“This appeal primarily asks whether the Nebrasks State Patrol’s removal of Va Lerie’s checked luggage from the bus’s lower luggage compartment to a room inside the bus terminal to seek Va Lerie’s consent to search the luggage constituted a Fourth Amendment seizure.” Today, a sharply divided en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, by a vote of 7-5, ruled that no seizure occurred. Some of the Eighth Circuit’s more conservative jurists were among the dissenters. You can access today’s en banc ruling at this link.
Nearly one year ago, a divided three-judge Eighth Circuit panel issued this ruling in the case reaching the opposite result. My earlier coverage of the three-judge panel’s ruling is here.
Today’s long list of cert. denieds: Gina Holland of The Associated Press reports that “Court Won’t Block Suit Against Gun Makers” and “Supreme Court Won’t Hear Newspaper Suit.”
“Bush Names Miers to Replace O’Connor”: law.com provides this news update.
“Utterly underwhelmed”: Michelle Malkin has collected various reactions to today’s U.S. Supreme Court nomination from mostly the conservative side of the blogosphere.
Today’s U.S. Supreme Court Order List: You can access today’s Order List (all 84 pages of it) at this link. Presumably the list would have been much shorter if the Court had found some way to avoid repeating over and over that “The Chief Justice took no part in the consideration or decision of these petitions.”
The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Miers Gave to GOP Candidates, Democrats” and “Miers Financial Forms Show Modest Holdings.”
“Some conservatives not thrilled by Miers; Bush chooses ally for high court; some on the right fear ‘stealth’ nominee”: Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this analysis.
“The burden of proof may be heavy”: Lyle Denniston has this post online at “SCOTUSblog.”
On the steps (and leaving the house): You can access photos of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. on the first Monday in October here, here, here, here, and here.
“Roberts wore a plain black robe, without the gold arm stripes that had been used by his predecessor, William H. Rehnquist”: Gina Holland of The Associated Press reports that “Justice Roberts Takes Supreme Court Bench.”
“Miers’ trek: from council to counsel; Ex-Dallas city official now advises president on legal matters”: This article appeared in the March 3, 2005 issue of The Dallas Morning News.
Today, The Dallas Morning News provides an update headlined “Miers tapped for high court.”
The New York Times provides a news update headlined “Longtime Confidante of Bush Has Never Been a Judge.”
The Washington Post provides a news update headlined “Bush Names Harriet Miers to Supreme Court; White House Counsel Would Replace Retiring Sandra Day O’Connor.”
And The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined “Bush Nominates Harriet Miers for Supreme Court.”
“Bush Nominates Totally Random Person for Court”: Joel Achenbach of The Washington Post offers these thoughts online at “Achenblog.”
“High Court to Hear Dispute on Worker Pay; First Arguments Before New Chief Justice Will Be About Wages; Social Issues Will Follow”: Jess Bravin has this article (pass-through link) today in The Wall Street Journal.
“President Nominates Harriet Miers as Supreme Court Justice”: This transcript is available online via the White House web site.
“Bush Nominates Harriet Miers”: Via C-SPAN, you can access here (RealPlayer required) video of this morning’s announcement.
As noted here at “Confirm Them,” Law Professor Jonathan Turley on this morning’s broadcast of the NBC News program “Today” described the nomination as “an amazingly bad choice.”
Progress for America has already launched the web site JusticeMiers.com in support of the nominee.
And at “SCOTUSblog,” Tom Goldstein offers “Some Initial Thoughts.” His post concludes, “I have no view on whether she should be confirmed (it’s simply too early to say), but will go out on a limb and predict that she will be rejected by the Senate. In my view, Justice O’Connor will still be sitting on the Court on January 1, 2006.”
The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Bush Chooses Miers for Supreme Court” and “Bush’s Court Pick Tends to Avoid Limelight.”
In addition, Gina Holland reports that “Supreme Court Set to Begin New Term.”
“A Woman Of Low Profile In a Job High-Powered”: This profile of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers originally appeared in The New York Times on November 20, 2004.
“Bush expected to nominate Harriet Miers to Supreme Court; Miers currently works as White House counsel”: CNN.com provides this report.
“Quiet but Ambitious White House Counsel Makes Life of Law”: On June 21, 2005, The Washington Post published this profile of White House Counsel Harriet Miers.
Via the White House web site, you can access this brief bio of the nominee and the transcripts of three “Ask the White House” online chats (here, here, and here) in which Harriet Miers participated.
“Bush Chooses Miers for Supreme Court”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “President Bush has chosen Harriet Miers, White House counsel and a loyal member of the president’s inner circle, to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court, a senior administration official said Monday.”
BREAKING NEWS — “President Bush has chosen White House counsel Harriett Miers for Supreme Court, administration official says.” The Associated Press provides this news alert.
BREAKING NEWS — “Bush to name Supreme Court nominee Monday; Candidate would replace key swing voter O’Connor”: CNN.com provides this report.
And The Associated Press reports that “Bush to Announce Supreme Court Nominee.”
The announcement is scheduled for 8 a.m. eastern time today.
“Will local governments keep Jesus out of prayers? Religion a motivator for challenges, expert says.” This article appears today in The Herald of Rock Hill, South Carolina.
“JAG recruiters descend on Law School”: The Stanford Daily contains this article today.
And Washington Square News today contains an article headlined “Law keeps up fight against Solomon.”
“Author in the court: Justice Stephen Breyer’s new book reflects his practical approach to the law.” This article appears today in The Boston Globe.
“President considers ‘lots of options’ for O’Connor’s replacement; Roberts opens term today after ceremony”: USA Today contains this article today.
Today in The Dallas Morning News, Allen Pusey has an article headlined “Pivotal times for high court; New chief, docket full of contentious cases await justices as term begins.”
The New York Daily News reports that “Prez, Roberts take in ‘Red Mass.’”
The Washington Times reports that “‘Civility’ called for at Red Mass.”
Bloomberg News reports that “Roberts Has Early Chance to Shift U.S. Court on Social Issues.”
And The Daily Nebraskan reports that “UNL professors speak out on Roberts’ confirmation.”
In commentary, The Boston Globe today contains an editorial entitled “Roberts justice.”
Newsday contains an editorial entitled “High court in transition: Hot-button cases show why it matters so much who is confirmed as justice.”
USA Today contains an editorial entitled “Personal freedoms ride on O’Connor’s replacement.”
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette contains an editorial entitled “Oh, never mind: The Emily Litella Syndrome.”
And in The Daily Cardinal of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Adam Schmidt has an op-ed entitled “Dark horse nominee Sykes embodies neccessary debate.”
“Little Notice, but a Lot of Emotion; Prop. 73, dealing with parental notification for girls under 18 seeking an abortion, divides voters who otherwise share common ground”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.
“The Second-String Supreme Court Shortlist: The judges the White House just started talking about.” Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
