How Appealing



Tuesday, April 5, 2016

“New York’s top court: Parents can legally eavesdrop on kids.” The Associated Press has a report that begins, “New York’s highest court says parents can legally eavesdrop on young children, establishing an exception to state law against wiretaps without the consent of at least one person on a call.”

You can access today’s 4-to-3 ruling of the Court of Appeals of New York at this link.

Posted at 1:48 PM by Howard Bashman



“Meet the Brains Behind the Effort to Get the Supreme Court to Rethink Civil Rights; Edward Blum has orchestrated a string of big cases targeting voting rights and affirmative action”: Stephanie Mencimer has this article in the March/April 2016 issue of Mother Jones magazine.

Posted at 1:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“District Fight May Persist in Texas After Supreme Court Ruling”: David Montgomery and Michael Wines have this article in today’s edition of The New York Times.

Posted at 1:37 PM by Howard Bashman



“John Cornyn once said ‘any nominee’ deserved vote. Now, he’s helping block Obama court pick.” Katie Leslie of The Dallas Morning News has this blog post today.

Posted at 1:18 PM by Howard Bashman



“Constitution Check: What does ‘one-person, one-vote’ mean now?” Lyle Denniston has this post today at the “Constitution Daily” blog of the National Constitution Center.

Posted at 1:14 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Strange Career of Free Exercise: America is experiencing a revolution in religious-freedom law — transforming the rights of individual conscience into a bulwark of secular wealth and ecclesiastical power.” Law professor Garrett Epps has this essay online at The Atlantic.

Posted at 1:11 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Upholds ‘One Person, One’ Vote Principle”: This audio segment featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on yesterday evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

Posted at 1:06 PM by Howard Bashman



“Ruling: 2 Albuquerque officers can be sued for 2013 death.” The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Two Albuquerque police officers can be sued for using a stun gun on a suspect who suffered from mental illness and later died, a federal appeals court said.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link.

Posted at 8:19 AM by Howard Bashman



Monday, April 4, 2016

“The Case Against the Case Against Confirmation: Why the GOP’s refusal to give Merrick Garland a fair hearing could trigger a full-scale constitutional crisis.” Slate has posted online this new installment of its “Amicus” podcast featuring Dahlia Lithwick with law professor Geoffrey R. Stone.

Posted at 8:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court split threatens Obama’s immigration actions”: Lydia Wheeler of The Hill has an article that begins, “President Obama is facing the very real possibility of a deadlock at the Supreme Court that guarantees his immigration actions won’t take effect before he leaves office.”

Posted at 8:07 PM by Howard Bashman



“State: Supreme Court decision lumping Nebraska town in reservation separate from Riverton case.” Laura Hancock has this front page article in today’s edition of The Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune.

Posted at 8:04 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court to hear case of alleged racial bias by juror”: Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has this report.

Richard Wolf of USA Today reports that “Supreme Court to rule on juror’s racial bias.”

Kirk Mitchell of The Denver Post reports that “U.S. Supreme Court agrees to take up Colorado bias case; Juror in Colorado case made prejudicial remarks about Mexican men.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Court to rule on challenge to juror bias.”

Posted at 7:36 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court says federal law didn’t require Kansas sex offender leaving country to notify authorities”: Dave Helling of The Kansas City Star has this report.

Posted at 7:32 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court upholds verdict against Wells Fargo on overdraft fees in California”: David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

Posted at 7:04 PM by Howard Bashman



“Democrats make halting progress in Supreme Court clash; Jousting over Merrick Garland will intensify as senators return to Washington after a two-week recess”: Seung Min Kim and Burgess Everett of Politico.com has this report.

Posted at 2:03 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justice Ginsburg Just Shut Down One Of America’s Most Notorious White Rights Activists”: Ian Millhiser has this post online at ThinkProgress.

Posted at 1:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to ‘One Person One Vote'”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this report.

Robert Barnes of The Washington Post reports that “Supreme Court rejects conservative bid to count only voting-age population for districts.”

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that “Supreme Court rejects voting-district case that would have weakened California’s clout.”

Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal reports that “Supreme Court Affirms ‘One-Person, One-Vote’ Standard; Ruling is blow to conservative activists who argued the Constitution forbids counting immigrants or prisoners.”

Bobby Blanchard of The Dallas Morning News has a blog post titled “Supreme Court unanimously upholds ‘one-person, one-vote’ method to draw districts in Texas case.”

Josh Gerstein of Politico.com reports that “Supreme Court rejects challenge to ‘one person, one vote’ definition.”

Ariane de Vogue of CNN.com reports that “Conservative challengers lose key Supreme Court voting rights case.”

Matt Ford of The Atlantic has an article headlined “One Person, One Vote, Eight Justices; The constitutional maxim does not require states to use eligible voters when drawing legislative districts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.”

Samantha Lachman of The Huffington Post reports that “Supreme Court Deals A Blow To Conservatives In Major Voting Rights Case; A different ruling would have shifted power away from Democratic-leaning areas.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Opinion analysis: Leaving a constitutional ideal still undefined.”

Posted at 1:23 PM by Howard Bashman



“Dynamics Are Shifting in an 8-Member Supreme Court”: Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his “Sidebar” column in Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times.

Posted at 1:11 PM by Howard Bashman



Senior Third Circuit Judge Dolores K. Sloviter to assume inactive status: Chief Judge Theodore A. McKee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued this news release today.

As the news release explains, due to a medical condition, Judge Sloviter “will cease participation in hearing cases, effective today.” The news release continues:

Judge Sloviter is a trailblazer. The only child of Jewish immigrants, she was born and raised in Philadelphia and has remained a lifelong resident of her beloved City. She graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls and enrolled at Temple University, where she majored in Economics and received her undergraduate degree in 1953. At a time when few women were encouraged to enter the legal profession, Judge Sloviter enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where she excelled academically. She served on the Law Review and received her LL.B. degree in 1956. Judge Sloviter had a successful career as a litigation lawyer in private practice in Philadelphia before turning to teaching in a first-wave of women to enter the newly opened door to legal academia. She joined the faculty of the Temple University School of Law in 1972 and became a professor at Temple in 1974. Her talent and passion for teaching the law has left a lasting imprint on her many students and law clerks.

The news release concludes:

Judge Sloviter is a true legal giant. Her contribution to the Court and the legal profession cannot be diminished. I speak for the entire Court family in wishing Judge Sloviter good health, and in thanking her for all that she has done for the Third Circuit. We expect and hope that she will continue to play an active role in the life of the Court through participation on court committees and other duties.

On a personal note, Judge Sloviter was always exceptionally kind in my interactions with her off of the bench, and I will miss her presence on oral argument panels.

Posted at 11:02 AM by Howard Bashman



Access today’s rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court in argued cases: The Court today issued rulings in two argued cases.

1. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court in Nichols v. United States, No. 15-5238. You can access the oral argument via this link.

2. And Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court in Evenwel v. Abbott, No. 14-940. Justice Clarence Thomas issued an opinion concurring in the judgment. And Justice Alito issued an opinion concurring in the judgment, which Justice Thomas joined in part. You can access the oral argument via this link.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Court upholds total population count in electoral districts.”

Lawrence Hurley of Reuters reports that “Supreme Court rejects conservative challenge in ‘one person, one vote’ case.”

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “U.S. High Court Rejects Calls to Transform Voting-Map Rules.”

Richard Wolf of USA Today reports that “Supreme Court upholds ‘one person, one vote.’

And Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed News reports that “Supreme Court Says States May Continue To Use Total Population In Deciding Districts.”

Posted at 10:06 AM by Howard Bashman



“Merrick Garland’s Clerks Urge Senate to Act on Nomination”: Zoe Tillman of The National Law Journal has this report. The letter from the nominee’s former law clerks can be viewed at this link.

Posted at 9:50 AM by Howard Bashman



“Justice Kagan tells criminal defense bar to go big or go home”: Steve Klepper has this post today at the “Maryland Appellate Blog.”

Posted at 9:42 AM by Howard Bashman