How Appealing



Thursday, February 5, 2009

“Ginsburg Has Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer”: Adam Liptak will have this article Friday in The New York Times.

Friday’s edition of The Washington Post contain a front page article headlined “Ginsburg Undergoes Surgery For Cancer.”

Online at The Los Angeles Times, James Oliphant and Thomas H. Maugh II have a news update headlined “Ginsburg has surgery for early-stage pancreatic cancer; The cancer is one of the most lethal of diseases, but the fact that the Supreme Court justice underwent surgery is encouraging, a doctor says.”

Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has an article headlined “Ginsburg’s cancer prompts talk of who’s next on Supreme Court.”

And law.com’s Tony Mauro reports that “Ginsburg Illness Stirs Speculation About Court Departures.”

Posted at 11:04 PM by Howard Bashman



“Court says banning Cuba book from Miami-Dade schools was legal”: The Miami Herald has a news update that begins, “A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Miami-Dade School Board did not violate the Constitution in 2006 when it removed a controversial children’s book about Cuba from the public schools’ library system. In a 2-1 decision, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said the board did not breach the First Amendment, and ordered a Miami federal judge to lift a preliminary injunction that had allowed Vamos a Cuba to be checked out from school libraries.”

And The Associated Press provides a report headlined “Judges: Miami school board can ban book about Cuba.”

My earlier coverage of today’s Eleventh Circuit ruling appears at this link.

Posted at 8:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“Judge signals trouble for Bonds prosecution”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this news update. In today’s print edition of that newspaper, columnist Gwen Knapp has an essay entitled “MLB Bonds drug tests shouldn’t be admissible.” And columnist Ray Ratto has an essay entitled “Bonds judge faces lose-lose chore Thursday.”

The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Documents detail perjury case against Barry Bonds; The former Giants slugger tested positive for steroids three times in the months before the 2001 season, when he hit a record-breaking 73 home runs, according to the documents.”

And The New York Times contains an article headlined “Positive Drug Tests in Bonds Case.”

Posted at 7:32 PM by Howard Bashman



“War court judge: Prison conditions my domain.” Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald has a news update that begins, “An Army judge who is defying a White House request to freeze the Pentagon’s war court ruled Thursday that he would decide at next week’s hearing at Guantanamo whether the military’s security measures impair a captive’s ability to defend himself.”

Posted at 4:55 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justice Ginsburg Treated for Pancreatic Cancer”: ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg has this post at her “Legalities” blog.

Posted at 4:54 PM by Howard Bashman



The Miami-Dade County Public School District’s decision to ban a book written for elementary school students about life in Cuba spawns a nearly book-length decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit: A reader forwards the opinion with the message “Another Carnes classic from the Southern frontier.”

Circuit Judge Ed Carnes wrote the majority opinion, in which Senior U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter of the Western District of Louisiana has joined. The majority holds that the school district’s decision to ban the book “¡Vamos a Cuba!” after a parent who was formerly a political prisoner in Cuba complained about the book’s accuracy did not violate the First Amendment.

Circuit Judge Charles R. Wilson issued a dissenting opinion, the conclusion of which begins: “For decades, residents of Communist Cuba have emigrated to the United States to escape the repressive totalitarian regime of its dictator, to seek freedom, and to enjoy the privileges of United States citizenship. Prominent among those privileges is the freedom of speech, protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The banning of children’s books from a public school library under circumstances such as these offends the First Amendment.”

Posted at 3:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“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 1:20 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.”

Posted at 10:38 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.

Posted at 8:25 AM by Howard Bashman



“‘Borking’ Obama court appointees”: Gina Parker Ford has this essay online at the web site of Wilson County (Tex.) News.

Posted at 8:22 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 8:17 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 8:15 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.

Posted at 8:14 AM by Howard Bashman



“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.”

Posted at 8:12 AM by Howard Bashman



“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 8:09 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 8:07 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 8:05 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.”

Posted at 7:54 AM by Howard Bashman



“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).

Posted at 7:50 AM by Howard Bashman