How Appealing



Thursday, March 17, 2011

Seventh Circuit reverses entry of summary judgment in favor of the City of Chicago in civil rights class action suit filed by protesters against the Iraq war: Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner wrote the opinion for a unanimous three-judge panel. The opinion features two Google Maps images.

Judge Posner offers this practice pointer for appellate advocates:

We’ll state the facts as favorably to the plaintiffs as the record permits, as we must given the procedural posture. The statements of facts in the defendants’ briefs present the evidence they’d like a jury to accept, rather than just the evidence that, being unrefuted or irrefutable, provides a permissible basis for a grant of summary judgment. Such a mode of presentation is unhelpful to the court.

No doubt it pains many advocates to actually set forth the evidence in the light most favorable to the opposing party in an appellate brief, but failing to do so (when it is necessary to do so under the applicable standard of review) can inflict real harm on your own client’s chances of prevailing on appeal.

Posted at 2:37 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Lecture Recalls Amish School Case”: Mark Walsh has this post today at the “School Law” blog of Education Week.

Posted at 10:28 AM by Howard Bashman



“TriMet loses free speech case over bus, train ads — again”: Today’s edition of The Oregonian contains an article that begins, “Atheism. Booze. Sex. Charlie Sheen reruns. Political agendas. Anyone selling anything can keep plastering TriMet buses and MAX trains with ads, despite the transit agency’s objections.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Oregon Court of Appeals at this link.

Posted at 8:36 AM by Howard Bashman



“SF lesbian wife’s benefits denial upheld by judge”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “A federal judge refused Wednesday to order the government to provide insurance benefits to the wife of a lesbian court employee in San Francisco, coverage the Obama administration has denied because of a law the president considers unconstitutional.”

Dan Levine of Reuters reports that “Lesbian U.S. employee set back in benefits fight.”

And The Recorder reports that “Court Employee Loses Bid to Get Spousal Benefits.”

Lambda Legal has issued a news release titled “Judge Dismisses Federal Family Benefits Case, Invites Lambda Legal to File New DOMA Complaint” and has posted yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California at this link.

Posted at 8:15 AM by Howard Bashman