How Appealing



Wednesday, January 6, 2010

“Prop. 8 trial will be shown on YouTube”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, ”
Next week’s trial in San Francisco of a lawsuit challenging the initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California won’t be televised live, but it will be videotaped for delayed Internet release on YouTube, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.”

And Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update headlined “Judge approves delayed YouTube video of trial in Prop. 8 challenge.”

Posted at 8:07 PM by Howard Bashman



“Calif. court hears Hare Krishna donations case”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A decades-long dispute between Hare Krishnas and the Los Angeles International Airport over soliciting donations appears to be nearing a resolution, as the California Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over whether the airport is a public place.”

Posted at 8:05 PM by Howard Bashman



“State will appeal prison-voting ruling to Supreme Court”: The Seattle Times has a news update that begins, “Washington state will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn a surprising federal court ruling that tossed out the state’s 120-year-old prohibition against voting by incarcerated felons, Attorney General Rob McKenna said today.”

And SeattlePI.com has a report headlined “Prison voting headed to U.S. Supreme Court? State leaders say yes; AG McKenna says he’ll argue the case himself if the high court accepts.”

Posted at 8:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“Gay-marriage foes slam plans to televise Prop 8 trial; Witnesses harassment feared”: This article appears today in The Washington Times.

Posted at 11:37 AM by Howard Bashman



“Manuel Noriega, the Supreme Court, and the War on Terror”: John Elwood has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

Posted at 9:02 AM by Howard Bashman



“New scanners break child porn laws”: Yesterday’s edition of The Guardian (UK) contained an article that begins, “The rapid introduction of full body scanners at British airports threatens to breach child protection laws which ban the creation of indecent images of children, the Guardian has learned.”

And at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog, Kim Zetter has a post titled “Body Scanners Might Violate U.K. Child-Protection Laws.”

Posted at 9:00 AM by Howard Bashman



“Deadly federal courthouse attack: Anger clung to shooter; Wicks killed his brother, had quarrel with government.” The Las Vegas Review-Journal contains this article today. In addition, columnist John L. Smith has an essay entitled “Judge marvels at courage of marshals, security officers.”

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports today that “Las Vegas courthouse shooter had violent past in Memphis; Served time for killing brother.”

And The Las Vegas Sun reports that “Courthouse gunman had history of brushes with law; Building nearly back to normal a day after deadly attack.”

Posted at 8:45 AM by Howard Bashman



“Illinois agencies question science behind Asian carp fears; Department of Natural Resources, water district say shutting down locks would damage shipping industry”: This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune.

Posted at 8:40 AM by Howard Bashman



“California proposes new lethal injection procedures; The changes mark a first step toward resuming executions after a four-year moratorium; A federal judge had deemed the previous three-drug method unconstitutional”: Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

Posted at 8:35 AM by Howard Bashman



“Court Backs War Powers Over Rights of Detainees”: John Schwartz has this article today in The New York Times.

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Court upholds U.S. right to hold Guantanamo prisoners; An appeals court says suspects may be detained indefinitely so long as the government can show their ties to Al Qaeda or the Taliban.”

The Washington Post reports that “Appeals court upholds ruling to detain terror suspect.”

And Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Court sets new rules for legal challenges at Guantanamo; A federal appeals court in Washington ruled against a cook who worked for an Al Qaeda-linked group and was challenging the legality of his detention; The ruling clarified the ground rules for future habeas corpus cases brought by Guantanamo detainees.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s D.C. Circuit ruling appears at this link.

Posted at 8:14 AM by Howard Bashman



“Appeals court bars death penalty for Las Vegas killer”: The Las Vegas Sun has a report that begins, “In a 2-1 decision, a federal appeals court has ruled that Las Vegas killer James Harrison cannot receive the death penalty as punishment for his fatal 2002 stabbing of a Las Vegas driving instructor.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote the majority opinion, in which Senior Circuit Judge Procter Hug, Jr. joined. Circuit Judge Barry G. Silverman issued a dissenting opinion. This is unlikely to be the last that we hear of this case, as the prosecution can still seek rehearing en banc and, if necessary, U.S. Supreme Court review.

By the way, a profile of Judge Silverman that appeared in the August 31, 2007 issue of The East Valley Tribune is headlined “Federal judge’s humor just one key asset.”

Posted at 7:40 AM by Howard Bashman