How Appealing



Wednesday, April 1, 2009

“Legislation could undo ruling on Narragansett land”: Thursday’s edition of The Providence (R.I.) Journal will contain an article that begins, “The chairman of a key congressional committee said Wednesday that he is ‘inclined’ to sponsor a bill to address concerns raised by a recent Supreme Court decision that blocked the Narragansett Indians from securing federal trust status for a parcel of land they own in Charlestown.”

Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman



“Keller’s attorney says her omissions in disclosure form were unintentional”: Today’s edition of The Dallas Morning News contains an article that begins, “The failure of the state’s highest criminal court judge to disclose all of her real estate holdings was unintentional and not an attempt to hide assets, her attorney said Tuesday.”

Posted at 10:45 PM by Howard Bashman



“Obama’s First Circuit Nominee Gets Quick Hearing”: This post appears this evening at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

For those readers who might wonder when President Obama made a nomination to the First Circuit, the referenced post actually pertains to President Obama’s Seventh Circuit nominee, U.S. District Judge David F. Hamilton.

Posted at 8:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“And Then They Came for Koh… If mainstream America can’t stand up for Harold Koh, we will get precisely the government lawyers we deserve.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

Posted at 8:32 PM by Howard Bashman



Access today’s U.S. Supreme Court rulings in argued cases: The Court today issued its ruling in 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, No. 07-581. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court in this 5-4 ruling. Joining in the Court’s opinion were the Chief Justice and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. Justice John Paul Stevens issued a dissenting opinion. And Justice David H. Souter also issued a dissenting opinion in which Justices Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer joined. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

Today’s second ruling in an argued case issued in Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc., No. 07-588. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito joined. Justice Breyer issued an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. And Justice Stevens issued a dissenting opinion in which Justices Souter and Ginsburg joined. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

And today’s third and final ruling issued in Harbison v. Bell, No. 07-8521. Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justices Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer joined. The Chief Justice and Justice Thomas each filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. And Justice Scalia filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which Justice Alito joined. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Worker rights arbitration upheld.”

And in early news coverage, The Associated Press has reports headlined “Court rules for employers in arbitration case“; “Court sides with power plants over fish“; and “Court: Gov’t should pay lawyers for clemency work.”

Posted at 10:07 AM by Howard Bashman



“Philip Morris, Wyeth Cases Mark Shift in U.S. Court’s Course”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has an article that begins, “Companies are in a slump at the normally business-friendly U.S. Supreme Court.”

Posted at 8:22 AM by Howard Bashman



“Portland widow beats Big Tobacco”: The Oregonian today contains an article that begins, “The widow of a Portland janitor won her 10-year legal battle with the world’s largest cigarette maker Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the tobacco company’s appeal of a $79.5 million award.” The newspaper also has reposted online this related article from February 1, 2008, in which I am quoted.

Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak reports that “Justices End Tobacco Company Appeal.”

In The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that “High Court Won’t Take Up Award Against Philip Morris.”

Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Supreme Court dismisses appeal in tobacco case with $79.5 million verdict; The case was considered one of the most important of the current term because it suggested the justices were headed into a showdown with the Supreme Court of Oregon.”

And law.com’s Tony Mauro reports that “High Court Dismisses Philip Morris Appeal of $79 Million Punitive Damages Verdict.”

Posted at 8:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“Justices Limit the Reach of Apology to Hawaiians”: Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times.

Today in The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin reports that “Native Hawaiians Lose Claim.”

And The Honolulu Star-Bulletin contains articles headlined “Ceded lands case sent home; U.S. Supreme Court ruling favors the state but OHA also pleased” and “Bills seek to define ceded lands policy; OHA lawsuit on ceded lands keeps issue on front burner.” In addition, the newspaper contains an editorial entitled “Ceded lands ruling creates quick need for sovereignty.”

Posted at 8:12 AM by Howard Bashman



“Administration Is Debating Release of Interrogation Memos”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “The Obama administration is intensely debating whether and when to release documents from the Bush administration related to harsh interrogation methods used on prisoners belonging to Al Qaeda, according to administration and Congressional officials.”

Posted at 7:54 AM by Howard Bashman



“Will high court make age-bias lawsuits easier or harder to win? A case the justices heard Tuesday offers them an opportunity to decide the standard for proving illegal discrimination.” Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has this report.

Posted at 7:44 AM by Howard Bashman