How Appealing



Monday, August 15, 2005

“Justice as FAIRness”: At “PrawfsBlawg,” Paul Horwitz links here to two newly posted academic papers related to the Solomon Amendment case, which is now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Posted at 10:22 PM by Howard Bashman



“Workplace Romance”: Today’s broadcast of the public radio program “On Point” included a segment described as follows:

Until now, sexual harassment seemed like a simple matter. If a supervisor behaved inapproriately with an employee, that employee could sue.

But a California court just broadened the rules to include “sexual favoritism.” That means employees can sue if other employees are having sex with the boss and getting preferential treatment.

Could this spell the end of all office romance? We’ll look at the significance of the ruling and hear some sordid stories from the workplace.

You can hear the segment online by clicking here (RealPlayer) or here (Windows Media).

Posted at 10:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Washington state awaits ‘marriage’ ruling”: This article appears today in The Washington Times, the one newspaper that reliably employs scare quotes when the subject turns to same-sex marriage.

Posted at 5:15 PM by Howard Bashman



“Durbin offered proof of column”: The Washington Times today contains an article that begins, “A law professor who used Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin as a source for a column last month about federal Judge John G. Roberts Jr. — a column that Mr. Durbin later disputed — has a taped phone message that he says proves the accuracy of his reporting.”

Posted at 3:48 PM by Howard Bashman



“Town may have to pay $65,000; Great Falls fighting lawyer fees after losing case to Wiccan priestess”: This article appeared yesterday in The Charlotte Observer.

Posted at 3:44 PM by Howard Bashman



Building rented as a frat house is sufficiently “used in interstate commerce” so as to subject rival frat members who set fire to the building to prosecution for the federal crime of arson: At SUNY Cortland, apparently the Deltas don’t much like the Kappas. So when the Deltas lost their frat house to the Kappas, the Deltas viewed the situation as intolerable. What followed gave rise to this interesting criminal law ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today.

Posted at 3:20 PM by Howard Bashman



“We must decide whether the creators of the yet-unproduced film The Minotaur are collaterally estopped from pursuing a copyright infringement claim against the producers of Terminator II.” So begins an opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today. Fortunately for fans of copyright litigation everywhere, today’s decision reverses the trial court’s dismissal of the copyright infringement claim.

Posted at 2:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“Spy retrial brings out Cuban exiles’ restraint; Five overturned convictions disappoint in Miami, but newfound patience has prevailed”: The St. Petersburg Times contains this article today.

Posted at 10:05 AM by Howard Bashman



“The Judge Report: John Roberts is either a mad bomber of abortion clinics or a homo-tastic friend of the sodomite.” This segment (Windows Media) recently appeared on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” (via “Bench Memos“).

Posted at 9:50 AM by Howard Bashman



“Honduran businessman wages battle to win his freedom”: Yesterday’s issue of The Mobile Register contained an article that begins, “Today, David Henson McNab sits in a federal prison outside of Memphis, Tenn., about midway through an eight-year and one-month sentence for crimes in Honduras that the Honduran government now insists he did not commit. Four years later and 30 pounds lighter, his regular appeals exhausted, McNab has returned to the same federal court in Mobile where he was convicted in a lobster smuggling case that drew national attention.”

Posted at 9:40 AM by Howard Bashman



“Rulings Trim Legal Leeway Given Medicaid Recipients”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “In a series of rulings, federal judges are limiting the ability of poor people to turn to the courts to fight for Medicaid benefits to which they believe they are entitled.”

Posted at 8:44 AM by Howard Bashman



“A supreme honor: Since his days at Tom C. Clark High School, Evan Young has eyed the U.S. Supreme Court; now he works with its justices.” This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle.

Posted at 6:48 AM by Howard Bashman



“Roberts Lauded as Counter to Leftists”: Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun.

The New York Times reports today that “Conservative Gathering Is Mostly Quiet on Nominee.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Evangelicals Rally to ‘Save the Court’; Conservative Christian leaders urge support for Bush nominee John G. Roberts Jr.

The Houston Chronicle reports that “DeLay charges left unduly influences Supreme Court; House majority leader keeps heat on federal bench.”

The Washington Times reports that “DeLay slams court activism as ‘autocracy.’

The Tennessean contains articles headlined “‘Justice Sunday’ message: People hold the power; Americans urged in second telecast to deal with ‘out-of-control judges’” and “Other area services seek to promote unity, not to protest.”

The Washington Post contains an article headlined “Roberts v. Media Horde: The Supreme Court Nominee Manages to Keep Mum and Very Busy.”

And The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that “Democrats seek dialogue on abortion.”

In commentary, Newsday contains an editorial entitled “Nominee deserves scrutiny, but anti-Roberts ad crossed the line.”

In The Washington Post, columnist William Raspberry has an op-ed entitled “A Bad Shift for the Court.”

And online at Reason, Jacob Sullum has an essay entitled “NARAL’s Explosive Charge: The abortion rights group’s slander of John Roberts helps his confirmation.”

Posted at 6:24 AM by Howard Bashman