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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 "Senate finally approves judge": The Record of Bergen County, New Jersey has a news update that begins, "The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a Newark federal judge's promotion to the nation's second-highest court Tuesday, five months after the Judiciary Committee decided unanimously to support his nomination. With the 84-0 vote, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph A. Greenaway will fill the seat on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that was vacated when Samuel Alito was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006." You can access the U.S. Senate's official roll call vote tally by clicking here. "[W]e conclude that San Francisco's policy requiring strip searches of all arrestees classified for custodial housing in the general population was facially reasonable under the Fourth Amendment, notwithstanding the lack of individualized reasonable suspicion as to the individuals searched." So holds an eleven-judge en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, by a vote of 6-5.* You can access today's ruling at this link. Chief Judge Alex Kozinski's concurring opinion and the dissenting opinion are also both worth a read. Update: Bay City News reports that "Fed Court Approves SF Jail Strip Searches." *As law professor Eugene Volokh notes in this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy," the en banc panel's vote on the constitutionality of the policy was 6-5. Believing that the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity, one of the five dissenters on the constitutionality of the policy ended up voting with the majority in support of the en banc court's judgment, making the final vote in support of the judgment 7-4. "Bike footrests aren't weapons, state Supreme Court says; Ruling comes in the case of a youth convicted of carrying a metal cylinder as a weapon": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link. "Judge gets sarcastic over records rule criticism": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court on Monday dished out a sarcastic response to criticism in newspaper editorials of a proposal to redact information from public court records." Posted at 08:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Case of missing innards unprecedented in state court": Today's edition of The Las Vegas Sun contains an article that begins, "The curious case of a young Englishman's missing organs is forcing the Nevada Supreme Court to take its first stand on the mishandling of human remains." According to the article, the case is before Nevada's highest state court on certified question from the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. "UK Jews weigh fight after court ruling on 'Who is a Jew'": The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has this report, via The Jerusalem Post. Posted at 07:54 AM by Howard Bashman "UCD gender suit sent back for jury trial": In today's edition of The Sacramento Bee, Denny Walsh has an article that begins, "The elimination of women's wrestling in 2000 at UC Davis is symptomatic of the university's overall poor performance in providing equal opportunities for women in varsity sports, a federal appellate court ruled Monday." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Supreme Court ruling fuels voter ire": Politico.com has this report. Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman "In interview, Scott Roeder speaks of lacking sympathy": Today's edition of The Kansas City Star contains an article that begins, "As he awaits sentencing for first-degree murder, Scott Roeder said in an interview released Monday that he has little sympathy for Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller's family." Posted at 07:46 AM by Howard Bashman "David H. Souter To Deliver Address at Harvard's 2010 Commencement": This article appears today in The Harvard Crimson. Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Okla. panel OKs death sentence for child rapists": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 07:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Electronic Privacy and the Supreme Court": Daniel I. Prywes has this essay online at law.com. Posted at 07:34 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, February 8, 2010 "Appeals court: Women wrestlers can sue UC Davis." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "An appeals court said Monday it appears that the University of California, Davis violated federal law meant to promote gender equity in college athletics when it eliminated its women's wrestling program." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. "Georgetown Law's Lazarus Named to New Professorship": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 05:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Advocates push abortion-rights license plate in Va": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 03:15 PM by Howard Bashman "Federal investigators explore charges against Roeder": This article appeared yesterday in The Kansas City Star. And The Associated Press reports that "Attorneys seek new trial for abortion doc's killer." "A Mediocre Criminal, but an Unmatched Jailhouse Lawyer": Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his "Sidebar" column in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times. Posted at 02:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Originalism and Economic Analysis: Two Case Studies of Consistency and Coherence in Supreme Court Decision Making." D.C. Circuit Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg has this article in the current issue of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy (via "Legal Theory Blog"). Posted at 12:33 PM by Howard Bashman "No Talking, No Texting, No Tweeting": At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Marcia Coyle has a post that begins, "A committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States has endorsed a set of model jury instructions for district judges to help deter jurors from using cell phones, computers or other electronic technologies during their jury service." Posted at 12:24 PM by Howard Bashman "David Souter to speak at 359th Commencement; Harvard alumnus served nearly two decades on U.S. Supreme Court": Harvard University has issued this news release today. And The Harvard Crimson has a news update headlined "David H. Souter To Headline Harvard's 2010 Commencement." Eighth Circuit rejects death row inmates' challenge to the constitutionality of Arkansas's protocol for execution by lethal injection: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link. In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Appeals court says Arkansas' death penalty process is constitutional." "Reserving Time for Rebuttal Oral Argument on Appeal": You can access at this link today's installment of my monthly "Upon Further Review" column published in The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers. Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman "We cannot envision, after Raich, a circumstance under which an as-applied Commerce Clause challenge to a charge of child-pornography possession or production would be successful." So holds a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in a ruling issued today. The ruling rejects a criminal defendant's argument that "his wholly intrastate, homemade child pornography falls outside the purview of congressional legislative power." Posted at 10:57 AM by Howard Bashman "New legal issue: Payment for child porn victims." The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 09:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Hear Clarence Thomas Speech and Q&A at Stetson Law School": I previously linked here to the archived video of Justice Clarence Thomas's remarks last Thursday at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Now, via Jess Bravin's Twitter feed, I see that you can access the audio of Justice Thomas's remarks last Tuesday at the Stetson University College of Law via this link (88.7MB mp3 audio file). "Harry Reid ready to play at recess": Politico.com has a report that begins, "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used to consider recess appointments 'an end run around the Senate and the Constitution' -- so much so that he kept the chamber open during breaks to prevent President George W. Bush from making any more of them. But with a Democrat in the White House, and Republicans blocking executive branch nominees, Reid and his allies are starting to sing a different tune." Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman "The Trials of Felipe Reyna": The Texas Tribune today has posted online an article that begins, "Two former Texas Supreme Court justices and a Goliath of the state judicial lobby have lined up to drive Felipe Reyna from the Waco courthouse where he once worked as a janitor. The Tenth Court of Appeals Judge is undeterred." Posted at 07:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Campaign case may have set course for court; Ruling's impact might be seen in 2nd half of term": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. Posted at 07:25 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, February 7, 2010 "Democrats Divide on Voice of Possible Top-Court Pick": In Monday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin will have an article that begins, "Democrats gearing up for a possible Supreme Court vacancy are divided over whether President Barack Obama should appoint a prominent liberal voice while their party still commands a large Senate majority, or go with someone less likely to stoke Republican opposition." Posted at 10:09 PM by Howard Bashman "NRA, onetime ally feud over next big guns case to go before Supreme Court": Robert Barnes will have this article Monday in The Washington Post. Posted at 10:07 PM by Howard Bashman "Libel case could relax defamation laws": This article appears today in The Sunday Times of London. Posted at 10:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Federal judge breathes new life into 30-year-old death penalty case from San Jose": Howard Mintz has this article today in The San Jose Mercury News. Posted at 10:07 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court: Will justices catch the gay marriage bouquet?" Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. And today in The San Francisco Chronicle, columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross have an essay entitled "Judge being gay a nonissue during Prop. 8 trial." Saturday, February 6, 2010 "Race & Gender of Judges Make Enormous Differences in Rulings, Studies Find": Edward A. Adams has this post this evening at the ABA Journal's "Law News Now" blog. Posted at 07:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Why (and When) Judges Dissent: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis." Law professors Lee Epstein and William M. Landes and Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner have posted this paper online at SSRN (via "Legal Theory Blog"). Posted at 07:45 PM by Howard Bashman "The Trial: Eric Holder and the battle over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed." Jane Mayer will have this article in the February 15, 2010 issue of The New Yorker. And the February 15, 2010 issue of The Weekly Standard contains an article by Jennifer Rubin headlined "Obama's Attorney General (for now): Eric Holder botches the war on terror." "SJC says lewd IMs to minors not illegal; Patrick, legislators aim to close loophole": Today's edition of The Boston Globe contains a front page article that begins, "A Beverly man who sent a series of sexually explicit instant messages to someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl had his convictions overturned yesterday by the state's highest court, which declared that state law does not bar people from sending lewd computer messages to minors." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruling appears at this link. "A move to strike 'all men' from N.H. constitution; Some say it's time to make document gender-neutral": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 04:25 PM by Howard Bashman "D.C. Lawyer Will Defend Chicago's Gun Law Before Supreme Court": Tony Mauro of The National Law Journal has this report. And yesterday's edition of The Daily Northwestern reported that "Possible changes to firearm ban will not affect Northwestern's private rules." "In Restraint of Liberty: Citizens United and the problem with conservative judicial restraint." Damon W. Root has this essay online at Reason. Posted at 10:42 AM by Howard Bashman "3rd Circuit to Mull Privacy of Cell Phone Data; Case offers rare glimpse into the mechanics of federal criminal investigations where nearly all documents are filed ex parte and stay under seal until indictments are handed up": Shannon P. Duffy will have this article Monday in The Legal Intelligencer. Posted at 10:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito objected to Obama's history claim": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, February 5, 2010 "SJC: Instant messages are not illegal when used by sexual predators." The Boston Globe has a news update that begins, "The state's high court said today that sexually explicit instant messages used by a Beverly man to arrange a sexual encounter with someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl are not illegal under current state law." And The Associated Press has a report headlined "Mass. court: Sexual e-messages to minors legal." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts at this link. "Justice Thomas Gives Shout-Out to Florida Lawyer": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 03:02 PM by Howard Bashman "Fill the Bench Now: Now is the time for Obama to move on judicial nominations." Doug Kendall has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Ex-justice spent 4 decades on bench": Today's edition of The Columbus Dispatch contains an obituary that begins, "J. Craig Wright, a pugnacious justice who served 11 years on the Ohio Supreme Court, died Wednesday in California. He was 80." According to the obituary, Wright was "involved in one of the most infamous episodes in court history" when he had a physical altercation with another Justice serving on Ohio's highest court that caused the other Justice to sustain three broken ribs. But, the obituary goes on to report, "The two justices later reconciled and became friends." "Conflicting opinions complicate students' cases": Today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Paula Reed Ward has an article that begins, "A federal appeals court Thursday issued what could be conflicting opinions on cases that involve students creating parody profiles on social networking sites." The Republican Herald of Pottsville, Pennsylvania reports today that "Blue Mountain discipline in MySpace case upheld by federal court." The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pennsylvania reports that "Judge Munley's ruling against student in MySpace case upheld by appeals court." And Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer has an article headlined "Do 3rd Circuit Rulings Over Student Speech on MySpace Pages Contradict?" The two Third Circuit rulings issued yesterday that are the subject of this press coverage can be accessed here and here. "Justice Thomas visits UF; The Supreme Court member discussed current legal issues": The Gainesville Sun contains this article today. And The Independent Florida Alligator reports today that "Supreme Court Justice guest at law panel." You can view yesterday's event at the University of Florida Levin College of Law online and on-demand by clicking here. "Illinois Supreme Court strikes down medical malpractice law; Court says limiting damages violates separation-of-powers clause by allowing lawmakers to interfere with a jury's right to determine damages": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "A disastrous decision." The New York Times reports today that "Illinois Court Overturns Malpractice Statute." Nathan Koppel of The Wall Street Journal reports that "Illinois Supreme Court Tosses Malpractice-Award Curbs." The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that "Illinois Supreme Court throws out medical malpractice award limits." The State Journal-Register of Springfield, Illinois reports that "Malpractice cap supporters, opponents continue long-running debate following court ruling." The Belleville News-Democrat reports that "Metro-east plaintiff lawyers applaud malpractice ruling; doctors fear new exodus from area." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Turn for worse for health care." The Bloomington Pantagraph reports that "Downstate lawmakers disappointed by court decision on malpractice." The Quad-City Times reports that "Downstate lawmakers disappointed by court decision." The Herald-News of Joliet, Illinois has an article headlined "Malpractice caps controversial." And as for how the decision is playing in Peoria, The Peoria Journal Star reports that "Attorneys say malpractice ruling will have little effect on Peoria." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Illinois Supreme Court ruling appears at this link. "Cox: Close canal to stop carp; DNA data was kept from U.S. Supreme Court, he says." Today's edition of The Detroit Free Press contains an article that begins, "Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox filed a renewed request for an immediate injunction Thursday with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to close locks on the Chicago shipping canal leading to Lake Michigan." And The Associated Press reports that "Michigan renews push to close Chicago ship locks." Thursday, February 4, 2010 "Scalia v. The World: On Antonin Scalia." Michael O'Donnell has this book review in the February 22, 2010 issue of The Nation. Posted at 08:47 PM by Howard Bashman "Rulings Leave Online Student Speech Rights Unresolved": David Kravets has this post at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog. And at "The School Law Blog" of Education Week, Mark Walsh has a post titled "MySpace Parodies of Principals Yield Differing Court Rulings." My earlier coverage of and links to today's Third Circuit rulings can be accessed here and here. "Notes on Justice Kennedy": As I noted in this post from earlier today, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy spoke yesterday at the Pepperdine University School of Law. Attorney Ben Shatz was present at the event, and you can access his notes on Justice Kennedy's remarks via this post at "Southern California Appellate News." "Justice Thomas urges UF law students to avoid cynicism": The Gainesville Sun has this news update. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "Justice Thomas, On the Road Again." "Rulings cloud issue of school MySpace suspensions": The Associated Press has this report. And Paula Reed Ward of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a news update headlined "Appeals court: MySpace parody is protected speech." My earlier coverage of and links to today's Third Circuit rulings can be accessed here. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit teaches an unforgiving lesson on the consequences of relying on Ninth Circuit precedent: The title of this post is unfair, because in fact the U.S. Supreme Court is to blame for the harsh consequences that the Ninth Circuit was enforced to impose on the appellants in this decision issued today. Posted at 03:18 PM by Howard Bashman "A Conversation with Associate Justice Clarence Thomas": This morning's event at the University of Florida Levin College of Law can now be viewed online, on-demand by clicking here. Posted at 02:33 PM by Howard Bashman U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit today decides two student online free speech cases: Today's ruling by a divided three-judge panel in J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District begins, "This appeal presents a challenge to J.S.'s suspension from Blue Mountain Middle School after she created from her home computer a MySpace.com Internet profile featuring her principal, James McGonigle." And today's ruling by a different, unanimous three-judge panel in Layshock v. Hermitage School District begins, "In this appeal and cross-appeal, we are asked to determine if a school district can punish a student for expressive conduct that originated outside of the classroom, when that conduct did not disturb the school environment and was not related to any school sponsored event." "D.C. Circuit to Ex-Judge in Pants Suit: Follow the Rules." Mike Scarcella has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 02:03 PM by Howard Bashman On remand, Melendez-Diaz benefits from the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Melendez-Diaz: As noted briefly today in The Boston Globe (see third item at this link), yesterday the Massachusetts Appeals Court issued this ruling. Posted at 12:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Illinois top court strikes down medical malpractice caps; Says not moved by Washington health care reform effort": The Chicago Tribune has this news update. And Reuters reports that "Illinois court strikes down malpractice cap law." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Illinois at this link. "The Court's Witness: An Interview with Linda Greenhouse." This interview appears online at the web site of The Politic (via "Election Law Blog"). Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "White House Prepares for Possibility of 2 Supreme Court Vacancies; SCOTUS Watchers Believe Justices Stevens and Ginsburg Could Decide to Step Aside": Ariane de Vogue has this report at ABCNews.com. Posted at 11:57 AM by Howard Bashman "Thomas: Some questioning of Court 'irresponsible.'" The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 11:51 AM by Howard Bashman "High Court To Hear Torture Case": Today in The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley has an article that begins, "When the question of whether former officials of foreign countries can be sued in American courts for acts of torture goes before the U.S. Supreme Court next month, it will be a landmark moment for a nonprofit legal group in San Francisco." Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman Josh Blackman is live-blogging Justice Clarence Thomas's remarks at the University of Florida Levin College of Law: You can access the live-blogging by clicking here. And you can view Justice Thomas's remarks live, online by clicking here. Update: The question-and-answer session involving Justice Thomas has concluded just after 11:30 a.m. eastern time. "Why The Plan To Close Guantanamo Backfired": This audio segment appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 08:30 AM by Howard Bashman "An Unreasonable Delay": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, "More than a year into his presidency, President Obama's nominee to lead the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel still has not been confirmed by the Senate." And today's edition of The Wall Street Journal contains an editorial entitled "Justice at Dawn: An Obama nominee falls victim to the realities of fighting terrorism." The full text of the editorial is available via Google News. "Brown sisters explain 1954 Supreme Court civil rights case; Pair to dispel myths of landmark case": This article appears today in The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tennessee. Posted at 08:26 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme ambition, jealousy and outrage: The judicial bunfight that stopped an outsider from being appointed to the highest court." Frances Gibb has this essay today in The Times of London. Posted at 08:25 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Kennedy laments the state of prisons in California, U.S.; Speaking to L.A. lawyers, the Supreme Court jurist blasts the prison guard union's influence, calling it 'sick' but sidesteps questions about the ruling he wrote last month on campaign spending": Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. And The Ventura County Star reports today that "Justice injects humor at Pepperdine event." The Pepperdine University School of Law issued a news release headlined "Justice Kennedy Gave Fourth Annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture." You can access more information about the event at this link. "Calif. marriage trial draws friends with briefs": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Law school to host Clarence Thomas": The Independent Florida Alligator has this report. At 10:00 a.m. eastern time today, Justice Clarence Thomas is scheduled to speak in the Marshall Criser Distinguished Lecture Series at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. The law school will broadcast Justice Thomas's remarks and question-and-answer session live, online via this link. No Vegemite sandwich for you! The Sydney Morning Herald has a news update headlined "Men at Work's Down Under ripped off Kookaburra: court." And The Associated Press reports that "Court says '80s hit 'Down Under' copies kids' song." The video of the Men at Work song can be accessed here via YouTube, Wednesday, February 3, 2010 "N.J. Supreme Court rules schools can search cars of students": Mary Fuchs of The Newark Star-Ledger has this news update. And The Atlantic City Press has a news update headlined "NJ Supreme Court ruling upholds EHT school official's 2006 search of student's car." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link. "4 UF students will get to ask questions of Clarence Thomas": The Gainesville Sun has a news update that begins, "U.S Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will be answering questions from four University of Florida law students on Thursday." And the University of Florida Levin College of Law has issued a news release headlined "A conversation with Associate Justice Clarence Thomas -- Marshall Criser Distinguished Lecture Series." Some additional information can be accessed here. "State court passes 1st test of bias rules": This editorial appears today in The Detroit Free Press. