How Appealing



Wednesday, February 13, 2019

“SJC rules potential jurors don’t have to put aside all beliefs but must be able to judge impartially”: Martin Finucane of The Boston Globe has this report.

Shira Schoenberg of The Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts has an article headlined “Massachusetts SJC: Jurors can bring personal beliefs into the courtroom.”

Cody Shepard of The Enterprise of Brockton, Massachusetts reports that “Brockton defendant argues racial bias; SJC upholds drug conviction.”

Jerome Campbell of WBUR News of Boston reports that “Mass.’ Highest Court Says Jurors Should Not Be Dismissed For Their Personal Beliefs.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts at this link.

Posted at 9:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“Republicans Look to Speed Up Confirmation of Nominees; Senate rule change would limit power of minority party, angering Democrats”: Andrew Duehren of The Wall Street Journal has an article that begins, “Senate Republicans are moving to accelerate the process for confirming many judicial and executive nominees, setting up another showdown with Democrats over the influence of the minority party in the chamber’s procedures.”

Posted at 9:26 PM by Howard Bashman



“Oh, good, now we’re weaponizing retired Supreme Court justices; It would be nice if former justices thought before wading into cases where it could easily be perceived that their title was being used as ammunition”: Columnist Marni Soupcoff has this essay online at The National Post of Toronto.

Posted at 8:37 PM by Howard Bashman



“Missouri’s high court tosses case alleging abortion law violated Satanic Temple member’s rights”: Jack Suntrup of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has this report.

Summer Ballentine of The Associated Press reports that “Satanic Temple member loses fight on Missouri abortion law.”

Rachel Lippmann of St. Louis Public Radio reports that “Missouri Supreme Court Throws Out Challenge To State’s Abortion Law.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Missouri at this link.

Posted at 8:04 PM by Howard Bashman



“People Laughed When This Philly Lawyer Sued Led Zeppelin. Nobody’s Laughing Now. Francis Malofiy may be the most hated man in the Philadelphia legal community. He may also be on the cusp of getting the last laugh on rock’s golden gods.” Jonathan Valania of Philadelphia magazine has this report.

Posted at 7:36 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Dan Markel Case: Now A Top Podcast; If you’ve been following the investigation into this leading law professor’s murder, you will want to tune in.” David Lat has this post at “Above the Law.”

I first noted the podcast in this post from yesterday evening. I have now listened to the first two episodes of the podcast and can definitely recommend it as very interesting (albeit also painful for those of us who knew Dan Markel in real life).

Posted at 6:08 PM by Howard Bashman



“After licence plate denied, Sask. man opts for giant ‘ASSMAN’ decal; After SGI denied his latest request for an ‘ASSMAN’ vanity licence plate, the Melville man had an oversized decal designed to replicate the plate in question”: Alex MacPherson of The Saskatoon StarPhoenix has this report.

Posted at 6:03 PM by Howard Bashman



Conservative Seventh Circuit panel rejects First Amendment challenge to Chicago’s abortion clinic protester “bubble zone” ordinance: You can access today’s ruling, written by Circuit Judge Diane S. Sykes, and joined in by Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett and a federal district judge sitting by designation, at this link.

The unanimous panel ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court‘s 2000 ruling in Hill v. Colorado directly governed the outcome, notwithstanding that more recent Supreme Court rulings cast doubt on Hill‘s continuing validity.

Posted at 5:52 PM by Howard Bashman



“In Washington State, Sheriffs Refuse to Enforce New Gun-Control Law; Attorney general issues warning as rural officials oppose measure passed by voters”: Zusha Elinson of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

Posted at 5:15 PM by Howard Bashman



“Minnesota Supreme Court rejects Richfield’s effort to fire cop; Police chiefs’ association says state’s highest court ‘missed an opportunity’ to improve police professionalism”: Jennifer Bjorhus of The Minneapolis Star Tribune has this report.

And Bob Collins of Minnesota Public Radio News reports that “MN Supreme Court overturns firing of cop who slapped Somali teen.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Minnesota at this link.

Posted at 5:12 PM by Howard Bashman



“Loughry sentenced to 24 months in federal prison”: The Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette-Mail has an article that begins, “Former West Virginia Supreme Court justice Allen Loughry was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and fined $10,000 on Wednesday in a federal courtroom in Charleston.”

Posted at 4:56 PM by Howard Bashman



“Ruth Bader Ginsburg Isn’t Looking to Retire Yet, But Is Another Supreme Court Justice Ready to Go?” Jeffrey Toobin has this post online at The New Yorker.

Posted at 4:51 PM by Howard Bashman



“Telling People to Kill Themselves: The Michelle Carter case and the complex relationship between causation and mental health.” Irina Manta has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

Posted at 11:25 AM by Howard Bashman



It’s not everyday that a federal criminal prosecution is argued in a state court of last resort: On Monday, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin heard oral argument in United States v. Franklin, an appellate matter arising from a federal criminal prosecution. You can view the oral argument online via this link.

In coverage of the oral argument, Joe Kelly of Courthouse News Service reports that “Wisconsin Justices Dive Into Nitty-Gritty of Burglary Charges for 7th Circuit.” In other words, the case came before Wisconsin’s highest court on certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman



“Susan Collins defends her Brett Kavanaugh vote after he dissents in abortion access case”: Ariane de Vogue and Ted Barrett of CNN have this report.

Posted at 10:48 AM by Howard Bashman