How Appealing



Thursday, April 19, 2007

Available online from National Public Radio: This evening’s broadcast of “All Things Considered” contained audio segments entitled “Doctors Weigh Next Move on Legality of Abortion“; “Gonzales Apologizes, But Senators Not Appeased“; “Sen. Whitehouse: Gonzales Not Convincing“; “Sen. Sessions: ‘Sad Day’ for Gonzales and Agency“; and “U.S. Release of Exile Angers Cuba, Venezuela.”

And today’s broadcast of “Talk of the Nation” contained an audio segment entitled “What Will Senate Hearings Mean for Gonzales?

RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.

Posted at 10:54 PM by Howard Bashman



Available online from law.com: An article reports that “Republican Senator Asks Gonzales to Resign.”

In articles from The National Law Journa, “Missing Transcript in Mich. Murder Trial Highlights Controversy Over Handling Vital Records” and “States Look at Reforming Lineup Methods; Exonerations highlight need for lineup changes.”

And in news from Georgia, “EarthLink Subpoenaed for Customer Records When Anonymous Web Posting Reveals Bar Questions.”

Posted at 10:24 PM by Howard Bashman



“Ethics Board accuses Ziegler; Complaint alleges judge violated code”: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today contains an article that begins, “The state Ethics Board filed a complaint Wednesday against Supreme Court Justice-elect Annette Ziegler, saying she improperly decided five cases as a Washington County circuit judge that involved the bank for which her husband is a director. The complaint came just two days before the state Judicial Commission will decide whether to investigate those cases, as well as ones involving companies in which she owned more than $50,000 in stock.”

And The Wisconsin State Journal reports today that “Ethics Board files complaint against Ziegler.”

Posted at 9:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Last Word”: At her “Legalities” blog, ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg has a post that begins, “It’s sometimes too easy to mock Anthony Kennedy, and people sure have done a lot of it over the years. He can seem infuriatingly unmoored. He agonizes over his decisions. He’s been known to change his mind in a case or two. And his writing style is about as grand as his ornately decorated chambers in the Court. But in yesterday’s landmark abortion case, Kennedy was the Associate Justice he believes himself to be.”

Posted at 8:37 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Big News About Gonzales v. Carhart — It’s the Informed Consent, Stupid”: Jack M. Balkin has this post today at “Balkinization.”

Posted at 5:15 PM by Howard Bashman



“Kennedy May Be Key to Abortion Limits”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Legal efforts to further restrict access to abortion will depend, in the short term, on whether Justice Anthony Kennedy is willing to go along. The majority opinion he wrote upholding the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act offers hope both for those who think the impact of Wednesday’s decision will be limited and for those who think it will be profound.”

Posted at 5:05 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Judge Judy Standard for Judicial Pay”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post that begins, “Justices Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito Jr. made a strong personal plea today in favor of higher judicial salaries before a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee.” You can access the text of the Justices’ prepared testimony here (Breyer) and here (Alito).

Toward the end of his post, Mauro writes: “Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.), even made a ‘life isn’t fair’ argument against judicial raises, noting that television’s Judge Judy makes $28 million a year. Breyer agreed that ‘Never in my most fanciful dreams’ did he expect to make as much as Judge Judy. Alito noted that his mother is a faithful fan of the Judge Judy show. ‘She thinks Judge Judy does a better job than we do,’ Alito said with a smile.”

Posted at 5:04 PM by Howard Bashman



“Chinese Political Prisoner Sues in U.S. Court, Saying Yahoo Helped Identify Dissidents”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

The Washington Post reports today that “Advocates Sue Yahoo In Chinese Torture Case.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Yahoo sued over data on Chinese dissidents.”

The Associated Press provides a report headlined “Group: Yahoo Assisted China With Torture.”

And Reuters reports that “Chinese couple sues Yahoo for man’s imprisonment.”

WSJ.com’s “Law Blog” has posted a copy of the complaint initiating suit at this link.

Posted at 4:55 PM by Howard Bashman



Available online from National Public Radio: Today’s broadcast of “Morning Edition” contained audio segments entitled “High Court Ruling a Blow to Abortion Rights” (featuring Nina Totenberg); “Gonzales Spars with Senate Panel“; “Senate Panel Set to Hear from Gonzales“; and “Yahoo Faces Suit over Chinese Operations.”

