More on Irons v. Carey, as Howard Bashman of How Appealing weighs in at law.com. "[I]t does seem clear that the 9th Circuit itself avoided another U.S. Supreme Court reversal when it refrained from striking down Congress' enactment of a rule, limiting the availability of habeas relief, that had been a centerpiece of the so-called Rehnquist revolution." Our previous post is here.

Electronic monitoring is promising but still needs work. "An accused child molester cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet, then took a limousine to Chicago to appear on 'The Jerry Springer Show,' authorities said." Hat tip to SL&P for pointing out this AP story.

Stay and abey sua sponte? No way! In Robbins v. Carey, No. 05-17131, the Ninth Circuit rejected a claim that a district court presented with a "mixed" habeas petition (i.e., presenting both exhausted and unexhausted claims) had a duty to use the stay-and-abey procedure permitted by Pliler v. Ford, 542 U.S. 225 (2004), without a request for it by the petitioner. The district court's dismissal of the mixed petition was proper, even though the statute of limitations had already run, precluding a refiling after exhaustion.

Advocates for Illegal Immigrants are challenging the constitutionality of local laws cracking down on illegals. While enforcing immigration law is generally considered the federal government's job, city officials in Hazelton, PA have taken action to curb illegal immigration in that city, as reported here in the Corruption Chronicles. The city was fed up with the crime committed by illegal immigrants and adopted a Illegal Immigration Relief Act which fines landlords and denies business permits to employers to hire illegals.

Sentences for low level drug addicts and dealers of crack cocaine is one of the major topics in Congress today as reported by Donna Leinwand of USA Today. The punishment for 5 grams of crack cocaine exceeds the sentence for 499 grams of powder cocaine. Senator Jeff Sessions proposes easing the sentences for crack and increasing sentences for powder to restore balance.

The Ninth Circuit is the subject of a review and outlook article in today's Wall Street Journal. The Journal believes that the current term may set a record for the number of Ninth Circuit cases overturned by the Supreme Court.