How Appealing



Monday, May 21, 2007

“Legal Victory for Families of Disabled Students”: Linda Greenhouse will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times.

Tuesday in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes will report that “Parents of Disabled Child Win Ruling; High Court Says They Don’t Need Lawyer to Sue Over Special-Ed Needs.”

Tuesday in USA Today, Joan Biskupic will report that “Parents of disabled kids can represent selves in court; Justices broaden right to challenge school plans.”

And Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that “Supreme Court hands victory to parents of disabled children.”

Posted at 11:28 PM by Howard Bashman



“Federal Judicial Center Deputy Director John Cooke takes a look at the last 30 years in the federal appeals court system and talks about changes in the caseload, types of appeals & differences between the military and federal courts.” This past Saturday’s broadcast of C-SPAN’s “America & the Courts” consisted of a portion (RealPlayer required) of the recent judicial conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Posted at 9:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“Appeals court to hear prayer issue; School Board, ACLU at odds”: The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana today contains an article that begins, “Attorneys for the Tangipahoa Parish School Board and the American Civil Liberties Union head to a federal appeals court in New Orleans on Tuesday to argue whether board meetings can be opened with sectarian prayer. It’s the second time the two sides in the more than 3-year-old legal dispute have appeared before the U.S. 5th Circuit, but this time they face all the court’s judges.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Full 5th Circuit to hear prayer dispute.”

My earlier coverage of the Fifth Circuit‘s splintered three-judge panel ruling can be accessed here.

Posted at 8:57 PM by Howard Bashman



“Sex toys never ‘focus of bill’; As ban reaches high court, Butler says law aimed at nude dancing”: The Huntsville Times today contains an article that begins, “Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, didn’t set out to ban the sale of sex toys throughout the state, launching Alabama on a nine-year legal battle that last week reached the U.S. Supreme Court. ”

Posted at 8:47 PM by Howard Bashman



Justice John Paul Stevens chides divided three-judge Ninth Circuit panel for deciding case by means of an unpublished opinion: See Justice Stevens’ opinion concurring in the judgment, in which Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined, in the case captioned Los Angeles County v. Rettele, No. 06-605. Of course, the fact that the Ninth Circuit’s decision was unpublished did not spare it from today’s summary reversal at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Ninth Circuit’s ruling consisted of a majority opinion and a dissenting opinion.

And if that’s not sufficient to get you interested in the case, The Associated Press’s report on today’s ruling is headlined “Naked Couple’s Lawsuit Ended by Court.”

Posted at 2:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“Court issues five rulings”: Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

The five argued cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions today are:

Office of Sen. Mark Dayton v. Hanson, No. 06-618 (opinion here; oral argument transcript here);

Winkelman v. Parma City School Distr., No. 05-983 (opinion here; oral argument transcript here);

Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, No. 05-1126 (opinion here; oral argument transcript here);

Hinck v. United States, No. 06-376 (opinion here; oral argument transcript here); and

Roper v. Weaver, No. 06-313 (opinion here; oral argument transcript here).

The Court today also issued a per curiam reversal of a Ninth Circuit decision in Los Angeles County v. Rettele, No. 06-605.

In news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Court Rules in Favor of Telecom Firms“; “Parents Don’t Need Lawyer in Ed Cases“; and “Court Limits Certain Cases to Tax Court.”

Posted at 10:13 AM by Howard Bashman



“Another Gonzales Horror Story”: In today’s issue of National Journal, columnist Stuart Taylor Jr. has an essay that begins, “Every day that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is allowed to remain in office is corrosive to constitutional governance and an invitation to further politicization of the Justice Department.”

Posted at 9:12 AM by Howard Bashman



“When Should a Commercial Web Site Be Held Liable for User-Generated Content?” Today’s installment of my “On Appeal” column for law.com appears at this link.

Posted at 8:42 AM by Howard Bashman



“Justices Will Speak At Becker Memorial”: Today in The Legal Intelligencer, Shannon P. Duffy has an article (subscription required) that begins, “Three justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will be in Philadelphia today to speak at a memorial service for Judge Edward R. Becker, the former chief judge of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who died in May 2006. Justice David H. Souter will preside over the service, which begins at 2 p.m. in the Ceremonial Courtroom in the U.S. Courthouse, and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Stephen Breyer will be among the speakers.”

Posted at 8:40 AM by Howard Bashman



“Falwell saw law school as tool to alter society”: The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, “Some may have found it curious when Rev. Jerry Falwell’s new Liberty University School of Law recently unveiled a $1 million teaching courtroom featuring exact-to-the-inch replicas of the U.S. Supreme Court bench and the lectern and counsel tables facing it. But Liberty faculty and students understood perfectly: Falwell intended his students to be well prepared to argue before and, ultimately, to serve on the highest court in the land.”

Posted at 8:30 AM by Howard Bashman



“Protection for press”: The St. Petersburg Times today contains an editorial that begins, “From Watergate to Enron, significant events of vital public importance may not have come to light without confidential sources whose anonymity was protected by reporters.”

Posted at 8:25 AM by Howard Bashman



“Judges Rebuff Pakistani Gov’t on Judge”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Supreme Court judges rebuffed government arguments Monday at a hearing on President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s suspension of Pakistan’s chief justice, a move that has stoked the worst political crisis of the general’s eight-year rule.”

Posted at 8:05 AM by Howard Bashman



“Gay Britons Serve in Military With Little Fuss, as Predicted Discord Does Not Occur”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

Posted at 7:54 AM by Howard Bashman