Litigation

Appeals Panel: War Powers Trump Detainee Rights

Posted on January 07, 2010
A federal appeals court panel in the District of Columbia has approved broad power for the government to hold terrorism suspects. Not even the international law of war  limits  a U.S. president’s war power to hold Guantanamo Bay detainees and other noncitizens suspected of terrorism or support for it, the three-judge panel wrote in an opinion, [...

YouTube Allowed for Prop. 8 Trial

Posted on January 07, 2010
The upcoming federal court trial of a lawsuit challenging California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriages appears headed for  limited broadcasting. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said Wednesday he would permit court-operated cameras in his courtroom for the trial, and video could be released on a delayed basis on YouTube, the San Jose Mercury News reported...

Wednesday Media Summary

Posted on January 06, 2010
GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS BBC: Obama’s Guantanamo problems pile up 1/6/10 NY Times: Court Backs War Powers Over Rights of Detainees January 6, 2010 BBC: Obama reaffirms Guantanamo Bay prison closure plans 1/5/10 TERRORISM/COURTS Periodico26: Court Rules U...

TV Rules for Prop. 8 Trial Spur Debate

Posted on January 05, 2010
In a pioneering move, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently approved a pilot program for limited use of cameras in federal trial courts within that nine-state western circuit. The “experiment” could lead to TV coverage of next week’s scheduled proceedings in a lawsuit contesting California’s ban on same-sex marriage...

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Threats Increasing Against Federal Judges, Prosecutors

Posted on January 05, 2010
The number of threats against federal judges and prosecutors has increased by more than double since 2003, according to a new report. These threats rose from 592 in fiscal 2003 to 1,278 in fiscal 2008, according to an audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine and an article posted by CBS...

Did Justice Roberts Neglect ?Bully Pulpit??

Posted on January 05, 2010
Did Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. miss a chance to use his “bully pulpit” and even teach the public about the judicial branch, when he recently compiled his annual report on the judiciary (see earlier Gavel Grab post)? That  question was raised by some who remarked on the year-end report, and those comments were pulled together [...

Former Judge Pleads Guilty in PA

Posted on January 05, 2010
Michael T. Toole, until recently a judge in Luzerne County, Pa., has pleaded guilty to charges of honest services fraud and evading taxes. He was the third judge to be removed from office in Luzerne County as a result of a federal corruption investigation...

Tuesday Media Summary

Posted on January 05, 2010
GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS Huffington Post: Double Standards: How Our Lawlessness Strengthens Our Enemies Shahid Buttar – 1/4/2010 TERRORISM/COURTS SCOTUSBlog: 9/11 conviction stands Lyle Denniston – 1/4/2010 Politico: Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearing on bomb plot Jake Sherman – 1/4/2010 AFP: US lawmakers to pore over Christmas Day bomb plot 1/4/2010 MERIT SELECTION WDUQ: Support for Appointing Judges Grows Mark Nootbaar – 1/4/2010 FEDERAL NOMINATIONS National Law Journal: Slow [...

Editorial: WI Public Financing Lawsuits ?Unworthy?

Posted on January 04, 2010
Foes of a new Wisconsin law for public financing of state Supreme Court candidates recently filed two notable lawsuits challenging the statute. Now a Milwaukee newspaper is blasting those lawsuits and contending it is not the law that has a “chilling effect” on free speech, as these critics contend, but big-money support delivered to high [...

Civilian Trial for Alleged Bomber Sparks Controversy

Posted on January 04, 2010
The planned trial in a federal court of the accused Christmas Day bomber of an airliner has triggered high controversy mirroring the debate over trial venues for Guantanamo Bay terror detainees. The debate continues to focus on whether terror suspects are enemy combatants who should be tried before military tribunals, or criminal defendants deserving the protections [...

Senate Returns Two Obama Judge Nominations

Posted on January 04, 2010
The Senate has returned two controversial nominations for federal judgeships to the White House because no action was taken upon them before Congress adjourned late in 2009. President Obama can resubmit the nominations of Louis L. Butler Jr. (photo at left), a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, and U...

Editorial: Clear Call for PA Judicial Election Reform

Posted on January 04, 2010
A leading Philadelphia newspaper strongly endorses judicial election reform in Pennsylvania in an editorial entitled “Clear evidence.” The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial cites as evidence both the high-spending state Supreme Court election in 2009–combined with popular concern about “justice for sale”–and a scandal in Luzerne County that has ensnared several judges: “Most Pennsylvanians say they suspect that justice [...

Chief Justice Passes on Judicial Salary Issue

Posted on January 04, 2010
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. (photo at right) declined to wade into the controversial topic of increasing judicial salaries when he submitted his Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary. Roberts “apparently concluded that an election year in which belt-tightening is the new mantra was not the time to revive the debate,” the Washington Post reported [...

Monday Media Summary

Posted on January 04, 2010
GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS Guardian: New Year’s resolution for Guantánamo Matthew Harwood – 1/1/2010 National Review: The Constitutional Crisis and the Security Crisis Andrew C. McCarthy – 1/4/2010 TORTURE INVESTIGATION/COURTS NY Times: Yes, It Was Torture, and Illegal Editorial – 1/3/2010 MERIT SELECTION Philadelphia Inquirer: Clear evidence Editorial – 1/4/2010 Greenville News: Judge’s case exposes problems Editorial – 1/4/2010 Akron Beacon Journal: State government reforms lagging Dennis J...

