Friday, October 11, 2002

NEW ON THE WEB...
Unsealed Moussaoui pleadings reveal more frustration
Handwritten pro se pleadings of Zacarias Moussaoui released Friday in redacted form by order of US District Judge Leonie Brinkema reveal more of Moussaoui's frustration with his Standby Counsel and the US Government. A pleading from October 7[PDF] asks that Standby Counsel Frank Dunham be "expulsed" from Moussaoui's case; a pleading from October 1[PDF] complains that the US Government's efforts to bar Moussaoui from discussing "particularly sensitive documents" are motivated by political considerations and that obeying such an order "will be signing my death warrant." In a direct jab at US Attorney General John Ashcroft Moussaoui added in the latter pleading that "apparently Ashcroft does not mind sending me classified documents so long as the information dies with me," a reference to the Government's accidental transfer of classified materials to Moussaoui earlier this year.
MORE ON JURIST: MOUSSAOUI TRIAL NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 9:44 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Arizona Supreme Court: surcharges on fines can fund campaigns
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled[PDF] Friday that surcharges collected on on criminal and traffic fines could be used to provide public funding for political campaigns, denying that the fee infringed on payers' constitutional free-speech rights.
MORE ON JURIST: CASES & STATUTES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 8:36 PM | #

BOOK REPORTS...
Derrick Bell, Ken Starr, and terrorism
The Christian Science Monitor reviews Derrick Bell, Ethical Ambition: Living a Life of Meaning and Worth (don't miss the book's website at EthicalAmbition.com); the American Lawyer reviews Kenneth Starr, First Among Equals: The Supreme Court in American Life, and FindLaw reviews David Cole and James X. Dempsey, Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 8:26 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Senator Specter on Iraq resolution, Homeland Security and judicial nominees
Senator Arlen Specter, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, held a news conference Friday in which he talked about the Senate's Iraq resolution, the Homeland Security Bill, and judicial nominees.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 3:48 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Lessig: "The Rule of Law and the Information Age"
Watch Stanford Law Professor and Eldred litigator Lawrence Lessig speaking Thursday at Catholic University School of Law in Washington DC on "The Rule of Law and the Information Age: Reconciling Private Rights and Public Interest."
MORE ON JURIST: LAW SCHOOL WEBCASTS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 11:45 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Leahy defends Judiciary Committee progress, Shedd treatment
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy has made a statement defending the record of his committee and his contentious handling of the nomination of Dennis Shedd.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 11:14 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Carter wins Nobel Peace Prize for human rights work
[UPDATED]The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Friday that it was awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002 to former US President Jimmy Carter, for his "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." President Carter has issued an acceptance statement. President Bush called President Carter early Friday morning to congratulate him. More on President Carter's initiatives from the Carter Center.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 7:32 AM | #

OPINION WATCH...
Times supports Eldred, WashPost bemoans judicial delay
A New York Times editorial Friday called for the Supreme Court to rule for the plaintiffs in the Eldred case and find the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act unconstitutional, while the Washington Post complained that the Senate Judiciary Committee's progress on judicial nominations, especially those of Professor Michael McConnell and Miguel Estrada, has been too slow.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 7:23 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Senate passes Iraq use of force resolution
Early Friday morning the Senate passed a joint resolution giving President Bush authority to use military force against Iraq. The vote was 77-23. Following the vote the President issued a brief statement commending the Senate.
MORE ON JURIST: IRAQ NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 7:08 AM | #

SUPREME COURT WATCH...
No oral arguments
This Friday is designated as a "Conference Day" at the US Supreme Court. There are no oral arguments scheduled.
MORE ON JURIST: US SUPREME COURT
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 6:48 AM | #

THIS DAY IN LEGAL HISTORY...
Birth of Harlan Fiske Stone
On this day in 1872, Harlan Fiske Stone, future Columbia Law School dean (1910-1924), US Attorney General under President Calvin Coolidge (1924-25), US Supreme Court Associate Justice (1925-41) and Chief Justice (1941-46), was born in Chesterfield, New Hampshire. As part of a political compromise, Stone became the first Supreme Court nominee to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, testifying for five hours on January 28, 1925.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 6:30 AM | #

