Second Circuit

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No Voice for Gun Control at Sotomayor Hearings

After I wrote my earlier posts about how the National Rifle Association opposes the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court and explaining the “incorporation” debate that dominated much of the Second Amendment discussion at the hearing, I got a note from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, whose concerns were decidedly NOT [...]


Cases Hint at Sotomayor’s Views on Executive Power

The media have overlooked substance and context to focus on her style, but Judge Sonia Sotomayor has provided a window into her views on executive power and national security along the way.


Race, Republicans and the Supreme Court

When I last wrote about conservative attacks on potential Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, I noted that the one case she’s really been pilloried for is her position as one of three judges who affirmed the dismissal of a reverse discrimination case. White male firefighters in New Haven insisted they deserved to be promoted over [...]


Does the U.S. Owe Torture Victims?

Lawyers for Maher Arar, a 34-year-old Syrian-born Canadian who was arrested at JFK airport, taken to Syria, interrogated and tortured, argue he has a right to sue for damages. If the Second Circuit sides with Arar, the government could face many more lawsuits.


Second Circuit to Re-Hear Extraordinary Rendition Case Today

The case of Maher Arar, the Canadian citizen arrested in New York and sent to Syria to be interrogated under torture, will be re-heard today by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, sitting en banc.
As I reported earlier, the 34-year-old computer consultant of Syrian descent was apprehended by U.S. authorities in 2002 [...]