How Appealing



Thursday, March 6, 2008

“Hello, Dahlia! Lithwick relishes Supreme Court jester role.” This week’s issue of The Hook of Charlottesville, Virginia contains this profile.

Posted at 10:55 PM by Howard Bashman



“A Key Case on Gun Control: In a landmark case, the Supreme Court considers just how far the Second Amendment’s freedoms go.” Emma Schwartz of U.S. News & World Report has this article.

Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“Candidate seeks info on justice; Answers wanted on Maynard’s link to Massey CEO”: The Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette today contains an article that begins, “Bob Bastress, running for one of two open seats on the state Supreme Court in May’s Democratic primary, wants Chief Justice Elliott ‘Spike’ Maynard to reveal more information about his relationship with Don Blankenship, chief executive officer of Massey Energy. During a Wednesday press conference at the Capitol, Bastress called for an independent commission to investigate ties between Maynard and Blankenship, who were photographed together while on vacation along the French Riviera and Monaco in July 2006.”

And The West Virginia Record provides a news update headlined “Supreme Court says it can’t investigate Maynard-Blankenship friendship.”

Posted at 10:45 PM by Howard Bashman



“Oregon Supreme Court rules punitive damages excessive”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “In a victory for an insurance company accused of acting in bad faith, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a $20.7 million jury award for punitive damages in a fatal traffic accident in 1987 was excessive. The case also set a guideline for most lawsuits involving punitive damages by deciding that four times the actual damages should be the limit in Oregon.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Oregon at this link.

Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“26-Year Secret Kept Innocent Man In Prison; Lawyers Tell 60 Minutes They Were Legally Bound From Revealing Secret”: The CBS News program “60 Minutes” provides this preview of a segment that will air on Sunday.

Posted at 10:15 PM by Howard Bashman



“Fired U.S. attorney says colleague told him politics was behind his ouster”: Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers provides this report.

Posted at 10:11 PM by Howard Bashman



“California Ruling Against Home-Schoolers Causes Stir”: Mark Walsh has this post today at “The School Law Blog” of Education Week.

Posted at 2:17 PM by Howard Bashman



“Cameras In The Courtroom Bill Approved By Senate Panel”: At his “Washington Briefs” blog, Lawrence Hurley of The Daily Journal of California has a post today that begins, “The Senate Judiciary Committee today passed out a bill that would allow TV coverage of all federal courts.”

Posted at 2:15 PM by Howard Bashman



“DIA keeps Wi-Fi on the mild side”: Yesterday’s edition of The Denver Post contained an article that begins, “Want to browse Vanity Fair magazine on the Denver airport’s free Wi-Fi system? Sorry. You’ll have to buy it at the newsstand, because DIA’s Internet filter blocks Vanity Fair as ‘provocative.’ You can’t get to the popular gossip column perezhilton.com on DIA’s Wi-Fi signal, either. Or the hipster-geek favorite boingboing.net. Or the Sports Illustrated swimsuit photos, even though the magazine’s bare-breasted cover shot is on prominent display at airport stores, right next to Penthouse and Hustler.” (Via “Obscure Store.”)

Posted at 12:22 PM by Howard Bashman



U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issues ruling in case captioned Robert Steinbuch v. Jessica Cutler: Blog law and personal jurisdiction aficionados once again have cause to rejoice. The three-judge panel’s unanimous opinion issued today begins, “Robert Steinbuch brought this action against Jessica Cutler and several corporate entities for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising from the publication by Hyperion Books of Cutler’s sexually explicit novel and the potential development of a future television series based on it.”

The ruling reverses the dismissal of Steinbuch’s claim against Hyperion Books and remands for additional discovery relating to the propriety of exercising personal jurisdiction over that defendant.

Posted at 11:30 AM by Howard Bashman



“Friends, Montco file Barnes’ briefs; oral arguments next”: Yesterday, The Main Line Times of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania posted online an article that begins, “Meeting a deadline Feb. 29, the Friends of the Barnes Foundation and Montgomery County each filed briefs asking Orphan’s Court Judge Stanley Ott to set aside objections raised by the world-renowned art gallery and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and reopen the case of its proposed move from Merion to Philadelphia. Oral arguments in the matter are scheduled to begin in Norristown March 24.”