Thursday, October 10, 2002

NEW ON THE WEB...
House passes election reform bill
The House of Representatives Thursday evening passed the election reform bill that it received from a Senate-House conference committee last Friday (reported on JURIST). House Speaker Dennis Hastert praised the passage of the legislation, but the ACLU said the bill "would disenfranchise whole classes of Americans by erecting new bureaucratic hurdles for voters."
MORE ON JURIST: ELECTION REFORM NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 10:26 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Moussaoui and Standby Counsel fight over website
Standby Counsel for Zacarias Moussaoui filed papers[PDF] in US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia Thursday, asking Judge Leonie Brinkema to deny Moussaoui's request that Standby Counsel include certain materials on an internet-based litigation support system designed for managing the review of non-classified discovery, and that the website be updated daily and include even work in process. Standby Counsel argued that the administration of the website, including the determination as to what should be loaded onto it, should be left to the discretion of the Federal Public Defender operating with the advice from technical consultants experienced in the use of litigation support systems. The ostensibly-technical dispute reflects ongoing disagreements between Moussaoui and Standby Counsel as to who is, or should be, running Moussaoui's pro se defense.
MORE ON JURIST: MOUSSAOUI TRIAL NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 9:36 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
President announces 4 new nominations to federal bench
President Bush announced Thursday that he would nominate four individuals to the federal bench: Cormac J. Carney to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California, John R. Adams to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio; Thomas A. Varlan to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee; and J. Daniel Breen to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee.
MORE ON JURIST: JUDGES NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 8:41 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Citing possible bias, Hague war crimes court dismisses Milosevic lawyer
[UPDATED] Judges from the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia dismissed one of the court-appointed lawyers for Slobodan Milosevic Thursday, saying that comments made by the attorney might suggest bias against the former Yugoslav President. Milosevic is conducting his own defence but continues to have two lawyers who were appointed by the Tribunal to ensure that he receives a fair trial.
MORE ON JURIST: MILOSEVIC TRIAL NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 8:37 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
House approves Iraq Use of Force resolution
[UPDATED] The House of Representatives has approved the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution by a vote of 296-133. Democratic House leader Dick Gephardt voted for the Resolution , although most of its opponents were also Democrats. President Bush thanked the House for their "very strong bipartisan vote." House Democrats who had opposed the resolution held a briefing after the vote [video via C-SPAN]. The ACLU warned that the resolution, while significantly improved from the President's original proposal, posed a danger to the war powers granted to Congress by the Constitution.
MORE ON JURIST: IRAQ NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 3:22 PM | #

NEW ON JURIST...
Deanship at Texas Wesleyan, faculty slots at Oregon
Texas Wesleyan University invites nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the School of Law. Also, the University of Oregon School of Law seeks candidates for full-time and possible full-time positions in business and business-related areas, plus legal profession, evidence, bankruptcy, creditors' rights, intellectual property, tax, labor law, admiralty, and law of the sea.
MORE ON JURIST: LAW TEACHING JOBS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 2:43 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
FBI warns state, local law enforcement of possible al Qaeda attack
The FBI has warned state and local law enforcement authorities of a possible major al Qaeda attack against US economic interests, based on messages from al Qaeda leaders broadcast Sunday and Tuesday, combined with information derived from detainees. The FBI indicated, however, that it had "no information on a specific time, date or location of an attack," and advised authorities to "review and implement additional prudent steps to detect, disrupt, deter and defend against potential attacks."
MORE ON JURIST: FBI NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 1:49 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
World Court awards oil-rich peninsula to Cameroon over Nigeria
[UPDATED]The International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled Thursday that Africa's oil-rich Bakassi peninsula belongs to Cameroon, not Nigeria. The states had fought over the area several times, with Cameroon referring the case to the court in 1994. Both states have agreed to abide by the ICJ decision. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a statement commending the parties for resorting to the ICJ for a peaceful settlement of their dispute, and urged both parties to respect the judgment.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 1:35 PM | #

BOOK REPORTS...
Women and the law, divorce lawyers
From the latest Law & Politics Book Review, reviews of Jukie Novkov, Constituting Workers, Protecting Women: Gender, Law, and Labor in the Progressive Era and New Deal Years (arguing for a new interpretation of the US Supreme Court's 1937 ruling in West Coast Hotel v. Parrish), Susan James and Stephanie Palmer, eds., Visible Women: Essays on Feminist Legal Theory (an introductory volume), and Lynn Mather et al.,Divorce Lawyers at Work: Varieties of Professional in Practice (winner of the American Political Science Association’s 2002 C. Hermann Pritchett Award for the best book published in the Law and Courts field).
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 10:33 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
House Judiciary hearing on judicial vacancies
[UPDATED] The House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing Thursday on A Judiciary Diminished is Justice Denied: the Constitution, the Senate, and the Vacancy Crisis in the Federal Judiciary. Witnesses included Dr. John Eastman, Chapman University School of Law.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 8:25 AM | #

