Tag Archives: Category: Bench and Bar

Dechert LLP: Six Pennsylvania judges filed a lawsuit today in Harrisburg claiming that a provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which mandates all Pennsylvania justices and judges retire at the end of the calendar year in which they turn 70, violates their rights under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and under Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Roll Call: Hatch’s position, however, is not shared by all his Republican colleagues. The list of stalled nominees includes several who have the strong backing of their home-state Republican senators. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, for example, are pressing for confirmation votes in the post-election session.

Des Moines Register: U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., has nominated two Iowa women to replace retiring Judge Michael J. Melloy on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The names submitted to President Barack Obama are . . .

Life Legal Defense Foundation Executive Director Dana Cody and Legal Counsel Tom Condit will be available for media interviews immediately following former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline’s oral arguments before the Kansas Supreme Court this Thursday. Representing the Kansas Bar, Stanton Hazlett has accused Mr. Kline of ten violations of the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct in relation to Mr. Kline’s criminal investigation of abortion providers Planned Parenthood and the late Dr. George Tiller.

BuzzFeed: The White House announced on Wednesday that President Obama has nominated Judge William Thomas, an out gay man, to serve on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Thomas would be the first out LGBT black man to serve as a lifetime-tenured federal judge.

WhiteHouse.gov: Today, President Obama nominated Valerie E. Caproni, Kenneth John Gonzales, Raymond P. Moore, Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell, Judge William L. Thomas, Judge Analisa Torres and Derrick Kahala Watson for District Court judgeships.

LifeNews: Leading pro-life attorney Phill Kline is involved in the fight for his life tomorrow at the Kansas Supreme Court — which political enemies may strip him of his law license for daring to prosecute Planned Parenthood.

SCOTUS Blog: The Supreme Court will consider all ten of the same-sex marriage petitions at its private Conference on November 30, instead of at the next session on November 20, according to the Court’s electronic docket.

LifeNews: Wouldn’t it be great if politicians and other public figures actually told us what they believe rather than talking out of both sides of their mouths? For example, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg actually did say what she believes about life-ending abortions in July 2009. Justice Ginsburg said: Frankly I had thought that, at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.

MLIVE.com: Roane and Thacker, both of whom are gay, are co-chairs of the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender/Alternative Family Committee of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. The group’s primary target is the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which they say throws a wrench into one state’s ability to honor gay marriage vows that were made in another state or country.

CJOnline.com: Kline has strongly disputed the allegations against him and called the complaint politically motivated. “I upheld my duty, upheld my oath of office and the integrity of my profession,” Kline said. “I will continue to speak and stand for the truth and for those who cannot speak for themselves. My ‘mistake’ was my willingness to investigate politically powerful people and to let that investigation go where the evidence led.”

AP: A potential showdown vote to limit Senate filibusters would not come until January. Democrats are threatening to resort to a seldom-used procedure that could let them change the rules without GOP support, all but inviting Republican retaliation.

Robert Barnes at the Washington Post: Just before Tuesday’s elections, a national gay-rights group sent its supporters in Maryland an e-mail listing an additional reason to go to the polls to approve same-sex marriage. “Justice Anthony Kennedy is watching you,” the subject line said.

Cass Sunstein at Bloomberg: When politicians defer to “universal feeling,” they are often self-interested. Knowing that their electoral lives are on the line, they choose to live. Other politicians defer out of humility. Lacking confidence in their own views, they follow the judgments of their constituents. But in this context, Lincoln was being neither self-interested nor humble. Instead he was emphasizing democratic constraints on the achievement of clear moral imperatives. As he went on to say: “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.”

The HIll: Democrats have had only a one-seat majority on those committees in the 112th Congress, where they have a 53-47 seat advantage.

Washington Times: Last month, Scott Lautenbaugh, an Omaha attorney and Nebraska state senator, filed a lawsuit against the Nebraska State Bar Association in federal district court in Omaha. Days later, Mr. Lautenbaugh sought a preliminary injunction and to certify his case as a class action. Mr. Lautenbaugh is an outspoken opponent of the bar’s use of member dues for political and ideological purposes. In fact, he filed a petition with the Nebraska Supreme Court asking that it “de-integrate the bar,” that is, make membership in the bar voluntary.

Findlaw: A list of which law firms pay the highest starting salaries may seem strange in today’s economy.

American Thinker: For example, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg actually did say what she believes about life-ending abortions in July 2009. Justice Ginsburg said: Frankly I had thought that, at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.

Weekly Standard: Hillary Clinton still intends to step down as secretary of state. That will take place likely “days” after President Barack Obama’s second inauguration in January.

