“State to revise process for lethal injections; Staff training, new chamber may mean executions resume”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.
Today in The Los Angeles Times, Henry Weinstein reports that “State offers new lethal injection protocol; Seeking to end a judge’s ban on executions, officials propose a ‘pain-free’ method.”
In The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz reports that “Schwarzenegger offers plan to resume executions by injection.”
The Sacramento Bee contains an article headlined “State’s new death plan: Strict training of execution team, new chamber are among proposals for judge.”
And The New York Times reports that “California Addresses Death Penalty Concerns.”
“Navy lawyer had promised nondisclosure; A Navy lawyer who mailed a list of Guantanamo detainees to a human rights group had signed a government form promising not to disclose information”: Carol Rosenberg has this article today in The Miami Herald.
And The Virginian-Pilot reports today that “Witness says Guantanamo detainee list was classified.”
“C.I.A. Officer Testifies He Was Given Qaeda ‘Pledge Form’ Said to Be Padilla’s”: The New York Times contains this article today.
The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Evidence on terror suspect Padilla has murky origins; His defense questions the validity of his alleged application for Al Qaeda training and its chain of custody.”
USA Today contains an article that begins, “Prosecutors: Form points to Padilla; Document links al-Qaeda, defendant, lawyers say.”
The Miami Herald reports that “‘Secret agent’ testifies about Padilla document; A disguised CIA officer testified that he received a document that prosecutors say was Jose Padilla’s application to join al Qaeda.”
And The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that “CIA agent testifies in Padilla trial.”
“Cities hail court ruling on rerouting jets at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport”: This article appears today in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
My earlier coverage of last week’s D.C. Circuit ruling appears at this link.
“‘Porn’ auction shows sex sells; Domain name gets $9.5 million, but that’s not a record”: The Los Angeles Times today contains an article that begins, “The free market has spoken: Sex is worth more than porn. That’s one conclusion from the near record-breaking auction of an Internet domain name announced Tuesday. The rights to Porn.com brought in the second-highest payment for an address since the Web’s creation, with closely held MXN Ltd. forking over $9.5 million. Not a bad return for a domain that sold for a reported $47,000 in 1997. But Porn.com couldn’t command the payday of Sex.com, which Boston firm Escom bought last year for more than $11 million in cash and stock.”
“Terror Suspect Testifies of Torture in Custody”: This article appears today in The New York Times.
The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Guantanamo terror detainee claims innocence, torture; Majid Khan, a Pakistani national accused of being a scout for Al Qaeda plots, details his allegations against the U.S. at a hearing.”
And McClatchy Newspapers report that “Detainee says he was tortured at Guantanamo.”
You can access the hearing transcript at this link.
“Panel told of a sickbed face-off; A former Justice Dept. official testifies how Gonzales sought to ‘take advantage’ of an ailing Ashcroft in 2004”: The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.
Today in The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage reports that “Senate hears of split over wiretaps in ’04; Justice leaders nearly quit, ex-deputy says.”
The Chicago Tribune reports that “Ashcroft ex-aide details wiretap infighting; Gonzales prodded hospitalized official.”
USA Today contains a front page article headlined “Gonzalez accused of ’04 end run while Ashcroft ill; Surveillance OK followed move.”
The Washington Times reports that “Ashcroft, Mueller fought Gonzales plan.”
The Hill contains an article headlined “James Comey: White House pressed.”
law.com reports that “Former Deputy AG Details Justice Department Rebellion Over Surveillance Program; Comey, DOJ’s former No. 2 official, describes White House visit to hospitalized AG as part of attempt to overrule him.”
And The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled “Mr. Comey’s Tale: A standoff at a hospital bedside speaks volumes about Attorney General Gonzales.”
You can access a written transcript of yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in five parts: one; two; three; four; and five.
“Georgia justices hear DNA objections; Felon’s lawyer says taking specimen violates rights; state contends due process observed”: This article appears today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Al-Arian film focuses on family, not terror trial”: The St. Petersburg Times today contains an article that begins, “The film USA vs. Al-Arian makes its local debut at the Tampa Theatre tonight, offering an intimate view of the stress endured by the family of Sami Al-Arian during his 2005 terrorism trial.”
“Jefferson, prosecutors square off on search powers”: The Hill today contains an article that begins, “After nearly a year of sweeping statements about constitutional separation-of-powers protections, the question of whether Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) can prevent prosecutors from viewing thousands of pages of documents obtained in an FBI raid of his office may come down to a simple question of logistics. Attorneys for the government and Jefferson argued before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit yesterday that the Constitution’s ‘speech and debate’ clause protects members of Congress from government intrusion. They differed, however, on just how broadly those protections extend.”