OPINION WATCH...
Lie-detectors, ballots and guns
In Thursday's papers, William Safire of the New York Times exposes "lie-detectors" and the Washington Post editorial writers cast their vote for new electoral reform legislation. Also in the WashPost, Jonathan Cowen calls for tougher guns laws as DC and Maryland cope with a sniper. In the legal press, Columbia law professor emerita Vivian Berger calls in the National Law Journal for new legislation to address voter disenfranchisement triggered by the operation of the criminal justice system, and on FindLaw Cardozo law professor Marci Hamilton suggests that the Constitution's protections of free expression constitute a reason for governments not to fund the arts, and especially poets-laureate in New Jersey.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 7:58 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
8th Circuit oral argument: the Internet and the Fourth Amendment
The US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Wednesday in US v. Bach, a case that raises the question of whether e-mail and other files stored by users with an Internet Service Provider, in this case Yahoo!, are protected under the Fourth Amendment. In sharp contrast to the US Supreme Court (see the laborious procedures for getting their oral argument transcripts, let alone recordings), the Eighth Circuit makes its oral argument recordings immediately available, so listen here . Amicus briefs filed in this case are also available online. Links courtesy Professor Orin Kerr (author of one of the amicus briefs), George Washington School of Law.
MORE ON JURIST: CASES & STATUTES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 7:33 AM | #

SUPREME COURT WATCH...
There are no oral arguments scheduled for Thursday at the US Supreme Court.
MORE ON JURIST: US SUPREME COURT
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 7:32 AM | #

THIS DAY IN LEGAL HISTORY...
Outer space demilitarized
On this day in 1967, the Outer Space Treaty demilitarizing outer space entered into force.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 7:30 AM | #

Wednesday, October 09, 2002

NEW ON THE WEB...
10th Circuit says Mormons can't restrict speech on sidewalks
The US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the Mormon Church could not restrict speech on sidewalks running through downtown land it owned in Denver because sidewalks are a traditional public forum.
MORE ON JURIST: CASES AND STATUTES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 9:49 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
9th circuit upholds Arizona abortion consent law
A divided US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled Wednesday that an Arizona law requiring minors to get parental consent to have an abortion was constitutonally valid. The Court said that given a recent US Supreme Court ruling required states with abortion consent laws to allow girls under 18 to seek the approval of a juvenile court judge for an abortion if they had no parent or guardian or did not want their parent or guardian to know, the privacy rights of girls seeking judicial approval were adequately protected.
MORE ON JURIST: CASES AND STATUTES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 9:22 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
9th Circuit: Census Bureau must disclose estimates
In a decision that could have a major impact on the distribution of federal funds to communities nationwide, the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled[PDF] that under federal open-information law the Census Bureau must release its internal estimates of how many people were missed when the U.S. population was counted in 2000.
MORE ON JURIST: CASES & STATUTES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 9:09 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Ashcroft announces indictment of charity head for passing funds to al Qaeda
Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Wednesday that a federal grand jury had indicted[PDF] Enaam Arnaout, the leader of a Chicago-area Islamic charity called the Benevolence International Foundation, on seven counts of funneling donations to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 7:30 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Bush on Estrada - again
Speaking Wednesday at a White House reception for Hispanic Heritage Month, President Bush again called upon the Senate Judiciary Committee to endorse the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals: "There are senators who are playing politics with this good man's nomination. There are senators who would rather not give him the benefit of the doubt; senators looking for a reason to defeat him, as opposed to looking for a reason to herald his intelligence, his capabilities, his talent. I strongly object to the way this man is going to be treated in the Senate. I urge the Senate to confirm the nomination of Miguel Estrada."
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 3:48 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Moussaoui pro se pleadings unsealed
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema Wednesday ordered[PDF] the unsealing of a range of handwritten pro se pleadings filed by accused terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui between August 30 and September 27, 2002. The pleadings - released in redacted form in accordance with US Government request - relate to Moussaoui's presentation of his own case without the alleged interference of Standby Counsel[PDF], obtaining the identity of witnesses against him[PDF], getting access to his e-mail account[PDF], and other matters.
MORE ON JURIST: MOUSSAOUI TRIAL NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 3:12 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
House Judiciary hearing on INS and LAX killer
[UPDATED]The House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims held a hearing Wednesday on "The Immigration and Naturalization Service’s (INS’s) Interactions with Hesham Mohamed Ali Hedayet," the Egyptian national who opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport on July 4, 2002, killing two people.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 2:48 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
6th Circuit: Kentucky legislature can't display Ten Commandments
[UPDATED]A divided US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled Wednesday that a 2000 resolution of the Kentucky legislature to raise a monument displaying the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state Capitol in Frankfort is unconstitutional as it amounted to a government endorsement of religion. The ACLU, which originally brought the suit on behalf of a diverse coalition of religious leaders and citizens, praised the decision.
MORE ON JURIST: CASES & STATUTES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 2:36 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Democratic leaders call for firing of SEC head
Following recent Senate criticism of the SEC for its failure to enforce regulations that might have avoided the Enron debacle, Democratic leaders Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt called Wednesday for President Bush to replace SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt. Chairman Pitt defended his record as recently as yesterday in a speech to a conference in London.
MORE ON JURIST: SEC NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 2:12 PM | #

