“Minority Contractors Lose Preference At Pentagon”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on last Friday’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
According to NPR’s description of the segment, “A Pentagon affirmative action program that benefits contracting companies owned by racial minorities has been declared unconstitutional. The decision was issued Nov. 4 — Election Day — so it hasn’t received much attention. But the decision could mean the end of similar programs at all levels of government.”
I had this post about the decision on the date that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued the ruling.
“Case debates if man’s insurer should pay in wreck; Courts have upheld refusal of claim for family injured by driver fleeing police”: Chuck Lindell had this article Friday in The Austin American-Statesman.
According to the article, “Now the Texas Supreme Court will decide who deserves the law’s protection: a family whose car was in the wrong place at the wrong time or an insurance company with a reckless and irresponsible client.”
“Vermont case before U.S. Supreme Court is drawing intense interest”: Friday’s edition of The Rutland Herald contained an article that begins, “Almost 40 states’ attorneys general, more than 15 victims’ rights groups, the National Governors’ Association and the solicitor general of the United States have joined Vermont in its appeal of a Vermont Supreme Court decision from earlier this year that set a convicted felon free from prison because of speedy trial issues.”
“Supreme Court to hear judge’s ethics appeal”: Yesterday’s edition of The Pensacola News Journal contained a newsbrief that begins, “The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday morning will hear oral arguments in 1st District Court of Appeal Judge Michael E. Allen’s ethics case.”
The May 14, 2007 installment of my “On Appeal” column for law.com was headlined “When Should a Judge Face Discipline for What an Opinion Says?”
“Retiring SJC judge Greaney no shrinking violet”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Justice John Greaney didn’t write the Supreme Judicial Court’s landmark ruling making Massachusetts the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage, but five years later, a passage from his concurring opinion is sometimes used by gay couples in their wedding ceremonies.”
“Will Frederick be the next solicitor general?” Lawyers USA provides this report.
“Obama’s Judges and the Senate: Mitch McConnell lays down some markers.” This editorial appeared yesterday in The Wall Street Journal.
“Justice Stevens on the Judiciary”: C-SPAN describes this past Saturday’s broadcast of “America & the Courts” as follows, “At the University of Florida Law School, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and U.S. District Court Judge Jose Gonzalez participated in a discussion on general legal issues, their own judicial philosophies and the importance of oral arguments.”
You can access last Saturday’s broadcast online, on-demand by clicking here (RealPlayer required). C-SPAN has also posted online the video of the entire event, and you can view it by clicking here (RealPlayer required).
“Obama pledge on treaties a complex undertaking”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update that begins, “President-elect Barack Obama’s pledge to restore the United States’ international standing extends far beyond front-page topics such as closing Guantanamo and banning torture, into areas as diverse as nuclear testing, the rights of women and people with disabilities, and military and commercial activities in the world’s oceans.”
“Is gay the new black? Marriage ban spurs debate.” The Associated Press provides this report.
“How to Close Guantanamo”: Jack Cloonan and Sarah Mendelson have this op-ed today in The Washington Post.
“CNN analyst Toobin talks politics, Supreme Court at ISU”: This article appeared last Tuesday in The Tribune-Star of Terre Haute, Indiana.
“Speculation Already Under Way On Possible Obama Supreme Court Nominations”: Scott Shepard of Cox News Service has this article.
“O’Connor’s talk offers judicial perspective; Boe Forum address sheds light on key court rulings”: Last Tuesday’s edition of The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota contained an article that begins, “The first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court discussed her time as a justice and the court’s key decisions Monday in Sioux Falls.”
“Ahead for Obama: How to Define Terror.” Today in the Week in Review section of The New York Times, Jonathan Mahler has an article that begins, “Early last Tuesday morning, a military charter plane left the airstrip at Guantanamo Bay for Sana, Yemen, carrying Osama bin Laden’s former driver, Salim Hamdan.”
“Marriage spans a vast divide: A successful lawyer leads what seems a normal life; But long ago she forged a lasting emotional bond with a man from the Aryan Brotherhood.” Joe Mozingo will have this lengthy article, the first in a three-part series, in Sunday’s edition of The Los Angeles Times. More information on the series is available at this link.
“Historians say marriage traditions have been fluid”: Today’s edition of The Sacramento Bee contains a front page article that begins, “What is traditional marriage? That question lies beneath the surface of the Proposition 8 debate. The measure that bans same-sex marriage in California, which is now being challenged in court, defines the union as between a man and a woman. This, supporters argue, is as religious precepts and social customs demand. It is traditional.”
