KumOnaWannaJudgeYa – 9th Circuit Has Post Perry Luau Fest!

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Okay, the title may be a tad unfair to the fine folks in the 9th Circuit, some of whom I know, and almost all of whom I appreciate greatly (there is the Bybee thing). But this just flat out cracked me up. Now, as you know, Judge Vaughn Walker of the NDCA little more than a week ago issued his landmark decision in Perry Prop 8 case and just yesterday issued the much awaited decision to deny the Defendant-Intervenors’ Motion for Stay Pending appeal.

There is news on the briefing on the motion to stay in the 9th Circuit, the following advisory and order was issued by the 9th today:

Filed order (EDWARD LEAVY, MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS and SIDNEY R. THOMAS) Appellants’ motion to exceed page limitations is granted and the motion for stay pending appeal is deemed filed. Appellees’ response to the motion for stay pending appeal, not to exceed 35 pages, is due by 11:00 p.m. Pacific Time on August 13, 2010. Appellants reply, not to exceed 15 pages, is due by 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on August 16, 2010. IT IS SO ORDERED.

So, they have accepted DIs ridiculously overlong 73 page stay motion, restricted Plaintiffs/Appellees Perry to a 35 page answer and accelerated the briefing schedule to be completed by Monday at the latest. Clearly the motion panel in the 9th is going to decide the stay before Walker’s one week stay extension till next Wednesday expires.

All well and good. But what will the 9th Circuit be up to as they ponder this weighty issue? Ah, well, Sunday through next Thursday, they will be partying in Hawaii at the annual summer 9th Circuit Judicial Conference! Here are a few plum highlights:

* Annual 9th Circuit Golf Tournament Sunday the 15th.

* Judge Vaughn Walker presiding over the annual Chief Judges’ Breakfast meeting on Tuesday the 17th.

* Wednesday night is the Drums of the Pacific: Private Ninth Circuit Lu’au

The Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference will enjoy a special evening in the Hyatt Regency’s Sunset Terrace Lu’au Grounds. A Hawaiian trio will provide background music while you stroll among traditional arts and crafts demonstrations and displays and observe the impressive torch-lighting ceremony. After the all-you-can-eat buffet, the lu’au show, renowned throughout the islands, will feature authentic dances and music of old Hawai’i, Samoa, Tahiti and other Pacific islands.

* And the closing festivities Thursday are highlighted by Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski introducing this year’s keynote speaker and guest of honor, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy!

That’s right boys and girls, the 9th Circuit motions panel should have no problem getting together to consider the big stay motion that has to be decided by Wednesday, they can just pull their beach recliners together and order up a pitcher a pitcher of Mai Tais. And if they have any questions, they can call Vaughn Walker over. If they are concerned about how it might play on appeal to the critical Supreme Court swing judge, just order him a daiquiri and chat him up. Oh, and one more thing, if 9th Circuit motions panel of Mike Hawkins, Sid Thomas and Ed Leavy happen to deny the DI’s request for stay, the DIs will seek an emergency stay from the Supreme Court hot justice for the 9th Circuit. Yep, that would be Anthony Kennedy! Sweet!

Oh, one last parting gift for you: Captain Jack “He of the Law of the Sea” Goldsmith will be on hand Tuesday to lead a panel on “Trying Alleged Terrorists: Constitutional and Practical Problems in Article III Courts and Military Tribunals”. Even judges get tortured I guess…..

Now, in all honesty, this is all a coincidence and the Federal judges out here work hard and deserve their annual judicial conference break. It is a good thing that they do these things. But the timing this year in relation to the Perry goings on is simply hilarious. And Anthony Kennedy being present for the festivities? Priceless!

[h/t Dale Carpenter]

  2. OldCoastie says:

    How, oh how are those appellants going to limit themselves to only 15 pages? And really, are they going to have to work ALL WEEKEND??

    cruelty, I tell ya’…

  4. Phoenix Woman says:

    I suppose this is as good a place as any to mention that a few slices of banana slipped in with the strawberries and rum in the daiquiri blender will nicely mask the taste of rum. (I discovered this when drinking what I thought were virgin daiquiris during a party in college.)

  5. bmaz says:

    Oh, and one more thing, if the 9th Circuit motions panel of Mike Hawkins, Sid Thomas and Ed Leavy happen to deny the DI’s request for stay, the DIs will seek an emergency stay from the Supreme Court hot justice for the 9th Circuit. Yep, that would be Anthony Kennedy!

  6. OldCoastie says:

    tick.

    tock.

    don’t know how lawyers have the patience for all this waiting.

