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Thursday, February 5, 2009 "Ginsburg Has Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer": Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update. And The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospitalized for Cancer." "Obama Tries to Appease Both Sides of Abortion Debate": The Washington Post has this news update. Posted at 02:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Ginsburg Undergoes Cancer Surgery": NPR's Nina Totenberg has this written report. Posted at 01:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Justice Ginsburg Has Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that "Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg undergoes cancer surgery." And an updated report from The Associated Press is headlined "Ginsburg is hospitalized with pancreatic cancer." "Ginsburg is hospitalized with pancreatic cancer": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been hospitalized for surgery for pancreatic cancer." Posted at 01:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Scalia's Temper Rises Again": You can access at this link today's installment of CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen's "CourtWatch" column. Posted at 11:47 AM by Howard Bashman Inflatable rat's rights recognized on appeal: In a unanimous ruling issued today, the Supreme Court of New Jersey has held that a township's sign ordinance violates the First Amendment right to free speech and is overbroad. The ordinance had been used to prohibit a union from displaying as part of its labor protest a large inflatable rat as a symbol of labor unrest. As a Google image search reveals, the inflatable rat is quite a popular symbol these days. Update: In early news coverage of the ruling, The Associated Press reports that "NJ township can't declare inflatable rat a pest." And The Newark Star-Ledger has a news update headlined "Union rat is protected as free speech, N.J. top court rules." "Briefs filed on behalf of Massey": This article appears today in The Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette. Posted at 08:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Defendants win the right to change their minds; Court decides it can be legitimate grounds for withdrawing a guilty plea": Today's edition of The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contains an article that begins, "Changing your mind can be a valid reason for seeking to retract a guilty plea if other facts in the case support the request, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday." And The Daily Journal of Vineland, New Jersey reports today that "High court rules in M'ville man's favor." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link. "'Borking' Obama court appointees": Gina Parker Ford has this essay online at the web site of Wilson County (Tex.) News. Posted at 08:22 AM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court Cheat Sheet: It's not a blockbuster session like last fall, but five business cases are worth watching." Daniel Fisher has this article online at Forbes.com. Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "'Heavy Hitters' Battle in the Nation's Supreme Court Over Rights to Hawaiian Ceded Lands; Obama Administration Backs the State in Recently Filed Brief": This article appeared online yesterday at the web site of the Hawaii Reporter. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "N.J. top court will rule on union's rat tactics": The Newark Star-Ledger has a news update that begins, "The state Supreme Court today will rule on the future of a 10-foot, pink-eyed inflatable rodent that has joined union picket lines across New Jersey and is now in the middle of a free speech debate. The state's top court is set to issue a decision on whether a Mercer County town can prohibit a rat used by a labor union to bring attention to its cause." Today's ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey should be available via this link once that court posts it online. "Iowa Supreme Court orders furlough for its employees": The Des Moines Register contains this article today. And yesterday in The Altanta Journal-Constitution, Bill Rankin had an article headlined "Judge: Economy straining justice system" that begins, "Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears said Wednesday that the bad economy is straining the state's court system." "Defending an abortion ban would cost millions; Utah would solicit contributions effort before outlawing the controversial procedure": This article appears today in The Salt Lake Tribune. Posted at 08:09 AM by Howard Bashman "Lawyer drops bid for chief justice post": The Providence (R.I.) Journal today contains an article that begins, "Patrick T. Conley has withdrawn his candidacy for chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, claiming Governor Carcieri dislikes him so much that he wouldn't appoint him even if Conley were selected as a finalist by the Judicial Nominating Commission." Posted at 08:07 AM by Howard Bashman "O'Connor sits in on cases at Tulane; Retired justice does stint on 5th Circuit": Yesterday's edition of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans contained an article that begins, "Arguments on three cases pending before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took place Tuesday at Tulane Law School before a panel of judges that included retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor." Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Chief justice put solutions first; Public servant pushed mediation as a tool for civil disputes": The Honolulu Star-Bulletin today contains an obituary that begins, "Herman T.F. Lum, a foot soldier in the Democratic revolution here who dedicated his career to public service and became the state's third chief justice from 1983 to 1993, died last month after a long illness." And today's edition of The Honolulu Advertiser contains an obituary headlined "Former Chief Justice Herman Tsui Fai Lum, 82." "Chief justice examines approach of predecessor": The Arizona Daily Star today contains an article that begins, "William Rehnquist was an unconventional man who directed a monumental shift in how constitutional matters are decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, current Chief Justice John Roberts said during a public lecture on Wednesday. Speaking at the University of Arizona's law school as part of an annual series honoring Rehnquist, Roberts said the man who once missed a State of the Union address to attend a YMCA watercolor class pushed the court away from policy-driven reasoning." And The Associated Press reports that "Head of Supreme Court worries about 'partisanship.'" As I noted in this post yesterday, you can view the Chief Justice's lecture by clicking here (Windows Media Player required). Wednesday, February 4, 2009 "Obama's Prisoner Dilemma: Reject Torture, Defend Torturers": David Kravets has this post at Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog. Posted at 07:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Wide support for Al-Marri": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 07:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Bonds used 'the clear' in '03 season, feds say": Lance Williams and Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle have a news update that begins, "Former Giants slugger Barry Bonds used the BALCO designer steroid 'the clear' during the 2003 baseball season and also was taking a female fertility drug that can mask drug use on steroid tests, federal prosecutors say. Also in 2003, Bonds' trainer, Greg Anderson, was secretly tape-recorded describing the regimen of undetectable banned drugs that baseball's all-time homerun leader was using, federal prosecutors say." Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update headlined "Documents: Bonds tested positive for steroids three times in 2001 and 2002." And The New York Times has a news update headlined "Positive Drug Tests in Bonds Case." The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has posted online the documents unsealed today at this link. "Supreme Court chief justice praises Rehnquist at UA": The Associated Press provides this report. Earlier today, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. delivered the 3rd Rehnquist Center Lecture at the Rehnquist Center at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law. You can view the lecture online, on-demand by clicking here (Windows Media Player required). "Former Hawaii chief justice dies": The Honolulu Star-Bulletin provides this news update. Posted at 05:42 PM by Howard Bashman "How President Obama Can Set a Key Example, and Send an Important Message, By Filling the Nation's Most Protracted Judicial Vacancy": Carl Tobias has this essay online today at FindLaw. Posted at 04:38 PM by Howard Bashman "Leahy Coy on New 'Blue Slip' Policy": Keith Perine has this post at CQ Politics "Legal Beat" blog. According to the post, "There are 27 states with at least one Republican senator, and 14 of those states have two GOP senators. If Leahy decides not to observe the blue slip practice as scrupulously as he did for the last two years, there could be a dramatic