“Having a gun is a serious problem in New York City. Maybe in the 8th Circuit they worry about cow-tipping or something.” So said the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently at an en banc oral argument, according to a law.com article headlined “2nd Circuit Approves Sentencing Bump for Urban Weapons Trafficking.”
It’s good to see that Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs‘s provocative comments aren’t limited merely to the topic of lawyers’ pro bono work. Some might say that he needs to spend a little bit more time in St. Louis to see first hand whether the Eighth Circuit should be more concerned about cow tipping than gun crimes, while others might say that he needs to visit those parts of Connecticut, New York State, and Vermont where cow tipping is a much greater concern than gun violence.
In any event, should the Eighth Circuit approve a “sentencing bump” for cow tipping (assuming somehow it could be turned into a federal offense), Chief Judge Jacobs will seem even more prescient than usual.
My earlier coverage of yesterday’s en banc Second Circuit ruling appears at this link.
“Kennedy steps down from Judiciary panel”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Sen. Edward Kennedy is stepping down from his Senate Judiciary Committee post.”
And The Boston Globe has a news update headlined “Source: Kennedy stepping down from Senate panel.”
“Justices Take Case on President’s Power to Detain”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update.
Robert Barnes and Jerry Markon of The Washington Post have a news update headlined “Supreme Court to Hear Case of Accused Al-Qaeda Member; Verdict May Have an Impact on Future Policies on Terror Detainees.”
David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined “The justices will hear the appeal of Ali Saleh Kahlah Marri; The case could decide if the president can order the military to hold a civilian in the U.S. based on suspected ties to terrorists.”
Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that “Supreme Court takes up another challenge to Bush terror strategy.”
And in hometown coverage, The Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star reports that “U.S. Supreme Court to hear al-Marri’s case.”
“A Taped Chat Between Richard Nixon and Warren Burger”: Tony Mauro has this interesting post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”
“High court to hear enemy combatant case”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has a report that begins, “The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether the president may order that people picked up in the United States be detained indefinitely and without criminal charges.”
James Vicini of Reuters reports that “US justices to rule on terror suspect’s detention.”
Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Al-Qaeda Suspect Held in U.S. Gets High Court Hearing.”
And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Court to rule on domestic detention.”
The U.S. Supreme Court today granted review in two cases. You can access today’s Order List at this link. It may also be newsworthy that today’s Order List contains no mention of expanded review in Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Williams, No. 07-1216.
“The Early Brief Gets the Worm: Liberal groups are ceding a key way to influence the Supreme Court.” Adam Chandler has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
