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Federal Judiciary Blog Posts from November 19, 2009

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Federal Judiciary Posts (November 19, 2009)

News & Notes (Fins edition)

It's been a long day, so I'm trying to cheer up in watching the Fins. So far, so good. 14-3 as we speak. Here we go with some news & notes:1. Who wants to be a Magistrate? There's an opening in the District. The salary is $160K and to apply, you need to be less than 70, a member in good standing of the bar for 5 years, and not related to any judge
Posted on Southern District of Florida on November 19, 2009 at 11:06 PM

U.S. v. Mahan, No. 08-30475 (11-16-09). An adult son staying in touch with his mother is commendable; calling her to assess market interest in stolen firearms says something else. In any event, defendant called mom to see if there was interest in the stolen weapons. Mom's boyfriend was interested, and an arrangement was concluded where the guns were
Posted on Ninth Circuit Blog on November 19, 2009 at 6:14 PM

Galleria Plus v. Hanmi Bank (Cal. Ct. App. - Nov. 19, 2009)

I appreciate that this opinion is only three (double-spaced) pages long. That's nice.I just wish I agreed with it.I understand where Justice Epstein's coming from. I really do. But I just don't agree.Were I on the Court of Appeal, I could write a dissent that would be even more concise than Justice Epstein's opinion. Here's what it'd say:"I respect
Posted on California Appellate Report on November 19, 2009 at 5:57 PM

Perry v. Proposition 8 Official Proponents (9th Cir. - Nov. 19, 2009)Nov.

I teach it to my first-year students in civil procedure. But apparently the lesson hasn't filtered down to lawyers for the Liberty Counsel in Lynchburg, Virginia.So Judge McKeown has to spell it out for them.Here's the scoop: You can't intervene in a lawsuit if your only beef with an existing party is over litigation strategy. Especially when, as he
Posted on California Appellate Report on November 19, 2009 at 5:32 PM

In Re Karen Golinski (9th Cir. - Nov. 18, 2009)

"Yesterday, my good buddy Steve entered this order that said that Brad was entitled to get benefits for his same sex husband. (Which Shaun dutifully mentioned here.) Today, I'm entering this order that says that Karen gets similar benefits for her same sex wife. And I'm just as serious -- perhaps even more serious -- about this as Steve. Steve gave
Posted on California Appellate Report on November 19, 2009 at 5:05 PM

Will the Court Take On Judicial Takings?: Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Argument Preview

Below, Elisabeth Oppenheimer of Stanford Law School previews Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection (08-1151), which will be heard by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, December 2.� Check the Stop the Beach Renourishment SCOTUSwiki page for additional updates. On Wednesday, December 2, the Court will hear oral argum
Posted on SCOTUSBLOG on November 19, 2009 at 4:27 PM

Academic Round-up

For those that use empirical data to study the Supreme Court, the new Supreme Court Database is now live at supremecourtdatabase.org.� The biggest advantage to the new version of the Database is that it is now more user-friendly and accessible to those who study the Court, but may not have empirical background or training.�� I [...]
Posted on SCOTUSBLOG on November 19, 2009 at 4:15 PM

Petitions to Watch | Conference of 11.24.09

This edition of ?Petitions to Watch? features cases up for consideration at the Justices? next private conference on Tuesday, November 24.� As always, it lists the petitions on the Court?s paid docket that Tom has deemed to have a reasonable chance of being granted.� Links to all previous editions are available in our�SCOTUSwiki archive. Docket: 08-139
Posted on SCOTUSBLOG on November 19, 2009 at 4:05 PM

Motion to Transfer Granted as to California Defendants - Denied as to New Texas Defendants

Balthaser Online, Inc. v. Network Solutions LLC et al., 2:08cv00430 (E.D. Tex. 2009) Judge: David Folsom Holding: Motion to Transfer Venue GRANTED in part. One of the interesting things about the recent venue cases out of the Federal Circuit (TS...
Posted on Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice on November 19, 2009 at 1:16 PM

New SBPS offices in Marshall featured in Marshall News Messenger

This morning's front page story in the Marshall News Messenger was about some local attorney named Michael Smith, who has bought two historic old storefronts downtown next to his grandfather's old store and is in the process of restoring them...
Posted on Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice on November 19, 2009 at 12:47 PM

CIs

Interesting story today about police recruiting CIs. Girl was 20 years old, no drug ties, got picked up for not paying traffic tickets and driving while license suspended. Police said she could avoid a night in jail by becoming a drug CI. Interesting discussion of CIs, recruitment, the risks they take, etc. Girl ended up calling her dad, a labor lawy
Posted on Sixth Circuit Blog on November 19, 2009 at 12:28 PM

Thursday Round-Up

Linda Greenhouse has an article in the Charleston Law Review?s Supreme Court Preview issue (starting at page 37) in which she assesses Justice Breyer?s jurisprudence on the Court, at the presumed midpoint of his tenure there.� Greenhouse writes that Breyer is the ?quintessential Enlightenment Supreme Court Justice,? someone who ?believes in evidence an
Posted on SCOTUSBLOG on November 19, 2009 at 11:01 AM