impact, particularly on appellate courts." "Florida Student Asks Scalia a Question -- and Gets Scolded": Tony Mauro has this post today at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 01:50 PM by Howard Bashman Some sad news from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: According to an item on that court's home page, "Due to snowstorms, Chief Judge Paul Michel was prevented from traveling to Puerto Rico to deliver a scheduled speech to the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel on January 28, 2009." In happier news, the court has posted the prepared text of the speech online at this link. And in other tropics-related news, it appears that accepting a pro bono appointment from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit may, at least on rare occasion, result in a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands to argue the appeal. "We hold that it is within a district court's inherent power to exercise broad discretion in imposing sanctions based on spoliated evidence." So declares the unanimous en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in a three-page decision issued today. At issue in the case was whether state or federal law controls a federal court's imposition of sanctions as relief for spoliated evidence? Today's ruling holds that federal law controls, thereby overruling some earlier Sixth Circuit decisions. "US Chief Justice Roberts to speak at UA Wednesday": This article appeared last Friday in The Arizona Daily Star. Also last Friday, UA News reported that "U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will be at the UA for separate events on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4." The Chief Justice's remarks will begin today at 11 a.m. local time in Tucson, Arizona. As noted at this link, today he will be delivering the 3rd Rehnquist Center Lecture. The remarks will be televised live online via this link (Windows Media Player required) beginning at 10:50 a.m. local time and ending at noon local time. "Google Trades Blame with HLS": This article appears today in The Harvard Crimson. Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman "Revealed: Source of racial slur; Investigator used epithet in the Williams slay case." Today's edition of The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contains an article that begins, "A Supreme Court justice revealed yesterday that Bill Hunt, a former captain in the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office, was the investigator who used a racial epithet to describe Jayson Williams during a 2002 investigation of the fatal shooting at the former NBA star's home. It was the first time Hunt's name was publicly disclosed." Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court justice shows confidence, combativeness at West Palm Beach forum": The South Florida Sun-Sentinel today contains an article that begins, "In a room filled with some of Palm Beach County's most powerful people, it took a 20-year-old political science student to throw off U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Tuesday afternoon." And today's edition of The Palm Beach Post contains an article headlined "Scalia on 2000: 'Get over it.'" "The $100,000 punch in the nose": Today's edition of The Kennebec Journal contains an article that begins, "Publishing a notice about a lawsuit in the Lincoln County News met the letter of the law, but violated the due process rights of a former Colby College student who now lives in Massachusetts, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Tuesday. It means that the case in which a former Colby student won $100,000 in damages from a former classmate will start over again in Lincoln County." And The Associated Press reports that "Court casts doubt on legal notices; Maine justices toss $100k verdict." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine at this link. "The Supreme Court Restores Title VII's Protection Against Retaliation, but Employees Still Face Gaps in Retaliation Law": Joanna L. Grossman and Deborah Brake have this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman Tuesday, February 3, 2009 "State high court to hear Prop. 8 case March 5": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, "The state Supreme Court will hear arguments March 5 on the validity of Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage that California voters approved in November. The court said today that it would hold a three-hour hearing, from 9 a.m. to noon, at its chambers in San Francisco. The proceedings will also be televised statewide on the California Channel, the court said. A ruling is due within 90 days of the hearing." Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update headlined "California Supreme Court to hear gay marriage cases on March 5." And The Sacramento Bee has a news update headlined "Hearing set for Prop. 8 case." "Saudis Issue List of 85 Terrorism Suspects": Wednesday's edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, "Eleven Saudis who were released from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and then passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists are now believed to have fled the country and joined terrorist groups abroad, Saudi officials said Tuesday." Posted at 11:10 PM by Howard Bashman "The principal issue in this appeal is whether evidence of who the defendant is ('identity-related evidence'), obtained after an unconstitutional search and seizure, is suppressible in a criminal prosecution." A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit today answers "no" in an opinion that you can access here. Posted at 08:50 PM by Howard Bashman "Court dismisses fraud lawsuit over penis enlargement product," and -- exhibiting admirable restraint -- the "Drug and Device Law" blog reports on that appellate court decision without mentioning "penis enlargement": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger last week had this blog post and this article about the ruling. And the "Drug and Device Law" blog today features a post about the decision titled "Refunds and Ascertainable Loss." As the Star-Ledger's coverage reports and the court's ruling confirms, the case was brought by a plaintiff who was an attorney proceeding pro se. "Will New SG Lead to Sharp Turn at the Supreme Court? High court experts say Elena Kagan is unlikely to roll back government positions in cases already under way." law.com's Tony Mauro has this report. Posted at 08:15 PM by Howard Bashman "I Need a Hero: Seeking a bomb-throwing, passionate, visionary, liberal Scalia for a seat on the Supreme Court." Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 08:12 PM by Howard Bashman "How do U.S. Supreme Court justices time retirement? The answer may not be what you think." Marcia Coyle will have this article in next week's issue of The National Law Journal. The article focuses on a paper by professors Alan Rozzi and Terri L. Peretti titled "Modern Departures from the Supreme Court: Party, Pensions, or Power?" "MSU scholar says Indians face Supreme Court bias": The Michigan Messenger yesterday posted online this item about a paper titled "Factbound and Splitless: Certiorari and Indian Law" by law professor Matthew L.M. Fletcher. Posted at 01:28 PM by Howard Bashman "Landmark Jamaica Plain gay couple calls it quits": The Boston Herald today contains an article that begins, "The Jamaica Plain lesbians whose passionate love led to the groundbreaking legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts have called it quits and filed for divorce, the Herald has learned. But one-time international gay icons Hillary and Julie Goodridge, who share custody of their 12-year-old daughter, Annie, are less eager to be poster partners for gay divorce. Their case, filed Thursday in Suffolk Probate and Family Court, is impounded." Posted at 01:25 PM by Howard Bashman "The Tide Shifts Against the Death Penalty": This article was posted online today at Time magazine's web site. And Agence France-Presse reports that "Anti-death penalty lobby hopes for discreet Obama support." "Judge Smith gets a hat tip from high court": Today in The Providence (R.I.) Journal, columnist Edward Fitzpatrick has an essay that begins, "It's not every day a local judge gets a shout-out from the Supreme Court of the United States." Posted at 01:22 PM by Howard Bashman "Attorney General Holder: Hold Bush administration accountable." Justice Richard B. Sanders of the Supreme Court of Washington State has this op-ed today in The Seattle Times. Posted at 01:20 PM by Howard Bashman "Indecent exposure trial is ordered; A Tulsa County district judge faces a felony count": This article appears today in The Tulsa World. Posted at 01:17 PM by Howard Bashman "Trial opens in Fla. widow's tobacco lawsuit": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 09:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Polanski must appear in L.A. court to seek dismissal of charge; Appellate panel rejects a bid by the filmmaker's lawyers to disqualify all 600 L.A. County Superior Court judges from hearing his request to dismiss a 1977 statutory rape charge": This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. And The Associated Press reports that "Court rejects Polanski bid to disqualify LA judges." "Ruling lets some felons seek reduced terms": Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "A state Supreme Court ruling Monday allows hundreds of California prisoners to seek reductions in sentences that judges imposed without jury findings, but recent legislation makes it unlikely that many of them will get a break. The court said inmates sentenced since March 2004 are covered by a later U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found California's sentencing law violated the constitutional right to a jury trial." