dropped case charging threats to Barack Obama": At Politico.com, Josh Gerstein has a blog post that begins, "The Justice Department has quietly given up on a criminal case involving alleged death threats against Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign, leaving in place a legal precedent that the department's own lawyers predicted would have far-ranging repercussions by encouraging threats against political candidates and complicating the work of the Secret Service." Posted at 07:42 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, March 29, 2012 "How To Defend Obamacare: Solicitor General Donald Verrilli was grilled by the Supreme Court's conservatives; Here is what he should have said." Law professor Akhil Reed Amar has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. And Reuters Breakingviews columnist Reynolds Holding has a blog post entitled "Obama backs healthcare defender -- until he doesn't." "GOP ad plays with audio from Supreme Court hearing": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 09:40 PM by Howard Bashman Bloomberg News is reporting: Greg Stohr and Seth Stern have an article headlined "Secret Vote Opens Health Law Review Shaping Court Legacy." And Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Greg Stohr have an article headlined "Republicans Tampered With Court Audio in Obama Attack Ad." "Analysis: Chief Justice Roberts may cast deciding healthcare vote." Joan Biskupic of Reuters has this report. In addition, Reuters has an article headlined "Analysis: Obama could see silver lining if healthcare law rejected." "Justice was blind to some facts in Idaho wetlands case": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report. Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Amid Signs of Continued Slowdown, Senate Panel Approves Three Judicial Nominees": Todd Ruger has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman "When Stealing Isn't Stealing": Law professor Stuart P. Green has this op-ed today in The New York Times. Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Academic Built Case for Mandate in Health Care Law": This article appears today in The New York Times, along with an article headlined "Parties Brace for Fallout in Court's Ruling on Health Care." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that "Court takes health care case behind closed doors." And The AP also has a report headlined "3 days of hearings over, 2 justices may be key," "The Supreme Court Issues a 5-4 Decision on Where to Order Lunch": Eric Hague has this item online at McSweeney's. And The Onion, meanwhile, reports that "Scalia Unable To Name All 9 Supreme Court Justices." The Onion also has a newsbrief on the ACA arguments whose headline I won't reproduce here because it contains the f-word. Wednesday, March 28, 2012 "Big Case Stirs Up This 'Hot Bench'": Brent Kendall and Jess Bravin will have this article Thursday in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 11:15 PM by Howard Bashman "A Moment of Silence for Obamacare: Prayers, depression, and Latin phrases. Obamacare looks to have had another very bad day." Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate. Posted at 11:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Did Bloggers Kill the Health Care Mandate? A handful of right-wing legal experts have changed the way Americans view the Affordable Care Act. But why did they wage this battle in the media instead of in the courtroom?" Adam Teicholz has this interesting essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 09:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Court says lawsuit alleging bogus parking tickets can proceed": The Chicago Tribune has this news update reporting on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued today. Posted at 09:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Ask if Health Law Is Viable Without Mandate": Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update. Robert Barnes and N.C. Aizenman of The Washington Post have a news update headlined "On health-care hearing's last day, court weighs severability, Medicaid expansion." In addition, columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. has an essay entitled "Judicial activists in the Supreme Court." David G. Savage and Noam N. Levey of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Justices suggest Medicaid expansion is unconstitutional." The newspaper also has a news update headlined "'No contingency planning' at White House if healthcare repealed." Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal has a news update headlined "Justices Question Extent of Federal Power; Arguments Over Health-Care Law Veer Into a Challenge to Medicaid as Obama's Signature Measure Faces a Rough Ride." The newspaper also has a news update headlined "Health Case Ripples Outward; Ruling Against Mandate Would Pressure Insurers, Loom Large in November Election." Richard Wolf and Brad Heath of USA Today has a news update headlined "Justices weigh health law's fate if no insurance mandate." Michael Doyle and David Lightman of McClatchy Newspapers report that "Supreme Court wraps up arguments over health care law." And Erika Bolstad has an article headlined "Who's the woman out front against health care law? Florida AG Pam Bondi." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Supreme Court justices appear poised to sweep aside entire health-care law; Conservative Supreme Court justices argued Wednesday morning that without the individual mandate, the entire 2,700-page health-care law must be invalidated in full." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has an article headlined "In Health Care Case, The Roberts Court Comes Of Age." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has posts titled "Argument recap: A lift for the mandate?" and "Argument recap: Will Medicaid be sacrificed?" "Some justices seem open to saving parts of law": Mark Sherman and Pete Yost of The Associated Press have this report. Posted at 11:07 AM by Howard Bashman "White House voices confidence in solicitor general": The Associated Press has this report. Fortunately, the Solicitor General is not employed as the manager of a baseball team, because (as noted here) "Usually a vote of confidence from management is not a good omen for a baseball manager. More often than not, the manager is fired a short time later." "Obamacare at the Court: Contortions All Around." Law professor Jeffrey Rosen will have this essay in the April 19, 2012 issue of The New Republic. Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman Access online today's ruling in argued cases of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court today issued three rulings in argued cases. 1. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court in FAA v. Cooper, No. 10-1024. Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer joined. Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the ruling. You can access the oral argument via this link. 2. Justice Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court in Vartelas v. Holder, No. 10-1211. Justice Antonin Scalia issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Clarence Thomas and Alito joined. You can access the oral argument via this link. 3. And Justice Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court in Setser v. United States, No. 10-7387. Justice Breyer issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Ginsburg joined. You can access the oral argument via this link. In early news coverage, The Associated Press has a report headlined "Court: Man can't sue gov't over records sharing." "Supreme Court sets up doubleheader finale on ObamaCare hearing": FoxNews.com has this report. James Vicini and Joan Biskupic of Reuters report that "Supreme Court weighs all-or-nothing on healthcare law." Greg Stohr and Bob Drummond of Bloomberg News report that "Court Considers Health Law Fate If Coverage Rule Voided." Politico.com reports that "Medicaid ruling could have far-reaching impact." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has an article headlined "Health Reform In Supreme Court: End Of Affordable Care Act?" Time magazine has an article headlined "Inside the Supreme Court: Why Obamacare Supporters Are Getting So Nervous." And ABC News has a blog post titled "Six Years of Silence for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas." "Supreme Court TV cancelled: Televised judicial proceedings would educate and ensure transparency." Emily Miller of The Washington Times has this op-ed. Posted at 08:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Back home, NJ Supreme Court nominee is just Mr. Mayor": This article appears today in The Bergen Record. Posted at 08:24 AM by Howard Bashman "'I Do Not Think the United States Would Come to an End': If the Supreme Court stopped telling Congress and the president which laws they can pass." Law professor Jamal Greene has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court restores rules for Minnesota judicial races": This article appears today in The Minneapolis Star Tribune. And The Associated Press reports that "Wersal to take judicial politics case to U.S. Supreme Court again." My earlier coverage of yesterday's en banc Eighth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Arizona Supreme Court hears Mesa tattoo case": Today's edition of The Arizona Republic contains an article that begins, "The Arizona Supreme Court is deliberating whether the First Amendment rights of tattoo artists trump a city's right to regulate them under zoning codes." Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Evidence vs. Orie hangs over Melvin": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. And The Associated Press reports that "Orie's acquittal on Melvin charges raises question." "Fast-track plea on gay marriage": At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, "Seeking a fast track for two test cases on the constitutionality of the federal law barring benefits for legally-married same-sex couples, the Obama Administration this week asked the Ninth Circuit Court to go directly into review before a full 11-judge bench instead of a three-judge panel." You can access the federal government's motion for initial hearing en banc at this link. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Citizens United sequel filed": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." The Associated Press has a report headlined "Group formally requests Supreme Court to decide on campaign spending law" that begins, "A conservative group challenging some Montana limits on corporate campaign spending is formally asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its case." And the James Madison Center for Free Speech issued a news release yesterday headlined "U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Review Montana Rejection of Citizens United." You can access the petition for writ of certiorari at this link. "Justices Question Health Law": Jess Bravin has this article today in The Wall Street Journal. Laura Litvan and Kathleen Hunter of Bloomberg News report that "Both Parties See Signs They'll Win in U.S. Health Ruling." David Ingram of Reuters reports that "Twitter coverage of Supreme Court gets shut down." And Tony Mauro of The National Law Journal has an article headlined "For the lawyers, a contrast in styles during Tuesday's arguments." Tuesday, March 27, 2012 The case of the 700-year sentence of imprisonment: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this opinion today. Senior Circuit Judge John T. Noonan issued an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which he observed: "No known human being has the capacity to live 700 years. No living human being is likely to live 700 years. On its face, the sentence is impossible to execute. The United States asks us to affirm this sentence. It asks us to affirm a sentence that cannot be carried out. I do not believe that we should participate in this utterly empty gesture." "Court won't reconsider bone marrow payments ruling": The Associated Press has this report. And Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Appeals court united on compensation for bone marrow donors." You can access today's order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "Federal court rejects 'Joe the Plumber' suit": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Taste-Testing Nutraloaf: The prison food that just might be unconstitutionally bad." Back on June 24, 2008, I had this post linking to an essay that Slate published that day. Today, Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued this opinion on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit addressing a prisoner's challenge to a nutraloaf diet. "Appeals court restores MN judicial election rules": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A deeply split federal appeals court restored Minnesota's restrictions on fundraising and endorsements by judicial candidates on Tuesday, reversing an earlier decision that held the state's rules unconstitutional on free-speech grounds." And Terry Baynes of Reuters reports that "8th Circuit upholds judicial campaign restrictions." You can access today's en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link. My earlier coverage of the original three-judge panel's ruling from July 2010 can be accessed here. "Place Your Bets on Obamacare: It appears we'll have a photo finish; Obama's signature legislative achievement will probably rise or fall on the opinion of John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy." Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate. Posted at 06:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Have Hard Questions on Insurance Requirement": Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update. The newspaper also has a news analysis headlined "On Health Care Law, a Familiar Split." In addition, today's newspaper contained a front page article headlined "Vindication for Challenger of Health Care Law." Robert Barnes and N.C. Aizenman of The Washington Post have a news update headlined "Supreme Court turns to key constitutional issue in health-care law." David G. Savage and Noam N. Levey of The Los Angeles Times have a news update headlined "Skeptical Kennedy signals trouble for Obama's healthcare law." The Wall Street Journal has a news update headlined "Conservative Justices Challenge Government Over Health Law." Brad Heath and Richard Wolf of USA Today have a news update headlined "Conservative justices criticize individual mandate." Michael Doyle and David Lightman of McClatchy Newspapers report that "On Day 2, Supreme Court health care arguments center on mandate." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Supreme Court health-care hearing: How bad does it look for 'Obamacare'? Based on justices' questions in the two-hour Supreme Court health-care hearing, the fate of 'Obamacare' is in peril; Justice Kennedy expressed strong concerns about the individual mandate." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that "Justices signal deep trouble for health care law." The AP also has a report headlined "Loss of insurance mandate wouldn't kill health law." Joan Biskupic and James Vicini of Reuters report that "Supreme Court divided over Obama healthcare law." Greg Stohr and Laurie Asseo of Bloomberg News report that "Some Justices Question Health Law's Constitutionality." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has an article headlined "Supreme Court Health Care Law: Justices Come Down Hard On The Mandate." At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Argument recap: It is Kennedy's call." This evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained audio segments entitled "Supreme Court Justices Weigh Mandate"; "Health Care Mandate At Issue At Supreme Court"; "Supporter, Opponent Of Health Law Weigh In"; and "Arguments In Health Care Case." And today's broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation" contained an audio segment entitled "Health Law's Individual Mandate Has It's Day In Court." The U.S. Supreme Court has made both the audio and the transcript of today's oral argument in Department of Health and Human Servs. v. Florida, No. 11-398, available via this link. Programming note: Today, I will be presenting an appellate oral argument on behalf of clients to a three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Additional posts will appear here this afternoon. C-SPAN continues to provide extensive coverage of this week's health care oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court. Monday, March 26, 2012 "Former Rep. William Jefferson's conviction upheld by appeals panel": Bruce Alpert of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans has this news update reporting on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Court refuses to revive suit by ex-driver Mayfield": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:22 PM by Howard Bashman "You Say Tax, I Say Penalty -- On day one of the Supreme Court arguments over Obamacare, the justices did what they do best: argue over boring old 19th-century statutes for the fun of it." Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate. And law professor David L. Franklin has a jurisprudence essay entitled "Marbury v. Medicine: The key to saving Obamacare may be hidden in America's first great constitutional case." "Government wants faster review of gay-rights case": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this news update. Posted at 10:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal judges in New Orleans uphold dismissal of lawsuit over Mississippi girl's rape": The Associated Press has this report on an en banc ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued last Friday. Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Court to rule on reliability of drug-sniffing dogs": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 09:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Decline to Say if Jerusalem-Born Americans Can Claim Israeli Birthplace": This article will appear Tuesday in The New York Times. Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Supreme Court orders judicial solution to Congress-State dispute on Jerusalem; Is Jerusalem part of Israel? In a case concerning a US citizen's birth certificate, the Supreme Court said a federal court should rule on an issue that has divided Congress and the State Department." Haaretz has an article headlined "U.S. Supreme Court: Federal judges to rule on 'Jerusalem, Israel' passport case; Court rules that the American parents of a boy born in Jerusalem can argue that their son's U.S. passport may list Israel as his birthplace." Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has a report headlined "Court: Judges can rule on passport law." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "U.S. Supreme Court Orders Trial in Case of 'Israel' on Passport." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Opinion analysis: Enabling a constitutional fight." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Zivotofsky v. Clinton, No. 10-699, at this link. "State Sen. Jane Orie guilty on 14 counts, acquitted of 10": Paula Reed Ward of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this news update. And The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a news update headlined "Jury convicts Sen. Orie of 14 charges." "Justices Hear Argument That Health Case Is Premature": Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update. And Kevin Sack has a news update headlined "Arguing That Health Mandate Is Not a Tax, Except When It Is." Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Supreme Court begins review of health-care law." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Supreme Court appears unlikely to put off healthcare ruling." The Wall Street Journal has a news update headlined "Justices Hear Health-Law Arguments." Brad Heath and Richard Wolf of USA Today have a news update headlined "Supreme Court dives into health care debate." Michael Doyle and David Lightman of McClatchy Newspapers report that "Arguments begin before Supreme Court in historic health law case." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Health-care challenge at US Supreme Court: Justices seek way past Day 1 hurdle; Health-care reform proponents and detractors were on the same side Monday at the US Supreme Court, advocating that the justices move on to the constitutional issue on Tuesday." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that "Justices moving to heart of health care overhaul." Joan Biskupic and James Vicini of Reuters report that "Supreme court unlikely to delay Obama healthcare ruling." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Court Opens Health-Care Clash With Law That May End Case." This evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained audio segments entitled "Supreme Court Justices Weigh Health Care Law" and "Health Care Arguments Center On Taxes." Today's broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation" contained an audio segment entitled "Health Care Law's First Day In Supreme Court." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Argument recap: Moving on to the mandate." The U.S. Supreme Court has made both the audio and the transcript of today's oral argument in Department of Health and Human Servs. v. Florida, No. 11-398, available via this link. "Supreme court refuses tobacco firm appeal in smoker case": James Vicini of Reuters has this report. Bloomberg News reports that "R.J. Reynolds Loses Bid to Fight Smoker's Verdict in High Court." And The Associated Press reports that "Court won't get involved in Florida tobacco case." "Supreme Court Declines Appeals on Religion in Public Education": Mark Walsh has this post at the "School Law" blog of Education Week. Posted at 05:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices request Obama admin views on truck-pollution initiative": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report. Posted at 05:40 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: Due to an appellate-related hearing for a client early this afternoon in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, additional posts will appear here mid to late afternoon today. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to issue an Order List today, which should be available at this link shortly after 10 a.m. eastern time. In addition, according to "SCOTUSblog," the Court will issue one or more rulings in argued cases today. Once the Court posts the opinion(s) online moments after they are announced, you can access them via this link. Finally for now, C-SPAN is offering extensive coverage of this week's health care oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court. C-SPAN expects to begin broadcasting the audio from today's oral argument around 1 p.m. eastern time today. "Health Act Arguments Open With Obstacle From 1867": Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update. Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that "High court takes up fight over Obama health law." Joan Biskupic and James Vicini of Reuters report that "Supreme Court weighs historic healthcare law." Politico.com has reports headlined "5 things to watch in health law oral arguments" and "Pick an ending: 6 ways the Supreme Court might rule." Bill Mears of CNN.com has a report headlined "Health care reform -- now it's up to the Supreme Court to diagnose." Roll Call has a report headlined "Supreme Court Ruffles Democrats' Feathers; As Health Care Law Faces Scrutiny, Liberals Remember Past Decisions That Displeased Them." Massimo Calabresi of Time magazine has an article headlined "Supreme Court: Why It's Not About Obama." And online at The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn has a blog post entitled "Is There a Weak Link in the Government's Case for Obamacare?" Sunday, March 25, 2012 "Will Supreme Court hear health mandate at all?" David G. Savage will have this article Monday in The Los Angeles Times. And Politico.com reports that "Ben Nelson stands by his key vote." "Ruling on health care case hard to predict; Conservative justices could side either way": This article will appear Monday in The Washington Times. Today's edition of The Tampa Bay Times contains an article headlined "Health care case puts spotlight on Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court's swing vote." Monday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined "Waiting (and Sleeping) in Line, for View of Health Care History." Monday's edition of The Nashua (N.H.) Telegraph will contain an article headlined "Nashua grad setting up camp, hoping to hear Supreme Court arguments on health care." Columnist Robert J. Samuelson of The Washington Post has an essay entitled "Obama's ego trip." And at Politico.com, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has an essay entitled "Healthy reminder of SCOTUS's role." In addition, former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle has an essay entitled "Killing the mandate won't fix health care." "Before Health Case, Lawyers Train for Legal Marathon": Adam Liptak will have this article Monday in The New York Times. The newspaper also has a "Room for Debate" discussion online titled "Is the Court Being Thoughtful or Partisan?" In Monday's edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes will have an article headlined "Supreme Court to hear arguments on timing of health-care ruling." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Two formidable lawyers to spar at Supreme Court over health care reform law; Two attorneys will handle the lion's share of the arguments before the Supreme Court in the Obama health care reform case; In one corner, US Solicitor General Donald Verrilli; In the other, the indomitable Paul Clement." The Salt Lake Tribune reports that "Utah health care reform foes to attend landmark Supreme Court hearing." The Seattle Times has an article headlined "If 'Obamacare' falls, McKenna could pay political price; State Attorney General Rob McKenna has long said he isn't trying to overturn the entire federal health-care law by joining a lawsuit against it; But those statements are at odds with the legal arguments plaintiffs in the case have made in McKenna's name." The Guardian (UK) reports that "US healthcare reforms battle moves to supreme court; Attorney generals representing 26 states claim Barack Obama's sweeping healthcare reforms violate the constitution." Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has articles headlined "High court has a range of personalities, styles" and "Multi-hour arguments heard at Supreme Court." The AP also reports that "Argument up first: Is it too soon to decide?" Bloomberg News reports that "Plouffe Says Americans Don't Want 'Refight' on Health Care." In addition, law professor Noah Feldman has an essay entitled "Supreme Court Should Heed Economic Sense on Health Care." Bill Mears of CNN.com has reports headlined "The U.S. Supreme Court: How it works"; "Health care's big four issues: What the justices will tackle"; "The Supreme Court and election-year blockbusters"; "Health law opponent: 'Congress made a bad situation worse'"; "Health law supporter: 'It really is going to help the American public'"; and "Health care reform FAQ: A CNN guide to the Supreme Court's arguments." And Monday's edition of The Los Angeles Times will contain an editorial entitled "Healthcare law's day in court: After numerous lower-court rulings, it's up to the Supreme Court to find it constitutional." "Clash over floating home reaches US Supreme Court": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:06 PM by Howard Bashman "Essay: Taking its place in history..." Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 11:56 AM by Howard Bashman "Delays Keep Former Qaeda Child Soldier at Guantanamo, Despite Plea Deal": Charlie Savage has this article today in The New York Times. Posted at 11:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Don't Blame The Supreme Court For Citizens United -- Blame Congress, The FEC And The IRS." Dan Froomkin has this article online at The Huffington Post. Posted at 09:26 AM by Howard Bashman "Groups Blanket Supreme Court on Health Care": This article appears today in The New York Times. In addition, Lincoln Caplan and Philip M. Boffey have an Editorial Observer essay entitled "A Moment of Truth for Health Care Reform." In today's edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes has an article headlined "As Supreme Court justices review health-care law, stakes will be hard to ignore." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Obama health care law at Supreme Court: mega case for the history books; US Supreme Court takes up the Obama health-care reform law starting Monday; The case puts the high court center stage in a constitutional showdown that could define the scope of congressional power for generations -- and perhaps affect Obama's reelection prospects." The Kansas City Star contains an article headlined "Case before Supreme Court isn't just about health care reform; Political dispute is likely to redefine the relations between government and individuals for a long time." Michael Kirkland of UPI has an article headlined "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Healthcare, at long last, reaches the justices." Josh Gerstein of Politico.com has an article headlined "How the legal assault on Obama's health law went mainstream." Today's broadcast of NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday" contained audio segments entitled "Health Care Law Heads To The High Court" and "Supreme Court Doesn't Budge On Push For Cameras." The Denver Post contains articles headlined "Supreme Court arguments this week on 2-year-old health care law fan old flames of debate" and "Individual mandate a key Colorado issue as high court reviews health care act." The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an article headlined "Health-care reform on the docket; The Supreme Court case may determine the extent of federal power." The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contains an article headlined "As U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on health care bill, industry says it's already reformed." The Las Vegas Sun contains an article headlined "Health care law: Legal challenge hinges on wheat, pot farmers, tax collection." The Detroit Free Press contains an article headlined "Michiganders divided on law reforming health care as Supreme Court takes up challenges." The Telegraph (UK) contains an article headlined "How nine Supreme Court justices hold health care and Barack Obama's future in their hands -- American Way: Three days of Supreme Court hearings on Barack Obama's health care reforms will determine their future -- and the president's legacy." The Chicago Tribune contains an editorial entitled "Moment of decision: Nine justices, weighing health insurance mandate, will calibrate the government's reach." At Reason.com, Damon W. Root has an essay entitled "The 4 Best Legal Arguments Against ObamaCare: Why the president's sweeping health care overhaul should be struck down by the Supreme Court." And at Mother Jones, Kevin Drum has a blog post titled "Forget Interstate Commerce: It's the 'Necessary and Proper' Clause That's the Key to Obamacare's Future." "In rejecting Supreme Court nominee Phillip Kwon, Dems send Gov. Christie a message": The Newark Star-Ledger contains this article today. And The Bergen Record reports today that "Liberal groups pushed to sink state Supreme Court nominee Kwon." "Years After Ten Commandments Fight, Ex-Justice Plans Return": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, March 24, 2012 "Health-Care Court Challenge Faces Hurdles": In today's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin has an article that begins, "If the lawsuit contesting President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul is to succeed, it will have to overcome setbacks that left the challengers with unfavorable lower-court rulings and a less-than-ideal plaintiff." Posted at 01:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Court's health ruling could shake fall elections": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 01:16 PM by Howard Bashman "No 'Fighting Sioux' on ice, but name is all over courts -- state and federal": This article appears today in The Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald. Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman "A Lawyer Who Can Simplify the Complex Draws a Big One: Obama's Health Overhaul." The New York Times contains this article today, along with an article headlined "Implications Are Far-Reaching in States' Challenge of Federal Health Care Law." The Des Moines Register reports today that "Harkin fears political tilt in justices' health law ruling; He's particularly leery of John Roberts' impact." Jan Crawford of CBS News reports that "High court health care law showdown nears." Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has a report headlined "Supreme Court Health Care Challenge by the Numbers: 9 Justices, 7 Lawyers, 1 Law." Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has a report headlined "How health care case will unfold before the court." Bloomberg News reports that "Health-Care Arguments at High Court Draw Early Spectator Line." The Washington Post has a blog post titled "To hear health care oral arguments, a three day camp-out." WJS.com's "Washington Wire" blog has a post titled "Campout for SCOTUS Health Case Seats Starts Early." Sunlen Miller of ABC News has a blog post titled "Supreme Court Line Forms 3 Days Before Health Care Hearing." And in The Toronto Globe and Mail, columnist Konrad Yakabuski has an op-ed entitled "U.S. Supreme Court holds Obamacare's future in its hands." "Daniels picks Massa for Indiana Supreme Court; 51-year-old had served as governor's lawyer": This article appears today in The Indianapolis Star. Posted at 09:57 AM by Howard Bashman "John Payton, Influential Civil Rights Lawyer, Dies at 65": Sunday's edition of The New York Times will contain this obituary. Posted at 09:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Sanders wants old job back on state court; Former state Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders says he is a candidate to serve on the Supreme Court again": This article appeared yesterday in The Seattle Times. Posted at 09:22 AM by Howard Bashman "War of words continues in wake of N.J. Democrats' rejection of Christie's Supreme Court nominee": The Newark Star-Ledger contains this article today. Posted at 09:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Generic Drugs Proving Resistant to Damage Suits": This article appeared Wednesday in The New York Times. And today's newspaper contains an editorial entitled "A Bizarre Outcome on Generic Drugs." Friday, March 23, 2012 In commentary available online from The Washington Post: Columnist George F. Will has an essay entitled "Obamacare's contract problem." Walter Dellinger has an essay entitled "Five myths about the health-care law." And Jeffrey Rosen has an essay entitled "What's going to happen during 3 days of arguments on health care?" Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post is reporting: He has articles headlined "Health Care Reform At Supreme Court: Line Begins Three Days Early" and "Health Care Reform At Supreme Court: Line-Standers Show The Professional Way To Wait." Posted at 11:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Gay Marriage Effort Attracts a Novel Group of Donors": This article will appear Saturday in The New York Times. Posted at 11:02 PM by Howard Bashman "The Legal Wunderkind Challenging The Health Law": Nina Totenberg had this audio segment on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." And on yesterday evening's broadcast, she had an audio segment entitled "The Man Behind The Defense Of Obama's Health Law." "5th Circuit thwarts Texas foster care class action": Terry Baynes of Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today. Posted at 04:20 PM by Howard Bashman "How interested are Americans in Supreme Court oral arguments on health care law? New C-SPAN poll." C-SPAN has posted the results of its most recent survey at this link. Posted at 03:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Court Backs Discipline of 5th Grader in Crayon-Drawn 'Threat'": Mark Walsh has this post at the "School Law" blog of Education Week. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Second Circuit ruling appears at this link. "John Payton, president of NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Dead at 65": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." And The Associated Press reports that "President of NAACP Legal Defense Fund dies at 65." "Chief Judge Pays Tribute to Departed Colleagues": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted online this news release. Posted at 02:19 PM by Howard Bashman "Preview: Obama healthcare law faces Supreme Court hearing." James Vicini of Reuters has this report. Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Health-care changes may not all disappear even if justices overturn the law": The Washington Post contains this article today. Michael Doyle and David Lightman of McClatchy Newspapers have an article headlined "Supreme Court health law rulings could have big impact." Politico.com reports that "Justice Department bets big on mandate." Bloomberg News reports that "Bankruptcies Hit People Challenging Health Law's Insurance Rule." Joan Biskupic of Reuters has an article headlined "Analysis: Why Supreme Court may uphold healthcare law." Cokie Roberts of ABC News has a blog post titled "Health Care and Other Long Supreme Court Arguments That Made History." At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Argument preview: Health care, Part IV -- The Medicaid expansion." Today's edition of The Wall Street Journal contains an editorial entitled "Liberty and ObamaCare: The Affordable Care Act claims federal power is unlimited; Now the High Court must decide." The New York Times contains an op-ed by law professors Abbe R. Gluck and Michael J. Graetz entitled "The Severability Doctrine." And online at The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn has an essay entitled "If Medicare Is OK, Obamacare Should Be Too." "Drug Dosage Was Approved Despite Warning": This article appears today in The New York Times. And The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Alzheimer's drug sharply criticized by medical experts; Aricept 23 mg, found to be ineffective and cause stomach upset, was devised to serve commercial aims and was approved despite a poor showing in company-sponsored tests, two medical investigators say." Yesterday, BMJ published an article titled "How the FDA forgot the evidence: the case of donepezil 23 mg." "Judging the justices over conflicts of interest": Arlen Specter has this essay online at The Washington Post. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "A Broader Right to Counsel": The New York Times contains this editorial today. Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "N.J. Senate committee rejects Gov. Christie's Supreme Court nominee Phillip Kwon": This article appears today in The Newark Star-Ledger. In addition, columnist Tom Moran has an essay entitled "In a war of wills, Supreme Court nominee Kwon was a casualty." The New York Times reports today that "Democrats Reject Christie Choice for New Jersey's Top Court." The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an article headlined "In a blow to Christie, N.J. Senate panel rejects high court nominee." And The Bergen (N.J.) Record contains an article headlined "N.J. Supreme Court nominee rejected after a day of grilling." In addition, columnist Charles Stile has an essay entitled "In the end, Christie doomed Supreme Court nominee Kwon." Thursday, March 22, 2012 "Appeals court agrees Farmers Branch law on illegal immigrants is unconstitutional": This article appears today in The Dallas Morning News. The Associated Press reports that "Court upholds ban on Texas immigrant housing law." And Terry Baynes of Reuters reports that "5th Circuit rejects housing immigration law." You can access yesterday's ruling of a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. "It's Not About the Law, Stupid: Forget precedent. Ignore Scalia's musings. Next week's health care argument before the Supreme Court is all about optics, politics, and public opinion." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 10:52 PM by Howard Bashman First Circuit affirms criminal conviction for threatening employees of First Circuit Clerk's Office: You can access today's ruling of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit at this link. Posted at 10:48 PM by Howard Bashman "For Democracy's Sake, Supreme Court, Let the Cameras In; It's by far the most closely-watched Supreme Court case of its generation, yet only a miniscule fraction of Americans will be able to see it live": Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 03:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Boy's 'wish' to blow up school warrants suspension, court says": Reuters has this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court upholds suspension for NY boy, 10." You can access today's ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. "Feds consider closing some courtrooms": The Associated Press has this report. You can view a list of the locations under consideration for closure at this link. Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Argument preview: Health care, Part III -- Beyond the mandate." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." In today's edition of The Wall Street Journal, David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey have an op-ed entitled "The Supreme Court Weighs ObamaCare: Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce is broad but not limitless." At Politico.com, law professor Daniel Conkle has an essay entitled "Health care and constitutional Armageddon." And at The Huffington Post, Doug Kendall has an essay entitled "A Viper In the Grass: Could the Supreme Court Find Medicaid, And Programs Like It, Unconstitutional?" "Cruz touts record as state attorney; critics say he takes too much credit": Today's edition of The Austin American-Statesman contains an article that begins, "Guns, prayer, abortion. U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz tackled them all during his five-year stint as Texas' chief appellate lawyer." Posted at 09:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Sources: One of Gov. Christie's Supreme Court nominees lacks votes to advance past Senate panel." This article appears today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. Posted at 08:09 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court should lift its blackout; The high court's ban on live TV coverage of oral arguments is a national shame": Law professors Erwin Chemerinsky and Eric J. Segall have this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times. And in related news coverage, The Hill has a blog post titled "Sen. Sessions blocks bill that would force cameras in Supreme Court for health care arguments." "Court Appears to Be Wary Hearing Free-Speech Case": 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 appears to side with Secret Service agents who protected Cheney." The Denver Post reports that "Denver lawyers address Supreme Court in case over Secret Service arrest." And Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Does Secret Service protection trump speech rights? Supreme Court hears case; A Colorado man arrested in 2006 after telling Vice President Cheney what he thought of the Iraq war alleges that Secret Service agents retaliated against him for his opinions." Wednesday, March 21, 2012 "Never Before": Linda Greenhouse has this post at the "Opinionator" blog of The New York Times. Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Court revives Ala. inmate's execution appeal": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court has revived an Alabama death row inmate's challenge of his state's new three-drug lethal injection protocol." You can access today's ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. "How Obama Learned To Love Military Commissions; At least one good thing came out of the war on terror: We now know that military commissions are the right solution to a tough problem." Law professor Jack Goldsmith has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 11:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Courtly Battle in Health-Care Case": Jess Bravin will have this article Thursday in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 11:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices' Ruling Expands Rights of Accused in Plea Bargains": Adam Liptak will have this article Thursday in The New York Times. In Thursday's edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes will have an article headlined "Supreme Court expands plea bargain rights of criminal defendants." In Thursday's edition of The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage will have an article headlined "Supreme Court expands defendant's rights in plea deals; In two 5-4 decisions, the Supreme Court rules that defendants in criminal cases have a constitutional right to a competent lawyer's advice when deciding whether to accept a plea deal." In Thursday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin will have an article headlined "Rulings Expand Right to Counsel." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Justices say defendants who get bad advice on plea bargains deserve relief." And on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered," Nina Totenberg had an audio segment entitled "High Court Expands Defendants' Plea Bargain Rights." "Without Precedent: The Supreme Court weighs Obamacare." Adam J. White has this article in the March 26, 2012 issue of The Weekly Standard. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Property owners who want to build get a boost against regulators": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. The Washington Times has a news update headlined "Court backs Idaho couple in battle with EPA." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "EPA wetlands order can be challenged by land owners, Supreme Court rules; The Idaho couple, saying the 'EPA used bullying and threats of terrifying fines' to halt building of their dream home, thanks Supreme Court justices for 'affirming' their right to a court hearing." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "'Little guy' wins high court fight over property rights." Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has a blog post titled "Supreme Court Rules For Idaho Couple In EPA Battle." And Politico.com has an article headlined "SCOTUS: EPA's Clean Water Act decisions can face court challenges." "Could SCOTUS Prometheus ruling be the end of human gene patents?" Terry Baynes has this report at Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight. Posted at 08:37 PM by Howard Bashman "Jury nullification a danger, judge says": Reuters has this report. Posted at 05:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Dick Cheney Critic, Arrested After Touching The VP, Unlikely To Prevail In Supreme Court": Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has this report. Posted at 05:34 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court rules unanimously against EPA in enforcement case": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report. Posted at 04:48 PM by Howard Bashman "The Small Chance the Supreme Court Will Overturn the Health Care Act; If the Court rules against the individual mandate, it will upset a balance of power that has been in place since the New Deal": Law professor Jack M. Balkin has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 04:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Court weighs US power over states in health case": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "High court hears suit over Cheney event arrest": The Associated Press has this report. Update: You can access the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Reichle v. Howards, No.11-262, at this link. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Argument recap: New power for Secret Service." "Court sides with property owners over EPA": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court backs landowners in EPA clean water case." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "EPA Enforcement Tool Blunted by High Court in Wetlands Case." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post reports that "Supreme Court Unanimously Allows Idaho Couple To Fight EPA." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Opinion recap: Taking EPA to court." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA, No. 10-1062, at this link. "Court: Lawyers must do good job on plea bargains." Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has this report. Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Defendants Entitled to Adequate Lawyer on Plea, Court Says." James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court extends effective lawyer right to plea deals." And Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post reports that "Supreme Court: Plea Bargain Advice That Is Absurdly Bad Violates The Constitution." The news coverage linked above reports on today's rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court in Missouri v. Frye, No. 10-444, and Lafler v. Cooper, No. 10-209. "A brief overview of one of the busiest appellate courts in the United States." The Superior Court of Pennsylvania has posted this video online at YouTube. Posted at 12:14 PM by Howard Bashman "In Health Care Case, Supreme Court Conservatives Could Go Either Way": Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has this report. Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: To prepare for an appellate oral argument that I'm scheduled to present on Tuesday of next week in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, I will be meeting this morning with trial counsel in the case. At 10 a.m. eastern time today, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to issue one or more rulings in argued cases. You can access those decisions via this link just moments after they are announced in Court. Additional posts will appear here this afternoon. "FBI Still Struggling With Supreme Court's GPS Ruling": This audio segment appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 07:34 AM by Howard Bashman "How the Historic Supreme Court Health-Care Arguments Will Unfold": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition" contained an audio segment entitled "White House Preps For Court's Health Care Ruling." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Argument preview: Health care, Part II -- Fate of the mandate." "Prosser plans to ask other justices to recuse selves in discipline case": The Wisconsin State Journal has an article that begins, "Embattled Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser said Monday he will likely ask other members of the court to recuse themselves from deciding on the disciplinary complaint filed against him last week -- an action that, if successful, would appear to kill the case." Posted at 07:29 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court to hear of Colorado arrest after Cheney confrontation": This article appears today in The Denver Post. Posted at 07:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Panel chosen by Christie endorses N.J. Supreme Court nominees": Today's edition of The Newark Star-Ledger contains an article that begins, "Faced with a state Supreme Court nomination in jeopardy and hearings a day away, the Christie administration countered critics of both nominees Tuesday with the endorsement of an advisory panel he had hand-picked." Posted at 07:25 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, March 20, 2012 "Health care law's defenders look to George Washington": Richard Wolf will have this article Wednesday in USA Today. Posted at 11:06 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Back Mayo Clinic Argument on Patents": Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. Wednesday's edition of The Wall Street Journal will contain an article headlined "Top Court's Patent Rejection Alarms the Biotech Industry." Wednesday's edition of The Minneapolis Star Tribune will contain an article headlined "Court backs Mayo in patent case; Justices ruled Prometheus Labs had tried to patent laws of nature." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Opinion recap: Freeing doctors to practice." "Justices Limit Suits Filed Over Family Leave Act Violations": Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. In Wednesday's edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes will have an article headlined "Supreme Court rules that states can't be sued for denying workers medical leave." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that "Court votes to shield state agencies that deny unpaid sick leave for new parents." And Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Does Supreme Court decision on sick leave hint at health-care law ruling? The sick leave provision and health-care law rely on different sections of the Constitution, but Supreme Court-watchers noted with interest that the justices found Congress had overstepped its authority." "Supreme Court Revisits Issue of Harsh Sentences for Juveniles": Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times. Tomorrow's newspaper will also contain an editorial entitled "Cruel and Unusual Punishment for 14-Year-Olds." In Wednesday's edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes will have an article headlined "Supreme Court debates whether young murderers should get life without parole." In Wednesday's edition of The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage will have an article headlined "Supreme Court troubled by mandatory life terms for child criminals; The justices seem closely split and uncertain over whether to set new constitutional limits on prison terms for murderers younger than 14." Mary Orndorff of The Birmingham News has an update headlined "U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in Alabama case about life without parole for juvenile offenders." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Do 14-year-old killers deserve life without parole? Supreme Court hears cases; Supreme Court Justice Kennedy is seen as the potential swing vote in two cases questioning whether life without parole for 14-year-old killers is cruel and unusual punishment." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Justices mull whether life without parole appropriate for underage killers." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post reports that "Supreme Court Takes On Life Without Parole For Teens Convicted Of Murder." Online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has a Supreme Court dispatch entitled "The Supreme Court's Guide to Good Parenting: When it comes to punishing children, the Supreme Court doesn't have a clue." And on this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered," Nina Totenberg had an audio segment entitled "High Court Debates Life Without Parole For Juveniles." "Why California's chief justice is taking on the Legislature: As head of the California court system, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye is in a power struggle with lawmakers; It points to a delicate balance for judges." The Christian Science Monitor has this report. Posted at 10:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Court wary of life without parole for juveniles": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court weighs if teen murderers must get chance of parole." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Argument recap: Compromise on youth sentences?" Welcome back, Cotterman: Late yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order granting rehearing en banc in United States v. Cotterman. The majority opinion that a divided three-judge Ninth Circuit panel issued in the case on March 30, 2011 -- nearly one year ago -- begins, "Today we examine a question of first impression in the Ninth Circuit: whether the search of a laptop computer that begins at the border and ends two days later in a Government forensic computer laboratory almost 170 miles away can still fall within the border search doctrine." My earlier coverage of that ruling appears at this link. "Court questions life without parole for juveniles": The Associated Press has this report. The U.S. Supreme Court has posted the transcripts of today's oral argument in Miller v. Alabama, No. 10-9646, at this link and in Jackson v. Hobbs, No. 10-9647, at this link. Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News is reporting: He has articles headlined "States Shielded From Medical-Leave Suits by U.S. High Court" and "Diagnostic Medical-Test Patents Limited by U.S. High Court." Posted at 02:28 PM by Howard Bashman Reuters is reporting: James Vicini reports that "Supreme Court rejects state damages in medical leave case." And Diane Bartz and James Vicini report that "Supreme court rules against Nestle unit on patent." "Judicial Confirmations: What Thurmond Rule?" The Brookings Institution has posted online this paper written by Russell Wheeler. Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman "O'Connor visit called 'wonderful event for Greenville and the Upstate'; Retired Supreme Court justice to preside over several 4th Circuit Court of Appeals' cases": This article appears today in The Greenville (S.C.) News. You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News. "Solution to Alameda County fair gun show ban?" Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. You can access the audio of yesterday's oral argument before an eleven-judge en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit via this link. "Publicity Push as Health Law's Court Date Nears": This article appears today in The New York Times. USA Today reports today that "Health care debate ramps up ahead of Supreme Court arguments." The Associated Press reports that "High court has options on health care law." Bloomberg News has reports headlined "Health-Care Victory Seen as Possible Setback for Obama" and "Insurers at Risk in Challenge to Health Care Law's Medicaid Plan." Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has a blog post titled "What to Expect: Supreme Court to Hear Health Care Law Challenge." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has an article headlined "Health Care Case Reaches Supreme Court: The Constitutional Challenge." At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Argument preview: Health care, Part I -- The power to decide?" Today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition" contained an audio segment entitled "How Do Racial Attitudes Affect Opinions About The Health Care Overhaul?" And yesterday's broadcast contained an audio segment entitled "Florida Challenges Medicaid Spending 'By Force.'" Meanwhile, in commentary, The Washington Times contains an op-ed by U.S. Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) entitled "Kagan and Obamacare -- still no answers; Stonewalling over justice's obligation to recuse continues." And The Wall Street Journal contains an op-ed by Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Vernon L. Smith entitled "ObamaCare's Flawed Economic Foundations: The insurance mandate has almost nothing to do with remedying costs imposed on the system by those without coverage." Access online today's rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court in argued cases: The Court today issued four rulings in argued cases. 1. Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the Court in Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc., No. 10-1399. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. You can access the oral argument via this link. 2. Justice Stephen G. Breyer delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., No. 10-1150. You can access the oral argument via this link. 3. Justice Anthony M Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court in Martinez v. Ryan, No. 10-1001. Justice Antonin Scalia issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Clarence Thomas joined. You can access the oral argument via this link. 4. Justice Kennedy also announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion in which Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Justices Thomas and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined in Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Md., No. 10-1016. Justice Thomas issued a concurring opinion. Justice Scalia issued an opinion concurring in the judgment. And Justice Ginsburg issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Breyer joined in full and Justices Elena Kagan and Sotomayor joined except for a footnote. You can access the oral argument via this link. In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Court says state can't be sued over sick leave" and "Court throws out Prometheus patent." "Supreme Court Examines Roles of Jury and Judge in Setting Fines": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. And Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire reports that "Justices divided over mercury storage case." You can access the transcript of yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Southern Union Co. v. United States, No. 11-94, at this link. "Supreme Court to weigh life term for juveniles convicted of murder": USA Today has this report. And on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition," Nina Totenberg had an audio segment entitled "Do Juvenile Killers Deserve Life Behind Bars?" "Supreme Court denies campus groups' appeal": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court should remain free of TV cameras": Charles Lane has this essay online at The Washington Post. Posted at 09:47 AM by Howard Bashman "Injustice in a Sentencing Law": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, "The Armed Career Criminal Act has long been a source of confusion for federal judges who are required to apply it in criminal cases." Posted at 07:26 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, March 19, 2012 "Stanford Investor Class Actions Restored by Appeals Court": Bloomberg News has this report. Terry Baynes and Jonathan Stempel of Reuters report that "Class-actions by Allen Stanford investors revived." And The Associated Press has a report headlined "Court: Stanford investor suits can go forward." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. "Complications beset 'posthumous conception' case": Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has this news update. David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Death benefits for children produced by in vitro fertilization?" Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Justices at odds over benefits for child conceived after death of a parent." Shannon Bream of FoxNews.com has a report headlined "Old vs. new at the High Court." And this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained an audio segment featuring Nina Totenberg entitled "Justices Weigh IVF Technology Against 1939 Law." Earlier, on today's broadcast of "Morning Edition," Totenberg previewed the oral argument in an audio segment entitled "Is A Baby Conceived After Dad's Death A 'Survivor'?" "U.S. Supreme Court to decide execution delay case": Jack Torry of The Columbus Dispatch has this news update. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Competency and death-row challenges." "D.C. Circuit Weighs U.S. Citizen's Torture Suit Against Rumsfeld": Mike Scarcella has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 08:52 PM by Howard Bashman "How ObamaCare Is Exposing Conservative vs. Libertarian Divisions on the Supreme Court": Damon W. Root has this essay online at Reason. Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Prosecutors Gear Up For GPS Drug Case, Sans Tracking Data": Mike Scarcella has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 08:47 PM by Howard Bashman "New Look at an Old Memo Casts More Doubt on Rehnquist": Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 08:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Louisville parents wants U.S. Supreme Court to hear cap on athlete scholarships": The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky has this news update. Posted at 08:35 PM by Howard Bashman "At Heart of Health Law Clash, a 1942 Case of a Farmer's Wheat": Adam Liptak will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times. The newspaper has also posted online "A Guide to the Supreme Court Challenges to Obama's Health Care Law." "Court hears Southern Union appeal of $18M fine": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The Supreme Court has indicated it could throw out an $18 million penalty against a natural gas company convicted of an environmental violation in Rhode Island." Posted at 01:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Jailed for life at age 14: US supreme court to consider juvenile sentences; Court to decide constitutionality of cases like Quantel Lotts's -- who as a teenager was handed a life sentence without parole." The Guardian (UK) has this report. Posted at 01:40 PM by Howard Bashman "What If The Supreme Court Kills Rent Control? Rent control seems unfair, but ending it could threaten people's homes--and endanger important zoning regulations." Adam Cohen has this essay online at Time magazine's web site. Posted at 01:37 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court refuses church-state case involving child sex abuse by clergy; US Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up an appeal by a man who says he was abused by a Roman Catholic priest decades ago; He sought to challenge the archdiocese's assertion that the First Amendment shields it from a lawsuit": Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report. And Bloomberg News reports that "Sex-Abuse Suit Against Archdiocese Rejected by Top Court." "Court: Benefits for babies born after dad's death?" Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has this report. You can access the transcript of today's U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Astrue v. Capato, No. 11-159, at this link. "Supreme Court to hear death row mental competency cases": James Vicini of Reuters has this report. Posted at 12:21 PM by Howard Bashman "Juvenile Murderers: Is Life Without Parole Unconstitutional?" Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has this report. And online at The Atlantic, Andrew Cohen has an essay entitled "Should Teen Murderers Receive Life Without Parole?" "A Conversation with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor": Reuters has just posted online this lengthy video segment. Posted at 11:44 AM by Howard Bashman South Dakota inmate's request for a succah behind bars results in a second Eighth Circuit ruling: My coverage of the first ruling, which issued in September 2009, can be accessed here. You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link. "US appeals court backs graphic cigarette labels": The Associated Press has this report on a lengthy ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued today. Posted at 11:28 AM by Howard Bashman Access online today's Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: You can access today's Order List at this link. The Court granted review in two cases. Update: In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Court to hear Ariz., Ohio appeals"; "High court rejects Christian campus groups' appeal"; and "High court turns down Louisiana bid on Census." "Ex-Prisoners Say Life Term Is Cruel for Teens, As Case Hits High Court": Sandra McElwaine has this article online today at The Daily Beast. Posted at 07:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Fake ID use upsets military veterans": This article appears today in The Las Vegas Review-Journal. Posted at 07:08 AM by Howard Bashman "Laws may end up before top court": In today's edition of The San Antonio Express-News, Gary Martin has an article that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court could have the final say in a flurry of legal filings that challenge voter identification laws in several states, including Texas." Posted at 07:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Holding Court: The wrong argument on health-care reform." Jeffrey Toobin has this comment in the March 26, 2012 issue of The New Yorker. Seth Stern of Bloomberg News reports that "Health-Care Challenge Evokes Roosevelt New Deal High Court Clash." Politico.com reports that "Health-care reform still standing." And at The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn has a blog post titled "Obamacare on Trial: Case of the Century?" Sunday, March 18, 2012 "For young killers, 'a chance to have a chance'; Supreme Court to consider whether a life sentence without parole is too harsh for juveniles": Monday's edition of The Chicago Tribune will contain this article. Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Ted Olson calls work on California's Prop. 8 case 'highlight of my life'": This article will appear Monday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to weigh key constitutional issues with healthcare law; Legal scholars on the right and left agree the case, which comes before the court in a week, is momentous; Justices will decide on what limit the Constitution places on Congress' power": David G. Savage will have this article Monday in The Los Angeles Times. And Monday's edition of The Washington Post will contain an article headlined "Health-care law activists to reach for broad political targets at Supreme Court hearings." "Sexual predators rarely kept locked up under Justice program": Brad Heath will have this lengthy article Monday in USA Today. Posted at 10:06 PM by Howard Bashman "The Paul Clement Court: Seven cases; One lawyer; The GOP's great hope for this Supreme Court season is an unassuming attorney who just happens to be lead counsel on the most polarizing arguments in America." The March 26, 2012 issue of New York Magazine will contain this article. Posted at 09:45 PM by Howard Bashman "29 circuit court judges signed Walker recall petitions": This article appears today in The Sheboygan (Wis.) Press. Posted at 09:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Update -- New Low: 28% Give Supreme Court Positive Ratings." Rasmussen Reports issued a news release today that begins, "Even before the U.S. Supreme Court begins hearings later this month on the constitutionality of the national health care law, fewer voters than ever view the high court positively." You can view the polling questions at this link. Posted at 08:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Gun shows caught in the crossfire": In Monday's edition of The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz will have an article that begins, "Before the end of this year, Russell and Sallie Nordyke will set up shop for at least five gun shows at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds, providing a gathering spot for thousands of gun enthusiasts to buy and sell rifles, pistols and other weapons." Posted at 08:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Upper West Side landlord hoping to take fight against rent control to Supreme Court": This article appears today in The New York Post. Posted at 08:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Low-key Solicitor General Verrilli to be in health-care spotlight": Robert Barnes will have this article Monday in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal Judges Are, in Fact, 'Job Creators'; A comment made by Senator Mitch McConnell is a reminder of how some lawmakers plainly do not understand the role of the judiciary": Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 02:15 PM by Howard Bashman "A Struggle with the Police & the Law": Retired Justice John Paul Stevens has this review of Irving Morris's book "The Rape Case: A Young Lawyer's Struggle for Justice in the 1950s" in the April 5, 2012 issue of The New York Review of Books. Posted at 01:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Same-sex divorce case heads to top Maryland court; Married out of state, divorce denied in Maryland": This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun. Posted at 11:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Convergence of factors could produce cheapest Alabama Supreme Court race in generation": Today's edition of The Mobile Press-Register contains an article that begins, "Campaign spending has been on the decline in Alabama judicial races, Republican Roy Moore has never been a favorite of the corporate elite and many experts do not consider his opponent to be a serious candidate." Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman "US Supreme Court considers Alabama case of 14-year-old murderer on Tuesday": Mary Orndorff has this article today in The Birmingham News. And The Express-Times of Easton, Pennsylvania reports today that "Upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case could impact 14-year-old murderer's prison sentence." "N.J. Supreme Court nominee an old hand at consensus-building": MaryAnn Spoto has this article today in The Newark Star-Ledger. Posted at 10:55 AM by Howard Bashman "4 Republican justices control fate of health law": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. The Oklahoman reports today that "Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn hopes Supreme Court will limit Congress' reach under the Constitution; With the Supreme Court poised to hear arguments in the health care law, Coburn says the justices should use the case to set new constitutional boundaries on what activity Congress can regulate." Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post has an article headlined "Health Care Reform: Why It's Safe From The Supreme Court." And in today's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Akil Reed Amar and Todd Brewster have an op-ed entitled "Rejecting Affordable Care Act is rejecting Constitution," while Iilya Shapiro has an op-ed entitled "Obamacare premise is just wrong." "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: When children commit murder." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, March 17, 2012 "Long road from Nigeria to Supreme Court; Case accuses Shell of complicity in human rights atrocities": Columnist Mary Schmich has this essay in Sunday's edition of The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 11:06 PM by Howard Bashman "Ga. drug testing likely to face legal challenges": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 11:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Ahead of His Class: How a judge who never sat on the Supreme Court quietly shaped American law in the 20th century." In today's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Adam J. White has this review of David M. Dorsen's book "Henry Friendly: Greatest Judge of His Era." Posted at 11:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Accused of Ethics Violations": Bloomberg News has a report that begins, "David T. Prosser Jr., a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, was accused of ethics code violations for allegedly putting his hands around the neck of Justice Ann Walsh Bradley in June prior to the court issuing a ruling on a law limiting union bargaining rights for state workers." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports today that "Ethics violations filed against Prosser." And The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin reports that "Judicial Commission files complaint; Justice Prosser asserts his innocence." You can view the complaint at this link. "Court weighs making health coverage a fact of life": The Associated Press has this report. The AP also reports that "'Obamacare' foes fear ballooning big government." And Terry Baynes of Reuters has an article headlined "With friends like these." "Obama administration says San Diego cross should stay; The solicitor general, in an appeal to the Supreme Court, says the government should not be required to remove a war memorial atop Mt. Soledad because it is not an endorsement of religion": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 07:54 PM by Howard Bashman Friday, March 16, 2012 "In Puerto Rico, Romney repeats Sotomayor criticism": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Judges grill NRC over spent-fuel muddle": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report. Posted at 04:28 PM by Howard Bashman Upcoming blog-related milestones: At some point over the next day or so, this blog's Sitemeter hit counter will pass the 20 million page view mark. When "How Appealing" came into being on May 6, 2002, I had yet to install the Sitemeter counter, and thus the blog has in all likelihood already eclipsed that mark. Soon, however, actual evidence of that accomplishment will exist. A few days ago, this blog recorded its 45,000th post on the Movable Type blogging platform, which "How Appealing" switched to from Blogger in March 2005. Last but not least, this blog will turn ten years old on May 6, 2012. Between now and then, I will try and find some appropriate way to commemorate the event. "Court says no TV cameras at health care arguments": The Associated Press has this report. Joan Biskupic of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court to release audio in healthcare cases." At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Prompt release of health care audiotapes." At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "Just In: Supreme Court Will Expedite Release of Audio for Health Care Arguments." And at WSJ.com's "Law Blog," Jess Bravin has a rather humorous post titled "Supreme Court to Release Same-Day Audio of Health Care Arguments." The U.S. Supreme Court today issued this news release. "Ninth Circuit certifies 2 legal questions for CNMI Supreme Court": This article appears Saturday in The Saipan Tribune. You can access Monday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "How the Roberts court could save Obama's health-care reform": Robert Barnes has this essay online at The Washington Post. And at CNN.com, law professor James F. Simon has an essay entitled "Will healthcare law pit Obama vs. Roberts?" "Kentucky high court hears Amish buggy case; Public safety versus religion is debated": This article appears today in The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky. Posted at 01:15 PM by Howard Bashman "N.D. Supreme Court grills attorneys in nickname case; Justices weigh constitutional issues, with ruling likely within weeks": The Grand Forks Herald today contains an article that begins, "After an hour of sometimes intricate legal questioning Thursday, the North Dakota Supreme Court took hold of the long-running and much-contested case of UND's Fighting Sioux nickname." Posted at 01:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Washington Elites Queue Up to See Nine Justices on Hot Seat; Supreme Court Arguments on Health Law Trigger Mad Dash for a Few Dozen Spots": Janet Adamy and Jess Bravin have this front page article today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 10:35 AM by Howard Bashman "No Way to Choose a Judge": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, "In a serious setback for justice in Alabama, primary voters chose Roy Moore to be their candidate for chief justice of the State Supreme Court in November." Posted at 08:44 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, March 15, 2012 In posts of interest at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog: David Kravets has a post titled "Senators Demand DOJ Release Secret Spy Court Rulings." And James Bamford has a very lengthy post titled "The NSA Is Building the Country's Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)." "If you missed last week's Conversation With U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, you can watch it here!" The Wake Forest University School of Law has this tweet linking to this video. Posted at 01:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Dismissal of gun-rights suit upheld by 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel": The Associated Press has this report. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Fifth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Cape Elizabeth trial lawyer on way to federal circuit court judgeship": This article appears today in The Bangor (Me.) Daily News. Posted at 01:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Female Justices Join Forces to Honor O'Connor": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 01:32 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. circuit court nominee's hearing goes 'very smoothly'; A Senate panel quizzes Portland attorney William Kayatta Jr., Obama's choice for an appeals court seat": Today's edition of The Portland Press-Herald contains an article that begins, "Saying he 'reveres the rule of law,' William Kayatta Jr. told Senate Judiciary Committee members Wednesday that his rulings will be bound by legal precedent and recognize a federal judge's limited powers if he is confirmed to fill Maine's seat on the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals." Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore pulls off political resurrection": This article appears today in The Birmingham News. And The Montgomery Advertiser reports today that "Moore one step closer to chief justice seat." "Case of fake online relationship argued before state Supreme Court": The Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Illinois posted online yesterday an article that begins, "The case of a Batavia woman who created more than 20 fake online personalities to pursue and eventually end an Internet relationship with another woman living across the country made its way to the Illinois Supreme Court for oral arguments today." Posted at 08:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Seen Influenced by Politics in Health-Care Ruling": Julie Bykowicz and Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News have this report. Bloomberg News also reports that "Big Businesses Wants All or Nothing Court Ruling on Health Law" and "Cigna CEO Cordani Says Court Won't Derail Health-Care Shift." And Ariane de Vogue of ABC News has an article headlined "Health Care: Liberals Eye Scalia and Roberts Vote." "High Court Urged to Decide Cross Case; Federal government wants review of 9th U.S. Circuit ruling that Mount Soledad landmark is unconstitutional": Greg Moran has this article today in The San Diego Union-Tribune. Posted at 08:00 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, March 14, 2012 "The right protected by the Second Amendment is not a property-like right to a specific firearm, but rather a right to keep and bear arms for self-defense." So explains the majority opinion that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today. Posted at 08:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate Deal Allows Confirmation Votes for 14 Judicial Nominees": Todd Ruger has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 05:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Congress unlikely to undo Concepcion, but don't rule out rollback": Erin Geiger Smith has this report at Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight. Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "1994 shooting set up hazardous waste case now before justices": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report. Posted at 04:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Will the Affordable Care Act Argument Be Worth the Hype?" Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 02:30 PM by Howard Bashman "'Ten Commandments judge' wins primary for old job": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 02:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Reid, McConnell Announce Deal on Judges; The accord avoids showdown over cloture": National Journal has this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Senate ends standoff over judges, business bill." "Appeals court won't delay Stevens report": Josh Gerstein has this blog post at Politico.com. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post titled "D.C. Circuit Refuses To Block Release Of Ted Stevens Report." "GOP seeks to counter Reid, White House push on judges": The Hill has this report. Roll Call reports that "Senate GOP Upset by Harry Reid's Nominations Tactic." Yesterday evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained an audio segment entitled "Senate Democrats Battle Over Court Nominees." And in today's edition of The Los Angeles Times, law professor Carl Tobias has an op-ed entitled "The Senate's 'Dr. No' delivers a surprise 'yes': Republican Tom Coburn wants to end the partisan battles over judicial confirmations, saying 'presidents are entitled to their nominees.'" "UCDC Students Meet U.S. Supreme Court Justice Breyer": Kevin R. Johnson has this post at the "Dean's Blog" of the UC Davis School of Law. Not to be overlooked, The Wall Street Journal's Jess Bravin also participated in the event. Posted at 11:09 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thomas Visits UVA Law School": The University of Virginia School of Law issued this news release yesterday. Posted at 11:06 AM by Howard Bashman "Moot court previews legal debate over healthcare reform; Los Angeles litigators face off over mandatory health insurance, expected to be a key issue when the U.S. Supreme Court hears the case": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Please note: The Los Angeles Times has recently begun to limit free access to articles and information posted at its web site. These limits may affect your ability to access, and my ability to link to, material posted there. "Exclusive: Mystery Court Challenge Sheds Light on Pervasive Patriot Act Power." Kim Zetter has this post at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Ardmore students seek high court review of bias": The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Roy Moore rides horse, voter wave to cusp of victory in chief justice race": Today's edition of The Mobile Press-Register contains an article that begins, "Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore rode his horse to the polls this morning and then a wave of voter support that had him on the cusp of winning the Republican nomination for his old job." And The Montgomery Advertiser has an article headlined "Roy Moore: 'The people have spoken.'" Tuesday, March 13, 2012 "Insight: Behind the healthcare-law case: The challengers' tale." Joan Biskupic of Reuters has this report. Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Judicial Nominations Push 'Strongly' Supported By White House, Kathryn Ruemmler Says": The Huffington Post has this report. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Argument preview: A protester's arrest." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 06:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Orders Failed Copyright Troll to Forfeit 'All' Copyrights": At Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog, David Kravets has a post that begins, "Righthaven, a copyright-troll law firm that failed in its attempt to make money for newspapers by suing readers for sharing stories online, was dealt a death blow Tuesday by a federal judge who ordered the Las Vegas company to forfeit 'all of' its intellectual property and other 'intangible property' to settle its debts." Posted at 05:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Senate Fight Over Judicial Nominees Heating Up": Todd Ruger has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 05:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Chuck Grassley, Tom Harkin Strike Back Against Supreme Court On Age Discrimination": Arthur Delaney of The Huffington Post has this report. Posted at 05:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Wilkinson on Cri de Coeur, Law Clerks, and a Germophobic Third Circuit": Michelle Olsen has this post at her "Appellate Daily" blog. And Duke Law News reports that "Wilkinson discusses the advantages of a varied career and the perils facing judicial culture." You can view online, on-demand a webcast of Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III's remarks today at Duke Law School by clicking here. "Cast of Lawyers Arguing Supreme Court Health Care Cases Now Set": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 04:58 PM by Howard Bashman "On Judicial Nominees, a Moment of Truth for the Senate; Tomorrow, we are going to find out whether Congress is capable even of ministerial functions like hiring enough judges for America's courtrooms": Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 03:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Official says decision puts US information at risk": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "In the middle of Sunshine Week, a period dedicated to government openness, the Obama administration is urging Congress to change the Freedom of Information Act to keep secret new categories of information that it says have been put a risk by a Supreme Court ruling." Posted at 01:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Immigration Case Challenges Justice Department's Credibility": In today's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin has an article that begins, "The Justice Department said it was prepared to correct its possibly misleading statements that influenced a Supreme Court ruling against immigrants facing deportation." Several weeks ago, Adam Liptak had this tweet linking to a related ruling. "The Case Against Rent Control: An Upper West Side landlord challenges a New York City institution." Damon W. Root has this essay online today at Reason. Posted at 10:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Federal District Court Workload Increases in Fiscal Year 2011": The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts issued this news release today. You can access the entire 2011 annual report titled "Judicial Business of the United States Courts" -- a report that also contains lots of appellate-related information and statistics -- at this link. "Argument preview: Youthful crimes, life sentences." Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 09:56 AM by Howard Bashman "Droney Sworn In By Lieberman As U.S. Appeals Court Judge": The Hartford Courant has this blog post. Posted at 09:37 AM by Howard Bashman "Wisconsin Supreme Court out of step with national standards on recusal": Bill Lueders of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has this report. Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman "A Way Forward on Judicial Ethics": Yesterday's edition of The New York Times contained an editorial that begins, "Last Tuesday, an alliance of government watchdog groups delivered 100,000 signatures to the Supreme Court along with a letter from hundreds of law professors calling on the justices to voluntarily adopt the code of conduct that applies to all other federal judges and to reform how they handle requests for recusals." Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman "California Supreme Court's daunting task: Unite pot-dispensary rulings." This front page article appears today in The Sacramento Bee. Posted at 07:46 AM by Howard Bashman "Diversity schemes: Race-based admissions aren't going away -- even if the Supreme Court says they should." Shikha Dalmia had this essay online recently at The Daily. Posted at 07:45 AM by Howard Bashman "A TNR Symposium on Obama's Second Term: Pack the (Lower) Courts." Law professor David Fontana has this essay online today at The New Republic. Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, March 12, 2012 "Reid tees up Senate fight to confirm 17 judges": The Los Angeles Times has this news update. Jennifer Bendery of The Huffington Post reports that "Harry Reid Forces Action On Stalled Judicial Nominees." The Hill has a blog post titled "Sen. Lee slams Reid's 'political stunt' on judicial nominees." And Tuesday's edition of The Washington Times will contain an editorial entitled "Obama's last-ditch appointments: Harry Reid moves to stack the judiciary." "'Millenial bomber' Ressam's term too short, appeals court says": The Seattle Times has this news update. And Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled "LAX bombing plotter's 22-year sentence overturned as too lenient." My earlier coverage of today's en banc Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Legal precedents to clash as health care law goes to high court; Justices to answer questions of federal limits": This article will appear Tuesday in The Washington Times. Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Mark Sherman has an article headlined "Health care lawyer Clement as high court regular." And Pete Yost has an article headlined "Verrilli: Point man in looming health care battle." In other Bashman news from Australia: Sometimes weeks go by without any Bashman-related news from Australia, but today -- make that Tuesday in Australia -- has now brought two such reports. In addition to the news noted in this post earlier today, the Australian Associated Press reports that "Hungry thieves bash man, steal his pizza at Goodna." "Former Federal Prosecutor Wants Leak Suit Against DOJ Revived": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post that begins, "A former prosecutor who was acquitted on obstruction charges wants a federal appeals court in Washington to restart his privacy suit against the U.S. Justice Department over allegations the government leaked information to a reporter." Posted at 09:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Wilkinson's Unethical Op-Ed": Ed Whelan has this post at National Review Online's "Bench Memos" blog. My earlier coverage of the op-ed appears at this link. Posted at 05:58 PM by Howard Bashman View online tomorrow's debates on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act: At 9:30 a.m. eastern time tomorrow, the Washington Legal Foundation is hosting a program titled "Prepping For Judicial Surgery: A Crash Course on Healthcare Reform in the U.S. Supreme Court" featuring three illustrious participants. And tomorrow night, starting at 9 p.m. eastern time, as detailed at this link, "The California Endowment, 89.3 KPCC and many of California's most distinguished law schools are bringing together a bipartisan mix of renowned legal minds and policy experts to hear and argue the case that will decide the health status of millions." A notice about this event that I received by email states that one of the judges will be "TV's own 'Judge Alex,'" which many readers of this blog may be disappointed to learn means this guy, not that guy. Separately, Politico.com posted online yesterday a considerable amount of news coverage and commentary about the case. The news reports are headlined "Health law faces its biggest test"; "Backup plans if individual mandate is struck down"; and "Health care reform issues go beyond mandate." And in commentary at Politico.com, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has an essay entitled "Affordable Care Act's many benefits." Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has an essay entitled "Feds' power grab must be stopped." Scott Atlas, professor of radiology and chief of neuroradiology at the Stanford University Medical Center and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, has an essay entitled "Striking 'Obamacare' a rejection of overreach." And law professor Robert Schapiro has an essay entitled "ACA case reminiscent of 19th-century litigation." "Tracking Louisiana's Legal Heritage: Celebrating 200 Years of the Federal Courts in Louisiana." The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has created this web site, which The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reports on today. Coincidentally, tomorrow marks the three-year anniversary of my visit to the John Minor Wisdom U.S. Court of Appeals Building in New Orleans. "Harry Reid vows floor fight for judicial nominees": Politico.com has this report. And The Hill has a blog post titled "Reid: GOP blocking judicial confirmation process to embarrass Obama." "Cry, the Beloved Constitution": In today's edition of The New York Times, Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III has an op-ed that begins, "Both liberals and conservatives have the American Constitution in the cross hairs." The op-ed appears designed to promote Judge Wilkinson's new book, "Cosmic Constitutional Theory: Why Americans Are Losing Their Inalienable Right to Self-Governance." "Court tosses jury award in Katrina jail lawsuit": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court on Monday threw out a jury's award of more than $650,000 to two Ohio tourists who were arrested in New Orleans on public drunkenness charges two days before Hurricane Katrina's landfall and jailed for more than a month after the storm." Update: You can access today's Fifth Circuit ruling at this link. In Bashman news from Australia and elsewhere: Tuesday's edition of The Bendigo Advertiser reports that "Bash man refused bail in Bendigo court." In news from Philadelphia, as reflected in these docket entries, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania today denied the generic defendants' petition for permission to appeal from the trial court's denial of their federal preemption-based preliminary objections (akin to a motion to dismiss) filed in the In Re: Reglan/Metoclopramide Litigation. I wrote plaintiffs' answer in opposition to the petition for permission to appeal filed in the Superior Court. Earlier news coverage of the case can be accessed here. And from Washington, DC comes word that the deadline for my client's petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of the case that I argued and lost before the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has been extended to May 3, 2012. Thanks to the Yale Law School Supreme Court Clinic and Mayer Brown LLP for agreeing to work on the case. "Appeals court says 'Millennium Bomber' sentence too light": Dan Levine of Reuters has this report on a ruling that an 11-judge en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. Update: In other coverage, The Associated Press reports that "'Millennium bomber' sentence overturned." "Obama Health-Care Foe Becomes GOP Go-To Lawyer": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 12:13 PM by Howard Bashman "Health Care Act Offers Roberts a Signature Case": Adam Liptak has this front page article today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:09 AM by Howard Bashman "Esteemed lawyer Paul Clement's next challenge is arguing against health-care law": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 07:08 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, March 11, 2012 Bill Lueders of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism is reporting: He has articles headlined "Wisconsin Supreme Court justices battle over recusing themselves"; "Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Patience Roggensack decided case involving her own lawyer"; and "Wisconsin Supreme Court justices weigh in on the recusal issue." Posted at 01:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Scalia Sparks Student Protests at Hugo L. Black Lecture": The Wesleyan Argus has this report. Posted at 01:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Wide web of legal figures linked to UT affirmative action case": This article appears today in The Austin American-Statesman. Posted at 01:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama's health care law: A trek, not a sprint." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "It took only a year to set up Medicare. But if President Barack Obama's health care law survives Supreme Court scrutiny, it will be nearly a decade before all its major pieces are in place." And today's edition of The Los Angeles Times contains an editorial entitled "Mary Brown, 'Obamacare' foe -- and broke: A woman whose case is before the Supreme Court is an exemplar of a problem the healthcare law was designed to address." "Prisons Rethink Isolation, Saving Money, Lives and Sanity": This front page article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 01:06 PM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Is there a constitutional right to contraception?" Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 08:54 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, March 10, 2012 "The Numbers Don't Lie: If you aren't sure Citizens United gave rise to the super PACs, just follow the money." Law professor Richard L. Hasen -- author of the "Election Law Blog" -- has this essay online at Slate. Posted at 03:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Kagan: Court 'working hard' despite fewer cases." The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 03:22 PM by Howard Bashman Friday, March 9, 2012 "Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia speaks at Wesleyan": This article appears today in The Middletown (Conn.) Press. And today in The Hartford Courant, columnist Susan Campbell has an essay entitled "Justice Scalia Meets A Show Of Protest At Wesleyan." "Plaintiff challenging healthcare law went bankrupt -- with unpaid medical bills; Obama administration lawyers say her case is an example of why an insurance mandate is needed to prevent 'uncompensated care that will ultimately be paid by others'": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And today's edition of The New York Times contains a front page article headlined "White House Works to Shape Debate Over Health Law." Thursday, March 8, 2012 "Court puts parts of Alabama's anti-illegal immigration law on hold": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Court blocks 2 more parts of Ala. immigration law." "Inside Merit Selection A National Survey of Judicial Nominating Commissioners." The American Judicature Society has issued this report. Posted at 06:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Miss. Supreme Court rules Barbour pardons valid": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the pardons issued by former Gov. Haley Barbour during his final days in office, including several that freed convicted killers." You can access today's 6-to-3 ruling of the Supreme Court of Mississippi at this link. "Judge in Chevron judgment dismissed for freeing of alleged drug trafficker": The Associated Press has this report. And Dow Jones Newswires have an article headlined "Ecuador: Two Judges Involved In Chevron Case Dismissed." Today, Chevron Corp. issued a news release headlined "Judge Who Issued $18.2 Billion Ruling Against Chevron Removed From Bench; Ecuador's Judicial Council Determines Judge Zambrano Complicit in Drug Trafficking Scandal." "Federal appeals court hears Proposal 2 case": Today's edition of The Michigan Daily contains an article that begins, "Parties advocating for and against the state's ban on affirmative action were back in court yesterday as a federal appeals court heard arguments pertaining to the policy's constitutionality." Posted at 02:33 PM by Howard Bashman "In the fable of the cat's paw (a fable offensive to cats and cat lovers, be it noted), a monkey who wants chestnuts that are roasting in a fire persuades an intellectually challenged cat to fetch the chestnuts from the fire for the monkey, and the cat does so but in the process burns its paw." Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued this opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Update: Terry Baynes of Reuters reports that "Law based on animal fable confuses jurors, lawyers and judges." "Ex-chief judge, family cope with early-onset Alzheimer's": This article about former Fourth Circuit Chief Judge Karen J. Williams appears today in the Greenville (S.C.) News. You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News. "It is time for cameras in the courtroom": Online at The Hill, U.S. Representative Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) has a blog post that begins, "There is one thing on which Republicans and Democrats, not to mention a majority of the public, agree when it comes to the health insurance reform law: This month's Supreme Court hearings on the constitutionality of that landmark legislation ought to be televised so the public can hear the oral arguments on a case that will affect the lives of every American." Posted at 10:47 AM by Howard Bashman "New trial ordered in death of inmate forced to wear pink underwear; Appellate panel says judge should have allowed testimony that the dress code imposed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio in an Arizona county so traumatized a schizophrenic man that it may have caused his death": Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. In today's edition of The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "Wrongful death suit over pink underwear reinstated." And Cronkite News reports that "New trial ordered over Arpaio's pink-underwear policy for inmates." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Judge needs to take a break": Today's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an editorial that begins, "New testimony in the political corruption trial of State Sen. Jane Orie makes it even more obvious that her sister, Justice Joan Orie Melvin, should step down at least temporarily from the state Supreme Court." Posted at 10:06 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, March 7, 2012 "Accidental Heroines": Linda Greenhouse has this post at the "Opinionator" blog of The New York Times. Posted at 11:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Arizona sheriff's pink-underwear policy may be unconstitutional--court": Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. Posted at 08:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge should have withdrawn from Shell Oil case -- court": Terry Baynes of Reuters has this report. My earlier coverage of today's Federal Circuit ruling appears at this link. "FBI chief describes GPS problem from court ruling": Pete Yost of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman "What's the question? Two sides in Toyota can't agree on 'economic loss.'" Erin Geiger Smith has this report at Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight. Posted at 02:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Seventh Circuit Panel Invites En Banc Petition Regarding Reassignment": At his "Disability Law" blog, law professor Samuel R. Bagenstos has a post that begins, "As ADA mavens know, there is a persistent conflict in the circuits regarding the scope of an employer's duty, as a reasonable accommodation, to reassign an employee with a disability to a vacant position." You can access today's Seventh Circuit ruling at this link. "9th Circuit to begin review of Cebull incident": The Billings (Mont.) Gazette has this report. The Great Falls Tribune reports that "Top Democrats call for House hearing on Cebull." And The Hill has a blog post titled "Democratic congressman pushes federal judge to resign over forwarding racist email." "Affirmative action fight goes on": Today's edition of USA Today contains an article that begins, "Affirmative action in college admissions is back on the national radar as the Supreme Court is likely to hear a case involving the University of Texas this year. But a high court ruling may not settle this divisive debate." Posted at 12:22 PM by Howard Bashman De novo appellate review does not automatically render harmless a federal judge's failure to recuse due to a spouse's ownership of stock in a litigant, the Federal Circuit has ruled: You can access today's interesting ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit at this link. Posted at 12:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Antonin Scalia's ObamaCare Problem: The Obama administration repeatedly cites the conservative Supreme Court justice in defense of its health care overhaul." Damon W. Root has this essay online at Reason. Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Court to debate Mich. affirmative action ban; Case stems from suit against consideration of race in admissions": Today's edition of The Detroit News contains a front page article that begins, "Michigan's 5-year-old affirmative action ban will be debated today before a federal appeals court in a case that pits those who say the law embodies the spirit of America's equal opportunities against those who say it undermines diversity and democracy." Posted at 10:09 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court rules against mistress in alienation of affection lawsuit": This article appears today in The Winston-Salem Journal. You can access yesterday's ruling of the Court of Appeals is North Carolina at this link. "It's Not Just Citizens United": Alan B. Morrison has this essay online at The Huffington Post. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "US Supreme Court Looking At New York Rent Control: UWS Building The Focus Of Constitutional Debate." The Huffington Post has this report. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "The Arch Conservative Who Holds The Key To A Supreme Court Obamacare Victory": Rick Ungar has this essay online at Forbes. Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court wades into Springfield's soap opera": This article appears today in The Savannah (Ga.) Morning News. Posted at 08:11 AM by Howard Bashman "Scuttle SCOTUS's life tenure": Law professor Herman Schwartz has this essay at Politico.com. Posted at 08:09 AM by Howard Bashman "Casino license row heads to top court; Lawyers will argue their cases today": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visits Wake Forest law school": Wake Forest University's School of Law issued this news release yesterday. Posted at 08:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Wesleyan students to protest Scalia visit": This article appears today in The Middletown (Conn.) Press. Related commentary appears in The Wesleyan Argus. Posted at 08:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Durbin demands Supreme Court televise its proceedings": The Hill has this blog post. Posted at 07:52 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, March 6, 2012 "An audio recording of the investiture of Judge Higginson is available": The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has posted the audio online at this link. Posted at 10:46 PM by Howard Bashman "ACCA en banc denial splits Fourth Circuit 7-7 and produces sharp opinions": Douglas A. Berman has this post at his "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog. You can access today's order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denying en banc review and the opinions concurring in and dissenting from that order at this link. At "walshslaw," law professor Kevin C. Walsh covered the ruling of the original divided three-judge Fourth Circuit panel in a post titled "Fourth Circuit ACCA decision on divorced-from-reality law professor hypotheticals, common sense, and floating fast-food restaurants." "SCOTUS: Should U.S. courts police international human rights?" Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report. Posted at 10:22 PM by Howard Bashman "D.C. Court of Appeals Nominee Questioned by Sole Senator at Hearing": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Todd Ruger has a post that begins, "Veteran Washington appellate attorney Roy McLeese III, a nominee for an open seat on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, answered questions Tuesday on Capitol Hill about his management style and the difficulties facing the court." Posted at 09:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Democrats seek hearing into judge's Obama email": The Associated Press has this report. And The Bozeman (Mont.) Daily Chronicle has an editorial entitled "Judge Cebull has broken society's trust, should resign immediately." "Mistrial declared in L.A. fetish film producer's obscenity case": The Los Angeles Times has a blog post that begins, "A mistrial has been declared in the federal obscenity trial of Los Angeles fetish film producer and distributor Ira Isaacs after jurors deadlocked on charges that he produced, sold and transported obscene material." Josh Gerstein of Politico.com has a blog post titled "Jury deadlocks in obscenity case." And Mark Kernes of AVN News has an article headlined "Hung Jury In Ira Isaacs Obscenity Case; Government isn't sure whether to retry Isaacs, who says he is broke and can no longer afford the expert witnesses he will need to call if tried again." "President Correa's Libel Suit and the Fraud Against Chevron": Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr. has this essay online at Forbes today. Posted at 04:39 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices to Weigh Foreigners' Lawsuits": Jess Bravin has this article today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 11:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Tuesday at the 2nd Circuit: Arab Bank cries foul in terror case." Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report. Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice delayed as judge nominees wait": The Sacramento Bee contains this editorial today. Posted at 10:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Human Rights Network calls on Judge Cebull to resign": This article appears today in The Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune. Today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial entitled "Judge Cebull's Racist 'Joke.'" And The Helena Independent Record contains an editorial entitled "Think twice before hitting 'send.'" "Supreme Court Seeks Clarification on Jurisdiction in a Human Rights Case": 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 to weigh ending foreigners' ability to sue over rights abuses abroad." And Mike Sacks of The Huffington Post reports that "Supreme Court Expands Corporate Human Rights Case, Avoids Corporate Liability Question." "U.S. Supreme Court move backs game warden power": Denny Walsh has this article today in The Sacramento Bee. And today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "Game wardens don't need a warrant to stop cars." "Man at center of GPS tracking case to face new trial": The Washington Examiner has this report. Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court rules against lawyer change in death row case; Justices agree that inmates don't have the right to a last-minute switch of counsel, but they leave the door open for a convicted Orange County murderer": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:03 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court case on affirmative action questions ruling with Flint ties": This article appears today in The Flint (Mich.) Journal. Posted at 08:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Was That Twitter Blast False, or Just Honest Hyperbole?" Adam Liptak has this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in today's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Jurors' Tweets Upend Trials; Lawyers Are Using Posts on Twitter and Facebook to Overturn Court Rulings": This article appears today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, March 5, 2012 "Obama admin appeals ruling on tobacco health label": Reuters has this report. Posted at 05:32 PM by Howard Bashman The Barnes Foundation, Massachusetts style: In Saturday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Ashby Jones had an article headlined "Testing Donor's Intent, 350 Years Later; Colonial-Era Land Gift to Massachusetts School Was 'Not to Bee Sould' but Faces Court Challenge Today." Posted at 04:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Colorado Supreme Court affirms that CU students can carry licensed guns on campus": The Denver Post has a news update that begins, "In a victory for gun-rights advocates, the Colorado Supreme Court today struck down the University of Colorado's campus gun ban, saying the CU Board of Regents overstepped its authority in blocking students from carrying licensed concealed weapons." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Colorado at this link. "AmEx Transfers Didn't Aid Hezbollah in Attacks, U.S. Appeals Court Rules": Bloomberg News has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today. Posted at 03:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Kiobel to be reargued": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." You can access today's order of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link. Update: In other coverage, The Associated Press reports that "High court expands look at rights abuses abroad." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Corporate Human Rights Case Expanded by U.S. Supreme Court." And James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court sets new arguments on human rights suits." "In Alaska, a Showdown of Lawyers, Guns, and Bush-Era Firearms Law": Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic. My earlier coverage appears at this link. "Maryland's handgun permit law unconstitutional, judge rules": The AP has this report. Posted at 01:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Loughner loses appeal over forced medication": The Associated Press has this report. Update: In updated coverage, The AP reports that "Loughner loses 3 appeals over forced medication." You can access today's ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. Second Circuit invalidates Rule 7.4 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, which requires a prescribed disclaimer statement to be made by attorneys who state that they are certified as a specialist in a particular area of the law: Today's ruling concludes that "enforcement of two components of the required disclaimer statement would violate the First Amendment and * * * the absence of standards guiding administrators of Rule 7.4 renders it unconstitutionally vague as applied." Update: Terry Baynes of Reuters reports that "2nd Circuit strikes down NY limits on lawyer advertising." "1-BR, $1,000: Rent Control in Court Test." This article appears today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Some in Congress call foul on Guantanamo's new $744K soccer field; The new recreation yard is the latest sign that Congress has thoroughly thwarted President Barack Obama's goal of emptying the prison camps by sending some captives home and moving others to U.S. prisons and civilian trials": Carol Rosenberg had this article yesterday in The Miami Herald. Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman Access online today's Order List and decision in an argued case of the U.S. Supreme Court: You can access today's Order List at this link. The Court did not grant review in any new cases. Justice Elena Kagan delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court in Martel v. Clair, No. 10-1265. You can access the oral argument via this link. In early news coverage, The Associated Press has a report headlined "Court: Inmate cannot change court-appointed lawyer." "Bill Carter Named New President and CEO of ALM": ALM -- which among other things operates Law.com, where "How Appealing" is hosted -- issued this news release today. Posted at 09:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Concepcion and the Arbitration of Federal Claims": Attorney Andrew Pincus of Mayer Brown LLP has this essay online at Bloomberg Law. Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Extreme Makeover: The story of Lawrence v. Texas." Dahlia Lithwick has this book review in the March 12, 2012 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 08:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Family sues school system over pledge; Judge weighing verdict on 'under God' phrase in case filed in 2010": This article appeared yesterday in The Boston Globe. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Equal Protection on Sewer Bills": The New York Times contains this editorial today. Posted at 08:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Juneau gun shop owner at heart of AK Supreme Court case": This article appears today in The Juneau Empire. Posted at 07:54 AM by Howard Bashman "N.J. Supreme Court Justice Virginia Long required to retire": MaryAnn Spoto has this article today in The Newark Star-Ledger. Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman "Calls continue to mount for Orie sister to leave bench after testimony": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Posted at 07:45 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, March 4, 2012 "Shell Nigeria Case Puts Court in Foreign Territory": Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg News. Posted at 08:27 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal sentences still vary widely": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:24 PM by Howard Bashman "How is the Roberts Court unusual? A law professor counts the ways." Robert Barnes will have this article Monday in The Washington Post. A related graphic can be accessed here. Posted at 08:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Unleashed Spending Floods Americans in Negativity": Online at Bloomberg News, Albert Hunt has an essay that begins, "This may come to be known as the Samuel Alito election." Posted at 01:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Orie sisters ordered cover-up, former aide testifies": The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contains this article today. And The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that "Sen. Orie says politics was kept out of legislative office; Trial resumes Monday; charged with using staff for campaigning." "Candidate says Alabama Supreme Court rulings favor corporate interests": This article appears today in The Mobile Press-Register. Posted at 01:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Corporate Abuse Abroad, a Path to Justice Here": Lincoln Caplan has this Sunday Observer essay in the Sunday Review section of today's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 01:22 PM by Howard Bashman "More than 100 former state attorneys general back former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman's high court appeal": Mary Orndorff had this article yesterday in The Birmingham News. Posted at 01:20 PM by Howard Bashman "The Washington duo behind a Texas affirmative action case": The Washington Post has this report. Posted at 01:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Inmate challenges pedophilia test as junk science": Chuck Lindell had this article Friday in The Austin American-Statesman. Posted at 01:09 PM by Howard Bashman "Same-sex custody battle could change Florida law": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 01:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Before state's high court: role of race in identifying a face; In a case out of Seattle's University District, the Washington State Supreme Court is being asked to determine whether jurors should be told that eyewitnesses who identify strangers across racial lines -- for example, a white man identifying a black man -- are more likely to be mistaken." This article appears today in The Seattle Times. Posted at 11:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: States, courts and the illegal alien disaster." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 08:52 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, March 3, 2012 "Hurricane Katrina flood ruling upheld by federal appeals court": This article appears today in The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Fifth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Justice Scalia tells Catholics to brave the scorn of worldly people": The Denver Post has this news update. Posted at 11:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Tort Reform Pits Brother Against Brother; Tea Party affiliated legislator Mike Lee is a strident critic of medical malpractice lawsuits -- and Judge Thomas Lee isn't helping his cause, even if he is family": Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawyers mull possible outcomes in greenhouse gas cases": Lawrence Hurley and Jeremy P. Jacobs of Greenwire have this report. Posted at 11:12 PM by Howard Bashman Friday, March 2, 2012 "Appeals court upholds Katrina flood ruling": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Impact of state anti-abortion laws hard to gauge": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 04:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Challenge to Obama recess appointments denied": Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued today. Bloomberg News reports that "Obama NLRB Recess-Appointment Challenge Rejected by Judge." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Recess appointment test fails." "Analysis: Rights groups try to avoid US high court setback." Joan Biskupic of Reuters has this report. Posted at 02:00 PM by Howard Bashman "The Nation's Top Supreme Court Litigators Debate the Constitutionality of the Health Care Reform Law During National Constitution Center Moot Court Case": The National Constitution Center issued this news release today. Posted at 10:38 AM by Howard Bashman "Pfizer Argues Against Punitive Damages in HRT Case": Amaris Elliott-Engel has this front page article, in which I am quoted, in today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers. My earlier coverage of the case appears at this link. "Judicial gridlock may be Round 2 in culture war": Politico.com has this report. And The Arizona Republic reports today that "Senate panel OKs Arizona justice for post on U.S. Court of Appeals." "Will Pa. judges merit selection in future?" The Philadelphia Daily News contains this article today. Posted at 08:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Groups call for Cebull's resignation": This article appears today in The Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune. The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Misconduct review will target judge's anti-Obama email; A federal judicial council opens a misconduct review of Montana District Judge Richard F. Cebull, who sent a racially charged email about President Obama from his courthouse computer." The Billings Gazette reports that "Cebull asks for review of conduct on bench." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Judge asks for probe after sending racist Obama e-mail." Politico.com reports that "Judge Richard Cebull apologizes to Obama." And Amanda Bronstad of The National Law Journal reports that "Federal judge files complaint over his own e-mail message." Thursday, March 1, 2012 "Court sets schedule for Texas elections": The San Antonio Express-News has this update. Bloomberg News reports that "Texas Primary Election Scheduled for May 29, Court Rules After Map Dispute." And The Associated Press reports that "Federal court orders May 29 primary date for Texas." "Court Upholds $27 Mil. Verdict in Lackawanna Birth Defect Case": Back in October 2010, The Legal Intelligencer -- Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers -- had this article reporting on the ruling of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania in a case on which I worked as appellate counsel for plaintiffs. Today. the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued this order denying the defendants' petition for allowance of appeal. You can access plaintiffs' answer in opposition to the petition for allowance of appeal at this link. My earlier coverage of this case appears here, here, and here. "Montana Judge Apologizes in eMail Controversy": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted copies of the apology letters at this link. In other news, apparently the Ninth Circuit's Public Information Office believes that "eMail" is the way that one capitalizes the first letter of the word email. "Court to rule later on Georgia, Alabama's anti-illegal immigration laws": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a news update that begins, "A federal appeals court in Atlanta announced Thursday that it would wait until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on Arizona's anti-illegal immigration law before it acts on similar statutes in Georgia and Alabama, keeping parts of those measures on hold for months to come." And Reuters reports that "U.S. asks court to overturn Alabama immigration law." "Human rights groups, citizens call on Cebull to step down": The Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Judge who sent Obama email asks for review." Update: The Ninth Circuit's Circuit Executive issued this statement today. "Mattel appeals $310M award in Bratz copyright case": The AP has this report. Posted at 02:51 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices in closed-door meeting on speech freedom": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 01:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Dane County DA slams Gableman 'fee arrangement' with prominent law firm": The Wisconsin State Journal contains this article today. And Bloomberg News reports that "Wisconsin Top Court Asked to Remove Justice Gableman From Labor Law Case." "Most N.D. Supreme Court justices, attorneys in Fighting Sioux nickname case have UND ties": This article appeared yesterday in The Grand Forks Herald. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Georgia, Alabama illegal immigration laws headed to appeals court Thursday": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this report. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "In this case we are asked to determine whether a physician owes nonpatients a duty to exercise reasonable care in the affirmative act of prescribing medications that pose a risk of injury to third parties." So begins an opinion that Justice Thomas R. Lee issued on Tuesday on behalf of a unanimous Supreme Court of Utah. In coverage of the ruling, The Deseret News reported yesterday that "Utah Supreme Court rules medical staff had duty to children in David Ragsdale case." Yesterday's edition of The Salt Lake Tribune contained an article headlined "Utah justices: Patient's family must be considered in treatment; Decision comes in response to suit that claims drugs given to man contributed to his shooting his wife." And The Daily Herald of Provo, Utah reported yesterday that "Supreme court allows kids of killer to sue medical providers." 
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