How Appealing



Monday, March 24, 2008

“Consensus on Counting the Innocent: We Can’t.” Tuesday’s installment of The New York Times will contain this new installment of Adam Liptak’s “Sidebar” column.

It begins, “A couple of years ago, Justice Antonin Scalia, concurring in a Supreme Court death penalty decision, took stock of the American criminal justice system and pronounced himself satisfied. The rate at which innocent people are convicted of felonies is, he said, less than three-hundredths of 1 percent — .027 percent, to be exact.”

Posted at 11:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Courthouse’s bold art draws a mixed verdict; Not all see worth in valuable works”: The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, “To the untutored eye, they are simply huge rectangular panels – reds, yellows, blues, greens – that have hung like oversized Post-it Notes on the walls of the cavernous federal courthouse since it opened a decade ago. Hundreds of people pass them daily; few seem to notice. In fact, the fiberglass-and-aluminum panels are among the most valuable works of art in Boston by a living artist, commissioned at a cost of $800,000 in tax dollars, and probably worth millions today. The revelation usually leaves visitors to the John Joseph Moakley courthouse incredulous or bemused.”

Posted at 8:35 PM by Howard Bashman



“Cyclist’s trial foreshadows Bonds’ case”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Lance Williams has an article that begins, “Caught up in the BALCO steroids scandal, an elite athlete adamantly denies using banned drugs, then mounts an aggressive defense to a perjury indictment. It sounds like the case of former Giants slugger Barry Bonds, accused of lying under oath to the federal grand jury that investigated Burlingame’s Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid ring in 2003. Instead, starting today in federal court in San Francisco, a lesser-known American sports champion – Tammy Thomas, a onetime star of bicycle track racing – goes on trial, charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. Her case is of interest because it amounts to a dress rehearsal for the trial of Bonds, which may get under way later this year.”

Posted at 8:32 PM by Howard Bashman



Access online the transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments: The Court today heard oral argument in three cases. You can access the transcript in Burgess v. United States, No. 06-11429, at this link. You can access the transcript in United States v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Co., No. 07-308, at this link. And you can access the transcript in Riley v. Kennedy, No. 07-77, at this link.

In news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “High Court Tackles Ala. Voting Case.”

And at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post titled “A Trifecta and a Sprint at the Supreme Court.”

Posted at 7:08 PM by Howard Bashman



“With the Supreme Court Poised to Redefine the Right to Bear Arms, Far-Reaching Questions Loom”: Michael C. Dorf has this essay online today at FindLaw.

Posted at 6:50 PM by Howard Bashman



Access online today’s Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: It is available online at this link.

In news coverage, Pete Yost of The Associated Press reports that “Justices to Hear Warrantless Search Case.” The AP also reports that “Court Takes Firearms Possession Case“; “Court Allows Inmates to Get Abortions“; “Court Turns Down Anti-Clinton Group“; and “High Court Declines AARP Appeal.”

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined “U.S. Supreme Court allows employers to reduce health benefits for older retirees; The AARP had argued that reducing benefits for Medicare-eligible retirees amounted to age discrimination; The Supreme Court disagreed.”

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Top U.S. Court Won’t Question NYSE Immunity in Suit.”

At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post titled “Saucier Than Usual, the Supreme Court Tackles a Precedent.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Court rejects campaign ad case.”

Posted at 6:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“Imprisoned in Iraq: The Supreme Court will decide if two U.S. civilians charged under Iraqi law may appeal to U.S. courts.” This editorial appears today in The Washington Post.

Posted at 6:30 AM by Howard Bashman