How Appealing



Wednesday, March 8, 2006

“Moussaoui dreamed of flying plane into White House; Jury sees videotaped deposition of ‘enemy combatant'”: CNN.com provides this report.

Posted at 8:54 PM by Howard Bashman



“Woman denied use of embryos without her partner’s consent”: This article appears today in The Times of London, along with articles headlined “His story: I would know it was out there and it would still be my child” and “Antifreeze technique that would have saved her years of wrangling and distress.”

The Independent (UK) reports today that “Former fiance stops frozen embryos being used for baby.”

The Mirror (UK) contains an article headlined “I Won’t give up: Cancer hit Natallie vows to fight on and begs ex to let her have IVF baby.”

The Herald (UK) contains articles headlined “Embryo woman in new plea to former fiance” and “Human rights and a sense of wrong.”

The Telegraph (UK) contains articles headlined “Don’t stop me becoming a mother” and “‘I did not want a child of mine growing up not knowing who I was.’” In addition, the newspaper contains an editorial entitled “Ethical pitfalls in the manufacturing of life.”

And The Sun (UK) contains an article headlined “Who has the final say?

Yesterday’s ruling of the European Court of Human Rights can be accessed at this link.

Posted at 8:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“RIM deal maker thrives on high-stake battles”: The Toronto Globe and Mail today contains an article that begins, “The man who brokered a peace in the ugliest patent war in history has made his mark in some of the United States’ most incendiary cases.”

Posted at 5:45 PM by Howard Bashman



“Defense rips into Fastow’s testimony; The judge tells Fastow and Petrocelli not to interrupt each other”: The Houston Chronicle provides this news update.

Posted at 5:42 PM by Howard Bashman



Law student blogging for law school credit attempts comprehensive list of all legal blogs: You can access the list at the blog “3L Epiphany” via a post titled “List of Legal Blogs: An Introduction.” Perhaps even more amazing than obtaining authorization to blog for law school course credit is today’s achievement by “3L Epiphany” in appearing to be (incorrectly, it just so happens) the eighth most-visited blog on the internet in the ecotraffic listing from “The Truth Laid Bear,” edging out both “InstaPundit” in ninth place and the always-popular “Go Fug Yourself” in tenth place.

Posted at 5:35 PM by Howard Bashman



“Patriot Act Shortens Death Appeals”: Today in The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley has an article that begins, “Death row inmates in California could be at least five years closer to the execution chamber when President Bush signs into law this week the revised Patriot Act.”

Posted at 4:23 PM by Howard Bashman



“HLS To Abide by Court’s Decision”: The Harvard Crimson today contains an article that begins, “Harvard Law School will aid military recruiters–in violation of the school’s 27-year-old nondiscrimination policy–following a Supreme Court ruling that forced the school to choose between assisting the Pentagon or forgoing over $400 million in federal funds to Harvard.”

Posted at 3:45 PM by Howard Bashman



What does it take to obtain rehearing en banc in the Ninth Circuit? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit now provides even one more wonderful online resource. Via the web page devoted to the status of cases in which rehearing en banc has been granted, you can now access in PDF format those petitions for rehearing en banc that in fact achieved the relief they were seeking.

Posted at 3:24 PM by Howard Bashman



“A Wrongful Birth?” Next Sunday’s issue of The New York Times Magazine will contain this article (TimesSelect subscription required) by Elizabeth Weil about wrongful birth litigation, which the article describes as lawsuits alleging that “a doctor’s poor care leads to the delivery of a child the parents claim they would have chosen to terminate in utero had they known in time of its impaired health.”

Posted at 3:14 PM by Howard Bashman



“The panel decision creates an intercircuit conflict on a recurrent issue: when does a claim for damages arising out of a false arrest or other search or seizure forbidden by the Fourth Amendment, or a coerced confession forbidden by the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, accrue, when the fruits of the search or the confession were introduced in the claimant’s criminal trial, and he was convicted?” So begins a dissent by Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner from the denial of rehearing en banc as to a ruling that a unanimous three-judge Seventh Circuit panel issued today.

Correction: As originally drafted, this post incorrectly asserted that Judge Posner was on the three-judge panel that decided the case. In actuality, his dissent was the result of the Seventh Circuit’s somewhat unusual practice of pre-circulating to all active judges those three-judge panel decisions that will either create circuit splits or overrule earlier Seventh Circuit decisions and then allowing dissents from the denial of rehearing en banc to issue simultaneously with the original three-judge panel’s ruling. Thanks to a reader from Maine for quickly bringing this error to my attention.

Posted at 2:58 PM by Howard Bashman



“Treaties shouldn’t trump U.S. law: The Supreme Court must deny extra rights for criminals who are foreigners.” Law Professor Julian Ku has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times.

Posted at 2:33 PM by Howard Bashman



“Lightly grilled: Polite, but pointless, the Supreme Court nomination hearing could have used a lot more American style.” Luiza Ch. Savage has this essay online today at Macleans.ca.

Posted at 2:32 PM by Howard Bashman



“High court shouldn’t be enigma, justice says”: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette today contains an article that begins, “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer tried to demystify the nation’s high court for an audience in Little Rock on Tuesday night, saying his fellow justices have good relationships with each other and leaving open the possibility that their arguments might someday be televised.”

