BREAKING NEWS ~ Federal appeals court denies full Schiavo rehearing News
BREAKING NEWS ~ Federal appeals court denies full Schiavo rehearing

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the US Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a request from the parents of Terri Schiavo [JURIST news archive] for an expedited rehearing en banc of their case, which a three-judge panel turned back early this morning. The only legal recourse left for the Schindlers at this stage now appears to be an appeal to the United State Supreme Court via Justice Kennedy, the Justice responsible for emergency appeals from the Eleventh Circuit.

3:36 PM ET – The appeals court has now posted its ruling [text]. Two circuit judges dissented from the refusal – Judge Wilson, who was the lone dissenter on original three-judge panel, and Judge Tjoflat, who did not take take a stand on the Schiavo situation as such, but rather argued that the appeals court had jurisdiction in the case under the All Writs Act and would lose it if an injunction were not issued.

8:07 PM ET – House Republican leaders Wednesday filed a motion for leave to file as an interested party in the en banc proceedings; their motion brief [PDF] is now available online from the House Judiciary Committee.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Memphis Massacre of 1866 breaks out

The Memphis Massacre of 1866 broke out on May 1 of that year after Black Union veterans and police were involved in an altercation surrounding the arrest of a Black soldier. The ensuing skirmish spiralled out of control due to the racial tensions that followed the end of the US Civil War, lasting for two days and claiming the lives of 46 Black people and six whites.  The riot later cemented support for what would become the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Consitution, ensuring equal protection under the law. Learn more about the Memphis Massacre.  

Acts of Union creates Great Britain

On May 1, 1707, the two Acts of Union went into effect, implementing the Treaty of Union and thereby uniting the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The Union with Scotland Act was passed by the Parliament of England in 1706, and the Scottish Parliament promulgated the Union with England Act. Learn more about the Acts of Union from the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

First US trade union formed

On May 1, 1794, the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (shoemakers) was organized in Philadelphia to negotiate wages for its members, becoming the first trade union in the United States. Learn more about the history of the labor movement in the United States, and visit the website of the AFL-CIO, the federation of America's labor unions, representing more than 13 million workers.