How Appealing

Joseph Goldstein of The New York Sun is reporting

Joseph Goldstein of The New York Sun is reporting: An article headlined "Congress Seeks To Protect U.S. Authors" begins, "Congress is taking an even more aggressive approach than New York State in responding to the fining of American journalists and authors for libel by foreign courts."

And an article headlined "Gag on 2nd Amendment Is City's Aim in Guns Suit" begins, "Lawyers for Mayor Bloomberg are asking a judge to ban any reference to the Second Amendment during the upcoming trial of a gun shop owner who was sued by the city. While trials are often tightly choreographed, with lawyers routinely instructed to not tell certain facts to a jury, a gag order on a section of the Constitution would be an oddity."

"McCain Sings Same Old GOP Song On Justices; Republican Presidential Nominee Parrots Party Lines Bashing Judges"

"McCain Sings Same Old GOP Song On Justices; Republican Presidential Nominee Parrots Party Lines Bashing Judges": CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen recently had this "CourtWatch" column.

The Associated Press is reporting

The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online, in coverage of cases pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, are articles headlined "Reporter challenges ruling over sources in anthrax case" and "Plame seeks to resurrect lawsuit in CIA leak case."

An article headlined "Nevada judge accused of demanding royal treatment" begins, "Elizabeth Halverson is a judge. But the way courthouse staffers see it, she expects to be treated like a queen."

And in other news, "Kentucky death row inmate: 'I'm ready and I'm sorry'" and "Judge: Jury selection can begin in R. Kelly pornography case."

"Judge threatens to suspend war court trial; A military judge agreed with defense lawyers that they should have access to the log that tracked the life of a Canadian brought to the prison camp in 2002, at age 15"

"Judge threatens to suspend war court trial; A military judge agreed with defense lawyers that they should have access to the log that tracked the life of a Canadian brought to the prison camp in 2002, at age 15": Carol Rosenberg has this article today in The Miami Herald.

"Court weighs whether to restrict 'business method' patents"

"Court weighs whether to restrict 'business method' patents": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Is a baseball pitcher's method for throwing a curveball patentable? How about a chiropractor's techniques? A federal appeals court wrestled with those kinds of questions Thursday when it considered placing restrictions on patent protections for business practices. The case under review is being closely watched by financial services and software companies."

Reuters reports that "US court mulls standard for business method patents."

And Dow Jones Newswires report that "Appeals Panel Reviews Standard For Business-Method Patents."

You can download the audio of yesterday's en banc oral argument of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit via this link (55.7MB mp3 audio file).

"Send in the clones? Judges should be independent thinkers, not political partisans."

"Send in the clones? Judges should be independent thinkers, not political partisans." This editorial appears today in USA Today.

The newspaper also contains an op-ed by Tony Perkins entitled "Restrain judicial activism: Judges should interpret the law and leave legislating to the people."

In commentary available from FindLaw

In commentary available from FindLaw: Edward Lazarus has an essay entitled "McCain's Remarks Regarding the Kind of Judges He Would Nominate As President: His Surprising Failure to Take Into Account the Rightward Turn of the Supreme Court and of the Law in Recent History."

And Vikram David Amar has an essay entitled "What the Supreme Court's Recent Decision Upholding Indiana's Voter ID Law Tells Us About the Court, Beyond the Area of Election Law."

"Obama on judges: Protect the powerless."

"Obama on judges: Protect the powerless." James Oliphant has this post at "The Swamp" blog of The Chicago Tribune.

"Court orders American Indian to trial for shooting eagle"

"Court orders American Indian to trial for shooting eagle": A more detailed report from The Associated Press on an interesting decision that Tenth Circuit Judge Michael W. McConnell issued yesterday refers to RFRA as the "Religious Freedom Restitution Act." My earlier coverage of the ruling appeared yesterday at this link.

"Bush nominates Va. judge to fill vacancy on 4th Circuit"

"Bush nominates Va. judge to fill vacancy on 4th Circuit": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal judge in Virginia is President Bush's pick to fill one of several vacancies on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, widely viewed as the most conservative federal appellate bench in the country. The White House announced Thursday that Bush had nominated Glen E. Conrad to the Richmond, Va.-based appeals court, which has handled some of the country's biggest terrorism cases. Conrad has been a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia since 2003. If confirmed by the Senate, Conrad would fill the seat of H. Emory Widener Jr., who died last year." You can access Judge Conrad's Federal Judicial Center biography at this link, while the official announcement of the nomination can be accessed here.

Yesterday's nomination means that there are two U.S. District Judges with the last name Conrad whose nominations to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit are now pending before the U.S. Senate. On July 17, 2007, President Bush nominated Chief Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina to the Fourth Circuit.

"Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday closely questioned the qualifications, driving record and tax-payment history of a Michigan judge nominated to the federal court of appeals that hears cases for Michigan."

"Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday closely questioned the qualifications, driving record and tax-payment history of a Michigan judge nominated to the federal court of appeals that hears cases for Michigan and other Midwestern states." So begins this article published today in The Detroit News.

You can now access by clicking here (RealPlayer required) the video of yesterday's hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee for Sixth Circuit nominees Helene N. White and Raymond M. Kethledge.

Update: In other news coverage, Neil A. Lewis of The New York Times reports that "White House and Democrats Move on Ohio Court Plan."

Tenth Circuit holds that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not preclude the federal government from prosecuting a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming who shot a bald eagle for use in the tribe's traditional religious ceremony

Tenth Circuit holds that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not preclude the federal government from prosecuting a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming who shot a bald eagle for use in the tribe's traditional religious ceremony: Circuit Judge Michael W. McConnell was the author of today's unanimous, 44-page opinion.

Today's ruling holds that "the Eagle Act and its regulations are the least restrictive means of pursuing the government's compelling interest in preserving the bald eagle."

In news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Court rules against man in bald eagle-religion case."

Federal Circuit decides Agent Orange-related case involving veterans' benefits

"This case calls on us to address whether veterans who served on ships off the coast of Vietnam during the Vietnam War served 'in the Republic of Vietnam' and thus are entitled to the presumption of service connection if they suffer from one of the listed diseases." A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today issued this ruling in a case involving claims for Agent Orange-related disability compensation.

Today's opinion explains that "[b]y regulation, the Department of Veterans Affairs has interpreted the phrase 'served in the Republic of Vietnam' to mean that the veteran's service must have involved 'duty or visitation' in the Republic of Vietnam in order for the veteran to be entitled to the statutory presumption of service connection." The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, however, rejected the agency's interpretation as unduly restrictive. In the decision issued today, the majority holds that "the agency's requirement that a claimant have been present within the land borders of Vietnam at some point in the course of his duty constitutes a permissible interpretation of the statute and its implementing regulation, and we therefore reverse the judgment of the Veterans Court."

"Court Issues Split Decision In Lucent-Microsoft Dispute"

"Court Issues Split Decision In Lucent-Microsoft Dispute": Dow Jones Newswires provide this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued today.

"McCain's half-truths about judges"

"McCain's half-truths about judges": Columnist Linda P. Campbell has this op-ed today in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

And online at The American Spectator, Quin Hillyer has an essay entitled "Judging McCain."