“Court reinstates Rio Tinto lawsuit in U.S.” The Associated Press provides this report.
Reuters reports that “Islanders win appeal in claim against Rio Tinto.”
Radio New Zealand International reports that “US court reopens Panguna case against Rio Tinto.”
The Hagens Berman law firm yesterday issued a press release entitled “Oceanic Islanders Win Appeal in Massive Claim against Mining Giant Rio Tinto for Alleged Ecocide and Human Rights Crimes.” That law firm provides additional background about the case at this link.
Finally, my earlier coverage appears here.
Three-judge Sixth Circuit panel divides over whether a lawsuit asserting that 3M Company had unlawfully monopolized and attempted to monopolize the market for do-it-yourself retail automotive coated abrasives alleged a sufficient antitrust injury: The products that are the subject of the lawsuit are sandpaper, cloth sanding rolls, sanding discs, compounding paper, polishing discs, grinding discs, and finishing paper used in the preparation of automotive surfaces for painting.
Today, in an opinion by Circuit Judge Deborah L. Cook, in which Senior Circuit Judge Eugene E. Siler, Jr. has joined, the Sixth Circuit reverses a district court order that had dismissed the case for lack of antitrust standing at the pleadings stage. Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton dissents in an opinion you can access here.
“DeLay to Remain on November Ballot in Texas”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Morning Edition.”
“State High Court Rejects ‘Night Stalker’s’ Appeal; Convicted serial killer argued he should have been given better lawyers and a longer psychiatric evaluation”: Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.
You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link.
“Oklahoma’s Lethal Injections Called Fatally Flawed”: Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.
“Gay Marriage Gets Even; Keep the confetti handy, because the tide has turned on same-sex unions”: David Ehrenstein has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times.
“Court Rules for I.B.M. on Pension”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “A three-judge appellate panel ruled yesterday that I.B.M. did not discriminate against its older workers when it switched retirement plans in 1999, a long-awaited decision that could help shelter hundreds of companies from possible age discrimination suits.”
And USA Today reports today that “Court rules IBM pension change didn’t discriminate; Plaintiff may take age-bias case to U.S. Supreme Court.”
My earlier coverage appears at this link.
“After Protest, Coast Guard Lets Members Wear Skullcaps”: Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, “In the face of protests on behalf of a chasidic Jew in Rockland County, the Coast Guard has changed its uniform policy to allow service members to wear yarmulkes while on duty.”
“The State of the Nation on Same-Sex Marriage: Key Court Losses Mean It May Be Restricted to Massachusetts For Now.” Joanna Grossman has this essay online at FindLaw today.
“Republicans Lose Their Bid to Drop DeLay From Texas Ballot; Scalia Refuses to Block Appellate Court Ruling”: This article will appear Tuesday in The Washington Post.
And Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times will report that “DeLay Must Stay on Ballot as Court Rejects Appeal.”
“Man seeks injunction against Luna book; Author disputes defamation claim”: One week ago today, The Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News published an article that begins, “The owner of Schaad Detective Agency in York is trying to stop sales of a local writer’s book about the death of Baltimore-based federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna.”
And last Tuesday, The York Dispatch published an article headlined “Fighting sale of book: Detective agency owner previously sued for libel.”
Back in February 2005, the Baltimore City Paper published this review of the book. The book’s publisher has a web page titled “Who killed Jonathan Luna?” Portions of the book are available for download via this link.
“Scalia rejects plea to get DeLay off ballot”: The Houston Chronicle provides this news update.
And The Austin American-Statesman provides a news update headlined “DeLay ballot battle ends; U.S. Supreme Court won’t intervene on behalf of Texas Republican Party.”
“Scalia Rejects Texas GOP Appeal on DeLay “: The Associated Press provides this report.
Justice Antonin Scalia denies request for stay in DeLay ballot case: See the update to this post from Lyle Denniston at “SCOTUSblog.”
In earlier coverage, The Houston Chronicle provided a news update headlined “Texas GOP asks Scalia to block DeLay ruling.”
“Texas GOP asks Scalia for help on ballot issue”: Lyle Denniston has this post online at “SCOTUSblog.” The application for a stay, filed today in the U.S. Supreme Court, can be accessed at this link.
The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Texas GOP Asks Scalia to Block Ruling“; “Court Sides With IBM in Pension Case” (my earlier coverage is here); and “Prosecutors Try to Block CIA Testimony.”
“This is the second appeal involving the detention and handcuffing of a nine-year-old student, Laquarius Gray, during her physical education class.” So begins an opinion that a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today.
In affirming the federal district court’s denial of qualified immunity to the sheriff’s deputy who handcuffed the child, today’s opinion explains, “Thus, Deputy Bostic’s handcuffing Gray was not reasonably related to the scope of the circumstances that justified the initial investigatory stop. Rather, the handcuffing was excessively intrusive given Gray’s young age and the fact that it was not done to protect anyone’s safety. Therefore, the handcuffing of Gray violated Gray’s Fourth Amendment rights.”
