Litigation

Midterm Elections to Bring Tides of Cash?

Posted on July 12, 2010
In the upcoming midterm elections, advocacy groups on both sides of the political fence “are expected to pour tens of millions of dollars into loosely regulated independent election expenditures,” according to a CQPolitics.com article. One of the expected top spenders will be the U...

In Writing, Kagan Fields Senators? Questions

Posted on July 12, 2010
Just when you thought Elena Kagan had nothing more to say publicly, the Supreme Court nominee has furnished in response to senators’ written questions a few of her…opinions. Answering questions from Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, Kagan “rejected several influential liberal legal theories…, distancing herself from intellectual movements conservatives have criticized,” according to a Wall Street [...

Sotomayor?s First Term Hardly Typical

Posted on July 12, 2010
UPDATE: Alfred A. Knopf will publish a memoir to be written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, according to a New York Times blog post. At the close of her first term on the Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor has blended in in some ways and stood out in others, a profile in The Washington Post suggests: [...

Gay Marriage Ruling ?Long Overdue?

Posted on July 12, 2010
When he found a federal ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional, a U.S. district judge delivered an outcome that “is long overdue,” a New York Times editorial asserted. Judge Joseph Tauro issued rulings (see Gavel Grab) supporting gay couples’ rights in two challenges brought to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which declares [...

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Lawsuit Seeks OK for Corporate Campaign Contributions

Posted on July 09, 2010
A lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s new campaign-spending disclosure law also seeks a court ruling that would allow corporations to contribute directly to political candidates. “Our clients believe … that the First Amendment gives corporations … the right to contribute to candidates and political parties through their general treasury funds,” said Joe La Rue, a lawyer for [...

After Gulf Spill, New Attention to Recusal

Posted on July 09, 2010
It’s not every day that judicial recusal gets a lot of attention. But that has changed with a swirl of questions raised over the interests of judges in a position to rule on the Obama administration’s deepwater drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico...

US Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

Posted on July 09, 2010
A federal judge in Massachusetts handed a victory to gay couples when he ruled that a federal ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. District Judge Joseph Tauro issued rulings support gay couples’ rights in two challenges brought to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which declares that marriage is between a man and a [...

WI High Court Actions Stir Controversy

Posted on July 09, 2010
Two actions by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, adopting new recusal rules and deadlocking over an ethics complaint against a justice, have stirred up strong reaction. In its Big Money Blog, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign criticized both decisions in a post headlined “High Court Sinks to New Low...

Bar Chief Explains His Support for NV Ballot Question

Posted on July 09, 2010
The new president of the State Bar of Nevada has summed up for a Las Vegas newspaper his personal support for an appointment-and-retention system for selecting Supreme Court justices and district court judges in the state. In a question-and-answer article published in the Las Vegas Sun, Cam Ferenbach was asked, “The bar supported a proposed [...

In Minnesota, a Right to Hide Election Spending?

Posted on July 08, 2010
In recent years, the Supreme Court has staunchly upheld the constitutionality of campaign disclosure laws, saying there is public value in letting voters know who is bankrolling attempts to sway elections. In the wake of Citizens United, which allowed unlimited election spending by corporations, six states have toughened their disclosure laws...

Kagan Still Sparking Controversy

Posted on July 08, 2010
Even as Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan seems on a steady march toward Senate confirmation, dissenting voices still are heard. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, announced in a USA Today column that he will not support her due to stance on military recruiting when she was Harvard Law School dean...

Iowa Retention Elections in Spotlight

Posted on July 08, 2010
Some judges in Iowa may be vulnerable in retention elections this year, given a controversial decision by the state Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage in 2009. That analysis comes from a USA Today article examining a potentially volatile political landscape...

WI Judicial Commission Drops Gableman Complaint

Posted on July 08, 2010
The Wisconsin Judicial Commission has dropped its ethics complaint against Justice Michael Gableman, following a deadlock by the state Supreme Court on the case. The commission said it did not have authority to pursue the case further, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article...

WI Justices Clash in Adopting New Recusal Rule

Posted on July 08, 2010
The Wisconsin Supreme Court, bitterly divided 4-3, has formally issued new rules stating that lawful campaign donations from a litigant shall not alone require a judge’s recusal in a case. The new rules were accompanied by stinging, dueling statements in which justices on opposing sides belittled each other...

More Senators Using Judicial Screening Panels

Posted on July 07, 2010
A new report finds that the number of U.S. senators using screening committees to evaluate potential candidates for the federal judiciary has increased to at least 21 this year from nine in 2008. The report, entitled “Options for Federal Judicial Screening Committees,” emphasizes that it describes current practices but does note represent a “best practices” [...

What if Former Fundraiser Kagan Judges Donors?

