How Appealing



Tuesday, September 1, 2026

“What a Churchill quote reveals about the Supreme Court’s ballroom decision: ‘We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us,’ wrote Justice Roberts in dissent, quoting Winston Churchill on the tie between aesthetics and ideals.” Columnist Philip Kennicott has this essay online at The Washington Post.

Posted at 9:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Pennsylvania Gambling Addicts Hope That ‘Skill Games’ Will Go Bust; The machines, which enjoyed legal protection until a recent court ruling, could go dark in October”: Nick Keppler of The New York Times has this report.

Posted at 9:05 PM by Howard Bashman



“He brought a guillotine to D.C. He didn’t expect to get arrested. Philan Le told The Post about the guillotine’s journey from California and what came next. Legal experts say convicting him may be a challenge.” Ben Conarck of The Washington Post has this report.

Posted at 9:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“On Trump’s Ballroom, Chief Justice Finds Himself in an Unusual Spot: In Dissent; Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has been in the majority in divided cases more times than any other chief since 1953; But not this time.” Ann E. Marimow of The New York Times has this report.

Posted at 8:53 PM by Howard Bashman



“DC Circuit rules soldier’s desertion court-martial was wrongfully revoked; Robert ‘Bowe’ Bergdahl was dishonorably discharged after leaving his unit in Afghanistan in 2009, but was immediately captured and held hostage by the Taliban for five years before a 2014 prisoner swap”: Ryan Knappenberger of Courthouse News Service has this report.

You can access today’s decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link.

Posted at 8:47 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Supreme Court’s Ballroom Standing; The Justices rule that courts aren’t a venue for architecture criticism”: This editorial will appear in Wednesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Posted at 8:44 PM by Howard Bashman



“Texas asks Fifth Circuit to force J&J to pay for Tylenol court shuffle; The state claims a last-minute removal to federal court was a stall tactic, while Johnson & Johnson says it had a fair shot under Supreme Court precedent”: Gabriel Tynes of Courthouse News Service has this report.

You can access the audio of today’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link.

Posted at 8:32 PM by Howard Bashman



“Fifth Circuit might inject new life into Texas’ Covid-19 vaccine lawsuit; Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to revive his lawsuit claiming Pfizer lied to the public about the efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine — and Fifth Circuit judges’ jurisdictional concerns could give him a boost”: Christina van Waasbergen of Courthouse News Service has this report.

You can access the audio of today’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link.

Posted at 8:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Nearly 25 years after the attacks, Supreme Court asked to bring closure to 9/11 case; As prosecutors continue to face setbacks in the long-running Sept. 11 death penalty case, the justices were asked to revive plea agreements derailed by the former defense secretary”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

Posted at 8:14 PM by Howard Bashman



“Fraud Law Whistleblowers Are Constitutional, Appeals Court Rules”: Daniel Seiden of Bloomberg Law has a report (subscription required for full access) that begins, “A whistleblower convinced the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit that False Claims Act suits don’t violate Article II of the US Constitution, a Tuesday opinion said.”

You can access today’s decision of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link.

Posted at 4:41 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Supreme Court’s Ballroom Non-Decision: The Court avoided the merits of Trump’s ballroom fight by leaning on aesthetic standing—and left the doctrine murkier than before.” Molly Roberts has this post at the “Lawfare” blog.

Posted at 3:05 PM by Howard Bashman



“How the Supreme Court Locks Away Its Own History: After Justice Scalia died, the justices held private negotiations about locking away their papers; We may not see the ultimate record of the Roberts court for decades.” Jodi Kantor of The New York Times has this report.

Posted at 10:14 AM by Howard Bashman