The 9th Circuit panel before which the government's appeal of Judge Phillips' ruling holding the "don't ask, don't tell" unconstitutional is pending, made this docket entry today:
Docket Text:
Filed order MOATT: (LN) The opposed motion to hold these appeals in abeyance is denied. The briefing schedule is reset as follows: the government
Yesterday afternoon was frigidly cold in New York City, coinciding with 5 Borough Music Festival's collaboration with the Cultural Arts Series at St. Mary's RC Church in Long Island City presenting Quicksilver, an early music performance group, in a program titled "Stile Moderno: The New Science of Music In Italy." "New" is a relative term when speaking of music, of course, and in this case the reference was to the new baroque developments that displaced … <Read More>
This evening I attended a concert by Sequentia, directed by Benjamin Bagby, part of the Early Music Series presented by Miller Theater at Columbia University. In search of the correct acoustics for presentations of medieval and renaissance vocal music, they present these concerts at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Times Square.
The title of tonight's concert was "Voices from the Island Sanctuary," referring to the Ile de la Cite in Paris … <Read More>
With a motion for class certification having been filed and scheduled for hearing on February 24, and having just survived a motion to dismiss by the federal defendants, six Californians are poised to strike a heavy blow at the federal Defense of Marriage Act, Section 3, which mandates that only different-sex unions be recognized as marriages for all purposes of federal law. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken's January 18 decision on the motion in Dragovich v. … <Read More>
A New York State trial judge in Brooklyn rejected the New York City Transit Authority's argument that the city's law banning gender identity discrimination in places of public accommodation is unconstitutional as applied to a claim that a transit worker directed transphobic language at a member of the public seeking assistance in using a Metrocard. In a decision dated December 29 but not released to the parties until January 21, Supreme Court Justice Kenneth P. … <Read More>
This is a bit off the beaten track…. I was very impressed by a new recording of songs for baritone and orchestra by Hans Pfitzner (1869-1949), enthusiastically sung on a new CPO release by Hans Christoph Begemann, with Otto Tausk conducting Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie. First sentence from the booklet: "Hans Pfitzner's orchestral songs represent what is largely unexplored terrain and to date have only rarely been performed."
Well, where have these songs been hiding? They are … <Read More>
Continuing with its general policy of refraining from getting involved with questions of local law in the District of Columbia, the Supreme Court denied without comment a petition for certiorari in Jackson v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, No. 10-511, 2011 Westlaw 134291 (Jan. 28, 2011), decision below, 999 A.2d 89 (D.C., July 15, 2010), an action by some District residents asserting a right to place an initiative on the D.C. … <Read More>
The highlight of tonight's New York Philharmonic concert – at least for me – was the brilliant performance by Yefim Bronfman of Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 83 – a real triumphant performance. Bronfman has always impressed me in the past — his Peoples' Symphony Recital was a major highlight of the last concert season — and his recordings have provided great satisfaction, but I was truly overwhelmed with his performance tonight. He … <Read More>
A 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel voted to reverse and remand a decision by U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken granting summary judgment against a gay plaintiff who accused his former employer of retaliatory discharge and sexual orientation harassment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Oregon Human Rights Act. Dawson v. Entek International, 2011 Westlaw 61645 (Jan. 10, 2011). Although the court rejected Shane Dawson's argument … <Read More>
The Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously ruled on January 7 that state laws governing parental status should be construed to authorize listing a same-sex co-parent on the birth certificates of children conceived pursuant to a gestational surrogacy agreement, even though the co-parent has no genetic relationship to the children. In Raftopol v. Ramey, SC 18482, the court rejected the state's argument that the co-parent would have to go through a second-parent adoption proceeding in order to … <Read More>