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Thursday, July 2, 2009 "To Critics, New Policy on Terror Looks Old": Today in The New York TImes, Charlie Savage has a news analysis that begins, "Civil libertarians recently accused President Obama of acting like former President George W. Bush, citing reports about Mr. Obama's plans to detain terrorism suspects without trials on domestic soil after he closes the Guantanamo prison." Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court overturns order allowing deposition of Terry Nichols; SLC lawyer seeks information about his brother's 1995 prison death": Pamela Manson of The Salt Lake Tribune has a news update that begins, "The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned a judge's ruling allowing a Utah attorney to conduct videotaped depositions of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols and a death-row inmate." And Geoffrey Fattah of The Deseret News has a news update headlined "Court denies attorney chance to interview Terry Nichols." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link. "N.J. judge rules blogger not protected by newspaper shield laws, can be sued for slander": The Newark Star-Ledger has this news update. Posted at 10:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama: Court leaves room for affirmative action." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 09:18 PM by Howard Bashman "Judge Kozinski admonished for explicit items on Web site": Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report. And The Philadelphia Inquirer has a news update headlined "California judge rebuked for porn on his Web site." The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "GOP, White House at odds on Sotomayor documents" and "Leahy: GOP planned objection to a high court pick." Posted at 09:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Case dismissed against woman in MySpace hoax that led to teen's suicide": The Los Angeles Times has this news update. And The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a news update headlined "Lori Drew is acquitted in cyberbullying case." BREAKING NEWS -- "Judge Overrules Jury, Acquits Lori Drew in Cyberbullying Case": Kim Zetter has this post at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog. And The Associated Press reports that "Judge tentatively acquits woman in MySpace case." In video available online from C-SPAN: "Roundtable on Judicial Decisions of Judge Sonia Sotomayor"; "Dahlia Lithwick address the major cases the Supreme Court decided this term"; and "Washington Legal Foundation Panel Discussion on Recent Supreme Court Term." "High court rejects Gov. Charlie Crist's judge-picking plans; Gov. Charlie Crist's request that a new slate of applicants be submitted for an appeals court seat was ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court": The Miami Herald has a news update that begins, "Gov. Charlie Crist ran afoul of the state Constitution when he refused to fill an appeals court seat because all of the potential picks are white, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday." And The Associated Press has a report headlined "Fla. justices: Crist can't reject judge nominees." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Florida at this link. "3rd Circuit Panel Dismisses Claims Against Kozinski for Sexually Explicit Material": Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer has this news update. Posted at 02:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Ninth Circuit's Kozinski is Admonished, and He Apologizes": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." And WSJ.com's "Law Blog" has a post titled "A 'Pleased' Kozinski Cleared of Wrongdoing." "Holder having surgery for cracked tooth": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 12:11 PM by Howard Bashman "Peers admonish US chief judge over Web sex files": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 11:52 AM by Howard Bashman "MySpace not liable for girls' rapes, court says": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "Girls who were sexually assaulted by men they first contacted on MySpace cannot seek damages from the social-networking Web site, which is protected from liability by federal law, a state appeals court has ruled." Reuters has a report headlined "MySpace, Web servers not liable for assaults-court." And at his "Technology & Marketing Law Blog," law professor Eric Goldman has a post titled "MySpace Wins Another 47 USC 230 Case Over Sexual Assaults of Users." You can access Tuesday's ruling of California's Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District at this link. "Judging John Yoo: A federal judge has set a risky precedent by allowing convicted terror conspirator Jose Padilla to sue one of the authors of the controversial 'torture memo.'" This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. My earlier coverage of the ruling appears at this link. Divided three-judge Sixth Circuit panel overturns federal district court's decision holding that Tennessee's lethal injection protocol violates the Eighth Amendment: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. Posted at 11:11 AM by Howard Bashman "Chief Judge Kozinski Cleared of Misconduct By Judicial Panel": David Lat has this post at "Above the Law." You can access the ruling of the Judicial Council of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, dated June 5, 2009 and made public today, by clicking here. The following summary of the ruling's result appears on pages 11-12 of the opinion: This opinion, which will be made public according to the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings, concludes the investigation in the following manner. We find that the Judge's possession of sexually explicit offensive material combined with his carelessness in failing to safeguard his sphere of privacy was judicially imprudent. Moreover, once the Judge became aware in 2007 that offensive material could be accessed by members of the public, his inattention to the need for prompt corrective action amounted to a disregard of a serious risk of public embarrassment. We join with the Special Committee in admonishing the Judge that his conduct exhibiting poor judgment with respect to this material created a public controversy that can reasonably be seen as having resulted in embarrassment to the institution of the federal judiciary. We determine that the Judge's acknowledgment of responsibility together with other corrective action, his apology, and our admonishment, combined with the public dissemination of this opinion, properly conclude this proceeding.And the opinion's final paragraph states, "With respect to the identified Complaint involving alex.kozinski.com, the proceeding will be concluded under Rule 20(b)(1)(B) because appropriate corrective action has been taken. To the extent the identified Complaint involves the Judge's conduct with respect to the United States v. Isaacs case, that portion of the identified Complaint will be dismissed under Rule 20(b)(1)(A)(i)." Posted at 09:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Area schools weigh impact of ruling in Ariz. strip search": This article appears today in The New Haven Register. Posted at 09:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Injunction against Delta in Mesa case upheld": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld a preliminary injunction barring Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest airline operator, from terminating a regional flying contract with Mesa Air Group Inc. subsidiary Freedom Airlines." Reuters reports that "Appeals court prevents Delta from ending contract." The Wall Street Journal has a news update headlined "Appeals Court Affirms Injunction to Keep Delta Air-Mesa Deal." MarketWatch reports that "Court blocks attempt to terminate Delta-Mesa deal." And Mesa Air Group has issued a press release headlined "Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of Mesa Air Group - Affirms Preliminary Injunction Against Delta Air Lines." