Court Artist Blog = ROCK

Art Lien, NBC’s SCOTUS sketch artist, goes where cameras cannot.  This is really great stuff.  And talk about the perfect name for his profession.

As you peruse, be mindful of his one admonishment:

You may download images for personal viewing, but any other use including, but not limited to, posting on a website, publishing in a newsletter, or even printing on a personal greeting card is strictly forbidden without my written permission. NBC News owns the broadcast rights.

Samantar v. Yousuf

Had I had any gas left in the tank after Monday/yesterday’s 26-hour vigil, I’d have gotten back in line for this morning’s case, Samantar v. Yousuf.  But after I submitted my ABA Journal piece on McDonald last night, my body and mind shouted “no más.”

Samantar does look to be a very interesting case that sadly flew under the radar this term.  In lieu of F1@1F coverage, check out the following links:

• “A California Reckoning in a Case of Abuses Abroad,” NYT 1/30/10
• “At 74, Fairfax resident, a former Solamali prime minister, may face war-crimes lawsuit,” WaPo 3/2/10
• “Can Torture Victims Sue Their Tormenters?” NPR 3/3/10 – Nina Totenberg’s preview from today’s Morning Edition

As I publish this post, the respondent’s counsel should be fielding the justices’ questions.  Once the SCOTUS press corps starts publishing their oral argument write-ups, I’ll link to them here.