    I’m thinking Boies and Olson’s response will be short… something like, “um, what?!?”

  8. Hmmm says:

    I’m seeing the 9th’ers as the Gilligan’s Island cast, and the appellees as the special guest villains stealthily paddling their little dugout canoe up onto the beach in the dead of night, the crumpled disreputable motion can be seen by the flickering coconut torchlight to be clasped in their sweaty furtive hands… I guess Vaughn would be The Professor and Bybee would be Thurston Howell III… now, which one’d be Lovey?

    IT IS, LIKE, SO ORDERED.

  9. OldCoastie says:

    so, ya’ suppose they will wait until the absolute last possible second to release their response just to not give the H8er’s one extra second to prepare their 700 page response (will appropriate request to make it much, much longer)?

  11. OldCoastie says:

    ahaha… (my emphasis)

    Proponents’ oversized stay motion simply reproduces (sometimes, verbatim) the same arguments Proponents unsuccessfully advanced on summary judgment and then failed to substantiate at trial.

  12. DWBartoo says:

    Amazing.

    Somewhere, the deities concerned with truth and justice, must be readying to party.

    One hopes that Justitia, Themis, and Dike might be able to attend.

    And Rashu and Mithra …

    And Nahhunte and Nammu.

    And possibly, even, Nemesis …

    (Fun in the sun and … cruel, to be kind …)

    Thank you, bmaz, for your continuing, and most stellar, coverage of the evolution of consciousness, compassion and humanity, expressed through the law. Perhaps, there is a dignified place, within the rule of law, for empathy, after all?

    DW

  13. AZ Matt says:

    What! Those judges are partying in Obamaland?! But that’s not real America!! Are they commies or nazis? Impeach them all!

  14. phred says:

    bmaz, it looks like they have a different panel than the one used previously. Is that because the previous panel already had their grass skirts packed for their trip?

  16. fatster says:

    O/T

    Judges reject evidence in Gitmo cases
    Rulings cite improper interrogations.

    “The Obama administration has already said that at least 48 of the remaining 176 prisoners at Guantánamo will be held indefinitely because they’re too dangerous to release but can’t be prosecuted successfully in military or civilian court. They’ve said that coercion-tainted evidence is one obstacle.”

    Much more here (original ProPublica here).

  17. rmadelson says:

    Just got to this post (went out to see Social Distortion last night — great show, as always) — this is just hilarious. Sounds like a great time and so nice that they got everyone together for the occasion. Stars aligned.

    If this is indeed the case that wins marriage equality for the whole country, the book is gonna be great. Hell, this is looking like it’ll make a great movie — or even a tv series — Gilligan’s Island, as Hmmm suggests at 11.

    Thanks for the post,

    rOB

      • Mary says:

        I picture their two counterparts, Pestilence and Famine, in a dive knocking back tequilla shots. Pestilence turns to Famine and says, “I did tell them. Twice. Apocalypse, not Apocalyspo. I swear I did, but you know how, if you don’t put it in healthcare regs, it never seems to sink in for them”

        Famine shrugs. “Well, maybe they are trying for some inspiration. I mean, they are there, on the front lines of GWOM.”

        “GWOM?”

        “You know, the Global War on Marriage.”

        “Oh. Yeah. Ok. I mean, it’s not quite how I pictured the fight. What kind of uniforms will the enemy be wearing?”

        Famine shrugs again. “They won’t be in uniforms – you know, they’ll be illegal combatants.”

        Pestilence ponders. “But, like, what kind of uniforms will their army be in?”

        “Ok, ok, so, some of their troops won’t be in uniforms either, but you can pick them out by their actions – if they’re raping women in Algeria or sodomizing bound, hooded men with lightbulbs or anally drugging them, carving up genitals, that kind of thing – those are their troops.”

        “Got it, that makes sense then. I think. But, how again does that help defend marriage? Oh wait, I got it, it’s like a double triple fake, right? But the Calypso thing, what’s the deal with that?”

        Famine rolls his eyes. “Well, remember, she did hold Odysseus against his will for years, but it was for heterosexual reasons, to keep him from taking his glisteny, wiley self back to the battlefield. ”

        Pestilence brightens “Oh yeah – I remember those two! But, wasn’t he already married?”

        “Mistakes get made during war.”

        “True, that. Calypso and Odysseus – inspiration for the extrajudicial detention of unlawful combatants in the GWOM.” Pestilence elbows Famine, “Gives a whole new meaning to ‘GIT MO’ don’t it?”

        Famine rolls his eyes and looks down at the glass.

        Pesitlence is still chatty, though, and continues. “They created Nauseuos, didn’t they?”