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Ex-judge Wiggins is first to file for Supreme Court": The Olympian of Olympia, Washington has a post at "The Politics Blog" that begins, "Charles Wiggins is first to file papers to raise money for a state Supreme Court campaign this year. He is seeking the seat now held by libertarian Justice Richard Sanders, and apparently is making Sanders' conduct an issue." And SeattlePI.com has a blog post titled "Charlie Wiggins runs for state Supreme Court." You can access the Charlie Wiggins for Justice web site at this link. "Ignoring Supreme Court's Khadr ruling, Ottawa won't request repatriation; Because recommendations lack teeth, the Tories are on solid legal ground: experts." Kirk Makin will have this article in Thursday's edition of The Toronto Globe and Mail. Posted at 10:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court: New York City can limit billboards." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the city did not violate the First Amendment by limiting the number of billboards along its roadways and parks." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. "Justice Defends Ruling on Finance": In Thursday's edition of The New York Times, Adam Liptak will have an article that begins, "In expansive remarks at a law school in Florida, Justice Clarence Thomas on Tuesday vigorously defended the Supreme Court's recent campaign finance decision." Posted at 07:46 PM by Howard Bashman Ninth Circuit denies rehearing en banc of divided three-judge panel's decision rejecting a Commerce Clause challenge to a federal law criminalizing the possession by a felon of body armor sold or offered for sale in interstate commerce: You can access at this link today's order denying rehearing en banc along with a dissent from the denial of rehearing en banc in which four judges joined. The original three-judge panel's ruling issued in May 2009, and I had this coverage of the ruling on the day it issued. "Briefer Briefs Ahead for Supreme Court": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Analysis: The terrifying right to remain silent." Matt Apuzzo of The Associated Press has this news analysis. Posted at 02:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court: Prosecutor can't be sued over 2003 terror trial." Paul Egan of The Detroit News has this update. My earlier coverage of today's Sixth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks at Stetson University": This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times. Last night, I collected additional coverage in this post. "What Does Society Demand from a Chicken Sandwich?" The blog "Abnormal Use: An Unreasonably Dangerous Products Liability Blog" has this post on a recent non-precedential ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Earlier, "The VLW Blog" covered the ruling in a post titled "Fast-food products case revived." "Family's case against CHP can go forward, appeals court rules; A woman's family had sued citing invasion of privacy after two officers e-mailed graphic crash photos, but a lower court dismissed the case": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Yesterday's edition of The Orange County Register reported that "Catsouras family wins right to sue over death photos." Metropolitan News-Enterprise reported yesterday that "Court of Appeal Revives Privacy Suit Over Death Photos on Internet." And ABCNews.com reports that "Family Can Sue Calif. Highway Patrol for Letting Daughter's Accident Photos Spread Online; Nicole Catsouras Died in Car Crash; Family Says Pain Compounded by Police Photos of Body." You can access Monday's ruling of California's Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, at this link. "Child Pornography, and an Issue of Restitution": John Schwartz has this article today in The New York Times. Some recent earlier related posts can be accessed here and here. "Prosecutor can't be sued over 2003 terror trial": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A man whose 2003 conviction on terror-related charges in Detroit was thrown out can't sue the prosecutor for misconduct. A federal appeals court reversed a lower court Wednesday and ruled in favor of Richard Convertino." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. "Senate goes back to the drawing board on campaign finance; A Senate committee on Tuesday discussed how to limit the US Supreme Court campaign-finance ruling that opened elections to corporate ads; One suggestion: a constitutional amendment." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report. Posted at 09:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Court: Ressam sentence 'failed to protect public'; The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has harshly rebuked a Seattle-based federal judge for sentencing would-be millennium bomber": The Seattle Times contains this article today. Today in The Los Angeles Times, Carol J. Williams reports that "Would-be LAX terrorist's prison sentence overturned as too lenient; A divided appeals panel rules that the 22-year sentence for an Al Qaeda operative didn't follow guidelines; He had originally agreed to cooperate with authorities for a lighter sentence but reneged." John Schwartz of The New York Times reports that "Appeals Court Throws Out Sentence in Bombing Plot, Calling It Too Light." And James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Court sets aside 'millennium bomber' sentence." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Trial Lawyers Contribute, Shareholder Suits Follow": This front page article appears today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 08:47 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge Slashes Punitives, Upholds Jury's Finding in Hormone Replacement Therapy Case": Amaris Elliott-Engel has this article today in The Legal Intelligencer. And Bloomberg News reports that "Pfizer Wins 93% Cut in Prempro Punitive-Damages Award." You can access the recent ruling of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania at this link (via "The Am Law Litigation Daily"). Tuesday, February 2, 2010 "Court: Part of Oklahoma immigrant law enforceable now." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld much of an injunction against Oklahoma's tough anti-illegal immigrant law but said the state can now force public contractors to cross-check employee names against a government list of eligible workers." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link. "Tax court allows deduction for woman's sex change": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday that a Massachusetts woman should be allowed to deduct the costs of her sex-change operation, a decision that could have broad implications for transgender people." And "TaxProf Blog" has a post titled "Tax Court: Gender Reassignment Surgery Is a Deductible Medical Expense." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Tax Court at this link. "Supreme Court's campaign finance ruling: just the facts; Questions and answers about the Supreme Court's ruling on campaign finance and how it will change America's elections." Warren Richey and Linda Feldmann of The Christian Science Monitor have this report. The Associated Press reports that "Lawmakers pledge action to limit election spending." And ABC News senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper has a blog post titled "President Obama Not Backing Down Against Supreme Court." "Live from Stetson: It's Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas." The St. Petersburg Times has this news update. CBS affiliate WTSP-TV in St. Petersburg reports that "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visits Stetson law students." WUSF has reports headlined "Thomas Warm, Fuzzy at Stetson Speech" and "Clarence Thomas Glad He Avoided State of the Union." And Stetson University College of Law has a news release headlined "Justice Thomas Visits Stetson Law." "LAX 'millennium bomber' to be resentenced; 22 years is too lenient, court rules": Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times has this blog post. And The Associated Press has a report headlined "Court: Sentence for millennium plotter too lenient." 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. Senior U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour will not get a third opportunity to impose a sentence on Ahmed Ressam because the majority has ordered that the case be reassigned on remand. "Thomson Reuters Acquires Super Lawyers; Leading attorney rating business to align with Business of Law offerings": So states a news release that Thomson Reuters issued today. Posted at 02:21 PM by Howard Bashman "US pushes for Noriega extradition to France": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman "GOP senators perfect art of stalling": Online today at Politico.com, Nan Aron has an essay that begins, "The breathless reporting of the State of the Union 'confrontation' between President Barack Obama and the conservative members of the Supreme Court in the wake of the Citizens United v. FEC ruling has overshadowed a much more serious issue -- congressional Republicans' systematic blocking of the president's judicial nominees." Posted at 11:30 AM by Howard Bashman "California sex offender residency restrictions upheld; Housing restrictions barring offenders from living near schools or parks apply even to those convicted years before the law took effect, state Supreme Court says": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. In today's edition of The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "Sex offenders lose challenge to residency rules." Denny Walsh of The Sacramento Bee reports that "California Supreme Court upholds key part of sex offender law." Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News reports that "California Supreme Court upholds parts of Jessica's Law." And Greg Moran of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that "Sex offenders' court battles will continue; Justices reject some challenges to law." My earlier coverage of yesterday's California Supreme Court ruling can be accessed here. "Senate Must Move Swiftly on Court Vacancies": Law professor Carl Tobias has this op-ed today in Roll Call. Posted at 08:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Rendition victim appeals to US Supreme Court": Agence France-Presse has a report that begins, "A Canadian man who was transferred by US officials to Syria, where he was imprisoned and allegedly tortured, filed a suit before the US Supreme Court seeking to sue the United States. Maher Arar is appealing a lower court ruling that his case could not proceed because it involved secret national security information." Update: You can access the cert. petition at this link. "Odor in the Court": The Texas Tribune has an article that begins, "Forget all the rhetoric about the Jacksonian premise of a popularly elected judiciary. The public wants cash out of the courtroom -- and that could mean pushing elections out, too." And attorney David Schenck has a related essay entitled "The End of Judicial Elections?" "Court upholds state's death penalty; After three-year delay, judge allows executions to resume": Sean O'Sullivan has this article today in The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Third Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Graham seeks to block funding for civilian terror trials": James Rosen of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Prop. 8 trial on YouTube after all -- re-enacted": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. My earlier coverage of the YouTube reenactment can be accessed here. "Early draft of the Constitution found in Phila." The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today. Posted at 07:52 AM by Howard Bashman "Proposed appeals court doesn't impress justice": This article appears today in The Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail. The Charleston Gazette reports today that "Chamber wrong about court appeals, chief justice says." And West Virginia MetroNews has a report headlined "Chief Justice Davis: No Intermediate Court Needed." "'Original victims' cheated in Luzerne scandal?" The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains an article that begins, "The state's victim advocate yesterday urged a special panel not to forget the thousands of 'original victims' allegedly harmed by juveniles whose cases were heard by judges at the center of the Luzerne County criminal-justice scandal." Posted at 07:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Disorder in the court: chief justice slams Justice Orie Melvin; Legal experts surprised by Castille's 'verbal sledgehammer.'" Today's edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains an article that begins, "In an opinion more remarkable for its castigating tone than for the question of law it settled, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille last week