June 2012 Archives

Chief Justice John Roberts won’t be “going to Disneyland” after the close of this historic Supreme Court session.

At least that’s what he told Chief Judge David B. Sentelle of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, reports The Associated Press. Judge Sentelle asked Justice Roberts what he planned to do now that the court had adjourned for the summer. The question came at a conference hosted by the Judicial Council of the District of Columbia Circuit.

We didn’t need a court to tell us that greenhouse gas emissions are dangerous to public health.

Or did we? In any event, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has handed down a decision hailed by the New York Times as a “decisive blow” against those who sought to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s rules.

Earlier this month, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a small blow to big oil.

Chevron, as you may recall, has an $18 million liability in Ecuador. The oil company was sued by several Ecuadorean citizens who alleged that Chevron caused environmental damage in Ecuador.

Today, we’ll bring you another government contractor/torture lawsuit. This one isn’t too far off from the other contractor lawsuits that have been popping up across the circuits.

We gave you a brief synopsis on the oral arguments in this case in April. Now, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a U.S. government contractor in Iraq cannot bring a lawsuit against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for pecuniary damages.

Earlier this week, there came the news that President Barack Obama had nominated not one, but two, people to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

We already talked about the nomination of Caitlin Halligan and the controversy surrounding her nomination to the bench. As you may recall, she had already been nominated once and her nomination had been filibustered by the Senate Republicans.

With only a few months left until the end of his first term, President Barack Obama isn't wasting any time.

On Monday, he nominated Caitlin Halligan and Sri Srinivasan for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, reports The New York Times. Both candidates are high-profile so we'll be covering this story very closely.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Department of State have four months to release a ruling as to whether or not a group should be removed from the terror list.

The group, an Iranian group named the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, was placed on the list of terror organizations fifteen years ago, for its role in the assassination of citizens and for its alliance with Saddam Hussein. Since then, the organization has turned a new leaf, providing inside information to the United States on Iran’s nuclear program.

Note to practitioners before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals: Limit your use of acronyms.

It really ticks off Judge Laurence Silberman.

Above the Law showcased its “Quote of the Day,” with a mention of Judge Silberman’s annoyance at the overuse of abbreviations in the recent case of National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners v. United States Department of Energy.

Today, we’re taking a break from appellate opinions to look at one of the judges who issues those opinions. Here’s a quick biography on D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judge Karen LeCraft Henderson.

Judge Henderson has served on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals since July 1990, when she was appointed by President George H.W. Bush.