How Appealing



Thursday, December 7, 2006

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Posted at 7:54 PM by Howard Bashman



In today’s edition of The Providence Journal: An article headlined “U.S. appeals court to hear Indian case” begins, “The full 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to hear a case involving 31 acres of Narragansett Indian land in Charlestown.”

And an article headlined “Question for the court” begins, “The Rhode Island Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether Family Court can hear a divorce case involving two Providence women who married in Massachusetts.”

Posted at 7:32 PM by Howard Bashman



“Court hears case of car seller; At issue is ‘For Sale’ sign on vehicle in Glendale”: The Cincinnati Enquirer today contains this article reporting on a case that was reargued en banc yesterday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Back on May 19, 2006, I covered the original three-judge panel’s ruling in this case in a post titled “Divided three-judge Sixth Circuit panel rejects attorney’s commercial speech challenge to Village of Glendale, Ohio’s ordinance prohibiting the display of ‘for-sale’ signs on a vehicle parked on a public street.”

Posted at 3:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Becoming What We Despise”: At Truthdig, Robert Scheer has an essay that begins, “Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen, has been tortured by his own government for the better part of three-and-one-half years, suffering years of systematic sensory deprivation documented in his attorneys’ filings and supported by photos of the prisoner published this week by the New York Times.”

My earlier coverage appears at this link.

Posted at 3:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“Scope of 2nd Amendment’s Questioned”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “In a case that could shape firearms laws nationwide, attorneys for the District of Columbia argued Thursday that the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms only applies only to militias, not individuals.”

The article reports on an oral argument that occurred today before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. According to that court’s web site, the panel assigned to the case consists of “Judges Henderson, Griffith and Silberman.”

In other coverage, Washington, DC’s WTOP Radio reports that “Group Takes D.C. Gun Laws to Court.”

And Robert A. Levy of the Cato Institute has had essays about the case entitled “Challenging the D.C. Gun Ban” and “A Woman’s Right: One woman’s fight to bear arms.” Levy was listed as one of the attorneys for plaintiffs in the complaint that initiated the lawsuit that gives rise to today’s appellate oral argument

Posted at 2:38 PM by Howard Bashman



Replacing U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth in the Indian Trust litigation known as Cobell v. Kempthorne is U.S. District Judge James Robertson: The chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued this order today.

My earlier coverage of the D.C. Circuit’s decision from July 2006 ordering that the case be reassigned to a new federal district judge can be accessed here. Today’s reassignment order states that the D.C. Circuit’s mandate issued on Monday of this week.

The plaintiffs in the litigation maintain a web site devoted to the case.

Posted at 2:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“N.J. court backs eminent domain for open space”: The Philadelphia Inquirer provides a news update that begins, “The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled this morning that Mount Laurel acted properly when it seized a developer’s land in order to preserve open space.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link.

Posted at 2:20 PM by Howard Bashman



“Senate votes to bolster security of judges”: Reuters provides a report that begins, “Security in America’s courtrooms would be bolstered in response to attacks on judges in recent years under a measure approved on Wednesday by the U.S. Senate.”

Posted at 11:33 AM by Howard Bashman



“Legislators may reconsider suspending habeas corpus for detainees”: McClatchy Newspapers provide a report that begins, “President Bush’s victory in getting the rules he wanted to try suspected terrorists could be diminished. The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee signaled this week that he’ll join prominent Democrats in seeking to restore legal rights to hundreds of suspected terrorists confined at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere.”

Posted at 11:30 AM by Howard Bashman



“Laughing all the way to the (en) banc after Booker“: Law Professor Doug Berman has this post today at his “Sentencing Law and Policy” blog.

Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman



“Specter gets last licks as Senate Judiciary Committee chair; Grilling of FBI chief targets terror wiretaps”: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today contains an article that begins, “The lights went out yesterday on Sen. Arlen Specter’s chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee — literally.”

Posted at 11:14 AM by Howard Bashman



“Myers grilled on Abramoff ties”: The Denver Post today contains an article that begins, “A controversial Bush administration judicial nominee is facing additional questions about whether he had any contact with now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.” The newspaper has also posted online, in PDF format, two related documents here and here.

And on Sunday, The Denver Post published an article headlined “Nominee attended Abramoff party; The court pick has said he had no contact with the convicted lobbyist, but his schedule hints otherwise.”

Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman



“A problem bigger than busing”: Yesterday in The Chicago Tribune, columnist Clarence Page had an op-ed that begins, “Affirmative action is on trial at the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Posted at 8:40 AM by Howard Bashman



“Two states, big lawyers, one high-powered divorce; Texas high court hears billionaires’ fight over whether local or California judge sets alimony”: The Houston Chronicle contains this article today.

Posted at 8:22 AM by Howard Bashman



“Nevada judges can keep raising funds; The state’s high court decides against one of several proposals to reform the judiciary”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

Posted at 8:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“S.D. judge hands victory to medical marijuana advocates; Ruling rejecting county suit upheld”: The San Diego Union-Tribune today contains an article that begins, “A Superior Court judge refused to overturn California’s medical marijuana laws yesterday, upholding last month’s preliminary ruling that rejected San Diego County’s lawsuit against the state. Judge William R. Nevitt Jr. ruled that state law enforcement officials are not obligated to arrest and prosecute people who violate federal laws.” I have uploaded a copy of yesterday’s ruling at this link.

Posted at 8:15 AM by Howard Bashman



“A day of prayers for Kamehameha Schools faithful”: The Honolulu Advertiser today contains an article that begins, “As prayerful thanks were offered up yesterday for a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld Kamehameha Schools’ century-old admissions policy favoring Native Hawaiians, some thoughts turned to building stronger legal barriers to future challenges against that controversial policy.”

Posted at 7:50 AM by Howard Bashman



“Democrats Set to Press Bush on Privacy and Terrorism”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “Leading Senate Democrats put the Bush administration on notice Wednesday that they intended to press for a fuller accounting on a wide range of counterterrorism programs, including wiretapping, data-mining operations and the interrogation and treatment of detainees.”

Posted at 7:44 AM by Howard Bashman



“State of the Unions: Should you pay for someone else’s opinions? A teachers union think so.” Stephen Moore has this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal. According to the op-ed, “The case has now been bumped up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments in January–in what could be the most important First Amendment decision in years.”

Posted at 6:50 AM by Howard Bashman



“Federal Judges Order New Oral Arguments In Lawmakers’ Case”: Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, “A federal appeals court considering a First Amendment dispute between two congressmen has ordered an unusual second set of oral arguments before the court’s full bench.”

Posted at 6:45 AM by Howard Bashman



“The Supreme Court Decides Whether Race-Based Pupil-Assignment Systems Are Constitutional”: Edward Lazarus has this essay online at FindLaw.

Posted at 6:40 AM by Howard Bashman