Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Court Upholds Challenge to Abortion Limit
The Associated Press reports, “A federal appeals court declared the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional Tuesday, saying the measure is vague and lacks an exception for cases in which a woman's health is at stake.”
Alito Is Sworn In as Justice After 58-42 Vote to Confirm Him
“Samuel A. Alito Jr., who has been widely praised for his intellect and integrity but both admired and assailed for his conservative judicial philosophy, was sworn in today as the 110th justice in the history of the Supreme Court.” According to The New York Times, “The ceremony, at the Supreme Court, came shortly after Justice Alito was confirmed by a sharply divided Senate, which voted 58 to 42, largely along party lines.”
DNA Tests Gain Ground as Legal Defense
“When Alan Crotzer emerged from a Tampa courthouse last week a free man, he became the fifth person in Florida and the 173rd nationwide to be cleared from a wrongful conviction by DNA testing,” reports The Christian Science Monitor. “But his exoneration after serving 24 years of a 130-year sentence for a crime he didn't commit is significant for another reason. It marks a possible turning point in how Florida prosecutors and lawmakers approach DNA testing.”
Open Courtroom Urged in Hamas Case
The Chicago Tribune reports that they and more than 20 advocacy groups representing civil rights activists, the Arab-American community and others urged a federal judge Monday not to close her courtroom when Israeli security agents testify at a hearing in March. According to the report, “Lawyers for the Tribune and for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed court papers on behalf of 22 organizations and seven individuals, contend that the agents' testimony is of great interest to the public and that less extreme measures could protect their safety.”
Md. Court Rules Spam Law Applies to All
“Annoying e-mails offering home financing deals or other offers can violate Maryland law, even if they're sent from out of state, a state appeals court judge ruled. According to The Home News Tribune, “Court of Special Appeals Judge Sally D. Adkins rejected an argument by a New York state marketer who said he could not be punished for violating Maryland law because he had no way of knowing whether his e-mails would be opened in Maryland.”
Bush Names Five to Federal Bench
“President Bush last Wednesday,” reports Law.com, “acted to fill four vacancies on the U.S. District Court and one on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.”
Judge Hears Case On Kansas Juvenile Sex Law
According to Headline Legal News, “A federal judge has begun hearing testimony about whether doctors, nurses and other health care professionals in Kansas should be forced to report instances of underage sex to authorities.” “The decision could set a legal precedent across the nation because federal courts have not dealt much with the rights of adolescents to informational privacy, said Bonnie Scott Jones, attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights.”
Monday, January 30, 2006
Court Makes Child Pornography Downloads a 20-Year Felony
“The Michigan Court of Appeals has set a statewide precedent by unanimously ruling in favor of the Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office position in the ongoing child-pornography case against former Egelston Township Treasurer Brian Lee Hill.” “The higher court Wednesday,” according to The Muskegon Chronicle, “released an opinion upholding the prosecutor's position that Hill is properly charged with ‘making’ or ‘manufacturing’ child pornography -- a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison -- for allegedly downloading commercial Internet photographs of child sex onto computer disks for his personal use.”
Friday, January 27, 2006
Hearing Set on Lethal Injections
“A federal judge on Thursday set a Feb. 9 hearing to consider a condemned inmate's claims that California's lethal injection procedures violate the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment,” reports The Los Angeles Times. According to the report, “U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose refused to call an immediate halt to Michael A. Morales' Feb. 21 execution, but agreed to hear a motion for a preliminary injunction well before the death date.”
DNA Clears Inmate, Brother Confesses
According to CNN, “A man who spent 18 years in prison for sexual assault was freed Thursday after DNA evidence exonerated him, and his brother admitted responsibility for the attack.”
Federal Magistrate Dismisses Charges Against Md. Peace Activists
“A federal magistrate judge yesterday dismissed charges against two peace activists who were cited after a visit to the National Security Agency where they wanted to meet with the director of the secretive agency that conducts surveillance for the government,” reports The First Amendment Center.
