“Obama Weighs Supreme Court Nominees, and Each Potential Battle”: Charlie Savage has this article today in The New York Times.
Tony Mauro of The National Law Journal has an article headlined “Supreme Court Watchers Wonder: How Conservative Is Kagan?”
Today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal contains an article headlined “Weighing Politicians, Judges as High-Court Nominees.” You can freely access the full text of the article via Google News. In addition, law professor Richard W. Garnett has an op-ed entitled “The Minority Court: The only Protestant Supreme Court justice is stepping down; How Jews and Catholics came to own the bench.” And law professor John Yoo has an op-ed entitled “The Supreme Court and National Security: After Justice Stevens: The president will nominate a liberal, of course; But he could nominate someone who believes in judicial restraint in the war on terror.” You can freely access the full text of Yoo’s op-ed via Google News.
The Associated Press reports that “Lessons learned shape Obama’s court pick.”
And The Harvard Law Record reports that “Supreme Court pick fever for Harvard Law deans; Kagan, Minow both on Obama’s shortlist to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.”
“NYC appeals court hears challenge to wiretap law”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A civil rights lawyer asked a federal appeals court Friday to restore a lawsuit challenging a law that lets the United States eavesdrop on overseas conversations. A government lawyer disagreed, saying a lower court got it right.”
The Crash Dummy Movie, Llc. v. Mattel, Inc. That’s the caption of a decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued today.
“The TTABlog” has this earlier coverage of the case.
“Obama judicial nominee faces tough Senate scrutiny”: Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report.
The Hill reports that “Republicans attack judicial nominee’s writings, experience.”
Politico.com has a report headlined “Kyl: Liu’s writings ‘vicious.’”
And at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” David Ingram has posts titled “Senators Debate Liu’s Litigation Experience” and “Liu Contrite as Senate Testimony Begins.”
“Democrats defend liberal court nominee Goodwin Liu”: The Associated Press has this report.
“Oboe-Playing Judicial Artist Diane Wood Eyed for High Court”: Bloomberg News has this report.
Today’s edition of The Billings Gazette contains an article headlined “Thomas’ colleagues hail judge’s credentials” that begins, “Sidney R. Thomas, a federal appeals court judge from Billings, may not have the traditional Eastern elite background of a Supreme Court justice, but Montanans who work with him say it would be hard to find a better candidate for the highest court.”
Today’s edition of The Daily Northwestern contains an article headlined “NU law alumnus Justice John Paul Stevens ‘hard to replace.’”
Today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition” contained an audio segment entitled “GOP Fires Filibuster Warning Shot On Court Nominee.”
The Detroit News contains an editorial entitled “Nomination of Gov. Granholm to U.S. Supreme Court would be an interesting choice.”
Finally, at Salon.com, James Doty has an essay entitled “On the Supreme Court, not a lot of respect for Elena Kagan; The solicitor general’s appearances before the high court have been marked by unusually brusque treatment.” And Mary Ann Sorrentino has an essay entitled “Have you thanked a Supreme Court justice lately? My letter to the justice who authored the Roe v. Wade decision taught me an important lesson about gratitude.”
“Three Supreme Court Myths: Since the 1970s, the Court has strayed more often to the left of the center than to the right of public opinion.” In tomorrow’s issue of National Journal, columnist Stuart Taylor Jr. will have this “Opening Argument” essay.
“Tom Goldstein, Objective Centrist Poseur”: At National Review Online’s “Bench Memos” blog, Ed Whelan has this post in response to a post from Tom Goldstein that I linked to here last night.
“Breaking Barriers: Edward DuMont, praised by colleagues as ‘brilliant,’ would be the first openly gay federal appellate judge in the country.” Chris Geidner has this article online at the web site of Metro Weekly, Washington, DC’s gay & lesbian news magazine.
“Feinstein defends Obama court pick against GOP”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “On the eve of Goodwin Liu’s confirmation hearing as a federal appeals court judge, Sen. Dianne Feinstein tore into the UC Berkeley law professor’s Republican critics Thursday, saying they were smearing him and applying standards they never used for their own party’s nominees.”
The Associated Press reports that “Liberal court pick ready for Senate GOP grilling.”
The Hill reports that “Despite GOP protests, Dems to move forward on Liu nomination.”
On today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Nina Totenberg has an audio segment entitled “Senate Battle Looms Over Appeals Court Nominee Liu.”
