“Outsider Tapped in Flynn Case Calls Justice Dept. Reversal a ‘Gross Abuse’ of Power; A former federal judge said that the attorney general gave special treatment to a presidential ally, undermining public confidence in the rule of law”: Charlie Savage and Adam Goldman of The New York Times have this report.
Spencer S. Hsu of The Washington Post reports that “Flynn committed perjury and his guilty plea of lying to FBI should not be dismissed as DOJ requests, court-appointed expert finds.”
Byron Tau of The Wall Street Journal reports that “Outside Lawyer Recommends Sentencing Michael Flynn on Existing Charge, Criticizes DOJ Conduct; John Gleeson, appointed by judge to examine the Flynn case, concludes former national security adviser committed perjury.”
Kristine Phillips and Kevin Johnson of USA Today report that “Justice Department showed ‘gross abuse of prosecutorial power’ in Michael Flynn case, court-appointed arbiter says.”
Michael Balsamo and Colleen Long of The Associated Press report that “Ex-judge says push to dismiss Flynn case is abuse of power.”
Sarah N. Lynch and Jan Wolfe of Reuters report that “Retired judge says effort to drop case against ex-Trump aide is ‘gross abuse’ of power.”
Erik Larson of Bloomberg News reports that “Flynn Dismissal Slammed as Corrupt Bid by DOJ to Help Trump Ally.”
Pete Williams of NBC News has a report headlined “‘Preposterous’: Court-appointed lawyer in Michael Flynn case slams DOJ attempt to drop it; Claims made by AG Barr’s Justice Department ‘are not credible,’ the retired judge wrote, adding, ‘Everything about this is irregular.’”
Katelyn Polantz of CNN has a report headlined “Justice Department dropping Flynn case is ‘a gross abuse of prosecutorial power,’ court-appointed lawyer says.”
Ronn Blitzer and Bill Mears of Fox News report that “Court-appointed attorney says judge should block DOJ move to drop Flynn case.”
Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney of Politico have a report headlined “‘Everything about this is irregular’: Ex-judge tapped to review Flynn case blasts Trump DOJ; The retired judge, John Gleeson, said the Justice Department had improperly bowed to the president’s will.”
Harper Neidig of The Hill reports that “Court-appointed former judge accuses Flynn of perjury, urges court to not drop charges.”
And Megan Mineiro of Courthouse News Service reports that “Retired Judge Says Flynn’s Guilty Plea Must Stand.”
You can access at this link the brief that the court-appointed amicus curiae filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“Immunity Doctrine Often Shields Police From Lawsuits; Qualified immunity lets officers do their jobs, advocates say; ‘shoot first, think later,’ a dissenting justice complains”: Jess Bravin and Brent Kendall have this article in today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.
After publishing essay titled “Coronavirus Shouldn’t Grind All Appellate Proceedings to a Halt,” attorney receives notice scheduling his third remote appellate oral argument of June 2020: A bit of personal news. One week ago today, I had the pleasure of arguing by video before a nine-judge en banc panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. On Monday of this week, I presented appellate oral argument by teleconference before a three-judge panel of that same court. Finally, today I received notice that on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, I will be arguing an appeal by video before another three-judge Pa. Superior Court panel.
“The PROMESA Board Members are not ‘Officers of the United States.’ So what are they? Article IV Territorial Officers Hold ‘Office[s] under the Authority of the United States,’ and are bound by the Sinecure Clause.” Josh Blackman and Seth Barrett Tillman have this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”
“Can the Constitution Reach Trump’s Corruption?” Law professor Jeannie Suk Gersen has this post online at The New Yorker.
“Qualified Immunity Suggests Police Are Above the Law; Protecting police from lawsuits sends a dangerous message about equal justice”: Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.
“Nationwide Protests May Resound in Supreme Court First Amendment Case; The petition from a Black Lives Matter leader, DeRay Mckesson, takes on new importance amid the national protests that followed the death of George Floyd in the custody of police in Minneapolis”: Tony Mauro of The National Law Journal has this report.
“Satanist Loses Challenge to Missouri Abortion Consent Law”: Joe Harris of Courthouse News Service has this report on a ruling that Circuit Judge David R. Stras issued yesterday on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
“Judiciary Issues Report on Restarting Jury Trials”: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has issued a news release that begins, “A comprehensive new report on conducting federal jury trials and convening grand juries during the pandemic details the number of factors for courts to consider, from changes to prospective juror questionnaires to creating safe spaces for jurors to deliberate safely.”
You can access the complete report at this link.
“Chief Justice Pickering has early lead; other Nevada Supreme Court race headed for runoff”: James DeHaven of The Reno Gazette Journal has this report.
“Wells Fargo class action judge to 9th Circuit: Objectors were ‘more parasitic than productive.'” Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this post.
“Armstead, Hutchison reelected to West Virginia Supreme Court”: John Raby of The Associated Press has this report.
