Howard J Bashman

January 22, 2007 | Law.com

When a three-judge 9th Circuit panel recently conducted an oral argument on death row inmate Kevin Cooper's challenge to his conviction and sentence, none of the judges was physically present in San Francisco where the argument was taking place. This turn of events, an apparent first for the court, caused the circuit's chief judge to sound the alarm. But appellate litigator Howard J. Bashman writes that there's no cause for concern.

By Howard J. Bashman

5 minute read

October 02, 2006 | National Law Journal

Raising too many issues on appeal is an occupational hazard for attorneys, according to litigator Howard Bashman. Our commentator offers his thoughts on avoiding the lure of that particular pitfall -- and also reveals the magic number of appeals that he believes an attorney can legitimately, and prudently, raise.

By Howard J. Bashman

8 minute read

January 16, 2007 | Law.com

A federal judge's salary will never come close to matching what a talented lawyer in private practice can earn in a big city, nor should it, writes appellate litigator Howard J. Bashman -- but the salary should at least enable judges to put their children through college. In the absence of decent salaries, Bashman argues, it will become more difficult to recruit talented younger judgeship candidates and to retain experienced judges who can command substantially more money in private practice.

By Howard J. Bashman

6 minute read

July 17, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

Although the Third Circuit suffered reversal in the only case that reached the Supreme Court this term on direct review, in another 10 cases the Supreme Court approved of Third Circuit rulings 65 percent of the time.

By Howard J. Bashman

7 minute read

May 30, 2006 | Law.com

In his latest column, appellate attorney Howard J. Bashman honors the legacy of former 3rd Circuit Chief Judge Edward R. Becker, who died of cancer this month. Bashman writes that there can be no doubt that Becker's judicial tenure would deserve the word "greatness" even if that label were reserved for only the best and the brightest. Writes Bashman: "Becker's superior intellect, common sense and decency as a human being combined to place him among the finest federal appellate judges ever to have served."

By Howard J. Bashman

7 minute read

February 27, 2006 | Law.com

On the U.S. Supreme Court's first official day of business after Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. replaced Sandra Day O'Connor, the Court agreed to revisit the contentious issue of whether a ban on partial-birth abortion is constitutional. Three federal appellate courts have examined the constitutionality of this controversial law, and all three have held the law unconstitutional. However, despite reaching the same outcome, those courts did not employ identical reasoning, says Howard J. Bashman.

By Howard J. Bashman

6 minute read

March 14, 2005 | The Legal Intelligencer

Two weeks ago today, U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow returned home in Chicago in the evening to find the lifeless bodies of her husband and mother, who had been murdered in Lefkow's home earlier that day. Suspicion initially pointed to followers of a white supremacist group, a leader of which had recently been convicted in federal court in Chicago of having solicited Lefkow's murder.

By Howard J. Bashman

6 minute read

January 08, 2007 | Law.com

In many state court systems, one particular class of public documents -- non-precedential appellate court rulings -- remain unavailable over the Internet, on Lexis or on Westlaw, and are all but inaccessible to the general public. The time has come, writes appellate litigator Howard J. Bashman, for these courts to abolish their practice of hiding from public view the vast bulk of their rulings.

By Howard J. Bashman

5 minute read

January 30, 2006 | Legaltech News

As many have learned to their dismay, Internet anonymity is much harder to attain than it appears. In this time of executive branch eavesdropping on overseas communications and Department of Justice subpoenas to Internet search providers, some may wonder where the judicial branch stands on keeping secrets online. The answer is generally encouraging, says attorney Howard J. Bashman, although some courts and electronic filers could be more attuned to the privacy issues that electronic filing presents.

By Howard J. Bashman

5 minute read

November 27, 2006 | National Law Journal

If you think December automatically brings a holiday lull in new legal matters, guess again. Litigator Howard J. Bashman sounds the alert about two amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, both set to take effect officially on Dec. 1. One involves electronic filing on appeal. The other, permitting citation to unpublished and non-precedential federal appellate court rulings, stands as the most controversial amendment to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure of all time, writes Bashman.

By Howard J. Bashman

4 minute read