So you think your hourly rate is low? When a prisoner recovers $1 in damages on a federal civil rights claim, the Prison Litigation Reform Act limits the maximum available attorney’s fee award to $1.50, the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled today. And that’s the case even where the civil rights claim arose from conduct that predated the incarceration. You can access today’s en banc ruling at this link. A divided three-judge Tenth Circuit panel had previously reached the opposite result in the case, applying “the Supreme Court’s absurdity exception to the plain language rule of statutory construction.”
Tenafly eruv approved: The Associated Press provides a report headlined “Enclosure Sought by Jews Approved in N.J.” that begins, “After a six-year legal battle, a group of Orthodox Jews won the right to create a symbolic enclosure around the community by attaching plastic strips to utility poles.”
The New York Times reports today that “Town Votes for Marker Used by Jews.”
And The Bergen Record reports today that “Tenafly approves eruv deal.”
Back in October 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued this ruling on the dispute. My coverage of that ruling is here.
“Bitter Debate in Senate Continues on Alito”: This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening’s broadcast of NPR‘s “All Things Considered.”
“Hatch found guilty of tax evasion, ordered held”: The Providence (R.I.) Journal provides a news update that begins, “Survivor star Richard Hatch’s strategy didn’t quite pay off today, as a jury found him guilty of two tax-evasion counts and one count of filing a false return. It cleared him of seven other counts, including a bank-fraud charge carrying the most severe penalty. But he was ordered held as a flight risk and led out of court in handcuffs. He faces sentencing on April 28.”
“UTR Cribs: The Late Chief’s Teepee Sold.” The blog “Underneath Their Robes” features this new post.
Reuters is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “US judge sets February 24 RIM injunction hearing” and “Blackberry blackout threat leaves CEOs aghast.”
The Associated Press is reporting: Jesse J. Holland reports that “Senate Moves Toward Alito’s Confirmation.”
And an article headlined “U.S. Must Submit Papers to Moussaoui Team” begins, “A federal judge has ordered the government to give admitted terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui’s defense team documents describing what officials knew before Sept. 11, 2001, about al-Qaida threats and some of its hijackers.” Yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, made public in redacted form today, can be accessed here.
The White House announces a new round of judicial nominations: The complete list is here. Michael A. Chagares has been nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to replace Michael Chertoff. Chagares clerked for Senior Third Circuit Judge Morton I. Greenberg. And the President has renominated Brett M. Kavanaugh to the D.C. Circuit.
In news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Bush nominees for NJ courts include Abramoff prosecutor.”
“Remembering Rehnquist: Arizona Republican Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl propose spending $10 million to set up a judicial research center in honor the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist.” So begins a post that Wall Street Journal reporter Jess Bravin has today at that newspaper’s “Washington Wire” web site (free access).
“Sounds like a quantum-physical spooky outcome to me.” At “Unused and Probably Unusable,” Eh Nonymous has this post about the Ninth Circuit‘s en banc Yahoo! Nazi memorabilia-First Amendment ruling, which also happens to be the subject of my law.com column this week.
“Ex-Enron pair try again to get trial postponed, moved”: Mary Flood of The Houston Chronicle provides a news update that begins, “Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling today asked the court to temporarily postpone their trial while they ask an appellate court to move the case outside of Houston.”
And today’s edition of that newspaper contains an article headlined “Ken Lay eager to reclaim his reputation; That may be too great a task even for a man with the former chairman’s determination.”
DeMoss on de minimum contacts “stream of commerce” personal jurisdiction circuit split: Specially concurring in the Fifth Circuit’s ruling today in Luv n’ Care, Ltd. v. Insta-Mix, Inc., Circuit Judge Harold R. DeMoss, Jr. writes:
For the above reasons, I hope Insta-Mix will apply for a writ of certiorari and I urge the Supreme Court to take up the minimum contacts issue and resolve it and the increasing circuit divide with clarity. The recent changes in the composition of the Court should produce a new effort by the Court to definitively answer this controversy. The sovereignty of the individual states is on the line.
You can access the complete ruling at this link. (Blog post title with apologies to Paul Horwitz.)
“Kozinski Walks a Mile in IJs’ Shoes…Alone”: At CalLaw.com’s blog “Legal Pad,” Justin Scheck has a post that begins, “Looks like Alex Kozinski’s defense of an unlikely underdog is fully under way. Judging by recent statements and a Monday opinion, the Ninth Circuit judge seems intent on calling his appeals court colleagues to task for treating immigration judges like sad whipping boys in opinions overturning their decisions — an attitude that creeps into news stories about the overloaded and under-resourced immigration courts.” Monday’s Ninth Circuit ruling can be accessed here.
“Google vs. DoJ: Why the subpoena fight is all about public relations.” Adam L. Penenberg has this essay online at Slate.
“Alito Heading Towards Confirmation”: Yesterday’s broadcast of the public radio program “Here & Now” included this segment (RealPlayer required).