And at Politico.com, Eric Liu has an essay entitled “Right uses Liu to frame court debate.”
Today’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. eastern time.
Update: The Senate Judiciary Committee’s live video feed of the confirmation hearing can be accessed at this link. And C-SPAN will also provide live coverage online via this link.
“White House complains about CBS News blog post saying that possible Supreme Court nominee is gay”: Today in The Washington Post, Howard Kurtz has an article that begins, “The White House ripped CBS News on Thursday for publishing an online column by a blogger who made assertions about the sexual orientation of Solicitor General Elena Kagan, widely viewed as a leading candidate for the Supreme Court.”
“Internet Commentary and the Nominations Process; Attacks on Elena Kagan from the right and left”: Tom Goldstein has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”
“What Are Liberal Law Students So Sad About? They have no one to look up to.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
“Appeals panel: Ohio anti-porn law constitutional.” The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals panel has ruled that an Ohio law aimed at protecting children from online pornography and predators is constitutional as interpreted by the state Supreme Court.”
You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link.
“Senators Keep Up Sparring Over Nominee’s Questionnaire”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” David Ingram has a post that begins, “A day before Goodwin Liu goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, senators traded barbs over whether the federal appellate nominee has provided them with enough information.”
“Breyer: Health overhaul could come before court.” Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.
“[I]n the past dozen years or so, has become the fashion — moving from the exceptional to the normal — of our Court for some judges, who were not on the pertinent panel, to file dissents regularly when en banc rehearing is denied.” So observed Circuit Judge J.L. Edmondson in an opinion concurring in an order denying rehearing en banc that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued yesterday.
“High Court Nomination For ’10th Justice’ Would Be Rare”: Today in The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley has an interesting article that begins, “If Elena Kagan replaces Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court, as many expect, she would join a select group of former solicitors general who have gone on to be justices. It’s surprisingly rare for a solicitor general to be appointed to the court. The last time it happened was in 1967, when Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to the court. Marshall remains one of only two sitting solicitors general to have been nominated.”
“Stints in Court May Yield Clues to a Style”: In today’s edition of The New York Times, Adam Liptak has an article that begins, “Two weeks ago, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, a leading contender for appointment to the Supreme Court, presented her sixth argument there. She bantered easily with the justices, and she seemed to have a special rapport with Justice Antonin Scalia, at one point responding to a question from him with one of her own.”
Today’s edition of The Boston Globe contains an article headlined “As potential pick for court, Kagan gets fire from left.”
Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Kagan’s Bridge Building Boosts Her U.S. Supreme Court Candidacy.”
The Arizona Republic reports that “Napolitano would bring diversity to court, experts say.”
At the “Politics Blog” of The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has a post titled “Juicy record for judge rumored for high court.”
At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Carrie Levine has a post titled “Advocacy Groups Preparing for Supreme Court Nominee.”
In The Washington Post, columnist George F. Will has an op-ed entitled “For high court nominee, no (political) experience necessary.”
And at the “Opinionator” blog of The New York Times, Timothy Egan has a post titled “Supreme Club.”
“Extra long appeals hearing in Patriots ticket-holder suit”: Today’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an article that begins, “Lawyers for the New England Patriots and the National Football League were pressed by a panel of federal judges Wednesday to explain why a lawsuit seeking $184 million in compensation for illegal recording of the New York Jets’ signals shouldn’t go to trial.”
The Associated Press reports that “Pa. court ponders fan suit over Jets-Pats Spygate.”
And Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer reports that “3rd Circuit May Revive $184 Million Class Action Over NFL Team Taping Rival’s Signals.”
“No audio for broadcasters in Supreme Court case”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has a report that begins, “For the first time in four years, the Supreme Court has gone an entire term without granting the quick release of audio recordings of high-profile arguments.”
And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “No audio on student rights argument; No tapes released this Term.”
“Wilmer Hale Partner Nominated for Federal Circuit Vacancy”: Mike Scarcella has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”
The blog “Patently-O” has a post titled “Edward DuMont Nominated to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.”
Yesterday, the White House issued a news release headlined “President Obama Nominates Edward C. DuMont for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.” You can access the nominee’s law firm bio at this link.
“Justice Breyer has advice for Obama court nominee”: The Associated Press has this report.