SUPREME COURT WATCH...
Eldred scoop
[UPDATED] AP gets the scoop on this morning's Eldred v. Ashcroft oral arguments at the US Supreme Court. Their verdict: "Some justices seemed bothered by the retroactive extension [of the copyright law], enacted in 1998, which delayed the release of many old books and movies. But they seemed equally concerned about their standing to intervene." Also fresh from inside the courtroom are the bloggers from Yale's LawMeme, who regretfully report that, judging from the Court's reaction to Larry Lessig's arguments, Jack Valenti (President of the Motion Picture Association of America) may have something to smile about. Another Yale observer tells How Appealing's Howard Bashman that "Professor Lessig did not distinguish himself." SCOTUSblog, from the lawyers at Goldstein & Howe in DC, thinks there was no clear winner. For a techie non-lawyer's perspective from inside the courtroom, read what Kwindla Hultman Kramer has to say (link via CopyFight, which also reports that there are pictures online, from outside the Court, of course). Charles Lane has more in the Washington Post, as does Linda Greenhouse at the New York Times and Tony Mauro on Law.com.
MORE ON JURIST: US SUPREME COURT
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 12:17 PM | #

NEW ON JURIST...
Latest law reviews
This week - tables of contents of the latest law reviews received, including the latest issues of the Virginia Law Review and the Stanford Law Review. Also, what's catching our eye in the latest issue of the Current Index to Legal Periodicals, including articles on anti-bullying statutes, hockey violence, Bush v. Gore and the French Revolution(!), and much more.
MORE ON JURIST: NEW SCHOLARSHIP
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 11:20 AM | #

OP-ED WATCH...
WashPost on 3rd Circuit secret hearings decision
A Wednesday Washington Post editorial warns that yesterday's split Third Circuit ruling allowing security-related deportation hearings to be closed to the public (reported on JURIST) prevents there being any "political accountability" for Executive action.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 10:33 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Senate holds hearing on homeland security laws
[UPDATED]The Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information held a hearing Wednesday on Tools Against Terror: How the Administration is Implementing New Laws in the Fight to Protect Our Homeland [video via FedNet].
MORE ON JURIST: HOMELAND SECURITY NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 8:50 AM | #

SUPREME COURT WATCH...
More on NextWave
[UPDATED]Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times, Charles Lane of the Washington Post, and Tony Mauro of American Lawyer Media all agree that the Supreme Court leaned towards NextWave rather than the FCC in oral arguments yesterday.
MORE ON JURIST: US SUPREME COURT
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 7:39 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Rehnquist concerned about judicial budget freeze
In a letter to Congressional leaders released Tuesday, Chief Justice William Rehnquist expressed concern that funding the federal courts at the current level by a continuing resolution without a new budget would adversely affect the court system by severely curtailing post 9-11 security efforts, halting a month's worth of civil jury trials and forcing hiring freezes on court personnel, in particular probation officers. The US Courts website has posted a summary of the letter, pointing out that the Chief Justice was making this budget request for only the second time in his 16-year tenure.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 7:10 AM | #

