Available online from law.com: An article is headlined “Calif. High Court: No Mystery to Employee’s ‘At Will’ Contract.”
In news from New York, “2nd Circuit: Judge’s ‘Gut’ Feeling Proper Basis for Sentence Under Advisory Guidelines.”
An article reports that “3rd Circuit Upholds Lawyer’s Conviction in Scheme to Launder Drug Money.”
And the brand new installment of my “On Appeal” column is headlined “What Do Appellate Attorneys Actually Do?” Coincidentally, law.com has posted online a related article from last month headlined “Appeals for More Appellate Lawyers Being Answered.”
“Ind. High Court Lets Gay Adoption Stand”: The Associated Press provides this report.
And at “The Indiana Law Blog,” Marcia Oddi provides this coverage.
“A bid to reopen 1973 abortion ruling”: Lyle Denniston has this post online at “SCOTUSblog.”
“Lawyers Cite 1st Amendment in BALCO Leak”: David Kravets of The Associated Press provides this report.
And Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle provides a news update headlined “Chronicle reporters appear before judge; He says they may have uphill fight in refusing to testify about BALCO leaks.”
Ann Althouse vlogs about the books “Meet My Grandmother, She’s a Supreme Court Justice” and “John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice“: You can view the vlog via this link (“vlog” = “video” + “blog”).
“Because permanent signs are permitted for commercial speech, the trial judge found that the ordinance unconstitutionally favors commercial speech over at least one type of noncommercial speech — political messages.” And as as result, an Alabama-based federal district court entered a permanent injunction prohibiting the City of Trussville, Alabama from enforcing a portion of the city’s sign ordinance. Today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion affirming that permanent injunction.
“Court Upholds HIV-Spreading Convictions”:The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A man convicted of having unprotected sex with four people while knowing he carried the virus that causes AIDS was denied appeals Friday by the Iowa Supreme Court.”
The Supreme Court of Iowa today issued opinions in four separate cases involving the same defendant, and you can access those opinions here, here, here, and here.
“Fullam Tosses Out Filmmaker’s Defamation Suit Against Kerry”: Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer provides this news update (free access).
“Judges release congressional map for fall elections; Doggett gets more of Central Texas”: The Austin American-Statesman provides a news update that begins, “A three-judge federal panel today released a new congressional map for the November elections that gives U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, more of Travis County and Central Texas.”
And The Associated Press reports that “Judges ‘restore Latino voting strength’ in South Texas.”
At the “Election Law” blog, a post titled “Breaking News: Three Judge Court Issues Texas Redistricting Order” contains links to today’s opinion and order.
“Judge Pryor, Unplugged”: Kathryn Jean Lopez has this post at National Review Online’s “Bench Memos” blog.
“Former Bush Adviser Gets Probation”: The AP provides a report that begins, “A former White House adviser pleaded guilty to theft Friday, briefly breaking into tears as he tried to explain to a judge why he made phony returns at discount department stores while working as a top aide to President Bush.” You can access earlier coverage via this link.
“Judge Dismisses Suit Against Sen. Kerry”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A federal judge dismissed a filmmaker’s defamation lawsuit against Sen. John Kerry, saying remarks linked to Kerry’s campaign during the heat of the 2004 presidential race amount to political opinions.”
You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania at this link.
“Environmentalists Ask Senate to Leave the 9th Circuit Alone”: Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California.
“A proposed class representative is neither typical nor adequate if the representative is subject to a unique defense that is likely to become a major focus of the litigation.” So holds the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in an opinion issued today.
No doubt that if circuit-riding were to resume, the Seventh Circuit would perform the task ever so efficiently: In an opinion issued today rejecting a saleswoman’s sex and age discrimination claims, Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook writes, “How to construct the shortest route that visits all destinations is an old subject: in graph theory and linear programming it is known as the ‘traveling salesman problem’ and is the subject of a considerable literature.”
