How Appealing



Saturday, September 30, 2006

“Clemens, Others Implicated in Banned Drug Case”: The Los Angeles Times on Sunday will contain an article that begins, “Roger Clemens, 44, one of professional baseball’s most durable and successful pitchers, is among six players accused by a former teammate of using performance-enhancing drugs, The Times has learned. The names had been blacked out in an affidavit filed in federal court. Others whose identities had been concealed include Clemens’ fellow Houston Astros pitcher, Andy Pettitte, and former American League Most Valuable Player Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles.”

And in other baseball news, the quest of the Philadelphia Phillies for a wild card playoff spot has ended unsuccessfully for this season.

Posted at 11:20 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justices to Hear Abortion, Integration Cases; ‘Partial-Birth’ Procedure and Schools’ Race Policies to Dominate Court’s Agenda”: Charles Lane will have this article Sunday in The Washington Post.

Posted at 11:14 PM by Howard Bashman



“Campaign Cash Mirrors a High Court’s Rulings”: In Sunday’s edition of The New York Times, Adam Liptak and Janet Roberts will have a lengthy article that begins:

In the fall of 2004, Terrence O’Donnell, an affable judge with the placid good looks of a small-market news anchor, was running hard to keep his seat on the Ohio Supreme Court. He was also considering two important class-action lawsuits that had been argued many months before.

In the weeks before the election, Justice O’Donnell’s campaign accepted thousands of dollars from the political action committees of three companies that were defendants in the suits. Two of the cases dealt with defective cars, and one involved a toxic substance. Weeks after winning his race, Justice O’Donnell joined majorities that handed the three companies significant victories.

Justice O’Donnell’s conduct was unexceptional. In one of the cases, every justice in the 4-to-3 majority had taken money from affiliates of the companies. None of the dissenters had done so, but they had accepted contributions from lawyers for the plaintiffs.

You can also access online two related graphics (here and here);a sidebar written by Liptak headlined “Case Studies: West Virginia and Illinois“; an article explaining “How Information Was Collected“; and a “Response From Ohio Justice Terrence O’Donnell” [PDF document].

Finally, by clicking here, you can watch a short video in which Liptak explains the study and its findings.

Posted at 11:05 PM by Howard Bashman



“4th Circuit nominees wait again; The fates of Boyle and Haynes remain unclear in Senate”: The Richmond Times-Dispatch today contains an article that begins, “Two of President Bush’s controversial nominations for the Richmond-based appeals court appeared all-but-dead after a Senate panel took no action on them yesterday.”

Meanwhile, The Associated Press reports that “Bush nominates 3 to federal bench in North Carolina.” Interestingly, William L. Osteen, Jr. yesterday was nominated to replace U.S. District Judge William L. Osteen, Sr., who took senior status earlier this year. No word yet on whether William L. Osteen, III exists and, if so, whether we can count on him to someday hold this same federal district court judgeship. (Thanks to “Confirm Them” for the pointer.)

Posted at 2:20 PM by Howard Bashman



“Officials Plan to Move Quickly for Terrorism Trials in Spring”: Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times.

And The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined “Tribunal Bill Sets Up an Ironic Legal Limbo; Detainees deemed less of a threat might go untried yet be unable to challenge detention” and “Detainee Bill Boosts the GOP; Its passage on President Bush’s terms renews public focus on an issue that has been a political winner for Republicans since 9/11.”

Posted at 2:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Legislating Violations of the Constitution”: Online today at washingtonpost.com, Law Professor Erwin Chemerinsky has an essay that begins, “With little public attention or even notice, the House of Representatives has passed a bill that undermines enforcement of the First Amendment’s separation of church and state.”

Posted at 1:45 PM by Howard Bashman



“Expert: Man executed may have been awake.” Claire Cooper, legal affairs writer for The Sacramento Bee, today has this article in that newspaper.

Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that “Prisoner possibly conscious at death; Testimony done; ruling possible in November.”

In The Los Angeles Times, Henry Weinstein and Maura Dolan report that “Judge Concludes Hearings on Lethal Injection.” Also, Colin Dayan has an op-ed entitled “‘Cruel and Unusual’ Execution Debate; How the 8th Amendment became germane to death penalty law.”

And in The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz has an article headlined “One court’s ruling; many lives at stake.”

Posted at 1:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“A federal appeals court has ordered a new hearing to be held in the contempt case against Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds’ weight trainer, who was jailed for a second time last month for refusing to answer questions about the baseball slugger.” So begins an article published today in The San Francisco Chronicle My earlier coverage appears here.

Posted at 1:35 PM by Howard Bashman



“Gay couple from R.I. wins Mass. ruling; Superior Court judge says longtime partners can marry”: The Boston Globe contains this article today.

The Providence Journal reports today that “Mass. judge says R.I. law doesn’t ban gay marriage; While the ruling paves the way for same-sex couples in Rhode Island to marry in Massachusetts, Attorney General Lynch says it doesn’t allow for gay marriage in the Ocean State.”

The New York Times reports that “Rhode Island Couple Wins Same-Sex Marriage Case.”

And The Washington Times reports that “Judge rules R.I. gays can ‘marry.’

You can access yesterday’s ruling at this link.

Posted at 1:32 PM by Howard Bashman



“Roberts Addresses Judicial Freedom; Political, Judicial Figures Headline Law Center Conference on Courts”: This article appeared yesterday in The Georgetown Hoya. My earlier post linking to video from the conference can be accessed here.

Posted at 9:15 AM by Howard Bashman



“The U.S. Supreme Court so far has filled half of its 2006-2007 docket with business cases, cutting a wide swath across important legal issues for the corporate world.” So begins this report from MarketWatch.

Posted at 9:08 AM by Howard Bashman