“‘Text-Only’ Web Obscenity Case Attracts National Attention; Motions to dismiss said obscenity laws should not be applied to text where no pictures were involved”: law.com provides this report.

I wrote about this case in the October 9, 2006 installment of my “On Appeal” column, headlined “Text This: Words Alone Can Violate Federal Obscenity Laws.”

“Law buffs compete in moot court; In past, Justices Alito and Roberts attended event”: This article appears today in The GW Hatchet.

“Senate’s Effort to Ban Junkets Could Stall Judicial Pay Raises”: Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California.

“Kathryn Kolbert to Head People For the American Way; Renowned Civil Rights Lawyer, Advocate, and Award-winning Journalist”: The organization People For the American Way issued this press release today.

Respondent’s Brief filed today in the U.S. Supreme Court in the D.C. gun case: You can access the brief at this link. And at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post titled “Second Amendment Lawyer Still In the Saddle.”

“The Constitution and the Candidates: What would the framers say?” Law Professor Akhil Reed Amar has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Child Soldier Case on Docket at Gitmo”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A U.S. military tribunal convening Monday at Guantanamo will hear challenges from attorneys for a Canadian terror suspect accused of killing an American soldier when he was 15 – an age they say should disqualify him from trial.”

“Cobb Judge Bodiford to take on Brian Nichols case; He’s handled high-profile cases, including crematory, Tokars and Lynn Turner murder trials”: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides this news update.

And The Associated Press provides a report headlined “New Judge in Courthouse Shooting Case.”

American Express owes nothing to man who claims to have thought up “My Life, My Card” catch-phrase as a means for marketing credit cards: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued this ruling today.

“Deadline for Commenting on Federal Appellate Rule Amendments Is Fast Approaching”: Today’s installment of my “On Appeal” column for law.com can be accessed at this link.

“Law on back pay proposed in Fort Lawton case”: The Seattle Times today contains an article that begins, “Samuel Snow got a check from the Pentagon after the Army announced last October it would overturn convictions of Snow and 27 other African-American soldiers wrongly tried for rioting at Seattle’s Fort Lawton in 1944. The check was for $725 — the amount of pay that Snow, now 82, lost while serving a year in an Army lockup. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., have introduced legislation to make the military pay much more to Snow and the other surviving Fort Lawton soldier, and to the families of those who have died since the convictions. The legislation would calculate the back pay in current dollars with interest. That could change the $725 sent to Snow to about $88,000, according to Nelson’s office.”

“Judge rejects federal workers’ pension suit”: The Honolulu Advertiser today contains an article that begins, “A lawsuit by federal workers in Hawai’i and Alaska seeking to increase their pension benefits has been dismissed by a visiting federal judge, who ruled that the issue should be resolved by Congress. The lawsuit stems from a pay system that treats federal workers in the two states differently than elsewhere.”

I have posted at this link last Wednesday’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.

“Trust, but verify: Any law authorizing surveillance of foreign calls and e-mails needs to include safeguards against abuse.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Was encounter with Cheney a touch, a slap or a shove? A Colorado man had an encounter with the vice president, but no one, including Secret Service agents, agrees on what happened; Could Cheney be forced to testify?” The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.

“Felons’ DNA clogs system; Recent cases highlight the database’s value and the burden on U.S. crime labs”: This article appears today in The Denver Post.

“Begging Bush’s Pardon”: Today in The New York Times, George Lardner Jr. has an op-ed that begins, “The first rule for handling requests for presidential pardons was set down in a report to Congress in 1887, during Grover Cleveland’s first term in office.”

“McCain and the Supreme Court”: Steven G. Calabresi and John O. McGinnis have this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal.

“New judge selection Monday: Nichols death trial may start in weeks.” This article appeared yesterday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“High Court To Consider Ashcroft Case”: Joseph Goldstein has this article today in The New York Sun.

“Does the Fifth Amendment Protect the Refusal to Reveal Computer Passwords? In a Dubious Ruling, A Vermont Magistrate Judge Says Yes.” Sherry F. Colb has this essay online today at FindLaw.