How Appealing



Monday, April 9, 2007

“Six U.S. Attorneys Given 2nd Posting in Washington”: The Washington Post on Tuesday will contain an article that begins, “A half-dozen sitting U.S. attorneys also serve as aides to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales or are assigned other Washington postings, performing tasks that take them away from regular duties in their districts for months or even years at a time, according to officials and department records.”

Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman



Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro reports that “Supreme Court Quickens Pace With Big Cases to Come.”

In other news, “Attorney Named on ‘Don’t Date Him’ Web Site Fails to Shut Down Online Operations.” My coverage from earlier today appears at this link.

An article reports that “N.Y. Chief Justice Says Judiciary Is Prepared to Sue to Obtain Raises; Kaye also outlines steps to put judges’ pay back on bargaining table.”

And The National Law Journal contains an article headlined “Who’d Want This Job, Anyway? New U.S. Attorneys may be vexed by disarray, short stays.”

Posted at 10:14 PM by Howard Bashman



“This appeal presents the difficult issue of whether an admittedly inappropriate environment created by a women’s collegiate soccer coach was sufficiently hostile to deprive a player of the benefits of or participation in the team or her education.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today issued its en banc ruling in Jennings v. University of North Carolina. The trial court had granted summary judgment in favor of all defendants on plaintiff’s claims under Title IX and the federal civil rights act.

By a vote of 8-2, today’s en banc ruling reinstates the plaintiff’s Title IX claim and also overturns the grant of summary judgment on the plaintiff’s civil rights claim as against two defendants. The quote that appears as the title of this post comes from the concurring opinion of Circuit Judge Roger L. Gregory.

Circuit Judge M. Blane Michael, the author of today’s en banc majority opinion, had dissented from the original three-judge panel’s ruling, which had affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants on all claims. My coverage of that ruling, issued one year ago Wednesdsay, appears at this link.

Posted at 3:20 PM by Howard Bashman



“D.C. Appeals to Keep Gun Ban”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “District of Columbia officials warned a federal appeals court Monday that its rejection of the city’s handgun ban creates a precedent that could severely limit gun control.”

Update: “SCOTUSblog” links here to the text of the District of Columbia’s petition for rehearing en banc filed today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Posted at 3:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“Clement to Supervise Gonzales Investigation”: “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times” provides a post that begins, “Solicitor General Paul Clement has once again been pulled into the middle of a dust-up between Congress and the Justice Department.”

Posted at 1:20 PM by Howard Bashman



State trial court in Pittsburgh dismisses local attorney’s defamation lawsuit against the owner of DontDateHimGirl.com for lack of personal jurisdiction: The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania has issued this decision in the lawsuit captioned Hollis v. Joseph.

ABCNews.com covered the filing of the lawsuit in a report headlined “Women Rat, Man Sues; DontDateHimGirl.com Is Getting Sued for Defamation.” And ABC News mentioned the case more recently in a report headlined “Principal Sues Student for Cyber Defamation; Teen Posted MySpace Profile Stating Man’s Affinity for Porn, Booze, Underage Students.”

You can access the pleadings in the Hollis v. Joseph case via the trial court’s online docket entries at this link. And some of my recent earlier coverage of the case can be accessed here and here.

Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman



Supreme Court of California to issue decision deciding scope of “testimonial hearsay” under the U.S. Supreme Court‘s ruling in Crawford v. Washington: California’s highest court has announced that it plans to issue a ruling today in a case that presents the following question:

Are all statements made by an ostensible crime victim to a police officer in response to general investigative questioning “testimonial hearsay” within the meaning of Crawford v. Washington (2004) 541 U.S. 36, and inadmissible in the absence of an opportunity to cross-examine the declarant, or does “testimonial hearsay” include only statements made in response to a formal interview at a police station?

The decision is scheduled to be released at 1 p.m. eastern time today and, once available, can be accessed via this link.

Posted at 8:54 AM by Howard Bashman



“May the Best Appellate Lawyer Win, Unless the Facts or Law Dictate Otherwise”: This week’s installment of my “On Appeal” column for law.com can be accessed here.

Posted at 8:50 AM by Howard Bashman



“No predictions on Kamehameha decision”: The Honolulu Advertiser today contains an article that begins, “The U.S. Supreme Court could issue a decision as early as next Monday that would either leave Kamehameha Schools elated over the end of the legal challenge to its Hawaiians-first admission policy or set the stage for the most significant high-court ruling involving Native Hawaiians in years.”

Posted at 8:32 AM by Howard Bashman



“Off-target on child porn: Two recent legal cases illustrate overreach and ineffectiveness by Congress in a worthy fight.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

Posted at 8:30 AM by Howard Bashman



“Gingrich joins call for Gonzales to step down; The former speaker is the latest Republican to break ranks with the administration, which still stands behind the attorney general”: The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.

The New York Times reports today that “Gingrich Faults Gonzales for Attorneys ‘Mess.’

And The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled “The Iglesias Episode: The firing of the U.S. attorney in New Mexico has not been adequately explained.”

Posted at 8:25 AM by Howard Bashman



“Texas men’s innocence puts a county on trial; DNA is expected to clear a convicted rapist, as it has 3 of his friends”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

Posted at 8:24 AM by Howard Bashman



“Judges Take On Dred Scott Case; Breyer, appeals court judges reconsider most infamous legal decision”: This article appears today in The Harvard Crimson.

Posted at 8:02 AM by Howard Bashman



“Another Layer of Scandal”: The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “As Congress investigates the politicization of the United States attorney offices by the Bush administration, it should review the extraordinary events the other day in a federal courtroom in Wisconsin.”

My earlier coverage of the Seventh Circuit’s order to enter a judgment of acquittal in the case of Georgia Thompson can be accessed here and here.

Posted at 7:50 AM by Howard Bashman



“Getting Beyond Race: Justice O’Connor ponders the twilight of affirmative action.” John Fund has this essay online today at OpinionJournal.

Posted at 7:44 AM by Howard Bashman