And today’s broadcast of “Day to Day” contained audio segments entitled “Embattled Attorney General Gonzales Testifies” (featuring Dahlia Lithwick); “Court Ruling on Abortion May Change Doctor Practices“; and “Political Candidates Weigh Positions on Abortion Ruling.”

RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.

Posted at 4:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“Repeal the Second Amendment: The best way to reduce the odds of another blood bath like the one at Virginia Tech is to amend the Constitution and abolish the right to bear arms.” Walter Shapiro has this essay at Salon.com.

Posted at 4:05 PM by Howard Bashman



“Miscarriage of Justice: The federal ‘partial-birth’ abortion ban has grave implications for all pregnant women, not only those seeking to end pregnancies.” Lynn M. Paltrow has this essay online at The American Prospect.

Online at The Nation, Karen Houppert has an essay entitled “Curbing Abortion Rights.”

At Salon.com, Lynn Harris has an essay entitled “Supreme Court upholds ban on ‘partial-birth’ abortion; The ruling ‘is a stunning assault on women’s health and the expertise of doctors who care for them’ and may open the door for states to pass more outright bans.”

And at National Review Online, you can access an editorial entitled “Partial Victory.” In addition, Michael J. New has an essay entitled “The I’s Have It: Three cheers for pro-life incrementalism.”

Posted at 4:00 PM by Howard Bashman



Kenneth K. Livesay, the former Assistant Controller and Chief Information Officer of HealthSouth Corporation, appears to be facing some time in prison: A decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today concludes that, “In the end, given the enormity of the crimes and Livesay’s significant role in the underlying criminal conspiracy, we are ‘left with the definite and firm conviction’ that Livesay’s probation sentence is unreasonable.”

Posted at 3:45 PM by Howard Bashman



“Abortion Case Limits Health Exception”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Women who want a controversial abortion procedure for health reasons have few options beyond going to court and trying to prove that a Supreme Court decision banning the practice should not apply.”

Posted at 3:35 PM by Howard Bashman



“We affirm because the complaint’s allegations do not shock the conscience even if the defendants acted with deliberate indifference: when agency officials decide how to reconcile competing governmental obligations in the face of disaster, only an intent to cause harm arbitrarily can shock the conscience in a way that justifies constitutional liability.” Workers who claimed they were injured as a result of breathing the air when performing search, rescue, and clean-up work at the World Trade Center site in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks brought suit against various federal officials who are alleged to have issued issued reassuring — but knowingly false — announcements about the air quality in lower Manhattan. Based on those reassurances, the plaintiffs believed it was safe to work at the site without needed respiratory protection.

The injured plaintiffs thereafter sued, alleging that defendants’ conduct violated plaintiffs’ right to substantive due process. Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued this ruling affirming the dismissal of plaintiffs’ complaint.

Posted at 3:24 PM by Howard Bashman



“On the Hill, Gonzales Gets His Chance at Redemption; Insiders Say Loyalty Bought Him Time”: The Washington Post today contains this front page article, along with an article headlined “Gonzales to Admit Mistakes in Firings.”

McClatchy Newspapers report that “Campaign against alleged voter fraud fuels political tempest.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Gonzales to Appear Before Senate Panel.”

Today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. eastern time. Once the hearing gets underway, the committee’s live video feed can be accessed by clicking here (RealPlayer required).

Update: In a time change, the hearing started at 9:30 a.m. eastern time. You can access the video live by clicking here.

Posted at 8:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court hears Texas death penalty case; Justices to decide whether inmate is too mentally ill to execute”: This article appears today in The Austin American-Statesman.

In The Houston Chronicle, Patty Reinert reports that “Supreme Court wrestles with insanity question; Justices focus on procedural issues as they hear Texas death row case.”

In The Dallas Morning News, Todd J. Gillman reports that “Court weighs degree of sanity for death; Major mental illness is issue in justices’ latest Texas capital case.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that “U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on mentally ill defendants; Execution would be unconstitutional, Panetti’s lawyers say.”

