How Appealing



Tuesday, March 23, 2021

“Trump’s attacks on the press were bad. What this federal judge did was worse.” Columnist Ruth Marcus has this essay online at The Washington Post.

Posted at 10:51 PM by Howard Bashman



“Cheerleader Seeks New Shot at Anthem Protest Case Against Georgia Sheriff; A former college cheerleader claims her First Amendment rights were violated when local officials encouraged the school to prohibit cheerleaders from kneeling during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice”: Kayla Goggin of Courthouse News Service has this report on an oral argument (audio link not available at time of posting) that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit heard today.

Posted at 10:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court wrestles with complex questions of tribal power arising from late-night traffic stop”: John Fritze of USA Today has this report.

Jordan S. Rubin of Bloomberg Law reports that “Justices Raise Public Safety Concerns in Tribal Police Argument.”

And Mychael Schnell of The Hill reports that “Supreme Court explores extent of tribal police authority.”

You can access via this link the audio and transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in United States v. Cooley, No. 19-1414.

Posted at 10:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“US Supreme Court to hear R.I. case involving warrantless seizure of guns; Federal appeals court ruled that a ‘community caretaking’ exception allowed officers to remove a gun owner’s weapons in volatile 2015 domestic situation in Cranston”: Edward Fitzpatrick of The Boston Globe has this report.

And online at USA Today, David H. Gans has an essay titled “In wake of Floyd, Taylor killings, should police have power to enter your home without a warrant? A nod from the Supreme Court in case that would give police right to search for ‘community caretaking’ would be a violation of the Fourth Amendment.”

Posted at 9:51 PM by Howard Bashman



“What is going on with Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization? The case has been relisted 16 times.” Josh Blackman has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

Posted at 9:24 PM by Howard Bashman



“John Roberts’ Attack on Environmental Protections Is Bad History and Bad Law; The chief justice sides with industry groups against protected underwater ecosystems”: Mark Joseph Stern has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

Posted at 9:20 PM by Howard Bashman



“Jacy Hurst becomes first woman of color on Kansas Court of Appeals; Lesley Isherwood was also confirmed by the Kansas Senate”: Titus Wu of The Topeka Capital-Journal has this report.

Posted at 7:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Says a Claim for Nominal Damages Avoids Mootness — But When Does That Matter?” Douglas Laycock has this post at “The ALI Adviser” blog.

Posted at 5:52 PM by Howard Bashman



“Universities Can’t Selectively Enforce Nondiscrimination Policies Based on Student Groups’ Viewpoints; That’s a clearly established constitutional mandate, the Eighth Circuit holds, so a university can’t get qualified immunity from liability in such a case”: Eugene Volokh has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Eighth Circuit ruling can be accessed here.

Posted at 5:26 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court to discuss case that could expand Second Amendment rights”: Ariane de Vogue of CNN has this report. Because of how frequently mass shootings occur in our society, the timing of these petitions never seems to be all that auspicious for their proponents.

Posted at 5:22 PM by Howard Bashman



“2021 Appellate Judges Education Institute Summit”: I received two emails from the AJEI today reminding me to “save the date” for this year’s Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas from November 11-14, 2021. I am hoping to attend, and I hope to see many readers of this blog in attendance. The 2020 AJEI Summit had been scheduled for Austin but was postponed a year due to the pandemic.

Posted at 4:44 PM by Howard Bashman



“Episode 254: Unfair laws / Why judges should be originalists (William Baude).” You can access via this link the new installment of the “Rationally Speaking” podcast of New York City Skeptics with host Julia Galef.

Posted at 3:22 PM by Howard Bashman



“Court: University of Iowa officials can be held liable for First Amendment violations; Decision is ‘going to be very important for religious student groups across the country.'” Vanessa Miller has this front page article in today’s edition of The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Sabine Martin of The Daily Iowan, the student newspaper of the University of Iowa, reports that “Federal court of appeals rules against University of Iowa in religious student organization case.”