“A Shortcut to Appeal for Civil Cases Pending in Pa. State Court”: That’s the title of this month’s installment of my “Upon Further Review” column published in The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia’s daily newspaper for lawyers.
In essence, as I describe in more detail in the column, a Pennsylvania state Rule of Civil Procedure allows any party to send a case immediately to appeal if the trial judge takes more than 120 days to decide post-trial motions. Whether this shortcut is available depends on what sort of post-trial motions remain pending. But when the shortcut is available and is invoked, the trial judge loses jurisdiction to rule on the post-trial motions that have yet to be decided.
I’d be curious to hear from readers of this blog whether any similar post-trial shortcuts to appeal are available in other States.
“Sources: Obama expected to make high court pick by early May.” Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report.
“Scalia’s Retirement Party: Looking ahead to a conservative vacancy can help the Democrats at the polls.” Law professor Richard L. Hasen, author of the “Election Law Blog,” has this essay online at Slate.
“Alito is one Phillies fan whose opinions really matter”: This article, the second in a two-part series, appeared yesterday in The Philadelphia Daily News.
“Defining Radical Down: Are Judge Diane Wood’s abortion rulings truly indefensible?” Emily Bazelon has this essay online at Slate.
“Stevens’ Legacy Includes Key Role in Terrorism Cases; Justice’s influence led to rejection of Bush administration’s detention and trial plans for accused terrorists”: Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal has this report.
And David Ingram and Carrie Levine of The National Law Journal have an article headlined “Senators, Interest Groups Weigh In on Possible Stevens Successor.”
“A feud worthy of the Bard: The Zappala and Orie clans are at each other’s throats in Western Pa.” Columnist Karen Heller has this essay today in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Nebraska governor signs landmark abortion bills”: This article appears today in The Lincoln Journal Star.
Today’s edition of The Omaha World-Herald contains an article headlined “Gov.: I’ll fight for abortion laws.”
And The New York Times reports that “Nebraska Law Sets Limits on Abortion.”
“Our Fill-in-the-Blank Constitution”: Law professor Geoffrey R. Stone has this op-ed today in The New York Times.
“Obama considering as many as 10 candidates for high court opening”: This article appears today in The Washington Post. The newspaper also has an update headlined “Senate Democrats’ wish list for high court: Someone with non-Ivy background.”
Wednesday’s edition of The Los Angeles Times will contain an article headlined “Obama casts wide net with list of possible Supreme Court nominees; Advisors are calling for a nontraditional choice to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, someone who isn’t a product of top-tier Ivy League schools or hasn’t worked as a federal appeals judge.” Today’s newspaper reports that “GOP looks beyond court pick; Control of Congress may be a higher priority than fighting Obama’s nominee.” And columnist Jonah Goldberg has an op-ed entitled “Empathy and the Supreme Court: Obama’s abstract standard is nothing more than state-sanctioned prejudice.”
The Detroit News has an update headlined “Granholm reportedly on Supreme Court short list.”
Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has an article headlined “For the next Supreme Court justice, check the playbook.”
Tony Mauro and David Ingram of The National Law Journal report that “White House Said to Be Widening Search for High Court Nominee.”
Reuters has reports headlined “Obama to meet Republicans on U.S. Supreme Court job; Obama wants support in both parties for any nominee” and “Leahy sees confirmation for Supreme Court nominee.”
Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press reports that “Groups look for tea party support on nomination.”
Bloomberg News has reports headlined “Obama Shuns the Left as White House Mulls U.S. High Court Slot” and “Democrats to Move Judicial Nominees as High Court Battle Looms.” In addition, columnist Ann Woolner has an essay entitled “‘Socialist’ Obama to Move Supreme Court to Right.”
CQ Politics has reports headlined “Democrats Warn Against GOP ‘Obstruction’ on Judicial Nominees” and “Vacancy Reignites Campaign Finance Battle.”
And The Hill reports that “Sens. Klobuchar, Whitehouse rule out Supreme Court.”
“Appeals Court Nominee Ignites a Partisan Battle”: Charlie Savage has this article today in The New York Times.
“O’Connor: I didn’t seek Supreme Court position; Retired justice revisits time on bench during invitation-only appearance.” This article appears today in The Lawrence Journal-World.
The University Daily Kansan reports today that “O’Connor gives inspiration to law students.”
And The Associated Press reports that “O’Connor expects tough road for high court nominee.”
