Changes

In 2019, a commentator on PZ Myers' [[Pharyngula (blog)|Pharyngula]] blog wrote about the Richard Carrier lawsuit against [[Freethought Blogs]]:

In 2019, a commentator on PZ Myers' [[Pharyngula (blog)|Pharyngula]] blog wrote about the Richard Carrier lawsuit against [[Freethought Blogs]]:

{{Cquote|Presuming, as I think is likely, that the magistrate recommends dismissal and the district judge agrees and dismisses the case, Carrier would then have the right to appeal his loss to a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. This would mean a few more months during which P.Z.’s lawyers and Carrier would submit further written arguments to the appellate panel. I suspect the court would not order oral argument in a case like this, so the panel would likely issue its decision based on written submissions alone.

{{Cquote|{{Cquote|Presuming, as I think is likely, that the magistrate recommends dismissal...

 

...I learned something I hadn’t known about the procedural posture of this case: the two sides have agreed to give the magistrate judge the authority to try the entire lawsuit—which means that the things I wrote above about making a recommendation to the district judge don’t apply in this particular case. The magistrate will be deciding the whole thing.

 

...Carrier would then have the right to appeal his loss to a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. This would mean a few more months during which P.Z.’s lawyers and Carrier would submit further written arguments to the appellate panel. I suspect the court would not order oral argument in a case like this, so the panel would likely issue its decision based on written submissions alone.

If we assume that Carrier lost at that phase as well, he would then have the right to ask for a rehearing in front of the full Eight Circuit (“en banc”) and/or ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the appellate decision. The chances that either one of those requests would be granted, however, are remote.

If we assume that Carrier lost at that phase as well, he would then have the right to ask for a rehearing in front of the full Eight Circuit (“en banc”) and/or ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the appellate decision. The chances that either one of those requests would be granted, however, are remote.