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Sunday, September 30, 2012 "Why the court wants to try again": In Monday's edition of The Washington Post, Richard Sander and Stuart Taylor Jr. will have an op-ed that begins, "The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument next week in Fisher v. University of Texas, the high court's first case on the use of race in higher education admissions since its 2003 decisions in Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger." Posted at 09:48 PM by Howard Bashman "As US Supreme Court opens, all eyes on Chief Justice John Roberts; The US Supreme Court opens its 2012-2013 term Monday with Justice Anthony Kennedy again the likely swing vote; But given his vote on the Affordable Care Act, Chief Justice John Roberts may not be predictably conservative either": Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report. Posted at 09:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Kennedy Is Back for More Torture": Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg View. Posted at 09:22 PM by Howard Bashman "The Supreme Court, absent from the election debate": Robert Barnes will have this article Monday in The Washington Post. And Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Election raises stakes for possible Supreme Court vacancies." "Houseboat Case Docks at Supreme Court": Brent Kendall will have this article Monday in The Wall Street Journal. You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News. And Monday's edition of USA Today will contain an article headlined "Trader's floating home battle goes to Supreme Court." "Supreme Court justices attend annual Red Mass": The Associated Press has this report. And lest we forget that the subject of a sentence determines the number of the verb, CNN.com has a blog post titled "Record number of justices attends Red Mass." From the summer edition of "Appellate Issues," a publication of the American Bar Association's Council of Appellate Lawyers: Among other interesting articles, the most recent edition of this publication contains an item headlined "An Interview With Howard J. Bashman on His How Appealing Blog." You can access earlier editions of the publication via this link. And thanks to the publication's editor, David J. Perlman, for his interest in interviewing me in connection with this blog's 10-year anniversary. "Californians back change on three strikes, but not on death penalty; Proposition 36 would ease the three-strikes sentencing law; Proposition 34 would replace the death penalty with life without possibility of parole": Jack Leonard and Maura Dolan have this front page article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 01:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Lee Boyd Malvo, 10 years after D.C. area sniper shootings: 'I was a monster.'" This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. The newspaper has also posted online the audio of its reporter's interview with Malvo and a handwritten note that Malvo sent to the reporter in advance of the interview. "Presidential race may leave lasting imprint on Supreme Court; Future appointments by Obama or Romney could be pivotal on issues of gay rights, gun laws, abortion and money in politics": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 09:40 AM by Howard Bashman "How the Supreme Court can retain legitimacy": Carrie Severino has this essay at Politico.com. Posted at 09:38 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to delve into more divisive issues": Richard Wolf will have this article Monday in USA Today. Posted at 09:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Insight: Three lawyers ask U.S. Supreme Court: Why here?" Rebecca Hamilton of Reuters has an article that begins, "For more than three decades survivors of human rights abuses in foreign countries have turned to U.S. federal courts to seek justice. On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court hears a case that could make that impossible." Posted at 09:28 AM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Big Brother, big dogs are looking at you." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 09:26 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court cases could stir 2012 race": Josh Gerstein of Politico.com has this report. Posted at 09:18 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, September 29, 2012 "Brewer fills Arizona courts with Republican judges; Predecessors not as partisan": This article appears today in The Arizona Republic. According to the article, "Brewer must make her third appointment to the state Supreme Court by Oct. 19, choosing among two Republican nominees and one Democrat." Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court faces another high-profile term": Robert Barnes will have this article Sunday in The Washington Post. And Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Supreme Court kicks off new term, faces agenda that could be historic." "Potus v. Scotus": In the Sunday Book Review section of tomorrow's edition of The New York Times, law professor Garrett Epps will have this review of Jeffrey Toobin's new book, "The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court." Posted at 02:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Faces Crucial Rulings in Coming Term": In Sunday's edition of The New York Times, Adam Liptak will have an article that begins, "The Supreme Court returns to the bench on Monday to confront not only a docket studded with momentous issues but also a new dynamic among the justices." Posted at 01:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Comcast antitrust case heading to U.S. Supreme Court": The Philadelphia Inquirer has this article today. Posted at 11:03 AM by Howard Bashman "Another big Supreme Court term kicks off Monday": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. The AP also has this accompanying description of the big cases already accepted for review and likely to be accepted for review. Posted at 09:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Omar Khadr is going home to Canada from Guantanamo; The Toronto-born man who got to Guantanamo as a teenager was en route to more prison time in his native Canada as of 4:30 a.m. Saturday under a 2010 plea deal, a U.S. military source tells The Miami Herald": Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald has this news update. And The Toronto Globe and Mail has a news update headlined "Omar Khadr returned to Canada from U.S. Guantanamo Bay base." Friday, September 28, 2012 "Party Divide Still Evident in Supreme Court Job Approval; Fifty-seven percent of Democrats, 36% of Republicans approve": Gallup issued this news release today. Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court begins term with another Arizona case on the docket": Cronkite News has this report. Posted at 10:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Activist's Nine-Year Navy FOIA Fight Ends in Supreme Court Win": Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 10:36 PM by Howard Bashman "On October 1, 2012, Judge Carl E. Stewart of Shreveport, Louisiana, becomes the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit": So begins a press release that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today. Posted at 09:57 PM by Howard Bashman "Google can't enforce German Microsoft injunction -- ruling": Dan Levine of Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued late today. Posted at 09:48 PM by Howard Bashman "For aging Guantanamo captives, a cardiac care lab; The U.S. military is making a multimillion-dollar investment in healthcare that captives may need but can't travel to get": Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald has a report that begins, "The Pentagon is buying a mobile cardiac care unit and separate MRI trailer for the 167 detainees at Guantanamo, a $2.6 million investment for an aging population of captives who can't be treated on U.S. soil." Posted at 09:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Former bank robber in 2nd year at UW law school; He was convicted of robbing banks in Nebraska, but the University of Washington took a chance and admitted Shon Hopwood to law school, and the Gates Scholarship Program is paying for his education": This article appears today in The Seattle Times. Posted at 08:56 PM by Howard Bashman "In stunning order, 9th Circuit blasts recusal motion in death case": Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has a report that begins, "If you believe in the fundamental fairness of our justice system, there's a beautiful paragraph in the middle of a truly extraordinary order issued Friday by 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judges Marsha Berzon and Richard Tallman." The Associated Press reports that "Former Oregon judge Susan Graber refuses to step aside from case." And Cronkite News reports that "Appeals court rejects request to remove judge in Arizona death-penalty case." My earlier coverage of today's Ninth Circuit order appears at this link. "Affirmative action, drug-sniffing dogs, maybe gay marriage loom as Supreme Court term begins": Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 04:37 PM by Howard Bashman "Shell case highlights confluence of human rights and environment": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report. Posted at 02:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Graham, Gerstein, Lamb and Wall honored at Reporters Committee First Amendment Awards Dinner": The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press issued this news release today. Posted at 01:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge whose father was killed asked to step aside": Last week, The Associated Press had an article that begins, "Defense lawyers for an Arizona inmate sentenced to death for a carjacking murder say his case hits too close to home for a federal appellate judge and she should step aside." On Wednesday of this week, at the "Legal Pad" blog of The Recorder, Scott Graham had a post titled "Arizona AG: Request to Recuse Graber Untimely, Unfounded." Today, Ninth Circuit Judge Susan P. Graber issued an order denying the recusal request. Of particular note, however, is an opinion accompanying the order that the other two judges on the original three-judge panel -- Circuit Judges Marsha S. Berzon and Richard C. Tallman -- have issued explaining that they too viewed the recusal motion as meritless. "As New Supreme Court Term Starts, a Look at Business-Related Cases": This audio segment, featuring Joe Nocera of The New York Times and Emily Bazelon of Slate, appeared on today's broadcast of WNYC Radio's "Money Talking." And earlier this week, the blog "Main Justice" had a post titled "Supreme Court Getting 'Back to Business' in Fall Term, U.S. Chamber Groups Say." "Programmer's Case Is Matter of (Legal) Code": Reed Albergotti has this interesting article in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal. And Peter Lattman of The New York Times reports that "Lawyer for Ex-Goldman Programmer Criticizes Prosecutors and Firm." "Second Circuit Hears Arguments on Constitutionality of DOMA": Mark Hamblett of New York Law Journal has this report. Posted at 10:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Argument preview: Defining a houseboat -- a house or a boat?" Lyle Denniston has this post today at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 09:57 AM by Howard Bashman "Another Iowa Judge Faces Ballot Box Battle Due To Same-Sex Marriage Ruling": This audio segment appeared on Wednesday evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." Posted at 08:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Preview: What Is in Store for October Term 2012?" C-SPAN provides online access to the video of this Federalist Society event, which took place yesterday in Washington, DC, via this link. Posted at 08:26 AM by Howard Bashman "Why are candidates silent on Supreme Court?" Jeffrey Toobin has this essay online at CNN.com. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court may limit use of race in college admissions": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. In today's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin reports that "Supreme Court to Revisit Ruling on Race and Colleges." The Washington Times reports that "Supreme Court cases even more heated this term." Ariane de Vogue of ABC News reports that "Supreme Court Faces Affirmative Action and Gay Marriage." And Jonathan Stempel of Reuters reports that "Affirmative action, rights cases await U.S. Supreme Court." Thursday, September 27, 2012 In Bashman news from Australia: The Daily Telegraph of Sydney has a news update headlined "Bus bash man stripped of passport." Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to revisit affirmative action in Texas case; In a University of Texas case, justices consider whether affirmative action can be justified if a school is achieving diversity without using race": David G. Savage will have this article Friday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 09:54 PM by Howard Bashman "State Supreme Court declines to take up voter ID, for now": Patrick Marley of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this news update. Posted at 09:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Top court backs cyber-bullying protection over media rights": Kirk Makin of The Toronto Globe and Mail has a news update that begins, "The Supreme Court of Canada placed the privacy interests of a cyber-bullied Nova Scotia girl ahead of press freedom Thursday, allowing her to pursue her tormentors under a cloak of anonymity." The Chronicle Herald of Halifax, Nova Scotia has a news update headlined "Top court protects anonymity of N.S. teen in Facebook case." The Toronto Star has a news update headlined "Supreme Court rules girl can protect her identity in Facebook defamation suit." And CBC News reports that "Cyberbullying victim can remain anonymous, court rules; Top court grants Nova Scotia teen right to protect her identity in fake Facebook case." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada at this link. "The settlement that almost nixed a Supreme Court case": Nate Raymond has this report at Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight. Posted at 08:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Preview: 2012 Term." Earlier this week, The Heritage Foundation hosted this preview, and now you can access the video by clicking here. Yesterday at the "Above the Law" blog, David Lat had this write-up of the Heritage preview. "Mice, roaches in prison cells may be unconstitutional: court." Jonathan Stempel of Reuters has a report that begins, "A prominent federal judge said on Thursday that the infestation of a prison cell with mice and cockroaches may violate the U.S. constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment, even if the inmate is not physically harmed." My earlier coverage of today's Seventh Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Drama! Intrigue! Habeas! On October 1, the Supreme Court Returns; Fresh off their most partisan ruling since Bush v. Gore, the justices face a docket and a vibe that are still taking shape." Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 05:10 PM by Howard Bashman "The 200-Day Club: That's how long uncontroversial nominees are waiting to join the federal bench." Doug Kendall has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 05:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Inmate's handwritten request will get a rare hearing before Supreme Court": Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 04:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Viet Dinh '93 on government, academia and boutique law practice": Harvard Law School yesterday posted online this news release, containing related video. Posted at 03:09 PM by Howard Bashman "Gay marriage arguments occur in U.S. appeals court": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A Justice Department lawyer has been forced by a federal appeals panel in New York to explain the government's decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act." And Bloomberg News has this updated report. Update: Terry Baynes and Grant McCool of Reuters report that "U.S. appeals court hears arguments over federal gay marriage law." "[W]e write to correct the judge's apparent assumption that creation of a mere hazard to health, as opposed to an actual impairment of health, can never be a harm sufficient to support an Eighth Amendment violation." On behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner today issued an opinion that "distinguish[es] among three different types of harm that [mice and cockroach] infestation of a prisoner's cell can create." Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman "5th Circuit Chief Judge Edith Jones to relinquish 'chief' title": John Council has this post today at the "Tex Parte Blog" of Texas Lawyer. Posted at 02:25 PM by Howard Bashman "The Roberts Court Takes on Racial Justice": Law professor David Cole has this post today at the blog of The New York Review of Books. Posted at 01:54 PM by Howard Bashman The Columbia Spectator's archives are now available online: As my college newspaper, The Columbia Spectator, first noted on Twitter very early this morning, much of that publication's archives are now available online. Most of the articles that I wrote while attending Columbia College can be accessed via this link. My first front page article, headlined "Lynch sees standstill in minority hiring," appeared before the end of September of my freshman year in 1982. Thereafter the "Howard J. Bashman" byline apparently began appearing so frequently that for the newspaper's April Fool's Day edition published on April 1, 1983, every byline appeared with the middle initial J. Among the articles that bring back memories all these years later are those headlined "Day 5 of the blockade: a profile"; "Jester's vigil will begin at Tom's"; "Students find corpse wrapped up in a rug"; "Columbia hangout finger lickin' good"; and my review of the original "Police Academy" movie. The archives also reveal that I once joined in a group letter to the editor written by the residents of my dorm room hall. Sadly. I did not get to write the instant classic cockroach-in-a-student's-ear story published on January 24, 1983, but somehow an article of mine that did run that day happened to appear even higher-up on the front page. You can access and search the archives via this link. "Kagan offers a view of a Justice's working life": Harvard Law School posted this news release online yesterday, providing access to Justice Elena Kagan's remarks earlier this month at the law school. Posted at 01:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Hill Republicans Join Suit Challenging Obama Recess Appointments": Todd Ruger has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 12:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Arkansas court upholds medical marijuana proposal": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Arkansas issued today. Posted at 11:30 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court to hear drug dog cases from Fla.": The News Service of Florida has this report. Posted at 11:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Defense of Marriage Act Faces Widow's Tax Case Appeal": Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 11:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Civil rights dominate Supreme Court term": Pete Williams, NBC News justice correspondent, has this blog post today. Posted at 11:23 AM by Howard Bashman "Election May Decide When Interrogation Amounts to Torture": Charlie Savage will have this article Friday in The New York Times. Posted at 11:22 AM by Howard Bashman "How much privacy does the Constitution guarantee for the blood's chemistry?" Lyle Denniston has this post today at the "Constitution Daily" blog of the National Constitution Center. Posted at 09:34 AM by Howard Bashman "LB Bookshelf: Rehnquist Bio Doesn't Pull Punches." Peter Landers had this post yesterday at WSJ.com's "Law Blog." Additional information about the book can be accessed here. Judge Posner on the defense of entrapment and "stash house" robberies: Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued an interesting concurring and dissenting opinion in a case that the Seventh Circuit decided yesterday. Posted at 09:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Court fast-tracks some green card applications": The Associated Press has this report on a 6-to-5 ruling that the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued yesterday. And in other coverage, Scott Graham of The Recorder reports that "Judges Split 6-5 Over Meaning of Immigration Provision." "Special Preview: International Human Rights Cases Under Fire." Lawrence Hurley has this article in the September 2012 issue of California Lawyer magazine. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Argument preview: Will an old law shrink?" And in the current issue of The National Law Journal, Peter Weiss has an essay entitled "Will the high court be a dream killer? A century-old vision of the United States as committed to common global values of justice and humanity is being sorely tested by the Kiobel case before the Supreme Court." Wednesday, September 26, 2012 "Supreme Court will hear case on North Carolina malpractice settlement": Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Taxes Threaten an Island Culture in Georgia": This article about the saltwater Geechee community in Georgia appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:26 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court Caves to TSA Over Nude Body Scanners": David Kravets has this post at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog reporting on an order that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued yesterday. Posted at 10:16 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Uphold Map for West Virginia Voting": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:09 PM by Howard Bashman "Michigan Law: A Conversation with Associate Justice Elena Kagan." Earlier this month, Justice Elena Kagan visited the University of Michigan School of Law and, among other things, participated in a question-and-answer session with Dean Evan Caminker. I previously collected news coverage of Justice Kagan's visit in a post that you can access here. Now, the law school posted online two videos of Justice Kagan's remarks that you can access here and here "Highest court to decide on gay marriage": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And, in related news, Terry Baynes of Reuters has an article headlined "Court to hear appeal over federal gay marriage law" that begins, "The next battle over a U.S. law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman will be waged in a federal appeals court in New York on Thursday." "Ark. girds for showdown with Army Corps over forest flooding": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report. Posted at 09:36 PM by Howard Bashman "Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens to speak at IIT Chicago-Kent": IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law issued this news release today. Posted at 09:35 PM by Howard Bashman "USS Cole defenders seek three-month delay; They also say the alleged mastermind of the bombing shouldn't be compelled to come to court proceedings against his wishes": Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald has this report. Posted at 09:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Resort's Snow Won't Be Pure This Year; It'll Be Sewage": This article will appear Thursday in The New York Times. As the article explains, "In February, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the ski resort's upgrade plans, ending a legal saga fought by a coalition of environmental groups and 13 American Indian tribes, which consider the mountain sacred and view the wastewater snow as a desecration." Tuesday, September 25, 2012 Programming note: Additional posts will appear here on Wednesday evening. Posted at 06:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court upholds penalties for secret meetings": The Houston Chronicle has a news update that begins, "A Fifth Circuit federal appeals panel on Tuesday upheld the criminal penalty provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act against a challenge by a cadre of city officials who argued it chills free speech." And The Texas Tribune reports that "Court Finds Open Meetings Act Constitutional." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. "West Virginia Voting Map Upheld by U.S. Supreme Court": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Opinion recap: Hedging on 'one person, one vote.'" "SEC Fraud Suit Deadlines Draw Review From U.S. High Court": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. And Reuters reports that "Supreme Court to hear Marc Gabelli appeal in SEC case." "Force DUI suspects to have breath, blood tests? High court to rule." David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Forced blood test for a drunk-driving suspect? Supreme Court to step in; A Missouri trooper ordered a blood test for a suspected drunk driver who had refused one, without having a warrant; US Supreme Court said Tuesday it will decide if that action was justified; The case could help define the scope of protections against unreasonable searches." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Forced Blood Test in Drunk Driving Case Gets Court Review." And Terry Baynes and Jonathan Stempel of Reuters report that "Supreme Court to review blood tests to test driver sobriety." "Court grants appeals from 2 people without lawyers": Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Well-heeled clients pay tens of thousands of dollars to hit the legal jackpot -- Supreme Court review of their appeals. But on Tuesday, the court decided to hear cases filed by two people who couldn't afford or didn't bother to hire an attorney." And in other coverage of today's Order List, The AP has reports headlined "Court to review limit of driver record protections"; "Court to decide if SEC can sue Gabelli fund execs": and "Court: Can Guam man sue gov't over surgery?" "Conservatives warily ponder prospect of an 'Obama court'": Tom Curry, NBC News national affairs writer, has this report. Posted at 04:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Human Rights, the Death Penalty, and Affirmative Action: What will the Supreme Court decide in this term's first big cases?" Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 04:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Thomas: Stay upbeat, focused in law school." The University of Florida Levin College of Law has this news release, containing a link to video of Justice Clarence Thomas's recent remarks at that law school. Posted at 01:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Ninth Circuit Recalls Judge James R. Browning": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit posted this news release online today. Posted at 01:30 PM by Howard Bashman Access online today's Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court has posted today's Order List at this link. The Court today granted review in six new cases. Also attached to the Order List is today's per curiam opinion in Tennant v. Jefferson County Comm'n. In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "High court to consider drunken driving case" and "High court upholds WV congressional districts." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Six new grants, redistricting ruling." "Texas Diversity Tested at Court as Affirmative Action Curbs Loom": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Pennsylvania Court Reconsiders Voter ID Availability": Bloomberg News has a report that begins, "The Pennsylvania judge who last month upheld a law requiring voters to show photo identification is scheduled today to hear arguments over whether people will be able to comply before the general election in November." The Associated Press reports that "Judge Robert Simpson hears voter ID case again, beginning today." And in today's edition of The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Peter Hall has an article headlined "Voter ID fight continues today in Harrisburg; State officials must convince Judge Robert Simpson voters will be able to get ID cards before Election Day." "Man wrongly convicted can sue LAPD, federal court panel rules; Harold C. Hall, who spent 19 years in prison for killings he didn't commit, contends officers coerced his confession; A panel of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals says he can pursue his case": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles Daily News reports that "Wrongfully convicted man allowed to revise lawsuit against Los Angeles over confession." And at her "Trial Insider" blog, Pamela A. MacLean has a post titled "Coerced Confession Civil Rights Suit Revived." You can access yesterday's ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "New Ruling on Katrina Favors Corps of Engineers": In today's edition of The New York Times, John Schwartz has an article that begins, "A federal appeals court reversed itself, ruling Monday that the Army Corps of Engineers is not liable for devastation caused in Hurricane Katrina from a government-built navigation canal." The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reports that "Hurricane Katrina damage judgment against Army Corps of Engineers is reversed by federal appeals court." And The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court tosses out landmark Katrina ruling." Yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is not yet freely available for viewing at that court's web site. Update: The Fifth Circuit has now posted yesterday's opinion at this link. Monday, September 24, 2012 "Florida justice warns of assault on the courts 'through partisan politics'": The Miami Herald has a news update that begins, "As the secretive campaign against the three Florida Supreme Court justices up for merit retention took shape Monday, one of the targeted justices warned that the future of the state's independent judiciary was under threat." And in Tuesday's edition of The Tampa Bay Times, Martin Dyckman will have an op-ed entitled "An independent court is at stake in Florida." "Appeals court rules against bridge company on private vs. public issue": The Detroit Free Press has this news update reporting on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Politics, Principle and an Attack on the Courts": This editorial appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman In the October 2012 issue of ABA Journal magazine: Mark Walsh has an article headlined "Eyes of US Are Upon Texas: Affirmative Action Case Kicks Off the Supreme Court's 2012 Term." Richard Brust has an article headlined "As DC Circuit Weighs the Future of Guantanamo Inmates, Some Say Judicial Review Can Harm Military." And Bryan A. Garner has an item headlined "Outtakes from a Treatise -- Garner and Scalia Present a Quiz on Textualism: Part 1 of 2." "Samsung seeks new trial in legal feud with Apple": Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has this update. As the article explains, "Trial judges seldom grant motions for new trials, but Samsung's arguments will also lay the foundation for the company's expected appeal to the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which reviews patent cases." "Judge Kravitz To Be Honored With Symposium Series": The Connecticut Law Tribune has this report today. Posted at 08:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Wisconsin's Lawyer Asks Court to Reverse Union Law Ruling": Bloomberg News has a report that begins, "A Wisconsin law requiring certain public worker unions to vote annually on whether they wish to remain in existence is constitutional, a lawyer for the state told a federal appellate court." And The Associated Press reports that "Federal panel hears arguments in Wis. union case." "'Zeus of the Law' Sworn In to Become D.C. Court of Appeals Judge": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Don Tartaglione has a post that begins, "At the September 21 investiture ceremony for Roy McLeese III, who was sworn in to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, friends and former colleagues gave glowing compliments about his qualifications and temperament." Posted at 03:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Clean Water Act cases on docket as justices return": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has this report. Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court lifts ban on rival to DuPont's Kevlar": Reuters has this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Court halts injunction in DuPont-Kolon fight." "Out of state judges coming to Connecticut to help with federal backlog": This article appears today in The Connecticut Post. In related news, back in May 2012, The Connecticut Law Tribune published an article headlined "A Display Of Gratitude: Legal community gathers to honor judge with ALS." Additional related commentary can be accessed here and here. "Philly Regrets Flood of Cases": Ashby Jones of The Wall Street Journal has this article, whose headline is likely to prove controversial. You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News. "Righthaven foe says cases are key to free speech": VegasInc has this report. Posted at 10:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Federal panel to hear arguments in Wis. union case": The Associated Press has this preview of a case being argued today at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Posted at 09:51 AM by Howard Bashman "Former death penalty supporters now working against it; A lawyer, a county supervisor and a retired San Quentin Prison warden are backing Proposition 34, which would make life without possibility of parole California's toughest punishment": Maura Dolan had this article yesterday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Drama, controversy marked the first Supreme Court justices": This post appears today at the "Constitution Daily" blog of the National Constitution Center. Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Voter ID battles churn in key battleground states; Impact on election debated; appeals in some states continue, including S.C.": The Charlotte Observer contains this article today. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Liking It or Not, States Prepare for Health Law": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Should We Have a New Constitutional Convention?" In the October 11, 2012 issue of The New York Review of Books, retired Justice John Paul Stevens has this review of law professor Sanford Levinson's book, "Framed: America's Fifty-One Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance." Posted at 07:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Prison camps not a campaign issue this time; The once hot-button topic of Guantanamo that President Barack Obama pressed in his first presidential race is a non-issue this time around": Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald has this report. Posted at 07:32 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, September 23, 2012 "University Is Uneasy as Court Ruling Allows Guns on Campus": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court candidates won't accept endorsements from parties": Friday's edition of The Helena Independent Record contained an article that begins, "While a federal court says political parties can now endorse nonpartisan judicial candidates in Montana, the two candidates for an open state Supreme Court seat said this week they won't accept the endorsements -- because a state judicial ethics code forbids it." Posted at 01:03 PM by Howard Bashman "Little-known female billionaire holds 15% stake in Koch": Bloomberg News has this report. According to the article, "Marshall, who gained control of the Koch stake following the death of her husband, E. Pierce Marshall, in 2006, has never appeared on an international wealth ranking, although her estate has been at the center of two U.S. Supreme Court cases involving her mother-in-law, Anna Nicole Smith." Posted at 12:58 PM by Howard Bashman "In surprise move, Florida GOP opposes Supreme Court justices' retention in November; In a unanimous vote of its board, the Florida Republican Party took the unprecedented move Friday of opposing three Supreme Court justices because of a nine-year-old ruling in a murder case": This article appeared yesterday in The Miami Herald. Posted at 12:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Ala. race has 10 Commandments judge, slain judge's son": USA Today has this report. Posted at 12:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Free speech and Islam on fire." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 09:16 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, September 22, 2012 "On the Docket: The Return of the Tort Bar; Several major cases on the docket for the Supreme Court's fall session will test the resilience of class-action lawyers in the wake of legislation designed to curb frivolous lawsuits." Barron's has this report. You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News. "Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan speaks to students": The Collegian -- the University of Richmond's student newspaper -- has this news update. Posted at 09:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court justice pays visit": Today's edition of The Daily Journal of San Mateo, California contains an article that begins, "Stephen Breyer, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, didn't start his talk Friday morning by discussing his accomplishments. Instead, he focused on a title he earned at birth." Posted at 09:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Can new 9th Circuit cy pres ruling save $20 mln Facebook deal?" Nate Raymond has this report at Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight. Posted at 01:14 PM by Howard Bashman "How Two of the Nation's Leading Conservative Jurists Locked Horns Over a Two-Word Phrase: When Godzilla fights Mothra, who do you root for?" Law professor Garrett Epps has this essay online at The Atlantic. And at his "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog, Douglas A. Berman has a post titled "One district judge's take on the spat between Justice Scalia and Judge Posner." "AEDPA, Apprendi, Almendarez-Torres (oh my!) debated in [en banc] Third Circuit opinion": Douglas A. Berman has this post at his "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog about an en banc ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued yesterday. