Appellate Practice

Alito Opts Out of the Supreme Court Cert Pool

A second Supreme Court justice is opting out of the cert pool, made up of law clerks who review cert petitions and recommend whether they should be granted. The court’s newest justice, Samuel A. Alito Jr., has decided not to participate, joining the court’s most senior justice, John Paul Stevens,…

Sep 29, 2008 2:42 PM CDT

SCOTUS Preview: Sonar, F-Bombs and Public Parks

The U.S. Supreme Court returns to the bench this month facing an eclectic mix of cases, including whether television viewers must tolerate the F-word on live broadcasts, whether whales can tolerate the Navy’s use of sonar, and whether public parks that include the Ten Commandments must make room for the…

Sep 28, 2008 1:40 PM CDT

Supreme Court 2.0: Experts Dream Up Ways to Remake High Court

At 10 a.m., on an Indian summer Monday in some future October, a switch will activate two cameras focused on the U.S. Supreme Court. C-SPAN will pick up the feed and telecast it to TV sets around the world. The Supreme Court will be on the air, Chief Justice Samuel…

Sep 28, 2008 1:29 PM CDT

Held in Solitary Over 35 Years, Albert Woodfox Wins Habeas Petition

One of the nation’s longest-serving prisoners has just won another round in his ongoing appellate battle. Albert Woodfox, 61, who contends he was framed for the 1972 murder of a Louisiana prison guard, won a favorable final ruling yesterday on his habeas corpus petition from a federal district judge. He…

Sep 26, 2008 9:32 PM CDT

Detroit Shutters Crime Lab with ‘Absolutely Shocking’ Error Rate

A Michigan State Police audit released Thursday reportedly exposed extensive problems with the Detroit Police firearms lab and prompted officials there to shutter the entire crime lab. State police began their evaluation of the lab in June after firearms evidence in a case was found to be tainted. The problems,…

Sep 26, 2008 3:54 PM CDT

Wash. High Court Allows Brain Harvesting Claim to Move Forward

The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday revived a suit brought by a mother who objected to the removal of her deceased son’s brain for medical research. Nancy Adams’ son Jesse Smith was an organ donor. But when Adams gave permission for a pathologist to take a sample of Smith’s brain…

Sep 26, 2008 1:21 PM CDT

En Banc Appeals Court Homes in on Nacchio Witness Exclusion

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver assembled en banc Thursday to decide whether disgraced Qwest CEO Joseph P. Nacchio should get a new trial in the insider-trading case against him. Nacchio was convicted last year, but a three-panel appellate court ruled in March that he should get…

Sep 26, 2008 10:38 AM CDT

Hood Execution Halted; Defense Alleged Judge-Prosecutor Affair

There’s no word about what was said at depositions yesterday and today of a former prosecutor and a retired judge accused of having had an affair more than a decade ago during a convicted murderer’s trial. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has called a halt to tomorrow’s scheduled…

Sep 9, 2008 10:09 PM CDT

Depositions Ordered re Alleged Long-Ago Affair Between Judge & Prosecutor

Charles Dean Hood is scheduled to be executed Wednesday. But first his lawyers will be allowed to depose a former prosecutor and retired judge accused of having an affair during his Texas murder trial, a state court judge decided today. A deposition of former former Collin County District Attorney Tom…

Sep 8, 2008 10:57 PM CDT

Tenn. High Court Hears Law Firm’s Plea for Judge’s Permanent Recusal

A Greeneville, Tenn., law firm’s effort to get a local judge to recuse himself permanently from its cases seemingly received a favorable reception today in a Tennessee Supreme Court hearing. The firm, Rogers Laughlin Nunnally Hood & Crum, is appealing to the high court Circuit Judge John Wilson’s refusal to…

Sep 5, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Again Convicted of Murder in Neighbor’s Dog-Mauling Death

Convicted of second-degree murder by a California jury after her 140-pound dog mauled a neighbor to death in their apartment building’s shared hallway, former San Francisco attorney Marjorie Knoller later had her crime reduced to involuntary manslaughter by the judge in the case. But another judge today reinstated the second-degree…

Aug 22, 2008 8:16 PM CDT

Judge’s Agreement to Resign Could Open Pandora’s Box

A Massachusetts judge’s agreement to resign due to a permanent disability that makes him unable to perform his duties could provide fodder for appeals of cases he has heard. Judge Ernest Murphy is stepping down under an agreement approved by Massachusetts’ highest court. The judge did not specify the nature…

Aug 22, 2008 4:13 PM CDT

Judge Delays Execution, Blasts ‘Insane System’ to Determine Sanity

A federal judge has delayed the execution of a Texas inmate and blasted the “insane” system to determine whether he is sane enough to be put to death. Jeffery Lee Wood, who sometimes spells his name as Jeffrey, was less than six hours away from execution when U.S. District Judge…

Aug 22, 2008 12:08 PM CDT

Next Time, Wear a Tie, Fed’l Circuit Judge Tells Left Coast Lawyer

A popped collar button on a Seattle lawyer’s dress shirt resulted in a sartorial instruction from Judge Randall Rader at the conclusion of a recent argument before a federal appeals court panel in Washington, D.C. “Next time, wear a tie. This is the Federal Circuit,” Rader called out to attorney…

Aug 21, 2008 8:07 PM CDT

Convicted Media Mogul Loses Appeals Court Rehearing Request

Media mogul Conrad Black, sentenced to 6½ years in prison for embezzling money from Hollinger International, has lost his request for a rehearing before a federal appeals court. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down Black’s request last week, Bloomberg reports. Black was convicted last year of…

Aug 21, 2008 5:11 PM CDT