ID Check at US Airports Not Unconstitutional
Reuters reports, “Airlines and the U.S government have the right to keep passengers from boarding planes if they refuse to show personal identification, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday.” According to the court, “’The Constitution does not guarantee the right to travel by any particular form of transportation.’"
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Sex Overseas May Fall Under U.S. Jurisdiction
The New York Sun reports, “A federal appeals court panel yesterday upheld the government's authority to punish Americans for patronizing child prostitutes overseas, but one judge dissented from the ruling, warning that the law in question goes beyond Congress's power under the Constitution to regulate foreign commerce.”
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Justices to Hear Lethal Injection Challenge
According to CNN, “The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to hear a Florida death row inmate's appeal that challenges the state's lethal injection method, just hours after the court dramatically stepped in to stop the man's execution.” According to the report Clarence Hill, the death row inmate making the appeal, argues that the three chemicals used in Florida’s lethal injection method of execution constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
High Court Delays Fla. Inmate Execution
“A death row inmate won a stay from the Supreme Court Tuesday night about an hour after he was scheduled to be executed for killing a police officer,” reports the Associated Press. “Clarence Hill claimed he is mentally retarded and also challenged the state's use of execution drugs as cruel.”
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Senate Panel Votes Along Party Lines to Endorse Alito
According to The New York Times, “The Senate Judiciary Committee voted strictly along party lines today to endorse Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. for a seat on the Supreme Court, sending the nomination to the full Senate, where confirmation is all but certain.”
Sentencing Speeches Upheld by 9th Circuit
Law.com reports, “Crime victims must be given a chance to literally have their say in court before sentencing, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.”
An Alternative to Incarceration
The San Francisco Chronicle has this article discussing San Francisco's Behavioral Health Court, which is part of a two-decade-long push in American jurisprudence to find alternative methods to incarcerating people who are mentally ill or repeat drug-use offenders. According to the report, “The ‘problem-solving courts,’ as they are known, emerged in the 1980s with drug courts and are growing out of a recognition that, for some, doing time in prison will not prevent further crime and will be more costly to taxpayers than treatment.”
Federal Judge Tosses Fla. City's Anti-Nudity Laws
The First Amendment Center reports, “A federal judge struck down Daytona Beach’s anti-nudity laws, saying they are unconstitutional.” “U.S. District Judge John Antoon decided on Jan. 20 that Daytona Beach’s laws prohibiting public nudity and nudity in places that sell alcohol violate the First and 14th Amendments’ protections of free speech and equal protection.”
War Protester Sentenced for Trespassing
“A peace activist was sentenced Monday to six months in prison for splattering his own blood at a military recruiting station to protest the then-looming war in Iraq.” According to the Associated Press, “Daniel Burns was the first of four activists to be sentenced this week for splattering their blood onto the windows, walls, pictures and an American flag at the Army and Marine Corps recruiting station on March 17, 2003.”
DNA Evidence Frees Fla. Man
“Alan Crotzer stepped into the warm sunlight outside the courthouse yesterday and raised his arms to the sky, celebrating his freedom after more than 24 years behind bars for crimes he didn't commit.” According to The Boston Globe, “A judge freed Crotzer, 45, after DNA testing and other evidence convinced prosecutors he was not involved in the 1981 armed robbery and rapes that led to his 130-year prison sentence.”
Monday, January 23, 2006
States Can Be Sued Under Bankruptcy Law
According to Reuters, “States can be sued in certain bankruptcy proceedings, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a case that pitted state powers against those of the federal government.”
Court Won't Hear Judicial Elections Case
“The Supreme Court refused Monday to decide whether states can restrict candidates for judgeships from participating in political party activities and soliciting campaign contributions.” “By doing so,” Associated Press reports, “the justices let stand a controversial lower court decision that voided rules that Minnesota and 30 other states have adopted to keep elections nonpartisan.”
