How Appealing



Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Programming note: On Wednesday morning, I’m scheduled to argue before nine judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit sitting en banc.

At 10 a.m. eastern time on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to issue one or more opinions in argued cases. You can access those rulings via this link as the Court posts them online. In addition, “SCOTUSblog” is likely to offer prompt coverage.

Additional posts will appear here Wednesday afternoon.

Update: If you don’t enjoy presenting oral argument to an en banc federal appellate court, then you should not be operating an appellate law blog.

That said, I will link to the oral argument audio when it becomes available via the Third Circuit’s web site. In addition, the court ordered that a copy of the transcript be filed, and I will post the transcript to the blog when it becomes available.

Posted at 9:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“Federal appeals Judge David R. Thompson dies at 80; Judge Thompson came from a family that has been part of the fabric of San Diego’s legal community for 100 years”: The San Diego Union-Tribune has posted this obituary online today.

Posted at 9:24 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court bars lawsuits over side effects from children’s vaccines; The Supreme Court upholds a federal law that offers compensation to victims while shielding vaccine makers from lawsuits by parents”: David G. Savage will have this article Wednesday in The Los Angeles Times.

And Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined “Supreme Court rules vaccine makers protected from lawsuits.”

Posted at 9:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“High court rules against Mt. Lebanon girl’s vaccine suit”: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this news update.

Joan Biskupic of USA Today has a news update headlined “High court rules against parents in drug vaccine case.”

The Washington Times has a news update headlined “Court backs law protecting vaccine makers.”

Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Parents can’t sue drug firms when vaccines cause harm, Supreme Court says; A federal law grants drug companies immunity from certain lawsuits from injuries or deaths tied to vaccines, the US Supreme Court affirmed Tuesday.”

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Suits Against Vaccine Makers Curbed by U.S. Supreme Court in Pfizer Case.”

James Vicini of Reuters reports that “Supreme Court rules for vaccine makers on lawsuits.”

And at her “Crossroads” blog, Jan Crawford of CBS News has a post titled “Supreme Court rejects vaccine lawsuit.”

Posted at 3:55 PM by Howard Bashman



“N.C. Voters: Campaign Contributions Influence Court Ruling.” The organizations Justice at Stake Campaign and the N.C. Center for Voter Education issued this news release today.

Posted at 2:44 PM by Howard Bashman



“[U]npublished orders like those the amicus cites may be considered persuasive authority, but they do not constrain a panel of the court from reaching a contrary conclusion in a published opinion after full consideration of the issue.” A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued this decision today addressing the precedential effect of that court’s unpublished decisions.

Posted at 2:38 PM by Howard Bashman



“Court seems likely to let jilted lover appeal”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “The Supreme Court seems likely to allow a woman who tried to get back at her husband’s pregnant lover with toxic chemicals to challenge her federal anti-terrorism conviction.”

Update: You can access the transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Bond v. United States, No. 09-1227, by clicking here.

Posted at 12:27 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justice praises selection system”: Today’s edition of The Daily Iowan contains an article that begins, “Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins said the only problem with the process to retain Iowa Supreme Court justices is they’re not running against another person but the notion of an ideal judge.”

Posted at 10:38 AM by Howard Bashman



Access online today’s opinions in argued cases and Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: The Court today issued two opinions in argued cases.

1. Justice Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court in CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Alabama Dept. of Revenue, No. 09-520. Justice Clarence Thomas issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined. You can access the oral argument via this link.

2. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC, No. 09-152. Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Ginsburg joined. Justice Kagan did not take part in the ruling. You can access the oral argument via this link.

You can access today’s Order List at this link. The Court today granted review in two cases and invited the views of the Solicitor General’s office in two cases.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press has reports headlined “Court rules against parents in drug vaccine case“; “Court: Railroad can challenge Alabama tax“; “High court rejects appeal over divided jury“; “High court rejects new case on 10 Commandments“; and “Court won’t stop Nevada from banning brothel ads.”

Posted at 10:05 AM by Howard Bashman



“DNA Privacy Case Highlights List of 3rd Circuit En Banc Arguments”: Shannon P. Duffy has this article today in The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia’s daily newspaper for lawyers.

The article summarizes all three of the en banc cases to be argued tomorrow before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, including the case that I’ll be arguing. Additional information about that case can be accessed via this post from two weeks ago.

Posted at 9:50 AM by Howard Bashman



“Orie’s office called ‘frantic’ over intern complaint”: Today’s edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains an article that begins, “A former Senate staffer described an office ‘in frantic mode’ the day that a former colleague resigned, charging that state Sen. Jane Orie, R-Mc-Candless, had used her district office and staff to aid her sister’s campaign for the state Supreme Court.”

And today’s edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contains an article headlined “Witness: Orie office in ‘frantic mode’ after activities reported.”

Posted at 9:44 AM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Back in Session; Nine Cases to Watch: Legality of Military Funeral Protests, Other High Profile Cases on Docket.” Ariane de Vogue has this report at ABCNews.com.

Posted at 7:14 AM by Howard Bashman