SUPREME COURT WATCH...
Today's docket
[UPDATED]The US Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in Eldred v. Ashcroft [case summary from Northwestern; docket entry from SCOTUS; briefs from FindLaw] and Howsam v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. [case summary from Northwestern; docket entry from SCOTUS; briefs from FindLaw]. The Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review recently published a special symposium issue on the Eldred case. The Eldred plaintiffs and their legal team (led by Professor Lawrence Lessig of Stanford Law School) also have their own website. Warren Richey of the Christian Science Monitor takes stock of the Eldred case today while Marcia Coyle previews Howsam for Law.com.
MORE ON JURIST: US SUPREME COURT
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 6:35 AM | #

THIS DAY IN LEGAL HISTORY...
Roger Williams banished for preaching church-state separation
On this day in 1635, separatist Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts colony for preaching that civil government had no right to interfere in religious affairs.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 6:30 AM | #

Tuesday, October 08, 2002

NEW ON THE WEB...
Lessig on Eldred
With oral argument approaching Wednesday morning in the critical US Supreme Court copyright case of Eldred v. Ashcroft, Stanford law professor and lead Eldred litigator Laurence Lessig offers some final thoughts. Interestingly, his blog posting is dated October 9, 5:04 AM (tomorrow morning!). Perhaps Larry is anticipating a long night (or needs more sleep already)? Free the Mouse.
MORE ON JURIST: IP & PATENTS NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 5:42 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
President seeks, gets injunction stopping port lockout
[UPDATED] After the receiving the report of an official Board of Inquiry established Monday by Executive Order, President Bush announced Tuesday that he was instructing Attorney General John Ashcroft to seek an injunction under the Taft-Hartley Act to end the west coast port lockout. Attorney General Ashcroft issued a supporting statement. US District Judge William Alsup granted the injunction late Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco. For more on Taft-Hartley injunctions, see a 2001 Arizona Law Review article by University of Illinois professors Michael H. LeRoy & John H. Johnson IV entitled Death by Lethal Injunction: National Emergency Strikes Under the Taft-Hartley Act and the Moribund Right to Strike.
MORE ON JURIST: LABOR DISPUTES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 4:49 PM | #

SUPREME COURT WATCH...
Oral arguments in NextWave
[UPDATED] Just back from the Supreme Court, the lawyers at Goldstein & Howe have posted a first-hand report of Tuesday's oral arguments in FCC v. NextWave on their SCOTUSBlog. G&H supported amici in the case, but their blog pointedly walks the straight and narrow. Slate's Dahlia Lithwick has more on the NextWave arguments.
MORE ON JURIST: US SUPREME COURT
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 3:09 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Vote on Shedd nomination postponed
[UPDATED] Speaking Tuesday at an Executive Business Meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee called to consider judicial nominations and pending legislation, Committee Chair Senator Patrick Leahy said that a previously-scheduled debate and vote on the controversial nomination of Fourth Circuit judicial nominee Dennis Shedd was being postponed because "beginning the debate on the nomination of Judge Shedd would not result in a final vote today but might well have prevented Committee action on 17 other judicial nominees." Ranking Republican Senator Strom Thurmond objected vehemently (for details of their exchange and the apparently-heated debate that followed, see How Appealing). Senator Leahy also indicated that Committee deliberations on the other controversial nominations of Michael McConnell and Miguel Estrada were "not yet completed." As regards judicial nominations considered today, the nominations page on the Senate Judiciary Committee website has not yet been updated, and still shows Committee action pending for all 17 District Judge candidates.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 2:55 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Full opinion of NJ Supreme Court in Torricelli case
The New Jersey Supreme Court has issued its full Opinion[PDF] in the Torricelli ballot name replacement case, consistent with its original October 2 Order[PDF] allowing the New Jersey Democratic party to substitute another candidate's name for that of newly-resigned Senator Robert Torricelli.
MORE ON JURIST: CASES & STATUTES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 2:26 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Hawaii AG requests state ballot change
The Honolulu Advertiser reported Tuesday that, in a move evoking the recent rukus over a ballot replacement for former New Jersey Senator Robert Torricelli, Hawaii state Attorney General Earl Anzai will ask the state Supreme Court today to allow the Hawaii Democratic Party to appoint a new candidate to take the place of the late U.S. Representative Patsy Mink in the Nov. 5 general election. Republicans have objected to the move, as have some Democrats.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 12:43 PM | #

