A Long Way From Winnemucca

Bill Scannell just let me know about PapersPlease.org, Nevada cowboy Dudley Hiibel's site devoted to his case before the U.S. Supreme Court to be argued on March 22. In Mr. Hiibel's case, the Court will determine whether the Nevada Supreme Court erred when it found Mr. Hiibel, who was apparently just minding his own business at the time, could be arrested for refusing to show I.D. to a police officer on demand. The Washington Times has this editorial.

3, 2, 1: Injunction

Frank Field has all the scoop on the injunction ordered last Friday by District Judge Susan Illston in the 321 Studios case. Unsurprisingly, 321 says it will appeal the injunction and seek a stay of its enforcement. For more, see the company's News Page (gotta love a company that links to scores of articles about its bad days in court) and Legal Timeline (which needs updating).

It Was Only A Matter Of Meme...

This is pretty much right on:

YOU ARE RULE 15!

You're a very helpful rule! You allow the attorney

to amend their complaint once as a matter of

course at any time before the answer is filed,

and also allow amendments in other cases. If a

claim relates back to the original transaction

or occurrence outlined in the complaint, you

can amend the complaint, even though the
statute of limitations has run. Like a good

friend, you're always there to help out in a

bind.

Which Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Are You?

brought to you by Quizilla

Thanks JCA and TPB.

Reason No. 8,372 Appellate Oral Argument Is The Best Part Of The Legal Process

I'm reproducing this gem verbatim from Howard:

The perils of an advocate's trying to replicate an allegedly hostile work environment from the lectern at the start of an appellate oral argument: Today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, a three-judge panel consisting of Circuit Judges Richard D. Cudahy, Richard A. Posner, and Ilana Diamond Rovner heard oral argument [PDF] in the case of Leslie D. McPherson v. City of Waukegan. The attorney for plaintiff-appellant McPherson began his oral argument as follows:

My name is Jed Stone, and I represent the appellant Leslie McPherson.

"What color is your bra? Does it match your panties?"

Immediately thereafter, Judge Rovner interjected:

Are you speaking to Judge Posner?

The courtroom erupted in laughter. You can download the audio of the oral argument via this link (right-click to save MPG audio file to your computer's hard drive before playing audio). Thanks so very much to the reader who emailed to bring this oral argument from earlier today to my attention.

(Note it was the female member of the panel who contributed this wonderful bit of wit.)

Going Up?

At argument this past Wednesday in an appeal we've been handling, Associate Justice Richard Sims of the California Court of Appeal (Third District) said "probably more than any case I've seen in my 20 years" the matter could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. It involves the issue of whether, under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, states can sue Indian tribes to enforce campaign contribution disclosure laws. My colleague Jim Martin argued the case, which you can read more about in this AP report.