How Appealing



Monday, December 19, 2016

“Ducey adds two new justices to Arizona Supreme Court”: Howard Fischer of The Arizona Daily Star has an article that begins, “The state’s two newest justices of the Arizona Supreme Court were sworn in Monday as Gov. Doug Ducey, who picked them, said they will ‘follow the rule of law.'”

Posted at 11:16 PM by Howard Bashman



“Appeals court overturns convictions in Probation Department scandal”: Milton Valencia of The Boston Globe has an article that begins, “A federal appeals court has vacated the 2014 convictions of three former Probation Department leaders who were accused of political corruption, allegedly running their department like a criminal enterprise.”

O’Ryan Johnson of The Boston Herald reports that “Appeals court overturns probation case, rebukes US Attorney Ortiz.”

Shira Schoenberg of The Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts reports that “Appeals Court overturns guilty verdict in Probation Department corruption trial.”

And Daniel Marans of The Huffington Post reports that “Appeals Court Deals Rebuke To Controversial Prosecutor Who Targeted Aaron Swartz; U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s office ‘overstepped its bounds’ in pursuing federal charges, the ruling said.”

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

Posted at 10:22 PM by Howard Bashman



“Constitution Check: Can a violation of the Emoluments Clause be proven?” Lyle Denniston has this post today at the “Constitution Daily” blog of the National Constitution Center.

Posted at 9:35 PM by Howard Bashman



“‘Loser pays’ rule in Idaho court system could make justice available only to those with deep pockets”: Betsy Z. Russell of The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Washington has an article that begins, “The Idaho Supreme Court has launched the state’s entire court system on a new track that might be called ‘loser pay’ — you lose a case, you pay the other side’s attorney fees. No other state in the nation has gone this route, and the Supreme Court’s 3-2 ruling, issued this fall, has Idaho’s legal community in an uproar.”

Posted at 5:22 PM by Howard Bashman



“Roberts denies plea to force Senate action on Garland”: The Associated Press has this report.

Lawrence Hurley of Reuters reports that “U.S. chief justice refuses to force vote on Obama high court pick.”

At the “Constitution Daily” blog of the National Constitution Center, Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Garland vote plea denied — maybe for the last time.”

And Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News reports that “Merrick Garland Will Be On The Bench — But Not The Supreme Court — In January; President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee won’t be on the high court; Garland will, though, go back to hearing cases in his old court on Jan. 18.”

Posted at 1:38 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Million Dollar Judges of 2015-16: Independent Spending and Secret Money.” Billy Corriher of the Center for American Progress has this post today.

Posted at 1:28 PM by Howard Bashman



“Deciding Unclear Originalist Cases: Towards Good-Faith Constitutional Construction.” Evan Bernick has this post today at the “Fed Soc Blog.”

Posted at 1:22 PM by Howard Bashman



“Student Research Presented in Supreme Court Case Hailed as ‘Precise and Powerful’; Side-by-Side Comparisons of Courts Reveal Fifth Circuit to be Outlier in Death Penalty Appeals”: Columbia Law School has posted this news release online.

Posted at 1:14 PM by Howard Bashman



“What The Money Says About Federal Judges on Trump’s SCOTUS List”: Adam Feldman has this post at his “Empirical SCOTUS” blog.

Posted at 8:40 AM by Howard Bashman



“My argument with Richard Posner about originalism”: Will Baude has this post today at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

Posted at 8:36 AM by Howard Bashman