“Appeals court blocks proposed transfer of inmates out of federal prison in Ohio by overturning judge’s decision”: John Caniglia of The Cleveland Plain Dealer has this report.
Shane Hoover of The Canton Repository reports that “Appeals court overturns Elkton prisoner transfers.”
And Josh Gerstein of Politico reports that “Appeals court nixes order to shrink prison rolls because of virus; A divided panel overturned a directive to release or transfer inmates at Ohio federal prison hard hit by Covid-19.”
You can access yesterday’s ruling of a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link.
“So this is why Bill Barr is such a bully”: Columnist Dana Milbank has this op-ed in today’s edition of The Washington Post.
“Court denounces use of deadly force by police and says, ‘This has to stop'”: Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post has this report.
Matthew Umstead of The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown, Maryland reports that “Court rules against qualified immunity for Martinsburg officers in 2013 fatal shooting.”
Katelyn Polantz of CNN has a report headlined “‘This has to stop,’ appeals court says in siding with family of West Virginia man killed by police.”
And Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News has a report headlined “‘This Has To Stop’: A Court Invoked George Floyd’s Death In Denying Qualified Immunity To Cops Who Shot A Man 22 Times.”
You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link.
“The Internet’s most important — and misunderstood — law, explained: Section 230 is the legal foundation of social media, and it’s under attack.” Timothy B. Lee of Ars Technica has this report.
“The Umpire-in-Chief and the Religion Clauses: Will he Make the Right Call in Espinoza v. Montana Dep’t of Revenue.” Eric Segall has this blog post at “Dorf on Law.”
“Why Were Out-of-State National Guard Units in Washington, D.C.? The Justice Department’s Troubling Explanation.” Steve Vladeck has this post at the “Lawfare” blog.
“The Supreme Court Has to Choose Between Trump and the Rule of Law”: Ashwin Phatak has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
“I wrote this law to protect free speech. Now Trump wants to revoke it.” U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has this essay online at CNN Business.
“Four Remarkable Arguments in DOJ’s Latest Brief in the Michael Flynn Case”: Marty Lederman has this post at the “Just Security” blog.
“Trump Federal Execution Revival Back at Supreme Court”: Jordan S. Rubin of Bloomberg Law has this report.
“The Untold Power of Bill Barr to Direct US Military Forces in Case of ‘Civil Unrest'”: Ryan Goodman and Steve Vladeck have this post at the “Just Security” blog.
“The Expansion of Qualified-Immunity Appeals: Qualified-immunity appeals are a problem in and of themselves; But courts have steadily expanded these appeals in ways that make them even worse.” Bryan Lammon has this post at his “final decisions” blog.
I am linking to this post because it is an important topic, but the impressive length of the tails on the capital Qs of the “final decisions” blog’s chosen typeface also make the post a must-view.
“Prisoner ‘Three Strikes Rule’ Case Fails to Sway Justices”: Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson of Bloomberg Law has this report.
And Tim Ryan of Courthouse News Service reports that “Leave to Amend Doesn’t Bear on Inmate Fee Waivers, High Court Rules.”
“Habeas Procedures in the 11th Draw Out Sotomayor”: Megan Mineiro of Courthouse News Service has this report.
“John Couriel, New Florida Supreme Court Justice, Centered His Life Around Public Service; Those who know Florida Supreme Court Justice John D. Couriel expect him to excel in his new role”: Michael A. Mora of the Daily Business Review has this report.
“A 1989 Supreme Court ruling is unintentionally providing cover for police brutality”: Columnist Charles Lane has this essay online at The Washington Post.
“Judge in Jeffrey Epstein grand jury case has ties to those with a stake in outcome”: Julie K. Brown of The Miami Herald has this report.
And in related coverage, Alan Feuer of The New York Times reports that “Prince Andrew and U.S. Prosecutor in Nasty Dispute Over Epstein Case; The spat over whether the prince is willing to help in a sex-trafficking inquiry escalated, with a top federal prosecutor effectively calling the British royal a liar.”
“The Quiet Demise of the Separation of Church and State; The government is allowing federal pandemic aid to pay for clergy salaries, something that once would have been unthinkable”: Law professors Nelson Tebbe, Micah Schwartzman, and Richard Schragger have this essay online at The New York Times.
“Made Up Immunities”: You can access today’s new installment of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast — featuring Jaime Santos and law professor Kate Shaw and their guest, law professor Fred Smith Jr. — via this link.
“Practice in Place: My Interview with David Lat.” Tessa L. Dysart has this post at the “Appellate Advocacy Blog” about this video interview.
“The Judge in the Michael Flynn Case Is Botching His Effort to Defend the Rule of Law”: Ankush Khardori has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
“Pandemic means a silent June at the Supreme Court”: Jessica Gresko of The Associated Press has this report.
Access today’s ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in an argued case: Justice Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court in Lomax v. Ortiz-Marquez, No. 18-8369. You can access the oral argument via this link.
