How Appealing



Thursday, July 30, 2009

“Selective Service Is Sued by Quaker; Draft Form Has No Way to Indicate Status as Conscientious Objector”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

Posted at 11:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“Detention Challenges Are Far Off for Many; Guantanamo Cases Make Little Progress”: This article will appear Friday in The Washington Post.

Posted at 11:25 PM by Howard Bashman



Available online from law.com: Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer reports that “3rd Circuit Upholds Bar to Litigation Over Litigation; Opinion backs lawyers’ ‘absolute privilege’ in communication in course of lawsuit.” You can access today’s non-precedential ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link.

In other news, an article reports that “Appeals Court Upholds Lopsided Award Against Ford Motor Co.; Panel found no reason to reverse based on a mismatch between compensatory and punitive damages.” You can access yesterday’s non-precedential ruling of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, at this link.

And in commentary, Eric R. Haren has an essay entitled “The Real Battle for the Federal Judiciary.”

Posted at 11:23 PM by Howard Bashman



Evenly divided Tenth Circuit denies rehearing en banc of three-judge panel ruling which held that a Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma represented an unconstitutional governmental endorsement of religion: Six judges voted in favor of en banc review, and six judges voted against it. You can access today’s order denying rehearing en banc, and two opinions dissenting therefrom, at this link.

The original three-judge Tenth Circuit panel’s ruling can be accessed here, while my earlier coverage of that ruling appears at this link.

Lastly, the federal district court’s ruling in this case can be accessed here, while my earlier coverage of that ruling appears at this link.

Posted at 11:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“Rove Had Heavier Hand in Prosecutor Firings Than Previously Known”: Carrie Johnson of The Washington Post has a news update that begins, “Political adviser Karl Rove and other high-ranking figures in the Bush White House played a greater role than previously understood in the firing of federal prosecutors almost three years ago, according to e-mails obtained by The Washington Post, in a scandal that led to mass Justice Department resignations and an ongoing criminal probe.”

Posted at 3:12 PM by Howard Bashman



The en banc Fifth Circuit has certified for U.S. Supreme Court review “whether the prosecution of Seale for a fatal kidnapping that occurred in 1964 but was not indicted under federal law until 2007 is barred by a federal limitations period”: Today’s order, from which six judges have noted their dissent, issued in the case captioned United States v. James Ford Seale.

In her dissent from today’s certification order, Chief Judge Edith H. Jones writes:

Although the certification falls within the permissible scope of Sup. Ct. Rule 19, it is not worth this busy court’s time or that of the also-busy Supreme Court to pursue that path. The likelihood of the Court’s accepting certification, based on past usage, is virtually nil. The Court has accepted Rule 19 certifications only four times in more than sixty years.

This blog’s earlier coverage of the case can be accessed here and here.

Update: The “Fifth Circuit Blog” offers this coverage of today’s order.

The Associated Press reports that “High court asked to review civil rights-era case.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “A question for the Court.”

Posted at 2:24 PM by Howard Bashman