How Appealing



Thursday, March 30, 2006

Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that “At International Law Convention, Justice Kennedy Focuses on Genocide.”

In other news, “N.Y. High Court Revives Felony Counts Rooted in Judge’s Misconduct.”

An article reports that “Ga. Solo Challenges Courtroom Pledge; Attorney calls courtroom declaration of loyalty offensive and objectionable.”

And in news from Pennsylvania, Shannon P. Duffy reports that “$7.9M Bad Faith Verdict Upheld by Pa. Federal Judge.”

Posted at 11:08 PM by Howard Bashman



Available online from National Public Radio: This evening’s broadcast of “All Things Considered” contained segments entitled “Massachusetts Court Limits Gay Marriage to Residents” and “Government Won’t Release NSA Information to Attorneys.”

Today’s broadcast of “Talk of the Nation” contained a segment entitled “Massachusetts Gay Marriage Decision.”

And today’s broadcast of “Day to Day” contained a segment entitled “Slate’s Jurisprudence: Jury Holds Moussaoui’s Fate” (featuring Dahlia Lithwick).

RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.

Posted at 10:58 PM by Howard Bashman



“Levin should give OK to judge nominee deal; GOP will offer Democratic appointments to break logjam”: This editorial appears today in The Detroit News.

Posted at 5:18 PM by Howard Bashman



How groovy was this week’s Ninth Circuit reargument on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court in the medicinal marijuana case known as Raich v. Gonzales? Not all that groovy for the plaintiff, if this report (which I first noted here) published earlier this week in The Sacramento Bee is to be believed.

Ordinarily, the Ninth Circuit would have posted online the oral argument audio by now, but the audio of this particular oral argument isn’t yet available via that court’s web site. Perhaps there’s something poetic about slacking-off in a marijuana-related case.

Posted at 5:14 PM by Howard Bashman



Available online from National Public Radio: Today’s broadcast of “Day to Day” contained segments entitled “Justice Scalia’s Under-the-Chin Gesture” and “South Dakota’s Abortion Ban, Part 1.”

And today’s broadcast of “Morning Edition” contained segments entitled “Closing Arguments Take Stage at Moussaoui Sentencing Trial” and “Former Federal Prosecutor Indicted for Trial Conduct.”

RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.

Posted at 4:10 PM by Howard Bashman



L. Ralph Mecham, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, is a 2006 National Public Service Award Winner: Details are available at this link.

Posted at 4:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“It’s final: Affirmative action issue on November ballot.” The Detroit Free Press provides a news update that begins, “The proposal to ban the use of race and gender in hiring and admissions by government and public universities will go before voters November 7 under an order issued Thursday by the Michigan Supreme Court.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Mich. Voters to Decide Affirmative Action.”

Posted at 3:32 PM by Howard Bashman



“‘Sopranos’ stars divided on bawdy body language”: The Boston Herald, refusing to take to heart Justice Antonin Scalia’s suggestion that the newspaper’s staffers are relying too heavily on the HBO program “The Sopranos,” today contains (in addition to the items I noted here earlier today) an article headlined “‘Sopranos’ stars divided on bawdy body language.”

The article begins, “Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says anybody who thinks his Sicilian gesture was obscene has been watching ‘too many episodes of “The Sopranos,”‘ but a star of the TV mob hit says such body language is just as injudicious in real life.”

Posted at 3:30 PM by Howard Bashman



Programming note: I will be attending this interesting CLE course midday today in Philadelphia. Additional posts will appear here this afternoon.

Update: The CLE panelists were indeed quite interesting. For those looking to connect a voice to the blogger, it was I who asked the panelists toward the end of the program for their thoughts on the current controversy over the U.S. Supreme Court‘s citation to foreign law, and whether the panelists thought that the Court’s rulings in either the homosexual sodomy case from Texas or the juvenile death penalty case from Missouri would have come out differently had the majorities in those cases not relied on foreign law.

Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“Moussaoui Sentencing Case Goes to the Jury”: Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times.

The Washington Post today reports that “In Closing, Moussaoui Trial Rests On His Lies; A Role Reversal Redux As Jury Gets Terror Case.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Moussaoui Case Goes to Jury; Prosecutors contend his silence aided the 9/11 plot; The defense says he inflated his importance.”

And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that “Jurors start to deliberate at trial for Moussaoui; Prosecutors urge them to buy his testimony; defense calls client a liar.”

Posted at 7:30 AM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court hears eBay patent case; Auctioneer seeks to keep using fixed-price technology”: Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today.

The Washington Post today reports that “High Court Considers EBay Case On Patent; Issue May Spur Changes to System.”

The San Jose Mercury News reports that “EBay patent dispute heard; Supreme Court weighs auction giant’s request to limit injunctions.”

And The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Bay Are tech companies turn focus on litigation; EBay asks Supreme Court to reject patent claim on Buy It Now feature.”

Posted at 7:28 AM by Howard Bashman



“Photographer: Herald got it right.” The Boston Herald today contains an article that begins, “Amid a growing national controversy about the gesture U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made Sunday at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the freelance photographer who captured the moment has come forward with the picture.” The photograph can be viewed by clicking here or here.

That newspaper today also contains an editorial entitled “Here we get the last word.”

Posted at 7:22 AM by Howard Bashman



“Judge to hold hearing at San Quentin to examine execution plan; Group will review plans to cut risk of painful procedure”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

Posted at 7:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“Bill Would Speed Challenge to Surveillance”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, introduced a bill Wednesday that would put lawsuits challenging the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program on a fast track to the Supreme Court.”

Posted at 7:14 AM by Howard Bashman



“The Real Chief Justice Roberts: Conciliator or Divider? A Recent Fourth Amendment Holding Indicates That He May Be More Like Rehnquist Than Previously Thought.” FindLaw commentator Edward Lazarus has this essay today.

Posted at 6:45 AM by Howard Bashman