FedSoc Blog: On Monday, November 5, SLF, on behalf of another Florida citizen and taxpayer, filed an original action in the Florida Supreme Court asking the Court to issue a writ of quo warranto regarding the actions of Secretary of State Ken Detzner in determining the Justices “qualified” to be placed on the ballot. The argument is not one of conduct, but instead contends that none of the three justices lawfully qualified for the retention election and that the secretary of state failed to properly carry out his constitutional and administrative duties in the matter.

ABA Journal: The American Bar Association has chosen Matt Nosanchuk, associate general counsel at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as one of three lawyers to receive its inaugural Stonewall Award, recognizing LGBT advancement in the legal profession.

Wired.com: Supreme Court justices are to meet privately Friday to weigh whether they will hear a major genetic-privacy case testing whether authorities may take DNA samples from anybody arrested for a serious crime.

Billings Gazette: Republican Tim Fox said Wednesday that he will fight what he called the over-reach of federal government as Montana’s next attorney general after winning the post by a six-point margin over Democrat Pam Bucy.

Wall Street Journal (access via Google): The U.S. Supreme Court may soon take up the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act or Prop 8. In the wake of Tuesday’s votes, gay activists are calling for the court to strike down both. The legal merits of those cases are for another editorial. But on the politics, Americans don’t need or want court orders. They’ve shown themselves more than capable of changing their views and the laws on gay marriage the democratic way.

The HIll: Democrats will be defending red-state Senate seats and facing a tough path to take back control of the House.

Blog of the Legal Times: Two days after President Barack Obama won re-election, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said in remarks today in Baltimore he will assess whether he wants to continue his service at the helm of the U.S. Justice Department.

Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy: As co-blogger David Bernstein notes, the two of us conducted anonymous online presidential polls of our Constitutional Law I classes. Here are my results, for a poll conducted over the weekend just before election …

AZ Central: Judges are rarely voted off the bench in Maricopa County or in the Arizona appellate courts. And despite a campaign by “tea party” and other conservative groups to unseat certain judges in retention elections because of perceived political or judicial leanings, no judges were turned out this year, either.

Jess Bravin at WSJ: With the incoming leadership of the executive and legislative branches nearly a carbon copy of the current versions, Tuesday’s election could have the biggest effect on the sole unelected branch of government: the federal judiciary.

How Appealing links to a report and the opinion.

Adam Liptak at NYT: The victories for same-sex marriage on Tuesday, the first ones achieved at the ballot box rather than through courts or legislatures, are evidence of a remarkable shift in public opinion. They are also exceptionally timely data points for the Supreme Court . . . The justices tend to say they are not influenced by public opinion. But they do sometimes take account of state-by-state trends, and the latest developments will not escape their notice . . . “It bolsters our case,” said Brian S. Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage. “It’s very difficult to say you need a federal resolution of this question if states are resolving it for themselves.”

NewsOK.com: With President Barack Obama’s victory, the nominations of U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert E. Bacharach and Tulsa attorney John E. Dowdell should “fly through” the Senate, Sen. Tom Coburn said Wednesday.

Columbus Dispatch: Two sitting Ohio Supreme Court justices, one Republican and one Democrat, were unseated in yesterday’s election, marking the first time in recent history that two incumbents were removed from the state’s top court.

Forbes: The decades-long campaign by conservatives to build a lasting majority on the U.S. Supreme Court may come to an end over the next four years, now that President Obama has apparently been reelected to the White House.

Seattle Times: Attorney Sheryl Gordon McCloud wins a six-year term on the state Supreme Court, turning back former Justice Richard Sanders, with King County heavily in her favor.

AL.com: Roy Moore, forever known as Alabama’s Ten Commandments judge, has been re-elected chief justice in a triumphant political resurrection after being ousted from that office nearly a decade ago.

Seattle Post Intelligencer (AP): ustices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince each led about 67 percent to 33 percent with about 80 percent of the precincts reporting.

WCFCourier.com reports the results.

CNSNews (includes video): Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said recently that–”especially after last term”–he does not know if he is confident the Constitution can be restored to its original meaning.upreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said recently that–”especially after last term”–he does not know if he is confident the Constitution can be restored to its original meaning.

Religion Clause Blog: While the Presidential contest obviously looms largest at the polls tomorrow, those interested in church-state and religious liberty issues are watching a number of down-ballot issues and contests . . .

Washington Post: In Iowa, the front of the ballot usually contains all of the high profile races for president, Congress, the state house or local offices, like county sheriff. Turn that ballot over, and there’s this question: “Shall the following judges of the Supreme Court be retained in office?” It’s followed by the names of four sitting justices. One of those, Justice David S. Wiggins . . .

