How Appealing



Saturday, December 15, 2007

“Justice Clinton? President Taft went on to the high court; Hillary could find it a tempting place to park her husband.” Law Professor Douglas W. Kmiec has this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal.

Update: The newspaper has now made the op-ed freely available over OpinionJournal, so I’ve updated the link to provide free access to non-subscribers.

Posted at 3:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“Delay Is Sought by Justice Dept. on C.I.A. Inquiry”: The New York Times contains this article today. The newspaper has also posted online this letter from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Washington Post today contains a front page article headlined “Congress’s Probe of CIA Tapes Resisted; Both Parties Decry Justice Dept. Move.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Justice moves to control tapes probe; The department says neither it nor the CIA will cooperate with congressional inquiries; Lawmakers question whether the executive branch can ‘oversee itself.’

And The Associated Press provides an article headlined “Justice Dept: Back Off on CIA Tapes.”

Posted at 3:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Court That May Not Be Heard”: The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the special court that reviews government requests for warrants to spy on suspected foreign agents in the United States, seems to have forgotten that its job is to ensure that the government is accountable for following the law — not to help the Bush administration keep its secrets.”

Posted at 2:44 PM by Howard Bashman



“School discipline over photos sparks free speech lawsuit”: Yesterday’s edition of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch contained an article that begins, “Seven grainy classroom photos of a Lafayette High School teacher posted on the Internet by a student are at the center of a federal lawsuit that tests the limits of school discipline in the cyber age.”

Posted at 11:44 AM by Howard Bashman



In news from Missouri: The Kansas City Star reported yesterday that “Blunt calls for death penalty for child rape.” The article begins, “Gov. Matt Blunt on Thursday called for the death penalty for child rape, a move critics said likely would encourage sexual predators to kill their young victims. Blunt’s proposal would impose the death penalty on those who commit forcible rape or forcible sodomy on children younger than 12.”

Posted at 11:40 AM by Howard Bashman



“Tiggergate proves expensive for Napa Valley school district”: The San Francisco Chronicle today contains an article that begins, “A Napa Valley middle school’s decision to bar a child from class last winter for wearing a pair of Tigger socks has proved costly. The Napa Valley Unified School District is on the hook for at least $95,000 in lawyers’ fees under a legal settlement announced Thursday between the district and five Napa families who challenged the school’s dress code. That’s enough to pay the salaries of two teachers for a year, but it’s only about a quarter of what the district would have had to pay if it went on to lose the Tiggergate lawsuit instead of settling.”

The Napa Valley Register reports today that “‘Tigger socks’ battle settled; Redwood, ACLU find a compromise on dress code.”

And The Times-Herald of Vallejo, California reports that “Napa schools, ACLU settle dress code suit.”

My earlier coverage of this matter appeared in posts titled “The wonderful thing about Tigger socks” and “Don’t Pooh-Pooh this school dress code.”

Posted at 11:33 AM by Howard Bashman



“Inside the CIA’s notorious ‘black sites’: A Yemeni man never charged by the U.S. details 19 months of brutality and psychological torture — the first in-depth, first-person account from inside the secret U.S. prisons.” Mark Benjamin has this article at Salon.com.

Posted at 11:25 AM by Howard Bashman



“Judge wants wrongful death lawsuit dropped; Keller says she’s not to blame for not answering call in execution case”: The Houston Chronicle today contains an article that begins, “The Texas judge accused of improperly denying a death row inmate a last-minute appeal has asked a federal judge to dismiss the wrongful death suit filed against her by the executed man’s widow. Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller contends that while she ordered the clerk’s office closed promptly at 5 p.m., state law clearly gave attorneys for death row inmate Michael Wayne Richard the power to contact judges on the court directly.”

The San Antonio Express-News reports today that “Judge defends actions in execution case.”

Texas Lawyer reports that “Keller Moves to Dismiss Suit Filed By Executed Man’s Widow.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Judge who refused to keep court open wants lawsuit dismissed.”

Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“DeGuerin’s slick opening argument”: Yesterday in The Houston Chronicle, columnist Rick Casey had an op-ed that begins, “Dick DeGuerin’s legend as a criminal defense attorney grows. He represents Tom DeLay. He represented Kay Bailey Hutchison. He represented David Koresh. He got a jury to acquit Robert Durst after the multi-millionaire admitted to killing his elderly neighbor, chopping up his body and dumping it in Galveston Bay. Now he represents U.S. District Judge Sam Kent.”

Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman



Available online from law.com: An article is headlined “Calif. Supreme Court: Don’t Use Your Opponent’s Notes.” My earlier coverage of Thursday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of California appears at this link.

Shannon P. Duffy reports that “3rd Circuit Finds No Private Right to Sue Over Unwanted Mail.” My earlier coverage of Thursday’s Third Circuit ruling appears at this link.

An article reports that “New Jersey Death Penalty Repealer Heads for Governor’s Desk; State is poised to become the first to eliminate capital punishment by legislation since 1965.”

In other news, “A Small Firm Wages ‘100 Years’ War’ on Tort Reform; Center is engaged in 40 cases challenging limits on tort claims.”

And the brand new installment of my weekly “On Appeal” column is headlined “Amendment to Federal Appellate Rules Tackles Identity Theft.”

Posted at 11:11 AM by Howard Bashman