“Court rules on two patent cases, and on high-speed chase”: Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.” The Court decided a total of five argued cases today.
In Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp., No. 05-1056, you can access the opinion of the Court here and the oral argument transcript here.
In KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., No. 04-1350, you can access the opinion of the Court here and the oral argument transcript here.
In Scott v. Harris, No. 05-1631 — an excessive force, high-speed police chase case from Georgia — you can access the opinion of the Court here and the oral argument transcript here.
In EC Term of Years Trust v. United States, No. 05-1541, you can access the opinion of the Court here and the oral argument transcript here.
And in United Haulers Assn., Inc. v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, No. 05-1345, you can access the opinion of the Court here and the oral argument transcript here.
“Court turns down Hamdan appeal, will hear Medellin”: Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.” My detailed coverage of the November 2006 ruling of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Ex Parte Jose Ernesto Medellin can be accessed at this link.
You can access today’s U.S. Supreme Court Order List at this link.
“Free Speech and Defamation: When Prior Restraint Is the Right Decision.” Today’s installment of my “On Appeal” essay for law.com can be accessed at this link.
“Equality vs. quality in schools”: Today in The Seattle Times, columnist Jerry Large has an op-ed that begins, “The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this week on a case involving Seattle schools, and I think the odds favor a ruling that race can’t be taken into account to address the impact of race.”
Although it is possible that the U.S. Supreme Court could issue its ruling today, if the decision does not issue today then the next possible date for a ruling would be Monday, May 14, 2007. The Court’s calendar for this Term can be viewed at this link.
“Divorced parents clash over 12-year-old son’s circumcision; Three-year fight – The father, a convert to Judaism, sees it as a matter of religious observance.” This article appeared Friday in The Oregonian.
“Bombing suspect’s hometown shocked; Former neighbors describe Paul Ross Evans as pleasant and polite”: The Austin American-Statesman today contains an article that begins, “It was the talk of the barber shop where Lee Tillman got his hair trimmed for a church banquet Saturday: A man who had lived for years in this small East Texas city had been arrested by the FBI, accused of putting a bomb outside an Austin clinic that performs abortions.”
“Students Protest Attorney General”: The Harvard Crimson today contains an article that begins, “As Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his classmates posed for a photo at their Harvard Law School reunion Saturday, an odd figure stood behind the photographer. A group of law students, one of whom wore an orange jumpsuit and a black hood, stood at the bottom of the steps of Langdell Hall and shouted to the other alumni to say ‘torture’ or ‘resign’ instead of ‘cheese.'”
And in somewhat related coverage, The Washington Post today contains an article headlined “The Investigated Investigator: Leader of High-Profile Probes Is Under Scrutiny Himself.”
“Two federal judges hold key to California prison reform; Two veteran jurists may find themselves reluctantly stepping in where there is a political vacuum to address inmate overcrowding”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.
“Judge in terror case: Indictment ‘very light on facts’; Critics say vague charges have replaced the ‘dirty bomb’ accusation against Jose Padilla.” The St. Petersburg Times contains this article today.
“2,000 stories of regret swayed Court; Testimonials from Florida women figure in a Supreme Court ruling regarding abortion”: This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times.
“Guantanamo Lawyers Predict More Suicides”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Lawyers envision more suicides and despair at Guantanamo Bay if the U.S. Justice Department succeeds in severely restricting access to detainees by defense attorneys, virtually the only contact inmates have with the outside world.”
“Did Justices’ Catholicism Play Part in Abortion Ruling?” Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post.
And today in The Chicago Tribune, Law Professor Geoffrey R. Stone has an op-ed entitled “Our faith-based justices.”
“Petition for rehearing in US v. Lett“: This post, providing online access to the petition, appears at the “Sentencing Law and Policy” blog.
My earlier coverage of the recent Eleventh Circuit ruling in this case can be accessed here.
