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Went to jury duty as ordered, and was on a panel that included 50 of us—all for a single trial involving two defendants, one accused of murder.

Since there were only a few trials to take place, or

Maybe eleven. Plus me. Starting a week from today.

I’ve been called to sit in judgment of some poor schmuck who’s run afoul of the law. I don’t know who or how or whether he did it or not. I’ll find

Damn. Five-four!?

<long string of profanity>

Okay, McCain. You’ve got my vote.

You backstabbing, media-whoring son of a bitch.

The unaccountable elites who “safeguard democracy” have spoken in California. Apparently four out of seven California supreme court justices drive a Fiat.

Now the debate over voter photo ID goes back where it belongs: the legislative branch.

States can require voters to produce photo identification, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, upholding a

Said litterbox-feaster is suing Canadian bloggers for hurting his feelings.

Pussy.

First it was the ridiculous idea that Bill Clinton could become Hillary’s vice-president (in the increasingly unlikely event that she could become president). Now this:

The question has nagged at

Like Instapundit, I haven’t posted here about the Omaha mass murder—but I think I’m pretty much in sync with Prof. Reynolds:

But it’s worth noting—since apparently most of the media reports

Baltimore—A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals out of a belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for

Years ago, something dawned on me in what might very well be my first genuine blinding flash of the obvious.

Back then, a favorite slogan among gun owners and others who support the individual-right

I previously posted on this 13 months ago.

A Fairbanks man was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison Monday for his role in the death of a world-renowned physicist.

In April, a jury found Byron

I can kind of sympathize with Britney Spears’ lawyer—apparently it’s not necessary to represent oneself to have a fool for a client—and I guess I can’t really blame him for trying to spin this even

I can’t believe I’m going to endorse something Bill Clinton said, but he just happens to be right.

Dave: “Now there was a discussion last week, and there is I guess a greater discussion, and there’s

Years ago, when I was in college, one of my professors noted a theory that you could get a better idea of how a judge was going to rule on any given matter before his court, not by researching his

A federal appeals court overturned the District of Columbia’s long- standing handgun ban Friday, rejecting the city’s argument that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applied only to

The case was hard on the news media, too.

“The trial has demystified the priestly practices of Washington journalism,” said Roy Peter Clark, a senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, a school and

Well, Fitzgerald managed to get a scalp, of sorts. Scooter Libby was convicted of four counts according to the legal paperwork. What the jury actually considered him guilty of when they voted to

After the crazy business over James Brown’s estate, the future of Anna Nicole Smith’s millions, and her baby daughter, are in an even bigger mess. Apparently her will hasn’t been updated since

H/t the former Juan Non-Volokh:

The research arm of Congress says that legislation to give the District a vote in the House of Representatives is probably unconstitutional, a finding that could

Does it all depend on what your definition of “active” is?

A judge on Friday denied a long-shot bid by GOP operatives to have state Attorney General Jerry Brown declared ineligible for office.

In a

I just noticed there hasn’t been any big reverberations in blogdom about developments in the Scooter Libby prosecution.

What’s up with that?

Sometimes I wonder if these idiot judges think being put to death by the state should be accompanied by a party-like atmosphere for the, er, guests of honor. Do they want the executions performed at

Drew Brees wants no part of his mother’s political aspirations.

The NFL quarterback and Westlake High School graduate has told Mina Brees, an Austin attorney, to stop using his picture in TV

Deeply controversial issues like abortion and suicide rights have nothing to do with the Constitution, and unelected judges too often choose to find new rights at the expense of the democratic

People betray their country for several different reasons, most commonly money or ideology. While many traitors live deeply troubled lives, and a touch of megalomania and messianic fervor often

Well okay, there’s only one. So far.

A California-born convert to Islam, accused of making a series of al Qaeda propaganda videos, became on Wednesday the first American charged with treason since

...er, I mean skate.

The judge in the CIA leak case ruled Thursday that if Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald feels that admitting certain classified documents at the upcoming trial of I Lewis

There’s a power struggle going on in Georgia between the people’s elected representatives on the one hand, and state and federal judges on the other who seem to think it’s better to let illegal

Memo to Senile Jack: When someone sues you for defaming him, don’t respond by defaming him.

Rep. John Murtha, responding Wednesday to a defamation lawsuit filed by a Marine accused of killing Iraqi

You’d think with the Patriot Act allegedly sending people to Gitmo for checking out the wrong library books, the ACLU would have to be more judicious in picking its battles.