Posted at 9:23 AM by Howard Bashman



“Ex-senator’s legal tactics spurned”: Today’s edition of The Washington Times contains an article that begins, “Retired Sen. Mark Dayton has been trying to shield himself from a lawsuit by a former congressional aide by using a legal defense so unusual that it has alienated his former colleagues and been scorned by the courts.”

Posted at 9:08 AM by Howard Bashman



“Gun debate draws nation”: The Washington Times today contains an article that begins, “The District’s interim attorney general yesterday said the city’s Supreme Court fight to maintain its 30-year-old ban on handguns has prompted hundreds of organizations and individuals to throw in their two cents.”

Posted at 9:05 AM by Howard Bashman



“A new tack for gay rights; Lawmakers weigh granting couples limited benefits”: This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun.

Today in The Washington Post, Metro columnist Marc Fisher has an essay entitled “Md. Senator at a Loss for Words Over Same-Sex Marriage Bill.”

And The Los Angeles Times contains an article headlined “Same-sex union — it’s personal: As the high court considers the legality, couples who wed in the Bay Area savor the joy of the institution.”

Posted at 9:04 AM by Howard Bashman



“Another alleged bin Laden driver charged”: Today in The Miami Herald, Carol Rosenberg has an article that begins, “A Pentagon official on Wednesday formally approved charges against another Guantanamo captive who allegedly worked as a driver and bodyguard for Osama bin Laden — this time a Sudanese man.”

And today in The Los Angeles Times, Carol J. Williams reports that “Another Guantanamo prisoner charged with war crimes; An alleged former aide to Osama bin Laden is the 13th detainee at the U.S. military prison to be indicted.”

Posted at 9:00 AM by Howard Bashman



“Swiss bank drops suit against Wikileaks site”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “A Swiss bank dropped its lawsuit Wednesday against the whistle-blowers Web site Wikileaks after stirring up a free-speech furor over a judge’s order, now rescinded, to shut down the site for allowing the posting of private bank documents. Julius Baer & Co. filed a brief notice of dismissal in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, saying it reserves the right to pursue its case at a later date in the same court or elsewhere.”

The organization Electronic Frontier Foundation has posted the dismissal notice at this link.

Posted at 8:47 AM by Howard Bashman



“Senators seek to cancel easing of cross-ownership; Tribune Co. and other companies with newspapers and broadcast stations in the same city are expected to fight legislation that seeks to invalidate a recent FCC ruling”: Jim Puzzanghera has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

Posted at 8:44 AM by Howard Bashman



“Secure Lawsuits: A Senate bill would allow civil liberties challenges to secret government operations.” This editorial appears today in The Washington Post.

Posted at 8:35 AM by Howard Bashman



“Death penalty costs Md. more than life term”: Today’s edition of The Baltimore Sun contains an article that begins, “The death penalty has cost Maryland taxpayers at least $186 million more in prosecuting and defending capital murder cases over two decades than would have been spent without the threat of execution, according to a study to be released today.”

And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports today that “Governor vetoes gun measures; Bills aimed to increase types of crimes eligible for the death penalty.”

Posted at 8:33 AM by Howard Bashman



“For High School Students, Some Justice; Supreme Court’s Roberts Pays a Visit to Walt Whitman”: Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post. The newspaper reprints some of the questions and answers in this sidebar.

Posted at 8:27 AM by Howard Bashman



“AutoAdmit defendant sues Yalies; Former director of legal chatroom seeks damages from Law School students for libel, abuse of process”: The Yale Daily News contains this article today.

Posted at 8:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“In Trial, Alaska Says Lilly Concealed Risks of a Schizophrenia Drug”: The New York Times contains this article today.

The Associated Press provides a report headlined “State: No Alerts on Zyprexa Side Effects.”

Meanwhile, in local coverage, The Anchorage Daily News reports today that “State claims drug maker hid data; Zyprexa risks weren’t disclosed by Eli Lilly, lawyer says.” And yesterday’s newspaper contained an article headlined “Millions of dollars at stake in Zyprexa trial; State is suing Eli Lilly for not publicizing risks of mental health drug.”

Posted at 8:04 AM by Howard Bashman



“More judges, prosecutors at risk; 69% increase in threats since 2003”: Today’s edition of USA Today contains an article that begins, “Threats against federal judges and prosecutors are on pace to rise for the fifth consecutive year, according to statistics from the U.S. Marshals Service.”

Posted at 7:38 AM by Howard Bashman