How Appealing



Friday, February 14, 2025

“124. The Thursday Night Massacre(s): Two very different episodes on Thursday provide growing evidence of a Department of Justice that is showing less respect, by the day, for the rule of law.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

Posted at 10:34 AM by Howard Bashman



“How John Roberts Teed Up Elon Musk’s War on the Court: The mogul seems bent on pushing the Trump White House into a nuclear confrontation with the federal judiciary; He has the Chief Justice to thank.” Matt Ford has this essay online at The New Republic.

Posted at 10:33 AM by Howard Bashman



“The SCOTUS Beat — Divided by Principle: How Justices Barrett and Jackson are Shaping the Future of Constitutional Law; Two justices, two distinct philosophies — when Barrett and Jackson take the bench, their questions don’t just seek answers; they help shape the very future of constitutional law.” Adam Feldman has this post at his “Legalytics” Substack site.

Posted at 10:32 AM by Howard Bashman



“Tom Goldstein Ran Out of Luck: How the most influential Supreme Court lawyer of his generation gambled it all away.” Matt Stieb has this article online at the “Intelligencer” blog of New York magazine.

Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman



Thursday, February 13, 2025

“SCOTUSblog founder released in sweeping tax case after crypto questions; Tom Goldstein, 54, faces 22 charges, including tax evasion and false statements made to mortgage lenders”: Dan Morse of The Washington Post has this report.

Posted at 10:01 PM by Howard Bashman



“Who will check Trump? The Supreme Court (maybe); The court majority’s distaste for administrative agencies running amok could come back to bite Trump.” Columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr has this essay online at The Boston Globe.

Posted at 9:56 PM by Howard Bashman



“Texas Judge Fines New York Doctor and Orders Her to Stop Sending Abortion Pills to Texas; It is the first ruling in a case challenging ‘shield laws’ intended to protect doctors in states that support abortion rights who send abortion pills to states with bans”: Pam Belluck and Mary Beth Gahan of The New York Times have this report.

And Eleanor Klibanoff of The Texas Tribune reports that “New York doctor ordered to stop providing abortion pills to Texans; The ruling is the opening salvo in a likely lengthy battle between Texas’ abortion bans and New York’s ‘shield’ protections for providers.”

Posted at 9:54 PM by Howard Bashman



“TikTok Returns to Apple and Google App Stores; The popular social media app was removed to comply with a new law that banned it in the United States”: Sapna Maheshwari, Tripp Mickle, and Nico Grant of The New York Times have this report.

And Mark Gurman of Bloomberg News reports that “Apple, Google Restore TikTok App After Assurances From Trump; Companies had removed the app to abide by US legislation; Trump signed executive order to delay a potential ban.”

Posted at 9:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“U.S. Attorney General’s Office agrees to transfer prisoner from Louisiana for Oklahoma execution”: Emma Murphy of Oklahoma Voice has this report.

Posted at 9:38 PM by Howard Bashman



“Abortion Provider Won’t Be Extradited to Louisiana, N.Y. Governor Says; The case could lead to a battle in federal court over whether states that support abortion rights can protect doctors who provide abortion services”: Pam Belluck, Benjamin Oreskes, and Emily Cochrane of The New York Times have this report.

And Greg LaRose of Louisiana Illuminator reports that “New York governor rejects Louisiana extradition request for doctor accused of mailing abortion pills.”

Posted at 9:35 PM by Howard Bashman



“Order to Drop Adams Case Prompts Resignations in New York and Washington; The interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan and five officials with the federal public integrity unit quit after the Justice Department ordered the charges against Mayor Eric Adams to be dropped”: William K. Rashbaum, Benjamin Weiser, Jonah E. Bromwich, and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times have this report.

And Benjamin Weiser and Jonah E. Bromwich of The New York Times report that “An Ambitious Prosecutor Quits Rather Than Do Trump’s Bidding; Danielle R. Sassoon, Manhattan’s interim U.S. attorney, built a life on conservative values and amassed a daunting resume; On Thursday, she took a stand against the Justice Department where she had made her career.”

Posted at 9:20 PM by Howard Bashman



“How Risky Poker Habit Caught Up With SCOTUSBlog’s Tom Goldstein”: You can access the new episode of Bloomberg Law’s “On the Merits” podcast via this link.

Posted at 9:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“The lawsuit seeking to kick Elon Musk out of government, explained; The lawsuit asks a very simple question: Who appointed Musk, and what, exactly, does he do?” Ian Millhiser has this essay online at Vox.

Posted at 9:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Appeals court reverses local ruling in Tastries bakery case”: John Cox of The Bakersfield Californian has this report.

Andrew Sheeler of The Sacramento Bee reports that “California appeals court rules against baker who refused to sell plain cake to lesbian couple.”

Daniel Gligich of The San Joaquin Valley Sun reports that “Appellate court rules against Tastries Bakery in LGBT wedding cake case; The Bakersfield bakery was found to have violated a state civil rights law by refusing to sell a wedding cake to a lesbian couple.”

And Jeanne Kuang of CalMatters reports that “California court rules against baker in revival of same-sex wedding cake disputes.”