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link. "Fla. Bar Joins Fight Against State's Ban on Adoptions by Gays": law.com provides a report that begins, "The Florida Bar is coming out in a big way -- for gay adoption. The Bar's board of governors voted unanimously to file an amicus brief before the 3rd District Court of Appeal supporting a Miami-Dade circuit judge's ruling that declared unconstitutional the state's ban on gay adoptions." Posted at 08:47 AM by Howard Bashman "Holder Confirmed As the First Black Attorney General; Nominee Overcame Objections in GOP": This article appears today in The Washington Post. The Washington Times reports today that "Holder confirmed; GOP refocuses on Daschle; Obama has 1st black attorney general." Joe Palazzolo of Legal Times reports that "Eric Holder Confirmed as Attorney General." James Rowley of Bloomberg News reports that "Holder to Take Over at Justice Department and Make 'History.'" And The Associated Press reports that "Holder expected to review, change Bush policies." "Detainee-Informer Presents Quandary for Government": The Washington Post today contains a front page article that begins, "An admitted Taliban fighter being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, fingered a fellow detainee for meeting regularly with Osama bin Laden." Posted at 08:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Justice steps aside in Massey; Benjamin will not participate until U.S. Supreme Court rules": The Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette today contains an article that begins, "State Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Benjamin will not participate in cases involving Massey Energy until the U.S. Supreme Court rules whether Benjamin should have recused himself from an earlier Massey-related case. Benjamin is also removing himself from any workers' compensation appeals filed by Massey employees, according to a written statement he filed with the court on Friday." Update: In addition, The West Virginia Record reports that "Benjamin recuses himself from Massey cases." Justice Benjamin's recusal statement can be viewed at this link. "Widow of S.I. Ferry Victim Is Not Eligible for Residency, Court Rules": This article appears today in The New York Times. You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. "Defining 'Cruel and Unusual' When Offender Is 13": Adam Liptak has this installment of his "Sidebar" column today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Irving Feiner, 84, Central Figure in Constitutional Free-Speech Case, Is Dead": This obituary appears today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:12 AM by Howard Bashman "Congress's Phony War on Torture: Why not ban waterboarding once and for all?" Columnist William McGurn has this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 08:03 AM by Howard Bashman "Some call for Bush administration trials; Want ex-leader accountable on Iraq war": This article appears today in The Boston Globe. Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman "Will the US adjust life at Guantanamo for detainees? More access by Red Cross workers is likely, but legal analysts are split on whether the prison camp will be less punitive after an Obama-ordered review." Warren Richey has this article today in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 07:42 AM by Howard Bashman Monday, February 2, 2009 "This appeal presents the question whether the crime of mail fraud * * * requires proof that the scheme be capable of deceiving a reasonably prudent person or whether schemes aimed at the gullible or improvident are also prohibited." So begins Circuit Judge William H. Pryor, Jr.'s majority opinion, which the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today. In news coverage of the ruling, The AP reports that "2 lose appeal in Florida insurance scam." "Senate confirms Holder as first black AG": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 07:12 PM by Howard Bashman The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "WVa justice bows out of Massey cases amid scrutiny" and "Holder debate turns partisan." Posted at 05:35 PM by Howard Bashman "Kagan Joins Supreme Court Bar": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 05:30 PM by Howard Bashman "Holder set for Senate confirmation as AG": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 03:20 PM by Howard Bashman "John Yoo, War Criminal? The chances that the notorious UC Berkeley law professor will be investigated for war crimes appear to have increased in recent weeks." The current issue of East Bay Express contains this article. Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Ruling did not vindicate Bush's wiretapping: A FISA court decision upheld an act of Congress that put limits on the former president's surveillance program." This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:27 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge Kent gets negative info sealed": Mary Flood of The Houston Chronicle has this post at her "Legal Trade" blog (via "LawBeat"). Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Appeals court rules that owners can shoot their dogs, cats; It's second time in a year that Carbon woman has received a favorable ruling": Yesterday's edition of The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania contained an article that begins, "A Pennsylvania law regulating animal cruelty is so confusing and ambiguous that owners cannot be prosecuted for shooting and killing their dogs or cats, a state appeals court ruled Friday. The Superior Court overturned the conviction of a Carbon County woman on conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals in the 2006 shooting of her 6-year-old pit bull-chow mix, Bouta." You can access last Friday's ruling of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania at this link. "Justice Dept. Under Obama Is Preparing for Doctrinal Shift in Policies of Bush Years": Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times. Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman "Student's Free Speech Case May Lead To Legislation": Yesterday's edition of The Hartford Courant contained an article that begins, "In his ruling on a pioneering Internet free speech case last month, U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz offered something of a plea to higher courts: Revisit the boundaries of free speech for students." You can access the ruling at this link. Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer is reporting: An article reports that "3rd Circuit Revives Fraud Suit Against Pfizer; Appeals court finds that district court judge imposed too strict a test in dismissing suit on statute-of-limitation grounds." You can access last Friday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. And in other news, "O'Connor: Puerto Rico Conviction Basis for Gun Possession Charge." You can access last Thursday's ruling at this link. "The Supreme Court's Grant of Review in Redding v. Safford -- a Fourth Amendment Case Involving a Search of a Middle-School Student for Drugs: A Chance for the Court to Show Reasonableness Review Has Teeth." Vikram David Amar has this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 07:35 AM by Howard Bashman Sunday, February 1, 2009 "Does The Ledbetter Law Benefit Workers, Or Lawyers? Democrats and the media have distorted the facts underlying the new equal-pay law." Stuart Taylor Jr. has this essay online at National Journal. Posted at 08:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Forcing out judges at 70 'threatens supreme court'": Monday's edition of The Times of London will contain an article that begins, "Judges are pressing for a change in the law to allow the most senior members of their profession to remain in their posts beyond the age of 70." Posted at 05:58 PM by Howard Bashman "Alabama high court race again garners most expensive pricetag in U.S.; Ads help raise total to $5.3 million": This article appeared yesterday in The Birmingham News. Posted at 05:55 PM by Howard Bashman "Court considers Williams case racial slur; Justices will decide if information should be released to defense": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins, "The state Supreme Court on Tuesday will consider whether information about a racial slur an officer used to describe former New Jersey Net Jayson Williams should be released to his lawyers as they prepare for his upcoming retrial on reckless manslaughter charges. In a case that has drawn the attention of criminal defense lawyers, the justices will try to sort out whether all evidence in the hands of prosecutors must be revealed to the defense." Posted at 10:37 AM by Howard Bashman "Court to hear Minor appeal in March; Former lawyer's attorneys are trying to get him released": Yesterday in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi, Jerry Mitchell had an article that begins, "Attorneys for jailed former Mississippi trial lawyer Paul Minor say they hope to make a case for gaining his release on bond when they argue their points before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in two months." Posted at 10:35 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge's ban on reporter expected to reach top court": The Toronto Globe and Mail yesterday contained an article that begins, "The Quebec Court of Appeal has refused to remove a judicial gag on a Globe and Mail reporter who exposed the sponsorship scandal. The ruling sets the stage for a Supreme Court challenge that may test a judge's right to control the news and a reporter's right to protect a source." Posted at 10:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama, Chief Justice Roberts Prepare to Face Off on Judicial Cases; The ideological differences between the president and Chief Justice Roberts are certain to throw them on opposite sides of the courtroom this year on cases covering national security and affirmative action": Stephen Clark has this article online at FOXNews.com. Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Alito urges public service by lawyers": The Charlottesville Daily Progress contains this article today. CBS 19 News reports that "Justice Samuel Alito Speaks About Public Service at UVa." And The Associated Press provides a report headlined "Justice Alito: Students should do public service." You can learn more about yesterday's event via this link. By the way, yesterday was the third anniversary of Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.'s confirmation to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Three years ago today, I had this post collecting news coverage of the confirmation and swearing-in. "Hawaiians hold their breath as high court takes up case": This article appears today in The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Posted at 10:05 AM by Howard Bashman "In Senate trial, Coleman turns to Bush v. Gore": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:03 AM by Howard Bashman "To Nudge, Shift or Shove the Supreme Court Left": Adam Liptak has this article today in the Week in Review section of The New York Times. Posted at 09:54 AM by Howard Bashman Saturday, January 31, 2009 "Candidates -- at least 7 so far -- line up for job of R.I. chief justice": The Providence (R.I.) Journal contains this article today. Posted at 11:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama preserves renditions as counter-terrorism tool; The role of the CIA's controversial prisoner-transfer program may expand, intelligence experts say": This article will appear Sunday in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 11:40 PM by Howard Bashman "Court sides with Missouri school in rebel flag dispute": The Associated Press provides this report. My earlier coverage of yesterday's Eighth Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Suits Saying Pfizer Experimented on Nigerian Children Are Revived": This article appears today in The Washington Post. BBC News reports that "Nigerians can sue US drugs firm; Nigerian families can sue the Pfizer drugs giant in the US over its alleged role in the deaths of children, a US appeals court has ruled." And law.com reports that "Split 2nd Circuit Revives Nigerian Families' Claims Against Pfizer Over Drug Tests; Majority calls dissent's approach to 'customary' international law 'unselfconsciously reactionary and static.'" My earlier coverage of yesterday's Second Circuit ruling appears at this link. "Supreme Court Steps Closer to Repeal of Evidence Ruling": Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak has this front page article about the exclusionary rule. Posted at 08:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama's half brother arrested on charge of marijuana possession": CNN.com provides this report. Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman Friday, January 30, 2009 "Florida Democratic Primary Lawsuit Hits Appeals Court": On January 8, 2009, Tampa Bay Online published an article that begins, "A Tampa political consultant continued his challenge today to the way the national Democratic Party penalized Florida for holding its primary earlier than the party wanted." Today, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a decision that dismissed the case as moot. "I do not read Griffin and Kyllo as categorically holding that the probable cause required to obtain a warrant for criminal investigative purposes can never be 'context dependent,' that is, affected by the nature of the property to be searched, the manner of search, and the intrusiveness the search will entail." The concurrence to an en banc ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued today in a thermal imaging search warrant case addresses the interesting question "whether the probable cause required to obtain a warrant may ever vary based on the nature of the property being searched, the purpose of the search, and the extent of the physical intrusion into the home that the search will entail." This afternoon at "The Volokh Conspiracy," Orin Kerr has this post about the en banc ruling and the concurring opinion that I have noted above. "Justice appeals hefty fine from Ethics Commission": The Houston Chronicle today contains an article that begins, "Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht is appealing the $29,000 fine imposed last month by the Texas Ethics Commission for accepting and failing to report discounted legal fees." Posted at 01:52 PM by Howard Bashman "New test of fair trial rights": At "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, "A high-profile U.S. criminal prosecution of intelligence agents of the Cuban government, at a trial in the midst of the large community of Cuban-Americans in Miami, reached the Supreme Court on Friday as the center of a broad new test of the right to a fair trial." Posted at 01:45 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. court reinstates Nigerian lawsuits vs Pfizer": Reuters provides this report. The Associated Press reports that "Federal appeals court restores case against Pfizer." And in December 2008, Forbes magazine published an article headlined "Pfizer's Nigerian Nightmare: After years of legal maneuvering, Pfizer may soon face its Nigerian guinea pigs in court." My earlier coverage of today's Second Circuit ruling can be accessed here. "Cancel Water-Boarding 101: The military should close its torture school; I know because I graduated from it." David J. Morris has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate. Posted at 01:33 PM by Howard Bashman Eighth Circuit holds that a school district in Missouri did not violate the First Amendment rights of students who were sent home for refusing to remove items of clothing depicting the Confederate flag: According to today's ruling: Schools may act proactively to prohibit race-related violence or even excessive racial tension that forces unnecessary departures of minority students from the school. Based on the evidence in the record, the school's ban on the flag was reasonably related to a substantial disruption, did not amount to viewpoint discrimination, and did not violate the First Amendment. Therefore, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment.You can access the complete ruling at this link. Posted at 12:25 PM by Howard Bashman Second Circuit reinstates lawsuit brought by Nigerian children alleging that Pfizer violated an international law norm prohibiting involuntary medical experimentation on humans when it tested an experimental antibiotic on children in Nigeria without their consent or knowledge: You can access today's ruling by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link. Plaintiffs brought suit under the Alien Tort Statute. According to the majority opinion, "the district court incorrectly determined that the prohibition in customary international law against nonconsensual human medical experimentation cannot be enforced through the ATS." In is dissenting opinion, Circuit Judge Richard C. Wesley writes, "I conclude that non-consensual medical experimentation by private actors, though deplorable, is not actionable under international law and would therefore affirm the district court's dismissal of Plaintiffs' complaints." In related news, earlier this week, Dow Jones Newswires reported that "Pfizer Drug Trial Case In Nigeria To Restart Feb 25." And previously, BBC News reported that "Nigeria sues drugs giant Pfizer; Nigeria has filed charges against the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, accusing it of carrying out improper trials for an anti-meningitis drug" and "Nigerians sue Pfizer over test deaths." "We therefore hold that the class action waiver in the Card Acceptance Agreement cannot be enforced in this case because to do so would grant Amex de facto immunity from antitrust liability by removing the plaintiffs' only reasonably feasible means of recovery." So holds a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a ruling issued today in a case captioned In re: American Express Merchants' Litigation. Posted at 12:00 PM by Howard Bashman "Solicitor general flimflam: Elena Kagan is anti-military zealot." Flagg K. Youngblood has this op-ed today in The Washington Times. Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama's choice for Justice post is Bush critic; Dawn Johnsen, an IU law professor, is awaiting Senate approval": This article appears today in The Indianapolis Star. Posted at 11:42 AM by Howard Bashman "Nesson-RIAA Legal Standoff Continues": The Harvard Crimson today contains an article that begins, "A legal battle pitting a Harvard Law School professor against a major music industry organization came to yet another standstill last week as the two sides disagreed over the parameters of a hearing originally scheduled to take place last week." And The Associated Press reports that "AP, news groups urge court webcast in music case." You can access the amicus brief at this link (via "Copyrights & Campaigns," whose author has joined in a separate amicus brief filed in the case). "State's top court backs governments on injury lawsuits; Actions must be 'palpably unreasonable'": The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins, "In an opinion affirming the principle of government immunity, the state Supreme Court yesterday ruled that people injured on public property are entitled to damages only if the government entity acted in a 'palpably unreasonable' way to create a dangerous condition." You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link. "Restoring order at the Justice Department": Donald K. Stern has this op-ed today in The Boston Globe. And today in The Christian Science Monitor, Nick Robinson has an op-ed entitled "Elect, don't appoint, the US attorney general; It's the AG's job to enforce the law, so it's a conflict of interest to have him appointed by the president." "Wecht case back in court but with new judge": Paula Reed Ward has this article today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Jason Cato reports that "Wecht's lawyers push dismissal." "Guantanamo judge defies Obama's order for freeze; An Army judge at Guantanamo has ignored a White House request for a 120-day war court freeze and ordered a Feb. 9 arraignment of an al Qaeda suspect": Carol Rosenberg has this article today in The Miami Herald. The newspaper has posted the judge's ruling online at this link. Today in The Los Angeles Times, Carol J. Williams reports that "Guantanamo judge defies Obama; Army Col. James L. Pohl rejects the president's request to stop proceedings at the military tribunal; He says the proposal is 'not reasonable.'" The New York Times reports that "Judge Refuses to Delay a Case at Guantanamo." And The Washington Post reports that "Guantanamo Judge Denies Obama's Request for Delay." "Prop. 8 campaign can't hide donors' names": Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. And The Sacramento Bee reports today that "Judge rejects bid to keep names of anti-gay marriage initiative backers secret." "HLS Receives $10M Donation": Today's edition of The Harvard Crimson contains an article that begins, "Harvard Law School announced Wednesday that it has received an anonymous donation of $10 million in honor of Professor Laurence H. Tribe '62, to fund research and a faculty chair in his name." Posted at 09:02 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation": The New York Times contains this article today. USA Today reports that "President touts equal-pay bill at first signing." And The Washington Post contains an article headlined "A Signature With the First Lady's Hand in It." "Obama Stocks White House With Prominent Lawyers": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:47 AM by Howard Bashman "Workers Who Speak Out": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "The Supreme Court issued a strong ruling this week in favor of employees who are retaliated against for complaining about being harassed." And The Washington Post today contains an editorial entitled "A Blow for Common Sense: Protecting those who speak out against sexual harassment in the workplace." "A Steppingstone for Law's Best and Brightest": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "When a longtime federal prosecutor, Cathy Seibel, was sworn in as a federal judge last month, the onlookers included many former colleagues from the office of the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, in Manhattan, some of whom had gone on to become law professors, defense lawyers and judges themselves." Posted at 08:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge rules R.I. law restricting billboards unconstitutional": Today in The Providence (R.I.) Journal, Katie Mulvaney has an article that begins, "In a decision sprinkled with music references, and including links to YouTube, a federal judge has ruled unconstitutional a state law that restricts the content of billboards near highways." I have posted online at this link Wednesday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. "Economy Pinches the Billable Hour at Law Firms": Jonathan D. Glater has this article today in The New York Times. Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Finnegan Henderson Attorney Pitches Key Patent Case to High Court": law.com provides this report. Posted at 08:15 AM by Howard Bashman "Medical marijuana raid raises question: What's Obama policy?" Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has this report. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman "How President Obama's Agenda Parallels That of Chief Justice Roberts: Both Seek to Change the Nature and Tone of Decisionmaking, But Will Each Succeed?" Edward Lazarus has this essay online at FindLaw. Posted at 07:54 AM by Howard Bashman "Roberts, Obama, and the myth of the 'split verb'; An errant adverb on the Capitol steps makes news": Ruth Walker has this op-ed today in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 07:50 AM by Howard Bashman Thursday, January 29, 2009 "Senate set to confirm Holder as AG on Monday": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 04:32 PM by Howard Bashman "Obama Signs First Piece of Legislation Into Law; Lilly Ledbetter Act Makes It Easier for Workers to Sue for Pay Discrimination": The Washington Post has this news update. The New York Times has a news update headlined "Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation." And The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined "Michelle Obama salutes Lilly Ledbetter at White House; The first lady, making her first public appearance since the inaugural, hosts a White House reception in honor of Ledbetter, who inspired a new law aimed at ensuring equal pay for women." In today's mail: Jeff Benedict's new book, "Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage; One Woman's Historic Battle Against Eminent Domain." As I noted in this earlier post, on Monday of this week, The Wall Street Journal published Melanie Kirkpatrick's review of the book headlined "Evicted, But Not Without a Fight: The government took her home; The Supreme Court approved." "Supreme Court's Hecht appeals ethics fine": Chuck Lindell has this post at the "Austin Legal" blog of The Austin American-Statesman. Posted at 01:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Learned in the Law": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 11:45 AM by Howard Bashman No judicial review is available for the People of Bikini, Federal Circuit rules: You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in The People of Bikini v. United States at this link. Posted at 11:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama touts equal-pay bill at signing ceremony": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:31 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama To Sign Fair Pay Legislation": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 09:14 AM by Howard Bashman "Fired worker's suit tests Florida's concealed-gun law; A Boca Raton man claims he was fired in violation of Florida law for keeping a gun in his car while at work": This article appears today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 09:05 AM by Howard Bashman "Benjamin should stay on case, Massey argues": Today's edition of The Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette contains an article that begins, "Forcing a justice to step aside from a case because there is a 'probability of bias' because of a possible 'debt of gratitude' would create an unworkable recusal standard, Massey Energy Co. argued in a brief filed Wednesday with the U.S. Supreme Court." Last night, I linked to that brief in this post. And the web site Knowledge@W.P. Carey has posted online an item headlined "Sandra Day O'Connor: Where Judges Can Be Bought and Sold." "Former cheerleader leaving college after high court decision": The La Crosse Tribune contains this article today. Posted at 08:45 AM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Can Continue Yemeni's Detention": This article appears today in The Washington Post. You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia at this link. Today in The Wall Street Journal, John Yoo has an op-ed entitled "Obama Made a Rash Decision on Gitmo: The president will soon realize that governing involves hard choices." In The New York Times, columnist Nicholas D. Kristof has an op-ed entitled "Putting Torture Behind Us." And in The Boston Globe, Richard Clarke has an op-ed entitled "The confusion over renditions." "Firefighters' case deemed 'quite unusual'": The Yale Daily News today contains an article that begins, "Stereotypically, lawyers rarely agree. But, according to four law school professors, the Supreme Court case Ricci v. DeStefano is quite unusual." Posted at 08:32 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama set to sign equal-pay bill": The Associated Press provides this report. And today in The New York Times, columnist Gail Collins has an op-ed entitled "Lilly's Big Day." "Panel Backs Justice Dept. Nominee": Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times. The Los Angeles Times today contains an editorial entitled "Holder passes the test: Atty. Gen.