How Appealing



Monday, May 30, 2005

“Bush’s Political Capital Spent, Voices in Both Parties Suggest; Poll Numbers Sag as Setbacks Mount at Home and Abroad”: This news analysis, which mentions the judicial filibuster compromise, will appear Tuesday in The Washington Post.

Posted at 11:55 PM by Howard Bashman



The U.S. Supreme Court can now decide for itself whether its earlier ruling in Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, Inc. concluded the case in defendants’ favor: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, over the dissent of three other judges from the denial of rehearing en banc, decided in an opinion you can access here that the Supreme Court’s ruling did not finally resolve the case in defendants’ favor.

In March 2005, as I noted here, the defendants filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court seeking final resolution of the case in their favor.

I have now posted online these additional documents filed with the Supreme Court in the case: plaintiffs’ brief in oppposition; the amicus brief of Alabama and seven other States; the amicus brief of Consistent Life, et al.; the amicus brief of Concerned Women for America; and defendants’ reply brief in support of the petition for writ of certiorari.

The Supreme Court has scheduled the case for its June 9, 2005 conference.

Posted at 11:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“State Attorneys General Ask Supreme Court to Hear 2 Reporters’ Case”: As I noted earlier here, Adam Liptak had this article in Saturday’s edition of The New York Times. More recently, I obtained an electronic copy of the amicus brief and have posted it online at this link.

Posted at 11:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“The McCain mutiny”: Today in The Washington Times, Thomas Sowell has an op-ed that begins, “After all the glowing words surrounding the Senate ‘compromise’ in which the Republicans folded their hand despite holding all the high cards, it is worth taking a look at who won what and why.”

Posted at 10:58 PM by Howard Bashman



“Scrushy on Trial: Class, Race and the Pursuit of Justice in Alabama.” This article will appear in Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times.

Posted at 10:00 PM by Howard Bashman



Next Monday afternoon, the U.S. Senate once again begins debate on the nomination of Janice Rogers Brown to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit: The Senate is due to resume work at 2 p.m. on Monday, June 6, 2005. Via C-SPAN, you can view a portion of her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing at this link (RealPlayer required). It’s one of the few judicial confirmation hearings that actually starts off interesting. The Judiciary Committee print of the hearing can be accessed here (371-page PDF document). A cloture vote on her nomination should occur by the middle of next week, and an up-or-down vote on the nomination is likely either later next week or early the following week.

Update: I have updated this post to reflect that the U.S. Senate is in recess all this week.

Posted at 9:10 PM by Howard Bashman



The filibuster lasted nine innings: With the Philadelphia Phillies, Trenton Thunder, and Reading Phillies all on the road out of the region this holiday weekend, the quest for baseball today takes my son and me on a road-trip to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to watch the Harrisburg Senators (AA club for the Washington Nationals) battle the Erie Sea Wolves (AA club for the Detroit Tigers). This will be our first visit to Commerce Bank Park.

Update: Final score: Harrisburg Senators 5; Erie Sea Wolves 2.

Posted at 8:00 AM by Howard Bashman



“On Filibuster and Stem Cells, GOP Bears Pain of Compromise”: Ronald Brownstein has this “Washington Outlook” essay today in The Los Angeles Times.

The Kansas City Star today contains an article headlined “Who’s an activist judge? Depends on your views.”

Newsday contains an editorial entitled “Second-term slump: Bush runs into trouble with Congress; maybe he should try playing nice.”

In The Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Robert Novak has an op-ed entitled “Cooperation falls apart in Senate.”

In The Topeka Capital-Journal, Gregory L. Schneider has an op-ed entitled “Will of the people nuked by compromise.”

And in The Lincoln Journal Star, columnist Don Walton has an op-ed entitled “Nelson, Hagel caught in nuclear fallout.”

Posted at 7:50 AM by Howard Bashman