“Another test of racial balance: Reminiscent of Brown v. Board of Education, Supreme Court will hear arguments against use of race as a factor in student placement.” Tom Brune has this article today in Newsday, along with an article headlined “Historic case in the balance.” In addition, the newspaper contains an article headlined “Challenge for LI schools.”
The Richmond Times-Dispatch today contains articles headlined “A test for school integration: A closer look . . . race and education; Supreme Court to consider ability of school boards to voluntarily place students” and “Court ruling might have limited impact in Va.”
The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reports that “High court’s eyes on Wake schools; A Supreme Court case might consider Wake’s decisions on race’s role in school assignments.”
In The Denver Post, John Aloysius Farrell has an essay entitled “The end of a civil rights era.”
And in The Seattle Times, columnist Lynne Varner has an op-ed entitled “Race counts.”
“Annapolis becomes gay marriage battleground: State’s highest court hears case tomorrow.” The Capital newspaper of Annapolis, Maryland today contains this article.
“Gay student won’t give up fight for club; The Okeechobee High senior takes her case to court despite insults and fierce foes”: This article appears today in The Orlando Sentinel.
“Conlin: 9 stories will illustrate Microsoft case; The Des Moines lawyer spends more than four hours Friday on her opening statement.” Yesterday’s edition of The Des Moines Register contained an article that begins, “Des Moines lawyer Roxanne Conlin will present her class-action lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. as a series of nine stories designed to show how Microsoft harmed Iowa consumers by destroying competition, Conlin said Friday as she began her opening statement to a Polk County jury.”
“Kansas lawsuit could be landmark; The case involves a sperm donor who wants parental rights to twins born last year”: This article appears today in The Kansas City Star.
“Where Is the Roberts Court on Race? The Supremes get ready to wade into the national debate.” Debra Rosenberg has this article online at Newsweek’s web site.
“Judgments about a chief justice: Ronald George has been reshaping the state’s courts for a decade; Some L.A. jurists say he wields too much power.” Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.
“Court mulls schools’ racial mix; Local schools to feel ruling’s effect”: This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times.
The Seattle Times reports today that “U.S. Supreme Court to hear Seattle’s school racial-tiebreaker case.”
In The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that “School integration back before Supreme Court.” In addition, a related article is headlined “S.F. board watches high court carefully; Decision could prohibit race as enrollment factor.”
And in the Los Angeles Times, Edward Lazarus has an op-ed entitled “Can affirmative action survive the new Supreme Court? A case being argued this week over racial balance in public schools could determine the future of affirmative action programs.”
“After Buddhist dies, legal battle continues; Kin, hospital split on when death occurs”: The Boston Globe contains this article today.
“Luna case takes turns; Book update tells of wounds to back, hands of assistant U.S. attorney found dead in 2003; mortician is source; lawsuit could force an inquest”: This article appears today in The Sunday News of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Tomorrow will mark the three-year anniversary of the date on which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Luna’s lifeless body was found in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
“If It Feels Like a Dollar….” The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “Anybody who has ever handed over a $10 bill thinking it was a dollar knows the problem. Unlike the currency in 180 other countries, the American greenback comes in one size, and one dominant color — green.”
“Ban on Saucy Beer Labels Brings a Free-Speech Suit”: This article appears today in The New York Times. My earlier coverage is at this link.
“Supreme Court to Review Two School-Integration Plans; Justices to Consider Whether Race Can Still Be a Factor in Public School Placement”: Sunday’s edition of The Washington Post will contain this article.
And Sunday’s edition of Newsday will report that “Supreme Court to rule on school diversity.”
“The War on Terror, Under New Scrutiny”: This article will appear in the Week in Review section of Sunday’s issue of The New York Times.
“Schools argument 12/4/06: Could this be ‘Brown III’?” Lyle Denniston has this post today at “SCOTUSblog.”
“Timetable Set For Sullivan To Appeal; Judicial Review Council Sends Written Ruling To Former Chief Justice”: Today in The Hartford Courant, Lynne Tuohy has an article that begins, “The Judicial Review Council has issued its written ruling in the case of former Chief Justice William J. Sullivan, setting in motion the timetable for any appeal of his 15-day suspension. Sullivan, now a senior justice, faced up to a one-year suspension for withholding release of a controversial ruling to help Associate Justice Peter T. Zarella’s chances of succeeding him as chief justice.”
“Five years after Enron’s fall, its former CEO will trade a life of power for a modest federal lockup; A dramatic shift for Skilling”: This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle.
“In Unusual Ruling, Law Firm Is Told to Pay Opponent’s Legal Fees in Enron Case”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “In a decision that she conceded flies in the face of previous rulings by other courts, a federal judge in Houston has ordered the law firm of William S. Lerach, a leading class-action lawyer, to pay the legal fees and costs of a company he sued.”
Update: WSJ.com’s “Law Blog” has posted online a copy of the ruling.