delivered a broadside to fellow Justice Joan Orie Melvin, questioning her logic, her understanding of constitutional law and accusing her of 'the height of judicial activism' during her first month on the bench." On Saturday, I had this post linking to the opinions filed in that matter. "Reagan defter in dealing with court": Columnist Michael Smerconish has this op-ed today in The Philadelphia Daily News. Posted at 07:38 AM by Howard Bashman "High Court Campaign Finance Opinion Roils Dozens of Cases": Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal has this report. Posted at 07:34 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, February 1, 2010 "Crime victim wants $3.4 million, but is that fair? Court, attorneys in porn case looking for an answer to a newly-posed question." Today's edition of The St. Paul Pioneer Press contains an article that begins, "Federal prosecutors Friday conceded that a Duluth man convicted of possessing child pornography should pay restitution to a girl he had photos of, but they don't know how much he should pay." My earlier coverage of this matter appears at this link. "Okla. men lose bid to sue Grisham, other writers": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court in Denver ruled that three public officials from Oklahoma cannot revive their libel lawsuit against best-selling author John Grisham and two other writers." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link. "Trial stirs painful memories of brutal home invasion": CNN.com has this report from Cheshire, Connecticut. Posted at 05:47 PM by Howard Bashman "Mixed ruling on sex offender residency law": Greg Moran of The San Diego Union-Tribune has a news update that begins, "The state Supreme Court left the door open Monday to contentions that strict restrictions on where some registered sex offenders can live are unconstitutional, but turned away other legal challenges to a 2006 law that toughened laws against sexual crimes." Denny Walsh of The Sacramento Bee has a news update headlined "California Supreme Court upholds law restricting where sex offenders live." Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update headlined "California Supreme Court upholds parts of Jessica's Law." And Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled "'Jessica's Law' can be applied retroactively, state Supreme Court decides." My earlier coverage of today's California Supreme Court ruling can be accessed here. "Appeals court approves Del. execution protocols, lifts stay": Sean O'Sullivan of The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware has a news update that begins, "Delaware's death penalty has been upheld as constitutional by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, which also has lifted a stay on all executions in the state." You can access today's ruling of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. The audio recording of the oral argument that I presented last Thursday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is now available online: You can access the audio via this link (37.7MB Windows Media audio file). At some point in my initial argument, two judges on the panel join me in something of a "shout-out" to U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby of the District of Maine. I recently had the pleasure of sitting next to Judge Hornby at an event at the Newseum in Washington, DC. On a totally unrelated point, the case that I argued was the day's first oral argument, and I reserved four of my fifteen total minutes for rebuttal. I heard at the start of the second oral argument of the day, as I was leaving the courtroom, that the attorney for the appellant was asking the panel to reserve only one minute for rebuttal. The panel seemed a little surprised by the paucity of that request, although I did not stick around to see if the panel persuaded that lawyer to reserve additional rebuttal time. In my experience, it is much more common to see a lawyer at an appellate oral argument try to reserve too much rebuttal time -- say ten minutes for rebuttal in a fifteen-minute oral argument -- than too little rebuttal time. But, on occasion, a lawyer forgets to reserve any rebuttal time, despite having wanted to do so, and must throw himself or herself on the mercy of the court to receive some extra time for rebuttal. "Assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General Joins Ropes & Gray to Lead Appellate and Supreme Court Practice": The Ropes & Gray law firm today issued a news release that begins, "Ropes & Gray today announced that Douglas Hallward-Driemeier has joined the firm as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Hallward-Driemeier, formerly an assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States, will lead the firm's Appellate and Supreme Court practice." Posted at 02:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Calif court: Jessica's Law needs more hearings." The Associated Press has a report that begins, " The California Supreme Court has ordered more investigation into whether the state's sexually violent predator law is constitutional. On Monday, a 5-2 court ruled that separate inquiries must be conducted into the claims of four registered sex offenders who allege they can't find a place to live because the voter-approved 'Jessica's Law' prohibits them from residing within 2,000 feet of schools, parks and other places where children congregate." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link. And my preview of the ruling from last night can be accessed here. "D&D is DOA in prison ruling": David L. Hudson Jr. has this commentary online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 12:24 PM by Howard Bashman "A Touch of Terror? Court looks at free speech vs. material support for terrorism." David G. Savage has this article in the February 2010 issue of ABA Journal magazine. Posted at 12:15 PM by Howard Bashman "An act of defiance that changed history": The Greensboro News & Record today contains an article that begins, "Fifty years ago, African Americans in Greensboro and across the South lived in a separate, but not necessarily equal, society. On Feb. 1, 1960, that started to change. That day, the wall of segregation that divided blacks and whites began to crumble. It happened on South Elm Street in Greensboro." Today's edition of USA Today contains a front page article headlined "How a demand for lunch fueled the push for rights; 50 years ago, sit-ins reignited a movement." The Charlotte Observer contains an article headlined "Because