        “No, that was Nausinous. Unless. Wait – who did you mean, Calypso and Odysseus, or Bybee and Goldsmith?”

        ***************************

        Now we all know why no one asks me to class up a thread with Horton-esque literary references.

        • DWBartoo says:

          That was something … else.

          You play with those “horsemen” better than anyone I’ve so far encountered.

          That’s about the best “class-up” as has, ever, been my pleasure to read, Mary.

          Apocalypso!

          DW

        • Mary says:

          You are way too kind (or is that a double triple fake?) *g*

          Oddly enough, that came in between bouts of loading trash and I’m off the the landfill now.

        • DWBartoo says:

          Inspiration doth arise from the most “interesting” of places … and endeavors, t’would seem.

          Voltaire would appreciate your delicious Apocalypso! irony, Mary, in this, our best of all possumable wirlds … such stark snark hath timeless virtue when words are turned up-side-down and inside-out with damnable daily delight by the happy oppressors of truth, justice, and humanity …

          I agree with bmaz @35, btw, should your find that quaint “old thing”, please bring it home, and we’ll clean it up … and post it proudly.

          How large is your landfill? There’s trash aplenty at the “center” of things.

          As we are, all, in “this” for the long haulage …

          DW

        • Kelly Canfield says:

          LOL!

          Now that frikking cracks me UP! In a dark and greek kinda way, but nonetheless hysterically funny!

        • Petrocelli says:

          “You know, the Global War on Marriage.”

          That was really funny … until the Chianti came shooting through my Nostrils …

          The rest is humor on a whole ‘nother level … terrific imagination, Mary !

  19. skdadl says:

    OT, for fatster: Assange, The Haircut

    The Swedish vids, here and here.

    I dunno. The spiky cut I can kind of grok. It’s true that the darker colour makes him look younger, and I guess it’s easier to fade into the crowd as a brunette if you’re trying to duck the CIA or other nefarious persons. I’m not entirely sure it’s dyed — I have a top layer that makes me look blonde if I’m blunt-cut and bobbed, as he was, but there’s a darker layer underneath that would show more if I went spiky, so maybe that’s all that happened. You’ll notice in the vids, which give you a number of views of the hair, that there are still some silver streaks.

    A moustache! Don’t even suggest it!

    • bmaz says:

      No, for the most part it is not; however, that portion which is is a very good expenditure actually as getting the judges of a circuit together to discuss administrative, legal, ethical and other things is a VERY good thing. There is nothing wrong with this in the least and Hawaii is part of the 9th Circuit.

      • mattcarmody says:

        Plus we all know how underpaid judges with life tenure are, they deserve a bone every now and then, not like that selfish unemployed mechanic the GOP is lambasting because he won’t work for 1/100th of what his labor is actually worth.

        • bmaz says:

          Well, you know, compared to what they would be making in the private sector with the level of education, skills, knowledge and experience they possess, Federal judges are SEVERELY underpaid. This whole line of attack like these guys are the Caligula like executives at Tyco or something is just wrongheaded. And they all pay substantially for their own way. I just do not get this line of bogus blowback.

        • mattcarmody says:

          Sorry but I don’t like listening to pampered representatives and protectors of the status quo complaining about their poor lifestyles while I and many people I know exist on pensions and Social Security which are both being targeted for elimination by the people in the class in which people like federal judges belong.

        • bmaz says:

          Who the hell is talking about “pampered representatives and protectors of the status quo” the discussion was a working vacation for EXTREMELY hard working and overburdened Federal judges. There was no mention, NONE, of them complaining about their lot in life; only you taking a bullshit crapshot at them for no reason. Frankly, the thought that Federal judges, positions you want the most able legal minds in the country for, should have to live like poor people on social security is somewhere far beyond asinine. Get a grip dude.

  21. Margaret says:

    What’s amazing to me is that you understood that. Might as well have been Greek to me. Thanks for the translation.:)

  22. TheOracle says:

    Bush v. Gore.

    Strange how right-wing appeals get reviewed almost immediately while the wheel of justice turns so, so slow for liberals.

    But the picture I have of the 9th Circuit Court’s Hawaiian retreat is a bunch of people talking about same-sex marriage a lot, wearing floral leis around their necks and everyone dancing the hula in grass skirts…with Justice Anthony Kennedy leading.

