How Appealing



Monday, April 6, 2015

“A Response to Chief Justice Roberts’ Put-Down of Law Reviews”: Tony Mauro has this post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

My earlier coverage appears here and here.

Posted at 11:44 PM by Howard Bashman



“Court mulls revealing secret government plan to cut cell phone service; Feds: SOP 303 mobile-phone kill-switch policy would endanger public if disclosed.” David Kravets of Ars Technica has an article that begins, “A federal appeals court is asking the Obama administration to explain why the government should be allowed to keep secret its plan to shutter mobile phone service during ‘critical emergencies.'”

Posted at 11:38 PM by Howard Bashman



“99Rise protesters charged with Class A misdemeanor in federal court”: Orin Kerr has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

Posted at 11:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“Indiana, Arkansas retreat on religion bills may spark wider trend”: Reuters has a report that begins, “Oklahoma lawmakers have put the brakes on a religion bill similar to ones in Indiana and Arkansas that were overhauled last week after facing a storm of criticism for being seen as discriminatory against gays.”

Posted at 9:27 PM by Howard Bashman



“N.J. high court agrees to hear pension payment case”: NJ.com has an article that begins, “The state Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Gov. Chris Christie broke the law when he slashed $1.6 billion from this year’s payment into the public worker pension system.”

Andrew Seidman of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “N.J. Supreme Court to hear appeal in pension funding case.”

And Reuters reports that “New Jersey Supreme Court to take up pension funding appeal.”

Posted at 9:22 PM by Howard Bashman



“AP: Handful of holdout tribes dig in against gay marriage.” Jonathan Drew and Felicia Fonseca of The Associated Press have an article that begins, “Even if a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this spring makes same-sex marriage the law, it would leave pockets of the country where it isn’t likely to be recognized any time soon: the reservations of a handful of sovereign Native American tribes, including the nation’s two largest.”

Posted at 9:18 PM by Howard Bashman



“Closing arguments set to begin in Marathon bombing trial”: Patricia Wen, Kevin Cullen, and Milton J. Valencia of The Boston Globe have an article that begins, “Closing arguments are slated Monday in the death penalty trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, whose attorneys have acknowledged that he and his late brother, Tamerlan, were responsible for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and the murder of MIT Police Officer Sean A. Collier.”

And Laurel J. Sweet of The Boston Herald has a news update headlined “Judge preps jury for closing arguments in Tsarnaev trial.”

Posted at 11:08 AM by Howard Bashman



“Judge shot in March calls for end to gun violence”: Derek Draplin of The Detroit News has an article that begins, “U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg called for an end to ‘the scourge of gun violence’ during a rally for peace Friday, his first public appearance since he was shot in the leg outside his home last month.”

And David Jesse of The Detroit Free Press reports that “Judge Berg speaks against gun violence at march of hope.”

Posted at 11:04 AM by Howard Bashman



Access online today’s Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: At this link. The Court did not grant review in any new cases, but the Court did call for the views of the Solicitor General in one case.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Supreme Court rejects North Carolina appeal on election law” and “High court rejects appeal from subcontractor freed from Cuba.”

And Lawrence Hurley of Reuters reports that “Supreme Court seeks Obama administration views on Iran bank judgment” and “Supreme Court declines to review North Carolina voting law.”

Posted at 9:35 AM by Howard Bashman



“Can Rap Lyrics Send You to Jail? If You’re a Young Black Male, Yes; Prosecutors are using defendants’ use and posting of rap lyrics against them in cases where other evidence is lacking; An upcoming Supreme Court decision is crucial.” Lewis Beale has this essay online today at The Daily Beast.

Posted at 8:37 AM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Asked to Look Abroad for Guidance on Same-Sex Marriage”: Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his “Sidebar” column in Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times.

Posted at 8:26 AM by Howard Bashman