How Appealing



Thursday, March 25, 2010

“In Possible Retirement, the Likelihood of an Election-Year Confrontation”: Friday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, “No announcement has been made, but the widely anticipated retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens in coming weeks has the White House, Senate and lobbying groups bracing for an election-year confrontation over the future of the Supreme Court.”

Posted at 10:52 PM by Howard Bashman



“State Supreme Court upholds LAX ban on Hare Krishna fundraising”: Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has this blog post.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Court upholds ban on Hare Krishna soliciting in LAX airport; The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an LAX airport ban on solicitation in its terminals — challenged by a Hare Krishna group — is legal; It’s the latest legal setback for the group.”

And The Associated Press has a report headlined “Court: Hare Krishnas Barred From LAX Solicitation.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link.

Posted at 6:27 PM by Howard Bashman



“D.C. Circuit to Seal Courtroom in Special Ed Case”: Jordan Weissmann has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

Posted at 5:14 PM by Howard Bashman



Majority on divided three-judge Eighth Circuit panel holds that state-law convictions involving a fake controlled substance do not count as strikes under a federal law that requires a life sentence for recidivist offenders: The home page for the web site MLB.com (which once belonged to the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius) reminds us that opening day for Major League Baseball is now just a little more than ten days and four hours away.

Thus, the definition what constitutes a strike will again become a subject of great interest. Today, for purposes of a federal law that mandates a life sentence for recidivist felony drug offenders, the Eighth Circuit had to decide whether state-law convictions involving fake controlled substances should count toward the requisite number of convictions necessary to produce a life sentence. By a vote of 2-1, the Court ruled “no” in a decision that you can access here.

Posted at 3:38 PM by Howard Bashman



Should someone who is arrested for drunk driving, then taken immediately to jail, where a search reveals a small bag of methamphetamine taped to his sock, be subject to a sentencing enhancement for possessing a controlled substance in a jail or prison? By a vote of 5-4, the Washington State Supreme Court answered “no” in a ruling issued today. The ruling consists of a majority opinion and a dissenting opinion.

Posted at 11:52 AM by Howard Bashman



“Is Los Angeles International Airport a public forum under the Liberty of Speech Clause of the California Constitution?” The Supreme Court of California is scheduled to rule on that issue today in a case captioned International Society for Krishna Consciousness of California, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles. The court’s ruling should be available via this link at 1 p.m. eastern time, 10 a.m. pacific time, today.

Posted at 10:55 AM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court stops execution of convicted killer in Texas; The justices want more time to study Hank Skinner’s appeal for DNA testing of evidence from a triple homicide; The stay is issued an hour before he was to die”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

The Houston Chronicle reports today that “U.S. Supreme Court delays Texas execution.”

The Associated Press reports that “Execution halted for Texas man claiming innocence.”

CNN.com reports that “High court gives last-minute stay to condemned Texan.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Execution delayed in DNA case; Potential sequel to Osborne.”

You can access yesterday evening’s stay order of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link.

Posted at 8:27 AM by Howard Bashman



“Sex-for-tickets case expected to conclude today”: Today’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an article that begins, “With opening day just 11 days off, Phillies fans are no doubt revisiting the indelible memories of the 2009 league championship season.”

The Philadelphia Daily News reports today that “Blonde in sex-for-tix case offered 3-way, cop says.”

And The Bucks County Courier Times reports that “Police lead off in sex-for-tickets case.”

Posted at 7:54 AM by Howard Bashman