Supreme Court justices own stock. We know this, because often one or two justices must recuse themselves from consideration of a case involving a company they hold shares in.
But what happens when more than three justices find themselves in that position? The entire Court must take a pass on the case, because it takes at least six justices to tango.
Such was the case yesterday when the Court had no choice but the let a lawsuit alleging that a host of the nation’s largest companies violated international law by assisting South Africa’s former apartheid government. More here from AP.
Today, in an opinion authored by Justice John Paul Stevens, the Supreme Court held that express consent by counsel suffices to permit a magistrate judge to preside over jury selection in a felony trial, pursuant to the Federal Magistrates Act. A criminal defendant need not explicitly and personally waive his right U.S. District Court judge preside over the voir dire when his counsel agreed, the Court held in Gonzalez v. United States, No. 06-11612.
The Court also agreed to consider whether deference under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d), the federal habeas corpus law, should be given to the state court’s judgment in claims of ineffective assistance of counsel which the state court did not consider in Bell v. Kelly, No. 07-1223.
This morning the U.S. Supreme Court will likely hand down decisions and orders - among the cases that have yet to be decided is the closely-watched Second Amendment challenge to DC’s handgun ban - and we’ll update any newsworthy developments here. The justices are set to meet again on Thursday. The House meets in a pro forma session today and lawmakers from both houses resume work tomorrow.
Meanwhile:
According to a memo obtained by the Washington Post, Office of Special Counsel chief Scott J. Bloch, whose home and office were raided by the FBI last week, repeatedly butted heads with top career staffers over which cases should be pursued by the principal office protecting federal whistle-blowers and policing partisan politicking in the federal workplace. (WaPo).
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens says the euthanized Kentucky Derby horse Eight Belles probably died more humanely than death row prisoners do. (AP)
So far this term, the Court has avoided the plethora of 5-4 splits that defined the October 2006 term. (AP).
Emails containing racially derogatory banter exchanged by Secret Service agents were revealed in federal court in a lawsuit brought by black former agents alleging racially-motivated employment discrimination. (NYT)
President George W. Bush was in Crawford, Texas over the weekend on a covert family operation, if you haven’t heard. (WaPo)
Congress is in session today, but it should be a quiet day on the Hill as no hearings or sessions are scheduled. Across the street at the Supreme Court, there may be some orders released following yesterday’s conference. Expect some opinions to be released next week. We’ll keep you posted on any developments.
Meanwhile,
Yesterday the Democratic-controlled House passed a housing rescue plan aimed at easing the subprime-fueled burden on homeowners. But President George W. Bush said he will veto the measure, saying prudent borrowers should not bail out those who bit off more debt than they could chew - and Congress may not have the votes to override the veto. (AP)
Congress’s compromise on the farm bill also won’t likely please President Bush. (AP)
Sen. Richard C. Shelby, who has links to the mortgage industry, also has more say over the Congressional housing rescue plan. And some are not too happy about that. (NYT)
Partners of Chinese women who were forced to have abortions are pressing the Supreme Court to make it easier to get asylum in the United States. (AP)
The House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill that will create a White House czar for intellectual property rights and also increase resources to fight bootleggers. (Variety)
The Senate Ethics Committee on Thursday dismissed a complaint against Sen. David Vitter, a suspected patron of a prostitution ring headed by a woman who killed herself last month. (Reuters)
Two lawsuits filed by former employees against Fidelity Investments are seeking to expand Sarbanes-Oxley. (Boston Globe).
“Alaska: Where men are men … and women have not only won the governorship, but a senate seat and the chief justiceship of the Supreme Court,” Ginsburg said to the crowd.
Ginsburg, who said she is close to Scalia and therefore doesn’t let his sometimes “zinging” criticisms get to her, said she’d like to see language added to the Constitution protecting women’s equal rights, even though there is already law in place to guard against discrimination. “It may be largely symbolic, but it’s an important symbol,” Ginsburg said.
DC Dicta does not normally watch the show “Boston Legal,” but with all of the hubbub over a recent episode featuring the fictitious legal team before the U.S. Supreme Court - including an interview in Legal Timeswith show creator (and, like DC Dicta, Boston University School of Law alum) David E. Kelley - we had to check it out.
Now we want to know what you think. Kelley is known for his over-the-top drama, particularly on this show. Did you like the episode or is it - as some have criticized - too unrealistic and disrespectful of the high court? Give us your two cents in the comments section below. (Unfortunately this clip does not show what DC Dicta thought was the funniest part of the episode - when William Shatner’s Denny Crane was flirting with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg during opposing counsel’s argument.)
Mildred Loving - the black woman whose 1958 marriage to a white man in Virginia led to the landmark Supreme Court case striking down laws banning interracial marriage - has died.