C-SPAN has posted online the video of yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting, where the committee voted along party lines on the nomination. Also available online from yesterday via C-SPAN are “Sens. Hatch (R-UT), Specter (R-PA), & Others on Judge Alito Nomination” and “Sens. Reid (D-NV), Stabenow (D-MI) & Others on Judge Alito Supreme Court Nomination.” RealPlayer is required to launch these video segments.
“As big investors flex muscle, law firms do heavy lifting; A legal bonanza is unfolding as emboldened shareholders increasingly do battle with Corporate Canada”: This article appears today in The Toronto Globe and Mail.
“Hatch found guilty on tax-evasion counts”: The Providence (R.I.) Journal’s blog provides an update that begins, “Reality television star Richard Hatch was convicted today on three of the 10 counts he faced in a federal indictment that alleged he failed to pay taxes on the more than $1 million he won on the popular TV series, as well as income from a radio program, rental income and charitable donations he allegedly used for himself.” Proving that sometimes a jury gives you $1 million, and other times a jury takes it away.
Divided three-judge Ninth Circuit panel upholds constitutionality of federal law used to prosecute travelers who intend to go to another country to engage in sexual activity with children: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.
Today’s majority opinion begins:
In this appeal we are confronted with a question of first impression regarding the scope of Congress’s power under the Foreign Commerce Clause. At issue is whether Congress exceeded its authority “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations,” U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3, in enacting a statute that makes it a felony for any U.S. citizen who travels in “foreign commerce,” i.e. to a foreign country, to then engage in an illegal commercial sex act with a minor. 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c). We hold that Congress acted within the bounds of its constitutional authority.
In earlier press coverage of this matter, CNN.com reported in September 2003 that “Man charged in U.S. for child sex crimes abroad.” In April 2004, The Christian Science Monitor published an article headlined “Global campaign to police child sex tourism.” And in June 2004, The Seattle Times reported that “8-year term levied in 1st prosecution under new child-sex law.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington issued this press release after the defendant who is the subject of today’s ruling pleaded guilty. In November 2004, the U.S. Department of State issued a press release titled “United States Getting Tougher on Child Sex Tourism; Immigration agency makes 10th arrest under 2003 law.” And U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has posted online this list of “Child Sex Tourists.”
“Supreme Court to Hear Fla Death Row Appeal”: Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to hear a Florida death row inmate’s appeal that challenges that state’s lethal injection method, just hours after the court dramatically stepped in to stop the man’s execution. Clarence Hill’s lawyer said that he had been strapped to a gurney with IV lines running into his arms Tuesday night when Justice Anthony M. Kennedy issued a temporary stay.”
And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Court to hear Florida death penalty case.” In response to the cert. grant, the “Sentencing Law and Policy” blog asks here whether “the Court’s grant of cert. could or should produce a de facto moratorium on lethal injection executions nationwide at least until the Supreme Court issues a ruling in Hill. ”
“Hatch jury has reached a verdict”: The Providence (R.I.) Journal’s blog provides this update. No word yet on what the verdict is.
Today’s issue of that newspaper contains an article headlined “Hatch’s tax case goes to the jury; In closing arguments, the government says the Survivor star deliberately failed to pay taxes, while the defense says there was no intent to defraud.”
“On Alito, Republicans Win, Democrats Talk; In the Senate, it’s all over but the scheduling”: Byron York has this essay today at National Review Online.
And online at The Nation, John Nichols at “The Online Beat” blog has a post titled “Feingold: Alito Would Be ‘Dangerous Addition’ to Court.”
“In Patent Disputes, A Scramble to Prove Ideas Are Old Hat; Sometimes Mad Magazine, Rube Goldberg Were First; RIM’s Norway Strategy”: The Wall Street Journal today contains a front page article (pass-through link) that begins, “Research in Motion Ltd., facing the threat that its popular BlackBerry service would be shut down in the U.S. over a patent dispute, got a tip early last year from a high-tech industry official: Check out a library in Norway.”
And Salon.com today contains an article headlined “Will BlackBerry go out of season? An intellectual property lawsuit could silence the ever-present hand-held e-mail device.”
“Samuel Alito Is No Sandra Day O’Connor”: The organization People For the American Way issued this analysis today.
“Scalia ‘junket’ defended; Lawyers’ group says teaching of a course at Colo. resort valid”: This article appears today in The Rocky Mountain News.
At Human Events Online, Robert B. Bluey provides reports headlined “Conservative Legal Group Calls for Investigation of ABC Report” and “Federalist Society Slams ABC’s Scalia Story: Repeat of Rather-Mapes.”
And at “The Huffington Post,” John Leo has a post titled “Scalia Goes to Colorado.”
In somewhat related coverage, The East Oregonian reports that “Justice Scalia charms county leaders at NACo meeting.”
“Moussaoui defense to cite his deprived upbringing; Lawyers indicated they would also argue at trial that the terror suspect appears to be schizophrenic”: The Minneapolis Star Tribune contains this article today.
The Amended Notice of Expert Evidence of Mental Condition that counsel for Zacarias Moussaoui filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia can be viewed at this link.
“J.D. Butzner Jr., retired judge, dies; 4th Circuit colleague recalls his keen mind, impact on civil rights”: This obituary appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch.