Criminalizing Health-Care Freedom -- By: Walsh & von Spakovsky

The ?reformers? in the White House and the House of Representatives have made all too plain their vision of the federal government?s power to coerce individual Americans to make the ?right? health-care choices. The highly partisan bill the House just passed includes severe penalties for individuals who do not purchase insurance approved by the federal
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 19, 2009 at 4:00 AM

Roadmap to Victory -- By: Tevi Troy & J. H. Anderson

By proposing a health-care bill of their own, Senate Republicans can throw the extraordinary weaknesses of the Democratic bills into stark relief. In the wake of the Congressional Budget Office?s recent scoring of aspects of the House Republican bill, there is now an opening for Republicans to provide a clear contrast with the proposed Democratic overh
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 19, 2009 at 4:00 AM

Cobbling Together a Crisis -- By: Michael Fumento

?Swine flu has killed 540 kids, sickened 22 million Americans,? screams USA Today?s page-one headline, with a sub-head proclaiming, ?CDC: Cases, Deaths are Unprecedented.? ?Swine flu cases in the U.S. are rising at the fastest pace for influenza in four decades,? breathlessly declares the lede of a Bloomberg News article. Another article?s title refers
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 19, 2009 at 4:00 AM

Circling Sharks Smell American Blood -- By: Victor Davis Hanson

On his recent trip to Asia, President Obama found China, Japan, and South Korea -- like many nations these days -- in no mood to hear more American lectures. Beijing is worried about owning so much American debt. Tokyo is tiring of an American military base in Okinawa, and wants to redefine its relationship with us. Seoul is starting to doubt American
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 19, 2009 at 12:00 AM

Obama twitters, &c. -- By: Jay Nordlinger

In China, a student asked President Obama, ?Should we be able to use Twitter freely?? You and I might have said, ?Yes.? President Obama began, ?Well, first of all, let me say that I have never used Twitter. My thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone.? He went on, ?I should be honest. As president of the United States, there are times where
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 19, 2009 at 12:00 AM

Lessons of Fort Hood -- By: Clifford D. May

When a military officer participates in a war against his own country, that is high treason, and that is the charge that ought to be brought against Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. But it?s not going to happen.� Hasan should have been weeded out of the military long ago. There was abundant evidence that his allegiance was not to the United States -- the c
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 19, 2009 at 12:00 AM

Lawyer acquitted in federal court in Georgia

Friends of the blog, Tom Withers* and Craig Gillen, walked a lawyer (Mark Shelnutt) today in Columbus, Ga. Shelnutt was charged with money laundering and drug offenses. The judge read 36 not guilty verdicts:At 2:45, Land began to read.?Count One, conspiracy to launder money,? the judge said. ?Not guilty.??Count Two, aiding and abetting a conspiracy t
Posted on Southern District of Florida on November 18, 2009 at 11:46 PM

Lynne Stewart is screwed. Lynne Stewart, attorney for radicals and terrorists (allegedly), is now in deep trouble. The Second Circuit has affirmed her conviction and has even suggested that the District Court may have been too lenient. It probably didn't help that she stated that she could do the two-and-a-half-year sentence "standing on her head."
Posted on Second Opinions on November 18, 2009 at 5:46 PM

In Re Brad Levenson (9th Cir. - Nov. 18, 2009)

You don't see many Ninth Circuit orders/opinions that are actually signed by the author these days. It's typed, or there's a stamp, or whatever. So it's sort of cool to see an actual signature.Plus, this is an interesting case. Brad Levenson is a deputy public defender, and he's had a same-sex partner for 15 years -- and has been married to him (in
Posted on California Appellate Report on November 18, 2009 at 4:38 PM

"Liberty City terror suspect gets 6 years in prison"

The first of the Liberty City defendants -- 24-year-old Burson Augustin -- was sentenced today. The government sought the maximum -- 30 years. But Judge Lenard did the right thing and sentenced Augustin to 6 years. From the AP:A judge on Wednesday handed a six-year jail sentence to one of five men convicted of plotting to blow up the tallest building
Posted on Southern District of Florida on November 18, 2009 at 4:29 PM

Intended Loss Amount

Unpublished opinion in United States v. Newson, No. 08?6080 (6th Cir. Nov. 16, 2009). Panel of Judges Moore, Cook, and Ludington (E.D. Mich.). Defendant pleaded guilty to document fraud (18 U.S.C. � 1028(a)(7)). Sentence of 30 months.Because of lack of factual record regarding the defendant?s intent, the court vacated the sentence and remanded. Defenda
Posted on Sixth Circuit Blog on November 18, 2009 at 3:50 PM

ACLU seeks to salvage FOIA ruling

The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to leave undisturbed a lower court ruling that limits the government’s power to keep secret photos or documents that�reveal official wrongdoing.� Thus, the ACLU argued in a new brief, the Court should deny a Pentagon request to vacate that lower court opinion. �The case is [
Posted on SCOTUSBLOG on November 18, 2009 at 1:24 PM

