“Minnesota Supreme Court: Rape victims not ‘mentally incapacitated’ unless forcibly intoxicated; The far-reaching decision also gives a man convicted of third-degree sexual assault a new trial.” Andy Mannix of The Minneapolis Star Tribune has this report.
And Josh Verges of The Pioneer Press of St. Paul, Minnesota reports that “Felony rape charge doesn’t apply if victim got herself drunk, Minnesota Supreme Court rules.”
You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Minnesota at this link.
“Chief Justice Roberts invites Antiquities Act challenges”: Jennifer Yachnin of E&E News has this report.
“Newsom appoints Rob Bonta, Oakland assemblyman, as state attorney general; Bonta, 48, was first Filipino-American in state Legislature, representing Oakland, Alameda and San Leandro”: Paul Rogers of The San Jose Mercury News has this report.
Alexei Koseff of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Bay Area legislator Rob Bonta nominated by Newsom as California attorney general.”
Patrick McGreevy and Phil Willon of The Los Angeles Times report that “Rob Bonta, Bay Area Democratic lawmaker, appointed California attorney general.”
And Lara Korte of The Sacramento Bee reports that “Newsom names Rob Bonta as AG, lifting Filipino leader after attacks on Asian Americans.”
“Conservatives with high expectations anxious for Justice Amy Coney Barrett to show her hand”: Ariane de Vogue of CNN has this report.
“State high court considers burden of proof for intellectual disability”: Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an article that begins, “Georgia’s Supreme Court justices on Tuesday grappled with an unsettling quandary: What to do with the state law banning the execution of intellectually disabled prisoners when the law’s onerous burden of proof almost certainly allows it to happen.”
You can view the video of yesterday’s Supreme Court of Georgia oral arguments via this link.
“Sidney Powell does an about-face on her Stop the Steal claims”: Columnist David Von Drehle has this op-ed in today’s edition of The Washington Post.
“The Year in Originalism: This past year the importance of Supreme Court appointments returned with a vengeance.” Mike Rappaport has this post at the “Law & Liberty” blog.
“Keep the cameras out of the Supreme Court”: Columnist James Hohmann has this essay online at The Washington Post.
“Country Music Academy’s Insurance Fight to Stay in Federal Court”: Peter Hayes of Bloomberg Law has this report (subscription required for full access) on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued Monday.
“Trump’s Election Lawyer Throws Him Under the Bus; Sidney Powell is trying a brazen and bizarre argument in defending herself against a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems”: Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.
“They’ve Got Next: Five Fresh Faces to Know in Appellate.” Bloomberg Law has this report.
“Health-Care Access at Risk in High Court LGBT Foster Care Case”: Lydia Wheeler of Bloomberg Law has this report.
“Businesses Are Losing Their Covid-19 Lawsuits; Insurance companies won’t be paying for business interruptions caused by the coronavirus; This was predictable”: Law professor Stephen L. Carter has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.
“3rd Circuit calls out lawyer for ‘copy-and-paste’ appeal, orders him to pay attorney fees”: Debra Cassens Weiss has this post at ABA Journal.
“The Right-Wing War on State Courts: Fueled by the desire to suppress the vote and find end runs around the popular will, Republicans across the country are working to deform the state judiciary.” Matt Ford of The New Republic has this report.
“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.
“Judge Silberman Laments Reality’s Liberal Bias”: Michael C. Dorf has this post at “Dorf on Law.”
“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.
“A Police Camera That Never Tires Stirs Unease at 1st Circuit; Technology has made surveillance easy and cheap — but when does the government’s high-tech snooping cross the line?” Thomas F. Harrison of Courthouse News Service has this report on a case that was reargued en banc today (access the audio via this link) before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
“There’s a Reason Biden Has Been Slow to Install Judges; His administration is trying to do something different”: Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
“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.
“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.”
“Defending Louisiana’s anti-abortion laws cost millions, and taxpayers will foot the bill”: Mark Ballard of The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana recently had this report.
And Mary Anne Pazanowski of Bloomberg Law reports that “Louisiana Abortion Providers Ask for Nearly $9 Million in Fees.”
“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.”
“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.
“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.
“Judges as Party Animals: Retirement Timing by Federal Judges and Party Control of Judicial Appointments.” Professor Ross Stolzenberg and law professor James Lindgren have posted this paper at SSRN (via “Legal Theory Blog“).
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“Textual Gerrymandering: The Eclipse of Republican Government in an Era of Statutory Populism.” Law professors Victoria Nourse and William N. Eskridge have posted this paper at SSRN.
“Biden Can Make Mark on Judiciary with Trial Court Appointments”: Madison Alder of Bloomberg Law has this report.
“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.
