How Appealing



Thursday, August 16, 2012

“Hazleton seeks to resurrect its crackdown on illegal immigrants”: Joseph A. Slobodzian has this article today in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Standard Speaker of Hazleton, Pennsylvania reports today that “Federal judge rehears case against Hazleton’s immigration law.”

And The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania has an article headlined “Hazleton law: Where to draw line?

You can access the audio of yesterday’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit via this link (36.7 MB Windows Media Audio file).

Posted at 11:58 PM by Howard Bashman



“Bonds’ lawyers file reply brief in appeal”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Barry Bonds’ lawyers filed their reply brief Thursday in their appeal of his obstruction of justice conviction, arguing it should be overturned.”

You can access the reply brief at this link.

Posted at 11:34 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Price Of Child Porn: Making Collectors Pay For Victims’ Therapy.” City Weekly — a publication that describes itself as Salt Lake City’s only free alternative newsweekly — has an article that begins, “The gavel has always come down hard on child pornographers, giving lengthy jail sentences to those who produce and profit from the exploitation of children. But for former Utah federal Judge Paul Cassell, the justice system has failed victims by focusing mainly on jail sentences.”

Recently, I had this post linking to a related law review article calling into question this use of restitution.

Posted at 6:15 PM by Howard Bashman



“Hustler loses appeal over news-anchor photo”: Terry Baynes of Reuters has a report that begins, “Hustler Inc had no right to publish the photograph of an Ohio TV news anchor dancing in a wet T-shirt contest without her permission, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday.”

And The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a news update headlined “Hustler shouldn’t have used wet T-shirt contest photos of TV newswoman Catherine Bosley, court says.”

My earlier coverage of today’s Sixth Circuit ruling appears at this link.

Posted at 5:38 PM by Howard Bashman



“Pregnancy Center Case To Go Before Full Appeals Court”: Bloomberg News has a report that begins, “The full U.S. Appeals Court in Richmond, Virginia, agreed to rehear a case involving a law that requires anti-abortion pregnancy centers to post an advisory encouraging their clients to consult with medical professionals.”

Posted at 2:33 PM by Howard Bashman



“Court partially rejects Myriad gene patent claims”: Reuters has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court on Thursday partially ruled against Myriad Genetics Inc over the biotechnology company’s effort to patent two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer.”

And at the “Patently-O” blog, Dennis Crouch has a post titled “Gene Patent Debate Continues: Federal Circuit Finds Isolated Human Genes Patentable.”

You can access today’s ruling of a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit at this link.

The case was back at the Federal Circuit on GVR from the U.S. Supreme Court for reconsideration in light of the high court’s ruling in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc.

Update: In other coverage, Reuters reports that “Myriad wins gene patent ruling from US appeals court.”

Posted at 2:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“Easton ‘Boobies’ case to be heard before entire Third Circuit Court of Appeals; School district’s appeal of lower court ruling goes before full, 14-judge panel”: The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania has a news update that begins, “The Easton Area School District’s appeal of a federal court ruling to allow ‘I (heart) Boobies’ bracelets to be worn by students at school will heard by the entire Third Circuit Court of Appeals.”

You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit granting rehearing en banc at this link.

The case was argued before a three-judge Third Circuit panel in April 2012, but no ruling has yet issued. You can access the audio of that oral argument via this link (54.6 MB Windows Media Audio file).

Posted at 2:09 PM by Howard Bashman



“Ruling could compromise U.S. administrative judges’ autonomy”: Reuters has a report that begins, “Administrative judges, the adjudicators of regulatory law at U.S. government agencies, may face a threat to their independence from political influence under a recent court ruling. A federal appeals court ruled in July that the Copyright Royalty Board, a panel of administrative judges who set the rate broadcasters pay for copyright licenses, was unconstitutional because of the way its panelists are appointed and the job protections they are given.”

Posted at 2:05 PM by Howard Bashman



“In March 2003, Bosley was a 37-year-old news anchor for a CBS television affiliate in Ohio. While on vacation in Florida, Bosley entered a ‘wet t-shirt’ contest at a bar and ultimately danced nude.” Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued its ruling in Balsley v. LFP. LFP stands for Larry Flynt Publications, the publisher of Hustler magazine.

In earlier news coverage, The Associated Press reported that “Hustler fights lawsuit over news-anchor photo.”

Posted at 1:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“Does a sentence of 110 years to life for a juvenile convicted of committing non-homicide offenses constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment on the ground it is the functional equivalent of a life sentence without the possibility of parole?” The Supreme Court of California answered “yes” in a ruling issued today.

Posted at 1:34 PM by Howard Bashman



“Experts Discuss Privacy Protection in the Internet Age”: The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit yesterday posted online a news release that begins, “Privacy experts addressing the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference Tuesday said neither Congress nor the federal courts may be able to control commercial use of the wealth of personal data now found on the Internet.”

Posted at 12:10 PM by Howard Bashman