Judiciary Watch

Senate confirms O. Rogeriee Thompson to First Circuit

The Senate unanimously confirmed Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson to the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals.  Thompson is a graduate of Boston Univ. School of Law.  From 1997 until her appointment, she was an Associate Justice on the Rhode Island Superior Court, and prior to that served 10 years as an Associate Judge on the Rhode Island District Court.  Thompson was in private practice in Providence, RI from 1980 to 1988 and also served as Assistant City Solicitor for the city of Providence.  She is the first black and second female judge to serve on the First Circuit.  Thompson received a "satisfactory" rating from the A.B.A.

Obama nominates O'Malley, Lohier to circuit courts

The White House on Wednesday named two more circuit court nominees.   Hon. Kathleen O’Malley, who currently sits on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, has been nominated for the Federal Circuit.  Raymond Lohier Jr., an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, was named for the 2d Circuit.

Lawyers interviewed for the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary agreed that O’Malley is very bright, but gave her mixed marks for her courtroom demeanor. They said she is a “good overall judge.”  "She is at the top of her game in terms of legal ability. She is quick on the draw." "Her demeanor is ideal. She is courteous, but formal. She follows protocol." "Her courtroom demeanor is not always perfect. She will beat up lawyers at times, and shows a lack of patience." Prior to taking the bench in 1994, O’Malley was with Porter, Wright, where she concentrated her practice in matters involving intellectual property disputes. From 1991-1994, she was with the Ohio Attorney General’s office.

Lohier is chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, and has also served as chief of the Narcotics Unit.  He received his J.D. from New York University in 1991, and was with Cleary Gottlieb from 1993-1997 before moving to the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, where he stayed until 2000.

Second Mistrial in case against radio host Hal Turner

The trial of Internet radio host Harold C. Turner has ended in a mistrial for the second time.  Turner was charged with threatening the lives of three U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals judges (Hon. Richard A. Posner, Hon. William J. Bauer, and Hon. Frank H. Easterbrook) after posting their pictures online and saying they “deserved to killed.”  Hon. Donald E. Walter declared a mistrial when the jury informed the court they were not able to reach a verdict after 3 days of deliberations.  A new trial date is set for April 12, and according to the N.Y. Times, the lead prosecutor in the case has said it is “highly likely” the case will be tried a third time.

U.S. Supreme Court revised rules

The Supreme Court of the United States adopted a revised version of the Rules of the Court, which took effect on February 16, 2010. Rule 48 clarifies which version of the Rules applies to documents filed prior to the effective date of the revised Rules.

The revisions to the Rules include a reduction in the number of words allowed for a Reply Brief on the Merits from 7,500 to 6,000. Changes to Rules 26 and 34.1 clarify what is to be included on the cover of the Joint Appendix and require that counsel of record include an e-mail address on the cover of every document filed. Additions to Rule 34 require a descriptive index of the appendices and citations to the
United States Code whenever available. Rule 37 revisions clarify that only an attorney admitted to practice before the Court is permitted to file an amicus curiae brief and that extensions of time for amicus curiae briefs at the merits stage will not be entertained. There were other minor changes made.

Copies of the revisions are available from the Court’s Public Information Office and the Court’s website, www.supremecourtus.gov.

Chatigny confirmation hearing postponed by Senate

The Senate Judiciary Committee has indefinitely postponed its hearing on the nomination of Hon. Robert Chatigny to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2d Circuit.  Republicans asked for more time to examine his record, saying that “his hearing was scheduled for an unusually short amount of time after his name was submitted.” The request came after Connecticut state prosecutor Michael O’Hare sent a letter to the committee criticizing Chatigny for his conduct in hearings that delayed the execution of serial killer Michael Ross, and questioning his suitability for appointment to the appellate court.

Chatigny, as a U.S. District Judge, presided over a last-minute attempt to nullify Ross' decision to drop his appeals and submit to execution.  The state’s attorney claims that during a conference call Chatigny bullied Ross' lawyer into agreeing to another competency examination, thereby postponing the execution.  After the hearing, O’Hare and six other prosecutors filed a formal complaint against Chatigny, who was ultimately absolved by a federal judicial review panel. 

Obama nominee Goodwin Liu stirs debate

Obama nominee Goodwin Liu has stirred debate among supporters and detractors since his nomination to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was announced Feb. 24, as Tony Mauro reports for the blog of Legal Times.  Liu, who is a law professor and associate dean at Univ. of California at Berkeley, is also chairman of the liberal American Constitution Society, and from 2005 to 2008 was on the board of the ACLU of Northern California.  Senator Jeff Sessions said in an interview on Fox news that Liu “believes the Constitution is something judges can manipulate to have it say what they think culture or evolving standards of decency requires on a given day.”  An editorial in the Washington Times called Liu “another radical judicial nominee.”  One of Liu’s students, third-year law student Jonathan Singer, is countering conservative criticism with a blog highlighting material favoring Liu’s nomination (www.confirmgoodwin.com).   The Senate Judiciary Committee has not yet announced a hearing date for Liu. 

William M. Conley confirmed to district court

The Senate unanimously confirmed William M. Conley to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Wisconsin.  Conley graduated cum laude from the Univ. of Wisconsin Law School in 1982, then clerked for Hon. Thomas E. Fairchild at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.  Before his confirmation to the bench, Conley was a partner with Foley & Lardner, where he was a commercial litigator and counselor, concentrating on distribution, antitrust and regulatory matters. He was a member of the firm's Distribution & Franchise, Antitrust, and Appellate Practices and the Automotive Industry Team.  Conley fills a seat left vacant when Hon. Barbara Crabb took senior status.

Judges Posner, Bauer and Easterbrook take stand in death threat trial

Hon. Richard A. Posner, Hon. William J. Bauer, and Hon. Frank H. Easterbrook, all of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, testified yesterday at the second trial of Harold C. Turner, who is accused of making death threats against them after they upheld a handgun ban.  A blog written by Turner said “these judges deserve to be killed” and posted their photos and courthouse addresses. The judges did not take the stand in the first trial last December that ended with a deadlocked jury.  The trial is being held in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

Barbara Milano Keenan confirmed to 4th Circuit Court of Appeals

The Senate voted 99 to 0 to confirm Barbara Milano Keenan to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.  Keenan, the second Obama nominee confirmed to the court after Hon. Andre Davis, fills one of four remaining vacancies.  Keenan, who graduated from George Washington Univ. Law School in 1974, has been a Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia since 1991.  She was the first woman elected to a judgeship in the state of Virginia and the only woman appointed to the Virginia Appeals Court upon its creation in 1985.