“Obama Sides With Bush in Spy Case”: This evening at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog, David Kravets has a post that begins, “The Obama administration fell in line with the Bush administration Thursday when it urged a federal judge to set aside a ruling in a closely watched spy case weighing whether a U.S. president may bypass Congress and establish a program of eavesdropping on Americans without warrants.”
You can access at this link the court filing the federal government made in the case earlier today.
In jurisprudence essays available online at Slate: Dahlia Lithwick has an essay entitled “Bad Men: How many terrorists are really left at Guantanamo, anyway?”
And Emily Bazelon has an essay entitled “Project Open Closet: When do the legal skeletons come tumbling out of the Justice Department?”
As an added bonus, today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Day to Day” included an audio segment entitled “Obama To Shutter CIA Prisons Immediately” (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick.
Fifth Circuit upholds Zainey ruling on federal government liability for post-Katrina deaths: The Associated Press provides this report.
You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. The same three-judge panel also issued a separate, related ruling that you can access here.
“Obama orders review in al-Qaida sleeper case”: The Associated Press provides this report.
And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Government to reconsider Al-Marri case.”
“Senators Shuffle Membership on Judiciary Committee”: David Ingram has this post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”
“Obama signs order to close Guantanamo in a year”: The Associated Press provides this report.
And Reuters reports that “Obama orders Guantanamo’s closure within a year.”
At least the U.S. Supreme Court has noticed who’s now in charge of the U.S. Department of Justice: The “Day Call” list for yesterday’s argued cases reflects that the caption of the third argued case is now Nken v. Filip, as does the transcript of that oral argument.
My earlier post on this topic appeared yesterday.
Meanwhile, as this ruling issued today indicates, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit isn’t yet ready to let former Attorney General Mukasey off the hook.
“Civil Rights Law at Issue in High Court Rulings”: Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times.
Today in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that “Online-Porn Law Is Allowed to Die; High Court Won’t Hear Bush Appeal.”
In The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that “Supreme Court lets Internet porn law die; The measure, which never went into effect, was aimed at protecting children. In striking down the law on free-speech grounds, the justices cite the use of software filters.”
In USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that “Ruling revives student’s bias lawsuit.”
Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has articles headlined “US Supreme Court says parents can sue school officials under discrimination laws; In a Massachusetts case, a kindergarten girl allegedly was sexually harassed by a third-grade boy on a school bus” and “It’s now easier for judges to determine immunity for public officials; The US Supreme Court rules in the case of an alleged drug dealer in Utah.”
The Boston Globe reports that “Supreme Court backs bid by family to sue Cape school district; Girl had reported abuse on bus.”
The Cape Cod Times reports that “Supreme Court backs Cape family’s lawsuit against school.”
The Deseret News contains an article headlined “U.S. Supreme Court: Police are protected from lawsuits.”
And The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that “Justices reinstate murder conviction in Ballard drive-by; Lower court decision overturned in the death of a 16-year-old girl who was shot from car.”
“Federal judge delays the public webcast of illegal download case”: This article appears today in The Boston Globe.
“Way clear for damage suit against drugmaker”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “The state Supreme Court cleared the way Wednesday for a San Francisco woman to sue a drugmaker for allegedly failing to warn her doctor that anti-heartburn medicine he prescribed for her could cause a muscular disorder. The court declined to review an appellate court ruling reinstating Elizabeth Conte’s damage suit against Wyeth Inc.”
My earlier coverage of the intermediate appellate court’s ruling can be accessed here.
“Judges merit a raise: Even in these difficult times, federal jurists deserve a cost-of-living wage increase.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.
“Oath Is Administered Once Again”: The New York Times contains this article today. The newspaper also contains an op-ed by Steven Pinker entitled “Oaf of Office.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reports today that “Obama retakes oath to err on side of law.”
The Associated Press reports that “Obama takes presidential oath again after stumble.”
Bloomberg News reports that “Obama Sworn in Again After Error in the Oath at Inauguration.”
And at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post titled “Take Two: The Presidential Oath, Done Right.”
“Obama to Shut Guantanamo Site and C.I.A. Prisons”: This front page article appears today in The New York Times. The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “First Steps at Guantanamo.”
Today’s edition of The Washington Post contains a front page article headlined “Obama Starts Reversing Bush Policies; Guantanamo Order Readied; Lobbying Rules Tightened.” The newspaper also reports that “Plan to Eliminate Prison Faces Hurdles; Practical, Political Challenges Await as Obama Outlines Goals in Draft Order” and “Public Supports Closing Guantanamo; In Poll, Most Agree With President’s Plan to Shutter the Facility Within a Year.” And the newspaper contains an editorial entitled “Justice and Security: Mr. Obama is right to move cautiously in closing Guantanamo.”
In The Los Angeles Times, Carol J. Williams reports that “Obama expected to order closure of Guantanamo prison; A draft order calling for the facility’s shutdown within a year and a review of prisoners’ cases is likely to be issued today; A presidential request prompts suspension of prosecutions.”
Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald reports that “Obama moves to close Guantanamo camps within a year; President Obama launched plans for a phased one-year closure of the Guantanamo prison camps that could bring detainees to U.S. soil.”
In The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin and Laura Meckler report that “Obama Set to Undo Bush’s Gitmo Policies.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Obama and Guantanamo: Fighting terrorism is simpler when you’re a candidate.”
Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined “Sorting out Guantanamo detainees: President Obama orders a thorough review of pending terror cases.”
At Politico.com, Josh Gerstein reports that “Legal issues complicate Gitmo closing.”
The Associated Press provides reports headlined “Sources: Obama to order Guantanamo closed” and “Ex-US attorney to prosecute suspects at Guantanamo.”
Reuters provides reports headlined “Obama to order Guantanamo closed” and “Guantanamo closure too little too late: ex-inmate.”
Bloomberg News reports that “Obama’s Order to Close Guantanamo Detainee Camp May Come Today.”
And today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition” contained an audio segment entitled “Obama To Order Guantanamo Closed Within A Year” (RealPlayer required).
The second attempt at administering the presidential oath involved no Bible and no transposition of words: You can view a photograph from last night’s private ceremony at this link.
“2nd Circuit to Hear Arguments on Lawyer Ad Restrictions”: law.com provides this report.
