How Appealing



Thursday, February 15, 2007

“Was Jose Padilla tortured by US military? The accused terrorist’s lawyers hope to use a competency hearing to show alleged mistreatment.” Warren Richey will have this article Friday in The Christian Science Monitor.

Posted at 7:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Judicial Pay — Are Judges Being Selective with the Evidence?” Ben Winograd has this post at WSJ.com’s “Law Blog.”

Posted at 4:52 PM by Howard Bashman



Oldest three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals panel to issue a decision? A professor from UC Hastings College of the Law passes along a message from a former student noting that yesterday a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel consisting of Senior Circuit Judges Otto R. Skopil, Jerome Farris, and Warren J. Ferguson issued a non-precedential opinion. The combined age of this panel is somewhere in the range of 249 to 252 years.

Of course, had the baby in the group — Judge Farris — been replaced by Senior Ninth Circuit Judge James R. Browning, the combined age of the judges on the panel would have increased by more than a decade.

The U.S. Courts’ biographical database lists a number of “Milestones of Judicial Service,” but the greatest combined age of a three-judge federal appellate panel is nowhere to be found among them. Any readers who recollect a three-judge federal appellate panel whose combined ages exceeds 249 to 252 years are invited to send me an email with the details.

Update: A reader has emailed news of a Ninth Circuit three-judge panel’s ruling from 2003 in which the combined age of the judges on the panel when the ruling issued was in the range of 252 to 254 years. Thereafter, that same reader emailed news of a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel from 2001 where the combined age of the judges when the ruling issued was in the range of 254 to 255 years. I’ll provide the details in a subsequent post.

Posted at 3:44 PM by Howard Bashman



“Republicans Block Bill on U.S. Attorneys”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Senate Republicans blocked a bill Thursday that would curb the Justice Department’s power to fire and replace federal prosecutors. Democrats had sought to give the courts a role in the appointments of U.S. attorneys, to GOP opposition.”

Posted at 2:38 PM by Howard Bashman



“Restoring a Right: The detention and treatment of foreign prisoners still needs to be reformed.” This editorial appears today in The Washington Post.

Posted at 2:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“Students Sue Over NCAA Indian Name Ban”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Students who portray University of Illinois mascot Chief Illinwek filed a lawsuit Thursday to end the NCAA’s sanctions against the school. The complaint filed in Champaign County Circuit Court also seeks to stop the university’s board of trustees from complying with NCAA sanctions.”

And The Chicago Tribune provides a news update headlined “2 Chief Illiniweks sue school, NCAA.”

Posted at 2:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Settlement reached in Microsoft trial; Details to come in April; schools will get some unclaimed funds”: The Des Moines Register today contains an article that begins, “Lawyers announced a settlement of the Iowa class-action case against Microsoft on Wednesday, sending home a Polk County trial jury that has spent nearly three months hearing the complicated civil lawsuit. Details of the settlement in the antitrust case won’t be announced until a preliminary hearing on April 20.”

Posted at 11:58 AM by Howard Bashman



“Many license plate frames illegal; Court ruling gives police power to stop cars with partially obscured plates”: The Austin American-Statesman today contains an article that begins, “Texans who unintentionally cover even a small portion of their car’s license plate can be stopped by police, ticketed and perhaps arrested for the offense, the state’s highest criminal court ruled Wednesday. The 8-1 decision left three Court of Criminal Appeals judges holding their noses — proclaiming the statute ‘uncommonly bad,’ but acknowledging that the letter of the law prohibits drivers from encasing their license plate in a frame that obscures the state name, state nickname or even portions of the artwork.”

Yesterday’s ruling of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — that State’s highest court in criminal cases — consists of a majority opinion; two concurring opinions (see here and here); and a dissenting opinion.

Thanks to “Texas Law Blog” for the pointer.

Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman



“Is Kansas wavering over death penalty? Poll suggests voters open to other punitive measures.” This article appears today in The Wichita Eagle.

Posted at 10:33 AM by Howard Bashman



“Senators Oppose Policy on U.S. Attorneys”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Congressional Democrats and some Republicans are trying to change part of the USA Patriot Act that allows the Bush administration to fire and replace federal prosecutors indefinitely without Senate confirmation.”

And McClatchy Newspapers recently reported that “5 ousted U.S. attorneys received positive job evaluations.”

Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman



“Moodie changes mind on retirement; Suspended lawyer Rob Moodie, who yesterday resolved to leave the law for good, has decided to remain after all”: The New Zealand Press Association provides an article reporting that “In a judgment released yesterday, the High Court suspended Dr Moodie for three months, effective immediately, fined him $5000, and ordered him to pay costs…. Dr Moodie, who officially changed his name to Miss Alice and donned women’s clothing at court as part of his protest against the ‘old boys network’ he says runs the judiciary, today said he had no intention of paying the fine.”

And The Dominion Post of Wellington, New Zealand reports today that “Moodie dumps Alice and the law.”

Posted at 10:28 AM by Howard Bashman



“PM says he’ll pick judges who are tough on crime; Ignatieff warns Harper comments raise concerns over separation of powers”: This front page article appears today in The Toronto Globe and Mail.

Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman



“Students argue before Chief Justice Roberts”: The Record of Washington University in St. Louis has posted this article online today.

Posted at 10:13 AM by Howard Bashman



“Courts in fog on sentencing after overturning of law”: The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, California today contains an article that begins, “The U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned California’s sentencing law has left judges and lawyers across the state waiting for legislators to fill the legal vacuum left by last month’s ruling.”

Posted at 10:07 AM by Howard Bashman



“Thomas Fairchild, 94, Dies; Tried to Unseat McCarthy”: The New York Times today contains an obituary that begins, “Thomas E. Fairchild, a federal appeals court judge for four decades who tried unsuccessfully to unseat Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1952, died on Monday in Madison, Wis. He was 94.”

Posted at 10:04 AM by Howard Bashman



“Saying He Was Misled by Defense, Judge in Libby Case Puts Some Evidence Off-Limits”: Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times. The newspaper also reports that “For Liberal Bloggers, Libby Trial Is Fun and Fodder.”

The Washington Post reports today that “Defense Attorneys Rest Libby’s Case; Faulty Memory, Not Deliberate Lies, Blamed for Disputed Statements in CIA Leak Probe.”

The Los Angeles Times contains articles headlined “Judge deals Libby a setback; Once-classified defense evidence cannot be presented because the former White House aide won’t be testifying, the jurist rules” and “Libby trial reveals the politics of reporting; The case highlights the codependency, even dysfunction, between government and the news media.”

And in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein reports that “Defense Rests Its Case in Trial of Former White House Aide Libby.”

Posted at 8:42 AM by Howard Bashman



“Lawyer admits leaking BALCO testimony; He agrees to plead guilty — prosecutors say they’ll end effort to jail reporters”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle. The newspaper has also posted online this news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The New York Times reports today that “Reporters Avoid Jail in Balco Case.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Defense in steroid case admits leak; Attorney’s action will spare San Francisco Chronicle reporters from prison for contempt in refusing to reveal source.”

The New York Daily News reports that “Bonds scribes take walk; Lawyer admits to grand jury leak.”

And The San Jose Mercury News reports that “Balco case lawyer source of leak; New twist in steroids probe likely spares reporters jail.”

Posted at 7:14 AM by Howard Bashman



“Assessing Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s Tenure on the Supreme Court: Is Jeffrey Rosen’s Assessment Unduly Rosy?” Edward Lazarus has this essay online today at FindLaw.

Posted at 6:48 AM by Howard Bashman