A Kansas church group

In May, New York authorities accused a Smyrna gun store of illegally supplying guns that sometimes ended up in the hands of criminals. The gun store fired back on Thursday.

In a $400 million

Fitzmas has apparently become Grinchmas, once and for all.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Valerie Plame and her husband, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador, accused Cheney, Rove and

UPDATE: Another, unrelated comic strip below the fold.

WEST PALM BEACH—Saying Rush Limbaugh’s Viagra prescription was legally prescribed, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday that it would not file charges against the

Once again the U.S. Supreme Court has handed a political winner to those of us who have long believed the Court was skewed toward fundamental lawlessness.

The United States Supreme Court is not the

The lawyer for a Georgia Tech student being held on terrorism-related charges can view some of the classified evidence being used against his client. But he can’t share that information with the

In comments here I wrote:

Yeah, and what’s there to say about [Cynthia McKinney] that I haven’t already said a million times? Let alone everybody else in blogdom with two brain cells to rub

How dare this judge uphold a generation of jurisprudence in the face of Michael Newdow’s hurt feelings!?

A Sacramento federal judge on Monday tossed out atheist Michael Newdow’s challenge to the

O’Flaherty was publicly admonished in 2002 by the Commission on Judicial Performance for giving prospective jurors permission in two trials to lie to get out of jury duty if they didn’t want to

The effort to keep a former Kenneth Starr associate off the courts has failed. H/t: new Wizbanger Lorie Byrd.

...since the government is still collecting a tax to pay for it.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it will stop collecting some telephone taxes on long-distance calls and refund about $15

I’ve pointed before to the practice of the class-action lawsuit—in effect, a lawsuit filed not by plaintiffs but by lawyers on the assumption they’ll be able to recruit plaintiffs.

A federal grand

I’m not all that sympathetic to anyone associated with Trent Lott—but here we’re talking about the American Bar Association’s standards for rating someone “unqualified” to serve on the federal

Washington divorce lawyer Marna S. Tucker, a registered Democrat, conducted the most recent interview of Mr. Kavanaugh and delivered testimony on behalf of the ABA over the telephone yesterday for

There’s really no workable alternative to the conclusion reached in this ruling.

A county social services department cannot be required to accommodate the belief of an evangelical Christian employee

Rush Limbaugh already voluntarily went through treatment, so the only thing about this deal that comes close to justifying three years of fishing expeditions and attempted trial-by-media, is that

I remain convinced that the burning of a stolen U.S. flag isn’t protected “speech”—despite the Supreme Court ruling that held exactly that—but vandalism. Destruction of property.

Obviously my view

According to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, any federal employee can invade private property purportedly on official business, and you have no recourse.

A federal appeals court has upheld

It’s the only plausible explanation—that they’ve somehow begun performing lobotomies on students as part of the graduation requirement in law school.

Weissman contended in his March 17 letter that

The account of an FBI informant, a critical government witness, about seeing one of the world’s most wanted terrorists in Lodi in 1999 is probably not true, an FBI agent testified in Sacramento

I can’t believe Baghdad Jim McDermott is actually being held accountable for his lawbreaking. Too bad it’s taken this long.

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Rep. Jim McDermott violated

The prosecution’s case in the Lodi terror imam trial is under assault, in large part because of the Zawahiri claim mentioned (skeptically) here.

A defense lawyer on Tuesday aimed to undercut the

Ayman al-Zawahiri isn’t the most distinguished-looking gent, after all.

An FBI informant testified Monday in Sacramento federal court that al-Qaida’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, lived in

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled yesterday that federal extortion and racketeering laws cannot be used against protesters at abortion clinics, ending a legal battle that has gone on for 20

When a trial lawyer asks that question, it answers itself.

The necessity of a bill that would specify that people have no duty to retreat from an attacker before using deadly force was questioned in

If kids are passing their classes but unable to demonstrate knowledge of basic math and English to a standard established as necessary to graduate, not only should they not be allowed to graduate,

Arlen Specter is an asshole.

Well, okay, no. It’s just that a filibuster would have added to GOP gains in this fall’s congressional elections, is all.