    • bmaz says:

      Can’t bite on there being any real analogy with Bush v. Gore, but the second part of your comment is dead on the money. I cannot think of anything better than for this confab to be occurring hot on the heels of Walker’s decision and with Walker and Kennedy both there. Remember, Kennedy came from the 9th Circuit and was very big in Circuit politics before being elevated to the Supreme Court. He still has a lot of love for the Circuit and his friends – including Vaughn Walker – he knows out there. This is absolutely a good thing that they are all luauing together.

      • DWBartoo says:

        Well, CTut, the “bums” did “rap-” Hawaii first, on the way to empuh …

        And if “that” ain’t “the business” … I don’t know what is.

        DW

        • DWBartoo says:

          And, as bmaz points out, “we” DID civilize and Christianize the “Islands”.

          There is that.

          Personally, I think the gathering of the Ninth, with Kennedy in attendance, is an amazingly splendid bit of “luck” … but I do admire Judge Vaughn Walker’s style, rhythm … and timing.

          A most copasthetic coincidence, however it has come about.

          Some deities are, one imagines, smiling a bit, possibly even a certain more “local” goddess?

          (As ya know, I envy all of you who’ve the privilege to live in that particular paradise. Methinks TheOracle would agree …)

          ;~DW

      • bmaz says:

        Maybe I read it wrong, but I took Theoracle’s take on that to be positive – I certainly think it is positive (see @38).

        Last I heard, Hawaii actually had real Federal courts, judges and was a valuable part of the 9th Circuit and everything!

        • CTuttle says:

          Wasn’t there a push to break up the ninth circuit into several smaller circuits awhile ago…? I took no offense, just a lot of business groups get scrutinized for holding annual conventions and/or meetings here…! ;-)

  24. physicalist says:

    Question: Is it allowed, or discouraged, or encouraged, for judges to discuss a case with the judges to whom the decision would be appealed? I can imagine arguments for both sides.

    • bmaz says:

      They would never do it directly. Don’t have to; they all know what each other is up to. They do not go beyond bounds generally, but yes they do talk, and that is okay.

  26. Mary says:

    Any truth to the rumor that Alito got someone to sneak “Obama Birth Certificate” onto the scavenger hunt list?

  27. fatster says:

    O/T Major story about the wars.

    Secret Assault on Terrorism Widens on Two Continents

    “In roughly a dozen countries — from the deserts of North Africa, to the mountains of Pakistan, to former Soviet republics crippled by ethnic and religious strife — the United States has significantly increased military and intelligence operations, pursuing the enemy using robotic drones and commando teams, paying contractors to spy and training local operatives to chase terrorists.

    “Virtually none of the newly aggressive steps undertaken by the United States government have been publicly acknowledged.

    “Yet such wars come with many risks: the potential for botched operations that fuel anti-American rage; a blurring of the lines between soldiers and spies that could put troops at risk of being denied Geneva Convention protections; a weakening of the Congressional oversight system put in place to prevent abuses by America’s secret operatives; and a reliance on authoritarian foreign leaders and surrogates with sometimes murky loyalties.

    “The administration’s demands have accelerated a transformation of the C.I.A. into a paramilitary organization as much as a spying agency, which some critics worry could lower the threshold for future quasi-military operations [and] the Pentagon is becoming more like the C.I.A. Across the Middle East and elsewhere, Special Operations troops under secret “Execute Orders” have conducted spying missions that were once the preserve of civilian intelligence agencies.”

    MORE.

  28. freepatriot says:

    the wingnutz ain’t gonna like this

    them judges are meeting in Hawaii, plotin on how they’re gonna destroy the constitution

    I smell a new type of journolist scandal brewing

    this time it is the “liberal dfh judges” that are plotin to destroy Amurika

    sometimes the repuglotards are just too predictable

    (high everybody)

  29. MadDog says:

    Totally OT – Got back late tonight and was checking out some YouTubes and stumbled across this simply dynamite singer.

    Some folks probably already know her, but this was the first time I’d heard/seen her.

    As I said, I was checking out some YouTubes for my favorite guitarist – Joe Satriani, and found Grace Potter and Joe Satriani doing a cover of Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer”.

    What a set of pipes on this lady! She’s a cross between Bonnie Rait and Janis Joplin, and lawdy, can she belt it out. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s drop-dead gorgeous either. *g*

    Here’s that outstanding YouTube:

    Grace Potter and Joe Satriani cover Cortez the Killer

    Now before I slip off to bed, I’ll make a note to myself to run out to the music store tomorrow and pick me up some Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

    Sweet dreams ya’ll!

      • MadDog says:

        …They been around a while though.

        Yeah, I must be clueless. *g*

        This is what happens when one doesn’t listen to the radio for years. Droves of great artists missed. Used to be I was on top of who’s who, but no longer. *g*