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. "Impact still to come in firefighter ruling": This article appears today in The New Haven Register. Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court's Unexpected 'Judicial Minimalism' in Voting Rights Case": Paul M. Smith and Joshua Block have this essay online at law.com. Posted at 08:53 AM by Howard Bashman "Roberts's Firefighter Win Caps Unpredictable Supreme Court Term": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Posted at 08:47 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, July 1, 2009 "Legal group's records tell little about Sotomayor": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A Puerto Rican civil rights organization advised by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor campaigned against seating conservative Robert Bork on the high court in the late 1980s, according to new documents that shed light on the group that's become a key focus of Republicans questioning Sotomayor's fitness to be a justice." Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman "Court: Teen abortion records private." The Cincinnati Enquirer has this news update. The Columbus Dispatch has a news update headlined "Supreme Court: Planned Parenthood does not have to turn over abortion records to parents." The Dayton Daily News has an update headlined "Minors' abortion records off limits, court says." And The Associated Press reports that "Ohio high court rules for abortion record privacy." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Ohio at this link. The court's own news release on the ruling is headlined "Plaintiff in Private Lawsuit Has No Right to Discover Confidential Medical Records of Non-Parties." "9th Circuit Reversed 14 Times This Term": Today in The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley has this article. Posted at 11:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Wardlaw Wasn't Vetted to Replace Souter": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 11:32 AM by Howard Bashman "New York's Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, instituting a three-tier system for the regulation of alcoholic beverages, do[es] not discriminate against out-of-state producers in violation of the Commerce Clause": So holds a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a decision issued today. Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi wrote an interesting concurring opinion intended to "emphasize the unusual nature of judicial interpretation of the Twenty-First Amendment, a constitutional provision that, over seventy-five years, has been defined and redefined to accommodate changing social needs and norms." "Supreme Court Term in Review": CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen has this "CourtWatch" essay. Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Group says blacks will fight if city certifies exams": The New Haven Register today contains an article that begins, "Dealt a setback by the U.S. Supreme Court, the leader of an organization for black firefighters Tuesday vowed, 'It doesn't end here.'" And The Hartford Courant reports today that "Impact Of Supreme Court's Ricci Decision Already Being Felt In Bridgeport, Memphis; Supreme Court New Haven Firefighters Decision Has National Impact." "The Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings as a Non-Event": Tom Goldstein has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 11:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court leaves hanging the case of detained Uighurs; The justices' inaction this term probably extends the 13 detainees' time at Guantanamo": Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report. Posted at 11:10 AM by Howard Bashman "3rd Circuit Recognizes New Cause of Action for Civil Rights Violations at Nursing Homes": Today in The Legal Intelligencer -- Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers -- Shannon P. Duffy has an article that begins, "In a landmark opinion that recognizes a new category of lawsuits, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Federal Nursing Home Reform Amendments give residents of county-run nursing homes the right to bring civil rights claims under Section 1983 to challenge the quality of their treatment." You can access yesterday's ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. "Ruling bars lawsuit in Atlanta man's Iraq convoy injury": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A federal appeals court says the wife of a U.S. soldier incapacitated by brain injury in a wreck during a fuel convoy in Iraq cannot sue the civilian contractor delivering the fuel." You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. "Pipe Bombs Unprotected by the Second Amendment": At "The Volokh Conspiracy," law professor Eugene Volokh has this post about a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued yesterday. Posted at 11:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Pa. high court to hear challenge in Risperdal case": Today's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an article that begins, "The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear a legal challenge over whether the Rendell administration should be allowed to use a Texas law firm to pursue a case against a drugmaker on behalf of Pennsylvania." You can access yesterday's order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania at this link. "New Look at Election Spending Looms in September": Jess Bravin has this article today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 10:57 AM by Howard Bashman "Job-Test Ruling Cheers Employers; Decision Inspires Some Companies to Consider Broader Use of Exams, but Others Say It Creates Uncertainty": Today's edition of The Wall Street Journal contains an article that begins, "The Supreme Court's landmark employment-discrimination ruling Monday may create uncertainty about when and what kinds of tests employers can give applicants for jobs or promotions, say corporate executives and lawyers." Posted at 09:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Term Saw High Court Move to The Right; Roberts-Led March Likely to Continue": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. Posted at 09:27 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, June 30, 2009 "The Roberts Court, Tipped by Kennedy": Adam Liptak will have this news analysis Wednesday in The New York Times. Posted at 11:30 PM by Howard Bashman "High Court Losses Stun Environmentalists; Environmentalists are 0-for-5 at the Supreme Court this term": Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal has this report. A similar article appeared recently in The Daily Journal of California. "White House accepts convicted judge's resignation": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 11:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Finds Bias Against White Firefighters": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. The newspaper also contains an article headlined "Supreme Court Ruling Offers Little Guidance on Hiring." And Linda Greenhouse has an op-ed entitled "The Court Changes the Game." Today in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that "Justices Rule for White Firemen In Bias Lawsuit; Sotomayor's Decision Is Overturned." The newspaper also contains an article headlined "No Peril Seen for Sotomayor"; an editorial entitled "Flunking the Test: The Supreme Court should have had more information before deciding the case of New Haven firefighters"; and an op-ed by columnist George F. Will entitled "On Race, The Slog Goes On." In The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "Ruling for white firefighters may alter hiring; The Supreme Court says white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were the victims of illegal discrimination when the city tossed out their test results and denied them promotions." James Oliphant reports that "Ruling in firefighters case fuels critics of Sotomayor; The Supreme Court's reversal of a discrimination ruling by an appeals panel that included Sotomayor is seen by conservatives as a rebuke of her handling of the case." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "The Supreme Court's discrimination ruling: It's not black and white; The court faced complex issues in the New Haven, Conn., controversy; It offered a measured ruling." In USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that "Ruling's impact on hiring weighed; High court reverses Sotomayor's panel." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Firefighters ruling draws new lines on race and hiring; Better ways than rigid tests exist to determine job promotions" and an op-ed by Michael E. Rosman entitled "Make race irrelevant: Not every workplace can end up 'looking like America.'" In The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin and Suzanne Sataline report that "Ruling Upends Race's Role in Hiring." Bravin also has an article headlined "Decision Reflects Court's Deep Division." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Firefighter Justice: The Supremes, Sotomayor, and racial jurisprudence." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Firefighter ruling dials up heat on Sotomayor; The Supreme Court on Monday reversed a decision that she had made as part of a three-judge panel; The case centered on issues of race and discrimination." The newspaper also has an op-ed entitled "The Ricci ruling's real message: The heated, even political debate among the justices calls for a national race debate." And law professor Kermit Roosevelt has an op-ed entitled "The Ricci riddle and the law's limits: What you thought about the New Haven firefighters case was probably shaped less by logic or law than by your attitudes about the world." The New Haven Register contains articles headlined "Firefighters win: 'Truest vindication' yet to come"; "Alito's opinion notes Kimber's heavy hand"; and "Decision shouldn't hurt Sotomayor, law experts say." The Hartford Courant reports that "U.S. Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of New Haven Firefighters; Supreme Court Firefighter Opinion reverses a decision that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed." The Boston Globe reports that "Supreme Court rules in favor of Conn. firefighters; Group accused city of racial discrimination." And law.com's Tony Mauro reports that "Justices Rule in Firefighters Bias Case, Bid Farewell to Souter." "Justices to Review Campaign Finance Law Constraints": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak reports that "High Court Poised to Rewrite Spending Rules." In The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "Justices may end campaign finance ban on corporations; The high court delays a decision until next term on whether a documentary critical of Hillary Clinton can be regulated as a type of campaign ad." In The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin reports that "New Hearings Ordered in Campaign-Finance Case." And USA Today reports that "Justices will rehear 'Hillary' movie case." "Poetry, as Souter Takes Leave": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "After 19 years, Souter and the Supreme Court part, with poetry; As the New Englander retires, he and Chief Justice John Roberts exchange warm letters of farewell -- and a few verses of Robert Frost." And today in The Washington Post, Dana Milbank's "Washington Sketch" column is headlined "Mr. Smith Leaves Washington." "Supreme Court Allows Wider DVR Use": This article appears today in The New York Times. The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Court clears way for Cablevision to offer remote-storage DVR; Cable subscribers would be able to store programs to watch later; Justices turn down an appeal from broadcasters and Hollywood studios, which said the extra viewings would violate copyrights." And The Wall Street Journal reports that "High Court Boosts Remote DVR; Cablevision's Victory Could Lead to Wider Compromise on New Technology." "Supreme Court Refuses Case by Sept. 11 Victims' Families": Eric Lichtblau has this article today in The New York Times. And The Philadelphia Inquirer reports today that "Justices uphold rejection of 9/11 suit against Saudis." "Justices Rule That States Can Press Bank Cases": John Schwartz has this article today in The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal reports today that "States Get More Power to Challenge National Banks." In The Los Angeles Times, Jim Puzzanghera reports that "States gain more power over banks; Supreme Court says local governments can enforce some of their consumer protections against national financial institutions." The Washington Post reports that "Ruling Adds Teeth to State Oversight of Banks; Supreme Court Gives States Power to Take Nationally Chartered Banks to Court Over Lending Practices." McClatchy Newspapers report that "Scalia breaks ranks, slams Bush officials on bank regulation." USA Today reports that "States win right to probe banks; Supreme Court ruling sides with consumers, civil rights groups." And Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal reports that "High Court Rules States Can Enforce Fair Lending Laws." "Tracing Xenophobic Internet Chatter to Its Roots in New Jersey Town": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "The words of Hal Turner, incendiary and provincial as they might seem, have echoed far beyond the small Internet radio studio in his home in North Bergen, N.J., where, until his arrest last week, a neighbor knew him to be cordial if frequently confrontational." Posted at 08:17 PM by Howard Bashman "New Rift Opens Over Rights of Detainees": Yesterday in The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin had a front page article that begins, "The Justice Department has determined that detainees tried by military commissions in the U.S. can claim at least some constitutional rights, particularly protection against the use of statements taken through coercive interrogations, officials said." Posted at 08:10 PM by Howard Bashman "No Regrets on Prop 8, Calif. Chief Justice Says": law.com has this report. Posted at 07:55 PM by Howard Bashman "High court curves in conservative direction; This term's trend was narrower interpretations": Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. Posted at 07:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Court: Stay tuned on campaign funds, civil rights." Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has a report that begins, "On civil rights and campaign cash, the Supreme Court earned an 'incomplete' grade in the term that just ended." Posted at 07:42 PM by Howard Bashman "Campaign Finance Case and the Vote on Sotomayor": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." And at his "Election Law Blog," law professor Rick Hasen has a post titled "Citizens United: What Did Justice Souter Know and When Did He Know It?" "Supreme Court says Franken won; Coleman concedes and Pawlenty says he will sign an election certificate": The St. Paul Pioneer Press has this news update. The New York Times has a news update headlined "Court Backs Franken in Senate Race; Coleman Concedes." And The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Norm Coleman concedes Minnesota Senate race to Al Franken; The former senator concedes after the Minnesota Supreme Court rules in Franken's favor in the long ballot recount." "State Supreme Court rules for Franken, 5-0": The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a news update that begins, "The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled today that Democrat Al Franken won the U.S. Senate election and said he was entitled to an election certificate that would lead to him being seated in the Senate." And The Associated Press reports that "Minn. court rules for Franken in Senate fight." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Minnesota at this link. "New York City bar: Sotomayor 'highly qualified.'" The Associated Press has this report. You can access the organization's press release by clicking here. "Thoughts on this Term and the Next": Tom Goldstein has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court takes Weyhrauch mail-fraud issue; Lawyer says decision deals 'serious blow' to federal case": The Anchorage Daily News today contains an article that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal by former Alaska Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch that prosecutors shouldn't be allowed to say he cheated Alaska's citizens when he secretly sought work from the oil-field service company Veco during the 2006 legislative session." Posted at 08:00 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, June 29, 2009 "Exxon to pay interest on spill damages": The Anchorage Daily News has an update that begins, "Exxon Mobil Corp. said today it won't appeal nearly $500 million in interest that a court recently ordered it to pay to Alaska fishermen, business owners and others harmed by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill." And The Associated Press reports that "Exxon to pay interest on Valdez oil spill damages." "Discrimination ruling shapes Sotomayor debate": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 06:25 PM by Howard Bashman "The Supreme Court Gets Ready To Turn on the Corporate Fundraising Spigot: The case about the anti-Hillary ad got pushed back till September--and got bigger." Law professor Richard L. Hasen -- author of the "Election Law Blog" -- has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 03:40 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S high court: Saudi Arabia can't be sued over 9/11." The Philadelphia Inquirer has this news update. Posted at 02:57 PM by Howard Bashman Access online this afternoon's Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: This Order List contains one additional grant of review. The Order List also contains the supplemental briefing order in Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n, No. 08-205. And last but not least, the Order List contains a new Allotment Order assigning Justice Stephen G. Breyer to serve as Circuit Justice for the First Circuit and assigning Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to serve as Circuit Justice for the Third Circuit. At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has posts titled "New lab report case granted" and "Briefing set on Citizens United rehear." And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post titled "Supreme Court's Odd Not-so-Final Day." "U.S. Supreme Court looks over 9th Circuit's shoulder; This term, justices reversed, at least partially, 94% of the Western appeals court's rulings; Part of the reason, experts say, is the court is perceived as liberal and partial to the underdog": Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 01:15 PM by Howard Bashman "White firefighters were victims of discrimination, Supreme Court rules; Justices rule, 5-4, that New Haven, Conn., was wrong to deny promotions to the firefighters, who outscored black colleagues on a test; The decision overturns a ruling supported by Sonia Sotomayor": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. Posted at 01:12 PM by Howard Bashman "High Court Rules for White Firefighters in Discrimination Suit; Ruling Reverses High-Profile Decision by Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor": Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has this news update. Posted at 12:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court rules for white firefighters in bias case": Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court rules against city in race-based promotions case." Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that "Sotomayor Firefighter Ruling Reversed by High Court." The Hartford Courant has a news update headlined "Court Rules For White New Haven Firefighters Over Promotions; Opinion reverses a decision that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed." And The New Haven Register has a news update headlined "Court rules for white firefighters over promotions." "Souter bids goodbye to Supreme Court colleagues": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 11:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Chief Justice Roberts Speaks on Too-Long Briefs, Too Many Questions": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Via LexisNexis News, you can access a transcript of the Chief Justice's remarks Satuday at the Fourth Circuit's Judicial Conference by clicking here. Posted at 10:22 AM by Howard Bashman Access online today's Order List and final decisions in cases argued this term at the U.S. Supreme Court: At 10 a.m. eastern time today, the Supreme Court of the United States will issue an Order List and its rulings in the final three undecided argued cases from this Term. In alphabetical order, the three remaining undecided cases are: 1. Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n, No. 08-205. You can access the oral argument transcript at this link. Update: There will be no ruling in the Citizens United case today because the Court has ordered reargument next Term. 2. Cuomo v. Clearing House Assn., L.L.C., No. 08-453. You can access the Court's ruling at this link (update: now available online) and the oral argument transcript at this link. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer joined. Justice Clarence Thomas issued an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined. You can also access the Cuomo ruling by clicking here. 3. Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 07-1428. You can access the Court's ruling at this link (udpate: now available online) and the oral argument transcript at this link. Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito, Jr. joined. Justice Scalia also issued a concurring opinion, Justice Alito also issued a concurring opinion, in which Justices Scalia and Thomas joined. Justice Ginsburg issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Stevens, Souter, and Breyer joined. You can also access the Ricci ruling by clicking here. You can access today's Order List at this link (update: now available online). The Court granted review in six cases. "SCOTUSblog" will provide live coverage of the announcement of today's rulings via a post you can access here. Decisions in argued cases are announced in reverse order of seniority of the Justice who wrote the opinion of the Court or whose opinion announces the judgment of the Court. On Thursday of last week, the Court was posting its opinions in argued cases almost immediately after the decision was announced in the courtroom. In early news coverage, The Associated Press has reports headlined"Court rules for white firefighters over promotions"; "Court: AG must go to court to probe nat'l banks"; "Court fails to decide on anti-Hillary movie"; "Court takes case over licensing of NFL apparel"; "Court takes on international child custody case"; "Court won't hear Sept. 11 claims vs. Saudi Arabia"; "High court won't block remote storage DVR"; "Court won't decide privacy of prescription pads"; "Court rejects Mo. appeal on funeral protest law": and "Court won't get involved in Bible club question." "Judgement Day: Supreme Court to issue discrimination ruling." Today's edition of The New Haven Register contains an article that begins, "As eyes across America focus on New Haven and await a potentially landmark Supreme Court decision today on the firefighters' promotion case, it's all old news in the city firehouses." And The Hartford Courant has a news update headlined "Decision Expected On New Haven Firefighters Case." "New Guidance Issued on Military Trials of Detainees": This article appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Private Thomas": Yoni Brenner has this "Shouts & Murmurs" essay in the Talk of the Town section of the July 6, 2009 issue of The New Yorker. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Assembly confirms Suttell as chief justice": Last Friday's edition of The Providence (R.I.) Journal contained an article that begins, "In 13 minutes flat, the state Senate on Thursday unanimously confirmed Supreme Court Justice Paul A. Suttell as Rhode Island's 51st chief justice." Posted at 08:10 AM by Howard Bashman "Newtown Square mom may take case to Supreme Court": The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains an article that begins, "The decision that Donna Kay Busch and her attorneys must make by Aug. 31 could put the Newtown Square mother of three before the U.S. Supreme Court. She is considering whether to continue with a case that tackles issues of free speech and separation of church and state. If she goes forward, Busch says, the only cause she wants to strike a blow for is her son Wesley." Posted at 08:07 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court bidding goodbye to Souter": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 08:04 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, June 28, 2009 "A fire litmus test": Today's edition of The New Haven Register contains an article that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court is about to issue its decision on the case of 20 New Haven firefighters who claim the city discriminated against them when it threw out results of its 2003 tests for captain and firefighter positions." Posted at 10:58 PM by Howard Bashman "GOP leader says time needed for Sotomayor records": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 10:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Harmonious week for the Roberts court; In two key cases, the normally fractured court comes together 8 to 1 to preserve the Voting Rights Act and oppose the strip search of a 13-year-old at school; But the harmony's unlikely to last": David G. Savage will have this article Monday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 10:17 PM by Howard Bashman "As Supreme Court Break Nears, Big Cases Remain": This evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained this audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick. Posted at 09:15 PM by Howard Bashman Saturday, June 27, 2009 "Don't Call It An Attack, Sotomayor Critics Say": Keith Perine has this report online at CQ Politics. Posted at 11:24 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Says Child's Rights Violated by Strip Search": Adam Liptak had this article yesterday in The New York Times. The newspaper also contained an editorial entitled "An Unreasonable Search." Yesterday in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes had an article headlined "Student Strip Search Illegal; School Violated Teen Girl's Rights, Supreme Court Rules." The newspaper also contained an editorial entitled "Strip Searches and the Law: A smart compromise balances the rights of students with the needs of school administrators." Yesterday in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage had an article headlined "Supreme Court declares strip-search of student unconstitutional; The 8-1 decision says Arizona school officials lacked justification for such an invasive search of a 13-year-old girl, who was suspected of hiding ibuprofen pills." And today's newspaper contains an editorial entitled "A common-sense ruling on strip searches: A Supreme Court decision lays down a bright line for school officials." In yesterday's edition of USA Today, Joan Biskupic reported that "Strip search at school violated girl's rights, high court rules; Souter says there must be 'reasonable suspicion of danger.'" The newspaper also contained an editorial entitled "Strip-search case ends in victory for common sense: Justices' ruling exposes folly of ham-handed 'zero-tolerance' policies," while Francisco M. Negron had an op-ed entitled "Ruling missed opportunity: Justices didn't clarify boundaries for schools on 'personal searches.'" Yesterday in The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin reported that "Court Faults Strip-Search of Student." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor had an article headlined "Supreme Court: Strip-search of 13-year-old girl was illegal; The decision sets the standard for how far school officials can go in conducting searches of students' property." law.com's Tony Mauro reported that "Supreme Court rules student strip search unconstitutional." And yesterday in The Arizona Daily Star, Howard Fischer had an article headlined "US high court: Strip search unjustified." "Supreme Court Sides With Arizona in Language Case": This article appeared yesterday in The New York Times. Yesterday's edition of The Arizona Republic contained an article headlined "Court rules in favor of state in 17-year English-learner battle; Justices: Court didn't weigh recent educational efforts" and an editorial entitled "Let's build on what works for students." And yesterday in The Arizona Daily Star, Howard Fischer had an article headlined "US justices void order to increase ELL money statewide." "Chief Justice: High court not setting school rules." The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Don't look to the Supreme Court to set school rules, only to clarify them when officials have abdicated that responsibility, Chief Justice John Roberts said Saturday." Posted at 03:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Justices Rule Lab Analysts Must Testify on Results": Adam Liptak had this article yesterday in The New York Times. Yesterday in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reported that "Defendants Have Right To Confront Analysts of Forensics, Court Rules." Yesterday in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reported that "Defendant can cross-examine forensic experts, Supreme Court rules; Technicians who prepare crime lab reports can be called forth as witnesses, justices say, reversing a conviction of a Massachusetts man accused of selling cocaine." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "Supreme Court says criminal defendants can challenge forensic experts; Minority justices warn that the guilty 'will go free on the most technical grounds.'" law.com's Tony Mauro reports that "Forensic ruling adds burden for prosecutors; High court says prosecutors must use witnesses to present evidence." Yesterday in The Boston Globe, Jonathan Saltzman and John Ellement reported that "Accused win right to query forensics; High court rules on confronting scientific evidence." And yesterday's edition of The Boston Herald contained an article headlined "High court sides with con; Coakley loses fight to uphold man's drug conviction" and an editorial entitled "A win for drug dealers." "2nd Delay Sought On Detainee Report; Justice Dept. Wants More Review": Today's edition of The Washington Post contains an article that begins, "Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge yesterday that the disclosure of a hotly anticipated 2004 report by the CIA inspector general on the Bush administration's interrogation program for terrorism suspects will be delayed until shortly before the July 4 holiday weekend." Posted at 02:30 PM by Howard Bashman "White House Weighs Order on Detention; Officials: Move Would Reassert Power To Hold Terror Suspects Indefinitely." This article appears today in The Washington Post. And The New York TImes reports today that "Shift Possible on Terror Suspects' Detention." "Government Takes Side of Investors; Supports Right to Sue Over Excessive Fees": Yesterday's edition of The Wall Street Journal contained an article that begins, "The government has waded into a Supreme Court case that could determine the future of mutual-fund fees, arguing it believes a lower court went too far in restricting investors' ability to sue funds over what they considered excessive fees." Posted at 02:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Old Confirmation Wars Fueling Some Critics Now": Neil A. Lewis had this article yesterday in The New York Times. Yesterday's newspaper also contained an article headlined "Court Nominee Criticized as Relying on Foreign Law." Meanwhile, in commentary, the McClatchy-Tribune News Service has posted online an op-ed by Michael Gonzalez entitled "Sotomayor and racial identity politics." And earlier this week, columnist Linda P. Campbell of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram had an op-ed entitled "'Activist' judges come in both liberal and conservative robes." "Court: Homeless not subject to Megan's Law." Today's edition of The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania contains an article that begins, "A state Superior Court panel ruled Friday that convicted sexual offenders cannot be held subject to Megan's Law registration requirements if they are homeless. The state appellate court found that William H. Wilgus should not have been prosecuted for violating the requirements to register his address with state police because he could not find a home after being released from prison in 2007." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania at this link. In yesterday's mail: I received a copy a new book written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author James MacGregor Burns, "Packing the Court: The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court." Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Business Capitalizes on Ruling in Political Case": Today's edition of The Wall Street Journal contains an article that begins, "A U.S. Supreme Court ruling focused on national security may end up as the most significant decision for business in the court's about-to-conclude 2008-2009 term. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, released in May, will make it harder to bring a lawsuit without specific factual evidence, raising the threshold for moving a case into expensive litigation and possibly saving companies millions of dollars in legal fees." Posted at 10:12 AM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Mark Sherman reports that "Supreme Court to decide final 3 cases on Monday." And in other news, "NFL asks high court to weigh in on antitrust case." Friday, June 26, 2009 "Judge Kent resigns amid impeachment proceedings": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle. The Galveston County Daily News reports today that "From behind bars Kent resigns from bench." Saturday's edition of The Washington Times will report that "Impeached judge Samuel B. Kent tenders his resignation; Move could avert Senate trial." And Bloomberg News reports that "U.S. Judge Kent in Texas Resigns After House Impeachment." Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro has an article headlined "Can the Voting Rights Act Survive Another Challenge? Lawyers say release from federal supervision may get easier in wake of Supreme Court ruling." And in other news, "Scalia Discusses Conjunctions, Contractions and Pet Peeves at Texas Bar Event." "Sotomayor 2d Am. case now at Court": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 11:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Forgo vs. Forego": Eugene Volokh has this post at "The Volokh Conspiracy" today in response to this post of mine from Tuesday. Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Chief Justice wrote of limits to Jackson acclaim": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Presidents named Reagan, Bush and Clinton applauded Michael Jackson in his lifetime. John Roberts, now the nation's chief justice, said there were limits to adulation of a pop star." And at "The Caucus" blog of The New York Times, Charlie Savage has a post titled "From the White House Files: A Fight Over Michael Jackson." "Protesters in Pasadena decry past interrogation techniques": Today's edition of The Pasadena Star-News contains an article that begins, "About two dozen activists, some hooded and clad in orange jumpsuits, gathered to protest U.S. interrogation policies Thursday in front of the Ninth District Court of Appeals on Grand Avenue. The protesters singled out Judge Jay Bybee, a former attorney from the Office of Legal Counsel in the Bush Administration. Bybee now serves on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals." Posted at 12:14 PM by Howard Bashman "Congressional Research Service on Sotomayor: Hard to Categorize." Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." By clicking here, you can access the Congressional Research Service report titled "Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Analysis of Selected Opinions." Thursday, June 25, 2009 "Environmental Issues Lose in Supreme Court; Mining Decision is Fifth to Disappoint Activists This Term": Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California. Posted at 10:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Hustler could appeal ruling on nude photos of Benoit's wife": The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a news update that begins, "Hustler Magazine had no right to publish nude photographs of Chris Benoit's deceased wife, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The family of the late Nancy Benoit filed a federal suit against Larry Flynt Publishing Group last year after Hustler published nude photographs of the professional wrestler's wife." And The Associated Press has a report headlined "Court: Hustler wrong to print dead woman's photos." You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link. "Judge Kent resigns amid impeachment proceedings": The Houston Chronicle has a news update that begins, "U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent resigned via an unusual no-frills letter that he hand-delivered in prison to two Senate officials who had come to serve a summons on him as part of ongoing impeachment proceedings in the Congress of the United States." The Galveston County Daily News has an update headlined "From behind bars Kent resigns from bench." And The Associated Press reports that "Impeached federal judge to resign." "Law need not bow to chemistry": At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, "Expressing a heavy dose of skepticism that crime lab reports are so reliable as to be beyond question, the Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for chemists and other scientists who prepare such reports to be summoned to the witness stand in criminal trials to defend their analyses." And