“Georgia’s Shame”: The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “Every day that young Genarlow Wilson remains in prison for consensual sexual activity is a further indictment against the prosecutors, lawmakers and judges of the Georgia legal system.”
“As Blogs Proliferate, a Gadfly With Accreditation at the U.N.” This article appears today in The New York Times.
“When Talk Isn’t Cheap: Campaign finance regulators say speech isn’t free–it’s a form of ‘contribution.'” John Fund has this essay online today at OpinionJournal.
“Winner Takes Some: The Supreme Court’s shift on abortion is not what you think.” Benjamin Wittes has this essay online today at The New Republic.
“Sexual Threats Quiet Some Female Bloggers”: This front page article will appear Monday in The Washington Post.
“Cases Keep Flowing in, but the Jury Pool Is Idle”: That’s the headline of Adam Liptak‘s “Sidebar” column (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link) that will appear Monday in The New York Times.
“Civil-rights icon Hill nears 100; Richmond native held crucial role in building Brown v. Board case”: This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch.
“The Temptation of Justice Thomas: In his latest anti-abortion opinion, Clarence Thomas hints at a moment of doubt.” Evan P. Schultz will have this essay in the April 30, 2007 issue of Legal Times.
And in the April 30, 2007 issue of The National Law Journal, American Bar Association President Karen J. Mathis has an essay entitled “Better Judicial Pay: Lawyers must take the lead.”
Law Professor David Fontana has an essay entitled “Appointing prosecutors:Make it less political.”
And Dan Small has an essay entitled “Attorney General Gonzales: How to get him to go.”
“Detainees seek rehearing”: Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Philadelphia judge owns unsafe rental properties, and the judge is running for a seat on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania: That newspaper today contains articles headlined “Dilapidation on his docket“; “Judge’s public office, staff used for personal business; A court-paid worker was on the case, collecting rent and signing leases for Berry; He says that will stop“; and “An unreal scheme used in attempt to conceal assets.”
And in other coverage of this year’s Pa. Supreme Court elections, yesterday’s newspaper contained a fund raising-related article headlined “Judicial hopefuls treading the line.”
“Debating the Value of Victims’ Rights Laws”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
Philadelphia Phillies 6, Florida Marlins 1: The largest attendance at Citizens Bank Park thus far this season was present for the Phillies first Sunday home game of the year, due to the rain-out earlier this month of a Sunday home game against the Houston Astros.
Today’s large crowd, which included my son and me, nearly witnessed a historic pitching performance, as Phillies starter Jamie Moyer took a no-hitter two outs deep into the top of the seventh inning.
The typical no-hitter features at least one or two tremendous defensive plays, and today’s game had at least two to offer. Phillies third baseman Abraham Nunez made an amazing defensive play for the second out in the third inning, when the Marlins catcher hit a line drive that glanced off the top of Nunez’s glove when he tried to jump as high as possible to make the catch. The ball dribbled just behind Nunez, who turned around, picked it up, and threw out the catcher at first base by a stride on a short-hop that first baseman Ryan Howard easily handled. Moyer ended his chance at a perfect game by walking the first batter in the fourth inning. Hanley Ramirez, who drew the walk, was erased when second baseman Dan Uggla grounded into a fielder’s choice. Then third baseman Miguel Cabrera hit a shot into the left field power alley that appeared to be heading for a double, but somehow Phillies left fielder Jayson Werth made an amazing snow-cone catch at the warning track. Uggla at that point was steps away from third base and was resigned to his fate, so Werth upon turning around threw the ball back to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who then lobbed the ball to first baseman Ryan Howard to record the double play at first base.
Thanks to that double play to end the fourth inning, Moyer had faced the minimum number of batters when Cabrera returned to the plate as the third batter in the top of the seventh inning. On a 3-1 count, he lined the ball into the left field corner for a double. The no-hitter was no more. The very next batter, however, lined out to second base, ending the inning.