And The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Virginia provides this death notice.
As I noted here yesterday, the Fourth Circuit has scheduled a memorial ceremony.
“Columbia Law Is Seeking Guinier In Harvard Raid”: Anna Schneider-Mayerson has this article in the new issue of The New York Observer.
Debate begins on the floor of the U.S. Senate on whether to confirm Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the Supreme Court of the United States: You can view the proceedings live, online via C-SPAN2 (RealPlayer required).
“Alito debate begins today in full Senate; Discussions likely to spotlight partisan rift over court nominee”: USA Today contains this article today, along with an op-ed by Tony Mauro entitled “Will Alito fill conservative void that O’Connor did not?”
The Los Angeles Times reports that “Senate Panel Backs Alito on Party-Line Vote; The full chamber will begin debate on the nominee today and its narrow approval could come this week; He could tilt court to right.”
The Chicago Tribune reports that “Senate panel OKs Alito on 10-8 vote; No Democrats join GOP in endorsement.”
The Washington Post contains an article headlined “The Unsmoked Signal of Victory on Alito.”
In The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Michael McGough reports that “Alito nomination moves to full Senate after committee recommendation; Party-line vote follows more partisan rhetoric over court pick.”
The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger reports that “Nomination of Alito is passed to full Senate; Judiciary Committee approves Bush’s choice in party-line vote.”
The Boston Globe reports that “Alito wins party-line endorsement; Panel clears the way for Senate approval.”
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that “Alito nomination heads to full Senate; 51 senators have publicly committed to court pick, assuring his confirmation.”
The Houston Chronicle reports that “Alito win looks likely as full Senate set to debate; Judiciary panel voted along party lines to approve conservative judge.”
The Deseret Morning News reports that “Floor debate opens on Alito nomination; He’s almost certain to get the top-court post.”
The Washington Times reports that “Judiciary panel OKs Alito.” And Wesley Pruden has an essay entitled “The victory laps for Sam Alito.”
Newsday contains an article headlined “Poised to join Supreme Court; Senate judiciary panel votes along party lines for Alito; Democrats to discuss their options today.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Full Senate takes up Alito nomination; Judiciary panel approves Bush pick for Supreme Court.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that “Alito heads to confirmation vote; Senate committee endorses nominee for U.S. Supreme Court in rare party-line vote.”
The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports that “Casey risks angering base, joins Rendell in backing Alito.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “Casey supports Alito confirmation; The Democrat, a Senate candidate, said the judge is qualified for the high court, despite disagreements over some rulings.”
The Des Moines Register reports that “Grassley says nominee will be ‘superb.’”
The Journal News of Westchester, New York reports that “Schumer votes against Alito for high court.”
The Hartford Courant contains an article headlined “Criticizing Alito’s Judicial Views, Dodd Says He’ll Vote ‘No.’”
The Island Packet of Hilton Head, South Carolina reports that “Graham’s question spurs speculation.”
The Daily Princetonian provides a news update headlined “Alito receives committee backing; Supreme Court nominee’s confirmation virtually assured.”
And The Yale Daily News reports that “Alito moves closer to vote; Law students, faculty advocate debating nominee on credentials instead of politics.”
“Imagining a Day Without BlackBerrys; Possibility of Shutdown Has Some Users Panicking, Others Dreaming of Freedom”: This article (free access) appears today in The Wall Street Journal.
And online at OpinionJournal, Brian C. Anderson has an essay entitled “Shut Up, They Explained: The left’s regulatory war against free speech.”
“Top Enron Figures Head to Court; The conspiracy and fraud trial of the former chairman and CEO is set to begin next week”: The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.
“After Subpoenas, Internet Searches Give Some Pause”: This article appears today in The New York Times, along with a related article headlined “Privacy for People Who Don’t Show Their Navels.”
“A Threat to the Campaign Law”: The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “Just when the American public – outraged by the growing lobbying scandals – is calling for more regulation of money in politics, the Supreme Court has opened the door for a move in the other direction.”
Available online from law.com: Marcia Coyle reports that “Stakes Rise for Business in High Court Term; Cases ranging from patents to RICO have business litigators predicting a significant term.”
T.R. Goldman has an article headlined “Now It’s the Full Senate’s Turn to Look at Alito.”
Justin Scheck has an article headlined “9th Circuit: Troubled Lawyers Not Ineffective Per Se.” The ruling is here.
And Scheck also has an article headlined “Lerach Probe Obstacle: Lawyers.”
“On Party Lines, Panel Approves Alito for Court”: This article will appear Wednesday in The New York Times.
The Washington Post on Wednesday will report that “Alito Seems Assured Of High Court Seat; Panel Backs Nominee; Debate Starts Today.”
Wednesday’s edition of The Hill will report that “Alito clears on party-line vote.”
Wednesday in Financial Times, Patti Waldmeir reports that “Senate panel approves Alito as nominee.”
The Guardian (UK) reports on Wednesday that “Panel votes to back Alito for supreme court.”
And BBC News reports that “Panel approves Bush court nominee.”