-nominee Eric Holder deserved a Senate panel's grilling; his record shows he deserves to be attorney." And at Politico.com, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has an essay entitled "Why Holder is right for Justice." "First of 8,000 antitobacco suits to go to trial in Florida; Once part of a huge class action lawsuit, plaintiffs are now waging fights one at a time": This article appears today in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Legal System Struggles With How to React When Police Officers Lie": Amir Efrati has this article today in The Wall Street Journal. Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman Wednesday, January 28, 2009 "Will Padilla's case be heard? The Justice Department says a victory by the convicted terrorist would harm national security." Warren Richey will have this article Thursday in The Christian Science Monitor. Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. high court asked to take up Bilski patent case": Reuters provides a report that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to review a decision in a patent case which put a question mark over the ability to patent such things as software and financial strategies." And at "SCOTUSblog," Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Major new case on patent rights." You can access the petition for writ of certiorari at this link. "High Court Justices Protect Workers From Retaliation in Job Bias Investigations": Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal has this report. Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman "Eroding the Exclusionary Rule: Why the Supreme Court got it wrong in Herring v. United States." Radley Balko has this essay online today at Reason. Posted at 10:52 PM by Howard Bashman "Scalia speaks on digital privacy at NYC conference": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman The Brief for Respondent was filed today in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal, No. 08-22: You can access the Brief for Respondent at this link. In addition, yesterday I linked here to an article forthcoming in the February 2009 issue of ABA Journal magazine headlined "Caperton's Coal: The battle over an Appalachian mine exposes a nasty vein in bench politics." Today, attorney Andrew L. Frey, counsel of record in the Supreme Court for the Massey parties, sent this letter to the editor and publisher of the ABA Journal to seek the correction of what Frey described as "certain striking errors in the story." Finally, The Associated Press on Monday had a report headlined "Benjamin expected to hear Massey appeal" that begins, "West Virginia Chief Justice Brent Benjamin is participating in another appeal involving Massey Energy even as the U.S. Supreme Court reviews his participation in a case involving the coal company." On this evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered": The broadcast contained audio segments entitled "Gitmo's 'Dangerous Detainees' Pose Vexing Problem" and "Can Gitmo's Jihadists Be Rehabilitated?" (RealPlayer required). Posted at 06:08 PM by Howard Bashman "Congress overturns Court on job bias": Lyle Denniston has this post at "SCOTUSblog." Posted at 06:04 PM by Howard Bashman "DOJ wants delay on detainee question": At Politico.com, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, "President Obama's Justice Department is asking a federal judge for at least two more weeks to answer the thorny question of who is and who isn't an 'enemy combatant.'" Posted at 02:33 PM by Howard Bashman "Ninth Circuit Denies En Banc Review in Text Message Privacy Case": Steven M. Ellis of Metropolitan News-Enterprise has an article that begins, "The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, over the dissent of seven of its judges, yesterday declined to review en banc a ruling that the Ontario Police Department violated an employee's right to privacy when supervisors examined the contents of text messages sent on department pagers. A panel of the court ruled in June that the department violated the Fourth Amendment rights of Sgt. Jeff Quon and three others to whom he sent text messages when the department obtained transcripts from the service provider and examined the messages' contents to determine whether a monthly overage charge resulted from personal use." In addition to yesterday's order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denying rehearnig en banc, you can also access online Circuit Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw's opinion concurring in the denial of rehearing en banc, and Circuit Judge Sandra S. Ikuta's opinion dissenting from the denial of rehearing en banc. A total of seven judges noted their dissent from the denial of rehearing en banc. Judge Wardlaw's concurring opinion begins, "No poet ever interpreted nature as freely as Judge Ikuta interprets the record on this appeal. The dissent is not bound by the facts, even those found by the jury; nor is it confined to the actual fact-driven Fourth Amendment holding." "Senate committee OKs Holder for attorney general": The Associated Press provides this report. And at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post titled "Judiciary Committee Sends Holder's Nomination to the Senate." And the award for being the first U.S. Court of Appeals to recognize in a precedential opinion that Mark R. Filip is now the Acting U.S. Attorney General goes to: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in this opinion issued on Monday. Posted at 11:23 AM by Howard Bashman New York State's statutory ban on the possession of nunchucks does not violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, the Second Circuit holds: According to today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the plaintiff argued that "New York's statutory ban on the possession of nunchakus violates (1) the Second Amendment because it infringes on his right to keep and bear arms, and (2) the Fourteenth Amendment because it lacks a rational basis." The Second Circuit finds merit in neither argument. With regard to the Second Amendment, today's ruling notes that "It is settled law, however, that the Second Amendment applies only to limitations the federal government seeks to impose" on the right of the people to keep and bear arms. "Eight Former SGs Endorse Kagan": Tony Mauro has this post at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times." Posted at 10:36 AM by Howard Bashman "Court: Nurses on strike deserve benefits; Employees in Willingboro were entitled to collect unemployment." This article appears today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link. "Holder confirmation won't end torture questions": The Associated Press provides this report. At "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," David Ingram has a post titled "Specter Says He Will Vote for Holder." The Los Angeles Times today contains an editorial entitled "Cornyn's outrageous confirmation demand: The GOP senator defies legal ethics by demanding that the attorney general nominee vow to not pursue any torture prosecutions." And The New York Times today contains an editorial entitled "Alberto Gonzales, the Sequel." You can access my recent related coverage at this link. "Mother's violent porn ban now law; A law banning violent online porn has come into force following a campaign by a mother whose daughter was murdered": BBC News provided this report on Monday. And Monday's edition of The Guardian (UK) contained an article headlined "Police will not target offenders against law on violent porn; New ban expected to bring just 30 prosecutions a year; Women's groups worried by lack of active approach." "Democrats Overturn Barrier to Unequal-Pay Suits": This article appears today in The Washington Post. Today's edition of The New York Times reports that "Congress Relaxes Rules on Suits Over Pay Inequity." The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled "Progress on Fair Pay." "Hang Him Up? The Bad Judge and His Image." The New York Times today contains this front page article about the portrait of Martin T. Manton, a Second Circuit judge who was found guilty of corruption and resigned from the bench in 1939. You can learn more about Manton from The New York Times via