SCOTUS reverses 11th Circuit in Van Buren

This is a biggie... and it's an interesting 6-3 split reversing the 11th Circuit, with Justice Barrett writing the majority.  Here's the opinion and the split:  

BARRETT, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BREYER, SOTOMAYOR, KAGAN, GORSUCH, and KAVANAUGH, JJ., joined. THOMAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and ALITO, J., joined.

From the intro:

Nathan Van Buren, a former police sergeant, ran a license-plate search in a law enforcement computer data-base in exchange for money. Van Buren’s conduct plainly flouted his department’s policy, which authorized him to obtain database information only for law enforcement purposes. We must decide whether Van Buren also violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA), which makes it illegal “to access a computer with authorization and to use such access to obtain or alter information in the computer that the accesser is not entitled so to obtain or alter.” He did not. This provision covers those who obtain information from particular areas in the computer—such as files, folders, or databases—to which their computer access does not extend. It does not cover those who, like Van Buren, have improper motives for obtaining information that is otherwise available to them.

 And the conclusion:

In sum, an individual “exceeds authorized access” when he accesses a computer with authorization but then obtains information located in particular areas of the computer—such as files, folders, or databases—that are off limits to him. The parties agree that Van Buren accessed the law enforcement database system with authorization. The only question is whether Van Buren could use the system to retrieve license-plate information. Both sides agree that he could. Van Buren accordingly did not “excee[d] authorized access” to the database, as the CFAA defines that phrase, even though he obtained information from the database for an improper purpose. We therefore reverse the contrary judgment of the Eleventh Circuit and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

All SDFLA jury trials continued until July 19

 This is expected to be the last order of its kind.  I'll post the administrative order as soon as it goes up on the court website.

UPDATED -- here's the order.

June in SCOTUS

It's June. The country is re-opening.  Everyone is getting back to work, vacations, travel, in person court hearings, and jury trials.  It's cool to see.  Two things are closing for the summer -- school and the Supreme Court.  All outstanding opinions will be issued this month.  Here are some things to watch at the end of the Term, according to USA Today:

After mostly avoiding controversy for the past eight months, the Supreme Court is heading into the final, frenzied few weeks of its 2020-21 term with a docket full of outstanding cases and rampant speculation about one its most senior justices.

From health care to voting to a dispute pitting LGBTQ rights against religious freedom, the nation's highest court will soon start churning through blockbuster cases, dropping decisions that will reshape the law – and the political landscape.

Twenty-six cases – all of which were argued virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic – remain on the docket. 

 "This term is a lot like the first few episodes of a new TV show," said David Lat, a court observer who founded a legal newsletter and website called Original Jurisdiction. "It's really just setting the stage. Sometimes you wish you could just fast forward through it, but it's still important because we're getting to know the characters...and we're getting to know the issues."

After the flurry of opinions, attention is sure to shift to Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, who at 82 is under pressure from progressives to retire so that President Joe Biden can name his replacement while Democrats hold their tenuous majority in the Senate. When justices step down, they often do so at the very end of the term.

Judge Ungaro says farewell to the bench

It was a really nice event (moderated by former clerk and soon-to-be magistrate judge Melissa Visconti). It's good to start seeing folks again! Chief Judge Moore and incoming Chief Judge Altonaga spoke.  Two of her law clerks, Rachel Furst and Frank Maderal, gave nice speeches.  And Judge Ungaro spoke beautifully about her time on the bench, including her close relationship with Kathryn (her courtroom deputy) and Bill (her court reporter).  Bill even delivered a wonderful poem.  I didn't know about the daily lunch scrabble games with staff and the clerks.  I wonder whether law clerks when they first start feel any pressure to let Judge U win.  

Breaking— Congressional JNC recommends 6 names for two open judicial seats (UPDATED WITH U.S. ATTORNEY FINALISTS AND MARSHAL)

 I’m being told from multiple sources that the finalists for the two open district judge seats are:

Michael Caruso

Miguel de la O

Samantha Feuer

Ayana Harris

Shaniek Maynard

Detra Shaw Wilder

*These have been confirmed.  Congrats to the finalists.

UPDATED -- The finalists for Marshal are:

Amos Rojas and Gadyaces Serralta

The finalists for U.S. Attorney are:

Jackie Arango

Michael Hantman

Markenzy Lapointe

Judge Singhal denies CNN's motion to dismiss Dersh's defamation lawsuit

Law & Crime covers the interesting case here:

Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz on Tuesday secured a significant procedural victory in federal court against CNN as part of his ongoing defamation lawsuit against the network.
CNN’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the $300 million lawsuit for failure to state a claim last November. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida was not convinced, and the parties will now move on to the discovery phase of proceedings.
“Looking forward to deposing the commentators and heads of CNN and of the truth coming out,” Dershowitz told Law&Crime in an email.
The famed celebrity attorney sued the liberal media outlet last September after CNN aired an edited clip of his defense argument in favor of then-president Donald Trump during the latter’s 2020 Senate impeachment trial over the Ukraine phone call affair.

Here is the well-reasoned order by Judge Singhal.

"He loves his job."

 That was Judge Chuck Breyer (N.D. Cal.) about his brother, Justice Stephen Breyer.  Per Bloomberg:

U.S. Judge Charles Breyer won’t say whether his older brother Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer plans to retire.
“I think we’ll find out at some point,” the California trial court judge said with a laugh when asked by Bloomberg Law about his brother’s plans. “I will tell you one thing: He loves his job.”
Justice Breyer, 82, has come under intense pressure from Democrats to retire this term and make way for President Joe Biden to name his successor. There was some speculation that Breyer’s announcement might come before the end of the term, but his decision to hire a full slate of clerks, as reported by legal blogger David Lat, diminished some liberals’ hopes.
Judge Breyer, who is three years his brother’s junior, has already switched to part-time work as a semi-retired judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He was appointed to the court in 1997 by Bill Clinton and took senior status in 2011, which allows a judge to vacate their seat and take on a lower number of cases.

Judge Breyer is really fantastic.  He is part of an upcoming mini-season for my podcast, For the Defense, on judging.  We'll also have Judges Pryor and Rosenbaum, following up on the reception of the Jed Rakoff episode.  I'm pretty excited about it. 

Dave Aronberg not pursuing U.S. Attorney gig

 Jay Weaver covers the story here:

A half-dozen Miami lawyers have made the cut for interviews with a state congressional nominating commission to be the next U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Florida.
But a notable seventh candidate did not submit an application to the House nominating commission: Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg.
In a letter to a handful of South Florida politicians, Aronberg said he was “honored by reports” that he was being considered for the U.S. Attorney’s position but he did not apply because of his “love” for his current job, which he has held since 2013.

The Congressional JNC will do its interviews next week.  Should be interesting.