How Appealing



Wednesday, January 27, 2016

“Court: Arizona judicial candidates can’t seek campaign cash.” The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court has reversed course and now says Arizona can prohibit some candidates for elected judgeships from soliciting campaign contributions or participating in somebody else’s campaign.”

And Courthouse News Service reports that “Ariz. Limits on Campaigning Judges Upheld.”

You can access today’s ruling of an 11-judge en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.

Posted at 10:32 PM by Howard Bashman



“U.S. Appeals Court Allows Killing of Snowy Owls Near Kennedy Airport”: In today’s edition of The New York Times, Rick Rojas has an article that begins, “A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that airport officials had the authority to kill migratory birds that posed a threat to planes at Kennedy International Airport.”

The New York Daily News reports that “Appeals court denies animal rights group’s claim against Port Authority for killing snowy white owls at JFK Airport.”

The New York Post reports that “Port Authority gets OK to kill birds flying near airports.”

And Jonathan Stempel of Reuters reports that “Appeals court allows bird killings near NYC airports.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link.

Posted at 10:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“Brandeis: The first Jewish jurist named to the Supreme Court.” Online at the Jewish Journal, Jonathan Kirsch has a report that begins, “Exactly 100 years have passed since the first Jewish jurist was named to the Supreme Court. Until the nomination of Louis Brandeis to the high court by President Woodrow Wilson on Jan. 28, 1916, all nine seats had always been occupied by white, Anglo-Saxon males, almost all of them Protestant.”

And online at The Forward, Jonathan Sarna has an essay titled “100 Years Later, Has Louis Brandeis’s Supreme Court Nomination Changed Anything?

Posted at 9:20 PM by Howard Bashman



“Challengers warn of partisan politics in state high court race”: Bruce Vielmetti of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this report.

Posted at 9:15 PM by Howard Bashman



“Judge Vance Day should be ousted from job, in part for refusing to marry gays, commission says”: Aimee Green of The Oregonian has this report.

The Statesman Journal of Salem, Oregon reports that “Commission recommends removing Judge Vance Day.”

And Reuters has an article headlined “Oregon judge who refused to perform gay marriages should lose job: panel.”

You can view Monday’s opinion of the Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability at this link.

Posted at 8:35 PM by Howard Bashman



This blog apparently needs more editorial policies: In its never-ending quest for journalistic purity, “SCOTUSblog” today has a post from Amy Howe titled “A new policy — just the facts, ma’am.” That post also notes that “SCOTUSblog” already has an overabundance of other policies. Indeed, one day the quest for journalistic purity may extend to excluding all cases in which its sponsoring law firm is involved from that blog’s “Petitions to Watch” feature instead of including all such cases, as is now somehow justified as representing the least conflict-inducing approach.

Sadly, the absence of editorial policies at “How Appealing” over this blog’s nearly 14-year lifespan means that some may question or comment on (see here and here) whether this blog is a journalistic endeavor.

And without policies, what is there to prevent me from linking to the Bashman Wikipedia entry, or a photograph of the Bashman Bayou near New Orleans, or Bashman news from Australia?

Thus, until this blog adopts some editorial policies, it will continue to remain proudly editorial policy-free since May 6, 2002.

Posted at 7:56 PM by Howard Bashman



In the February 2016 issue of The ABA Journal magazine: Mark Walsh has an article headlined “After his first decade, Alito is ‘every bit as conservative as conservatives could have dreamed.’

Lorelei Laird has an article headlined “Can patent laws halt the reselling of used ink cartridges? Federal Circuit to consider.”

And Laird also has an article headlined “Meet the father of the landmark lawsuit that secured basic rights for immigrant minors.”

Posted at 7:32 PM by Howard Bashman



“D.C. Circuit Review — Reviewed: ‘The RICO Racket’ (Or More on the Divide Between Judges and Scholars).” At the the Yale Journal on Regulation, Aaron Nielson has a blog post that begins, “Here is a little known fact about Justice Samuel Alito: in 1989, he wrote a chapter for a book entitled The RICO Racket.”

Posted at 7:23 PM by Howard Bashman



“Abortion and capital punishment: The Supreme Court may have a smidgen of judicial modesty after all.” Steven Mazie has this post at the “Democracy in America” blog of The Economist.

Posted at 7:18 PM by Howard Bashman



“How Marsha Levick changed the face of juvenile justice”: In today’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Samantha Melamed has an article that begins, “On Monday, more than 500 Pennsylvania inmates sentenced as juveniles to die in prison — 300 of them from Philadelphia — learned they’ll have a chance at release after all.”

Posted at 7:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“Prayer lawsuit attorneys argue in federal appeals court”: Josh Bergeron of The Salisbury (N.C.) Post has this report.

And The Associated Press reports that “Court weighs practice of Christian prayers at meetings.”

My friend Allyson Ho argued the appeal on behalf of the county, and Christopher Brook of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina argued for the plaintiff-appellee.

You can access the audio of today’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, consisting of Circuit Judges J. Harvie Wilkinson III, Dennis W. Shedd, and G. Steven Agee, in Lund v. Rowan County, N.C. via this link (35.6 MB mp3 audio file).

Posted at 5:17 PM by Howard Bashman



“4th Circuit hears arguments in Gloucester transgender student discrimination case”: Louis Llovio of The Richmond Times-Dispatch has this report.

Frances Hubbard of The Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia has an article headlined “Body or mind: Appeals court judges question what defines gender in Gloucester lawsuit.” You can freely access the full text of this article via Google.

The Associated Press reports that “Attorney urges court to rule in transgender student’s favor.”

And Reuters reports that “U.S. court hears arguments on transgender student using boys’ bathroom.”

You can access the audio of today’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, consisting of Circuit Judges Paul V. Niemeyer and Henry F. Floyd and Senior Circuit Judge Andre M. Davis, in G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board via this link (28.2 MB mp3 audio file).

Posted at 5:04 PM by Howard Bashman