this link and from Time magazine here and here. "Ban on jobs for those who don't register for draft invalidated; Judge backs 4 who were fired": Today in The Boston Globe, Jonathan Saltzman has an article that begins, "A federal judge in Boston has declared unconstitutional a 1985 law that bars people from most federal employment if they knowingly fail to register for the draft. US District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock, siding with four men fired by the federal government for failing to register years earlier, said the law violates a constitutional provision that bars the legislative branch from punishing people without a trial." You can access at this link yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. "School can expel lesbian students, court rules; An appeals panel finds California Lutheran High School in Riverside County is not a business and therefore doesn't have to comply with a state law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that "Court says private school can expel lesbians." And The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, California reports that "Appeal over expulsions from Lutheran school in Wildomar denied." You can access Monday's ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, Division Two, at this link. According to the court's opinion, the school learned of these students' sexual orientation via their MySpace pages. "Bilski Heads to the Supreme Court": This morning at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times," Tony Mauro has a post that begins, "The long-anticipated petition appealing the landmark Bilski decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is being filed at the Supreme Court today, setting the stage for a showdown over whether so-called 'business methods' -- processes and procedures, not widgets -- are patentable." Posted at 09:03 AM by Howard Bashman "Obama lawyers set to defend Yoo": At Politico.com, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, "In Democratic legal circles, no attorney has been more pilloried than former Bush Justice Department official John Yoo, chief author of the so-called torture memos that Barack Obama last week sought to nullify. But now President Obama's incoming crew of lawyers has a new and somewhat awkward job: defending Yoo in federal court." Posted at 08:57 AM by Howard Bashman "ACLU tests Obama with request for secret Bush-era memos": Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers has an article that begins, "Dozens of secret documents justifying the Bush administration's spying and interrogation programs could see the light of day because of a new presidential directive. The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Obama administration on Wednesday to release Justice Department memos that provided the legal underpinning for harsh interrogations, eavesdropping and secret prisons." Today, the ACLU has issued a news release headlined "ACLU Calls On Justice Department To Release Bush Administration Torture And Surveillance Memos; Releasing Secret Legal Opinions Will Help Turn Page On Lawless Era, Group Says." And you can access at this link today's letter from the ACLU to the head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel. "Biden apologizes to Roberts": Pete Williams and Antoine Sanfuentes have this report at MSNBC.com. NBCWashington.com provides a report headlined "No Oath Flub for Roberts This Week." In related news, The Associated Press provides a report headlined "New Smithsonian chief formally takes job" that begins, "Chief Justice John Roberts didn't have to worry about stumbling over an oath of office for the new Smithsonian chief Monday -- all he had to do this time was hand over a key." Yesterday, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. celebrated his 54th birthday. David Letterman, on his monologue during last night's broadcast of the CBS program "Late Show with David Letterman," noted the Chief Justice's birthday by remarking that, at his office's birthday party yesterday, Roberts "screwed up the words to Happy Birthday." Tuesday, January 27, 2009 "Ruling redefines police pat-downs; U.S. Supreme Court reverses '07 decision in Arizona case": This article appears today in The Arizona Republic. And today in The Arizona Daily Star, Howard Fischer reports that "Passenger pat-down ruled legal; US justices back '02 search that led to gun arrest here." If you are charged with this crime, you shall be guilty of a misdemeanor: A law phrased in those terms does not violate due process because it will not be enforced as written, the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled yesterday in an opinion that you can access here. In news coverage of the ruling, Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports today that "Court upholds marijuana law." "Supreme Court argument to be first for state's AG; Justices agree to hear case on police interrogation": The Maryland Daily Record provides this report. Posted at 11:25 PM by Howard Bashman "Supreme Court to hear Mohawk employee case; Firing, papers led to appeal": This article appears today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Posted at 09:10 PM by Howard Bashman Robert Barnes of The Washington Post chats about the U.S. Supreme Court, politics, and "two of the smartest guys who watch the court closely." The transcript of his chat, which occurred earlier today at washingtonpost.com, can be accessed here. Posted at 09:07 PM by Howard Bashman In the February 2009 issue of ABA Journal magazine: David G. Savage will have an article headlined "A Torturous Process: Tort suits prove inadequate to challenge anti-terror policies." And John Gibeaut will have an article headlined "Caperton's Coal: The battle over an Appalachian mine exposes a nasty vein in bench politics." "Scalia judges moot court competition": This article appeared yesterday in The GW Hatchet. As Orin Kerr noted yesterday evening at "The Volokh Conspiracy," C-SPAN has posted online the video of the moot court competition. Serving as judges for the competition's final round were Justice Antonin Scalia, Ninth Circuit Judge Marsha S. Berzon, and Sixth Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton. "4th Amendment ruling could influence First Amendment law": David L. Hudson Jr. has this essay online at the First Amendment Center. Posted at 02:15 PM by Howard Bashman "'Skank' update: hearing on discovery motion 'adjourned' until Feb. 23." Ben Sheffner has this post at his "Copyrights & Campaigns" blog. Posted at 02:14 PM by Howard Bashman "[T]his case presents the novel issue of the extent to which a business employee may have standing to challenge a search of business premises generally." An opinion that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today begins, "We must decide whether corporate executives may challenge a police search of company premises not reserved for the executives' exclusive use." Posted at 02:04 PM by Howard Bashman "Cheerleading is a contact sport, Wis. court rules": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "High school cheerleading is a contact sport and therefore its participants cannot be sued for accidentally causing injuries, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a case being closely watched in the cheerleading world." You can access today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin at this link. Arkansas inmate of the Wiccan faith loses appeal seeking freer access to tarot cards: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued this ruling today. The Eighth Circuit thus begins 2009 as a hotbed of Wiccan-related RLUIPA appellate litigation. "Congress ready to send fair pay bill to Obama": The Associated Press provides this report. Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman "Pa. Justices: OK to Execute 'Mentally Deficient' People." Today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer contains an article that begins, "In a decision that may prove to be a lightning rod in the debate over Pennsylvania's use of the death penalty, the state Supreme Court has ruled that any criminal defendant with mental impairments, short of being legally defined as 'mentally retarded,' can be executed for capital offenses." Last Friday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consists of a majority opinion and a concurring and dissenting opinion. "Obama Administration Poised To Pick U.S. Attorneys": This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Morning Edition." Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman "Moussaoui's Attorneys Call Guilty Plea Invalid": Jerry Markon has this article today in The Washington Post. And today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Frank Green reports that "Lawyers say plea was invalid." "Supreme Court to rule on lawyer requests; U.S. Supreme Court to rule how long counsel requests lasts": The Baltimore Sun today contains an article that begins, "The U.S. Supreme Court agreed yesterday to consider how long a criminal suspect's request for counsel during questioning can stand after a Maryland court ruled that years could pass." Posted at 09:00 AM by Howard Bashman "11th Circuit Rejects Flag Pledge Case": Today in the Fulton County Daily Report, Jonathan Ringel has an article that begins, "The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday said it would not revisit last year's ruling that upheld a Florida school policy requiring students to get a parent's permission to avoid having to recite the Pledge of Allegiance." