The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Obama Administration to Recognize Utah Same-Sex Marriages

The Obama administration said today it will recognize hundreds of same-sex marriages in Utah that were performed after a federal judge struck down the state's ban but before the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the judge's decision pending appeal.

Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. announced that for purposes of federal law, the marriages will be "recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages."

The Supreme Court's temporary block, allowing Utah to fight the ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, cast doubt on those marriages, Holder said in a statement. Utah's governor said the state will not recognize the marriages, Holder noted.

D.C. Circuit Weighs Challenge to Groin Searches at Guantanamo Bay

A federal appeals court in Washington heard arguments today over a body search policy at Guantanamo Bay that lawyers for detainees contend restricts access to counsel.

A trial judge in July blocked the new policy, concluding the groin-area searches were religiously and culturally offensive to detainees and that the new policy was aimed at interfering with detainees' ability to meet with their lawyers. The U.S. Department of Justice today, defending the searches, asked a three-judge appellate panel to reverse that ruling. The government argued the trial judge lacked jurisdiction to block the new policy.

U.S. Department of Justice lawyer Edward Himmelfarb began arguments by explaining that the searches involved full-body frisks of fully clothed detainees. Judge Thomas Griffith jumped in, asking about the government's justification for groin-area searches detainees found "provocative" and "offensive."

This Week in The National Law Journal

The Abortion Docket: Senior Washington correspondent Marcia Coyle reports: "In the past two years, anti-abortion groups have seeded state laws with abortion restrictions. Challengers to court rulings for and against those laws now are knocking on the doors of the U.S. Supreme Court."

Targets: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking on lawyers, filing more suits against attorneys almost more than any other group, Jenna Greene reports this week. "When the consumer agency opened its doors in July 2011, banks, mortgage companies and other lenders braced for lawsuits — and loudly complained about the new agency's powers. But lawyers were quiet, seemingly unaware that they, too, could find themselves in the CFPB's cross hairs," Greene writes.

The Bureau: Former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann talks with Andrew Ramonas about the experience as one of the top government lawyers in the country. Weissmann, who's now teaching at New York University School of Law, discusses the challenges of building financial crimes cases, and he talks about surveillance and privacy.

D.C. Circuit: Contraceptive Mandate Violates Religious Freedom

Requiring employer insurance plans to include contraception coverage "trammels" the constitutional right to freedom of religious expression, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said today.

The D.C. Circuit is the latest court to join the legal fray over the contraceptive mandate included in the Obama administration's health care reform law. Federal appellate courts have split on whether the mandate violates the religious freedom of those who oppose contraceptive services and abortion, setting the stage for a fight before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In today's ruling, the court reversed a trial judge's decision denying an injunction that would block, at least temporarily, the contraception mandate. The trial judge was ordered to take another look at the plaintiffs' request for an injunction.

Guantanamo Lawyers Fight DOJ Request for Shutdown Extension

Lawyers for detainees at Guantánamo Bay are fighting the U.S. Department of Justice's attempt to push back filing deadlines because of the government shutdown. The detainees' lawyers say the case, a dispute over access to counsel, is too important to delay.

The government is appealing a federal district judge's order from July blocking the U.S. Department of Defense from requiring detainees to undergo groin searches before meeting with lawyers. U.S. District Senior Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington found the search policy was designed to actively discourage detainees from communicating with their lawyers.

On October 11, the government asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to extend its deadline for a brief due October 22, citing the Justice Department's limited operations during the shutdown. Today, lawyers for the detainees replied that they would agree to push back the deadline by a few days, but not to the degree the government wanted.

Catholic Priest Sues Defense Department Over Shutdown

Updated at 12:43 p.m.

A Catholic priest claiming he was barred from ministering at a U.S. Navy base because of the government shutdown is suing the U.S. Department of Defense, claiming violations of his First Amendment rights.

In a lawsuit filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Father Ray Leonard said he was told to stop providing Catholic religious services at the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Kings Bay, Georgia, even on a volunteer basis, or else face arrest. Leonard, who serves as a chaplain under a contract with the Defense Department, was one of hundreds of thousands told to stop working during the shutdown.

According to the complaint, the Defense Department put a sign outside the base chapel saying Catholic services would no longer take place during the shutdown. The chapel has remained opened for services by other religious denominations, Leonard said.

A Plea for Civility at Annual Red Mass in D.C.

Updated 7:25 p.m.

By Tony Mauro

Top officials of all three branches of government, in attendance at the annual Roman Catholic Red Mass in Washington on Sunday morning, heard a sermon decrying the climate of "highly polarized and polarizing rhetoric" that engulfs the nation's capital.

In a sermon to the audience at the soaring Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in D.C., Dallas Bishop Kevin Farrell said "petty partisanship and ever-politicizing rhetoric should have no place at all when men and women of good will come together to serve the common good."

His comments come against the backdrop of the government shutdown and deadlock between Congress and the White House. The shutdown's now in its sixth day, and lawmakers are growing increasingly more concerned about the potential harm on the judiciary.

Five U.S. Supreme Court justices attended the Red Mass, as did several members of Congress and the White House chief of staff Denis McDonough. The justices on hand were Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., and justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan.

Judge Unseals Information on Guantanamo Counsel Access

A Washington federal judge today unsealed new information in a dispute over access to counsel at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

In response to a motion filed by a reporter, U.S. District Senior Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the full version of a declaration on detainee search procedures filed by Col. John Bogdan be made public. The government originally filed the declaration under seal, and then released a redacted version. Today, Lamberth said the government had failed to justify keeping the remaining portions confidential.

"Before the Court will deem nonclassified information protected, 'the government must give the court a basis for withholding [the information] from public view,'" Lamberth wrote. "The government has failed to do so here."

U.S., Russia Continue Talks Over Return of Jewish Texts

The U.S. State Department is continuing to discuss with Russia the country's return of thousands of Jewish texts seized in the early 20th century, a lawyer fighting to retrieve the books and manuscripts told a Washington judge today.

The attorney, Nathan Lewin, who represents the Agudas Chasidei Chabad of the United States in its suit against Russia, was in Washington federal district court this morning to provide an update on the talks.

Notwithstanding the deterioration of relations, Lewin said—a reference to the dispute between Russia and the United States over asylum for Edward Snowden—the State Department remains "committed" to ongoing talks with counterparts in Russia. Lewin said the discussion could result in the return of the property in dispute.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in 2010 ordered Russia to return the collection, which includes some 12,000 books and manuscripts that the Soviet army took from the Nazis. Earlier this year, Lamberth imposed $50,000 daily contempt sanctions against Russia over the country's refusal to return the Jewish texts.

In Supreme Court, Republicans Defend Opening Prayers

Members of Congress are sending the U.S. Supreme Court a message: Let us pray.

In two amicus briefs filed this week, 34 (mostly) Republican senators and 85 (mostly) Republican representatives are urging the justices to allow the House and Senate to start their daily sessions with prayers that, as one brief puts it, seek "God's blessing and guidance in making consequential decisions."

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments this session in Greece v. Galloway, where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in 2012 that the town's legislative prayers were unconstitutional endorsements of Christianity. The ruling could shape the interpretation of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.