Congratulations, Judge Alito—and thank you for not letting the Deaniacs’

Sen. Barack 0bama, the freshman Democrat from Illinois who is one of his party’s brightest stars, chided his party yesterday for its “over-reliance” on “procedural maneuvers” such as the fruitless

A couple of years back I wrote in an entry that Hillary Clinton’s best possible time to run for president may actually have been 2004 after all, an election year she sat out. And here we see another

BB&T Corp., the second-biggest bank in the Washington area, said yesterday that it will not lend money to developers who plan to build commercial projects on land taken from private citizens through

The New York Times channels Br’er Fox:

Senate Democrats, who presented a united front against the nomination of Judge Alito in the Judiciary Committee, seem unwilling to risk the public criticism

...of learning that Patrick Leahy is going to vote against confirming Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

Whatever, oh whatever will we do?

Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito seemed headed for Senate confirmation on Thursday after finishing more than 18 hours of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee where he defended his

In a comment on this thread about the Senate Judiciary Committee’s then-upcoming hearings on whether or not Judge Samuel Alito should be allowed to become an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme

The evolutionists have been insisting all along that Intelligent Design isn’t science, and many have argued they would have no trouble with it being taught in, say, a philosophy course (a view I

The 0.4% solution?

Early last month, the pro-choice group NARAL sent an e-mail to supporters asking for 500,000 signatures to convince senators that Judge Alito is “Wrong for Our Country.” So how

On the one hand we have this:

Senate Democrats have put into place a plan that includes one last push to take down the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito as he heads into his confirmation hearing

Holy Toledo! (Actually, Cincinnati.)

A federal appeals court has upheld a display of the Ten Commandments alongside other historical documents in the Mercer County, Ky., courthouse.

The judge who

But let’s not make him exert himself on the way to his execution.

The attorneys for Clarence Ray Allen argued in a reply petition filed with the governor’s office late Tuesday that the state may be

First, La Shawn Barber takes on the sub-culture some say discourages black students from doing well in school.

Second, inspired by the purple-finger solidarity gesture, Aaron brings one out of the

More correctly, it’s about running out the clock, in hopes of preventing Rep. Tom DeLay from reassuming leadership of the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

District Attorney

When the investigation was first announced, it seemed like everybody was convinced Rush Limbaugh was going to prison. I still think some of the court rulings in that matter were out of line with the

Right after the Kelo decision, Georgia’s attorney general, Thurbert Baker, issued an opinion that basically said nothing like that could happen here.

Mark and Regina Meeks don’t relish their roles

That slope may be a mite, y’know, slippery…

“Polygamy rights is the next civil rights battle.” So goes the motto of a Christian pro-polygamy organization that has been watching the battle over

They say it’s because the court wouldn’t let Ramsey Clark raise the question of the tribunal’s legitimacy. I think it’s because so many of the lawyers working on Saddam’s case have been targeted by

They keep promising us quagmires and never seem able to deliver.

“What we are hearing the Democrats complaining about are the issues we want to debate. We’ll take Judge Alito and his writings on

Britain’s Prince Charles Sues Over Leak

AFP

Britain’s Prince Charles launched legal action after comments about Chinese diplomats from one of his private journals were published in a British weekly

Anyone remember Super Bowl XXIV, the one between the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos? Of course the hype leading up to the game led everyone to expect a closer outcome, right?

That’s what

Francis W. Porretto says,

Kevin McGehee’s energetic Yippee-Ki-Yay! stays just this side of apoplexy…most of the time.

First of all, who you callin’ “energetic”!? As for the apoplexy part, some

Shea: State Attorney General Violated Ethics Law on Irwin Memo

R.A. Dillon, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Former U.S. Attorney Wev Shea claims that Alaska Attorney General David Marquez violated the

This link will only point to the Nov. 6 “Opus” comic strip until, well, Nov. 13.

It’s about the Harriet Miers nomination.

UPDATE: Some political cartoons below the fold.

Dubya, why didn’t you do this in the first place!? Why did you even bother with that “gotta nominate a woman” bull$#!t?

I predicted Aunt Harriet “Quag” Miers would be confirmed to the Supreme Court. I was wrong.

I never seriously considered the possibility she would withdraw.

Okay, Dubya—now give us a nominee we can

So now the U.S. Forest Service needs to file an environmental impact statement before it fights a forest fire?

I’ve been wondering just how much credulity can be invested in these leaks, and I think I now have my answer: None.

And for once I even kinda sorta hope maybe he’s right.

Miers Lacking Senate Support

AP

WASHINGTON — A Democrat on the Senate committee that will consider Harriet Miers’ nomination said Sunday that

You might be wondering why an article about a lawsuit in Wyoming qualifies here for the Alaska category. Read on.