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, September 21, 2012 "Scalia v. Posner: Round 4." Terry Baynes of Reuters has this report. Posted at 08:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Air Force slow to handle appeals for convicted airmen, officers": Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 08:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Parties Still Squabbling Over Stalled Judicial Nominees": Todd Ruger has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." And at The Hill, law professor Carl Tobias has a blog post titled "Bipartisanship and filling the federal bench." "Appeals court rules against village in global-warming suit": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court has ruled against the Northwest Alaska village of Kivalina, which sued energy companies over claims that greenhouse emissions contributed to global warming that is threatening the community's existence." Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire reports that "Appeals court ends Alaskan village's federal common law fight." And at her "Trial Insider" blog, " Pamela A. MacLean has a post titled "Alaska Global Warming Suit Fails on Appeal." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "Fox Television Stripper Fine Lawsuit Dropped by U.S." Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 05:09 PM by Howard Bashman "Clarence Thomas: Ivy-Leaguers no better than UF law students." The Gainesville Sun has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Justice Thomas criticizes law school rankings." "SCOTUS and securities class actions: a love story." Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report. Posted at 02:24 PM by Howard Bashman "A New Gold Rush: Montana's Judicial Elections Are About to Get More Political; The Citizens United case claims another victim." Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 01:09 PM by Howard Bashman "Experts Discuss New Court Term at Supreme Court Institute Press Briefing": The Georgetown University Law Center has issued this news release, which provides on-demand access to video of the briefing. Posted at 12:46 PM by Howard Bashman "Court of Appeals to Remember Chief Judge Emeritus James R. Browning": The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this news release today. Posted at 12:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Death row nutrition: Curious conclusions of last meals." The December 2012 issue of the journal Appetite will contain this article, which is now available online for free download via SSRN. Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Pa. voter ID law gets new hearings for next week": This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman "In Richmond, Kagan reflects on first year on Supreme Court": Frank Green has this article today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Posted at 08:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Gaming Gay Marriage: Which case should the Supreme Court take?" Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Circuit Court Needs to Let the S.E.C. Do Its Job": In today's edition of The New York Times, financial columnist Floyd Norris has an essay that begins, "The second-most important court in the United States has three vacancies, one of which was created in 2005." Posted at 08:11 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, September 20, 2012 "Facebook Beacon settlement gets OK": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, "A divided federal appeals court approved a $9.5 million settlement Thursday of a suit against Facebook for creating an information-sharing program in which millions of users' online purchases could be disclosed to their entire network of 'friends.'" Bloomberg News reports that "Facebook's 'Beacon' Settlement Upheld in Privacy Lawsuit." And Dan Levine of Reuters reports that "9th Circuit allows $9.5 mln Facebook deal over privacy claims." 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. "Leading judge hits back in dispute with U.S. Justice Scalia": Terry Baynes of Reuters has this report. Posted at 07:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Kagan describes workings of Supreme Court to University of Richmond audience": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 06:23 PM by Howard Bashman Wow, Justice Elena Kagan just mentioned the "How Appealing" blog during her remarks at the University of Richmond School of Law! You can access C-SPAN's live coverage via this link. Justice Kagan also mentioned "SCOTUSblog," "The Volokh Conspiracy," and "Balkinization." "Text of Judge Posner's respose to Justice Scalia": Today, Reuters has posted online at this link "the text of a response by Judge Richard Posner to comments by Justice Antonin Scalia in an interview with Reuters this week." Posted at 03:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawyers go west as climate litigation warms up": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has an article that begins, "Next month, the climate change litigation circus leaves Washington, D.C. First stop: the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse." Posted at 02:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Judges seem skeptical of CIA secrecy of drones": The Associated Press has this report. Update: In other coverage, Tom Schoenberg of Bloomberg News reports that "CIA Role in U.S. Drone Strikes Scrutinized by Appeals Court." David Ingram of Reuters reports that "U.S. court skeptical of Obama secrecy around drone killings." Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that "CIA balks at yielding details on drone strikes." And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post titled "D.C. Circuit Questions Secrecy Over Drones in Records Dispute." "Why it matters: 1 new justice could change a lot." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 09:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Happy (Un)constitution(al) Day": Linda Greenhouse has this post at the "Opinionator" blog of The New York Times. Posted at 09:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Conversation with Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan": As detailed here, C-SPAN plans to provide live, online coverage beginning at 3 p.m. eastern time. Posted at 09:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Ruth Bader Ginsburg at CU-Boulder: Gay marriage likely to come before Supreme Court within a year." This article appears today in The Boulder Daily Camera. Posted at 09:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Protecting Property Rights from the Army Corps of Engineers: The Supreme Court prepares to hear a major Takings Clause case." Damon W. Root has this essay online at Reason. Posted at 08:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court: Arizona man can't sue Medtronic." Back in April 2012, The Arizona Republic published an article that begins, "A federal appeals court said Monday that an Arizona man cannot sue a medical-device manufacturer under state law for injuries from a pain pump that he said left him paraplegic." You can access the ruling that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued on April 16, 2012 at this link. Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit heard reargument en banc in Stengel v. Medtronic Inc. before an 11-judge panel. You can access the audio of yesterday's en banc reargument via this link. "Tax penalty to hit nearly 6M uninsured people": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Nearly 6 million Americans -- significantly more than first estimated -- will face a tax penalty under President Barack Obama's health overhaul for not getting insurance, congressional analysts said Wednesday. Most would be in the middle class." And today's edition of The Oklahoman reports that "Oklahoma attorney general renews challenge to Obama administration's health care act." "Justice to leave Supreme Court for private firm at end of month": Chuck Lindell has this article today in The Austin American-Statesman. Posted at 08:23 AM by Howard Bashman "Illinois Supreme Court to hear arguments about long-dormant law on abortion notification": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "California's DNA law probed by judges": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. Scott Graham of The Recorder reports that "9th Circuit May Toss State's DNA Collection Law." And at her "Trial Insider" blog, Pamela A. MacLean has a post titled "DNA Collection from Arrestees Challenged." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted the audio of yesterday's reargument en banc in this case at this link. Wednesday, September 19, 2012 "U.S. must show anti-prostitution pledge memo for HIV groups: court." Reuters has a report that begins, "U.S. officials must hand over a 2004 legal memorandum on the constitutionality of requiring non-governmental, U.S.-based HIV/AIDS groups to make a pledge opposing prostitution when they work abroad, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. "State Supreme Court: Fraternity Can Be Sued In Fatal Yale Crash." The Associated Press has this report. Today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Connecticut consists of a majority opinion and an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. "Documentary highlights Rubashkin's fraud conviction, Supreme Court appeal": The Des Moines Register has a blog post that begins, "A documentary short released today that examines the power U.S. federal prosecutors wield in the U.S. criminal justice system features former Agriprocessors executive Sholom Rubashkin. The 10-minute film, 'Unjustified,' includes interviews with a variety of legal experts, among them former Solicitor General Paul Clement, the lead lawyer on Rubashkin's appeal that asks the U.S. Supreme Court to shorten a 27-year sentence or order a new trial." The video can be accessed at YouTube via this link. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Gay Marriage Likely To Go Before Supreme Court Within The Next Year." The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 09:12 PM by Howard Bashman "Words from the 'Funniest Justice'": Today's edition of The Wall Street Journal contains an article that begins, "While waiting for the elevator in the lobby of the New York Athletic Club on Central Park South on Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia stood thumbing the leaves of a potted shrub, trying to judge whether it was real or plastic." You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News. "In GPS Surveillance Case, Dispute Over Evidence Flares Up": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post that begins, "The Washington-area man at the center of the government surveillance dispute that reached the U.S. Supreme Court is fighting to convince a judge not to allow jurors to hear about the tens of thousands of dollars of cocaine federal agents seized in 2005." Posted at 07:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Scalia wages war of words with federal appeals judge in Chicago; Public spat between 2 legal 'titans' not surprising to some experts": Annie Sweeney has this article today in The Chicago Tribune. Posted at 07:10 PM by Howard Bashman "So long, Justice Dale Wainwright": At the "Tex Parte Blog" of Texas Lawyer, John Council has a post that begins, "Texas Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright announced today that he will resign from the court effective Sept. 30 to join Bracewell & Giuliani's Austin office. Wainwright was first elected to the court in 2002 and is currently its third most senior member." And the Supreme Court of Texas today issued this news release. The video of the oral argument that I presented on Tuesday of last week in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania can now be accessed online from the web site of the Pennsylvania Cable Network: To view the video, click here and then scroll down to the heading "Philadelphia session: September 11-12, 2012." The case that I argued is the very first case shown on the video containing "Part Two" of the September 11 argument date. Because I was representing the appellees, I was the third attorney to address the court in this oral argument. The first two attorneys to argue were Robert C. Heim and Sheila L. Birnbaum, who both argued on behalf of appellant Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc. My previous coverage of the oral argument can be accessed in posts that appear here, here, and here. The Brief for Appellees that I filed on my clients' behalf in the Pa. Supreme Court can be accessed here. "Court upholds death sentence in bawdy chocolate gift case": Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a news update that begins, "The federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence against Cobb County killer Marcus Wellons, rejecting claims his case was unfairly prejudiced when his jurors gave erotic chocolate 'gag gifts' to the trial judge and bailiff." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. "DNA sampling of arrestees draws skepticism in federal court hearing": Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update that begins, "A California law that allows law enforcement to collect DNA samples from anyone arrested for a felony appears to be on shaky legal ground. During an hour of arguments Wednesday, an 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was largely skeptical of the state's argument that government's public safety interest in collecting DNA from arrestees outweighs constitutional protections against unreasonable searches." Posted at 04:48 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: Due to meetings with appellate clients this morning and this afternoon, additional posts will not appear here until later today. Posted at 09:36 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, September 18, 2012 "Cato Institute Reviews Supreme Court's Recent Term": Thanks to C-SPAN, you can access the video of today's event via this link. Posted at 10:22 PM by Howard Bashman "How Rakoff may have changed judicial elections -- and Montana's Supreme Court": Nate Raymond has this report at Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight. Posted at 09:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Scalia: Judiciary suffers when private lawyers stay off the bench." Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report. Posted at 09:35 PM by Howard Bashman "The Right Strikes Back: A New Legal Challenge for Obamacare; The fight over health care reform is still going strong: A conservative group now argues that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional because it started in the wrong House of Congress." Law professor Jack M. Balkin has this post online at The Atlantic. Posted at 07:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Court nixes Montana's ban on political endorsements of judicial candidates": The Missoulian has this news update. The Billings Gazette has a news update headlined "Federal appeals court strikes down ban on endorsements in judicial races." And Bloomberg News reports that "Montana Rule Banning Party Endorsements of Judges Blocked." The ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued late yesterday consisted of a majority opinion and a dissenting opinion. "Texas town's rental ban to get second hearing": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A Dallas suburb's long, expensive fight to ban illegal immigrants from renting homes will get perhaps its most important hearing Wednesday before a largely conservative group of judges with the power to influence the national immigration debate." The case is scheduled for reargument en banc tomorrow in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. "'We Won in Our Effort to Preserve the Constitution': Legal scholar Randy Barnett on why the Supreme Court ObamaCare decision isn't as bad as you think." Damon W. Root has this interview in the October 2012 issue of Reason magazine. Posted at 05:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court reverses ruling on campaign donors": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "An appeals court on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling that likely would have led to greater disclosure of who is paying for certain election ads." Bloomberg News reports that "Court Reinstates Rule on 'Issue-Ad' Donors' Secrecy." And David Ingram of Reuters reports that "Appeals court says tax-exempt groups can keep donors secret." You can access today's five-page judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link. "Obama Visitor Logs Must Be Public, Lawyer Tells Court": Tom Schoenberg of Bloomberg News has a report that begins, "The names of people vetted by the U.S. Secret Service for White House visits are agency records that must be made public, a lawyer for Judicial Watch Inc. told a federal appeals court in Washington." Posted at 05:09 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Clarence Thomas and CAC's Akhil Amar debate past, present, and future of our Constitution": The video of this recent discussion can now be viewed online, on-demand via YouTube at this link. Posted at 03:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Pa. Supreme Court orders more review on voter ID law": The Philadelphia Inquirer has a news update that begins, "The Supreme Court has ordered that the state's controversial new voter ID law be returned to a lower court for a speedy hearing on how the state is implementing it to ensure all voters have access to appropriate state-issued photo identification. The decision was 4-2, with Justices Seamus McCaffery and Debra McCloskey Todd dissenting." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a news update headlined "Pennsylvania Supreme Court sends Voter ID back to lower court." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a news update headlined "State Supreme Court sends voter ID case back to Commonwealth Court for review." The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has a news update headlined "Voter ID law in limbo after Pa. Supreme Court sends case back to lower court." Bloomberg News reports that "Pennsylvania Supreme Court Sets Aside Voter-ID Ruling." Reuters reports that "Pennsylvania Supreme Court returns voter ID case to lower court." And The Associated Press reports that "Pa. high court wants review of voter ID access." Today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consists of a per curiam order and two dissenting statements (here and here). "U.S. wins temporary freeze of military detention order": Reuters has this report on an order that a single judge serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued yesterday. And the blog "Lawfare," which posted the order, provides this coverage. Update: In other coverage, Bloomberg News reports that "Obama Administration Wins Stay of Detention Law Rejection." "Last Chapter for a Court With a Place in History": In today's edition of The New York Times, Campbell Robertson has an article that begins, "Across the street from a barbershop and upstairs from a post office sits a big empty room where Mississippi once began to face up to itself. Even on a steamy humdrum Thursday afternoon, this city's stately federal courtroom looks like the kind of place where momentous things could happen, as they once did." Posted at 12:06 PM by Howard Bashman "Fanning furor, Justice Scalia says appeals court judge lied": Terry Baynes of Reuters has this report. The Associated Press reports that "Justice Scalia says criticism of 'politicized' Supreme Court 'enrages' him." The Hill has a blog post titled "Scalia was 'furious' at Roberts vote on healthcare law, says Toobin book." The William & Mary Law School has a news release headlined "Law School celebrates contributions of Justice Scalia." And at The Huffington Post, law professor Eric Segall has an essay entitled "The Scalia-Posner War and Why it Matters." Monday, September 17, 2012 "David Souter Gets Rock Star Welcome, Offers Constitution Day Warning": Margaret Warner has this blog post at PBS NewsHour. Posted at 07:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Wrangle over union law will keep courts busy": Patrick Marley of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a news update that begins, "Gov. Scott Walker's curbs on collective bargaining were overturned even before they took effect last year, quickly reinstated by the state Supreme Court, scaled back in March by a federal judge and, on Friday, dealt a major blow by a Dane County judge. Expect nothing but more court decisions in the months ahead as appeals on those last two cases are heard and others are sorted out by the court system." Posted at 07:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Mesa mulls its next move on Angel Tattoo; State high court orders case back to county level": The Arizona Republic has this news update. Posted at 07:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Newsmaker: Reuters Editor-in-Chief, Stephen J. Adler moderates a conversation with Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia and Professor Bryan A. Garner on their new book, 'Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts.'" You can watch live, online now via YouTube by clicking here. Posted at 06:03 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Warns Ruling Impedes Its Detention Powers": Charlie Savage of The New York Times has a news update that begins, "The Obama administration warned Monday that a judge's ruling last week blocking a statute authorizing the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects has jeopardized its ability to continue detaining certain prisoners captured during the war in Afghanistan." Posted at 04:25 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. asks appeals court to freeze military detention ruling": Reuters has this report. Posted at 03:51 PM by Howard Bashman "How Obama, Roberts Interpret Laws In 'The Oath'": This audio segment, featuring an interview with Jeffrey Toobin, appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Fresh Air from WHYY." Posted at 03:50 PM by Howard Bashman "DOJ Asks Appeals Court to Uphold Dismissal of Hiring Practices Suit": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post that begins, "The U.S. Justice Department doesn't dispute that significant misconduct marred the review of candidates for a coveted slot in the department's Honors Program in 2006. Department lawyers, however, want a federal appeals court to uphold the dismissal of a lawsuit that alleges senior DOJ officials improperly used candidates' political and ideological information as the basis of dismissal from the interview process." Posted at 03:46 PM by Howard Bashman "From Justice Thomas, a Little Talk About Himself and the Court": Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 12:09 PM by Howard Bashman "First big victim of 2nd Circuit's MBS standing opinion: JPMorgan." Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report. Posted at 11:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Calif. DNA collection from arrestees challenged": The Associated Press has this report. And last month, The Recorder published an article headlined "9th Circuit's Reconsideration of DNA Collection Program Won't Be the Last Case in the Sequence." "High-Court Clerks Attract a Frenzy; Law Firms Offer Signing Bonuses That Exceed Justices' Pay": Brent Kendall has this article today in The Wall Street Journal. You can freely access the text of the article via Google News. "Voting Rights for Blacks in '65 Face Court Challenge": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 11:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Thomas concedes that 'we the people' didn't include blacks": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:40 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, September 16, 2012 "Federal appeals court to hear challenge to California DNA collection law": Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has this update about a case scheduled to be reargued this Wednesday before an 11-judge en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit's own description of the two cases scheduled for reargument en banc on Wednesday can be accessed on page two of this PDF document. "Quick appeal expected in collective bargaining case": Today's edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, "A Dane County judge's ruling striking down many limits on collective bargaining for public workers will likely be appealed quickly and could go straight to a showdown on a divided, but often conservative-leaning state Supreme Court." Posted at 08:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge looks forward to challenge of high court": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "After 32 years in the criminal justice field, Laramie County District Judge Michael Davis is moving to the state's highest court. He was appointed in August to serve as a Wyoming Supreme Court justice by Gov. Matt Mead." Posted at 08:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Book review: The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court'' by Jeffrey Toobin." Law professor Jeffrey Rosen has this book review today in The Washington Post. In The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Repps Hudson has a book review headlined "Review: Toobin's 'The Oath' is Obama v. Roberts." In The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Jay Strafford has a review headlined "Nonfiction review: The Oath by Jeffrey Toobin." And today in The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Kristin Tillotson has an article headlined "Jeffrey Toobin: Drama in the court; In his second book about the inner workings of the Supreme Court, Jeffrey Toobin sheds light on high-stakes legal battles between the White House and Chief Justice John Roberts." "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Peterson convicted by 'voices from the grave.'" Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 02:10 PM by Howard Bashman Saturday, September 15, 2012 "Former Solicitor General Ted Olson Plays Biden in Ryan Debate Prep; Olson represented George W. Bush in the 2000 recount and later joined with his opposing counsel to challenge California's gay-marriage ban": National Journal has this report. Posted at 01:22 PM by Howard Bashman "State Supreme Court To Consider If Death Penalty Repeal Should Affect Current Cases": In today's edition of The Hartford Courant, Alaine Griffin has an article that begins, "The state Supreme Court has agreed to take up the issue of whether the recent repeal of Connecticut's death penalty can apply only to future crimes." Posted at 01:10 PM by Howard Bashman "TOOBIN BOOK: Roberts switched!" At Politico.com, today's installment of Mike Allen's Playbook has this report. Posted at 01:05 PM by Howard Bashman Friday, September 14, 2012 "Court upholds cop killer's death sentence": Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a news update that begins, "The federal appeals court has upheld a death sentence against man who killed a sheriff's deputy, even though the condemned inmate's lead lawyer drank a quart of vodka every day during trial." You can access yesterday's ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit -- in which each of the three judges wrote separately -- at this link. Senior Circuit Judge J.L. Edmondson's opinion concurring in the judgment, which appears at page 105 of the document, is rather unusual. He writes: In my experience, longish opinions always present a strong possibility of error lurking somewhere in the text. That the opinion writer is a skilled and careful judge does not eliminate the risk. Furthermore, no one wishes to join in an opinion that they do not understand fully. It is hard, time-consuming, painstaking work for the panel's other judges to check long opinions, line by line, cited case by cited case. (Of course, always other cases are awaiting decision and also demand the judges' time and attention.)A footnote then goes on to observe: It seems to me that the incidence of long opinions has been on the rise in the last decade or, at least, more are coming across my desk. I should say that I, broadly speaking, do not agree that the length of an opinion necessarily reflects the thought, labor, and care that has been invested by judges in their endeavor to decide the case correctly. The shorter opinions often reflect the greater study and thought leading up to the ultimate decision. Mark Twain touched on a related idea: "If you want me to give you a two-hour presentation, I am ready today. If you want only a five-minute speech, it will take me two weeks to prepare."Circuit Judge Ed Carnes wrote the 104-page lead opinion in the case. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal appellate court backs how Kansas selects judges": Today's edition of The Kansas City Star contains an article that begins, "A divided U.S. Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected a challenge to the way Kansas selects its judges." And The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that "Appeals court backs lawyers in nominating process." You can access yesterday's non-precedential ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link. Each of the three judges on the panel issued a separate opinion. "Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan coming to Univ. of Richmond": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 07:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court's Alito tells Bristol law school audience he personally reviews cases seeking high court review": Katie Mulvaney of The Providence (R.I.) Journal has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Alito says Supreme Court misunderstood by media." "Veteran Panel Sizes Up the Supreme Court": Zoe Tillman has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 04:33 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: A trip to the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania area in connection with a pending appeal will cause me to be away from the office until this afternoon. Additional posts will appear here later today. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, September 13, 2012 "Errol Morris v. Janet Malcolm: The documentary filmmaker takes on the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case." Emily Bazelon has this interview online at Slate. Posted at 11:26 PM by Howard Bashman "The New Going Rate for Supreme Court Clerk Bonuses": David Lat has this blog post today at "Above the Law." Posted at 04:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Pa. Supreme Court hears arguments on voter ID law": The Philadelphia Inquirer has this news update. Posted at 04:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Lawyers argue voter ID case before Pennsylvania Supreme Court": The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this news update. The Associated Press reports that "Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Questioned By State Supreme Court." And CBS News has a report headlined "Pa. Supreme Court weighs voter ID arguments." "Thomas: Americans still arguing over gov't limits." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says the same arguments the Founding Fathers fought over during the creation of the United States are still raging today." Posted at 09:06 AM by Howard Bashman "Study of US campaign ads finds growing role of outside groups": Reuters has this report. Posted at 09:04 AM by Howard Bashman "Pa. Supreme Court takes up voter ID today, NAACP plans rally": The Philadelphia Inquirer has this news update. Earlier this week, the newspaper published an article headlined "Pennsylvania Supreme Court faces key question on voter ID appeal." And today's newspaper contains an article headlined "Pa. Supreme Court to review districting plan." The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania reports today that "Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear challenges to state's voter ID law." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported earlier this week that "Voter ID case goes to Pa. Supreme Court on Thursday; Challengers attempt to delay Nov. start." Robert Barnes of The Washington Post reports that "Challengers of voting-law changes win some battles, but outcomes still unsettled." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Voter ID law backed by Republicans faces legal test in Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices on Thursday will examine the state's voter ID law, which was touted by a top state Republican as allowing Mitt Romney 'to win the state.'" Bloomberg News reports that "Pennsylvania Top Court Set to Hear Voter-ID Law Case." Reuters reports that "National debate over voter ID moves to Pennsylvania high court." And The Associated Press reports that "Pennsylvania Supreme Court to air legislative redistricting challenges." "Under new Supreme Court ruling, Pa. high court ponders fates of teen lifers": Joseph A. Slobodzian has this article today in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania reports today that "Pa. justices wrestle with sentencing of juvenile killers; With U.S. Supreme Court's ban on automatic life-without-parole sentences, Pa. court looks for guidance on how to handle killers such as Easton's Batts." The Philadelphia Daily News reports that "Pa.'s high court grapples with federal decision on sentencing juveniles." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that "Mandatory life sentences challenged by juvenile offenders." And The Associated Press reports that "Pa. Supreme Court weighing new sentences for juvenile killers." Wednesday, September 12, 2012 "Congress, courts and the skewed punishment of illegal downloaders": Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report. Posted at 10:52 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: Additional posts will appear here this evening. Posted at 02:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Trying juveniles as adults will be become tougher, N.J. Supreme Court rules": The Newark Star-Ledger has a news update that begins, "Prosecutors in New Jersey must abide by a stricter standard when asking that juveniles be tried as adults, making it easier for juvenile defendants to defeat such requests, the state Supreme Court ruled today." You can access today's 3-to-2 ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link. "11th Circuit creeping into the tech era": David Oscar Markus has this post at his "Southern District of Florida Blog." Posted at 12:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Is Antonin Scalia Still Relevant?" Law professor Garrett Epps has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 12:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Mulls Punitive Damages in HRT Case": Amaris Elliott-Engel has this front page article today in The Legal Intelligencer -- Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers -- reporting on the oral argument that I participated in yesterday at the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The Brief for Plaintiffs/Appellees that I filed in support of my clients in that case can be accessed here. And last Friday, in an entirely separate appeal, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania issued this ruling in favor of my client in a dispute between two lawyers over the division of an attorneys' fee. The Brief for Plaintiff/Appellee that I filed in that appeal can be accessed here. "Montana Supreme Court: No constitutional right to medical marijuana." Today's edition of The Missoulian contains this article reporting on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Montana issued yesterday. Posted at 10:24 AM by Howard Bashman "Presidential election will shape Supreme Court": Gregg Nunziata has this op-ed today in USA Today. Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman "Why the Supreme Court May Soon Strike Down a Key Section of the Voting Rights Act": Nicholas Stephanopoulos has this blog post online at The New Republic. Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Microsoft and Google Take $4 Billion Patent Dispute to 9th Circuit": Scott Graham of The Recorder has this report. You can access the audio of yesterday's oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (featuring Kathleen M. Sullivan versus Carter G. Phillips) via this link. "Pennsylvania Supreme Court To Hear Arguments On Juvenile Life Sentences": CBS Philly has this report. Posted at 09:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Personhood amendment won't make Colorado ballot in 2012": This article appears today in The Denver Post. Posted at 08:57 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals Court clears 2 Phoenix officers, Taser in man's death": Today's edition of The Arizona Republic contains an article that begins, "The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals cleared two Phoenix police officers of wrongful death in the repeated Tasering of a man choking his 3-year-old granddaughter during an exorcism." And Cronkite News reports that "Court rules officers' repeated use of Taser on man who later died was reasonable." You can access yesterday's ruling of a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "U.S. asks Supreme Court to consider two more gay marriage cases": Reuters has this report. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, September 11, 2012 "Appeals court says woman owes record companies $222,000; Appeals court finds no constitutional bar against large judgment against woman who shared copyrighted songs on the Internet": The Minneapolis Star Tribune has this news update. Reuters reports that "Appeals court raises damages award in music piracy case." Bloomberg News reports that "Minnesota Song Downloader Must Pay $222,000, Court Says." And at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog, David Kravets has a post titled "After Three Trials, Court Restores Original $222,000 Verdict in Key File-Sharing Case." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link. "Little sympathy for Merlo in high court hearing": Peter Hall of The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania has a news update that begins, "Pennsylvania's Supreme Court justices showed little sympathy Tuesday for Maryesther Merlo, the Allentown judge booted from the bench for misconduct last year." Update: In other coverage, The Express-Times of Easton, Pennsylvania reports that "Former Allentown District Judge Maryesther Merlo appeals to state Supreme Court for job back." "Court says woman can't be charged for inducing abortion": Dan Levine of Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. Posted at 06:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Detainee Who Died at Guantanamo Had Release Blocked by Court": Charlie Savage of The New York Times has this news update. And Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald has a news update headlined "Dead Guantanamo detainee won, then lost federal court-ordered release; The ninth detainee to die in the 11 years of the Guantanamo detention center was a man in his 30s from Yemen; the man's lawyer warned of his client's despair for years." "On Garner on Posner on Scalia & Garner": Neal Goldfarb has this post at his "LAWnLinguistics" blog. Posted at 04:10 PM by Howard Bashman In today's mail: Today's mail contained an advance copy of the book "Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It's Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won't Admit It," by Richard Sander and Stuart Taylor Jr. And from The Green Bag, I received my certificate for a Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg bobblehead doll. "Justice Elena Kagan, Comedian: The junior Justice is out and about, pitching the view that the Supreme Court these days is one big hug fest." Andrew Cohen has this essay online today at The Atlantic. Posted at 04:02 PM by Howard Bashman "In Cost-Cutting Move, Judicial Conference Closes Six Court Facilities": Todd Ruger has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." The Associated Press has a report headlined "Judge: US civil trials at risk without budget deal." And the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts today issued a news release headlined "Judiciary Continues Cost Savings, Closes Court Facilities." Monday, September 10, 2012 Programming note: Due to the oral argument that I will be presenting Tuesday morning in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (described two posts earlier, below), additional posts will appear here on Tuesday afternoon. Update: Tuesday morning's oral argument seemed to go quite well. Attorneys Robert C. Heim and Sheila L. Birnbaum divided the oral argument for defendant/appellant Wyeth, while I presented the entire argument for plaintiff/appellee Mary Daniel. The Legal Intelligencer will likely have coverage of the oral argument in a day or so. And when Pennsylvania Cable Network posts the video of the oral argument online, I will link to it. "Appeals court upholds Illinois campaign disclosure law": Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report on a ruling that a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued today. Posted at 10:57 PM by Howard Bashman On the agenda: Tomorrow morning, I will present oral argument on behalf of the plaintiffs/appellees to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in a case captioned Daniel v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The question (as drafted by counsel for Wyeth) that Pennsylvania's highest court granted allowance of appeal to review back in December 2011 states: Whether the Superior Court erred in reversing the trial court's grant of JNOV for Wyeth on [Respondents'] punitive damages claim under Pennsylvania law, where (a) the FDA extensively reviewed and approved the prescription drug at issue, the sufficiency of the testing for that drug, and the drug's label warnings of the risk of breast cancer, (b) there was no evidence that Wyeth concealed information from or misled the FDA or knew that the risk of breast cancer was greater than disclosed in its warnings, and (c) the drug was extensively tested and studied by Wyeth and independent researchers?You can access plaintiffs' Brief for Appellees, which I filed in April 2012, at this link. In essence, defendant/appellant Wyeth is advancing two arguments in its appeal. First, where a prescription drug is FDA approved, punitive damages should be unavailable to the plaintiff unless the plaintiff can show that the drug's manufacturer fraudulently withheld information from the FDA. (Of course, drug manufacturers have argued with some success -- see here and here -- that federal law would preempt any award for punitive damages based on a drugmaker's alleged fraud on the FDA, potentially making that proposed carve-out illusory.) And second, Wyeth is arguing when the supposedly "undisputed" facts relevant to punitive damages contained in the record (which is how Wyeth's refers to its version of the facts relating to punitive damages) are considered, the record cannot support an award of punitive damages under Pennsylvania law. Arguments are scheduled to get underway at Pennsylvania's highest court tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., and this case is listed fifth on the oral argument calendar. "How Nuanced is Justice Scalia's Judicial Philosophy? An Exchange." Today, The New Republic posted online this written exchange between Bryan A. Garner and Richard A. Posner. I have previously linked to Garner's response to Posner's review. Posner's reply to Garner's response is new. Posted at 05:30 PM by Howard Bashman Programming note: Additional posts will appear here this afternoon. Posted at 11:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Ward Churchill loses appeal to win back CU job": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A former University of Colorado professor who compared some Sept. 11 victims with a Nazi has lost his appeal to get his job back." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Colorado at this link. "Will acceptance of gays by high court influence rulings?" Joan Biskupic of Reuters has this report. Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman "In Pennsylvania, the Human Costs of Judicial Confirmation Delays; While Republicans and the White House dawdle on uncontroversial judicial nominations, real people suffer from delayed dockets and understaffed courts": Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic. Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman "A Tight Election May Be Tangled in Legal Battles": This front page article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 10:36 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, September 9, 2012 Who You Callin' a Moroun? The Detroit Free Press reports today that "Morouns give Michigan Supreme Court justices maximum donations to campaigns." Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman "How Chief Justice John Roberts Will Handle Obamacare: A lifetime of order, upended by Obamacare; How Chief Justice John Roberts will handle it." Daniel Klaidman will have this article in Monday's edition of Newsweek. Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Voter ID law set for review by state Supreme Court": The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has this news update. Posted at 09:48 PM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: DOMA challenges fall like snow on high court." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, September 8, 2012 "Louisiana governor appeals ruling on black supreme court justice": Reuters has this report. And The Associated Press reports that "State seeks review of ruling on La. Supreme Court Justice Bernette Johnson." "License immigrant, State Bar urges court": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "Rejecting the Obama administration's position, the State Bar has invited California's highest court to invoke rarely used lawmaking powers, if necessary, to grant an attorney's license to an illegal immigrant who has passed the bar exam." Posted at 10:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court's Kagan gives U-M students a look behind the curtain": This article appears today in The Detroit News. AnnArbor.com reports that "Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan tells U-M crowd about serious and not-so-serious workings of the high court." The Michigan Daily reports that "Law School unveils newly renovated South Hall" in an article that misspells Justice Elena Kagan's last name. And the University of Michigan Law School has issued a news release headlined "Justice Kagan Highlights South Hall Dedication Weekend" that begins, "Associate Justice Elena Kagan gave an inside look at the Supreme Court during a Friday morning talk presented by the U-M Law School, in which she said justices are not motivated to rule in certain cases to favor or disfavor a particular president, that even the politically divergent members of the Court genuinely like and respect one another, and that she--the junior justice--has tasks such as serving on the Court's cafeteria committee." "Justices United: The California Supreme Court Reviewed." Gerald F. Uelmen has this article in the September 2012 issue of California Lawyer magazine. Posted at 07:42 PM by Howard Bashman "F-bomb's collateral damage: Obscenity case explores the limits of courtroom expression." Mike Scarcella will have this article Monday in The National Law Journal about a case that is now pending on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Posted at 03:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Jury decides hormone therapy caused Utah woman's breast cancer; Jury finds hormone therapy led to breast cancer; drug companies vow to appeal": Brooke Adams has this article today in The Salt Lake Tribune. Posted at 03:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Arizona Supreme Court in Mesa case: 1st Amendment protects tattoos; Mesa case must go back to county court." This article appears today in The Arizona Republic. In today's edition of The East Valley Tribune, Howard Fischer has an article headlined "Court ruling: 1st Amendment protects Mesa tattoo shop." And Reuters reports that "Top Arizona court rules tattooing is protected speech." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Arizona at this link. Friday, September 7, 2012 "In Facebook court cases, high tech and free speech collide": Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 07:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Richard A. Posner's Badly Confused Attack on Scalia/Garner--Part 5": Ed Whelan has this post today at National Review Online's "Bench Memos" blog. At last night at the "Concurring Opinions" blog, Kyle Graham had a post titled "Recent Unsent E-mails from Antonin Scalia to Richard Posner, as Retrieved from Justice Scalia's 'Deleted E-Mail' Files." "Supreme Court Lawyer Carter Phillips Will Throw the First Pitch at Sunday's Nationals Game; His wife 'finagled' the opportunity as a present for his 60th birthday": At the "Capital Comment" blog of Washingtonian, Marisa M. Kashino has a post that begins, "Anyone attending the Nationals game this Sunday against the Miami Marlins may want to keep their eyes--and apparently their ears--open for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito." Posted at 03:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal judge blocks restriction of lawyer access to Guantanamo detainees": Del Quentin Wilber has this article today in The Washington Post. In today's edition of The New York Times, Charlie Savage reports that "Judge Rejects New Rules on Access to Prisoners." Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that "Judge sides with Guantanamo detainees." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "Guantanamo: Judge rejects US bid to limit lawyers' access to detainees; In a strongly worded 32-page decision, a federal judge in Washington rejected the US effort regarding security detainees at Guantanamo, calling it an 'illegitimate exercise of executive power.'" Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that "Judge maintains Gitmo detainees' access to lawyers." Reuters reports that "U.S. judge blocks new restrictions on Guantanamo lawyers." Josh Gerstein of Politico.com has a blog post titled "Judge: U.S. can't set limits on Guantanamo laywers." And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post titled "Judge Rebukes Feds Over Attempt to Change Gitmo Attorney-Client Rules." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia at this link. Sixth Circuit rejects criminal defendant's argument that the results of a functional magnetic resonance imaging lie detection test indicating that the defendant was not lying should have been admitted into evidence at trial: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on this apparent question of first impression at this link. Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, September 6, 2012 "The Supreme Court's next corporate campaign finance quandary": Alison Frankel's "On the Case" from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this report. Posted at 07:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court justice Kagan to speak at U-M": The Detroit News has an update that begins, "Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan will speak Friday during the dedication of the University of Michigan Law School's newest academic building." And AnnArbor.com reports that "Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to speak at University of Michigan Friday." The University of Michigan Law School has posted online this additional information. "High court ruling creates uncertainty over school tax collection; In Bucks case, court rules districts must pay elected tax collectors a fair rate": Peter Hall has this article today in The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman Bloomberg News reports on two rulings that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today: An article headlined "Goldman Sachs Securities Class Action Revived On Appeal" reports on this decision. And an article headlined "SEC's Insider-Trading Case Against Obus Revived On Appeal" reports on this decision. "Supreme Court's New Agent Already Getting Them Better Cases": The Onion has this report. Posted at 01:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Richard A. Posner's Badly Confused Attack on Scalia/Garner--Part 4": Ed Whelan has this post today at National Review Online's "Bench Memos" blog. Posted at 12:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Cost of legal fight over voter ID, redistricting tops $2 million": Today's edition of The Dallas Morning News contains an article that begins, "Texas has now spent more than $2 million defending its law to require photo identification to vote and its redrawing of political boundaries, officials said after federal judges sided against the state in both cases last week. And taxpayers' outlays will grow as Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott appeals both cases to the U.S. Supreme Court." Posted at 11:55 AM by Howard Bashman No mention of Beavis, however: At WSJ.com's "Law Blog," Joe Palazzolo has a post titled "When Appellate Judges and District Judges Butt Heads." Posted at 10:47 AM by Howard Bashman "Oracle-Google judge ends probe into paid bloggers": Reuters has this report. And Scott Graham of The Recorder has an article headlined "Alsup on Googacle Shill Order: Never Mind." "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to deliver speech at CU-Boulder": The Boulder Daily Camera has this report. Yesterday, the University of Colorado Boulder issued a news release headlined "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to keynote CU Law School's Bench and Bar Conference." "Immigration-status checks of SB 1070 to take effect; Judge rejects efforts to block 'show me your papers' clause": This front page article appears today in The Arizona Republic. In today's edition of The Arizona Daily Star, Howard Fischer reports that "SB 1070 provision is upheld by judge." Bloomberg News reports that "Arizona Police Can Probe Immigration Status, Judge Rules." Reuters reports that "Judge upholds Arizona 'show-your-papers' measure in mixed ruling." The Associated Press reports that "Police in legal minefield on Ariz. immigration law." And at Politico.com, Josh Gerstein has a blog post titled "Judge to allow Arizona to enforce key part of anti-illegal immigration law." "Court rules that L.A. can't destroy homeless people's property; A panel of the 9th Circuit Court says that under the 4th Amendment, Los Angeles can seize some unattended possessions but must notify the owners": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And in today's edition of The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "Homeless have right to reclaim property." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. Wednesday, September 5, 2012 "Court: Colorado can't regulate weapon storage at Pueblo Chemical Depot." The Denver Post has a news update that begins, "The state health department does not have the authority to regulate the handling of aging chemical weapons stored at the U.S. Army's Pueblo Chemical Depot, a federal appellate court ruled Wednesday." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link. "Appeals court affirms freeze on Utah gas leases": The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued today. And in other coverage, The Deseret News has an update headlined "Court: Critics missed deadline in challenging oil- and gas-lease rescinding." "Accused prison guard killer's mental status in question at trial": Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has a report that begins, "One of two inmates accused of killing a federal prison guard in Atwater, Calif., would have his mental travails aired in public under an appellate court ruling that potentially brings a long-delayed trial closer." Posted at 06:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Ambitions: One First Street. . . or die trying." David Lat announced today that he "is writing a serialized web novel about a young lawyer's quest for a Supreme Court clerkship." You can access the preface at this link. Posted at 06:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Response to Richard A. Posner": Bryan A. Garner has posted online an essay that begins, "Hardly was I surprised that Judge Richard A. Posner did not warmly embrace Reading Law, the book on textualism I coauthored with Justice Antonin Scalia. But I was unduly sanguine in thinking that my friendship with Judge Posner (such as it is--we've shared several meals since the 1990s and have always had convivial conversations) would ensure at least a fair reading of our book on 'fair reading.'" Posted at 06:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Scalia, at UNLV, criticizes notion of Constitution as a living document": The Las Vegas Sun has this news update. Posted at 04:44 PM by Howard Bashman "Ark. agency rejects chance to settle takings case": Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has a report that begins, "The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has rejected a $13 million offer from the Obama administration to settle a dispute over timber damage that is due to be argued before the Supreme Court next month." Posted at 03:24 PM by Howard Bashman "L.A. can't randomly seize possessions of homeless, court rules": Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. And The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court OKs sidewalk storage on LA Skid Row." 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. "Nevada's 'none' voting option not dead yet": The Associated Press has this report on an order that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued yesterday. Posted at 02:26 PM by Howard Bashman "8th Circuit Unanimously Rejects Challenge to MN Corporate Contribution Ban; Divides on Disclosure Requirements": Rick Hasen has this post at his "Election Law Blog" about an en banc ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued today. Update: In other coverage, Terry Baynes of Reuters reports that "Appeals court blocks Minnesota law on corporate political spending." And Bloomberg News reports that "Minnesota Campaign Cash Rules May Be Unlawful, Court Says." "US judge's son charged with murder in Puerto Rico": The Associated Press has this report. And El Nuevo Dia has this news update (in Spanish). "Louboutin Wins Appeal Over Saint Laurent Red-Soles Shoes": Bloomberg News has this report. Reuters reports that "Louboutin wins U.S. court bid to protect red soles." And The Associated Press reports that "NY court protects French shoemaker's red soles." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. "Planned Parenthood asks court to reconsider Texas health ruling": Reuters has a report that begins, "Planned Parenthood asked a federal appeals court on Tuesday to reconsider a ruling that would allow Texas to exclude it from a health program for low-income women, as opponents of the rule packed a public hearing to express their outrage." Posted at 01:36 PM by Howard Bashman "The Benchslap Dispatches: Posner v. Scalia -- Is It Personal?" David Lat has this post today at "Above the Law." Posted at 01:33 PM by Howard Bashman "US Supreme Court Justice Scalia visiting Vegas": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "2 N.J. appellate judges reassigned to state Supreme Court to cover shortage": MaryAnn Spoto of The Newark Star-Ledger has this report. Posted at 07:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Press outlets protest Manning trial secrecy": Josh Gerstein has this blog post at Politico.com. Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman "NY Court to decide if lap dance is tax-exempt art": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "New York's highest court will consider legal arguments by a strip club on whether nude dancing is an art and deserves a state tax exemption as such." Posted at 07:38 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, September 4, 2012 "Court upholds Afghan Taliban's narco-terrorism conviction in U.S." Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today. Posted at 06:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Mulls Affirmative Action, Class Actions In Fall Docket": Daniel Fisher has this blog post at Forbes.com. Posted at 06:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Scalia's Flawed Book on Reading Law": Kenneth Jost has this post at his blog, "Jost On Justice." Posted at 06:00 PM by Howard Bashman "[An Idaho state prisoner named] Wood allegedly engaged in a romantic, but not sexual, relationship with a female prison guard, Sandra de Martin. Wood alleges that both during and after the relationship, Martin perpetrated sexual acts on him without his consent." So begins an opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. Posted at 01:33 PM by Howard Bashman "When Government Distorts the Truth: Is the state violating the First Amendment rights of tobacco companies?" Law professor Richard A. Epstein has this essay today at the "Defining Ideas" site of the Hoover Institution. Posted at 11:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Empty Benches": Law professor Pamela S. Karlan -- who reportedly was (and perhaps still is) herself under consideration for an Obama judgeship nomination -- has this article in the September/October 2012 issue of Boston Review. Posted at 11:05 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, September 3, 2012 "Fears About Shariah Law Take Hold In Tennessee": This audio segment appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 01:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Reprieve May Be Last-Minute, but Justices' Preparation Never Is": Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. And on August 21, 2012, while I was away on vacation, Liptak had an installment of his "Sidebar" column headlined "In Congress's Paralysis, a Mightier Supreme Court." "Richard A. Posner's Badly Confused Attack on Scalia/Garner--Part 3": Ed Whelan has this post today at National Review Online's "Bench Memos" blog. Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Public outrage may trump judicial independence in referendum on judges' salaries": Columnist Bob Braun has this op-ed today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. Posted at 08:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Bill Gates Sends Ex-Con To Law School After Supreme Court Win": Craig Seligman of Bloomberg News has an article that begins, "Shon Hopwood robbed five banks, went to jail, learned law, wrote a petition that made it to the Supreme Court, served his time, got out, got married, had kids and is now in law school at the University of Washington on a scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation." Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Norfolk native blazes trails to Minn. Supreme Court": This article appeared yesterday in The Virginian-Pilot. Posted at 08:37 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, September 2, 2012 "Same-sex marriage crusaders ask Supreme Court to stand down": Robert Barnes will have this article Monday in The Washington Post. Posted at 11:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Susie Morgan rules Bernette Johnson has seniority to be next chief justice": The Times-Picayune of New Orleans has this report. And The Associated Press reports that "Federal judge rules in La. chief justice spat." "Prying Open a Cold Case": In today's edition of The New York Times, David Carr has an article that begins, "Did Jeffrey MacDonald, an Army doctor and Green Beret stationed at Fort Bragg, stab and bludgeon his family to death early on the morning of Feb. 17, 1970? Over the last four decades many courts and more than a few journalists have concluded that he did, but for Errol Morris that settled nothing." Posted at 09:34 AM by Howard Bashman "9th Circuit's Clarion Calls Are Being Heard": Scott Graham of The Recorder has an article that begins, "During her review of the U.S. Supreme Court at this year's Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Hawaii, appellate star Kathleen Sullivan paid special attention to United States v. Alvarez, the high court decision striking down the Stolen Valor Act." At this link, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted online various videos from its recent judicial conference, including a video of the presentation discussed in Graham's article. "Richard A. Posner's Badly Confused Attack on Scalia/Garner--Part 2": Ed Whelan has this post at National Review Online's "Bench Memos" blog. Posted at 09:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Obama in Catholic bishops' crosshairs." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 09:16 AM by Howard Bashman 
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