“Minority Contractors Lose Preference At Pentagon”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on last Friday’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
According to NPR’s description of the segment, “A Pentagon affirmative action program that benefits contracting companies owned by racial minorities has been declared unconstitutional. The decision was issued Nov. 4 — Election Day — so it hasn’t received much attention. But the decision could mean the end of similar programs at all levels of government.”
I had this post about the decision on the date that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued the ruling.
“Case debates if man’s insurer should pay in wreck; Courts have upheld refusal of claim for family injured by driver fleeing police”: Chuck Lindell had this article Friday in The Austin American-Statesman.
According to the article, “Now the Texas Supreme Court will decide who deserves the law’s protection: a family whose car was in the wrong place at the wrong time or an insurance company with a reckless and irresponsible client.”
“Vermont case before U.S. Supreme Court is drawing intense interest”: Friday’s edition of The Rutland Herald contained an article that begins, “Almost 40 states’ attorneys general, more than 15 victims’ rights groups, the National Governors’ Association and the solicitor general of the United States have joined Vermont in its appeal of a Vermont Supreme Court decision from earlier this year that set a convicted felon free from prison because of speedy trial issues.”
“Supreme Court to hear judge’s ethics appeal”: Yesterday’s edition of The Pensacola News Journal contained a newsbrief that begins, “The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday morning will hear oral arguments in 1st District Court of Appeal Judge Michael E. Allen’s ethics case.”
The May 14, 2007 installment of my “On Appeal” column for law.com was headlined “When Should a Judge Face Discipline for What an Opinion Says?”
“Retiring SJC judge Greaney no shrinking violet”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Justice John Greaney didn’t write the Supreme Judicial Court’s landmark ruling making Massachusetts the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage, but five years later, a passage from his concurring opinion is sometimes used by gay couples in their wedding ceremonies.”
“Will Frederick be the next solicitor general?” Lawyers USA provides this report.
“Obama’s Judges and the Senate: Mitch McConnell lays down some markers.” This editorial appeared yesterday in The Wall Street Journal.
“Justice Stevens on the Judiciary”: C-SPAN describes this past Saturday’s broadcast of “America & the Courts” as follows, “At the University of Florida Law School, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and U.S. District Court Judge Jose Gonzalez participated in a discussion on general legal issues, their own judicial philosophies and the importance of oral arguments.”
You can access last Saturday’s broadcast online, on-demand by clicking here (RealPlayer required). C-SPAN has also posted online the video of the entire event, and you can view it by clicking here (RealPlayer required).
“Obama pledge on treaties a complex undertaking”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, “President-elect Barack Obama’s pledge to restore the United States’ international standing extends far beyond front-page topics such as closing Guantanamo and banning torture, into areas as diverse as nuclear testing, the rights of women and people with disabilities, and military and commercial activities in the world’s oceans.”
“Is gay the new black? Marriage ban spurs debate.” The Associated Press provides this report.
“How to Close Guantanamo”: Jack Cloonan and Sarah Mendelson have this op-ed today in The Washington Post.
“CNN analyst Toobin talks politics, Supreme Court at ISU”: This article appeared last Tuesday in The Tribune-Star of Terre Haute, Indiana.
“Speculation Already Under Way On Possible Obama Supreme Court Nominations”: Scott Shepard of Cox News Service has this article.
“O’Connor’s talk offers judicial perspective; Boe Forum address sheds light on key court rulings”: Last Tuesday’s edition of The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota contained an article that begins, “The first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court discussed her time as a justice and the court’s key decisions Monday in Sioux Falls.”
“Ahead for Obama: How to Define Terror.” Today in the Week in Review section of The New York Times, Jonathan Mahler has an article that begins, “Early last Tuesday morning, a military charter plane left the airstrip at Guantanamo Bay for Sana, Yemen, carrying Osama bin Laden’s former driver, Salim Hamdan.”