“Vt. Weighs in on Lesbian Custody Fight”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that Vermont courts, and not those in Virginia, have exclusive jurisdiction over a case involving two women battling for custody of a child they had while they were in a lesbian relationship. The unanimous ruling conflicts with a series of decisions in Virginia, where courts ruled the state’s anti-gay marriage laws controlled the case.”
You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Vermont at this link.
Rex Heinke and Tony Mauro discuss the “Supreme Court Today”: Yesterday, I linked here to the audio for the newest installment of Legal Talk Network’s “Coast to Coast” program, which happens to be on the subject of “Blawgging at Big Law Firms.”
I should also mention that last month, the “Coast to Coast” program had a half-hour segment focusing on the U.S. Supreme Court. You can access that audio via this link.
“The Reagan Revolution in the Network of Law”: Law Professors Frank B. Cross and Thomas A. Smith have this article (abstract with links for download) online at SSRN. The article’s abstract begins, “This paper analyzes the effect of the Rehnquist Court on Supreme Court precedent, using a network of all Court citations to other Supreme Court cases.” Thanks to “Legal Theory” for the pointer.
“Chronicle reporters may face contempt charges”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “A dispute between the Justice Department and The Chronicle over the use of grand jury testimony in stories about athletes’ steroid use will come to a showdown today in a San Francisco federal courtroom.”
Airport runway expansion at O’Hare, its impact on church cemeteries, and a resulting claim under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Today a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decides whether the Federal Aviation Administration’s approval of an airport layout plan incident to a determination of eligibility for federal funding sufficed to subject the FAA to claims arising under RFRA. The majority answers “no,” while Circuit Judge Thomas B. Griffith dissents on that point. You can access today’s complete ruling at this link.
U.S. Senate returns five federal appellate court nominations to President Bush: Technically, at least as of this moment, you can no longer accurately refer to Terrence W. Boyle and William J. Haynes II as current nominees to the Fourth Circuit, you can no longer accurately refer to Michael B. Wallace as a current nominee to the Fifth Circuit, and you can no longer accurately refer to William Gerry Myers III and N. Randy Smith as current nominees to the Ninth Circuit. Details here and here (via “Confirm Them“).
“Professor Wins Suit Against Blog Site”: The Associated Press provides this report from China.
“Appeals Panel Keeps DeLay on Ballot; GOP Will Ask Supreme Court to Delist Former Lawmaker”: The Washington Post contains this article today.
And USA Today reports today that “Ruling keeps DeLay on ballot; GOP to appeal to high court.”
“Justice After Guantanamo: The White House still thinks the ends justifies the means in trying suspected terrorists.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.
“A Better Way on Detainees”: Today in The Washington Post, Law Professors Jack Goldsmith and Eric A. Posner have an op-ed that begins, “Everyone involved in the contentious negotiations between the White House and Congress over the proper form for military commissions seems to agree on at least one thing: that al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists ought to be prosecuted. We think this assumption is wrong: Terrorist trials are both unnecessary and unwise.”
“Specter’s NSA Plan Hits Snag; Senate Democrats Also Vow to Block Justice Dept. Confirmation”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.
“Hale sues attorney for malpractice; White supremacist serving 40-year term”: The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, “White supremacist Matthew Hale, serving 40 years in a Colorado prison for plotting to kill a federal judge in Chicago, is suing his former attorney for malpractice.”
And The Associated Press reports that “White Supremacist Files Malpractice Suit.”
“$135M jury verdict against stadium beer vendor overturned”: The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins, “An appeals court has overturned a landmark $135million jury verdict against the beer vendor at Giants Stadium and a fan whose drunken-driving accident left a young girl paralyzed.”
And The New York Times reports today that “Court Overturns Jury Award Against Stadium Concessionaire.”
My earlier coverage appears at this link.
The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “GOP to Take DeLay Case to Supreme Court” and “Jailing of Reporters Send Powerful Signal.”
