How Appealing



Monday, May 14, 2007

“Prestigious Private Schools Settle Rights Suit by a Non-Hawaiian”: Adam Liptak will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times.

Posted at 11:57 PM by Howard Bashman



“Guantanamo Detainees’ Suit Challenges Fairness of Military’s Repeat Hearings”: Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, “The military system of determining whether detainees are properly held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, includes an unusual practice: If Pentagon officials disagree with the result of a hearing, they order a second one, or even a third, until they approve of the finding.”

Posted at 11:45 PM by Howard Bashman



“Lawsuit Tests Legal Status of Gay Unions”: The New York Times on Tuesday will contain an article that begins, “Connecticut’s highest court became the first in the nation on Monday to hear arguments over whether the establishment of civil unions created a fundamentally inferior status for gays and lesbians.”

Posted at 11:44 PM by Howard Bashman



The Associated Press is reporting: An article headlined “Shop Owner Appeals Sex Toys Case” begins, “The owner of adult stores in Alabama asked the Supreme Court on Monday to throw out a state ban on selling sex toys, calling it an unconstitutional intrusion into the bedroom.”

I discussed this case in installments of my “On Appeal” column for law.com headlined “‘Lawrence’ Fails to Open Floodgates to Unfettered Sexual Freedom” and “11th Circuit’s Abuzz With Sex Toy Litigation.”

And in other news, “Student Settles With Hawaiian School” and “Arguments in Federal Gas Mileage Suit.”

Posted at 9:04 PM by Howard Bashman



“Deputy A.G. McNulty Announces Resignation”: The Washington Post provides this news update.

The New York Times provides a news update headlined “Deputy Attorney General Resigns His Post.”

The Associated Press reports that “McNulty, Justice Dept. No. 2, Resigning.”

Reuters reports that “Gonzales deputy resigns from Justice Department.”

And Bloomberg News reports that “McNulty, No. 2 Justice Department Official, to Resign.”

You can view the resignation letter at this link. Also available online is the “Statement of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales on the Resignation of Deputy Attorney General Paul J. Mcnulty.”

Posted at 8:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“Suit on Kamehameha admissions dropped”: The Honolulu Advertiser provides this news update, along with related items headlined “Officials begin reacting to Kamehameha settlement” and “Timeline for challenge to schools’ admissions policy.”

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin provides a news update headlined “Student drops lawsuit against Kamehameha Schools; The school says a settlement preserves its admission policy for native Hawaiians.”

Kamehameha Schools today issued a news release titled “Kamehameha Schools and ‘John Doe’ Settle Admissions Lawsuit; Confidential Agreement Preserves Policy Offering Admissions Preference to Native Hawaiians.”

Posted at 4:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Extremist Taunts His Victims From Prison”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Victims of Eric Rudolph, the anti-abortion extremist who pulled off a series of bombings across the South, say he is taunting them from deep within the nation’s most secure federal prison, and authorities say there is little they can do to stop him.”

Posted at 3:44 PM by Howard Bashman



U.S. Supreme Court posts online proposed amendments to its procedural rules: You can view the proposed amendments at this link. Most notably, the Court proposes replacing many page limits with word limits, requiring electronic filing of briefs in addition to paper copies, and requiring that printed briefs use the font that the Court itself uses in its published opinions.

At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Electronic briefs probably will be required.” And law.com’s Tony Mauro previewed many of these proposed changes in his Courtside column last week (third item).

Posted at 3:35 PM by Howard Bashman



Like deja vu all over again, the First Circuit affirms federal death sentence against Gary Lee Sampson: Last Thursday, I linked here to an article published that day in The Boston Globe headlined “Sampson’s death sentence is upheld; Appeals court takes rare step to seal ruling.”

That article begins, “A federal appeals court has upheld the death sentence of Gary Lee Sampson, an Abington man who confessed to killing three New England men during a weeklong murder rampage in July 2001. In an unusual step, the three-judge panel, which rendered its opinion on Monday, sealed the judgment for seven days to give prosecutors and defense lawyers the opportunity to redact any language both sides agree should be kept confidential.”

Today, like clockwork, the First Circuit posted online its ruling from last Monday affirming the death sentence. I haven’t take the time to see whether any redactions are apparent.

Posted at 3:10 PM by Howard Bashman



Crime suspect who sought to terminate police questioning by exclaiming “I plead the fifth” wins opportunity to plead his case before fifteen Ninth Circuit judges: On November 8, 2006, I had a post titled “Of Beethoven, of vodka, or of the Bill of Rights containing the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution?” that begins:

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that if a criminal suspect indicates in any manner during custodial questioning that he wishes to remain silent, interrogation must cease. Today a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit resolves whether a criminal defendant’s statement, during an interrogation, that “I plead the fifth” is sufficient to invoke the right to remain silent. Complicating this question, the appeal arises in the habeas context challenging a state court conviction and is governed by the federal law whose acronym is AEDPA. The majority, in a decision that you can access here, affirms the federal district court’s denial of habeas relief.

Today, the Ninth Circuit issued an order granting rehearing en banc in the case.

Posted at 12:54 PM by Howard Bashman



Ninth Circuit rejects law firm’s Dispute Resolution Program, culminating in final and binding arbitration of most employment-related claims by and against its employees, as unconscionable under California law: A unanimous three-judge panel today delivered this loss to the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers.

Posted at 12:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“Judges who sought part-time status still carry big loads”: The Providence Journal today contains an article that begins, “In back-to-back announcements in March 2006, the only Rhode Islander on the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals and the chief federal judge in Rhode Island said they would step down from full-time service by the end of that year. Fourteen months later, those vacancies remain unfilled.”

Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“Hawaii schools case dismissed”: At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, “A significant test case in the Supreme Court on racial preferences in admissions to private schools has now been dismissed by agreement of the two sides.”

Last month, syndicated columnist James J. Kilpatrick had this essay about the case.

And recently, two bloggers at “Balkinization” offered competing views of the case (see here and here).

My earlier coverage of the Ninth Circuit‘s 110-page en banc ruling in this case can be accessed here and here.

Posted at 11:08 AM by Howard Bashman



“As I am inclined to think the Court meant what it said, I believe that neither Blakely nor Booker created a new rule, but merely applied the rule already laid down in Apprendi. The rule from Booker should therefore apply retroactively to habeas petitioners, like the Valentines, whose convictions became final after the Court issued its decision in Apprendi.” So writes Circuit Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr., dissenting in part from a decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued today.

Doug Berman notes the decision here at his “Sentencing Law and Policy” blog.

Posted at 10:48 AM by Howard Bashman



“Explorer Rollover Award Must Be Reviewed”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The Supreme Court ordered a state appeals court Monday to review a decision giving $82.6 million to a woman who was paralyzed after her Ford Explorer rolled over. The justices want a California appeals court to determine if its ruling is in line with the Supreme Court decision overturning a $79.5 punitive damages award in a tobacco case earlier this year.”

And in other coverage from the U.S. Supreme Court, The AP reports that “Death Row Inmate in Arizona Loses Appeal” and “Court Won’t Take Enron Barge Case.”

Posted at 10:19 AM by Howard Bashman



“Court: no grants, one decision.” Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

The one argued case in which the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion today is Schriro v. Landrigan, No. 05-1575. You can access the 5-4 ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined. Justice John Paul Stevens issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer joined.

You can access today’s Order List, which includes one call for the views of the Solicitor General, at this link.

Posted at 10:03 AM by Howard Bashman



“When Should a Judge Face Discipline for What an Opinion Says?” Today’s installment of my “On Appeal” column for law.com can be accessed at this link.

Posted at 8:40 AM by Howard Bashman