A group of concerned attorneys, required by law to be dues-paying members of the Washington State Bar Association, are objecting to the association’s public support for R-74, a measure that seeks to redefine marriage in the state. The lawyers, who do not support R-74, have sent a strongly worded letter to the bar citing the bar’s own rules and a U.S. Supreme Court decision that says mandatory bars can’t take sides on such matters.

Seattle Times: In a letter responding to the members, the board’s president said the organization has consistently found that issues like Ref. 74 do affect the practice of law and the administration of justice. It said Keller does not prohibit the bar from taking positions on any issue, but rather forbids it from using mandatory member fees to support such positions. It offered the attorneys the option of deducting from their dues an amount ranging from 98 cents to $6.40 . . . Bellevue attorney Chris Evans, who wrote the letter on behalf of the others, called the board’s endorsement “mission creep.” | The Washington State Bar Response Letter

Montgomery Advertiser: Earlier this year, almost no one would have expected the race for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court to be between Roy Moore, a man who was removed from that position almost a decade ago, and Robert Vance Jr., the well-funded son of a federal judge who was assassinated.

Indiana Public Media: “In 2011, Justice Steven David ruled that Hoosiers have no right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers into their homes,” a radio ad sponsored by the Indianapolis Tea Party says.

Religion Clause Blog: Today, in a per curiam opinion issued without calling for briefing or oral arguments, the U.S. Supreme Court in  Lefemine v. Wideman, (Docket No. 12-168, decided 11/5/2012)(full text, scroll to end of Order List) held that a member of Columbia Christians for Life who obtained a permanent injunction, but no monetary damages was a “prevailing party” and entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees, unless on remand the lower courts find special circumstances that should preclude an award.

AP: A Nevada state judge says he’s got the authority to order an abortion for a pregnant 32-year-old mentally disabled woman, even against the will of her Catholic adoptive parents.

Matthew J. Franck at National Review: Regnerus’s research exploded the “no differences” thesis to which advocates of same-sex marriage have clung–that is, the thesis that children do just as well being raised by parents in such relationships as they do being raised by their own biological, married parents who stay together for the long haul. Furious at his dissent from their unwarranted “consensus,” Regnerus’s critics lashed out at him with everything from reasonable (but misplaced) criticisms of his research to vicious attacks on him as a person. One of the more temperate critics of Regnerus has been David Blankenhorn of the Institute for American Values . . .

National Review: It’s certainly not a sure thing, but the fate of one David Wiggins could play a key role in determining, on November 6, who becomes the leader of the free world.

Kokomoperspective.com: Marion County voters have less influence than they may think about which judges are chosen for the Marion Superior Court. Today the ACLU of Indiana, on behalf of Common Cause Indiana, filed a lawsuit challenging state law governing that process to ensure voters of every political stripe can cast meaningful votes for all judgeships to be filled in Marion County.

Appellate Daily: Paul Cassell, a former federal judge, represents child pornography victims in a series of federal appellate cases. In October alone, Cassell notched a win and a loss in two circuit courts and argued in another. The case he won created a circuit split about restitution for victims, which the U.S. Supreme Court will almost certainly be asked to review.

Blog of the Legal Times: No, New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman didn’t take a poll or worry about the reaction when he announced a plan in May to require 50 hours of pro bono service for admission to the New York bar. At a moment of crisis for access to justice, Lippman told a gathering of D.C. lawyers today, the judiciary and the legal profession “must be bold and proactive.”

Politico: Iowa has joined Texas in warning international election observers of possible criminal prosecution if they violate state laws and get near polling places on Election Day.

Detroit Free Press: The FBI is investigating Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway over a questionable real estate deal involving a $1.5-million waterfront home in Grosse Pointe Park, according to a source familiar with the probe who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Erwin Chemerinsky at LA Times: If Romney wins, we can expect a frighteningly conservative high court. A victory for Obama could mean a liberal majority for the first time since 1969.

Washington Post: Justices Barbara J. Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy A. Quince have faced voters twice before and easily retained their jobs. But this year they have hired consultants with the $1.3 million raised on their behalf, filmed commercials and hit the road for appearances.

Wall Street Journal (via Google): The court is a particular union target this year because of Proposal 2, which would apply retroactively. If it passes, unions plan to challenge as illegal as many as 170 current state laws, sending an unprecedented wave of litigation to the state Supreme Court. Big Labor wants its judges making the calls

ABA Journal: Stevens is proposing an amendment to the supremacy clause to make clear that the federal government can use state officials to carry out national policies, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports.

