How Appealing



Thursday, February 22, 2024

“Alabama justice who ruled embryos are people says American law should be rooted in the Bible; Tom Parker, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, expressed his support for the Seven Mountains Mandate, a once-fringe philosophy that calls on evangelical Christians to reshape American law and society based on their beliefs”: Mike Hixenbaugh of NBC News has this report.

Trevor Hughes and Minnah Arshad of USA Today have an article headlined “Alabama justice invoked ‘the wrath of a holy God’ in IVF opinion. Is that allowed?

And in commentary, online at The Los Angeles Times, columnist Harry Litman has an essay titled “Alabama’s highest court declared frozen embryos people. The U.S. Supreme Court is to blame.”

Posted at 9:18 PM by Howard Bashman



“New Marquette Law School national survey finds approval of U.S. Supreme Court at 40%, public split on removal of Trump from ballot; Confidence in juries remains high compared to other institutions; public remains opposed to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, supportive of gun rights outside home”: Law professor Charles Franklin has this report.

Posted at 9:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Allows $2.4 Billion Boy Scouts Sex Abuse Deal to Go Forward; The justices denied an emergency request by a group of victims to pause the deal, allowing the settlement to proceed”: Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this report on an order the U.S. Supreme Court issued today.

Posted at 8:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“Embryos are vessels of hope, pain and love. But they are not children. The Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling has gone too far.” Columnist Monica Hesse has this essay online at The Washington Post.

Also online at The Washington Post, columnist Ruth Marcus has an essay titled “Alabama ushers in the theocracy.”

Posted at 8:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Accidents, Lax Rules and Abortion Laws Now Imperil Fertility Industry; Fertility clinics are routinely sued by patients for errors that destroy embryos, as happened in Alabama; An effort to define them legally as ‘unborn children’ has raised the stakes”: Azeen Ghorayshi and Sarah Kliff of The New York Times have this report.

Rick Rojas of The New York Times has an article headlined “The Alabama Chief Justice Who Invoked God in Deciding the Embryo Case; Chief Justice Tom Parker has long been revered by conservative groups as an architect for the overturning of Roe v. Wade.”

And in commentary, online at The New York Times, columnist Charles M. Blow has an essay titled “Alabama’s I.V.F. Ruling Shows Our Slide Toward Theocracy.”

Posted at 5:09 PM by Howard Bashman



“Pennsylvania’s high court sides with township over its ban of a backyard gun range”: Mark Scolforo of The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A township ordinance that limits firing guns to indoor and outdoor shooting ranges and zoning that significantly restricts where the ranges can be located do not violate the Second Amendment, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.”

Yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consists of a majority opinion, an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, and a dissenting opinion.

Posted at 4:56 PM by Howard Bashman



“Was John Roberts Ever a Member of Federalist Society? Smoothing the already clear path to confirmation.” Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.

Posted at 4:22 PM by Howard Bashman



“Judge Overseeing Texas Buoy Challenge Responds to Fifth Circuit; Federal judge suggested recusal for Judge James Ho; New trial date set for Aug. 6 following reaction from circuit”: Ryan Autullo of Bloomberg Law has a report (subscription required for full access) that begins, “A federal judge in Texas was appalled Thursday by the reaction of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to his management of a case before him regarding the legality of Texas’ floating river barriers at the Mexico border.”

Posted at 3:58 PM by Howard Bashman



“Judge criticizes US Supreme Court’s reliance on historical ‘tradition’; Judge Kevin Newsom warns of risks of citing ‘tradition’ to justify rulings; Judge cites abortion, gun rights and standing cases as examples”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report.

Posted at 1:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justices Mull Dismissing ‘Discovery Rule’ Copyright Damages Case; Justices suggest weighing discovery rule before damages scope; Damage question only one splitting circuits, rapper says”: Kyle Jahner of Bloomberg Law has this report.

Blake Brittain of Reuters reports that “US Supreme Court may dump Warner Music dispute over copyright damages.”

And at the “IPWatchdog” blog, Eileen McDermott has a post titled “DIG, Dogs and Bad Wine: Justices Float Scrapping Warner Chappell to Consider Alternate Petition on ‘Discovery Accrual Rule’ for Copyright.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has posted online the transcript and audio of yesterday’s oral argument in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy, No. 22-1078.

Posted at 1:05 PM by Howard Bashman