“Distress over parody led to First Amendment case”: In today’s issue of USA Today, Joan Biskupic has an article that begins, “Jerry Falwell’s round face and jocular manner, coupled with his inclination for moralistic rhetoric, made him a frequent figure of satire. One extreme example turned into a First Amendment milestone at the U.S. Supreme Court.”
“Pulling the Plug: Alberto Gonzales browbeats the critically ill.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
In commentary available online from FindLaw: Sherry F. Colb has an essay entitled “The U.S. Supreme Court Condones Paralysis of a Speeding Driver: Taking the ‘Reasonable’ Out Of ‘Reasonable Seizures.’”
And Joanne Mariner has an essay entitled “Of Tribunals and Torture.”
“Web Site Is Held Liable for Some User Postings”: Adam Liptak will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times.
My earlier coverage of today’s Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link.
“Carter Phillips’ Daughter Continues Family Tradition Among High Court Clerks”: law.com’s Tony Mauro provides this report.
“President Intervened in Dispute Over Eavesdropping”: This article will appear Wednesday in The New York Times.
And Wednesday’s edition of The Washington Post will contain a front page article headlined “Gonzales Hospital Episode Detailed; Ailing Ashcroft Pressured on Spy Program.” In addition, Dana Milbank will have a “Washington Sketch” column headlined “Ashcroft and the Night Visitors.”
Available online from law.com: Justin Scheck reports that “9th Circuit Panel Faults O’Melveny for ‘Take It or Leave It’ Hiring Clause.” My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link.
Pamela A. MacLean reports that “Courts Grapple With Computer Searches; Is it a password-protected ‘locked box’ or a simple container?”
Shannon P. Duffy reports that “Former Phillies Pitcher and Lawyer Strike Out on Fees Appeal.” You can access last week’s Third Circuit ruling at this link.
An article is headlined “Fla. Supreme Court: Hospital Privileges Must Be Revealed in Med-Mal Cases.” You can access last week’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Florida at this link.
Finally, Traci M. Braun and Thalia L. Myrianthopoulos have an essay entitled “‘Philip Morris’ Decision May Be Hazardous to Jurors’ Comprehension.”
“Paterno-pay issue ends up in high court”: The Harrisburg Patriot-News today contains an article that begins, “The revelation of one of the sports world’s oldest and best-kept secrets — Penn State football coach Joe Paterno’s salary — now lies with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.”
And The Legal Intelligencer reports today that “Debate Over Disclosure of Penn State Coach’s Salary Goes Before Pa. High Court.”
“Slim Majority Approves of Supreme Court Following Partial-Birth Ruling; Americans overwhelmingly say partial-birth abortion should be illegal”: The Gallup News Service provides this report (via “Sentencing Law and Policy“).
On this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered“: The broadcast contained audio segments entitled “Former Justice Deputy Describes Political Clash“; “Gonzales: McNulty Played ‘Central’ Role in Firings“; and “Sentencing Panel Changes Crack Recommendation” (RealPlayer required).
“Money buys time for Kamehameha Schools”: The Honolulu Advertiser today contains an article that begins, “Kamehameha Schools paid to settle the most serious legal threat yet to its Hawaiians-first admissions policy, legal experts believe, but the agreement won’t prevent future challenges to the 120-year-old practice. However, any new case would take years before it reached the doorstep of the U.S. Supreme Court — where the latest case was when it ended yesterday.”
Today’s newspaper also contains articles headlined “‘It was in our best interest to settle’” and “Policy has varied since school’s start“; an item headlined “Reaction from around the state to Kamehameha lawsuit settlement“; and an editorial entitled “Kamehameha accord signals need for more work.”
In other coverage, The Honolulu Star-Bulletin today contains articles headlined “Disappointment, praise follow Kamehameha settlement; A lawsuit against Kamehameha Schools over their Hawaiians-only admission policy is dropped in a settlement” and “Kamehameha community relieved ‘it’s over’; Students and parents were surprised with the sudden end of the legal challenge,” along with an editorial entitled “Kamehameha Schools gets reprieve but no victory.”
“The Roberts Court”: ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg has this post today at her “Legalities” blog.
“Justice aide testifies Gonzales pressured ailing Atty. Gen. over surveillance program; As White House counsel, Gonzales visited bed-ridden Ashcroft for spying consent”: The Los Angeles Times provides this news update.
