“Trump’s sister retires as federal judge in Philadelphia amid reported probe of family finances”: Joseph A. Gambardello of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report.
Larry Neumeister and Maryclaire Dale of The Associated Press report that “Trump’s sister retires, negating judicial ethics complaints.”
Caroline Kelly and Augusta Anthony of CNN report that “Investigation into Trump’s sister ends with her retirement.”
Kate Riga of Talking Points Memo reports that “Under Pressure From Tax Probe, Trump’s Older Sister Steps Down From Judgeship.”
And Matthew Yglesias of Vox reports that “Trump’s sister quietly retired in February, and it’s actually a really big deal; A key hint in the question of whether the president evaded taxes.”
CNN has posted online at this link the order of the Judicial Council of the Second Circuit concluding the judicial misconduct proceeding.
“The Supreme Court didn’t ban corporal punishment. Local democracy did.” Ryan Park has this essay online at The Washington Post.
“The Mandatory Guidelines Predicament in the Sixth Circuit”: Leah Litman has this post at the “Take Care” blog.
“Clarence Thomas to speak at Christ Chapel dedication”: Isabella S. Redjai of The Hillsdale Collegian has this report.
“Liberal groups demand House investigate Kavanaugh confirmation”: Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times has this report.
Samuel Chamberlain of Fox News reports that “Brett Kavanaugh should be investigated, liberal groups tell House Oversight, Judiciary panels.”
Tal Axelrod of The Hill reports that “Progressive groups call on House Dems to investigate Kavanaugh’s confirmation.”
And Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News reports that “Progressive Groups Ask Congress To Investigate Brett Kavanaugh; More than two dozen groups signed a letter to the House of Representatives urging an investigation into what they characterized as Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s ‘sham confirmation process.’“
“Group To Run Ads Urging University To Cancel Brett Kavanaugh’s Teaching Gig; ‘The hiring of accused sexual assaulter Brett Kavanaugh at George Mason University is unacceptable,’ reads the ad from Demand Justice”: Jennifer Bendery of HuffPost has this report.
“A Supreme Court Do-Over: Will the court be able to avoid mirroring the country’s polarization?” Linda Greenhouse has this essay online at The New York Times.
“Supreme Court revisits wedding cakes and same-sex marriages”: David G. Savage has this article in today’s edition of The Los Angeles Times.
“The friendly skies are not always so friendly.” So writes Ninth Circuit Judge John B. Owens in an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part issued today.
His opinion continues:
You do not need to watch Passenger 57, Flightplan, Turbulence, or even the vastly underrated Executive Decision to know that dangerous criminal activity occurs on airplanes.
Judge Owens dissented from his colleagues’ decision to reverse the defendant’s criminal conviction for improper venue, arguing that the panel’s ruling “creates a circuit split and makes prosecuting crimes on aircraft (including cases far more serious than this one) extremely difficult.”
“Fort Zumwalt Schools sued over former teacher’s secret shower videos”: Robert Patrick of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch had this article back in April 2016.
Today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued this decision affirming the district court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the school district defendants.
“This couple helped drown Eastern Kentucky in pain pills. Now they’re going to prison.” Bill Estep of The Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader had this article back in September 2017.
Today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued this decision affirming the defendants’ convictions and sentences.
“Ask the author: ‘Mr. Everything’ — Joan Biskupic on Chief Justice John Roberts.” Ronald Collins has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”
And if you missed Biskupic’s discussion of her new book yesterday at UCI Law — which may have included an audience question from law professor Leah Litman — you can view the video via this link.
“Gorsuch Charts Course as Originalist With Independent Streak”: Patrick L. Gregory and Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson of Bloomberg Law have this report.
“Can’t Hurry Levy In Motown Artist Co.’s Suit, 6th Circ. Says”: Yvonne Juris of Law360 has this report (subscription required for full access) on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued today.
“Bribery lawsuit against River Birch owners involving Ray Nagin revived by federal appeals court”: Gordon Russell of The New Orleans Advocate has this report on a ruling that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today.
Circuit Judge Andrew S. Oldham issued a spirited dissent.
“North Dakota becomes third state to ban abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation”: Kristin Lam of USA Today has this report.
In related news from elsewhere, Ema O’Connor of BuzzFeed News reports that “Ohio Has Once Again Passed A Bill To Ban Abortion After A Month And A Half; This Time The Governor Says He’ll Sign It.”
And Elizabeth Evans of FOX 7 in Austin, Texas reports that “Texas abortion bill will not make it out of committee, chairman says.”
“The Supreme Court Considers Giving Conservative Christians a License to Discriminate . . . Again; Evangelicals are back before the Roberts Court fighting for the ability to flout anti-discrimination laws—and any others they disagree with”: Jessica Mason Pieklo of Rewire News has this report.
“Why does the Supreme Court have nine justices? And why can’t Democrats add more? The Constitution doesn’t prevent Congress from court-packing. But such a move would irrevocably erode the court’s legitimacy.” Law professor Steve Vladeck has this essay online at NBC News.
“Supreme Court may get to decide fate of Obamacare before 2020 election”: Devan Cole, Tami Luhby, and Ariane de Vogue of CNN have this report.
“Retiring as a Judge, Trump’s Sister Ends Court Inquiry Into Her Role in Tax Dodges”: Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig of The New York Times have this report.