Ryan J. Foley of The Associated Press has a report headlined “Court: U Iowa officials liable for targeting Christian group.”

Rox Laird of Courthouse News Service reports that “Iowa College Officials Denied Immunity in Religious Freedom Case; The district court shouldn’t have granted administrators qualified immunity for an Iowa university’s violation of a religious student group’s constitutional rights, an appeals panel found.”

Elizabeth Redden of Inside Higher Ed has a report headlined “Another Win for Christian Student Group at University of Iowa; Federal appeals court finds that Iowa administrators can be held personally liable for their actions in deregistering a Christian student group that denied a leadership role to a gay student.”

And at Law & Crime, Jerry Lambe has a post titled “University Officials Aren’t Immune from First Amendment Suit by Anti-Gay Christian Student Group, Federal Appeals Court Rules.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link.

Posted at 1:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Roberts Harangues Marine Monument as Appeal Runs Aground; The chief justice said this particular monument challenge did not meet the Supreme Court’s bar but that several issues with the Antiquities Act make it ripe for future review”: Samantha Hawkins of Courthouse News Service has this report.

Posted at 10:40 AM by Howard Bashman



“In My Own Defense: van der Veen’s Response to Schwartz Article; Ted Schwartz’s commentary of me and my representation of former President Donald J. Trump in his impeachment trial is abject libel and born of ignorance and bias.” Michael van der Veen has this essay in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia’s daily newspaper for lawyers.

Therein, van der Veen responds to an earlier Legal Intelligencer essay by Theodore A. Schwartz titled “Phila. Trial Lawyer Weighs In on van der Veen’s Defense of Trump.”

Posted at 10:25 AM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Wary of Law Letting Union Organizers Onto Private Property; The justices considered a California regulation that allowed labor representatives to meet with farm workers at their worksites for up to three hours a day for as many as 120 days a year”: Adam Liptak has this article in today’s edition of The New York Times.

In today’s edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes has an article headlined “Supreme Court seems to think law allowing union organizers on private property goes too far.”

In today’s edition of The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage has an article headlined “Supreme Court appears skeptical of California rule letting union organizers on private farms.”

In today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin has an article headlined “Supreme Court Shows Inclination to Limit Union-Access Law; Arguments reveal differences on whether California growers have right to compensation for letting organizers onto their property to speak to farmworkers.”

John Fritze of USA Today reports that “Supreme Court conservatives turn skeptical eye on rule helping unions organize farmer workers.”

Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Supreme Court asked to squash law allowing union organizers onto private farm property.”

Jessica Gresko of The Associated Press reports that “Justices seem ready to rule against unions in farm case.”

Andrew Chung of Reuters reports that “U.S. Supreme Court leans toward reining in unions in property rights case.”

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Supreme Court Questions Union Access to Agricultural Company Land.”

John Kruzel of The Hill reports that “Supreme Court hears clash between California farm owners, labor unions.”

Alexandra Jones of Courthouse News Service reports that “Supreme Court Unlikely to Block Union Intrusions on Farms; Property owners say that labor drives have disrupted busy harvest operations, and that there are more suitable locations to organize somewhere where workers won’t be distracted.”

On yesterday evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Nina Totenberg had an audio segment titled “SCOTUS Heard Arguments In Clash Between Large Agriculture Growers And Their Workers.”

And in commentary, online at Vox, Ian Millhiser has an essay titled “The Supreme Court confronts a union-busting argument that’s too radical even for Kavanaugh; Conservative lawyers shot for the moon in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid; They probably asked for too much.”

Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“The ‘shadow docket’: How the U.S. Supreme Court quietly dispatches key rulings.” Lawrence Hurley, Andrew Chung, and Jonathan Allen of Reuters have this report.

And Reuters has also posted online this video on the subject, on which Lawrence Hurley’s British accent can he enjoyed beginning around the 30-second mark.

Posted at 9:54 AM by Howard Bashman