“Recktenwald gets high court nod; Senate must approve governor’s nomination of appeals court judge”: Today’s edition of The Honolulu Advertiser contains an article that begins, “Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday nominated Mark Recktenwald, chief judge on the state Intermediate Court of Appeals, to fill a vacancy on the state Supreme Court.”

And The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports today that “Recktenwald likely headed to the state’s highest court; Gov. Lingle praises her former Cabinet member’s integrity.”

“When does the clock start? Supreme Court re-examines time limits on childhood sex abuse lawsuits.” The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins, “In a case closely watched by advocates for child sex abuse victims, the state Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday over whether a man can pursue a lawsuit filed 14 years after alleged abuse by his stepfather.”

“State panel opens case over last-minute appeal”: The Houston Chronicle has this news update.

And The New York Times today contains an editorial entitled “Investigating Judge Keller.”

“Obama Administration Mulling Constitutionality of Copyright Act”: David Kravets has this post today at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog.

“Texas judge charged with blocking execution appeal”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A Texas judicial commission filed proceedings Thursday against the presiding judge of the state’s highest criminal court, charging her with improperly cutting off appeals for a condemned inmate on the night of his execution. The action by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct against Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, could result in her removal from office.”

And at the “Austin Legal” blog of The Austin American-Statesman, Chuck Lindell has a post titled “Keller violated judicial canons, state agency charges.”

You can view the judicial misconduct charges at this link.

“Job-Discrimination Cases Tend To Fare Poorly in Federal Court”: Nathan Koppel has this article today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Election Law Litigation Has Doubled Since 2000”: Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal has this article.

“Court Forces Obama to Move Quickly in Subpoena Case”: Joe Palazzolo has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“Rove testimony hangs in balance”: At Politico.com’s “44” blog, Josh Gerstein has a post that begins, “A federal appeals court has agreed to give President Barack Obama a little more time–but only a little– to decide whether to supportone of President Bush’s most controversial uses of executive privilege.”

“Obama’s past politics make bipartisan work difficult, attorney says”: This past Sunday’s issue of The Deseret News contained an article that begins, “If President Barack Obama is hoping for bipartisan support for his future Supreme Court nominees, he may have painted himself into a political corner, prominent conservative attorney Kenneth W. Starr told a crowd of LDS attorneys.”

And yesterday’s edition of The Christian Science Monitor contained an editorial entitled “Obama’s next test on bipartisanship: His drive to curb the rancor of Washington must continue with his picks for judges.”

“D.C. Circuit Sets New Briefing Schedule in House Lawsuit”: At the “Legal Beat” blog of CQ Politics, Keith Perine has a post that begins, “The D.C. Circuit has ordered two former Bush White House aides to file their opening brief on Feb. 25 in their appeal of a House Judiciary Committee lawsuit seeking enforcement of committee subpoenas.”

“Court Blocks Release Of 17 Uighurs Into U.S.” This article appears today in The Washington Post.

The New York Times reports today that “Appeals Court Stops Release of 17 Detainees in U.S.”

And The Los Angeles Times reports that “Chinese Muslims may remain at Guantanamo, court rules; The U.S. is allowed to hold the 17 Uighurs even though they are no longer considered dangerous, a federal appeals court says, reversing an earlier decision.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s D.C. Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“Ex-Grace Officials on Trial in Asbestos Poisoning”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “A reckoning in one of American history’s worst industrial disasters, which unfolded here over seven decades as an asbestos-tainted mineral was dug from the ground and processed, begins Thursday when five former mine executives go to trial on federal criminal charges.” The “here” mentioned in the article is Libby, Montana.

Bloomberg News reports that “Grace Prosecution Over Montana Poisoning May Disrupt Bankruptcy.”

On Monday, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer published an article headlined “Judge: Asbestos sufferers aren’t victims; Witnesses affected by related diseases barred from trial.” The newspaper says it first exposed the problems with W.R. Grace & Co.’s asbestos mining in Libby, Mont., in a series published in 1999.

And The Missoulian is providing extensive local coverage of the case. Recent articles are headlined “W.R. Grace & Co. trial: Molloy rules witnesses must stay away from courtroom“; “Defense request to move Grace trial out of Missoula denied“; “W.R. Grace: The trial – Libby bar undergoes cleansing“; “Cleanup crews have big effect on Libby’s economy“; and “Libby’s tremolite asbestos a different kind of monster.” The newspaper also has this web page devoted to the case.

“Family awarded $8 million in Broward tobacco suit; Philip Morris USA vowed to appeal a Broward jury’s decision to award $8 million to the widow and son of a Cooper City man who died from lung cancer”: This article appears today in The Miami Herald.

And The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports today that “Tobacco jury orders $8 million in damages to Cooper City widow.”

“Guns-in-vehicle law ruled valid; The appeals court overturns a Tulsa judge’s order on firearms at a job site”: The Tulsa World today contains an article that begins, “Oklahoma’s law requiring employers to allow workers to have guns in their locked vehicles at work is valid, an appeals court decided Wednesday. The decision by the Denver-based court overturns a court order by a judge in Tulsa who in 2007 barred enforcement of the law. A panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided 3-0 that U.S. District Judge Terrence Kern erred in concluding that the law is pre-empted by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link.