Moyer was the lead-off batter in the bottom of the seventh inning, and he hit a line drive of his own into the left field corner for a double, barely reaching second base before the tag. It was his second hit of the game, as he led off the third inning with a pop fly single that froze the left fielder in his tracks. In the bottom of the seventh, Moyer reached third base on a wild pitch, but the next three batters for the Phillies recorded outs that were not productive enough to score him from third.
Perhaps running the bases tired Moyer, who had already thrown 86 pitches to that point and is nearly two years older than me. He walked the first Marlins batter in the top of the eighth inning and then, after recording a strikeout, gave up a single to the next batter. With runners at first and second, one out, and Moyer having thrown 100 pitches, his day was over. New-found set-up man Brett Myers came in to record two successive strikeouts, and the eighth inning ended without the Marlins putting any runs on the board.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, a double from pinch hitter Greg Dobbs with the bases loaded brought in three more runs for the Phillies, making the score 6-0, and thereby rendering unnecessary for today at least the services of the Phillies recently unreliable closer, Tom “Flash” Gordon. After giving up a meaningless run to the Marlins in the top of the ninth, the game ended with the final score 6-1. Tthe large crowd left happy, whether or not they were carrying a bobblehead Phanatic or enjoyed today’s King Tut celebration.
Although eleven wins thus far for the month of April will not enable the Phillies to avoid a losing record for April 2007, the past two years the Phillies only achieved ten wins in April. So, this month’s record does represent at least a slight improvement. You can access the box score of today’s game at this link, while wraps are available here and here.
“In Indiana, a fight over ‘In God We Trust’ license plates; In Indiana, the extra fee for specialty tags doesn’t apply to one that invokes the divine; Critics go to court”: The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.
“Protesters decry upholding of ban on abortion procedure”: This article appears today in The Boston Globe.
Why is today not day three of “Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski’s take-down of blogs is itself taken down”? Because the audio is back online! You can listen by visiting this web page and then, once there, simply clicking on the link labeled “listen.” Plus, the written transcript, although less than 100% accurate, remains available online via Google cache. The first reference to “How Appealing” appears shortly after the 14-minute mark of the audio.
A bit later in this very same audio segment, Judge Kozinski explains how he determined that David Lat was probably the author of the blog “Underneath Their Robes” before Lat’s official unmasking occurred in an article that Jeffrey Toobin published in The New Yorker.
My earlier, related posts can be accessed via their respective titles:
“Don’t hate the player“;
“‘I can’t really have breakfast, really enjoy my day, until I hear the great thoughts of Howard Bashman’“;
“Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski’s take-down of blogs is itself taken down“;
“Welcome to day two of ‘Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski’s take-down of blogs is itself taken down’ “;
“Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski talks about blogs“; and
“‘Judge Kozinski Talks About Cyberlaw.’”
“Lethal injection, revealed”: The Boston Globe contains this editorial today.
“Ban All the Lawyers: Prisoners at Guantanamo don’t really need them, or so says the Justice Department.” This editorial appears today in The Washington Post.
“Woman in Escort Case Plans to Name Names in Defense”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “Deborah Jeane Palfrey has not been at all shy about it: for more than a decade she ran an escort service that catered to upscale clients in the nation’s capital, sending college-educated women to men’s homes or hotel rooms.”
And The Washington Post today contains a front page article headlined “‘I Abhor Injustice,’ Alleged Madam Says.”
“Evidence shows Justice Thomas to be interesting on all charges”: Today in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Harry Levins has this review of the book “Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas,” by Kevin Merida and Michael A. Fletcher.
“Campaign law dogs McCain; He says he wants to clean up politics; GOP activists say he’s muzzling speech”: This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Enron, the Supreme Court and Shareholders on the Brink”: Ben Stein has this essay today in The New York Times.
“For $82 a Day, Booking a Cell in a 5-Star Jail”: This article appears today in The New York Times.
