“Supreme Court appears split on Somalia torture case; Former Somali leader Mohamed Ali Samantar is being sued under a law designed to give torture victims a chance to get recompense — but another law gives immunity to official foreign government actions”: David G. Savage will have this article Thursday in The Los Angeles Times.
Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal has a news update headlined “High Court Addresses Foreign Leaders’ Immunity.”
On this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Nina Totenberg had an audio segment entitled “Court Weighs Suit Against Former Somali Leader.”
And Ariane de Vogue of ABCNews.com has an article headlined “Can Ex-Somali Official Living in U.S. Be Sued for Torture? Supreme Court to Decide If He’s Immune to Lawsuits Filed in the U.S.”
“Work key to long life for 102-year-old judge”: Earlier this week, The Wichita Eagle published an article that begins, “Judge Wesley Brown began working at about age 10, after his father fell ill and he had to help support his family. That was about 1917, and the federal judge in Wichita said that beginning work at a young age is one reason he’s still showing up to the courthouse every day at 102.”
“At the Supreme Court, An Hour Can Last 66 Minutes”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”
“Flipping Off Cops Is Legal, Not Advised”: David Kravets has this post at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog.
“Defense Lawyers in Wone Case Call Evidence ‘Grossly Prejudicial'”: Mike Scarcella has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”
“Court questions suit against former Somali leader”: The Associated Press has this report.
“Gregory Craig Debriefs on Sotomayor Nomination”: David Ingram has this post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”
“Book: HP eyed Fiorina as dad ruled on case.” At Politico.com, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, “California Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina was negotiating for a lucrative job as CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co. a decade ago at the same time her father wrote a significant appeals court opinion that the high-tech industry had aggressively lobbied for, a new book reports. In July 1999, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Joseph Sneed, Fiorina’s father, issued a ruling that made it far more difficult for class-action lawyers to file securities lawsuits.”
“Court to review Katrina lawsuit; Coast landowners claim companies caused hurricane”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court has agreed to review a three-judge panel’s ruling that a group of Mississippi coastal landowners can sue energy and chemical companies claiming their greenhouse gas emissions contributed to global warming, caused sea levels to rise and added to the intensity of Hurricane Katrina.”
My earlier coverage of the Fifth Circuit’s order granting rehearing en banc can be accessed here.
“Can Torture Victims Sue Their Tormentors?” This audio segment featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”
Yesterday’s edition of The Washington Post contained an article headlined “At 74, Fairfax resident, a former Somali prime minister, may face war-crimes lawsuit.”
UPI reports that “Court weighs Somalia war crimes trial.”
Voice of America News has an article headlined “US Case Involving Somalis Tests Immunity and Torture Laws; Supreme Court to decide whether former foreign-government officials who committed human-rights abuses while in office are entitled to immunity.”
And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston previews the oral argument in a post titled “Overseas reach of anti-torture law.”
“High court wary of suit over detainee medical care”: The Associated Press has this report.
You can access the transcript of yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Hui v. Castaneda, No. 08-1529, at this link.
Those readers who have observed that the U.S. Supreme Court sometimes schedules cases with related themes for oral argument on the same day may wish to note that yesterday’s oral arguments involved handguns and an amputated penis.
“Keenan confirmed for 4th Circuit judgeship”: This article appears today in The Richmond Times-Dispatch.
“Justices Reinstate Settlement With Writers”: Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times.
The Associated Press reports that “Court says freelancer settlement can be approved.”
James Vicini of Reuters reports that “US top court sides with publishers on $18 mln deal; Case involves settlement reached in 2005.”
Brent Kendall of Dow Jones Newswires reports that “US Supreme Court Revives Freelancer-Publisher Settlement.”
And Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal reports that “Supreme Court Keeps $18 Million Internet Copyright Settlement Alive.”
“7th Circuit Judges Testify in Trial Over Blogger’s Web Threats; Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook’s cross-examination featured several defense stumbles”: This article appears today in the New York Law Journal.
The New York TImes reports today that “3 U.S. Judges Testify in a Death Threat Case.”
The New York Daily News reports that “Judges testify against shock jock Harold (Hal) Turner’s ‘death’ rant over upholding of handgun ban.”
And The Bergen County (N.J.) Record reports that “Judges testify that they feared for their lives after blog post by North Bergen shock jock Hal Turner.”