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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) obligates the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consider the environmental impact of potential terrorist attacks when conducting environmental reviews. The June 2 decision could affect the NRC’s decision-making processes for other nuclear facilities, and it could have far-reaching effects on decisions affecting other facilities in the nation’s infrastructure, observers say. In December 2001, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) applied to the NRC for a license to build and operate an on-site dry storage facility for used nuclear fuel at its Diablo Canyon nuclear...

An Alaska high school violated a student's free speech rights by suspending him after he unfurled a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" across the street from the school, a federal court ruled on Friday. Joseph Frederick, a student at Juneau-Douglas High School in Alaska, displayed the banner -- which refers to smoking marijuana -- in January 2002 to try to get on television as the Olympic torch relay was passing the school. Principal Deborah Morse seized the banner and suspended the 18-year-old for 10 days, saying he had undermined the school's educational mission and anti-drug stance. Friday's ruling by...

February 7, 2006 - Breaking News: Representatives from the ACLU have announced that the Ninth Circuit Court of appeals has upheld Pandora Leftwitch’s right to kill her 2 month-old baby girl. In a unanimous decision, the court stated that she could have legally obtained a partial birth abortion a few months earlier anyway, and as such there seemed to be “…little difference between then and now.” If the phony news bite above seems farfetched, consider that two separate courts have ruled that President Bush’s partial birth abortion ban is unconstitutional. The Eighth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals have both...

He’s the judge who says parental rights end at the schoolhouse door and that the Pledge of Allegiance in public school classrooms is unconstitutional. He admires an Israeli judge who’s outlawed spanking and radically expanded the power of the federal judiciary. He considers an opinion he wrote in 1996 in favor of assisted suicide his greatest achievement. He’s Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals—the most infamous member of the most radical court in America. He’s notorious because he’s caused real harm—to parental rights, public safety and the reputation of the federal courts. But one of...

<p>TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2005 ORDER It is ordered that the following allotment be made of the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of this Court among the circuits, pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, Section 42 and that such allotment be entered of record, effective October 11, 2005. For the District of Columbia Circuit, John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice, For the First Circuit, David H. Souter, Associate Justice, For the Second Circuit, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, For the Third Circuit, David H. Souter, Associate Justice, For the Fourth Circuit, John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice, For the Fifth Circuit, Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice, For the Sixth Circuit, John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice, For the Seventh Circuit, John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice, For the Eighth Circuit, Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, For the Ninth Circuit, Sandra Day O’Connor, Associate Justice, For the Tenth Circuit, Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice, For the Eleventh Circuit, Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice, For the Federal Circuit, John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice.</p>

President Bush Friday nominated former Idaho Republican Chairman N. Randy Smith, now a state trial judge, to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If confirmed by the Senate, Smith, 56, would fill the vacancy created when Judge Stephen Trott took senior status. Idaho is currently the only state in the circuit without an active judge, as Trott took senior status at the end of last year and Judge Thomas Nelson did the same in November 2003. Bush has nominated Boise attorney William G. Myers III to succeed Nelson, but Democrats have thus far prevented him from winning confirmation. His...

Former Solicitor of the Interior William G. Myers III of Idaho is a highly respected attorney who has extensive experience in the fields of natural resources, public lands, and environmental law. His nomination enjoys widespread support from across the ideological and political spectrum. Mr. Myers has been nominated to the Ninth Circuit, which covers the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, as well as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Looking for easy scapegoats after a series of violent "white" vs. "Arab" attacks in Australia, Islamic leaders and news media outlets have been quick to fault talk radio for fanning the flames. From the London Times: - Yesterday, Islamic leaders blamed the trouble on influential talk radio hosts who had whipped up racial tensions in the wake of last weekend’s attack on the lifesavers, who epitomise Australia’s white traditions and Anglo-Saxon roots. From The Mercury in South Africa: - The President of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, Keysar Trad, said the violence was "bound to happen" after callers to...

Parents of elementary school children in California were upset that their kids were the targets of a sex survey conducted by the Palmdale School District. The survey, distributed in 2002, focused on how often prepubescent school kids thought about sex and touched themselves--you know, just the kind of things educators need to know to in order to effectively teach reading, writing and math skills. The parents filed a lawsuit, claiming that the survey "violated parents' substantive due process and privacy rights." Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Fields v. Palmdale School District [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0356499p.pdf], dismissed the suit, saying:...

Grumbling about whether or not judges are taking away God given rights from parents is worth doing. Fighting said activist judges in order to keep them from taking additional rights away from parents is ALWAYS a good thing. Purposefully voting away your own rights to your kids well being is utterly foolish, utterly stupid, and ultimately utterly dangerous to your children. Every parent that voted against Prop 73 should have their children taken away from them - for they obvious do not have the ultimate well being of their kids in mind... SHAME ON EVERY ONE OF THEM!

Pro-family leaders are disturbed and incensed over Wednesday's decision by an appellate court panel in San Francisco, which held that parents have "no fundamental right" to control their kids' upbringing by introducing them to sexual information "in accordance with their personal and religious values and beliefs." Nor, according to the panel, do mothers and fathers have the right to prevent their kids' exposure to sexual information whenever and however the school chooses. 'The Circus Has Now Ruled ...' The three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals informed six parents in California's Palmdale School District that they have...

9th Circuit Court Rules Against Parents The new ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stating, "There is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children...Parents have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed while enrolled as students," has Californians in an uproar, and rightfully so! The liberal ninth district court known for it's legislating from the bench, such as in the recent case where the court ruled the Pledge of...

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Parents have no constitutional right to prevent public schools from exposing children to sexual topics, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's decision that found the rights of parents were not violated by a California public school district that allowed a psychological survey of its elementary school children. Among the survey questions asked of the children were 10 with sexual references, such as "Can't stop thinking about sex" and "Not trusting people because they might want sex." A group of parents...

an Francisco (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit by elementary school parents who were outraged that the Palmdale School District had surveyed students about sex. While the surveys asked students how often they thought about sex, among other questions, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said parents of public school children have no "fundamental right" to be the exclusive provider of sexual information to their children. The parents maintained they had the sole right "to control the upbringing of their children by introducing them to matters of and relating to sex." The plaintiffs had...

Bill Would Split Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals By Melanie Hunter CNSNews.com Senior Editor October 11, 2005 (CNSNews.com) - Two U.S. senators Monday introduced a measure to split the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the same court that ruled the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) have introduced the Court of Appeals Restructuring and Modernization Act or CARMA (S. 1845), which is designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the court by reducing its size and creating a new Twelfth Circuit. CARMA was also co-sponsored by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). "It's always been...

Click the link to read the whole opinion, and escpecially Judge Kozinski's dissent, which lays out the facts in all their ugly detail. Talk about your robed dictator! "Just because I said it, counsel."

A hoofer with a sense of humor, Callahan likes to surprise judicial and legal gatherings by starting discussions about serious topics and ending with a quip about appellate judges who tap dance around issues. She then pulls off her black robe to reveal a sequined costume and tap shoes. She's been known to hop on a tabletop or in one case on a judicial bench during these special events and do some pretty impressive steps. "I may be the highest ranking tap dancer in federal court," Callahan said with a grin during a recent interview in her chambers in the...

SAN FRANCISCO — Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance (search) in public schools was ruled unconstitutional Wednesday by a federal judge who granted legal standing to two families represented by an atheist who lost his previous battle before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The opinion issued Sept. 14, 2005 may be accessed here.

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