MetaFilter posts tagged with Court

Privacy trumps idiocy...finally

dejah420 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:08:50 -0800

In an 8-1 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that school officials violated an Arizona teenager's rights by strip-searching her for prescription-strength ibuprofen, declaring that U.S. educators cannot force children to remove their clothing unless student safety is at risk. Clarence Thomas demurred, suggesting that panties would become the new drug underground.

Souter to retire

XQUZYPHYR — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:29:26 -0800

NPR is reporting that Supreme Court Justice David Souter will retire at the end of the current Court term, pending the approval of a replacement to be appointed by President Obama. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, Souter's replacement will presumably maintain the balance of ascribed "left-leaning" to "right-leaning" justices at 4-5, but will increase the number of justices on the bench appointed by a Democratic president to 3. At 69, Souter is in fact the youngest of the so-called "left-leaning" justices currently on the bench.

Law, Loneliness, Accomplishment and Courage

New Frontier — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:10:17 -0800

Maira Kalman, illustrator, author, artist, and designer, visited the United States Supreme Court. She recounts her experience and shares her reflections in this wonderfully illustrated blog.

The Jade Calendar

tellurian — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:22:21 -0800

A Visitor's Guide to Hell - A translation of the Chinese version of what happens to the human soul after death [with some illustrations]. e.g. for the sin of engaging in eating cinebar [red lead], cloudy jujubes [which have been placed in a woman's vagina for up to 3 months], human afterbirths, or other medicines in order to fortify your sexual power you can be sent to The Dungeon Where People Are Trampled by Mules and Chewed by Badgers.

Bitchy and Scratchy

davebush — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:25:18 -0800

A $10.00 scratch ticket + 2 buddies = $5,000,000.00 (minus lawyer fees). Day one in court. Day two.

Chemistry without those blasphemous isotopes!

cgomez — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:11:23 -0800

In response to the 2005 lawsuit, ACSI v. Stearns, a federal court has upheld the decision of the University of California to deny college credit for science courses that utilize texts with a religious slant. Official statement from the UCOP (PDF).

Life and death of a black and white

mrducts — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:47:48 -0800

Texas executes Mexican national who was denied consul visit. Jose Medellin, a Mexican national, was born in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, just across the Rio Grande river from Laredo,TX. Medellín moved to the US when he was 3 years of age, and was 18 years of age in June of 1993 when he participated in the gang rape and murder of Jennifer Ertman, 14 and Elizabeth Pena, 16 in Houston,Texas. He was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to death. In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that the Bush Administration must reconsider the case because Medellin was not informed of his right to contact Mexican consulate officials under the Vienna Convention. After the ruling, President Bush asserted authority under the Constitution and the various laws of the United States to order states to review the convictions and sentences of foreign nationals who had not been advised of their Vienna Convention rights. On March 25, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the arguments of the Bush Administration, and ruled that President Bush can't force Texas to reconsider, even if in violation of the International Court of Justice.[Previously]

Under His Robes

rzklkng — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:48:24 -0800

U.S. 9th District Court of Appeals Chief Justice Alex Kozinski [wiki] is currently adjudicating a remarkably hardcore obscenity case. He is currently facing his own obscenity case as well, having allowed public access to NSFW or illegal-for-minor-viewing material posted on his own vanity website, as reported in the LA Times. Although he maintains that the material's posting was just innocent fun, he clearly knows his way around the internets. Kozinski is a prolific and well-regarded essayist, and is occasionally mentioned as a potential Supreme Court nominee.

Pretty Good Pornography

The Bellman — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:18:01 -0800

A Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court in Vermont has ruled that a man allegedly caught with child pornography on his laptop need not reveal his PGP password (yes, authorities shut down the laptop and now can't get at the alleged porn) pursuant to the Fifth Amendment's protections against self incrimination. The decision is here[PDF]. A decent write-up (from CNET of all places) is here. This appears to be the first decision ever to directly address this issue, and many commentators had thought it would come out differently. The major question is whether revealing one's PGP key is "testimonial" or not. According to the Supreme Court, giving up fingerprints or blood samples isn't, nor is standing for a lineup, nor is handing over the key to a safe, but if it's combination safe, well maybe that's different. Never let it be said that your Fifth Amendment rights are easy.

