Cameras in the UK's Supreme Court: Tony Mauro posts on Blog of Legal Times that the newly formed Supreme Court of the United Kingdom will allow the media to request broadcasts of its proceedings. According to a BBC report by Dominic Casciani, the broadcasts are a first for England and Wales. They could be part of a reform to connect the the justice system to the public that it serves. Casciani reports "that alongside the decision on filming sessions, the new Supreme Court
building had been designed to be as open to the public as possible." Justice minister Lord Bach claims the new building will allow the public to observe what is happening, which is important to prevent "a disconnect between the justice system and the people it's meant to serve." Back on Blog of Legal Times, Mauro notes that the Justices of the United States Supreme Court may want to take notice. Judge Sotomayor appears open to the idea of cameras in the Supreme Court, and many of our Justices will be attending the UK's Court opening in October.
How Did the Confirmation Hearings Go?: Today, The Ninth Justice has two posts, with comments from SCOTUS watching experts, weighing in on how the hearings went for Judge Sotomayor and other key players. The first post polls legal experts like Tony Mauro, Tom Goldstein, Doug Kendall, Dahlia Lithwick and Wendy Long, and asks them to grade the performance of each player. Senator's Leahy and Specter received low marks - C+, while Senators Sessions and Graham each received a B-. Judge Sotomayor and Senator Al Franken " each got B averages." Judge Sotomayor receive a B+ from one commenter because, "Her calm, painstaking demeanor took the sting out of the whole affair, leaving Republicans frustrated that they could not draw blood. But her self-portrayal as a judge who follows the law and precedent unquestioningly is hard to believe." Also available on The Ninth Justice is Amy Harder's interview with Stuart Taylor Jr. discussing this week's hearings.
Was it Justice?: Doug Berman reports over at Sentencing Law and Policy on Former Pennsylvania Senator Vincent Fumo's prison sentence. Berman's first post points us to an article from the Patriot-News, reporting that Fumo "should consider himself lucky that he was convicted of misusing more than $2.4 million in taxpayers' money and not of selling crack cocaine." Apparently, with credit for good behavior Fumo could walk out of prison in 2013. His sentence is more lenient than Joseph J. Moore, arrested for being "in a car with three men who tried to buy $6,000 worth of crack cocaine from a police informant." Moore will be serving 20 years in federal prison for his offense. Members of the defense bar were up in arms over this discrepancy, and, it turns out Federal Prosecutors are going to appeal the Fumo's sentence. Berman's second post points to Maryclaire Dale's article on Philly.com which reports that Federal Prosecutors believe Fumo's sentence is "unduly lenient and unreasonable" and plan to ask the Justice Department to sign off on an appeal.
How Did the Confirmation Hearings Go?: Today, The Ninth Justice has two posts, with comments from SCOTUS watching experts, weighing in on how the hearings went for Judge Sotomayor and other key players. The first post polls legal experts like Tony Mauro, Tom Goldstein, Doug Kendall, Dahlia Lithwick and Wendy Long, and asks them to grade the performance of each player. Senator's Leahy and Specter received low marks - C+, while Senators Sessions and Graham each received a B-. Judge Sotomayor and Senator Al Franken " each got B averages." Judge Sotomayor receive a B+ from one commenter because, "Her calm, painstaking demeanor took the sting out of the whole affair, leaving Republicans frustrated that they could not draw blood. But her self-portrayal as a judge who follows the law and precedent unquestioningly is hard to believe." Also available on The Ninth Justice is Amy Harder's interview with Stuart Taylor Jr. discussing this week's hearings.
Was it Justice?: Doug Berman reports over at Sentencing Law and Policy on Former Pennsylvania Senator Vincent Fumo's prison sentence. Berman's first post points us to an article from the Patriot-News, reporting that Fumo "should consider himself lucky that he was convicted of misusing more than $2.4 million in taxpayers' money and not of selling crack cocaine." Apparently, with credit for good behavior Fumo could walk out of prison in 2013. His sentence is more lenient than Joseph J. Moore, arrested for being "in a car with three men who tried to buy $6,000 worth of crack cocaine from a police informant." Moore will be serving 20 years in federal prison for his offense. Members of the defense bar were up in arms over this discrepancy, and, it turns out Federal Prosecutors are going to appeal the Fumo's sentence. Berman's second post points to Maryclaire Dale's article on Philly.com which reports that Federal Prosecutors believe Fumo's sentence is "unduly lenient and unreasonable" and plan to ask the Justice Department to sign off on an appeal.
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