Supreme Court Sidesteps Campaign Finance
The Associated Press reports, “The Supreme Court said Monday that a lower court should take a new look at a challenge to federal restrictions on political advertisements, delaying a major ruling on the constitutionality of ad limits until after this year's elections.” According to the report “Justices could have used the case, brought by an anti-abortion group, to spell out when so-called grass-roots ads are allowed at election time.”
Calif. High Court Won't Hear Suit Alleging Disclosure of Medical Info
FindLaw reports, “The California Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by a woman who claimed that a fertility clinic violated the state's Confidentiality of Medical Information Act when it disclosed details of her medical treatment to her ex-fiancé.”
Friday, January 20, 2006
Federal Judge Blasts Mandatory Minimum Sentences
“Forced to impose a sentence he deemed unjust,” reports Law.com, “a Northern District of New York judge took sharp aim last week at a federal statute that required him to impose a life-without-parole term on a 32-year-old ‘relatively small-time drug dealer’ with an IQ of 72.”
Thursday, January 19, 2006
5th Circuit 'Miranda' Case Muddies the Waters
“For nearly 40 years appellate courts have disagreed about whether police must tell defendants they have a right to counsel during interrogation, as well as before questioning, as part of the Miranda warning.” But Law.com reports, “In a recent Texas death penalty case, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has required since 1968 that the defendant be ‘clearly informed’ of a right to a lawyer during interrogation, decided it wants it both ways.”
Some Justices Seem to Rethink Campaign-Finance Ruling
According to The First Amendment Center, “It was deja vu all over again at the Supreme Court yesterday, as justices reprised the First Amendment debate over provisions of the federal campaign-finance law that restrict electioneering ads just before an election.” “Yesterday, presented with a real-life challenge by a Wisconsin antiabortion group that had to yank its advertisements off the air because of the restrictions on electioneering ads, some justices appeared to have second thoughts while others appeared annoyed that the issue was being revisited at all.”
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Supreme Court Affirms N.H. Abortion Law
“The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday,” according to the Associated Press, “that a lower court was wrong to strike down New Hampshire abortion restrictions, steering clear of a major ruling on whether such laws place an undue burden on women.”
High Court Declines to Hear Cases Involving Firefighters, Protesters, Reputed Mobster
This article by Law.com discusses some of the issues that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear yesterday, including cases involving firefighters, anti-war protesters, and a reputed mobster.
High Court Turns Away Anti-War Protester's Appeal
According to The First Amendment Center, The Supreme Court yesterday rejected an appeal from an anti-war protester who was convicted of violating the boundaries of a "restricted area" established during President Bush's visit to South Carolina in 2002.
7th Circuit Reinstates Challenge to Faith-Based Initiative
“A Madison-based group can sue the federal government over claims that President Bush's faith-based initiative is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, a federal appeals court panel has ruled,” reports The First Amendment Center.
3rd Circuit OKs Dismissal of Mutual Fund Investors' Suit Against Enron
“In a suit that directly stemmed from the spectacular demise of Enron Inc.,” reports Law.com, “a federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of securities claims brought by investors in a mutual fund that lost $900 million by waiting to sell its Enron holdings until just two days before the company's bankruptcy.”
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Supreme Court Upholds Oregon Suicide Law
According to The Washington Post, “The Supreme Court upheld Oregon's one-of-a-kind physician-assisted suicide law Tuesday, rejecting a Bush administration attempt to punish doctors who help terminally ill patients die.”
Chinese Detainees' Lawyers Will Take Case to High Court
“Lawyers for a group of Chinese nationals held in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with no hope of release are taking the rare step of asking the Supreme Court to intervene immediately,” reports The Washington Post, “saying only the high court can resolve the constitutional crisis their case presents.”
Senate Judiciary Committee to Vote on Alito Nomination on Jan. 24
“The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court on Jan. 24, officials announced Monday night, and the full Senate will begin debate the following day,” reports FindLaw.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Who'll Be the Supreme Court's Next Swinger?
Law.com has this article analyzing the question, “Who'll Be the Supreme Court's Next Swinger?”
Challenge to Bush Initiative Reinstated
“A group can sue the federal government over claims that President Bush's faith-based initiative is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, a federal appeals court ruled,” reports the Associated Press.