he sat down, everything changed; 50 years ago, Franklin McCain and 3 friends asked for coffee at a 'whites only' lunch counter in Greensboro." Yesterday's newspaper, meanwhile, contained an article headlined "New museum in Greensboro will tell the story of '60s sit-ins; Fifty years ago this week, a student movement against segregation began at a Woolworth store in Greensboro." The Fayetteville Observer reported yesterday that "Historic Woolworth store now houses civil right museum." The Winston-Salem Journal reported yesterday that "Civil-rights history preserved; Museum at former Woolworth building to open." The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported yesterday that "Museum shows how sit-ins defeated segregation." Today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition" contained an audio segment entitled "Fifty Years Later, N.C. Sit-In Site Becomes Museum." Today in The New York Times, Howell Raines has an op-ed entitled "The Counter Revolution." And in yesterday's edition of The Los Angeles Times, Andrew B. Lewis had an op-ed entitled "The sit-ins that changed America: The civil rights movement was energized by these '60s-era protests." "Forces Pushing Obama on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'": The New York Times contains this article today. And today's edition of The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled "Repeal the military's 'don't ask, don't tell.'" "Sign a petition, disclose your name? The Supreme Court will decide whether petition signers have a constitutional right to have their names kept secret." This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Officials OKd Miranda warning for accused airline plotter; At least four U.S. agencies were involved in a decision to read Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab his rights, sources say, after it was clear that he had stopped sharing information": Richard A. Serrano and David G. Savage have this front page article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Lawyers question Va. attorney general's role in private case": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:00 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice Alito's candid response to Obama's rebuke": Columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. has this op-ed today in The Washington Post. And Bloomberg News columnist Ann Woolner has an essay entitled "Obama, Alito Dis Each Other in Free Speech Brawl." "Lessons learned in Alexandria: Four years ago, 9/11 conspirator was tried in Virginia court." Kevin Johnson has this article today in USA Today. Today in The Wall Street Journal, Naftali Bendavid and Jess Bravin report that "Republicans Step Up Protests of Civilian Terror Trials." And The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled "Government retreating on civilian trial for accused terrorist." Sunday, January 31, 2010 "Perverting Justice: Jessica's Law prevents paroled sex offenders from residing near schools or parks; That means they can only live one place in S.F. -- on the streets." SF Weekly published this article in late December 2009. Tomorrow, as noted at this link, the Supreme Court of California is scheduled to issue a ruling on whether certain individuals are entitled to relief from the residency restrictions imposed on persons required to register as sex offenders. And in this past Thursday's edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Paula Reed Ward reported that "Ordinance limiting where sex offenders can live heads to state Supreme Court." "Site for Terror Trial Isn't Only Obstacle": This article appears today in The New York Times, along with an article headlined "In New York, Mix of Emotions Over 9/11 Trial Move" and an editorial entitled "It Happened in Our Backyard." And The Associated Press has a report headlined "Many obstacles to choosing a site for 9/11 trials." "Politicians target corruption law; They are waiting for U.S. Supreme Court ruling": Today's edition of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel contains an article that begins, "Some of South Florida's public officials who were swept up in recent public corruption investigations hope the U.S. Supreme Court will make a favorite prosecution tool disappear when the justices rule on a controversial law aimed at dishonest politicians. Prosecutors say the 20-year-old federal law in question, honest services fraud, is a valuable anti-corruption measure." Posted at 10:32 PM by Howard Bashman "May it please the court? Sotomayor agrees to receive Dunnellon students." The Ocala Star-Banner has this report. Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Three lives linked by call to duty, common tragedy; The sacrifices of Harvard Law graduates who took unconventional paths leave friends and classmates searching for answers about themselves": Farah Stockman has this front page article today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 10:23 PM by Howard Bashman "Scott Roeder's calculated path to murder": Ron Sylvester will have this lengthy article Monday in The Wichita Eagle. And online at Slate, Emily Bazelon has a jurisprudence essay entitled "Murder He Wrote: A jury convicted Scott Roeder of killing Dr. George Tiller after a rocky trial." "California gay marriages may hinge on one man": Columnist Dan Walters has this op-ed today in The Sacramento Bee. The one man he writes of is U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. And Neon Tommy, the online publication of the Annenberg School of Journalism, has a blog post titled "Prop. 8 Trial Finds Its Way to YouTube." You can view the reenactment at this link. "An advocate for juveniles; Law center fights for justice": This article appears today in The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Posted at 02:45 PM by Howard Bashman "Ghosts in the Machine: What happens when justices get personal." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 02:42 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court: Government's hand on a slippery Internet." Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report. Posted at 02:40 PM by Howard Bashman Saturday, January 30, 2010 "No sanctions for Bush lawyers who approved waterboarding, report will say": This article will appear Sunday in The Washington Post. And last night at the web site of Newsweek, Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman had a blog post titled "Justice Official Clears Bush Lawyers in Torture Memo Probe."  
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