How Appealing



Wednesday, May 20, 2026

“With exclamation points and indignation, a federal judge from South Natick infuriates Trump”: Jim Puzzanghera of The Boston Globe has this report.

Posted at 1:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“How to Get a Pardon in Trump’s Washington: Fast-talking lawyers and lobbyists promise to get white-collar criminals out of jail — for a fee.” Jeffrey Toobin has this article online at The New York Times Magazine.

Posted at 1:00 PM by Howard Bashman



Tuesday, May 19, 2026

“New York gun ban in public parks survives appeal; While the panel backed the state’s gun ban in urban public parks, it found no historical analog for restricting concealed carry on private property that’s open to the public”: Nina Pullano of Courthouse News Service has this report on a decision that a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued yesterday.

Posted at 5:28 PM by Howard Bashman



“DC Circuit slams Pentagon blacklisting of Anthropic as overreach; Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth took issue with the AI company’s refusal to remove two narrow contractual restrictions on Claude’s use for lethal autonomous warfare and the mass surveillance of Americans”: Ryan Knappenberger of Courthouse News Service has this report.

And Jen Judson of Bloomberg News reports that “Appeals Court Skeptical Anthropic Can Block US Supply-Risk Label.”

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

Posted at 3:39 PM by Howard Bashman



“Attorney General Sunday appeals Pennsylvania court ruling that recognized abortion access as a right; The appeals sets up another clash in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court over the right to reproductive autonomy, and the constitutionality of a ban on public funding for abortion through Medicaid”: Abraham Gutman of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report.

Posted at 3:27 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justice Jackson criticizes Supreme Court’s handling of major voting case; Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the court’s decision to expedite a ruling in a major voting rights case made it appear political”: Justin Jouvenal of The Washington Post has this report.

Maureen Groppe of USA Today reports that “Ketanji Brown Jackson warns of Supreme Court appearing partisan.”

Maya Yang of The Guardian reports that “Ketanji Brown Jackson warns US supreme court it risks losing public trust; Liberal justice warned court could be seen as political after recent decisions backed by conservative supermajority.”

Lindsay Whitehurst of The Associated Press reports that “Ketanji Brown Jackson says Supreme Court risks being seen as political after voting rights decision.”

Jordan Fischer of Bloomberg Law reports that “Judge Presses Jackson on ‘Mystifying’ Emergency Docket Orders.”

John Fritze of CNN reports that “Justice Jackson slams Supreme Court’s handling of rush appeal in Louisiana redistricting case.”

And Anders Hagstrom of Fox News has an article headlined “Jackson doubles down on criticism of fellow justices over Louisiana redistricting case: ‘Be better’; Jackson says public confidence is ‘all the judiciary has’ and the court should ‘be better’ about neutrality.”

C-SPAN has posted online a video titled “Justice Jackson on Her Memoir, Lovely One.”

Posted at 3:24 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justices Hint at Strains as Supreme Court Comes Under Scrutiny; Traveling across the country, justices defend the role of the court even as strained relations among its members emerge in writing and remarks”: Ann E. Marimow and Aishvarya Kavi of The New York Times have this report.

Posted at 3:15 PM by Howard Bashman



Monday, May 18, 2026

“Trump Withdraws His $10 Billion Suit Against the I.R.S.; The dismissal appears to be part of the Trump administration’s effort to effectively settle the case, which stemmed from the leak of his tax returns in 2019”: Andrew Duehren and Alan Feuer of The New York Times have this report.

And Jeremy Roebuck and Perry Stein of The Washington Post report that “Trump will end $10 billion lawsuit against IRS over leaked tax records; The filing did not mention details of any settlement President Donald Trump may have reached with the agency.”

Posted at 10:28 AM by Howard Bashman



“With Timing of Voting Rights Decision, Supreme Court Chose a Political Scramble; The timing brought the court into the middle of a fight to redraw voting maps across the South, even as some primaries were underway”: Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this news analysis.

Posted at 10:24 AM by Howard Bashman



“228. Justices Testifying Before Congress: At least two justices are shortly expected to testify at a Senate hearing for the first time since 2011; The practice used to be a *lot* more common — and, in my view, ought to become so again.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“The Problem with the 25th Amendment — And a Partial Fix; Congress can, and should, take more responsibility”: Bob Bauer has this post at the “Executive Functions” Substack site.

Posted at 10:16 AM by Howard Bashman



Sunday, May 17, 2026

“Justice Clarence Thomas laments ‘very dicey’ threats to judiciary and heightened security for Supreme Court”: John Fritze of CNN has this report.

