“Federal judge dismisses suit over torture flights”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle provides a news update that begins, “A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit today that accused a San Jose flight-planning company of helping the CIA transport prisoners to overseas dungeons for interrogation and torture, agreeing with the Bush administration that the case risks exposure of state secrets.”
And Adam Tanner of Reuters reports that “Court dismisses lawsuit on secret US kidnapping.”
I have posted online at this link today’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
“Jurors file suit to disclose evidence in Medina case”: The Houston Chronicle provides a news update that begins, “Six members of a Harris County grand jury who indicted Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina and his wife on charges stemming from the fire that destroyed their Spring home have filed a lawsuit to talk about the evidence they saw before handing up the indictments.”
“Court strikes down Texas ban on sex toys; Federal appeals court says law violates right to privacy”: The Austin American-Statesman provides this news update.
And The Associated Press reports that “Texas Ban on Sex Toy Sales Is Overturned.”
My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Fifth Circuit ruling appears at this link.
“Rules for Lawyers Of Detainees Are Called Onerous; Fair, Adequate Defense Questioned”: This article appears today in The Washington Post, along with an article headlined “White House Pushes Waterboarding Rationale; Administration May Be Trying to Shore Up Prosecution of Terrorism Suspects.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “The 9/11 Trials: Their fairness should be indisputable; That’s not likely under the current military commission system.”
The New York Times today contains an article headlined “U.S. Acts to Avert Tactic Expected in Qaeda Trial” and an editorial entitled “Unnecessary Harm.”
And online at FindLaw, Michael C. Dorf has an essay entitled “Is The Bush Administration Right to Seek the Death Penalty for 9/11 Captives?”
“Mukasey’s bid on crack releases is denied; The attorney general sought legislation to cancel sentencing rules that he said could put dangerous criminals on the streets; A senator accuses him of rousing public fear”: The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.
“Senate Authorizes Broad Expansion Of Surveillance Act”: This front page article appears today in The Washington Post.
Today in The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage reports that “Senate OK’s immunity on wiretaps; Backs telecoms’ role in surveillance efforts.”
The New York Times reports that “Senate Votes to Expand Spy Powers.”
And The Los Angeles Times reports that “Senate OKs bill to extend eavesdropping; The measure also shields phone carriers from lawsuits; House Democrats have opposed such protections.”
“Telecom Amnesty: Congress should stop lawbreaking, not reward it–as the Senate’s spy bill does.” Timothy B. Lee has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
The Associated Press is reporting: Mark Sherman has an article headlined “Scalia Weighs in Again on Controversy.”
And an article headlined “Law Curbing Inmates’ Lawsuits Questioned” begins, “As longtime chairman of the American Conservative Union, David Keene seems an unlikely ally of the American Civil Liberties Union in a prisoners-rights campaign. But this cause is personal.”
“Spotlighting the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill”: Tony Mauro has this post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”
“A supreme honor”: Today in The Providence Journal, Edward Fitzpatrick has an article that begins, “Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. yesterday launched the centennial celebration of the federal courthouse in downtown Providence, marking the first time a sitting Supreme Court chief justice has been in Rhode Island on official business in more than two centuries.”
The newspaper also contains a related article headlined “Protesters call on U.S. to ‘end torture.'”
“Court of Appeals Mourns Loss of Senior Circuit Judge Joseph T. Sneed”: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this news release yesterday.
“Religion Joins Custody Cases, to Judges’ Unease”: This article appears today in The New York Times.
“Judge OK’s limits on student speech in Poway case; Brother and sister are likely to appeal the ruling, their attorney says”: The North County Times today contains an article that begins, “A federal judge ruled Tuesday in a lawsuit against the Poway Unified School District that school officials can restrict student speech that expresses ‘damaging statements about sexual orientation’ and can limit students to stating their views ‘in a positive manner.’ U.S. District Judge John Houston reached that conclusion in a 12-page decision that affirmed a similar ruling he made a year ago in the lawsuit. The case stems from an incident in which a Poway High School student wore a T-shirt bearing a message opposed to homosexuality.”
And The San Diego Union-Tribune reports today that “Student’s rights not violated, judge rules.”
Alliance Defense Fund has posted online at this link yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in Harper v. Poway Unified School District.
“Justice Races Congress in Crack Cases”: Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, “The Justice Department is pressing Congress to act immediately to prevent thousands of crack cocaine offenders from being released from prison early in response to a federal commission’s decision making retroactive sentence reductions possible for such criminals.”
Sixth Circuit dismisses appeal from dismissal of lawsuit raising a Second Amendment challenge to a federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens who reside outside of the United States from receiving or selling firearms for non-sporting purposes: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. Today’s ruling does not address the merits of the lawsuit, holding that the lawsuit had been voluntarily dismissed without prejudice at the plaintiffs’ request. Attorney Alan Gura represented the plaintiffs-appellants before the Sixth Circuit.
“Scalia in uncompromising form: Law in Action has a rare, extended interview with Antonin Scalia, the most outspoken and acerbic of Justices on the US Supreme Court.” BBC News provides this report.
You can listen to the entire thirty-minute “Law in Action” broadcast by clicking here to launch the BBC iPlayer. According to the show’s summary, “The US Supreme Court’s Justice Antonin Scalia talks to Clive Coleman about terrorists and torture, abortion, the legal image of the US abroad and how judges judge.” You can also access the audio via RealPlayer by clicking here.
“Does terror trump torture?” At her “Legalities” blog, ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg has this post about Justice Antonin Scalia’s interview that BBC News aired yesterday. ABC News has made available at this link the audio from that interview.