The Arkansas News Bureau reports that “Supreme Court justice speaks at Clinton Library.”

The “Arkansas Daily Blog” of The Arkansas Times provides a post titled “Justice Breyer speaks in LR.”

And The Crimson White today contains an article headlined “Breyer: Court rarely changes course.”

Finally, at “Concurring Opinions,” Dan Filler has a post titled “More Details From The Breyer Visit.”

Posted at 2:28 PM by Howard Bashman



On the agenda: I’ll be leaving the office shortly to attend a lunchtime talk being given today by Third Circuit Judge (and First Lady of Pennsylvania) Marjorie O. Rendell. Additional updates will appear here this afternoon.

Meanwhile, anyone who would like to see me deliver one-half of a lunchtime talk is invited to attend this Federalist Society-sponsored event at noon next Tuesday (March 14th) in Columbus, Ohio.

It also appears likely that I’ll be speaking late Monday afternoon (March 13th) at the Moritz College of Law of The Ohio State University on the subject of appellate litigation, blogging, or some combination thereof. Additional details to follow as they become available.

Posted at 10:50 AM by Howard Bashman



A heretofore glaring omission in this blog’s coverage of Eleventh Circuit-based sex toy-related appellate litigation: To be sure, I have covered the Eleventh Circuit’s sex toy advertising decision out of Georgia, and I have covered that court’s decision rejecting constitutional challenges to an Alabama statute that criminalizes the commercial distribution of “any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs.”

But somehow I failed to report in a timely manner on the Eleventh Circuit’s August 2005 per curiam ruling in Koutsouradis v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., a case that arises from Florida. My earlier coverage of that case can be accessed here.

Update: A reader emails, with regard to the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling in Koutsouradis: “Apparently it’s worse than we thought. The ticket agents not only made fun of her vibrator; they took her soup. See p. 8 n.2 (‘wonton interference’).”

Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman



“Court Hears Arguments Over FBI Agent Accused of Exposing Probe”: Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, “A federal appeals court heard arguments yesterday in a case that highlights the disarray in the FBI’s counterintelligence efforts against China during the 1990s.”

Further into the article, Gerstein writes, “While yesterday’s arguments took place in open court, an unusual effort was made to avoid disclosing Ms. Woo’s identity. All the appeals court’s records pertaining to the case are under seal and the court’s calendar referred to the case as ‘United States of America v. Seal A.’ The judges and attorneys generally referred to Ms. Woo as ‘the defendant,’ although at one point Mr. Camunez slipped and referred to his client by name. The reason for the secrecy was somewhat baffling since the trial court unsealed most of its records relating to the case last year at the request of news organizations.”

The Ninth Circuit‘s notice of oral argument in the case can be accessed here. Thus far, that court hasn’t posted online any oral argument audio files from yesterday.

Update: The appellate oral argument audio file can be downloaded via this link (Windows Media format).

Posted at 8:45 AM by Howard Bashman



“The Death Knell of Residual Doubt: The Supreme Court Underestimates the Relevance of Innocence.” FindLaw commentator Sherry F. Colb has this essay today.

Posted at 8:40 AM by Howard Bashman



“Looting, lies, greed ruled at Enron, Fastow says; Witness says he felt like a ‘hero’ for setting up side deals that hid losses”: Mary Flood has this article today in The Houston Chronicle. The newspaper also reports that “Fastow show draws full house; Trial watchers from Fort Worth, Louisiana take day off to hear ex-CFO break his silence.”

The New York Times reports today that “Enron Executive Points a Finger at Former Chiefs.”

The Washington Post contains a front page article headlined “Former Enron CFO Implicates Old Bosses; CEO Sanctioned Fraud, Jury Hears.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Fastow Tells of Deception at Enron; Ex-finance chief details how he helped prop up profit as ‘the foundation was crumbling.’

The Chicago Tribune reports that “Fastow says Skilling blessed Enron deals.”

And The Dallas Morning News provides an article headlined “Fastow: Boss asked for ‘juice’; Ex-Enron CFO says Skilling wanted him to hide losses; defense questions credibility.”

Posted at 7:35 AM by Howard Bashman



“Prosecutors at Sept. 11 Trial Lay Out Activities of Hijackers”: Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times.

The Washington Post reports today that “Moussaoui Unfazed as 9/11 Attacks Detailed; Defendant Smiles as Prosecutor Describes Doomed Flight During Death Penalty Trial.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Al Qaeda Expert Offers Few Details at Moussaoui Trial; The defense challenges the competence of the first government witness in the sentencing phase.”

And The Richmond Times-Dispatch provides an article headlined “Agent: No Moussaoui link to hijackers.”

Posted at 7:28 AM by Howard Bashman



“A revived debate on abortion in Europe; Conservatism evident in Slovakia’s proposed ‘freedom of conscience’ deal with Vatican”: This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune.

Posted at 7:24 AM by Howard Bashman



“Drawing Lines on Lines”: The Washington Post today contains an editorial that begins, “Nearly two years ago, the Supreme Court examined a fundamental threat to American democracy and waved it off.”

Posted at 7:15 AM by Howard Bashman