Fremont Lawsuit Grows Out of Nationwide Effort

Ben Neary, AP

CHEYENNE—A federal

Doesn’t Look Good

John Tabin @ Spectator.org

Harriet Miers will not join the Supreme Court. It may seem a little early to say that…

» Read the rest.

That’s for sure. I have seen all the alleged

Federal Judge Grants Voter ID Injunction

Bill Rankin, AJC

A federal judge in Rome today issued an order suspending a new state law requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls for the upcoming

Spectator.org’s “The Prowler” discusses the “Card, no Rove” meme surrounding the Miers nomination, which I’ve posted about here and here.

The focus of Mr. Card’s ire are comments reported here, made

Yolo County, California is using eminent domain to try to get a huge tract of land… away from developers…?

Only in California.

I posted here on an American Spectator item alleging that Andrew Card, not Darth Rove, was instrumental in getting Aunt Harriet the Supreme Court nomination. Now Brit Hume reports (third item) that

According to Drudge, Darth Rove told Darth Dobson that Aunt Harriet got the nomination because the more qualified women on the short list didn’t want to be considered.

Dobson said that the White

How does a federal district court judge get to say that his ruling applies nationwide?

Forest Service, Bowing to Court, Embraces Scrooge

Audrey Hudson, The Washington Times

A federal court ruling in

So now they’re saying Andrew Card pushed Aunt Harriet Miers for this latest Supreme Court nomination. Yeah, sure, whatever. Bush still should have known better than to handle this the way he did.

The best part of this AP article in the WaPo is this:

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., accused critics of Miers’ nomination of being “incredibly sexist.”

“They’re saying a woman who was one of the

One more from Wyoming:

High Court Reverses Humphrey Dismissal

Anthony Lane, Casper Star-Tribune

The 24 years that passed after a murder charge against Rita Humphrey was first dismissed and its

Apparently I’m an Ivy League snob.

Or maybe I just don’t think the President who signed McCain-Feingold, appointed Norman Mineta to his Cabinet, pushed for the biggest new entitlement program since

Apparently facts and the law took a backseat to other considerations, even for members of the Grand Jury.

2nd DeLay Charges Initially Were Rejected

Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times

Three days

“Where does the nominee stand on Roe v. Wade?” “Where does she stand on gay rights?” “What will she do about [insert pet cause here]?”

BAH!

The mere fact we are afflicted with these questions

I don’t know nothin’ about this woman.

Fox News: Bush Picks Miers for Supreme Court

AP: Bush Chooses Miers for Supreme Court

I’m sure there are reactions around Pajamastan that are much more

Krispy Kreme’s Largest Franchise Sues Company

AP

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The owners of Krispy Kreme Doughnut Inc.‘s largest franchise have sued the doughnut maker, claiming executives misappropriated

DeLay Indicted in Campaign Finance Probe

Larry Margasak, AP

A Texas grand jury on Wednesday charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme, an

I don’t think it means what you think it means.

Cut out the Crosses

Brit Hume @ Fox News (last item)

Two residents of a New Mexico town are suing to remove three crosses from the official town seal.

Faulty Body Armor May Have Endangered Bush

John Solomon, AP

The Justice Department is investigating whether a company sold defective bulletproof vests for President Bush, federal agents and local

Suit Slams Voter ID Law

Carlos Campos & James Salzer, AJC

Voting and civil rights groups launched a legal assault Monday on the state’s requirement that Georgians show a government-issued photo ID

This is how judges are supposed to act (emphasis added):

Judge Says Fulton Must Aid Sandy Springs

D.L. Bennett, AJC

Sandy Springs organizers cleared a major hurdle Friday when a judge ruled Fulton

You gotta go see.

The Supreme Court ruled that Michael Newdow didn’t have standing to argue his case. Wouldn’t it therefore be sensible to conclude—since Newdow’s standing didn’t change between his successful ruling

As rulings like this become more common, will we start to see bumper stickers like this?

You can have my right to abortion when you pry it from my fetus’ cold, dead fingers!

If I printed up a bunch,

Unprecedented (or so I’ve read—Aylward has his doubts). But y’know what? It makes some sense. Roberts as Chief is slightly less of a step-down from Rehnquist than it might have been, and ought to be

As you’ve no doubt heard or read elsewhere, William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, has passed away at age 80. There is no chance of a new Chief Justice being in place when the

Roberts again. This from Brit Hume’s “Political Grapevine,” the two-minute segment that comes right after the bottom-of-the-hour break on his nightly “Special Report” program on Fox News Channel:

Hypocrisy on Adult Consent

Jeff Jacoby

’‘I believe severe punishment is required in this case,” the judge said at Allen and Pat’s sentencing in November 1997. ‘‘I think they have to be separated.