You can access Tuesday’s ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District at this link.

Posted at 2:18 PM by Howard Bashman



“Senate Democrats Intensify Filibuster Campaign; Ten Bush appellate nominees are blocked in 2003 and 2004”: Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.

Posted at 2:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“SCOTUSblog’s Goldstein to Be Released From Custody Pending Trial; Judge amends release conditions to limit computer access; Court says it had concerns about use of cryptocurrency”: Holly Barker of Bloomberg Law has this report.

And earlier, Dan Morse of The Washington Post reported that “Embattled SCOTUS attorney jailed ahead of trial over crypto payments; Attorneys for SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein will argue for his release in a case involving high-stakes poker games and allegedly unpaid taxes.”

Posted at 2:08 PM by Howard Bashman



“Trump Allies’ Criticism of Judges Prompts Security Concerns; Elon Musk shared posts about judges, called one ‘evil’; Courts unable to push back against rhetoric”: Jacqueline Thomsen and Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law have this report.

And Tiana Headley of Bloomberg Law reports that “Bondi, Senate GOP Push Back on Musk Judicial Impeachment Call; Key Senate members say rulings part of checks, balances system; Bondi refers to US appeals process to address injunctions.”

Posted at 10:34 AM by Howard Bashman



“Bonus 123: The Judges’ Bill Turns 100; A century ago today, Congress gave the Supreme Court control over much of its docket; The Court we have today is, for better or worse, a direct result of that technical but massively important statute.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

Posted at 10:26 AM by Howard Bashman



Wednesday, February 12, 2025

“Trump Allies Keep Floating Trial Balloons For Ignoring Court Orders; Just in case, the conservative legal movement is laying the groundwork for the Republican Party’s next big move”: Madiba K. Dennie has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

Posted at 10:08 PM by Howard Bashman



“How Trump Could Remake the Supreme Court for a Generation: Donald Trump is poised to become the first president since FDR to have appointed the majority of high-court justices; His potential picks are terrifying.” Elie Mystal has this essay in the March 2025 issue of The Nation.

Posted at 10:04 PM by Howard Bashman



“What Happens if Trump Defies the Courts: Do judges have the power to enforce their rulings if the executive branch refuses to comply?” Online at The New Yorker, Isaac Chotiner has this Q. & A. with law professor Cristina Rodríguez.

Posted at 10:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Culture war issue of when women can get an abortion argued in S.C. Supreme Court”: John Monk of The State of Columbia, South Carolina has this report.

Anna Wilder of The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina reports that “SC Supreme Court hears arguments over when SC’s ‘heartbeat’ abortion bill should be enforced.”

Terry Benjamin II of The Greenville News reports that “South Carolina Supreme Court hears challenge to state’s six-week abortion ban.”

And Jeffrey Collins of The Associated Press has an article headlined “When does a heartbeat start? South Carolina Supreme Court again takes up abortion issue.”

Posted at 9:57 PM by Howard Bashman



“Missouri Supreme Court hears case on transgender student’s use of school bathrooms; At the core of the argument, judges will have to decide whether a transgender boy can be considered male under the state’s human rights act”: Annelise Hanshaw of Missouri Independent has this report.

Posted at 9:52 PM by Howard Bashman



“What does ‘having sex’ mean? Question focus of spousal rape case before Ohio Supreme Court; A test of Ohio’s law against spousal rape and what requirements victim testimony must meet is going before the Ohio Supreme Court.” Laura A. Bischoff of The Columbus Dispatch has this report.

Posted at 9:48 PM by Howard Bashman



“Is there anyone in government Trump can’t fire? Why Humphrey’s Executor may be in peril at the Supreme Court.” John Fritze of CNN has this report.

Posted at 9:46 PM by Howard Bashman



“White House attacks judges as Trump, Musk flout checks and balances; Their approach — which one prominent Democrat characterized as ‘flagrantly violating the law’ — is drawing legal challenges and carries political risks”: Sarah Ellison and Naftali Bendavid of The Washington Post have this report.

Posted at 9:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“Voting Rights Claims Plunge in Wake of Supreme Court Decision”: Diana Dombrowski, Alex Ebert, and Kimberly Robinson of Bloomberg Law have this report.

Posted at 5:20 PM by Howard Bashman



“Second Circuit affirms R. Kelly’s racketeering and sex crimes conviction; The appeals panel upheld the ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ singer’s conviction for a wide-ranging scheme to recruit and abuse young women and underage girls”: Nika Schoonover of Courthouse News Service has this report.

Jonathan Stempel of Reuters reports that “R. Kelly’s sex trafficking conviction upheld.”

And Larry Neumeister of The Associated Press reports that “Federal appeals court upholds singer R. Kelly’s convictions and 30-year prison term.”

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

Posted at 5:18 PM by Howard Bashman



“Dan Markel case advances in court, as expansion of Markel Act advances in Legislature; For Markel’s mother, Ruth, the process of advocating for the Markel Act became a way to transform grief into action”: Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics has this report.

Posted at 5:14 PM by Howard Bashman