How Appealing



Thursday, March 11, 2010

“SJC backs trigger-lock law on guns in homes”: This article appears today in The Boston Globe.

The Boston Herald reports today that “SJC upholds law requiring safe gun storage.”

The Cape Cod Times reports that “SJC ruling clouds Mass. gun laws.”

And SouthCoastToday.com reports that “Massachusetts SJC rules 2nd Amendment does not apply to states.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruling can be accessed here.

Posted at 8:47 PM by Howard Bashman



“GOP takes issue with Holder’s signing of terrorism-related legal brief in ’04”: The Washington Post has a news update that begins, “Senate Republicans attacked the attorney general Thursday for failing to disclose during his confirmation process last year that he had signed a 2004 legal brief in an important terrorism case.”

Friday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined “Holder Failed to Disclose Brief on Detainee Policy.”

Politico.com reports that “Holder under fire for Padilla brief.”

And at WSJ.com’s “Washington Wire” blog, Evan Perez has a post titled “Holder: In the Hot Seat, Again.”

Posted at 7:58 PM by Howard Bashman



“State high court to consider body-armor law”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “The California Supreme Court said Wednesday that it will hear a prosecution appeal of a ruling throwing out a state law that bans anyone who has been convicted of a violent felony from owning body armor.”

And Metropolitan News-Enterprise reports that “S.C. to Review Ruling Overturning Body Armor Ban for Felons.”

Posted at 5:04 PM by Howard Bashman



“Minnesota’s chief justice to leave the bench; Two years after his appointment, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson announced he will leave the court effective June 30”: The Minneapolis Star Tribune has this news update.

And the Minnesota Judicial Branch today issued a news release headlined “Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson to Leave High Court.” You can access the official online biography of Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson at this link.

Posted at 3:54 PM by Howard Bashman



“Federal Circuit Court Nominee Gains Support”: Mike Scarcella has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

Posted at 3:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“We are called upon to decide whether the teacher-led recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, by students in public schools constitutes an establishment of religion prohibited by the United States Constitution. We hold it does not; the Pledge is constitutional.” Demonstrating the difference that a new three-judge panel can have, today the majority on a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — in a 193-page ruling — has rejected Dr. Michael Newdow’s renewed challenge to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Circuit Judge Carlos T. Bea wrote the majority opinion, in which Senior Circuit Judge Dorothy W. Nelson joined. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who joined in the Ninth Circuit’s original ruling in 2002 declaring the Pledge unconstitutional, issued a dissenting opinion. The majority opinion is 60 pages long, and the dissenting opinion is 133 pages long.

Also worthy of note — in a separate decision issued today, the same three-judge panel unanimously (although not without criticism from Judge Reinhardt in his separate opinion concurring only in the result) rejects Newdow’s challenge to the use of the Nation’s motto, “In God we Trust,” on United States coins and currency.

In early news coverage, Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update headlined “Appeals court rejects challenge to Pledge of Allegiance in schools.”

Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update headlined “Court: ‘Under God’ in Pledge is constitutional.”

And Carol J. Williams of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post titled “Divided appeals court rules Pledge of Allegiance doesn’t violate Constitution.”

Posted at 1:54 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Justices Reveal Their Secret Fast-Food Preferences”: Jess Bravin has this post at WSJ.com’s “Law Blog.”

Posted at 1:48 PM by Howard Bashman



“Author assumes guise of 10-year-old to punk famous”: The Associated Press has this report, which notes, among other things, that “Supreme Court justices weighed in on their favorite junk food.”

My earlier coverage of the book can be accessed here.

Posted at 10:36 AM by Howard Bashman



“White House Rolls Out Two More Circuit Nominees”: David Ingram and Mike Scarcella have this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

Yesterday, the White Houst issued a news release headlined “President Obama Nominates Raymond Lohier, Jr. for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Judge Kate O’Malley for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.”

Last week, law.com previewed the Federal Circuit nomination in an article headlined “Ohio District Court Judge the Front-Runner for Federal Circuit Seat, Say Sources; There has been a movement in the patent bar to nominate a down-in-the-trenches district court judge to the Federal Circuit, which has suffered from an Ivory Tower reputation.”

Posted at 8:10 AM by Howard Bashman



“It’s Obama vs. the Supreme Court, Round 2, over campaign finance ruling”: Robert Barnes and Anne E. Kornblut have this article today in The Washington Post.

Today in The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin reports that “Reid Remarks Intensify Spat With High-Court Conservatives.” You can access the full text of the article via Google News.

Linda Feldmann of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined “Chief Justice John Roberts and Obama White House: a tit for tat; Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday, in response to an audience question, he was troubled that President Obama used the occasion of his State of the Union address to criticize a Supreme Court ruling; The Obama White House, in turn, reiterated its objection to the court’s decision.”

The Washington Times reports that “Chief justice reignites feud with Obama; Counters State of Union jab.”

Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that “Chief justice chides State of the Union as ‘political pep rally.’

Yesterday evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered” contained an audio segment entitled “Roberts Slams ‘Pep Rally’ Scene At State Of Union” featuring Nina Totenberg.

Online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has a jurisprudence essay entitled “Et Tu, SOTU? John Roberts’ nonpartisan attack on presidential partisanship.”

At her “Crossroads” blog, CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford has a post titled “White House Vs. Supreme Court: It’s Getting Ridiculous.”

And The Tuscaloosa News has an editorial entitled “Roberts has right quality for chief justice job.”

C-SPAN has posted at this link the video of the Chief Justice’s remarks at University of Alabama School of Law in delivering the spring 2010 Albritton Lecture, and in the question-and-answer session that followed.

Posted at 8:02 AM by Howard Bashman



“A Second Mistrial for Blogger Charged With Threatening Judges; Lead prosecutor calls third trial ‘highly likely’; bail conditions remain in place for Turner, who has announced his intent to fire his attorneys”: law.com has a report that begins, “The second trial of blogger Harold ‘Hal’ Turner, the New Jersey white supremacist charged with threatening to kill three Chicago federal judges, has resulted in a second mistrial.”

And The Associated Press reports that “2nd mistrial declared in case against NJ blogger.”

Posted at 7:44 AM by Howard Bashman