The unanimous decision, Loving v. Virginia, authored by Chief Justice Earl Warren, held that Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. The ruling invalidated miscegenation laws in place across the country.
Battista and other Republican members of the board came under fire from Congressional Democrats last year over a series of decisions the lawmakers said eroded the rights and protections of union members. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., called the board’s GOP majority “the most anti-worker, anti-labor, anti-union board in its history.”
White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said yesterday: “It’s unfortunate that the country has lost another devoted public servant because the Senate failed to act on important nominations in a timely manner.”
Reacting to the withdrawal of Battista’s nomination today, Kennedy said: “Mr. Battista’s tenure on the Board made clear that he was not going to stand up for the nation’s workers.”
“I urge the President to send us a new nominee who will reverse the Board’s anti-worker, anti-union, anti-labor bias,” Kennedy said. “In these difficult economic times, it is more important than ever for employees to have a Board that protects their rights.”
UPDATE 2: After Georgia’s high court and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected last minute appeals, Lynd was executed. He was pronounced dead at 7:51 p.m. Tuesday at the Diagnostic and Classification prison in Jackson, Ga.
UPDATE: Mississippi inmate Earl Wesley Berry’s execution had been set for May 21, meaning that Georgie could now become the first state to carry out the death penalty since Baze v. Rees if the execution of William Earl Lynd goes forward at 7 p.m. today as planned. More from the AP.
The first executions since last fall - when the U.S. Supreme Court halted lethal injections which considering their constitutionality - could take place today and tomorrow.
Today Mississippi death row inmate Earl Wesley Berry could face his death sentence for his kidnapping and murder conviction. Tomorrow Georgia could execute its first prisoner - Earl Lynd, who was convicted of murder - since the Supreme Court’s de facto moratorium on executions pending the decision in Baze v. Rees. Last month the Court ruled that the three-drug lethal injection combination used in Kentucky and most other states did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
Last-minute appeals are underway in both cases, and pro- and anti-death penalty protesters are set to hold demonstrations in both states.
Justices from the nation’s highest court will convene in a conference on Thursday, lawmakers are busy trying to hammer out the farm bill and other matters (more on that below), and a brand-spanking new issue of Lawyers USAis out as you celebrate Cinco de Mayo today. Here are some highlights from this issue. Subscribers can click on the links for the full story.
Under the best of circumstances, divorce proceedings rarely are completely pleasant or smooth-sailing for a couple and their lawyers. But in an uncertain economy and shaky housing market, divorce is becoming increasingly complicated. More here.
Estate planning lawyers are finding that many prenuptial agreements for older couples contain costly omissions - about health care, nursing home costs and other “elder care” costs. More here.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling addressing the definition of driving while intoxicated for purposes of federal sentencing is expected to have a broad impact on criminal cases, but also leaves open many questions, criminal lawyers say. More here.
Prepaid funeral plans may involve more risk than buyers realize. More here.
In other news and chatter:
Lawmakers want to hold hearings to investigate whether the practice of securities lawyers paying plaintiffs to file class action lawsuits happens at places other than Milberg Weiss. (BI)
Is the False Claims Act a legal gold rush for the tort bar? (WSJ Law Blog)
There will soon be a vacancy at the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division - giving Attorney General Michael Mukasey the opportunity to make a key appointment. (WaPo)
Many case-strapped states are releasing prisoners early in order to ease their budgets. (WaPo)
Lawmakers are working to come up with a veto-proof farm bill plan. (AP)
The IRS and FBI are investigating whether mortgage lenders ignored the signs that some borrowers were getting into subprime deals that would eventually overwhelm them - and the credit industry. (NYT)
Supreme Court justices own stock. We know this, because often one or two justices must recuse themselves from consideration of a case involving a company they hold shares in.
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Posted by Kimberly Atkins
This morning the U.S. Supreme Court will likely hand down decisions and orders - among the cases that have yet to be decided is the closely-watched Second Amendment challenge to DC’s handgun ban - and we’ll update any newsworthy developments here. The justices are set to meet again on Thursday. The House meets in a pro forma session today and lawmakers from both houses resume work tomorrow.
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens says the euthanized Kentucky Derby horse Eight Belles probably died more humanely than death row prisoners do. (
Congress is in session today, but it should be a quiet day on the Hill as no hearings or sessions are scheduled. Across the street at the Supreme Court, there may be some orders released following yesterday’s conference. Expect some opinions to be released next week. We’ll keep you posted on any developments.
Mildred Loving - the black woman whose 1958 marriage to a white man in Virginia led to the landmark Supreme Court case striking down laws banning interracial marriage - has died.
Robert J. Battista, the former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, 
Justices from the nation’s highest court will convene in a conference on Thursday, lawmakers are busy trying to hammer out the farm bill and other matters (more on that below), and a brand-spanking new issue of 
