How Appealing



Monday, January 7, 2008

“Supreme Court hears debate over execution methods”: Michael Doyle and Halimah Abdullah of McClatchy Newspapers provide this report.

Posted at 7:22 PM by Howard Bashman



“More states try to model N.Y.’s passenger bill of rights; Airlines are resisting talk of a passenger bill of rights, saying such regulation is the purview of US government”: This article will appear Tuesday in The Christian Science Monitor.

Posted at 6:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“By One Standard, Republican Domination of Federal Appellate Courts Was Short-Lived”: You can access at this link today’s installment of my “On Appeal” essay for law.com.

Posted at 3:05 PM by Howard Bashman



“Insurance Groups Seek To Sue Saudi Arabia, Others for Attacks”: Today in The New York Sun, Joseph Goldstein has an article that begins, “Whether Saudi Arabia and several members of its royal family can be sued over the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will be the topic of arguments this month before a federal appeals court in Manhattan.”

Posted at 2:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justices won’t hear Teck Cominco pollution case”: James Vicini of Reuters provides a report that begins, “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal by the Canadian mining company Teck Cominco Ltd of a ruling that an American environmental law applied to a foreign company when some of its pollution reaches U.S. territory.”

And Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Top U.S. Court Won’t Shield Foreigners From Pollution Suits.”

Posted at 2:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Oral Arguments: Baze v. Rees.” C-SPAN has made available for online access the audio of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in the case involving the constitutionality of the three-drug protocol used for lethal injections by States with the death penalty. You can access the audio by clicking here (RealPlayer required).

Posted at 2:15 PM by Howard Bashman



Divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit addresses whether States must comply with the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 regardless of any federal-funding shortfall: The majority in today’s decision reverses the dismissal at the pleadings stage of a lawsuit that school districts and education associations brought seeking a declaratory judgment that they need not comply with the Act’s requirements where federal funds do not cover the increased costs of compliance.

Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman



Access online today’s Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court has posted its Order List at this link.

As expected, because the Court issued grants of review last Friday, today’s Order List contains no new grants of cases to be orally argued. The list does, however, contain a multitude of GVRs resulting from the Court’s recent Sentencing Guidelines rulings. And an order issued today requests the views of the Solicitor General on one case.

Lastly, in the currently-pending Guantanamo detainee case awaiting decision after oral argument, counsel for the detainees were granted permission to file a supplemental brief, while the Solicitor General was given permission to file the first section of the federal government’s supplemental brief, but not the second section.

Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman



“Probe: Joyce claim dealt with justly; Internal review says Erie Insurance acted appropriately.” The Erie (Pa.) Times-News today contains an article that begins, “An internal review at Erie Insurance Group has concluded the company appropriately handled a claim filed in 2002 by Michael T. Joyce, who was then a state Superior Court judge. The claim remains at the center of the criminal case against Joyce that is slowly moving to trial in U.S. District Court in Erie. Joyce’s retirement from the Superior Court was effective Sunday.”

That newspaper also contains an article headlined “New lawyer sought; Government says witness presents conflict of interest in Joyce case.”

Posted at 9:05 AM by Howard Bashman



“What’s in a word? The spirit of law; U.Va. law students help win a case by arguing the value of ordinary speech.” Yesterday’s edition of The Richmond Times-Dispatch contained an article that begins, “Lawyers often are reviled for torturing the English language. Notwithstanding that truth, maybe, heretofore, we should give them a break. A crack team of University of Virginia law students who are part of the school’s fledgling Supreme Court Litigation Clinic took on a case arguing, in essence, for the integrity of ordinary speech. The team won.”

Posted at 9:03 AM by Howard Bashman



“A humble road to Supreme Court; Unassuming Lawyers Argue Death Penalty”: Today’s edition of The Lexington Herald-Leader contains an article that begins, “Monday could mark one of the most important days in the legal careers of David Barron and Jeff Middendorf. The two Kentucky lawyers will be in Washington for the legal equivalent of a New Year’s Day bowl game — playing key roles in a closely watched case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court that carries nationwide implications for the administration of the death penalty. To get to this momentous moment in their professional lives, Barron and Middendorf both chose to travel on the cheap. Barron, 29, a public defender who has argued that the state’s method of execution amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, drove to Washington in an aging Toyota Corolla with temperamental tires and an odometer pushing past 233,000 miles. He will likely be the only lawyer in the Supreme Court chambers Monday — perhaps ever — who has been homeless. Middendorf, 35, who represents the Kentucky Department of Corrections in defending the state’s method of execution, flew to Washington late last week, flew back to Kentucky this weekend — he’s the father of three children under age six — and then flew back Sunday because it was cheaper than staying five days in Washington.”

Posted at 8:52 AM by Howard Bashman



“Justices to rule whether lethal injection humane; Suit says drugs used allow cruel execution afoul of Constitution”: James Oliphant has this article today in The Chicago Tribune.

Posted at 8:50 AM by Howard Bashman



“Voter ID law going before high court; State says it prevents fraud; critics call law an unnecessary burden”: This article appears today in The Indianapolis Star.

The Times of Munster, Indiana reports today that “High court to consider voter ID law.”

And The Minneapolis Star Tribune contains an article headlined “One citizen, one vote, one form of ID? Minnesotans are deeply involved in a partisan fight, headed to the Supreme Court, over requiring photo IDs to vote; Democrats say such laws keep minorities from voting.”

Posted at 8:45 AM by Howard Bashman



“The Death Clock: Don’t count out the death penalty yet.” Benjamin Wittes has this essay online today at The New Republic.

Posted at 8:40 AM by Howard Bashman



“Tiger mauling survivors’ lawyer is at home in the spotlight”: The San Francisco Chronicle today contains an article that begins, “Pit bull. Hollywood. Showboat. All of these have been used to describe Mark Geragos, the attorney who jetted up from Los Angeles last week to represent the two brothers who were mauled in the Christmas Day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo. And does that bother Geragos? Hardly.”

Posted at 8:32 AM by Howard Bashman