Happy Holidays From Justice at Stake

Posted on December 24, 2009
Justice at Stake is closing its doors for the holidays, and Gavel Grab will have only limited coverage until Jan. 4. Have a wonderful holiday season.

Lawmen?s Actions: Threat to Judicial Independence?

Posted on December 24, 2009
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (photo above, courtesy of Los Angeles Times) likes to call himself “America’s toughest sheriff.” But the aggressive tactics he and County Attorney Andrew Thomas have used against those who disagree with them in local government and the judiciary  have led to serious questions...

NY Times Spotlights Drive to End Judicial Elections

Posted on December 24, 2009
A new drive, led by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra O’Connor, to bring an end to state judicial elections has captured  attention in the New York Times, which published an article about the campaign’s goals and players headlined “Effort Begun to End Voting for Judges...

Candidate Koschnick?s Case for Public Financing

Posted on December 24, 2009
One can be forgiven for detecting a whiff of cynicism in the newest lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s public financing law. As reported in Gavel Grab, former Supreme Court candidate Randy Koschnick says the law violates his First Amendment rights to … it’s not clear exactly what...

Wednesday Media Summary

Posted on December 23, 2009
GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS NY Times: Plan to Move Guantánamo Detainees Faces a New Delay Charlie Savage – 12/23/2009 Chicago Tribune: Obama’s terror detainee policy parallels Bush’s Editorial – 12/21/2009 Huffington Post: Guantánamo Beyond Guantánamo Jonathan Hafetz and Mark Denbeaux – 12/22/2009 National Review Online/The Corner: A Plea to Congress: Do Your Job by Crafting Rules for Combatant Detention Cases Andy McCarthy – 12/22/2009 National [...

Debate Continues Over Detainee Policies

Posted on December 23, 2009
Despite the Obama administration’s decision to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and move a number of detainees to a facility in Illinois, the debate continues over how to best protect civil liberties in a time of danger. According to a Tribune Newspapers article, the multi-pronged policy taking shape under the Obama administration “bears a [...

Advocate: WI Disclosure Loophole Needs Closing

Posted on December 23, 2009
Wisconsin’s recently adopted Impartial Justice Act for public financing of state Supreme Court candidates represents a major advance, but a  loophole in state law must be closed for the new law to be more effective, writes Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign...

Commentary: Is MI Recusal Rule Constitutional?

Posted on December 23, 2009
A law professor raises questions about the constitutionality of Michigan’s new rule governing disqualification of judges in a column published by the Detroit News. The new  rule, adopted by Michigan?s Supreme Court, would let a majority of state Supreme Court justices disqualify one of their own from hearing a case, in the event of an apparent [...

Former NY Judge Gets 27 Months in Prison

Posted on December 23, 2009
Former New York Judge Thomas J. Spargo, an election law expert convicted earlier of trying to solicit a $10,000 payment from a lawyer who was to appear before him, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. Spargo, an Albany-based judge who tried cases in Ulster County, was sentenced for attempted extortion and attempted bribery, according to [...

Commentary: PA Judges ?Best That Money Can Buy??

Posted on December 23, 2009
Gavel Grab wasn’t alone in taking note of a report this week by Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts about likely record-high spending in this year’s state Supreme Court election. Here’s how Dave Davies wryly characterized the report in the Philadelphia Daily News: “Just how good are Pennsylvania judges? The best money can buy, apparently...

Judge Files New Suit Against WI Public Financing

Posted on December 23, 2009
An unsuccessful candidate for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court and a Virginia-based nonprofit group have filed a lawsuit, the second in less than a week, to overturn a new Wisconsin law for public financing of state Supreme Court candidates. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Randy Koschnick (photo at right) contended in the lawsuit that the new law favors candidates [...

In S.C., Concerns Over Judicial Independence

Posted on December 22, 2009
Could the independence of South Carolina’s judiciary be in jeopardy? That concern has arisen in the wake of a decision by the state’s Judicial Merit Selection Commission finding F.P. “Charlie” Segars-Andrews (photo at left) unqualified to continue to serve, according to an  article in the Charleston Post and Courier...

Record Spending in PA Supreme Court Race?

Posted on December 22, 2009
The latest Pennsylvania Supreme Court election cost at least $4.5 million, and when all the final numbers are collected it likely will set soaring fundraising and spending records, according to a report by Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts. The state GOP pumped at least $975,849 into the TV campaign for the winning candidate, Judge Joan Orie Melvin, [...

Immigration Cases Continue Rising

Posted on December 22, 2009
Immigration prosecutions by federal authorities jumped 16 percent in the past fiscal year and helped to fuel an increase in overall federal prosecutions of nearly 9 percent, to an all-time high, the Houston Chronicle reported. The newspaper based its article on data provided by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University...

Elected Branches Urged to Craft ?Coherent? Detainee Rules

Posted on December 22, 2009
An influential voice among federal district judges has issued an “urgent plea” for Congress to participate in shaping American detention policy, and to help draft uniform and coherent procedures to fix a policy that is in disarray, two scholars write in a Washington Post commentary...

Tuesday Media Summary

Posted on December 22, 2009
GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES/COURTS Washington Post: No place to write detention policy Jack Goldsmith and Benjamin Wittes – 12/22/2009 CITIZENS UNITED National Affairs: The Myth of Campaign Finance Reform Bradley Smith – Winter 2010 IMMIGRATION/FEDERAL COURTS Houston Chronicle: Immigration cases fuel jump in federal prosecutions SUSAN CARROLL – 12/21/2009 FEDERAL NOMINATIONS American Prospect/Tapped: Shifting the Federal Courts...

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