How Appealing



Wednesday, April 9, 2008

“S.F. ban on handguns dealt a final defeat”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, “The state Supreme Court dealt a final blow Wednesday to San Francisco’s voter-approved ban on handguns, rejecting the city’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that sharply limited the ability of localities to regulate firearms.”

Posted at 11:32 PM by Howard Bashman



“Memo Proves Detention Is Illegal, Attorneys Say”: The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, “An accused ‘enemy combatant’ told an appellate court yesterday that a controversial Justice Department memorandum exploring the legal boundaries of military interrogations proves that his detention was illegal.”

Yesterday, “SCOTUSblog” posted the court filing at this link.

Posted at 11:08 PM by Howard Bashman



“New Roadblocks Delay Tribunals at Guantanamo”: This article will appear Thursday in The New York Times.

Carol Rosenberg of The Miami Herald has a news update headlined “Saudi terror suspect: Military trials a ‘sham.’

And Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined “Guantanamo prisoner denounces war-crime trial; The brother-in-law of a 9/11 hijacker tells a military judge that the terror conspiracy case against him is a sham and has himself removed from the courtroom.”

Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman



Over the dissent of seven judges, Ninth Circuit rejects rehearing en banc of decision immunizing from prosecution under 18 U.S.C. sec. 1001 false statements made by a criminal defendant to a probation officer preparing that defendant’s presentence report: You can access today’s order denying rehearing en banc, accompanied by a concurrence and two dissents, by clicking here.

My coverage of the original divided three-judge panel’s ruling, from July 2007, appears at this link.

Posted at 6:15 PM by Howard Bashman



“In a wide-ranging discussion with seniors from the Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, VA, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia reiterates his opposition to cameras in the U.S. Supreme Court”: C-SPAN has made available for on-demand viewing (click here; RealPlayer required) today’s appearance by Justice Antonin Scalia as part of that network’s “Students and Leaders” program.

Joan Biskupic of USA Today provides a news update headlined “Scalia tells students he kept ‘nose to the grindstone.’

And at “The Swamp” blog of The Chicago Tribune, James Oliphant has a post titled “No to cameras, yes to ’60 Minutes.’

Posted at 6:01 PM by Howard Bashman



“Ky. District Wins Challenge to Anti-Harassment Policy”: Mark Walsh has this post today at “The School Law Blog” of Education Week.

Today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, by a 2-1 margin, reaches an opposite result from the one that the same three-judge panel reached in the same case, by a 2-1 margin, in October 2007. My coverage of the October 2007 ruling can be accessed here. On panel rehearing, a U.S. District Judge sitting by designation changed his mind regarding the outcome of the case.

Posted at 5:17 PM by Howard Bashman



Programming note: I will be in court this morning on a client matter. Additional posts will appear here this afternoon.

Posted at 7:48 AM by Howard Bashman



“Appellate ruling favors drug firms in lawsuits”: The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains a front page article that begins, ” federal appeals panel in Philadelphia backed the pharmaceutical industry’s arguments yesterday that it should be insulated from certain lawsuits. The 2-1 opinion said drugmakers could not be blamed for the suicides of two people on antidepressants whose families claimed that the drug’s warning labels were not strong enough. While narrowly written, the decision was a clear victory for drugmakers and Bush administration officials, who want scientists at the Food and Drug Administration, not lay juries, deciding what drug labels should say. Lawyers for the plaintiffs countered that the FDA was outgunned and poorly funded at best and that lawsuits represented an important check on the system and a last attempt for injured victims to get redress.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Third Circuit ruling appears at this link.

Posted at 7:33 AM by Howard Bashman