And McClatchy Newspapers report that “Initial warrantless eavesdropping program deemed illegal by the Justice Department.”
“State proposes new lethal injection procedures”: Henry Weinstein of The Los Angeles Times provides a news update that begins, “Aiming at ending a 16-month legal moratorium on capital punishment in California, state corrections officials today proposed new lethal injection execution procedures they say ‘will result in the dignified end of life’ for condemned inmates.”
On today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Day to Day“: The broadcast contained audio segments entitled “Court Weighs Arguments in Guantanamo Appeals“; “Former Justice Dep’t Deputy Testifies Before Senate Committee“; and “Landis Fights Doping Charge” (RealPlayer required).
“CIA Agent Testifies at Padilla Trial”: The Associated Press provides this report.
“Comey Details Internal Rebellion at Justice Over Warrantless Surveillance Program”: law.com provides this news update.
Tony Mauro is reporting: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” he has posts titled “Rev. Falwell and the Supreme Court” and “In re Gault at 40.”
“Terror Suspect Claims CIA Tortured Him”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A Pakistani terrorism suspect denied any connection to al-Qaida and said he was tortured and his family was hounded by U.S. authorities, according to a transcript released Tuesday by the Pentagon.”
And BBC News provides a report headlined “US detainee ‘mentally tortured.’”
You can access the transcript at this link.
“Ultrasound: latest tool in battle over abortion; Images of fetuses are at the center of a hot debate over states’ ‘witness to the womb’ laws.” This article appears today in The Christian Science Monitor.
“Court to review Internet straight or gay query”: Reuters provides this report on the Ninth Circuit ruling issued today that I discuss in the post immediately below.
Splintered Ninth Circuit panel holds that the Communications Decency Act does not protect the online roommate matching service Roommates.com from liability under the Fair Housing Act: Could an animosity toward blogs have foreshadowed a decision screwing-up the protection from liability for online postings afforded to providers of interactive computer services by the Communications Decency Act?
Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski wrote the majority opinion for the three-judge panel. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt, in an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have subjected the web site to even more liability under the Fair Housing Act. And former Kozinski law clerk Circuit Judge Sandra S. Ikuta issued an opinion concurring in part (and by implication dissenting in part) in which she makes clear that, in her view, the Communications Decency Act should protect the web site from all claims asserted under the Fair Housing Act that are based on information supplied by the web site’s users.
At his “Technology & Marketing Law Blog,” Law Professor Eric Goldman offers a devastating critique of the ruling. His lengthy blog post concludes, “All in all, this case is a very unfortunate Cyberlaw development. Let’s hope the damage gets reversed pronto.”
Judge Kozinski’s opinion contains an interesting discussion that could be viewed as relevant to the pending lawsuit against the web site DontDateHimGirl.com:
Imagine, for example, www.harrassthem.com with the slogan “Don’t Get Mad, Get Even.” A visitor to this website would be encouraged to provide private, sensitive and/or defamatory information about others–all to be posted online for a fee. To post the information, the individual would be invited to answer questions about the target’s name, addresses, phone numbers, social security number, credit cards, bank accounts, mother’s maiden name, sexual orientation, drinking habits and the like. In addition, the website would encourage the poster to provide dirt on the victim, with instructions that the information need not be confirmed, but could be based on rumor, conjecture or fabrication.
It is not clear to us that the operator of this hypothetical website would be protected by the logic of Carafano. The date match website in Carafano had no involvement in the creation and development of the defamatory and private information; the hypothetical operator of harrassthem.com would. By providing a forum designed to publish sensitive and defamatory information, and suggesting the type of information that might be disclosed to best harass and endanger the targets, this website operator might well be held responsible for creating and developing the tortious information. Carafano did not consider whether the CDA protected such websites, and we do not read that opinion as granting CDA immunity to those who actively encourage, solicit and profit from the tortious and unlawful communications of others.
The Ninth Circuit’s earlier ruling in the Carafano case can be accessed here.
Removal of the cross from the County Seal of Los Angeles did not violate the Establishment Clause by conveying a state-sponsored message of hostility toward Christians, Ninth Circuit holds: You can access today’s unanimous ruling of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link. A separate PDF file containing black-and-white images of the old and new seals is here.
“White House Pushed Ashcroft on Wiretappings; Former Deputy Says Program Implemented Despite Objections”: The Washington Post provides this news update.
“Lawmaker Challenges Legality of FBI Raid”: The AP provides this report on another case argued today in the D.C. Circuit.
And at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Emma Schwartz has a post titled “Reviewing the Raid.”
