How Appealing



Tuesday, August 30, 2005

“Johnston gets stay of execution”: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch provides a news update that begins, “Timothy Johnston, who had been set to be executed tomorrow for murdering his wife in 1989, won a reprieve late today from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of the court voted 2-1 to grant him an emergency stay of execution until 12:01 a.m. next Thursday, Sept. 8.” The article reports that the death row inmate is arguing in support of his request for a stay that “the three drugs used to execute death-row prisoners in Missouri violate his Constitutional right against cruel punishment.”

Update: The stay was short-lived, as “Sentencing Law and Policy” reports in an update here.

Posted at 7:35 PM by Howard Bashman



“Gay extramarital flings don’t count as adultery”: The Toronto Globe and Mail today contains a front page article that begins, “Shelly Pickering thinks it is unfair that her husband’s extramarital affair with a man doesn’t legally count as adultery. So today, she’s heading to court in Vancouver to challenge the law.” According to the article, the attorney for the woman who is seeking a divorce spells her name entirely in lower-case letters.

Posted at 5:28 PM by Howard Bashman



“Gay rights suit on docket; Nine same-sex couples challenge marriage law; Judge to begin hearing case today; Legal actions filed in Md., five other states over bans”: This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun, which also provides an updated report from The Associated Press here.

Posted at 5:25 PM by Howard Bashman



The Fifth Circuit’s web site is back online: Although oddly it now redirects to the web site of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Southern District of Texas. Presumably the Fifth Circuit’s headquarters in New Orleans will remain closed tomorrow. The Supreme Court of Louisiana is also headquartered in New Orleans, and its web site remains inaccessible. The web site of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, also based in New Orleans, continues to function. Donations to the hurricane relief effort can be made via this earlier post.

Posted at 5:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Based on the text of this statute and the absence of any contrary expression of congressional intent, we hold that an individual falling within the ‘regarded as’ category of disability under the ADA is entitled to a reasonable accommodation no less than an individual satisfying the actual-impairment definition of disability.” So a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has ruled in an opinion issued today.

Posted at 3:34 PM by Howard Bashman



“Plan of Attack: Next week Democrats can criticize Roberts and big government at the same time.” Eric Columbus today has this essay (free registration required) online at The New Republic.

Posted at 3:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Be Unprepared: Why the Senate should ask John Roberts the questions he least expects.” Bruce Reed of Slate’s “The Has-Been” offers these thoughts.

Posted at 2:52 PM by Howard Bashman



Stephen Aslett gets results: Fast on the heels of this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy,” I received the following email from the aforementioned Stephen Aslett stating:

Mr. Bashman,

I’m sure you’re aware that your blog is one of the more popular legal blogs on the web. Therefore, it gets a lot of traffic from lawyers who have money to spare.
Until a few days ago, I (along with many others) was a law student in New Orleans and I (along with many others) had a place to live. It looks like we won’t be able to get back for weeks or months. There’s been a huge loss of life (no one’s been able to take an accurate count yet) and 80% of the city is underwater in whole or in part. We need all the financial help we can get.

Could you please put a prominent link to the Red Cross website on your main page and encourage people to donate what they can to the relief efforts?

You can access the Red Cross web site at this link, and online donations can be accomplished here.

Posted at 2:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“US FTC takes Schering patent case to high court”: Reuters reports here that “U.S. antitrust authorities on Tuesday said they had asked the Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling and reinstate antitrust charges against Schering-Plough Corp.” I first noted the Eleventh Circuit‘s ruling in a post you can access here.

Posted at 12:28 PM by Howard Bashman



“Abortion law could mean death penalty for doctors; Lawmakers say that wasn’t their intent when they passed measure”: The Austin American-Statesman today contains an article that begins, “Texas doctors who perform abortions without parental approval or during the third trimester could face capital murder charges because of a law that will take effect Thursday, a prosecutors’ group says.” (Via “Sentencing Law and Policy.”)

Posted at 11:33 AM by Howard Bashman



“The Big Coverup: Unless the courts say otherwise, this is the week the naked breast in Missouri goes bye-bye.” This article appears in this week’s issue of The Pitch of Kansas City, Missouri, along with a related article headlined “Breast Exam: Dancers answer our questions about why they dance.” Both of these articles are accompanied by images that may not qualify as work-safe.

Last Wednesday, the Kansas City Star reported that “Adult entertainment industry protests law; Restrictions unconstitutional, lawyers say.” And on Saturday, The KCStar reported that “Judge rules against Missouri strip club law; Says restrictions violated U.S., Missouri constitutions.” According to an update (second item) published today, “Missouri plans to appeal a judge’s ruling tossing out a law placing new restrictions on strip clubs.”

Posted at 11:10 AM by Howard Bashman



“Uneven Treatment Marks Roberts Nominations”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The last time John Roberts went before the Senate Judiciary Committee, one senator accused another of asking dumb questions.” In fact, the charge was that “dumb-ass” questions were being asked.

Posted at 10:58 AM by Howard Bashman



“Senator Wile E. Coyote: A terribly troubling letter.” Today at National Review Online, Hadley Arkes has an essay that begins, “In a recent, highly publicized letter to Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) mapped out some questions that Roberts can expect — questions not entirely friendly, questions that reflect an adversary stance, closer to the stance of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Precisely why questions of this kind should be emanating from the Republican chairman of the committee is a serious question, somehow never raised in the reporting of this letter.”

Posted at 10:54 AM by Howard Bashman



“Lawyers for Saudi Prisoner Ask Court to Throw Out Roberts Ruling”: Jess Bravin has this article (pass-through link) today in The Wall Street Journal.

Posted at 10:44 AM by Howard Bashman



“Documents offer insight into Roberts’ work in ’80s”: Joan Biskupic and Toni Locy have this article today in USA Today.

The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Roberts to Be Quizzed on Torture; The Supreme Court nominee will be asked for his views on Bush administration policy during confirmation hearings, senator says.”

In The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Michael McGough reports that “Roberts tied to Bush-Quayle campaign; Supreme Court nominee said he provided opposition research.”

The Washington Times reports that “Memos highlight Roberts’ caustic side.”

And The Arkansas News Bureau reports that “Liberal group ask Arkansas senators to review Roberts’ record.”

In commentary, The Boston Globe contains an editorial entitled “The Roberts stakes.”

In Newsday, columnist Marie Cocco has an op-ed entitled “Pill politics raises question on Roberts.”

And in The Wall Street Journal, Quin Hillyer has an essay entitled “How Judges Are Judged: A look at the inside of ‘The Borking Rebellion’” (free access).

Posted at 6:50 AM by Howard Bashman



“Catastrophic”: That’s the front page headline today in The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. You can access today’s T-P in PDF format via this link. The web site of the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit remains off-line at this hour, although the web site of the New Orleans-based U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana continues to work as it did throughout the day yesterday. “Ernie the Attorney” rode out the storm in New Orleans and reports here that “it’s pretty clear to me that this city isn’t going to be even marginally operational for at least a couple of weeks or even a month.” If and when I receive updates regarding the Fifth Circuit’s plans to resume operations at its headquarters or elsewhere, I will pass them along.

Posted at 6:30 AM by Howard Bashman