An ‘Implausible’ and ‘Illogical’ Application of the Law
February 2, 2012
Author Archive
Thus says the 9th Circuit panel of three judges who overturned federal district court Judge James Ware’s order to release the Prop 8 trial videotape. Read more
Dig Deeper – An ‘Implausible’ and ‘Illogical’ Application of the Law
February 2, 2012
Thus says the 9th Circuit panel of three judges who overturned federal district court Judge James Ware’s order to release the Prop 8 trial videotape. Read more
Prop 8 Videotape Decision Due Tomorrow
February 1, 2012
The 9th Circuit announced on its website today that a decision is due tomorrow (Feb 2) on the question of the public disclosure of the Prop 8 (the California marriage amendment) trial videotape. Read more
6th Circuit on Morality-Based Law: Sorry, but ‘Lawrence v. Texas’ Hasn’t Changed Things
December 9, 2011
The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (covering Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee) this week affirmed the conviction of an Ohio man under that state’s criminal incest statute, rejecting the argument that the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas invalidated all criminal statutes involving adult consensual sex. The consensual sex at issue in the Ohio case involved the man’s 22-year old stepdaughter. Read more
Latest Happenings in the Prop 8 Case at the 9th Circuit
December 2, 2011
The 9th Circuit published a notice this week announcing further hearings in the dispute over California’s marriage amendment, also known as Prop 8. It answers a couple of open questions about the complicated procedural twists and turns this case has taken; so now is a good opportunity to give you a status report. Read more
Latest FBI Hate Crimes Report Analysis – Still No Epidemic
November 16, 2011
Every year about this time I take a look at the annual FBI report on hate crimes in the United States. The 2010 report has just been published. I do this yearly because inevitably some mainstream news report will surface announcing that hate crimes against gays are “up,” and new laws must be passed to “stop the hate.” In 2009, the FBI’s statistics were used to support the passage of the federal hate crimes act. Read more
Supreme Court to Decide Whether to Hear Obamacare Appeals
October 27, 2011
Conflicting decisions from the 4th Circuit, the 6th Circuit and the 11th Circuit have all been appealed to the Supreme Court, which will have the opportunity at its November 10 internal conference (just the 9 justices ) to consider whether to accept and hear any or all of the appeals, according to veteran court reporter Lyle Denniston over at ScotusBlog.com. There are a total of five petitions pending from those three cases, and the process inside the Court’s conference will look like this: Read more
How do You Like Your Constitution: Dead or Alive?
October 14, 2011
Recently the Senate Judiciary Committee hosted Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer to discuss with the Senators a subject which the pair of justices have debated on law school campuses numerous times: how should judges interpret the Constitution? Read more
We need to pay attention to the cultural slippery slopes of other western democracies that, like the U.S., have a semblance of religious freedom guaranteed by law, when things like this occur: Read more
Surprise: Justice Kagan Votes Like John Paul Stevens
September 27, 2011
From this puff piece by the Washington Post on Justice Elena Kagan’s first year on the Supreme Court: Read more