Deportation of Ex-Nazi Camp Guard Upheld by U.S. Appeals Court
According to FindLaw, “A federal appeals court has upheld a decision to strip a former Nazi concentration camp guard of his U.S. citizenship, clearing the way for his deportation.”
Head of Guantanamo Defense: Prosecution Team is Four Times the Size Defense Team
FindLaw reports, “There are four times as many prosecutors as defenders for the trials of terror suspects by a military commission at Guantanamo Bay and the defense team needs more staff, the chief defense counsel said Thursday.”
10th Circuit Asked to Throw Out Colo. Criminal-Libel Law
According to The First Amendment Center, “An 1800s-era state law that allows people to be jailed for the content of their speech or writing should be thrown out, an attorney for the editor of an online newsletter argued before a federal appellate court this week.”
Alito Hearings Unsettle Some Prevailing Wisdom About the Politics of Abortion
“Just a little over a year ago, senators of both parties said publicly that it would be almost impossible for a Supreme Court nominee who disagreed openly with the major abortion rights precedents to win confirmation.” “But,” The New York Times reports, “partisans on either side now say that last week's confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. cast doubt on such assumptions.”
Friday, January 13, 2006
Judge Grants Earlobes Their Day in Court
“Fingerprints, blood, fibers and DNA have set the falsely accused free. But earlobes?” The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, “A federal judge has cleared the way for a University of Pennsylvania Museum forensic anthropologist who studies differences in human ears to testify at the trial of a Philadelphia man charged with robbing a local bank.”
Few Glimmers of How Conservative Judge Alito Is
“In over 18 hours responding to some 700 questions at his Supreme Court confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. mostly described a methodical and incremental approach to the law rooted in no particular theory,” reports The New York Times. “But to the extent Judge Alito claimed a judicial philosophy, it aligned him with the court's two most conservative members, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.”
Alito Endorses Free Speech in Public Square
The First Amendment Center reports, “Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito expressed strong support for freedom of speech in the public square during his confirmation hearings yesterday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.” “Responding to questions from Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, the judge also addressed limits on free speech in public and discussed legal distinctions that have been drawn between commercial speech and political speech.”
Court Dismisses Yahoo Free Speech Suit
“A federal appeals court on Thursday,” according to FindLaw, “skirted answering whether Yahoo Inc. was liable to pay a fine of about $15 million to a Paris court for displaying Nazi memorabilia for sale in violation of French law.”
White House Asks High Court to Toss Appeal
The Bush administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to dismiss an appeal by a terror suspect, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay. According to the Associated Press, “Solicitor General Paul Clement based the request on a new law the Bush administration says sharply limits challenges to the detention of hundreds of suspected al-Qaida and Taliban operatives.”
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Challenge to N.Y. Contraception Law Nixed
According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, “An appeals court on Thursday rejected a challenge by Roman Catholic groups to a state law that requires employers to offer prescription contraceptives.”
NYC Sued Over Right to Shoot Video, Pictures in Public
According to The First Amendment Center, “The New York Civil Liberties Union sued the city yesterday, challenging restrictions on people's right to photograph public places after an award-winning filmmaker from India was blocked from videotaping near the MetLife building.”
'Mary Doe' Rebuffed in Effort to Overturn Ruling
“Sandra Cano, once the anonymous Georgia plaintiff 'Mary Doe,' whose case was a companion to Roe v. Wade, has been rebuffed in her bid to overturn the landmark decision that legalized abortion.” According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said Wednesday that it could not grant relief to plaintiffs seeking to overturn a case they had already won.”
How Will Alito and Roberts Shape the Court?
The Legal Affairs Debate Club has this article discussing the similarities between Chief Justice John Roberts and Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, and how their experiences at the Office of the Solicitor General will shape the modern Supreme Court and its rulings.
Mass. Judge Bans 'Stop Snitching' Shirts
According to ABC News, “A top Massachusetts judge has banned clothing bearing the phrase ‘Stop Snitching’ and outlawed camera phones in the state's courthouses in an effort to counter a rising climate of witness intimidation.”