....nothing but the truth so help you yourself

bap98189 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 06:25:20 -0800

A judge has issued a court summons for Lord Hanuman and Lord Ram, two Hindu gods, to settle a dispute over ownership of a temple. The initial summons were rejected due to an incomplete address, following which adverts were placed in the local press. This isn't the first time deities have become involved in Indian politics. Earlier this year, the Culture Minister almost had to resign after a report into the proposed construction of a canal questioned the existence of the god Ram. The canal would have crossed the path of the bridge Ram and his army of monkeys supposedly built to reach Sri Lanka. Following a row involving many major political leaders, the report was subsequently withdrawn.

Mandatory Binding Arbitration

bigmusic — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:49:07 -0800

NOTICE OF ARBITRATION AGREEMENT: This agreement provides that disputes between you and $$$ Ltd. will be resolved by BINDING ARBITRATION. You thus GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT to assert or defend your rights under this contract. *Your rights will be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR and NOT a judge or jury *You are entitled to a FAIR HEARING BUT the arbitration procedures are SIMPLER AND MORE LIMITED THAN RULES APPLICIBLE IN COURT. *Arbitrator decisions are as enforceable as any court order and are subject to VERY LIMITED REVIEW BY A COURT. FOR MORE DETAILS

Fear of a Left Planet

The Bellman — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 08:12:54 -0800

It's the first Monday in October and time for Supreme Court Justices to compare liberals, unfavorably, to the Ku Klux Klan. In his new memoir, released on the first day of the Supreme Court's 2007 term, Justice Clarence Thomas writes that he grew up fearing the KKK, but now knows he had "been afraid of the wrong white people all along. My worst fears had come to pass not in Georgia but in Washington, D.C., where I was being pursued not by bigots in white robes but by left-wing zealots draped in flowing sanctimony. " No small man, he also comments on Anita Hill's bad breath. Slate's spectacular legal columnist, Dahlia Lithwick, notes that "in the few hundred pages of his new book, Thomas has managed to undo years of effort by his colleagues to depoliticize the judicial branch." As usual, only Jon Stewart can make us laugh through the tears.

No Pay for Lost Pants

Slap Factory — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:50:36 -0800

A very big day for the District of Columbia Superior Court. In Pearson v. Soo Chung (pdf of opinion), Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled that Custom Cleaners is not liable to Roy L. Pearson for "various calculations of damages that go as high as $67 million" over "a pair of allegedly missing pants." The other shoe is yet to drop. Judge Bartnoff ruled that Pearson must pay the defendants' court costs and will consider forcing Pearson to pay the defendants' attorneys' fees. ( previously.)

New Supreme Court Opinions

dios — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:15:51 -0800

A very big day for the Supreme Court. In Morse v. Fredrick, the Court ruled that a school could suspend a child for holding up a "Bong HiTs for Jesus" banner. (Previous post here). In Hein v. Freedom from Religion, the Court held that taxpayers lacked standing to challenged Faith Based Initiatives (previous discussions). In Wilke v. Robbins, the Court held that land owners do not have Bivens claims if the federal government harasses landowners for easements. In FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, the Court held that the portion of the campaign finance law which had blackout periods before elections on issue advocacy advertising was an unconstitutional restriction of speech (other). This Thursday, the Justices will deliver their last opinions of the term, including a death penalty case and the school assignment cases. (Opinions are .pdfs)

You've all been so kind. Can I go now?

sweet mister — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 05:59:50 -0800

The first Gitmo trial has ended, but not before the defendant was stripped of two of his attorneys. Detainee #002 entered a guilty plea and will serve 9 months in an Australian prison. In return, he signed a statement stipulating that he had never been tortured or mistreated by the Americans -- despite previously reporting being beaten and deprived of sleep during his more than five years at the prison. The agreement bars him from suing the U.S. government for alleged abuse, forfeits any right to appeal, and imposes a gag order that prevents him speaking with news media for a year.

FREE ERIC VOLZ

premiumpolar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:53:22 -0800

Eric Volz, an American, is serving 30 years for a murder he did not commit. His DNA didn't match any of the evidence found at the crime scene, and there's plenty of very serious evidence showing that he didn't commit it (such as the fact that he was in a town two hours away while the murder was being done.) This needs as much media attention as possible. (First link is a Youtube video)

His object all sublime / He will achieve in time

Smart Dalek — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 18:45:11 -0800

Court Decision, re: Fisher v. Lowe, Feb. 1999. Car ends up in man's yard. Man sues driver. Judge administers poetic justice. [via]

And the hell with the law.