And The Daily Texan reports that “Supreme Court hears arguments in case; Scott Panetti will be executed if judges find he understands why he has been sentenced to death.”

Posted at 8:15 AM by Howard Bashman



“Brentwood Academy defends invitation letters; School tells court football contacts were free speech”: The Tennessean today contains an article that begins, “Prohibiting a coach from inviting incoming students to football practice is a violation of free speech rights, a lawyer for a private high school south of Nashville told the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday.”

Posted at 8:10 AM by Howard Bashman



“Suit by wife of Chinese activist; She alleges Yahoo told authorities dissident’s identity”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “The wife of an imprisoned Chinese dissident sued Yahoo Inc. under human-rights laws Wednesday, saying the Internet company voluntarily revealed her husband’s identity to the Chinese government and is responsible for his arrest and torture. The suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, also seeks to hold the Sunnyvale company responsible for the imprisonment of other, unidentified Chinese citizens whose Internet communications were allegedly disclosed to the government by Yahoo.”

Posted at 8:09 AM by Howard Bashman



“High court backs ban on disputed abortion method; The ruling marks the first time justices have upheld such a measure, and opens the door for more in the future”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. In related coverage, “Abortion foes to push for stricter limits; One activist says the Supreme Court’s ruling ‘swings the door wide open’; A flood of legislation is expected” and “Giuliani shifts stance on abortion method; The GOP candidate’s support for a high court ruling contrasts his position in 1997.” And an editorial is entitled “A U-turn on abortion: Ignoring precedent, the Supreme Court upholds a ban on a procedure that is thankfully quite rare.”

In USA Today, Joan Biskupic reports that “Justices back abortion limits; ‘Partial-birth’ ruling clears way for possible new curbs” and “Court takes harder stance on abortion; Ginsburg says ruling ‘recalls ancient notions’ about women.” In related coverage, “Both sides of debate predict more procedure restrictions” and “GOP hopefuls laud abortion ruling; Dems denounce it; Seen as win for ‘sanctity of life’ or erosion of rights.” An editorial is entitled “Court ruling restricts choice, discounts health concerns; Justices allow Congress to substitute its judgment for that of physicians.” And Edward Whelan has an op-ed entitled “A welcome decision: Ruling bars barbaric practice, sets stage for more abortion curbs.”

In The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that “Ruling on abortion could signal move toward more limits.”

The Chicago Tribune reports that “Abortion law is upheld; In 5-4 ruling, justices OK ban on controversial procedure.” And an editorial is entitled “The court takes on abortion.”

In The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage reports that “High court upholds ban on abortion procedure; 5-to-4 ruling underscores shift on bench.” And an editorial is entitled “An erosion of abortion rights.”

The Washington Post contains articles headlined “Data Lacking on Abortion Method; Statistics on Late-Term Procedure Among Most Contested” and “Ruling Draws Lawmakers Toward Political Minefield.” And an editorial is entitled “A Shift on Abortions: The Supreme Court upholds a ban on partial-birth procedures — and imperils the right of women to choose.”

The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota reports that “Abortion foes laud ruling by high court; Decision to uphold 2003 ban heartens S.D. activists.”

The Washington Times contains articles headlined “Partial-birth abortion ban upheld” and “Ruling opens abortion debate for ’08.” And an editorial is entitled “A limited and humane decision.”

In The New York Sun, Joseph Goldstein reports that “Court Invites Abortion Suits; Ruling Is Seen as an Opening to New Claims.” And an editorial is entitled “What a Pickle.”

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Bush Appointees Make Mark as Supreme Court Upholds Abortion Law.”

The Associated Press provides a report headlined “New Rhetoric in SCOTUS Abortion Ruling.”

And law.com’s Tony Mauro reports that “High Court Upholds Ban on ‘Partial Birth’ Abortion.”

In commentary, The New York Times contains an editorial entitled “Denying the Right to Choose.”

And The Wall Street Journal contains an editorial entitled “Partial Reversal: Yesterday’s abortion ruling was only a baby step.”

Posted at 7:40 AM by Howard Bashman