U.S. Judge: Unborn Children Don't Count When it Comes to Carpool Lanes
FindLaw reports that according to an Arizona judge, unborn children do not count when it comes to carpool lanes. “Even after being fined $367 for improper use of a High Occupancy Vehicle lane, Candace Dickinson stood by her contention that Arizona traffic laws don't define what a person is, so the child inside her womb justified her use of the lane.”
Alito Discusses Religious Liberties
The First Amendment Center reports, “Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito spoke at length about religious liberties and gave qualified approval of news photography in courtrooms during his third day of confirmation hearings today.”
High Court Debates Scope of New Evidence of Innocence
According to FindLaw, “Paul Gregory House, convicted of murder and on death row, wants to know how much more evidence he has to produce to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to allow a judge to take another look at his case.”
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
In 3rd Day of Hearings, Alito Draws Criticism and Praise
“Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court,” reports The New York Times, “sat through another day of high praise from Republicans and sharp skepticism from Democrats today as he cautiously laid out his judicial philosophy, including a belief that American judges should not be guided by the laws of other countries in coming to their decisions.”
Justices Split Over Death Penalty
“A divided Supreme Court reinstated a California inmate's death sentence on Wednesday, the first 5-4 vote under newly installed Chief Justice John Roberts.” According to CNN, “Justices overturned an appeals court ruling that declared Ronald Sanders' sentence unconstitutional.”
U.S. Judge Says Police Wrong to Arrest Sikh Student for Carrying Knives
A Detroit judge has ruled, according to FindLaw, that Police at Wayne State University should not have arrested a student for carrying knives that were part of his Sikh religious beliefs.
Ohio Court Hears Case on Eminent Domain
“Long before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last summer that municipalities could seize homes for a private economic development project, Joy and Carl Gamble filed a lawsuit to save their house.” Forbes reports, “The couple contests the city's decision to declare their neighborhood in the Cincinnati suburb of Norwood as blighted so it can be redeveloped. They believe the city is misusing its power of eminent domain.”
California Parents File Suit Over Origins of Life Course
The New York Times reports, “A group of parents are suing their small California school district to force it to cancel a four-week high school elective on intelligent design, creationism and evolution that it is offering as a philosophy course.”
Judge Alito Proves a Powerful Match for Senate Questioners
“If Senate Democrats had set out to portray Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. as extreme on issues ranging from abortion to government surveillance of citizens, they ran up against an elusive target on Tuesday: Samuel A. Alito Jr.” “For nearly eight hours,” according to The New York Times, “Judge Alito was placid, monochromatic and, it seemed, mostly untouchable.”
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Presidential Power Has Limits, Alito Tells Senators
“Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. said today that he agreed with the principle that a president does not have ‘a blank check’ in terms of power, especially during wartime.” According to The New York Times, the Supreme Court nominee believes that “The Constitution applies in times of peace and war,” and “The Bill of Rights applies at all times.”
Court Rules on State Immunity, 2 Other Issues
Scotusblog has this post providing a summary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions that it issued yesterday.
Criminal Libel Law in Hands of Court
According to The Rocky Mountain News, “A lawyer for a student who mocked a University of Northern Colorado professor in an online satirical journal urged federal appeals judges Monday to declare Colorado's criminal libel law unconstitutional.” “They argue that the law - one of only 17 in the nation - unfairly inhibits free expression by holding the threat of criminal prosecution over people's heads.”
Court Lets Univ. of Texas Block Spam
“The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in a dispute between the University of Texas and an online dating service upset that the school blocked thousands of unsolicited e-mails.” The Associated Press reports, “The high court let stand a federal appeals court's ruling that UT did not violate the constitutional rights of White Buffalo Ventures when it blocked 59,000 e-mails in 2003.”
