How Appealing



Thursday, October 8, 2026

“Justice Alito Calls Out Empty Reporting From ‘Court Watcher’ Joan Biskupic; Biskupic no longer has any inside information so instead she is forced to make up reporting based on the Justice’s apparent body language”: Josh Blackman has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

Posted at 11:24 AM by Howard Bashman



“Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Hosts US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Judge Allison Jones Rushing, and Judge Andrew Oldham for Armand Arabian Advocacy Tournament”: Pepperdine Newsroom has published this news release.

Posted at 11:22 AM by Howard Bashman



“‘Time for a Woman’: Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign pledge runs into a harsh reality.” Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.

Posted at 11:02 AM by Howard Bashman



“Ted Cruz Explains How Justice Thomas Goes Further; Senator Ted Cruz’s new biography about Justice Clarence Thomas, Going Further, is a must-read contribution to this third genre of Supreme Court books”: Josh Blackman has this post at Civitas Outlook.

Posted at 9:00 AM by Howard Bashman



“Bonus 256: The Original ‘First’ Amendment; In 1789, Congress submitted *twelve* amendments to the states; The only one that was never adopted would have (for a time) grown the House in proportion to the growing country; We should revisit it.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

Posted at 8:57 AM by Howard Bashman



Wednesday, October 7, 2026

“The Collaborators: The cronies of Trump’s second term are more brazen than the old ones; They’re also heading for a harsher comeuppance.” Frank Rich has this article in the October 5, 2026 issue of New York magazine.

Posted at 11:08 PM by Howard Bashman



“‘Use your majority’: In the unlikely event of a Supreme Court vacancy, Republicans are ready to act; A Senate flip to Democrats could essentially shut down confirmations of President Donald Trump’s court nominees — but not until January.” Jordain Carney and Calen Razor of Politico have this report.

Posted at 10:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“Trump’s SCOTUS succession dilemma: His favorite justices are also the court’s oldest; Speculation about Justice Samuel Alito’s plans has increased in recent months ahead of the midterms.” Josh Gerstein of Politico has this report.

Posted at 9:38 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justice Alito on Sports Gambling, ‘Nutty’ Law Reviews, and a Judge’s Fighting Spirit; Alito tells National Review what a justice needs and reads, and what worries him the most about the future”: You can now access part two of Dan McLaughlin’s interview online at National Review.

Posted at 9:35 PM by Howard Bashman



“Christa Pike, Awake and Confused, Is at the Center of a Legal Storm; Her awareness and condition deepen ethical and legal questions after Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute her for murdering a classmate decades ago”: Emily Cochrane of The New York Times has this report.

Posted at 8:57 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court wrestles with fight over Air Force munitions-disposal site on Guam; A nonprofit group contends that exploding the ordnance threatens the island’s main water source, sea turtles and an Indigenous cultural site”: Justin Jouvenal of The Washington Post has this report.

Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times reports that “Supreme Court Weighs if Military May Explode Bombs on a Tropical Beach; The justices heard arguments over whether the U.S. Air Force can keep destroying munitions on a Guam beach under a program it began in 1982.”

And Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service reports that “Supreme Court review goes beyond military waste disposal for Guam residents; The high court seemed to question when, not if, the Air Force should face environmental review challenges to disposing hazardous waste on Guam’s beaches.”

Posted at 8:54 PM by Howard Bashman



“Sam Alito Wants You to Forget How the Conservative Legal Movement Always Works; Conservative activists are chipping away at the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell because Alito told them exactly how to do it”: Jay Willis has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

Posted at 8:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justice for Our Daughter Christa; Message to Italy: We don’t seek the death penalty for Lee Gilley.” Chris and Sharon Bauer have this op-ed in today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Posted at 3:37 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Death Penalty Has Become a Torture Machine; Christa Pike’s botched lethal injection proves there is no humane form of execution”: Jeet Heer has this essay online at The Nation.

Posted at 3:36 PM by Howard Bashman



“‘So Ordered’ Review: A Practical Originalist; Pundits and academics theorizing about Justice Samuel Alito’s aims would profit from reading his speeches on the law.” Columnist Barton Swaim has this book review online at The Wall Street Journal.

And Devin Dwyer of ABC News reports on the book in an article headlined “Alito calls same-sex marriage a ‘decisive’ turn ‘against religious liberty’ in new book; In a new book, the Supreme Court justice reflects on his ‘pet issue’ of faith.”

Posted at 11:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“Like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Alito Is Gambling on Outliving His Critics”: Ed Kilgore has this post at the “Intelligencer” blog of New York magazine.

Posted at 11:15 AM by Howard Bashman



“Justice Alito Speaks Out on Media Harassment and Why the Rules Still Matter; The author of Dobbs sits down with National Review”: Dan McLaughlin has part one of his interview online at National Review.

Posted at 11:14 AM by Howard Bashman



“Alito says Supreme Court can’t stem emergency appeals and voices concern over Trump’s rhetoric”: Lindsay Whitehurst of The Associated Press has this report.

Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman



Tuesday, October 6, 2026

“Trump Approves Plan to Put Fort Hood Shooter to Death by Firing Squad; Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 by a jury of fellow officers at the Texas Army base”: Anne Flaherty of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

Posted at 8:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“Girl asks Supreme Court to block Wash. state rules allowing trans athletes; The high court has upheld bans on transgender athletes on girls’ and women’s sports teams; It has not said whether states can allow them to participate”: Julian Mark of The Washington Post has this report.

You can access the court filing at this link.

Posted at 8:38 PM by Howard Bashman



“Boulder Gives Away Its Climate Game in the Suncor Case; There’s no limiting principle to its suit on harm from CO2”: This editorial will appear in Wednesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Posted at 8:26 PM by Howard Bashman



“University of Texas asks Fifth Circuit to unblock campus speech law; A Texas law passed in the wake of large-scale pro-Palestinian protests requires universities to ban all speech between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. and to restrict expressive activities during the last two weeks of term”: 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 7:50 PM by Howard Bashman



“Trump administration continues to try to ban international students from attending Harvard; In an appeals hearing, Harvard urged judges to not let the administration set a ‘hugely dangerous precedent’”: Michaela Towfighi of The Boston Globe has this report.

Sebastian B. Connolly and Summer E. Rose of The Harvard Crimson report that “Government Lawyer Says Trump Likely to Reissue Ban on Harvard’s International Students if Court Order Lifted.”

Nina Pullano of Courthouse News Service reports that “Harvard fights DHS attempt to restore foreign student ban; The Trump administration claimed the sanction was punishment for Harvard leadership failing to crack down on pro-Palestinian protests and for failing to provide foreign student visa data that the university says it wasn’t required to maintain.”

And Brian Dowling of Bloomberg Law reports that “Trump Wants New Harvard Foreign Student Ban, DOJ Tells Court.”

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

Posted at 7:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Oligarchy’s Bench: Ten Federal Judges Rewriting the American Economy.” Demand Justice and Groundwork Collaborative have posted this report online today.

Posted at 7:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justice Dept. Turns to Partisans and Conspiracists to Fill Depleted Ranks; The civil rights unit has recruited people whose questionable work histories and dearth of education and experience might have disqualified them in the past, former officials said”: Glenn Thrush of The New York Times has this report.

Posted at 5:40 PM by Howard Bashman