And later, the opinion explains, “Deputy Bostic’s purpose in handcuffing Gray was simply to punish her and teach her a lesson. Every reasonable officer would have known that handcuffing a compliant nine-year-old child for purely punitive purposes is unreasonable. We emphasize that the Court is not saying that the use of handcuffs during an investigatory stop of a nine-year-old child is always unreasonable, but just unreasonable under the particular facts of this case.”
“We must decide whether aliens stopped at the border have a constitutional right to be free from false imprisonment and the use of excessive force by law enforcement personnel.” A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit answers “yes” in an opinion dated last Friday but posted online today.
“No Man Is an Island: Anthony Kennedy’s surprising charge to the American Bar Association.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
“Judge Boyle acknowledged errors on two of his financial disclosure reports, for which his accountant takes the blame, according to public documents received by CIR.” The Center for Investigative Reporting, in today’s entry in the “Timeline of Uncertainty for Bush Judicial Nominee,” links to this newly-obtained set of letters.
Divided three-judge Ninth Circuit panel reinstates most of the claims of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea residents who allege that they or their family members were victims of numerous violations of international law resulting from Rio Tinto, PLC’s Bougainville mining operations and the 10-year civil conflict that followed an uprising at the Rio Tinto mine: The lengthy decision issued today begins, “This appeal presents questions of justiciability and exhaustion in the context of the Alien Tort Claims Act.”
Seventh Circuit reverses decision which held that the IBM Personal Pension Plan violates a subsection of ERISA that prohibits age discrimination: Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook issued today’s opinion on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel.
“Conn. Court Lays Off Gay-Marriage Fray”: The Associated Press provides this report on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Connecticut released today.
And in other coverage, Lynne Tuohy of The Hartford Courant provides a news update headlined “Court Rejects Bid To Enter Gay Marriage Fight.”
“Larry Tribe on the ABA Signing Statements Report”: Law Professor Laurence H. Tribe has this guest post at “Balkinization.”
The American Bar Association posts online video of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s remarks at the group’s 2006 Annual Meeting in Honolulu: A clip titled “Justice Kennedy Declares World Jury Still Out on Meaning of Freedom” can be viewed in both RealPlayer and Windows Media Player formats.
And Justice Kennedy’s remarks on receiving the ABA International Rule of Law Award (thereby further angering Tom DeLay) can likewise be viewed in RealPlayer and Windows Media Player formats.
Thanks to WSJ.com’s “Law Blog” for the pointer to the first of these video segments.
Is a juror who smokes cigarettes less likely to sentence another to death? Yesterday’s edition of The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch contained an article headlined “Smoking ban swayed jury’s decisions, appeal argues.”
And The Associated Press reports that “Death Row Inmate Appeals Over Smoking.”
The case is scheduled to be argued tomorrow in the Supreme Court of Ohio. That court provides additional background about the case and also a link to view the oral argument live online.
“Judge could alter war on terror; Taylor is to rule soon in spying case”: The Detroit Free Press today contains this article about U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor of the Eastern District of Michigan. Additional information about Judge Taylor can be accessed here and here.
“Marriage battle takes new shape in Colorado; Gay rights groups push to define status of domestic partners”: This article appears today in The San Francisco Chronicle.
“Does the government have the right to keep secret a law that is applied to millions of Americans every day? That’s the question John Gilmore has asked the Supreme Court to decide in his petition to the Court, filed on the 4th of August 2006.” That’s the latest from the Gilmore v. Gonzales web site. You can access the petition for writ of certiorari filed last week at this link. Thanks to Reason’s “Hit and Run” blog for the pointer.
“Commentary: What Do Appellate Attorneys Actually Do?” This week’s installment of my “On Appeal” column for law.com can be accessed here.
And law.com has also posted online a related article from last month headlined “Appeals for More Appellate Lawyers Being Answered” in which I am quoted.
“More Gays Advocating Legislating; The electoral push is less about an agenda than about putting faces at the table, activists say”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.
And in somewhat related news, The Washington Post today contains an article headlined “Feeling Unwelcome, Some Gays Vacate Virginia; November Ballot Ban Helps Fuel Migration.”
“In a Shift, Union Group Backs Abortion Rights; The California Labor Federation votes to oppose Prop. 85, which would direct doctors to notify minors’ parents”: The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.
“When Students Speak: Does the First Amendment protect public school students who want to bait gays?” This editorial appears today in The Washington Post.
“Portrait of the Chief Justice as a Family Man”: That’s the headline of Charles Lane’s “Full Court Press” column, which appears today in The Washington Post.
“Court’s Eminent-Domain Edict Is a Flashpoint on State Ballots”: The Wall Street Journal today contains an article (free access) that begins, “Last year’s Supreme Court ruling validating a Connecticut city’s authority to seize private property for economic development has sparked a backlash. In several states, conservative groups are pushing ballot initiatives to curb local governments’ abilities to exercise not only eminent domain, but also land use and environmental controls.”