Court Upholds Man's Mandatory Sentence
“A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the mandatory 55-year prison sentence given to a man convicted of carrying a handgun during three marijuana deals.” According to the Associated Press, “The three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the sentence was constitutional because it reflected Congress' intent to severely punish crimes involving drugs and guns.”
Judge Blocks Timber Sales in Three States
“A federal judge who struck down a Bush administration decision to ease logging restrictions last summer issued an injunction Monday blocking as many as 144 timber sales in three states,” reports The Houston Chronicle.
Focus of Hearings Quickly Turns to Limits of Presidential Power
“The opinion is more than 50 years old, and it is not even binding precedent.” “But,” according to The New York Times, “just minutes into the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., it took center stage and seemed to lay the groundwork for the questions he will face concerning his views on the limits of presidential power.”
At Confirmation Hearing, Alito Says Judge Should Have No Agenda
Law.com has this article: “High Court Declines Cases Involving Strip Clubs, Cigarettes, Religion.”
Monday, January 09, 2006
Court to Hear Six New Cases
According to Scotusblog, “The Supreme Court on Friday granted review in six new cases, including a test of the authority of police without a warrant to enter a home to stop violence they see happening, and a test of the right of parents of a disabled child to recover the money they spent to hire an expert non-lawyer to help them win a controversy over placing their child in school. The Court also will hear a case on the remedy for a violation of the Speedy Trial Act.” Read more about the issues the Court will be addressing in these cases here.
10th Circuit: Only Legislature can Purge Unconstitutional Law
“Courts may overturn state laws they deem unconstitutional, but the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says only legislatures can take them off the books,” reports The First Amendment Center. Read more about the ruling here.
What To Expect From Alito Hearings
Noting that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its second Supreme Court confirmation hearing in four months, Lexis has this article detailing what to expect in this week’s confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court.
Supreme Court to Hear Police Search Case
According to Law.com, “The Supreme Court said Friday it would clarify when police can enter a home without a search warrant, in a case involving Utah officers who watched a fight through a window.”
Two Legal Careers That Diverged May Intertwine Again
The New York Times has this article describing the divergence of Judge Alito’s and Chief Justice Robert’s legal careers in the Reagan administration. The article begins, “Not long after the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, two young lawyers moved into cramped offices along the same hallway on the fifth floor of the Justice Department's headquarters.”
Friday, January 06, 2006
Supreme Court Will Decide on Hearing Partial-Birth Abortion Case Soon
According to LifeNews.com, “The Supreme Court on Friday is expected to decide whether or not it will review a federal appeals court ruling striking down the national ban on partial-birth abortions.”
Alito Foes Consider Presidential Powers the Defining Issue
According to The Boston Globe, “Senate Democrats began building a case yesterday against the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr. centering on his deference to executive power, setting the stage for next week's confirmation hearings to become a battle over President Bush's contentions that he can bypass torture and surveillance laws.”
International Suit Filed Against Cops for Ignoring Mom’s Pleas
The New Standard reports, “No one denied that the murder of the three little girls by their father was a tragedy, but a dispute over whether the government shared responsibility for the killings has rippled all the way from a small Colorado town to an international tribunal.”
Florida Supreme Court Blocks School Vouchers
The New York Times reports, “In a ruling expected to reverberate through battles over school choice in many states, the Florida Supreme Court struck down a voucher program yesterday for students attending failing schools, saying the State Constitution bars Florida from using taxpayer money to finance a private alternative to the public system.”
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Surveillance Court Is Seeking Answers
According to The Washington Post, “Several judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said they want to hear directly from administration officials why President Bush believed he had the authority to order, without the court's permission, wiretapping of some phone calls and e-mails after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.”
Alito Likely to Be Grilled More Than Roberts
“Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. will face a more intensive Senate grilling next week than Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. experienced last year,” according to The Washington Post, “because of concerns over secret surveillance of Americans and Alito's lengthy record of conservative rulings.”
Justices Let U.S. Transfer Padilla to Civilian Custody
According to The New York Times, “The Supreme Court late Wednesday granted the Bush administration's request to transfer the terrorism suspect Jose Padilla from military to civilian custody, ending an odd two-week standoff over where he should be held while the justices decide whether to hear his case.”
