How Appealing



Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro has articles headlined “Supreme Court Ends Juvenile Death Penalty” and “The Supreme Court’s Own Commandments.” In the second of those two articles, Mauro hilariously reports that the version of the Ten Commandments found in the U.S. Supreme Court’s main courtroom commands viewers to steal, kill, and commit adultery.

Meanwhile, in other news, “Senate Committee Zeroes In on 9th Circuit Nominee’s Record.”

Posted at 11:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court, 5-4, Forbids Execution in Juvenile Crime”: Linda Greenhouse will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times.

In Wednesday’s edition of The Washington Post, Charles Lane will report that “5-4 Supreme Court Abolishes Juvenile Executions.” Related articles will be headlined “Malvo Deal Fell Through, Lawyer Says; Pr. William Won’t Try Sniper, Who Offered to Testify Against Muhammad in 2003” and “Ruling Likely to Spare Va. Inmate; Malvo’s Prospects Are Also Affected.”

And David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined “Supreme Court Halts Death Penalty for Juveniles.”

Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman



“Santa Ana Says Image Is at Stake in Court Fight; Officials fear the city’s role as county seat could be threatened if UC Irvine wins as the site for a new Court of Appeal building”: The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.

Posted at 11:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“Court Takes Another Step in Reshaping Capital Punishment”: Adam Liptak will have this article in Wednesday’s edition of The New York Times.

Posted at 9:40 PM by Howard Bashman



Available online from National Public Radio: This evening’s broadcast of “All Things Considered” contained segments entitled “Supreme Court Raises Eligible Age for Death Penalty” (featuring Nina Totenberg); “Brief Argues That Juvenile Offenders Are Different from Adults“; “Federal Judge’s Husband, Mother Murdered“; and “Senate Revisits Debate over Bush Judicial Nominee.”

In addition, today’s broadcast of “Talk of the Nation” contained a segment entitled “Judicial Appointments in the Bush Era” featuring an interview with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA).

Posted at 7:10 PM by Howard Bashman



In Wednesday’s edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Warren Richey will have articles headlined “Juvenile death penalty abolished; In a seminal 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court strikes down capital punishment for those who commit crimes under age 18” and “Dispute over public display of the Ten Commandments; The court hears cases Wednesday that challenge public displays.”

An article will bear the headline “One man’s trip from streets to Supreme Court: He’s slept in a tent for years; But now, Thomas Van Orden’s case about church and state is at the pinnacle of law disputes.”

And in other news, “Flap ensues over hiring ex-jurors.”

Posted at 7:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“Judge McConnell on The Establishment Clause”: The blog “Power Line” offers a post that begins, “Last night, I attended a lecture by Judge Michael McConnell of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals at the University of Minnesota Law School.”

Posted at 5:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Senator Urges Bush to Withdraw Candidates”: Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A freshman Democratic senator urged President Bush on Tuesday to withdraw all of his renominated judicial candidates, a blow to Republicans who had hoped to get the lawmaker’s support to break possible filibusters.” Today’s statement by U.S. Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) can be accessed here.

And the text of the “nuclear option” speech that U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) delivered today on the floor of the U.S. Senate can be accessed at this link.

Posted at 5:22 PM by Howard Bashman



“City gears up slaying probe”: The Chicago Sun-Times offers a news update that begins, “Chicago police have called in detectives from all over the city to investigate the shooting deaths of the husband and mother of U.S. Judge Joan Lefkow.”

Posted at 3:34 PM by Howard Bashman



“Task force launched in Lefkow slayings”: The Chicago Tribune has just posted online a news update that begins, “A possible link between the slayings of a federal judge’s husband and mother and the conviction last year of a white supremacist who tried to have her killed is one of several facets an investigative task force will pursue, Chicago officials said today.”

Posted at 2:05 PM by Howard Bashman



The federal government yesterday filed its petition for writ of certiorari seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit‘s decision declaring the Solomon Amendment unconstitutional: A copy of the federal government’s cert. petition is not yet available online, but I will post the petition or link to it just as soon as it becomes available.

In somewhat related news, The Cornell Daily Sun reports today that “Solomon Amendment Panel Stirs Emotions.”

Posted at 12:40 PM by Howard Bashman



Looking for a slap-down of the Supreme Court of Missouri for its failure to follow binding U.S. Supreme Court precedent on the constitutionality of the death penalty for murders committed at 16 or 17 years of age? It would appear that the only place this issue is addressed in today’s juvenile death penalty ruling is in the final two pages of Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent.

Update: A reader correctly notes that Justice Sandra Day O’Connor also criticizes the Supreme Court of Missouri on this ground at pages 7-8 of her dissent.

Posted at 10:45 AM by Howard Bashman



From Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent in today’s decision declaring unconstitutional the death penalty for murders committed before the age of 18: Justice Scalia writes:

The Court thus proclaims itself sole arbiter of our Nation’s moral standards–and in the course of discharging that awesome responsibility purports to take guidance from the views of foreign courts and legislatures. Because I do not believe that the meaning of our Eighth Amendment, any more than the meaning of other provisions of our Constitution, should be determined by the subjective views of five Members of this Court and like-minded foreigners, I dissent.

You can access the complete dissent at this link.

Posted at 10:32 AM by Howard Bashman



Today’s U.S. Supreme Court opinions: The Court today has issued two opinions in argued cases.

1. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced the opinion of the Court in Roper v. Simmons, No. 03-633. According to early news reports, “High Court Ends Death Penalty for Youths.” You can access the syllabus here, Justice Kennedy’s opinion here, Justice John Paul Stevens’ concurring opinion here, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s dissenting opinion here, Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissenting opinion here, and the oral argument transcript here.

2. Justice Stephen G. Breyer announced the opinion of the Court in Cherokee Nation of Okla. v. Thompson, No. 02-1472. You can access the syllabus here, Justice Breyer’s opinion here, Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion concurring in part here, and the oral argument transcript here.

Posted at 10:00 AM by Howard Bashman