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Eleventh Circuit order appears at this link. "Supreme Court rejects suit in Long Beach case; The decision, in a case where a man was wrongfully convicted of murder, broadens protections for district attorneys and other chief prosecutors": David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. Posted at 08:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Reclaiming Justice: Barack Obama's key legal picks signal a return to balance between security and the rule of law." This editorial appears today in The Washington Post. Posted at 08:40 AM by Howard Bashman "Law school clinic wins case": The Yale Daily News today contains an article that begins, "Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court handed the Yale Law School's Supreme Court Clinic its first victory." Posted at 08:33 AM by Howard Bashman "Afghan Prison Poses Problem in Overhaul of Detainee Policy": This article appears today in The New York Times. The Washington Post reports today that "E.U. Willing to Help U.S. on Guantanamo; But Many Nations Are Wary About Taking Inmates." In addition, columnist Richard Cohen has an op-ed entitled "Torture? Prosecute Us, Too." Yesterday's broadcast of NPR's "Talk of the Nation" contained an audio segment entitled "Where Will The Detainees Go After Guantanamo?" Today in The Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens has an op-ed entitled "Guantanamo Is No Blot on U.S. Honor: The president still hasn't said where to hold the worst of the worst." And in The Boston Globe, Eric Fehrnstrom has an op-ed entitled "Guantanamo: A symbol of US resolve." The Hartford Courant is reporting: Today's newspaper contains articles headlined "Starvation: Do Inmates Have The Right?"; "Judge Uses Vulgar Language As She Is Charged"; and "Teen Withdraws Motion Tied To Expulsion In Suit Vs. Miss Porter's School." Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman "Court Expands Ability to Sue in Sexual Harassment Investigations": Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. Today in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that "Justices Back Worker In Retaliation Case; Narrow View of Bias Law Rejected." In The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that "Supreme Court rules for worker in retaliation lawsuit; A schools employee was fired after answering questions in an internal sexual harassment investigation of supervisor; Justices said a lower court's ruling that only those filing complaints were protect." In The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin reports that "Justices Strengthen Position of Workers Who Oppose Bias." Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that "In boost for workers, high court affirms shield from employer retaliation; The justices rule that civil rights law protects a woman who was fired after answering questions in a harassment probe." law.com's Tony Mauro reports that "Supreme Court Justices Unanimous in Five Opinions." And yesterday evening's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" contained an audio segment entitled "Court Rules For Worker In Retaliation Case" (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg. "A Win for Free Speech Online": The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, "A 10-year campaign to censor the Internet ended last week when the Supreme Court refused to step in and save the Child Online Protection Act. Everyone can agree on the need to protect children from sexually explicit online material, but this misguided law tried to do it in ways that infringed on too much constitutionally protected free speech." Posted at 08:03 AM by Howard Bashman "SJC to hear appeal by ex-priest in abuse case; Lawyers challenge accuser's memory": The Boston Globe contains this article today. Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman "Judge chastises federal attorney; Says prosecutor failed to disclose crucial evidence": The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, "The chief judge of the US District Court in Massachusetts is threatening to sanction a federal prosecutor for what he characterized as the latest 'egregious failure' of the US attorney's office to disclose evidence that could have helped clear a defendant." Posted at 07:54 AM by Howard Bashman "When Did Barack Obama Officially Become Eligible to Act as President? What the Oath 'Do-Over' Reveals About Legal Interpretation." Michael C. Dorf has this essay online at FindLaw. And on last night's broadcast of the CBS program "Late Show with David Letterman," the host began his opening monologue by joking that "It's so cold outside that Justice Roberts screwed up while ordering chowder." Letterman also discussed the oath gaffe with his first guest, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. Monday, January 26, 2009 "Appeals court will not rehear pledge case": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "A federal appeals court says it will not rehear a case in which it let stand most of a Florida law requiring public school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance." Only one judge noted her dissent from today's order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denying rehearing en banc. "Texas death row inmate Larry Swearingen gets 11th-hour reprieve": The Dallas Morning News provides this update. The Houston Chronicle has a news update headlined "Man in Montgomery County killing gets stay of execution." The Associated Press reports that "College student killer get reprieve." At the "Austin Legal" blog of The Austin American-Statesman, Chuck Lindell has a post titled "Federal court halts Swearingen execution." Tuesday's edition of that newspaper will contain an editorial entitled "U.S. Court stops execution that Texas courts wouldn't; Experts believe condemned man Swearingen could not have committed the murder." And Texas Monthly has posted an online exclusive article by Michael Hall headlined "The Science of Murder: Someone killed Melissa Trotter and dumped her body in the Sam Houston National Forest; But according to six forensic experts, that someone was not Larry Swearingen." You can access today's per curiam ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. In his specially concurring opinion, Circuit Judge Jacques L. Wiener, Jr. writes that this very case could determine whether the U.S. Supreme Court will add "capital defendants who are actually innocent to the list of persons who -- like the insane, the mentally retarded, and the very young -- are constitutionally ineligible for the death penalty." "Ex-AG Gonzales: 'I Should Have Been More Engaged.'" This lengthy interview (RealPlayer required) with former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appeared on today's broadcast of NPR's "Tell Me More" with Michel Martin. "The Swamp" blog of The Chicago Tribune has posted a transcript of the NPR interview at this link. "Liberty City Six terror trial is back for third time; The third -- and likely last -- trial of a Liberty City group charged with conspiring with al Qaeda to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower and FBI buildings will get under way with jury selection Tuesday": Jay Weaver has this front page article today in The Miami Herald. Posted at 03:14 PM by Howard Bashman "U.S. Supreme Court says district attorneys are immune from wrongful-conviction suits; In a unanimous ruling, the nation's high court throws out a lawsuit from a Los Angeles man who spent 24 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit": David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this news update. And Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Supreme Court Issues Five Unanimous Decisions." "Ex-Guantanamo inmates return to militancy in Yemen; Militants in Yemen threatened Monday to strike the US Embassy for a second time": Tuesday's edition of The Christian Science Monitor will contain an article that begins, "Two Saudis formerly jailed at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have joined Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch, and authorities here worry that two other ex-Guantanamo inmates may have strayed back to militancy because they have recently disappeared from their homes." Posted at 03:05 PM by Howard Bashman "Court hears 9/11 conspirator's appeal in Va." The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Zacarias Moussaoui's guilty plea in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was invalid because the government failed to turn over evidence that could have helped his defense, his attorney told a federal appeals court Monday." Jerry Markon of The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Moussaoui's Attorneys Ask Court to Invalidate Guilty Plea." And Frank Green of The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a news update headlined "Moussaoui's lawyers call his guilty plea invalid."  
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