And today in The New York Times, columnist Charles M. Blow has an op-ed entitled “Gay Marriage and a Moral Minority.”
The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Justice Stevens shows no signs he is ready to quit” and “Pastor who helped get ‘under God’ in Pledge dies.”
“Poignant Videos of Victims Valid in Court; Justices Decline to Weigh Use of Such Portrayals”: Jerry Markon has this article today in The Washington Post.
“Another Shot Fired in Alex Kozinski Ethics Investigation”: Nathan Koppel has this post today at WSJ.com’s “Law Blog.”
And today at “Patterico’s Pontifications,” Patterico has a post titled “Federal Judge Wrote That Software Disabled by Kozinski Was ‘Integral Part’ of Court’s ‘Security Apparatus.’”
In this post from Wednesday afternoon, I provided online access to the judicial misconduct complaint that L. Ralph Mecham, former head of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, has recently filed against Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski.
“Tax-exempt benefit disputed in Prop. 8 campaign”: Today’s edition of The San Francisco Chronicle contains an article that begins, “In the wake of Proposition 8’s passage, opponents are railing that churches that supported the ballot measure violated their tax-exempt status.”
“Guilty verdict in MySpace suicide case could chill Internet speech; The jury convicted a Missouri mother on three counts, but not conspiracy”: The Christian Science Monitor contains this article today.
“Military Appeal Process Is Challenged”: This article appears today in The New York Times. What’s lacking, according to the article, is the ability to seek U.S. Supreme Court review.
“Ex-terrorism prosecutor flags flaws at tribunal”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Like many human rights observers, Anthony Barkow has harsh words about the government’s treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. But Barkow offers a unique perspective: He’s the only observer who successfully prosecuted terrorist sympathizers in his former life as an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan.”
“Guilty Verdict in Cyberbullying Case Provokes Many Questions Over Online Identity”: Friday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, “Is lying about one’s identity on the Internet now a crime? The verdict Wednesday in the MySpace cyberbullying case raised a variety of questions about the terms that users agree to when they log on to Web sites.”
“Judge says perfume lawsuit can proceed; A Detroit city planner says co-worker’s scent interferes with job performance, breathing”: This article appears today in The Detroit News.
I have posted online at this link Tuesday’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“Jury delivers mixed verdict in MySpace bullying trial; Lori Drew of Missouri is convicted of misdemeanor charges, but the L.A. jury deadlocks on felony conspiracy count; Drew had a fake relationship online with Megan Meier, 13, who committed suicide”: Scott Glover has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today that “Jury chooses lesser charges to convict Lori Drew of cyber-bullying Dardenne Prairie neighbor.”
The New York Times contains an article headlined “Verdict in MySpace Suicide Case.”
And The Washington Post reports that “Woman Guilty of Minor Charges for MySpace Hoax.”
“Iowa’s gay marriage ban goes before high court; The state Supreme Court will hear arguments next month about whether the Defense of Marriage Act – briefly struck down last year – is unconstitutional”: The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.
“Guantanamo Justice: The Bush administration will finally release Salim Ahmed Hamdan; The Uighurs should be next.” This editorial appears today in The Washington Post.
In commentary available online from FindLaw: Carl Tobias has an essay entitled “Why the Federal Courts Should Give Thanks This Thanksgiving: A Set of Positive Developments, with the Hope of More to Come.”
And Sherry F. Colb has an essay entitled “A Judge Orders a Woman Not to Have Children While On Probation: Did He Violate Her Rights?”
law.com’s Tony Mauro is reporting: He has articles headlined “Pressure Is on Obama to Name First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice” and “High Court Water Law Case Misses Its Master.”
“Family of Slain Lawyer Sues Three Former Housemates; Complaint Alleges Men Conspired To Cover Up Crime”: The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, “The widow and family of a prominent Washington lawyer who was stabbed to death in 2006 filed a $20 million lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court yesterday, alleging that three friends of his concealed evidence and lied to police in a cover-up.”
“Justice admits to taunting Mukasey”: This article appears today in The Olympian of Olympia, Washington. Earlier today, I rounded-up some additional related news coverage at this link.
Available online from Bloggingheads.tv: Law Professors Jack Balkin and Eric Posner have a diavlog titled “National Security, Post-Bush” in which they discuss various subjects including “Will Obama pick ideological liberals for the Supreme Court?” and “How Obama will handle domestic surveillance.”
And a diavlog titled “Even Further Beyond the Hart-Dworkin Debate” features Law Professors Brian Leiter and Scott Shapiro.
“Truth or Consequences? Why can’t we hold torturers accountable and still find out the truth?” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
