A motions panel of the Ninth Circuit Court on Friday set a fast schedule for reviewing a plea to put on hold, for several months, a federal judge’s ruling striking down California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.  In a scheduling order, the panel ordered briefing completed by Monday morning — a little more than ...

The federal judge who struck down California’s ban on same-sex marriages last week refused on Thursday to postpone his decision, but did rule that it would not take effect until the Ninth Circuit Court has a chance to “consider the issue in an orderly manner.”  The order can be found here.  U.S. More here:  Same-sex marriage: Close, but ...

The Supreme Court on Monday released a revised calendar of oral arguments for the first session of the new Term, beginning Monday, Oct. 4.  No cases from the previous version have been dropped, and no new cases have been added.  The only changes were to rearrange the order of the cases, to different time slots on ...

The Supreme Court, without noted dissents, on Friday refused to block the start next Tuesday of a war crimes trial of a young Canadian detainee at Guantanamo Bay — Omar Khadr.  The brief order, noting that Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., had submitted the issue to the full Court, gave no explanation fpr tje ...

With Chief Justice John G. More here:  Challenge to military trial fails

In a first step toward a historic Supreme Court test, a federal judge on Wednesday struck down California’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples.  U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled that so-called “Proposition 8″ — approved by the state’s voters in November 2008 — violated two clauses of the federal Constitution.  Those who persuaded ...

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker will release later Wednesday his ruling in Perry v Original post: Gay marriage ruling due

Raising serious questions about the constitutionality of a key part of President Obama”s new health care reform plan, and finding no Supreme Court decisions specifically on the issue, a federal judge on Monday ruled that the state of Virginia’s court challenge to the plan  may go forward.  U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson of Richmond, VA, rejected ...

The D.C. Circuit Court’s deeply-set refusal to let  federal judges oversee government decisions on which detainees may or may not leave Guantanamo Bay has now reached the longest-running effort to keep a detainee from being sent to another country over his protest.   In a one-page order released late Thursday, the Circuit Court dismissed outright the case ...

NOTE TO READERS:  The following is an update on a post published earlier Friday. —————- The Ninth Circuit Court refused on Friday to put the constitutional test over Arizona’s authority to control illegal aliens living within its borders on the especially fast schedule that the state had asked, adopting instead a plan that follows its ...