“The First Amendment vs. Democracy: Democrats finally have an answer to Citizens United; Will it survive the Supreme Court?” Gilad Edelman has this article in the current issue of Washington Monthly.
“How abortion became a partisan issue in America: Joe Biden, a Democrat, has a mixed record on abortion; Here’s why that’s increasingly rare.” Anna North of Vox has this report.
“Is it child neglect to refuse medical care based on religious beliefs? Supreme Court to decide.” Kara Berg of The Lansing State Journal has this report.
“Lisa Neubauer concedes Supreme Court race, prepares Appeals Court re-election bid”: Molly Beck of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this report.
And Riley Vetterkind of The Wisconsin State Journal reports that “Lisa Neubauer concedes to Brian Hagedorn in Wisconsin Supreme Court race.”
“John Roberts: Boy In The Bubble — The chief justice has made a career of undoing progress on civil rights and ignoring the consequences.” In the current issue of Washington Monthly, Stephanie Mencimer has this review of Joan Biskupic’s new book, “The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts.”
Today at 3 p.m. eastern time, noon pacific, Biskupic will be speaking about her new book at the UC Irvine School of Law. Once underway, you can view a live-stream of Biskupic’s talk via this link.
“Eying Supreme Court, abortion foes promote tough state bans”: David Crary of The Associated Press has this report.
“Local students see state Supreme Court in action”: The Morgan Messenger of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia has this report.
And Matthew Umstead of The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown, Maryland reports that “W.Va. Supreme Court justices hold court in Eastern Panhandle.”
Indeed, West Virginia has both an eastern panhandle and a northern panhandle. And if you have driven on Interstate 81 from Pennsylvania into Virginia — as I most recently did in October 2015 — you have traveled through West Virginia’s eastern panhandle.
“State supreme court chief justice to lead national organization dedicated to American legal system”: Stephanie Francis Ward of ABA Journal has this blog post.
“As I read about Sandra Day O’Connor, my admiration increased as much as my qualms”: Columnist Hugh Hewitt has this essay online at The Washington Post.
“Texas Tech Medical School, Under Pressure From Education Dept., Will Stop Using Race in Admissions”: Anemona Hartocollis will have this article in Wednesday’s edition of The New York Times.
Laura Meckler of The Washington Post reports that “Texas Tech Health Sciences Center agrees to stop using race in medical school admissions.”
In Wednesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, Michelle Hackman will have an article headlined “U.S. Requires Texas Tech Med School to End Use of Race in Admissions Decisions; Agreement is the first time the Trump administration has asked a school to curtail its affirmative-action practices.”
Chris Quintana of USA Today has an article headlined “Race in admissions: White House gets Texas Tech med school to stem affirmative action.”
Ralph K.M. Haurwitz of The Austin American-Statesman reports that “Texas Tech medical school ends racial considerations in admissions.”
Ellie Kaufman of CNN reports that “Texas Tech School of Medicine will not consider race in admissions process, per agreement with Trump administration.”
Benjamin Wermund of Politico reports that “Texas Tech medical school will end use of race in admissions.”
And Shannon Najmabadi of The Texas Tribune reports that “Texas Tech Health Sciences Center agrees to stop considering race in admissions, ending federal inquiry; The medical school reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.”
“Barr offers unemotional defense of Trump’s position on health-care lawsuit: ‘I’m a lawyer. I’m not in charge of health care.'” Karoun Demirjian and Matt Zapotosky of The Washington Post have this report.
Sadie Gurman and Brent Kendall of The Wall Street Journal report that “Attorney General Defends White House Attempt to Dismantle Affordable Care Act; Barr calls Trump administration’s decision a ‘legally defensible and reasonable legal position.’”
Tom Howell Jr. of The Washington Times reports that “AG Barr defends Trump’s legal stance on Obamacare; Rebukes Democrats, says idea DOJ makes health policy is ‘simply wrong.’”
Chris Strohm and Billy House of Bloomberg News report that “Barr Defends Trump’s Latest Effort to Overturn Obamacare in Court.”
Mike Levine of ABC News reports that “Attorney General Barr tepidly backs his own department’s position to no longer defend ‘Obamacare’; The attorney general was testifying before a House panel on Tuesday.”
Adam Cancryn of Politico reports that “House Democrats demand Trump administration disclose Obamacare legal strategy.”
Jessie Hellmann of The Hill reports that “Barr defends administration’s efforts to overturn ObamaCare in court.”
And Kate Riga of Talking Points Memo reports that “Barr Brushes Off Concern About DOJ Push To Kill Obamacare.”
“Hazmat crews called to SC Supreme Court for ‘suspicious substance’ in letter”: Teddy Kulmala of The State of Columbia, South Carolina has this report.
“Judge dismisses suit challenging Sioux City pit bull ordinance”: One year ago this month, Nick Hytrek of The Sioux City (Iowa) Journal had an article that begins, “A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Sioux City’s pit bull ordinance, saying that the woman who brought the suit has no standing to bring a claim.”
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued this decision affirming the district court’s dismissal of the suit for lack of standing.
“Breyer, Alito Say ‘No Way’ to Know About Conflict They Missed”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.
“Supreme Court Will Consider Weighing In on Alabama Law Banning Most Second-Trimester Abortions; The Roberts Court could step into the fight over states’ efforts to ban dilation and evacuation abortions”: Jessica Mason Pieklo of Rewire News has this report.
