“Kneedler Named Acting SG As Garre Leaves to Teach at George Washington Law”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“Supreme Court to Review Special Education, Strip Search Cases”: Mark Walsh has this post at Education Week’s “The School Law Blog.”

“Court to rule on state power over bank bias, 5 other cases”: Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

You can access today’s Order List at this link.

And The Associated Press reports that “Court will review school strip search for drugs“; “High court takes special ed case“; and “Court to review power to probe national banks.”

Available online from National Public Radio: Today’s broadcast of “Morning Edition” contained audio segments entitled “Hearings Continue For Obama’s AG Pick” (featuring Nina Totenberg) and “Obama Faces Calls To Tighten Interrogation Rules.”

And yesterday evening’s broadcast of “All Things Considered” contained an audio segment entitled “Expert Urges U.S. Trials For Guantanamo Suspects.”

RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.

“Jackson Named Acting Law School Dean; Jackson will replace Kagan upon her confirmation as U.S. Solicitor General”: This article appears today in The Harvard Crimson.

“Pay-to-play law garners court’s seal of approval”: The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins, “The state Supreme Court yesterday gave its approval to New Jersey’s tough pay-to-play law, which is designed to prevent companies that make political contributions from getting favored treatment in state contracts.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Law banning pay-to-play survives its first challenge; The state Supreme Court unanimously upheld a limit on awarding contracts to contributors.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link.

“Bush sees dangers closing Gitmo”: This article appears today in The Washington Times.

“O’Connor adds a light touch to economic event”: Today’s edition of The Arizona Republic contains an article that begins, “The first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court took to the stage at an economic event in Scottsdale on Thursday and proclaimed, ‘We’re back to Keynesian economics.'”

“Court calls warrantless wiretapping legal; The ruling upholds the power of the government to tap international phone calls and intercept e-mails, even when Americans’ private communications may be involved”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

The Washington Post reports today that “Intelligence Court Releases Ruling in Favor of Warrantless Wiretapping.”

The New York Times reports that “Court Affirms Wiretapping Without Warrants.”

And The Wall Street Journal contains an editorial entitled “The Wiretap Vindication: FISA sets the record straight.”

“Departing CIA chief Hayden defends interrogations; ‘These techniques worked,’ says outgoing Director Michael Hayden; He lists Iran’s nuclear ambitions and Mexico’s drug violence as top challenges to be faced by his designated successor, Leon Panetta”: The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.

The Washington Post reports today that “Inquiry Into Interrogations Unlikely; Hayden: Obama Does Not Wish to Investigate Waterboarding.”

And The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “CIA director defends interrogations.”

“Holder calls waterboarding torture; Obama’s nominee for attorney general tells senators in his confirmation hearing that he plans major changes in the Justice Department to fix problems he says were created by the Bush administration”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. In addition, Joseph F. Connor has an op-ed entitled “Terrorists killed my dad: Atty. Gen.-nominee Eric Holder helped pardon terrorists linked to my father’s murder in 1975.”

The Wall Street Journal today contains an article headlined “Technique Called ‘Torture’ by Holder.”

Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Attorney general-designate backs shield law.”

The Associated Press reports that “Obama’s AG pick on track for confirmation.”

And Bloomberg News reports that “Holder Urges Fairness for Terror Suspects as Nomination Gains.”

“Bonds’ lawyers seek to restrict evidence”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Lance Williams has an article that begins, “Prosecutors cannot conclusively link Barry Bonds to positive steroid tests seized in a raid on the BALCO laboratory, lawyers for the former Giants slugger say.”

And The New York Times reports today that “Bonds’s Lawyers File Motion Seeking Exclusion of Evidence.”

“O’Malley vows to work to end death penalty; He raises idea of putting issue before voters”: This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun.

And The Washington Post today contains a front page article headlined “O’Malley Begins Quest To Repeal Death Penalty.”

“Connecticut, Other States Sue To Block ‘Conscience Rule'”: Today’s edition of The Hartford Courant contains an article that begins, “Connecticut and six other states filed a lawsuit Thursday to block an impending federal rule that critics say will allow health care providers to deny care, including emergency contraception to rape victims, with no recourse for patients.”

And The Washington Post reports today that “Lawsuits Filed Over Rule That Lets Health Workers Deny Care; Regulation to Protect ‘Conscience Rights’ Called Too Broad.”

“The Fourth Amendment Diluted”: The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “With a lamentable 5-to-4 ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court carved a new exception to the nearly century-old exclusionary rule, which forbids prosecutors from using evidence obtained by the police as the result of an improper search.”

“Some Ask if Bailout Is Unconstitutional”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“Private hearings of civil cases likely to be allowed in Rhode Island”: The Providence Journal today contains an article that begins, “The justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court appear ready to implement rules to effectuate a law that would allow people to hire retired judges to preside over private trials in civil cases.”

“What Does It Mean, in 2009, to Be a Political or Judicial Conservative? In the Midst of a National Paradigm Shift, Defining the Term Is Increasingly Challenging.” Marci Hamilton has this essay online at FindLaw.