How Appealing



Tuesday, January 12, 2021

“Pence Reached His Limit With Trump. It Wasn’t Pretty. After four years of tongue-biting silence that critics say enabled the president’s worst instincts, the vice president would not yield to the pressure and name-calling from his boss.” Peter Baker, Maggie Haberman, and Annie Karni will have this article in Wednesday’s edition of The New York Times.

Posted at 8:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Second Circuit Split on Appealing Summary-Judgment Denials; The Second Circuit effectively held that denied summary-judgment motions are insufficient to preserve issues — even purely legal issues — for appeal”: Bryan Lammon has this post at his “final decisions” blog.

Posted at 8:33 PM by Howard Bashman



“Philadelphia Can’t Open Drug Safe-Injection Site, Federal Appeals Court Rules; Nonprofit can seek review from full court after three-judge decision”: Jon Kamp of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

Matt Miller of The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania reports that “Plan to open nation’s first ‘safe injection site’ for drug addicts in Philly would be illegal, U.S. court says.”

Maryclaire Dale of The Associated Press has a report headlined “US appeals court: Supervised injection site defies drug law.”

And Emilee Larkin of Courthouse News Service reports that “Safe Drug-Injection Site in Philly Nixed by 3rd Circuit; After a federal judge had said it would not violate federal law for drug users to shoot up in a facility with medical supervision, the appeals court found otherwise Tuesday.”

My earlier coverage of today’s Third Circuit ruling can be accessed here.

Posted at 7:49 PM by Howard Bashman



“Citing Taylor Swift, Supreme Court Seems Set to Back Nominal Damages Suits; Three justices discussed the singer in a case over whether two students could sue their college for violating their First Amendment rights”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this report.

Robert Barnes of The Washington Post reports that “Supreme Court debates religious speech case, with approving nod to Taylor Swift.”

Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal reports that “Supreme Court Considers Expanding Government Liability Over Speech Restrictions — Even After They Were Lifted; The justices will decide whether student who sued Georgia state college can collect attorneys’ fees after school dropped policies.”

Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times reports that “Supreme Court skeptical of students’ case for damages after college censorship.”

Kelsey Dallas of Deseret News has an article headlined “He sued his school for silencing him. Here’s why the Supreme Court may force him to end his fight. At what point should free speech or religious freedom lawsuits be considered resolved?

John Kruzel of The Hill reports that “Taylor Swift sexual assault verdict discussed at Supreme Court.”

Mark Walsh of Education Week reports that “Supreme Court Considers Issue of Damages That Comes Up in Many Suits Over School Policies.”

And Jack Rodgers of Courthouse News Service reports that “Taylor Swift Name-Checked as High Court Probes Mooted Speech Battle; Nominal damages were enough to hold a DJ liable for groping Taylor Swift, but whether they can resurrect a suit against Georgia Gwinnett College is up to the Supreme Court.”

You can access via this link the audio and transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, No. 19-968.

Posted at 7:33 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Revives Abortion-Pill Restriction; In their first abortion case since Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court, the justices reinstated a requirement that women seeking medication abortions pick up a pill in person”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this report.

Robert Barnes of The Washington Post reports that “Supreme Court restores requirements for medication abortions, siding with Trump administration.”

Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that “Justices say women must obtain abortion pill in person.”

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Supreme Court Halts Mail Delivery of Abortion-Inducing Pills.”

You can access this evening’s order of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the opinions concurring in and dissenting from the order, at this link.

Posted at 6:51 PM by Howard Bashman



“Taylor Swift Invoked in Supreme Court Free Speech Argument”: Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson of Bloomberg Law has this report.

Posted at 2:24 PM by Howard Bashman



“Trump Lawyers Face Rebukes Over Election-Fraud Claims; Lawyers face ethical complaints, lawsuits and professional reproach that could take years to resolve”: Rebecca Davis O’Brien of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

Posted at 1:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow execution of Lisa Montgomery”: Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post has this report.

Posted at 1:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“Never Forget What Ted Cruz Did: The senator has been able to use his Ivy League pedigree as a cudgel; After last week, his credentials should condemn him.” Mimi Swartz has this op-ed in today’s edition of The New York Times.

Posted at 1:06 PM by Howard Bashman



“Impeachment Isn’t the Only Option Against Trump; Congress can invoke its constitutional power to bar the president from holding office again”: Deepak Gupta and Brian Beutler have this essay online at The New York Times.

Posted at 1:04 PM by Howard Bashman



“Woman Struck at Casino Wins Suit, But $1 Million Award Too Much”: Jacklyn Wille of Bloomberg Law has this report (subscription required for full access) on a ruling* that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued yesterday.

*Trigger warning for sexist terms — the plaintiff was injured by a piece of machinery that the opinion repeatedly describes as a “manlift.” A paper addressing how Hawaii could gender-neutralize its statutes suggests using the term “lift” instead.

Posted at 9:33 AM by Howard Bashman