Tacos Are Pretty Great — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 04:33:30 -0800

New York Justice. Because every woman needs a good pounding every now and then.

Federal Appeals Court: Driving With Money is a Crime.

IronWolve — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 22:37:52 -0800

Federal Appeals Court opinion "We respectfully disagree and reach a different conclusion... Possession of a large sum of cash is 'strong evidence' of a connection to drug activity." Even if no evidence of a drug related crime is provided, you are guilty until proven innocent. BTW, they wont return the money.

Best. Judicial. Ruling. EVER.

Kat Allison — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:56:25 -0800

Bradshaw v. Unity Marine Corp., Inc. (147 F.Supp.2d 668) "Both attorneys have obviously entered into a secret pact--complete with hats, handshakes and cryptic words--to draft their pleadings entirely in crayon on the back sides of gravy-stained paper place mats, in the hope that the Court would be so charmed by their child-like efforts that their utter dearth of legal authorities in their briefing would go unnoticed. Whatever actually occurred, the Court is now faced with the daunting task of deciphering their submissions. With Big Chief tablet readied, thick black pencil in hand, and a devil-may-care laugh in the face of death, life on the razor's edge sense of exhilaration, the Court begins."

Don't think citizen, you may have to pay royalties!

bap98189 — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:02:55 -0800

Today SCOTUS will hear a case to decide the scope of what can and cannot be patented. At the heart of this case lies the decision about whether a patent can validly include a step of ‘correlating a test result’ that arguably monopolises a basic scientific relationship used in medical treatment ‘such that any doctor necessarily infringes the patent merely by thinking about the relationship after looking at a test result.’ If as expected the court uses this as an opportunity to reign in the scope of what can be patented this will surely be a victory for common sense.

Decision2006

angrybeaver — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 07:25:55 -0800

Online election results will be available after the polls close in British Columbia at 7pm PST. Bloggers have been warned not to post early results from the east before the polls close in British Columbia. CBC explains.

It appears that US-hosted websites ProAlberta and Captain's Quarters will be wilfully violating the Canada Elections Act and posting early results. Andew Coyne has suggested that posters to his website "[pretend] to report the results from some election in a foreign or imaginary land."

Paul Bryan was fined $1000 for posting early results from the 2000 election and is currently appealing to the Supreme Court. Previously discussed here and here.

...respecting and defending the life and dignity of every human being...

amberglow — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 17:47:47 -0800

Roe v. Wade, 33 years old today. With abortion back in the news due to the Supreme Court nomination of Alito, will the Ideological Rumble over the issue ever be settled or are we doomed to see questionable declarations like today's recognition of "National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2006"? ...creating a society where every life has meaning...-- every life? Really?

The End of Porn?

Saucy Intruder — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 10:46:42 -0800

The End of Porn? The Ashcroft/Gonzales Justice Department has made obscenity prosecutions a top priority, with 60 prosecutions in the first four years of the Bush administration (compared to four for the entire eight years of the Clinton administration). Anti-porn advocates were dismayed in January when a federal judge in Pittsburgh, citing dicta on sexual liberty in the Supreme Court's Lawrence v. Texas decision, dismissed an indictment in a closely-watched case. Today, however, the Third Circuit reversed, rejecting the defendant's arguments that (1) Lawrence protected their liberty interest in distributing pornographic material, and (2) earlier Supreme Court obscenity precedent should be revisited in light of the increased prevalence of Internet transmission. The result, undoubtedly, will be a new wave of prosecutions not seen since the Supreme Court set limits on First-Amendment based protections in the 1970s.

[Ugarte gives exit visas to Rick for safe keeping]

Smedleyman — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 14:04:32 -0800

First they take Ugarte and then she walks in. On the 9th of December 2005, Deborah Davis will be arraigned in U.S. District Court in a case that will determine whether people must show "papers" whenever police demand them. Unlike Dudley Hiibel (discussed on mefi last year) who had (arguably) caused a disturbance meriting police attention, Deb was just riding the bus when she was "welcomed" to the Denver Federal Center.