Yet another common-sense ruling from California. I may have to reconsider my labelling it “The Fugue State.”

Appeals Court Ruling Punches Hole in Attorney-Client Privilege

AP

LOS ANGELES—An appeals

Maybe somebody needs to investigate “judge shopping.” Because it does appear the Palm Beach County prosector’s office has a pet judge who issues favorable rulings—as demonstrated by this one issued

But the Gang of 14’s “deal” has nothing to do with it.

Roberts Unlikely To Face Big Fight

Mike Allen & Dana Milbank, Washington Post

Democrats have decided that unless there is an unexpected

Supreme Court Puts Redistricting Measure Back on Ballot

Gary Delsohn, Sacramento Bee

The state Supreme Court moved Friday to put Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s redistricting measure back on

State Supreme Court Rejects Gay Marriage Case, for Now

David Kravets, AP

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The California Supreme Court refused to immediately take up a legal challenge to the state’s ban on

Legal Challenge to Arizona Law on Illegals Dismissed

Jerry Seper, The Washington Times

A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 200 in Arizona, which prohibits illegal aliens from

Court Upholds Virginia Pledge Requirement

AP

RICHMOND, Va.—An appeals court on Wednesday upheld a Virginia law that requires public schools to lead a daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance,

Roberts Deferential to Other Branches

Stephen Dinan & James G. Lakely, The Washington Times

Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. consistently deferred to the legislative and executive branches

The same reactionary wackos who accuse Republicans of having a litmus test on abortion, have spoken:

Senators Demand Roe Be Upheld

Charles Hurt, The Washington Times

A group of female Democratic

...to one where, “Would you like to super-size that?” is part of the script.

Judge Acquits Father in Toddler’s Death

Candy Moulton, Casper Star-Tribune

RAWLINS—It took three hours to seat a jury,

“To me, it makes no difference if it’s constitutional or not,” Blevins said. “It’s wrong.”

Chuck Blevins is suing to overturn a law permitting counties to freeze property tax assessments for

Lieberman: Roberts Probably Not Extremist

Jesse J. Holland, AP

WASHINGTON - A moderate Democratic senator who helped broker a deal over President Bush’s judicial nominations said Thursday that

But if you’re bound and determined to counteract MoveOn.org’s worthless online petition against confirming Judge Roberts to the Supreme Court, have at it.

It would be far better to call your state’s

The muted but generally docile noises being made by most Democrat Senators might lead some to expect a relatively smooth confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Judge John G. Roberts.

It is

Here’s what the D.C. Circuit’s website says about the new Supreme Court nominee’s judicial background:

Judge Roberts was confirmed by the Senate to a judgeship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the

Conservatives Are Told It Will Not Be Gonzales

Alexander Bolton, The Hill

White House officials have assured select conservative leaders that they will not nominate Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

Zombyboy makes an excellent point about those paltry class-action lawsuit awards that come all unexpected in the mail.

At least he got money. All I ever got was a free ultrasound of my heart.

So I complained about nothing being worth blogging about. That was this morning, this is now.

Rehnquist Says He’ll Stay on Supreme Court—tells reporters, “I need to keep my health insurance.”

Arabic

Second item here finds that 86 percent of those responding to a Gallup poll think it’s “somewhat” to “very” likely Senate Democrats will attempt to block President Bush’s upcoming Supreme Court

The Ongoing Constitutional Convention

George Neumayr @ American Spectator

The original order of importance of the branches is reflected in the order of the Constitution’s articles, historian Ron

Only days after Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement—bumfuzzling Court watchers who had expected Chief Justice William Rehnquist to be the first to go—the professional spectators

I’m late on the Garza bandwagon, but if this has any validity (second item, “Cornyn Ware”) I now believe strongly that’s who will be nominated to succeed Justice O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court.

For every idiotic action by the U.S. Supreme Court, there is an opposite reaction ... pretty much everywhere else. And by “opposite” I do mean not idiotic.

Property Owner Wins Eminent Domain Battle

There’s no way Attorney General Alberto Gonzales would have been acceptable as a Supreme Court nominee to succeed Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He just might make has a microscopically better

Uninformed Expropriation

Richard W. Rahn @ The Washington Times

If you were told the government could take your real property and give it to another preferred, private person, would you be more or

My state rep (and friend) Billy Horne has replied to the e-m