Posted on July 07, 2010
As Harvard Law School dean, Elena Kagan raised more than $300 million between 2003 and 2008. Does her success raise issues if Kagan is confirmed to the Supreme Court, and then sees Harvard donors appearing before her as attorneys or parties in a case? An Associated Press article raises the question, and it seeks out [...

Large Donors to Thomas?s Group are Secret

Posted on July 07, 2010
Virginia “Ginni” Thomas has landed two large donations for her tea party-linked lobbying group, and the donors’ identities are secret, according to a Politico article that profiles Thomas. Her husband is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas...

PA Justice to be Grand Jury Focus?

Posted on July 07, 2010
The conduct of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Joan Orie Melvin (photo at left) will be investigated by a grand jury, according to a defense lawyer for the justice’s sister. State Sen. Jane Orie and Janine Orie, the justice’s administrative assistant, face criminal charges in an alleged scandal arising out of Justice Melvin’s successful campaign for the [...

Hawaii Governor Vetoes Same-Sex Unions Bill

Posted on July 07, 2010
A bill approved by Hawaii’s legislature to permit same-sex civil unions was vetoed at the last minute by Gov. Linda Lingle (photo at left). “I have been open and consistent in my opposition to same-sex marriage, and find that House Bill 444 is essentially same-sex marriage by another name,” the Republican governor said at a [...

Life Tenure for Justices Questioned

Posted on July 06, 2010
If confirmed, 50-year-old  Elena Kagan could become the longest-serving Supreme Court justice ever if she retired at the age of Justice John Paul Stevens, who is 90. And while life tenure for justices is seen by many as ensuring judicial independence, some critics are asking whether life tenure makes for the best jurisprudence...

Roberts Court ?Aggressive? in Latest Term

Posted on July 06, 2010
As critiques of the Supreme Court’s recently completed term continue to roll in, the impact of Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. is a prime topic. In its latest term, “the Roberts court demonstrated its determination to act aggressively to undo aspects of law it found wanting, no matter the cost,” a New York Times editorial [...

Ballot Proposal Would Alter CO Merit Selection

Posted on July 06, 2010
A proposed ballot initiative for 2012 would revise Colorado’s merit selection method for choosing judges, and it has elicited concern from the president of the Colorado Bar Association. Under the proposal, judicial appointees would be required to win confirmation by the state Senate, according to a Denver Post article...

U.S. Disclosure Bill Exceptions: Pro and Con

Posted on July 06, 2010
Exemptions carved out for some groups in a campaign-spending disclosure bill recently passed by the House of Representatives are unfair and must be fixed, a major national newspaper says. A USA Today editorial protests that the DISCLOSE Act was changed so drastically that it turned into the “Disclose-by-some Act:” “First, sponsors exempted the NRA along [...

WI Editorial: ?Explore Appointed Justices?

Posted on July 06, 2010
A Wisconsin newspaper has deplored the specter of elected state Supreme Court justices who appear “as just another layer of partisan politicians, except with black robes.”  It is urging legislators to explore selecting justices by appointment...

Crosscurrents of Kagan Hearings Examined

Posted on July 05, 2010
Tea Party, Democratic Party, Republican Party. All of them figured into the political crosscurrents behind the recently completed confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.  Here are a few of the latest reports about the swirling politics, published as Congress took a recess for the Fourth of July...

Groups Seek Recusal by Judge in Drilling-Ban Case

Posted on July 05, 2010
Environmental groups are asking a federal judge in Louisiana to suspend his order that blocked the Obama administration’s deepwater drilling ban. The groups say Judge Martin Feldman’s financial holdings raise questions about his impartiality, and he should disqualify himself...

Decision Delayed on Terror Trials? Venue

Posted on July 05, 2010
Any decision on where federal authorities will try accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four co-defendants is on hold and probably will not come until after the November mid-term elections. A Washington Post article laid out that forecast based on anonymous sources...

Bloomberg Faults Judges, Sparks Criticism

Posted on July 05, 2010
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is getting criticism for having suggested that there are times when judges should go beyond interpreting the law to take a more activist stance. Bloomberg said it was “probably true” that his administration did not comply with legal procedures when it sought to close 19 failing city schools, the [...

For Kids Caught in PA Scandal, Trials not Over

Posted on July 05, 2010
It is slow going for about 4,500 juvenile defendants who were caught up in the Luzerne County, Pa. “cash-for-kids” scandal and who want to get their records cleared. It has been more than a year since state courts first ordered that verdicts handed down by Luzerne County Judge Mark A...

New State Legislation Responds to ?Citizens United?

Posted on July 05, 2010
The Supreme Court’s landmark Citizens United decision continues to draw a concerned response from state legislators around the country. In the New York state legislature, a measure was introduced to require shareholder approval before corporations can spend cash for political campaigns or issue advocacy, the Wall Street Journal reported...

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