NEW ON JURIST...
Calls for papers
New calls for papers and participation for the Northern Kentucky Law Review, the Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, and the Conference on Social Informatics and Law at the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, University at Buffalo Law School.
MORE ON JURIST: CALLS FOR PAPERS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 12:30 PM | #

NEW ON JURIST...
Amicus brief in Bowers shrink-wrap case
Law.com leads Tuesday with an article on a law professors' amicus brief arising from Bowers v. Baystate Technologies asking the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to clarify whether intellectual property law pre-empts shrink-wrap license terms. Read the brief on JURIST, and find more academic amicus filings in JURIST's Amicus Archives, edited by University of Pittsburgh law professor - and Bowers brief co-signer - Michael Madison.
MORE ON JURIST: AMICUS ARCHIVES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 11:24 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
3rd Circuit says no public, press access to terrorism deportation hearings
[UPDATED] A panel of the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled[PDF] 2-1 on Tuesday that the public and the press have no First Amendment right of access to deportation hearings in "cases that are determined by the Attorney General to present significant national security concerns." The US Justice Department applauded the ruling. The ACLU, which had filed the brief for the appellees[PDF], expressed its disappointment. The decision creates a circuit split (see JURIST's report on a Sixth Circuit ruling from August 26) that will probably take the question to the United States Supreme Court. More from NPR's Nina Totenberg . Initial report via How Appealing.
MORE ON JURIST: CASES & STATUTES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 10:59 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Stanford Law announces new E-commerce Center
Stanford Law School announced Tuesday the launch of their new Center for E-Commerce, a forum for scholars, policy makers, attorneys and executives to explore the burgeoning field of electronic commerce law.
MORE ON JURIST: RESEARCH CENTERS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 10:21 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Senate counterterrorism hearing
[UPDATED]The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Committee on Intelligence held a joint hearing Tuesday on past counterterrorism efforts. Witnesses included former FBI Director Louis Freeh and former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White (video via FedNet).
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 9:51 AM | #

OP-ED WATCH...
Times on election reform
Tuesday's editorial pages are awash with commentary on President Bush's Iraq speech, but the New York Times does take time out to praise the new federal electoral reform legislation (previously highlighted on JURIST) as a "sound accomplishment".
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 9:40 AM | #

SUPREME COURT WATCH...
First Monday reviewed
Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times highlights two of the many cases that the Court refused to take on the first day of its new Term, and Slate's Dalia Lithwick echoes the Boomtown Rats in " Tell me why I don't like First Mondays."
MORE ON JURIST: US SUPREME COURT
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 9:18 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
9th Circuit upholds anti-bilingual education initiative
A panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled[PDF] Monday that a California Proposition that dismantled bilingual education in the state did not violate the constitutional guarantee of equal protection as there was no evidence that it had been enacted for a racially discriminatory purpose.
MORE ON JURIST: CASES & STATUTES
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 9:00 AM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Milosevic trial continues
Recorded audio of Monday's proceedings in the war crimes trial of former President Slobodan Milosevic at The Hague is now online.
MORE ON JURIST: MILOSEVIC TRIAL
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 8:45 AM | #

SUPREME COURT WATCH...
Cell phone licenses, bankruptcy | Social security, health benefits
The US Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in FCC & Arctic Slope Corp. v. NextWave Communications [case summary from Northwestern; docket entry from SCOTUS; briefs from FindLaw] and Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co. & Holland v. Bellaire Corp. [case summary from Northwestern; docket entry from SCOTUS; briefs from FindLaw].
MORE ON JURIST: US SUPREME COURT
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 6:35 AM | #

THIS DAY IN LEGAL HISTORY...
House votes for Clinton impeachment inquiry
On this day in 1998, the US House of Representatives voted to begin an impeachment inquiry into President Bill Clinton.
MORE ON JURIST: IMPEACHMENT AND CENSURE MATERIALS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 6:30 AM | #