“State sees downside to Santa’s backside”: The Portland Press Herald yesterday published an article that begins, “Daniel Shelton is confident that Santa’s Butt Winter Porter, brewed in England, eventually will be available at Maine stores — though it may take a court order. On Thursday, the Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation filed a lawsuit claiming government censorship after the Maine Bureau of Liquor Enforcement refused to allow Massachusetts-based Shelton Bros. to sell Santa’s Butt and two other beers with label illustrations that the agency deemed ‘undignified or improper.’ The MCLU claims the denial is a First Amendment violation restricting freedom of expression.”
And The Bangor Daily News reported yesterday that “State, beer distributors butt heads over label featuring Santa’s backside.”
A related news release from the Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation can be accessed here.
You can learn more about the apparently offending brew at this link.
“High Court Probes K-12 School Diversity”: The Associated Press provides this report.
“Justices to weigh race ‘tiebreakers’; Seattle schools at center of issue”: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer contains this article today.
And Sunday in The Washington Post. columnist George F. Will will have an op-ed entitled “Clueless In Seattle.”
“Gay marriage issue resurfaces; Lawmaker says he’ll reintroduce a bill that was vetoed by the governor in 2005”: This article appears today in The Sacramento Bee.
And The Oakland Tribune reports today that “Bill rekindles debate on same-sex marriage; ‘Growing support’ cited by assemblyman as he prepares to introduce new legislation.”
“Eminent domain case near trial”: The San Luis Obispo Tribune today contains an article that begins, “A Templeton man is accusing the county of building a road across his property to benefit a private landowner in what he calls an abuse of the eminent domain process.”
“Supreme silence”: The Chicago Tribune today contains an editorial that begins, “The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to reinstate a $10.1 billion judgment against Philip Morris awarded in 2003 by a judge in Madison County.”
“Vermont court may decide pet’s legal value”: This article appears today in The Barre (Vt.) Times Argus.
“Judge returns her paycheck to state”: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today contains an article that begins, “Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin, who filed a lawsuit because officials refuse to let her turn down a 15 percent salary boost, returned her entire paycheck this week to the state.”
“A duck hunt for global warming”: Today in The Boston Globe, columnist Derrick Z. Jackson has an op-ed that begins, “Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia needs to go duck hunting. It is the only way for him to understand global warming.”
“Justices to Decide if Citizens May Challenge White House’s Religion-Based Initiative”: Linda Greenhouse has this article today in The New York Times.
Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports that “Justices to Hear Case of ‘Bong Hits 4 Jesus’ Banner at School Event; Supreme Court agrees to decide whether student had a right to display his sign.”
And The Chicago Tribune reports that “Top court takes ‘Bong hits’ case on free speech.”
“Chronicle appeals order to imprison reporters; Court asked to adopt test to weigh effects of grand jury leaks”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “The Chronicle, challenging a judge’s order to imprison two of its reporters for refusing to reveal who leaked grand jury testimony about athletes and steroids, told a federal appeals court Friday that the public interest and evolving legal doctrines require recognition of a journalist’s right to protect confidential sources.”
“Supreme court to confront school racial diversity”: James Vicini of Reuters provides this report.
“Fa-la-la-la-lawsuit: Get sued at the office holiday party!” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
“Times Asks End to Suit on Anthrax Inquiry”: Today in The New York Times, Neil A. Lewis and David Johnston have an article that begins, “The New York Times filed a motion with a federal judge on Friday asking him to dismiss a suit by a germ-warfare scientist who said a series of columns by Nicholas D. Kristof about the deadly anthrax mailings of 2001 defamed him.”
And recently on Slate, Jack Shafer had a Press Box essay entitled “Hatfill v. Hatfill: The bio-warfare scientist and his dueling lawsuits.”
This Sunday’s broadcast of FOX News Sunday to include an interview with Justice Stephen G. Breyer: Details here.
Available online from law.com: An article is headlined “Calif. Court: Video Game Makers Can Base Characters on Real People.”
And the brand new installment of my “On Appeal” column is headlined “Just Looking: Should Internet Ignorance Be a Defense to Child Porn Charges?”
My essay begins, “Two appellate courts recently ruled that an individual who intentionally visited Web sites to view child pornography, but who did not intentionally save those images to his computer’s hard drive, could not be convicted or punished for possessing images that were automatically saved due to the Web browser’s cache functions. These rulings strike me as badly mistaken, for reasons that I shall explain further below.”
The three cases that I discuss in the essay can all be freely accessed online. Those cases are: the Pennsylvania Superior Court‘s recent ruling in Commonwealth v. Diodoro; the Ninth Circuit‘s recent ruling in United States v. Kuchinski; and the Tenth Circuit‘s September 2002 ruling in United States v. Tucker.
“Same-sex ‘marriage’ heads to high court”: The Washington Times today contains an article that begins, “Maryland’s highest court is scheduled to hear arguments Monday on the same-sex ‘marriage’ issue.” As noted in this recent post, that court is now webcasting its oral arguments.
