En banc Ninth Circuit affirms dismissal of lawsuit alleging that San Francisco supervisors unconstitutionally attacked the Catholic Church when they denounced a Vatican order prohibiting Catholic Charities from placing adoptive children with same-sex couples: You can access today’s en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.
In December 2009, Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the en banc reargument of the case in an article headlined “Catholic group takes on S.F. supes in court.”
The manner in which the en banc court determined the outcome of the case is rather interesting. The en banc panel consisted of 11 judges. By a vote of 6-5, the en banc court first holds that the plaintiffs have standing to bring the lawsuit. Three of the judges who joined in the majority on the issue of standing proceed to conclude, by means of a separate opinion, that the plaintiffs’ claims fail on the merits. The vote of those three judges, combined with the five judges who would hold that plaintiffs lack standing to sue, produce a majority of eight judges to reject plaintiffs’ claims.
Third Circuit holds that federal law preempts lawsuit alleging cancer risk from cell phone use: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link.
After the trial court issued its ruling in the case, which today’s Third Circuit decision affirms, Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer had an article headlined “Federal Judge Dismisses Suit Alleging Cancer Risk From Cell Phone Use.”
“OJ Simpson appeal denied by Nevada Supreme Court”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “The Nevada Supreme Court refused Friday to overturn O.J. Simpson’s armed robbery and kidnapping convictions stemming from a gunpoint Las Vegas hotel room heist.”
I have posted online today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Nevada at this link.
“Appeals court wrestles with Abramoff-related case”: Pete Yost of The Associated Press has this report.
“Supreme Court grants ‘public interest’ protection for press sources”: Kirk Makin of The Toronto Globe and Mail has a news update that begins, “The Supreme Court of Canada has granted journalists in Quebec the right to protect confidential sources provided they can show it is in the public interest.”
You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada at this link.
Dangerous precaution — Fifth Circuit reinstates lawsuit against department store in which the plaintiff alleges she tripped and fell over a plastic “wet floor” sign that an employee had negligently left in a high-traffic area of the store: You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link.
“Plaintiff Andrew Harley Speaker sued the Defendant United States Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for violating the Privacy Act by disclosing his identity and confidential medical information relating to the treatment of his tuberculosis.” So begins an opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today. Today’s ruling reinstates Speaker’s lawsuit, which an Atlanta-based federal district court had dismissed.
In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Patient in 2007 TB scare can go ahead with lawsuit.”
Earlier AP coverage of the lawsuit can be accessed here. Speaker is an attorney based in Atlanta.
“Troy Davis must appeal directly to U.S. Supreme Court, judge rules; Federal judge rebuffs intermediate court review of latest ruling”: This article appeared Wednesday in The Savannah Morning News.
And online at The New Republic, Charles Lane has an article headlined “End of Innocence: The death penalty’s self-defeating foes” (subscription required).
“Press freedom hangs in the balance in case before Supreme Court”: Kirk Makin has this article today in The Toronto Globe and Mail.
The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to issue its ruling on the case today.
“Two state Supreme Court justices stun some listeners with race comments”: Today’s edition of The Seattle Times contains an article that begins, “State Supreme Court justices Richard Sanders and James Johnson stunned some participants at a recent court meeting when they said African Americans are overrepresented in the prison population because they commit a disproportionate number of crimes.”
“Attack ads target Illinois Supreme Court justice; Actors portraying the state’s nastiest criminals ‘explain’ how Thomas Kilbride sided with them over their victims”: This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune.
“Attorney Challenges Decision Made by Judge Who Was Arrested on Drug, Gun Charges; Judge’s alleged drug use potentially clouded integrity of July 29 order denying $200,000 in legal fees, lawyer says”: R. Robin McDonald of the Fulton County Daily Report has this article.
And The Newnan (Ga.) Times-Herald reports today that “Judge OKs Camp case details be kept quiet.”
“Calling John Roberts”: Linda Greenhouse has this post at the “Opinionator” blog of The New York Times.
“Lillian McEwen breaks her 19-year silence about Justice Clarence Thomas”: Michael A. Fletcher has this article today in The Washington Post.
The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Virginia Thomas’ group backs off on calling healthcare law unconstitutional; Liberty Central, a group founded by the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, blames staff errors for attaching her name to a memorandum that called for the repeal of the law.”
And The Brandeis Hoot contains an article headlined “Thomas’ wife demands Hill apologize for confirmation charges” and an editorial entitled “Stop callin’, we don’t wanna talk anymore.”
“Defendant in Triple-Murder Case Is Called Suicidal”: This article appears today in The New York Times.
The Hartford Courant reports today that “Testimony Portrays Steven Hayes As Drug-Addicted, Depressed, Suicidal.”
And The New Haven Register contains an article headlined “Witness: Hayes repeatedly tried to kill himself.”
“Macon lawyer chosen for appeals judgeship”: Today’s edition of The Macon Telegraph contains an article that begins, “Macon attorney Stephen Louis A. Dillard has been chosen to fill a vacancy on the Georgia Court of Appeals.”
“Prisoner tells of collar bomb robbery plot in Pa.” The Associated Press has this report.
And The Erie (Pa.) Times-News has an update headlined “Barnes admits to lying, at first, in ‘pizza bomber’ trial.”
“Virginia Thomas’ group backs off on calling healthcare law unconstitutional; Liberty Central, a group founded by the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, blames staff errors for attaching her name to a memorandum and for another Web posting that called for the repeal of the law”: The Los Angeles Times has this news update.
Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Thomas’s Wife Removes Name From Health-Care Memo.”
And at ABCNews.com, Ariane de Vogue has an article headlined “More Controversy for Virginia Thomas; First Anita Hill, Now Health Reform Law; Liberty Central Pulls Memo By Wife of Justice Attacking Constitutionality of Health Care Legislation.”
“Virginia Thomas Backs Off Debate on the Constitution, Healthcare”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”
“Court: No Teacher Speech Rights on Curriculum.” Mark Walsh has this post at Education Week’s “School Law” blog about a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued today.
Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton wrote the opinion on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel.
“Justice Thomas’s wife doesn’t shy from spotlight”: Karen Tumulty and Kevin Merida have this front page article today in The Washington Post.
Today’s edition of The Boston Globe contains an editorial entitled “Virginia Thomas: Not everything is political.”
And Bloomberg News columnist Ann Woolner has an essay entitled “Clarence Thomas’s Wife Dialed the Wrong Number.”
“Judge’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ order is put on hold; The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily stays the decision by Judge Virginia Phillips to ban enforcement of the policy that keeps gays from serving openly in the military”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.
In today’s edition of The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that “‘Don’t ask’ discharges allowed by appeals court.”
The Washington Post contains an article headlined “Temporary reprieve for ‘don’t ask’ policy.”
The New York Times reports that “Court Keeps Military Gay Policy for Now.” In addition, Walter Dellinger has an op-ed entitled “How to Really End ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’”
Evan Perez of The Wall Street Journal reports that “Appeals Court Keeps Military Gay Policy for Now.”
USA Today reports that “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ back in effect, again; Calif. court acts on U.S. request.”
McClatchy Newspapers report that “Appeals court temporarily reinstates military’s gay ban.”
Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ back in force after appeals court issues stay; An appeals court decides that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ can temporarily remain in effect as legal proceedings continue; The Obama administration is appealing a ruling last week that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ must be abandoned immediately.”
Amanda Bronstad of The National Law Journal reports that “9th Circuit Grants Stay of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Injunction.”
And Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has an article headlined “Why US lawyers fight for law on gays Obama opposes.”
“Ex-inmate: Roden was supposed to drive getaway car in ‘pizza bomber’ case.” This article appears today in The Erie (Pa.) Times-News.
“Top state court drops mall’s free speech challenge”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.
“Timetable Is Set for the Only Civil Trial in a 9/11 Death”: The New York Times contains this article today.
“Your Court in Action”: This editorial in favor of televising the proceedings of the U.S. Supreme Court appears today in The New York Times.
“John Roberts’s America”: At the “Opinionator” blog of The New York Times, Timothy Egan has a post that begins, ” I wish Chief Justice John Roberts could spend a day and a night in the Rocky Mountains experiencing what his activist Supreme Court majority has dumped on the American voter in 2010.”
“State says friendly game of poker OK; Opinion is change from historic interpretation of law”: The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier today contains an article that begins, “The occasional game of private poker among friends does not violate the state’s anti-gambling laws, the state attorney general’s office said Tuesday, bringing a strange new twist to the kitchen-table-poker debate now before the S.C. Supreme Court. One of the office’s top attorneys said infrequent, low-stakes, friendly games of cards are not illegal under South Carolina law, stepping back from the long-held assertion by some officials that betting on any game of chance is considered outlawed across the state.”
“Justice Thomas’ wife says healthcare law is unconstitutional; Virginia Thomas is working to repeal the law through Liberty Central, a conservative group she founded; Her husband, Justice Clarence Thomas, could provide a key vote to strike down the law”: Kathleen Hennessey and David G. Savage will have this article Thursday in The Los Angeles Times.
“Appeals court keeps military gay policy for now”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court on Wednesday granted a government request to temporarily freeze a judge’s order telling the military to stop enforcing its ban on openly gay troops.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has this web page devoted to the case. The order granting a temporary stay can be accessed here.
“Seeking Apology, Justice Thomas’s Wife Baffles Conservatives”: Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal has this news update.
Brad Knickerbocker of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined “Anita Hill vs. Virginia Thomas: Is an apology due 19 years later? Anita Hill accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment in 1991; Virginia Thomas, the justice’s wife, has now asked Anita Hill to apologize; She’s also in the spotlight for her political activism.”
Thursday’s issue of The Independent (UK) contains an article headlined “Sex scandal back to haunt judge after 20 years.”
And in Thursday’s issue of The Washington Post, columnist Ruth Marcus will have an op-ed entitled “The never-ending Clarence Thomas saga.”
In the November 2010 issue of ABA Journal magazine: The magazine’s cover story, written by Mark Curriden, is headlined “The Long Shot: A Cleveland solo’s life is about to change as his practice expands from a spare bedroom in his apartment to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
And Mark Walsh has an article headlined “Mortal Combat: Video game makers fight for their right to be as bad as they wanna be.”
“Justice Thomas’ wife is veteran political activist”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.
“Judge Camp decision challenged in vegan case; Appeal rests on contention the judge was using drugs”: Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this news update.
Via this post at WSJ.com’s “Law Blog,” you can access some of the underlying documents filed in the case.
“Virginia Thomas Cancels Radio Show Amid Controversy Over Her Call to Anita Hill”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”
And online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has an essay entitled “Would You Like To Leave a Message? Why Ginni Thomas made that weird phone call to Anita Hill.”