Alan Sears at the Washington Times: The U.S. Supreme Court will be challenged to uphold Lincoln’s principle as it decides whether to hear four cases challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and one case challenging California’s Proposition 8, which affirmed marriage as between one man and one woman through a direct vote of the people. What is being weighed in the balance is a fundamental understanding of the role of the judiciary and that of the American people. The Supreme Court should review these cases and rule that the matter should be left for Americans, not the judiciary, to decide.

TribLive.com: A series of Supreme Court decisions took the United States from its founding on Christian principles to its current state of secularism, a Pittsburgh lawyer said Sunday at a symposium sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg. Featured speaker Brad Tupi said that has resulted in conflicts such as those unfolding in Fayette County over a Ten Commandments monument outside a public school. Tupi, a shareholder in the Tucker Arensberg law firm Downtown, is an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom and a member of the Federalist Society and the Christian Legal Society. The symposium on religious freedom was held in the Bishop William G. Connare Center near Greensburg.

AZ Central (includes video): An Arizona Supreme Court justice has taken the highly unusual step of forming a campaign committee to fight a Republican and “tea party” effort to vote him off the bench. Fliers and Web postings advocate a “no” vote on retention of Justice John Pelander because he joined in a Supreme Court decision allowing an initiative that would scrap the two-party primary system to appear on next month’s ballot.

Houston Chronicle: Three of the nine court seats are on the ballot, but just one Republican faces a Democratic opponent. Justice Nathan Hecht is being challenged by San Antonio lawyer Michele Petty, a Democrat, along with candidates running under the Libertarian and Green banners.

STLToday: The Missouri Plan has faced mounting criticism in recent years, primarily from conservatives who claim it gives too much power to trial lawyers. They prefer judicial elections or systems modeled after the federal government that rely on gubernatorial appointees confirmed by state lawmakers.

NPR (includes audio): The first of The Federalist Papers were published 225 years ago this weekend. Weekend Edition host Rachel Martin talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Jon Meacham about their importance and relevance today.

Religion Clause Blog: The Springfield, Illinois State Journal-Register reported yesterday that Illinois Family Action, the political arm of the Christian-based Illinois Family Institute, has made robo-calls to 25,000 households urging voters to vote against a Republican trial court judge because he ruled that the state is not required to renew contracts with Catholic Charities to provide foster care and adoption services.

SCOTUS Blog: It has been just a little over two weeks since the Justices last heard oral arguments, but don’t mistake their absence for inactivity. Among the many things that occupy their attention when they are not hearing oral arguments are emergency applications – particularly applications to stay the ruling of a lower court or to stay an imminent execution.

Liberty Counsel: Today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the Oklahoma Personhood Initiative case of Personhood Oklahoma v. Barber. Last spring, the Oklahoma Supreme Court stopped a citizen’s initiative before it was even placed on the ballot.

SCOTUS Blog reports.

AP: Supreme Court In Session With Rest Of Town Shut

Verde News: A loosely organized effort to oust a state Supreme Court justice is forcing him to consider an unprecedented campaign to keep his post. Justice John Pelander said he is upset by “hit pieces’ being put out by groups urging that he not be retained on the bench this year.

AZCapitolTimes.com: Known for its political savvy and dogged discipline, the Center for Arizona Policy, an influential Evangelical Christian lobby, is flexing its muscles in this year’s elections. It is actively supporting a ballot referral to change the way judges are selected, arguing the courts often have the final say on important policies that deal with marriage, family and religious liberties.

Church Report: A jury found Wednesday that a conservative scholar who claims she was passed over for jobs at the University of Iowa law school because of liberal bias didn’t have her 1st Amendment rights violated.

National Law Journal: The University of St. Thomas School of Law has named Robert Vischer as its new dean, effective on January 1. Vischer, now associate dean for academic affairs, has taught at the Roman Catholic-affiliated law school since 2005. He replaces Thomas Mengler, who stepped down in May to assume the deanship at St. Mary’sUniversity School of Law. Professor Neil Hamilton has been serving as interim dean.

Billings Gazette: What do Elvis and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia have in common? The chance of getting them to come to Wyoming is slim to none, said Caitlin Wallace, a third-year University of Wyoming law student and a member of the Federalist Society. Pictures of the king of rock ‘n’ roll and the king of the U.S. Constitution hang next to each other at the society’s office in Washington, D.C.

CNSNews: The head of an international body that will monitor the U.S. elections next month protested to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday after Texas’ attorney-general warned that any international observer who approaches a polling station in the state risks criminal prosecution.

USA Today: Do you want judges to answer to the law, or to campaign contributors and ideological groups?