Posted at 8:48 PM by Howard Bashman



“Northshore Judge Billy Burris wins open La. Supreme Court seat; Election decided by GOP party primary in which Democrats could not participate”: Julie O’Donoghue of Louisiana Illuminator has this report.

Posted at 8:46 PM by Howard Bashman



“The court-packing comeback: Kamala Harris wants to destroy the one branch of government that is working as it should.” The Washington Post has published this editorial.

Posted at 8:44 PM by Howard Bashman



“At Supreme Court, Virginia Democrats Pressed Legal Theory Embraced by Trump; A long-shot emergency request to restore a voting map was the latest salvo in an all-out legal war over control of the House”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news analysis.

Posted at 8:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“AI won’t replace lawyers. It will create more of them. The legal profession is changing, but the lawyer is here to stay.” Damien Charlotin has this essay online at The Washington Post.

Posted at 8:33 PM by Howard Bashman



“Judicial Notice (05.17.26): Unexpected Departures; John Quinn steps down from Quinn Emanuel leadership, Justice Wecht resigns from the Democratic Party, and Biglaw leaders leave their firms for Latham.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

Posted at 8:24 PM by Howard Bashman



“Trump Administration Weighs $1.7 Billion Fund for Allies Investigated Under Biden; Critics denounced the highly unusual plan, which has yet to be finalized or approved, as a vast political slush fund financed by taxpayers”: Glenn Thrush, Andrew Duehren, and Alan Feuer of The New York Times have this report.

Posted at 7:48 PM by Howard Bashman



“Return of the Abortion Pill Wars; Mifepristone is back at the Supreme Court; Democrats need to make the stakes clear”: You can access the new episode of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.

Posted at 7:27 PM by Howard Bashman



“Trump DOJ Lawyer Correctly Describes Congress’s History of Circumcising Presidential Power; During oral argument in the cases about Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms, a Justice Department lawyer brought up a very different form of severability”: Jay Willis has this post at his “Balls & Strikes” Substack site.

Posted at 7:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“Democrats Battle to Politicize the Georgia Supreme Court; Stacey Abrams seizes an opportunity to make her state more like Wisconsin”: Columnist Jack Butler will have this op-ed in Monday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Posted at 7:21 PM by Howard Bashman



Friday, May 15, 2026
Thursday, May 14, 2026

“Will Donald Trump Be Allowed to Destroy His Records? A law passed after Watergate makes Presidential records government property; The Trump Administration has declared it unconstitutional.” Ruth Marcus has this essay online at The New Yorker.

Posted at 9:27 PM by Howard Bashman



“Appeals Court Appears Skeptical of Trump Orders Targeting Law Firms; A three-judge panel showed few signs of siding with the president on his efforts to compel law firms to work for the administration or face threats”: Zach Montague of The New York Times has this report.

Mark Berman of The Washington Post reports that “Appeals court shows some skepticism of Trump’s effort to punish law firms; A panel of judges pressed a Justice Department lawyer about the president’s sanctions, meant to target firms that raised his ire.”

And Ryan Knappenberger of Courthouse News Service reports that “DC Circuit signals Trump’s law firm sanctions likely unlawful; The executive orders revoked security clearances for firm employees en masse, suspended any active government contracts and barred attorneys from government buildings, including the Washington federal courthouse.”

Posted at 9:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court Allows Abortion Pill Access by Mail to Continue; A federal appeals court ruling against the Food and Drug Administration would have restricted access by mail to mifepristone”: Ann E. Marimow of The New York Times has this report.

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that “Supreme Court, over two dissents, upholds abortion pills sent by mail, for now.”

James Romoser, Lydia Wheeler, and Jennifer Calfas of The Wall Street Journal report that “Supreme Court Maintains Widespread Access to Abortion Pills; High court decision allows providers to continue sending common abortion drug mifepristone to patients by mail.”

Maureen Groppe of USA Today reports that “Supreme Court keeps abortion pill widely available as challenge continues; In an emergency ruling, the justices said mail-order access to mifepristone can remain while Louisiana is challenging expanded access.”

And Stephen Dinan of The Washington Times reports that “Supreme Court allows abortion pill to be distributed by mail.”

Posted at 8:48 PM by Howard Bashman



“Todd Blanche Is Wasting No Time in His Audition to Be the Next Attorney General; Aggressive moves by acting Justice Department head have won him praise at the White House”: Sadie Gurman and C. Ryan Barber of The Wall Street Journal have this report.

Posted at 8:32 PM by Howard Bashman