How Appealing



Saturday, February 27, 2021

“Supreme Court Sides With California Churches on Covid-19 Restrictions; Order blocks Santa Clara County from including churches in ban on indoor gatherings”: Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

In today’s edition of The San Jose Mercury News, Maggie Angst has a front page article headlined “U.S. Supreme Court lifts Santa Clara County’s ban on indoor religious services once and for all; Places of worship can return to indoor services with up to 20% of capacity.”

Nora Mishanec of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Santa Clara to resume indoor church services at 20% after U.S. Supreme Court order.”

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Supreme Court Again Allows Indoor Church Services, Lifts Ban.”

Ariane de Vogue of CNN reports that “Supreme Court once again sides with houses of worship in dispute over Covid restrictions.”

Michael Ruiz of Fox News reports that “Supreme Court blocks a California ban on indoor church services; The 6-3 decision came with the court’s liberal justices in dissent.”

And Jon Parton of Courthouse News Service reports that “Supreme Court Lifts Santa Clara Ban on Indoor Religious Services.”

You can access yesterday evening’s order of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the dissent therefrom, at this link.

Posted at 8:16 PM by Howard Bashman



“In latest Loughry twist, full panel of appeals judges will hear justice’s social media bias case”: Brad McElhinny of West Virginia’s MetroNews has this report.

And Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal reports that “Juror’s Twitter Use During Ex-Justice’s Fraud Trial Will Get New Scrutiny; Asking the full appeals court to take up the case, former West Virginia Justice Allen Loughry’s lawyer, Elbert Lin of Hunton Andrews Kurth, said his client’s petition ‘presents a single question of exceptional and growing importance.’

My earlier coverage of the original three-judge panel’s partially divided ruling can be accessed here. The petition for rehearing en banc and the federal government’s response in opposition can also be accessed online.

Posted at 7:58 PM by Howard Bashman



“10 death row inmates in Oklahoma could get new trials”: Sean Murphy of The Associated Press has a report that begins, “As many as 10 death row inmates in Oklahoma, more than one-fifth of the state’s prisoners condemned to die, could escape execution because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country.”

Posted at 7:48 PM by Howard Bashman



“‘Death Squad’ That Tossed 2,000 Patents Challenged at High Court”: Greg Stohr and Susan Decker of Bloomberg News have this report.

Posted at 7:35 PM by Howard Bashman



“Top Connecticut Court Grapples With Juror-Exclusion Prerogatives; Judges appeared leery about whether jury questionnaires singling out distrust of authority unfairly exclude minority voices”: Nick Rummell of Courthouse News Service has this report.

Posted at 5:40 PM by Howard Bashman