The Right Role for Sarah Palin -- By: Reihan Salam

When Sarah Palin resigned on July 4th weekend, it certainly looked as though she had decided to abandon politics, or at the very least given up on running for president in 2012. And despite the saturation coverage of Palin?s Going Rogue book tour, it?s not obvious that she hasn?t. As Republican political strategist Patrick Ruffini has observed, a Palin
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 18, 2009 at 12:30 PM

The Little Red Hen Syndrome -- By: Jack Fowler

You know the story of the famous rosy chicken. She finds grain, she asks her buddies for help to bake bread, no one lifts a finger -- it?s like High Noon starring Rachael Ray. So LRH does it all solo, and then, when the bread is baked, all her excuse-mongering barnyard paisans are suddenly ready to help -- mangia. No sweat equity, but big eyes and bigg
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 18, 2009 at 12:00 PM

Wednesday Round-up

Roll Call (subscription only) has an editorial by Simon Lazarus in which he argues that Congress is pushing back against recent Court decisions that encroach on Congress?s domain.� Lazarus cites four examples of legislation Congress introduced to reverse the Court?s decisions and a fiery reproach of the Court?s conservatives from Senator John McCain. O
Posted on SCOTUSBLOG on November 18, 2009 at 10:57 AM

Four Measures to Remake America -- By: Michael G. Franc

The Pelosi-Reid Congress, it?s clear, fancies itself among the most consequential Congresses ever. In the House these last ten months, four votes stand out for the historians and political scientists to ponder and dissect -- the final votes on the $787 billion economic stimulus plan, the fiscal-year 2010 budget resolution, the cap-and-trade legislatio
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 18, 2009 at 4:00 AM

Obama's Prissy America -- By: Victor Davis Hanson

The liberal writ was that a strutting ?bring ?em on? George W. Bush for eight years did what he pleased on the international scene. His ?unilateral? America supposedly did not consult with either allies or international organizations, as he rammed through democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush?s ?my way or the highway? personal credo resulte
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 18, 2009 at 4:00 AM

Delicate China -- By: An NRO Symposium

As the president winds down his China trip, National Review Online asked experts on China and foreign policy: What should we do with and how should we regard China?PETER BROOKESNo country or issue will shape the course of the 21st century -- for good or ill -- more than China.For example, it?s the world?s most populous nation; the largest producer o
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 18, 2009 at 4:00 AM

Leave It to the Generals -- By: NRO Staff

As the debate over whether to send more American troops to Afghanistan intensifies, our war efforts could be hindered by an unlikely source: the U.S. judicial branch.�Federal judges are considering whether foreign al-Qaeda and Taliban supporters captured by the U.S. military and held at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan can sue the U.S. government to be re
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 18, 2009 at 4:00 AM

It's No Way to Fight a War on Terror -- By: Jonah Goldberg

I get where President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are coming from. They think that if we change our way of life, the terrorists will have won.In principle, I agree. If upholding our values makes fighting the War on Terror harder, then it should be harder.That?s why I don?t care much that it will cost more money to try suspected terroris
Posted on Bench Memos - National Review Online on November 18, 2009 at 12:00 AM

2009-11-19 Posts in other Subject Areas

Academic (197), Criminal Law (187), Legal News (171), Legal Commentary (134), Legal Research (92), Religion & Law (89), Personal Injury Law (85), International Law (85), Intellectual Property Law (60), Loan Modification (58), Litigation (57), Labor & Employment Law (42), Real Estate & Property Law (39), Federal Judiciary (32), Bailout (31), Taxation & Estate Planning (28), Indiana (27), Celebrity Law (26), Miscellaneous (22), Constitutional Law (22), Corporate & Securities Law (22), Legal Writing (20), Patent Law (20), Ethics (20), Estate Planning (18), Election-Campaign Law (18), Politics (18), Bankruptcy (17), Law Students (17), Legal Niches (16), Law Humor (15), Family Law (15), Copyright Law (15), Kentucky (14), Consumer Law (11), Media & Entertainment Law (10), In-House Counsel (9), Corporate Governance (9), Legal History (9), Law Technology (9), Immigration Law (9), Legal Marketing & PR (8), Paralegals & Legal Secretaries (8), Health Law (8), Florida (7), Class Action (5), Disability Law (4), Ohio (4), Environmental Law (4), Law School (3), New Law Blogs (3), Bar Associations (3), Local Law Blogs (3), Massachusetts (3), Legal Journals (3), Practice Management (3), Education Law (3), Public Defense (3), State Courts (3), Personal Blogs (3), New York (2), Banking Law (2), Bad Cops & Prosecutors (2), Careers (2), Energy Law (2), Legal Malpractice (2), Elder Law (1), Solo Practice (1), Obama Citizenship (1), Persaonl Blogs (1), Appellate Law (1), Michigan (1), Arbitration & Mediation (1), Litigation Support (1), Trademark Law (1),