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Alito Gets High Marks From Bar Association
“Judge Samuel Alito on Wednesday gained the American Bar Association's highest rating for a Supreme Court nominee,” reports The Washington Post, “giving him a boost before next week's Senate confirmation hearings.”
The 'Judicial Philosophy' Dodge
Christianity Today has this article discussing the arbitrariness attached to today’s use of phrases such as “judicial philosophy,” “activist judges,” and “legislating from the bench.”
Court Rules Oregon Archdiocese, not Parishes, Owns Property
“A bankruptcy judge ruled on Dec. 30 that the Archdiocese of Portland, not its parishes, owns church assets, dealing a major blow to its efforts to protect church property from lawsuits filed by alleged victims of priest sex abuse,” reports The First Amendment Center. Rejecting the archdiocese’s claim that applying federal law instead of church law could violate its First Amendment right to religious freedom, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris ruled that church property and real estate are under the control of the archdiocese, not its individual parishes.
U.S. to Seek Dismissal of Guantánamo Suits
“The Bush administration notified federal trial judges in Washington that it would soon ask them to dismiss all lawsuits brought by prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, challenging their detentions, Justice Department officials said Tuesday.” According to The New York Times, the action means that the administration is moving swiftly to take advantage of an amendment to the military bill that President Bush signed into law last Friday, which strips federal courts from hearing habeas corpus petitions from Guantánamo detainees.
Court Upholds Random Searches
Wyoming’s Casper Star Tribune reports, “The Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that probation orders allowing defendants to be searched at the whim of law enforcement officers are permissible under the U.S. Constitution.”
Poll Shows Americans Are Divided On Support for Alito Confirmation
According to The Wall Street Journal, “Americans lack consensus on whether the Senate should confirm Judge Samuel Alito as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.” “Almost equal thirds of all adults believe that Judge Alito should be confirmed (34%), should not be confirmed (31%) or say they aren't sure (34%), according to the poll.”
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Move to Scuttle Hamdan, Al Odah Cases?
Scotusblog has this report: “The Bush Administration appears to be preparing to try to scuttle the two most significant pending cases on the legal rights of foreign nationals now being held at the terrorism prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.” According to the report, “President Bush himself signaled this strategy of challenge in a statement last Friday that got little mention in the media, during the holiday lull.”
Alito Once Made Case For Presidential Power
“As a young Justice Department lawyer,” The Washington Post reports, “Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. tried to help tip the balance of power between Congress and the White House a little more in favor of the executive branch.”
7th Circuit Backs GM Program Accused of Religious Discrimination
“A General Motors Corp. program that lets Hispanics, blacks or lesbians -- but not Christians -- organize in employee groups does not commit religious discrimination, a federal court ruled." Law.com reports that the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals justified this result by noting that the company’s diversity program at issue treats all religions equally because no groups are allowed to promote religious positions.
Judge Upholds Prayer Limits in Ind. State House
The Washington Post reports, “In a spirited duel over prayer, members of the Indiana state House are at odds with a federal judge who ruled that the daily invocation appeals too often to Jesus Christ and a Christian god.” “The ‘systematically sectarian’ prayers, U.S. District Judge David F. Hamilton concluded, are barred by the Constitution, which forbids the government to show preference for any religious denomination.”
Justices Get Case Where Death Row, DNA Collide
“The major death penalty case before the Supreme Court this year reads like a ‘whodunit,’ as one judge put it. But if there is doubt about who did it, should the defendant be on death row?” The Los Angeles Times has this report discussing the issues involved in the case, and the effect the new make up of the court will have on the issues.
Landmark Pennsylvania Abortion Case to be Prime Topic at Alito Hearing
According to FindLaw, “Samuel Alito's decision as a U.S. federal appeals judge to uphold a 1980s Pennsylvania abortion restriction - later overturned by the Supreme Court - is likely to draw some of the toughest scrutiny at his upcoming confirmation hearing.”