Monday, October 07, 2002

NEW ON THE WEB...
Bush gives war crimes warning in Iraq speech
[UPDATED] In a televised address Monday evening, President Bush warned Iraqi officials that they would be charged as war criminals if they followed any orders from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein mandating "cruel and desperate measures." See Sunday's JURIST Paperchase for details of this strategy.
MORE ON JURIST: IRAQ NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 6:04 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Senate slams SEC in Enron report
A report[PDF] released today by the US Senate Governmental Affairs Committee says that regulatory failings at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) contributed significantly to the collapse of Enron corporation. Watch Senator Joseph Lieberman's news conference on C-SPAN.
MORE ON JURIST: ENRON NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 5:23 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
UK legal advisors tell Blair Iraq "regime change" war illegal
As President Bush prepares to address the nation on Iraq Monday evening, the UK Financial Times reports that Prime Minister Tony Blair has been warned by his attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, joined by solicitor general Harriet Harman, that military action against Iraq to force a regime change would breach international law.
MORE ON JURIST: IRAQ NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 3:55 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
President names law professors to port lockout inquiry
President Bush today named labor law experts Professor Dennis Nolan of University of South Carolina School of Law and Professor Patrick Hardin of University of Tennessee to a board of inquiry directed to investigate the labor dispute that has closed US west coast ports. The third member of the board is former secretary of Labor William Brock.
MORE ON JURIST: LABOR DISPUTES NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 3:36 PM | #

BREAKING NEWS...
Supreme Court refuses to take Torricelli ballot case
[UPDATED] AP reports that the Supreme Court has refused to take the New Jersey ballot case, which lets stand the New Jersey Supreme Court decision allowing the Democrats to replace Senator Robert Torricelli's name with that of former Senator Frank Lautenberg. More from NPR's Nina Totenberg .
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 2:45 PM | #

SUPREME COURT WATCH...
More perspectives
As the US Supreme Court starts its 2002 Term by denying virtually every case on its summer cert. list (as reported by SCOTUSBlog at Goldstein & Howe in DC), NPR's Nina Totenberg and Andrew Cohen of CBS News offer further perspectives on cases coming up for actual review.
MORE ON JURIST: US SUPREME COURT
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 1:29 PM | #

NEW ON THE WEB...
Patricia Williams at Harvard Law School
Watch Columbia law professor Patricia Williams speaking Saturday in the Harvard Law School Saturday Program on "Infallible Justice."
MORE ON JURIST: LAW SCHOOL WEBCASTS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 11:01 AM | #

OP-ED WATCH...
Times on Supreme Court, WashPost on Hamdi
The New York Times Monday urged the Justices of the US Supreme Court "to look for ways to preserve America's cherished rights" as they began their 2002 Term, while the Washington Post considered the latest developments in the Hamdi "enemy combatant" case and warned of the dangers of detention without end.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 9:52 AM | #

SUPREME COURT WATCH...
Oyez, oyez, oyez!
The United States Supreme Court begins its 2002-03 Term today, the first Monday in October. Listen to the Marshall call "Oyez!" and take a look around the Supreme Court Chamber. Find a "round-up of the round-ups" of the upcoming Supreme Court term in Sunday's JURIST Paperchase. The Court hears arguments Monday in Yellow Freight System, Inc. v. Michigan [case summary from Northwestern; docket entry from SCOTUS; briefs from FindLaw] and Ford Motor Co. v. McCauley [case summary from Northwestern; docket entry from SCOTUS; briefs from Findlaw].
MORE ON JURIST: US SUPREME COURT
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 6:35 AM | #

THIS DAY IN LEGAL HISTORY...
Test Ban Treaty signed
On this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the first nuclear test ban treaty between United States, Britain and the Soviet Union.
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 6:30 AM | #

Sunday, October 06, 2002

NEW ON THE WEB...
War crimes trial for Saddam?
Quoting Pierre-Richard Prosper, the US State Department's ambassador at large for war crimes, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that the United States is building a dossier for a possible war crimes trial of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The idea - specifically outlined on one State Department website and reflected in another - is not new, although Bush Administration policy on Iraq may bring it to fruition. It was previously detailed in a speech by David J. Scheffer, Ambassador Prosper's predecessor, in 2000; the US Senate passed a resolution calling for such a trial in 1998; and the notion has been floated by the Saudi Arabian press and advanced by the UK organization INDICT since 1997.
MORE ON JURIST: WAR CRIMES NEWS
Posted by Bernard Hibbitts at 3:48 PM | #