“Congress’ first task: FISA; When Congress reconvenes, it needs to act quickly on new terrorist surveillance legislation.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Debate and Protest at Spy Program’s Inception”: Eric Lichtblau has this article today in The New York Times.

Steven Brill reviews John Grisham’s new book, “The Appeal”: The review appears in today’s issue of the Sunday Book Review of The New York Times.

“Fed Rules Claim to Pre-Empt Injury Suits”: The Associated Press provides this report.

“My Way or the Highway”: This editorial about President Bush’s nomination of Steven Bradbury to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel appears today in The New York Times.

The nation’s first DNA-based “John Doe” warrants were illegal, the Supreme Court of Kansas has ruled: Yesterday’s edition of The Wichita Eagle contained an article headlined “Court quashes 1st DNA-based rape warrants” that begins, “The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the arrest warrants in seven rape cases — the first in the nation to charge someone’s DNA with a crime — weren’t specific enough to meet legal standards. The ruling means death-row inmate Douglas Belt won’t be tried for the rapes.”

And The McPherson Sentinel reported yesterday that “Kaufman finds good and bad news in John Doe rulings.”

You can access at this link Friday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Kansas.

“Same-sex marriages gain support”: The Des Moines Register yesterday contained an article that begins, “A new flock of same-sex marriage supporters jumped into Iowa’s constitutional battle over gay rights Friday with legal briefs they hope will influence the Iowa Supreme Court.”

“High court: Privacy extends to airspace above homes.” Yesterday’s edition of The Rutland Herald contained an article that begins, “The Vermont Supreme Court held Friday that ‘Vermont citizens have a constitutional right to privacy that ascends into the airspace above their homes and property,’ overturning the conviction of a Goshen man on marijuana charges. The court ruled that the aerial surveillance of Stephen Bryant’s land constituted a search under Article 11 of the Vermont Constitution and, as such, required a warrant.”

You can access Friday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Vermont at this link.

“Profanity, sex, violence: What’s appropriate on TV?” Columnist Gail Pennington has this op-ed today in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“Activist involved in landmark Supreme Court speech rights case dies”: Today’s edition of The Columbia Missourian contains an article that begins, “Lorena Jeanne Tinker, a peace and civil rights activist, made it her mission to change what she could and chronicle what she couldn’t.”

You can access the U.S. Supreme Court‘s ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District via this link.

“Medellin v. Texas: A case of more than murder.” Ted Cruz, the Solicitor General of Texas, has this op-ed in The Houston Chronicle.