Jonathan Saltzman of The Boston Globe has a news update headlined "Supreme Court rules in Boston drug case." "No bail for blogger accused of threatening judges": The Associated Press has this report. Posted at 05:03 PM by Howard Bashman "We must decide whether a distributor of Internet security software is entitled to immunity under the safe harbor provision of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 from a suit claiming that its software interfered with the use of downloadable programs by customers of an online media company." A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit answers "yes" in this opinion issued today. Posted at 02:11 PM by Howard Bashman En banc Seventh Circuit rejects federal death row inmate's constitutional challenge to a policy that prohibits federal death row inmates from giving face-to-face interviews with the media and from talking with the media about other inmates: Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook wrote the en banc majority opinion. The en banc court's vote in favor of this outcome was 5-3, with three other judges not participating in the decision. The three dissenters from today's en banc ruling were the same three judges who joined in a unanimous three-judge panel opinion issued in January 2008 that had reinstated (until vacated by the order granting rehearing en banc) the prisoner's lawsuit challenging the policy. My earlier coverage of that ruling appears at this link. You can access the en banc oral argument audio via this link (10.6MB mp3 audio file). "Strip search of teen was unconstitutional, Supreme Court rules; The high court says the search of a 13-year-old girl at an Arizona middle school was unjustified; But justices reject the suit against school employees, saying the law had not been clear": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Supreme Court Rules School's Strip Search of Girl Was Illegal." Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has an article headlined "Supreme Court: Strip search of 13-year-old unconstitutional." Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that "Teen strip-searched in school wins partial victory." At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Some expansion of student privacy." And at "The School Law Blog" of Education Week, Mark Walsh has a post titled "Strip-Search Decision Adds Clarity for Students and Schools." "Top court requires lab analyst testimony": James Vicini of Reuters has this report. Posted at 12:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Strip Search of Student Was Illegal, Top Court Says": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. And James Vicini of Reuters reports that "Supreme Court rejects school strip search." "Court eases rules on English learner program": The Arizona Republic has a news update that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court took a major step toward ending a 17-year legal battle today, deciding Arizona has done enough to help students who haven't learned to speak, read or write English." Posted at 12:15 PM by Howard Bashman "We are called upon to review a matter involving a doctor's application for discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector." So begins an interesting opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today. Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman Access today's opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court in argued cases: The first opinion issued today came in Horne v. Flores, No. 08-289. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. wrote the majority opinion in this 5-4 ruling. Joining in the majority opinion were the Chief Justice and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, and Clarence Thomas. Justice Stephen G. Breyer issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined. You can access the opinion at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link. Today's second opinion issued in Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, No. 08-214. The unusual line-up of Justices in this 5-4 ruling is as follows. Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer joined. Justice Alito issued a dissenting opinion, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Scalia and Kennedy joined. You can access the opinion at this link. and the oral argument transcript at this link. Today's third opinion issued in Safford United School Dist. #1 v. Redding, No. 08-479. Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Breyer, and Alito joined in full, and in which Justices Stevens and Ginsburg joined in large part. Justice Stevens filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which Justice Ginsburg joined. Justice Ginsburg also filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. And Justice Thomas filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part. You can access the opinion at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link. The fourth and final decision issued today came in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, No. 07-591. The unusual line-up of Justices in this 5-4 ruling is as follows. Justice Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justices Stevens, Souter, Thomas, and Ginsburg joined. Justice Thomas also issued a concurring opinion. And Justice Kennedy issued a dissenting opinion, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Breyer and Alito joined. You can access the opinion at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link. The remaining three decisions in cases argued this Term will be announced on Monday. Those cases are: Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n, No. 08-205 (access the oral argument transcript here); Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 07-1428 (access the oral argument transcript here); and Cuomo v. Clearing House Assn., L.L.C., No. 08-453 (access the oral argument transcript here). As an aside, the seniority of the Justice who wrote the majority opinion (or the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court) determines the order in which opinions are announced. The most junior Justice's opinions are announced first, The Chief Justice's opinions are announced last. In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Court says strip search of child illegal"; "Court rules for defendants on crime lab reports"; "Court eases oversight of Ariz. English program"; and "Court rules for seaman in dispute with ship owner." And then there were seven: The remaining seven argued cases from this Term in which the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to issue decisions are: 1. Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, No. 07-591 (access the oral argument transcript here); 2. Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, No. 08-214 (access the oral argument transcript here); 3. Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n, No. 08-205 (access the oral argument transcript here); 4. Horne v. Flores, No. 08-289 (access the oral argument transcript here); 5. Safford United School Dist. #1 v. Redding, No. 08-479 (access the oral argument transcript here); 6. Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 07-1428 (access the oral argument transcript here); and 7. Cuomo v. Clearing House Assn., L.L.C., No. 08-453 (access the oral argument transcript here). The Court is expected to announce additional opinions at 10 a.m. eastern time today, just moments from now. "Delay Damages Bump Up Lackawanna Verdict by Nearly $7 Mil." Gina Passarella today has this article, in which I am mentioned, in The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia's daily newspaper for lawyers. Posted at 09:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Sotomayor Ruling Exposes Racial Split in Firehouses Across U.S." Bloomberg News has this report. And online at Slate, Nicole Allan and Emily Bazelon have a five-part series about Ricci v. DeStefano titled "The Ladder: How a Supreme Court case about promotions at a local fire department will decide who gets the good jobs in cities across America.." Part one is subtitled "A Connecticut City's Race Problem Sparks a National Debate"; part two "Do White, Black, and Hispanic Firefighters in New Haven Get Along?"; part three "Why Did New Haven's White Firefighters Test Better Than Blacks and Hispanics?"; part four "Is There a Better Way to Decide Who Gets Promoted?"; and part five "Is There Any Fair Solution to the New Haven Case?" "Virginia Abortion Restriction Is Upheld; U.S. Appeals Court Votes 6-5 to Back 'Partial Birth' Ban": The Washington Post contains this article today. And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports today that "Va. 'partial-birth' abortion ban upheld." My earlier coverage of yesterday's en banc Fourth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "White supremacist Hal Turner arrested, charged; FBI says blogger threatened to kill 3 U.S. appellate judges in Chicago": This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune. The New York Times reports today that "Radio Host Is Arrested in Threats on 3 Judges." The Hartford Courant reports that "Blogger Hal Turner Charged With Threatening Chicago-Area Judges." And The Jersey Journal contains an article headlined "Held on Threat to Judges; On Turner blog: Photos, 'deserve to be killed.'" My earlier coverage appears at this link. Wednesday, June 24, 2009 "Another abortion case developing": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." My earlier coverage of today's en banc Fourth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "3rd Circuit Mulls Pre-emption of Class Action Over Snapple's Nutrition Claims": Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer has this report. Posted at 11:30 PM by Howard Bashman "GOP to press Sotomayor on gun rights; Republicans say they will question the Supreme Court nominee on the divisive issue at her confirmation hearings in hopes of weakening her support among moderate Democrats": James Oliphant and David G. Savage will have this article Thursday in The Los Angeles Times. Thursday's edition of The New York Times will have an article headlined "In '98, Hints From Sotomayor on Death Penalty." In Thursday's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Nathan Koppel will have an article headlined "Private Clubs That Aren't Private Under the Law: Courts Might Deem Groups Public if They Have Broad Admissions Policies but Discriminate Based on Gender or Race." The Washington Times reports today that "GOP strikes again at nominee; Senators continue to raise questions about Sotomayor." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Sotomayor's ethical oversight: Who were the 'associates' in her legal consulting business?" The Hill reports that "Sotomayor, senators engage in small talk" and "Specter to nudge Sotomayor on SCOTUS cameras." Politico.com reports that "Republicans drop niceties, go on attack on Sotomayor." At the "Legal Beat" blog of CQ Politics, Keith Perine has a post titled "Confirmation Process 'Miserable,' O'Connor Says." You can view the video of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's appearance on today's broadcast of the NBC News program "The Today Show" by clicking here. In commentary, The New York Times contains an op-ed by Ramesh Ponnuru entitled "When Judicial Activism Suits the Right." And in The Boston Globe, Neal Gabler has an op-ed entitled "Judging from the heart - or the head." "Internet Radio Talk Show Host Hal Turner Arrested for Threatening Three Federal Appeals Court Judges in Chicago Over Recent Decision Upholding Handgun Bans": The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois today issued this press release. Abdon M. Pallasch of The Chicago Sun-Times has a news update headlined "N.J. blogger charged with threats against Chicago judges." The Jersey Journal has a news update headlined "Hate blogger Hal Turner arrested for alleged threats to judges." Bloomberg News reports that "FBI Arrests Blogger for Allegedly Threatening Judges." The Associated Press reports that "Supremacist blogger accused of threatening judges." And at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog, David Kravets has a post titled "Blogger Threatened to Murder Judges, Feds Say." "Daughter of Va. Supreme Court chief justice convicted of shoplifting": The Richmond Times-Dispatch has this news update. Posted at 07:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Fed appeals court revives Va. abortion law": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "A sharply divided federal appeals court upheld Virginia's ban on a type of late-term abortion Wednesday, ruling that the statute does not unduly burden a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy by more conventional means." And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Mike Scarcella has a post titled "In 6-5 Ruling, 4th Circuit Upholds Virginia's Ban on Partial-Birth Abortion." You can access today's en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link. I reported on the Fourth Circuit's grant of rehearing en banc in this post, which provides links to my earlier coverage of a divided three-judge panel's ruling in this case. "Appeals court punctures Seattle's attempt to regulate balloon man; The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals put a pin in Seattle's efforts to regulate balloon artist 'Magic Mike' Berger and other street performers at the Seattle Center, reversing an earlier decision to find that the center's rules violate free speech": The Seattle Times has this news update. My earlier coverage of today's en banc Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Diaz countersues ex-U.S. attorney; Former state justice alleges charges brought against him were libelous": This article appears today in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi. Posted at 06:15 PM by Howard Bashman Tony Mauro is reporting: At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," he has posts titled "Examining Sotomayor's Record in Business Cases" and "Justice O'Connor Happy There Will be Another Woman on High Court." My earlier post reporting on Justice O'Connor's late night television appearance yesterday can be found at this link. Via YouTube, you can view Justice O'Connor's entire appearance on last night's broadcast of "Late Show with David Letterman" in two parts: part one and part two. "Congressman calls for quick Senate action on Kent": The Houston Chronicle has a news update that begins, "The House managers of the case against convicted U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent personally walked their impeachment case against him to the Senate this morning and urged members there to quickly convene a trial." And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post titled "Senate Appoints Panel to Investigate Impeached Judge." Seattle street performer "Magic Mike" wins magical en banc Ninth Circuit victory: An eleven-judge en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this 108-page ruling today. At issue in the case was the extent to which a City may restrict expression in a public forum. I previously had this post reporting on the original divided three-judge panel's ruling against "Magic Mike" and this post reporting on the Ninth Circuit's order granting rehearing en banc. Update: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a report headlined "Court: Seattle Center limits on street |