Unused and Probably Unusable

The most well-known and eminent judge of the Third Circuit, Edward R. Becker, passed away on Friday afternoon. (NYT obituary; Inquirer obituary; Daily News article shortly before his death) Howard has been especially comprehensive in his coverage, in part because (as a long-time practitioner before and admirer of Becker) he had already posted glowing encomia.

I only saw Judge Becker on the bench once, during oral arguments in the highly visible and temporarily controversial Chester County Courthouse Ten Commandments case. Third Circuit Opinion (pdf); article describing reactions and providing background after Judge Dalzell's decision at the trial level. The late great Stefan Presser argued on the side of the atheist suing to have the commandments covered up or removed. See article noting his reactions after the decision. Alfie Putnam appeared on behalf of the amicus, for whom he filed an attention-getting brief in which he compared the plaintiff to the Taliban. It was a memorable event.

As has already been said far better than I can, condolences go out to Judge Becker's friends, family, and colleagues.

Also worthy of note, on a less somber note, the Tech Law Advisor has posted a particularly glittering Blawg Review. It's "small town newspaper meets ESPN" - and boy is it good. It's got all the best features of a blog review: it's readable, informative, well-organized. Go at once and check out Blawg Review # 58.