Fifth Circuit judge achieves rare appellate trifecta: An opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today identifies Circuit Judge James L. Dennis as the author of the majority opinion and as the author of a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

“Fla. high court rules on drug dogs’ ‘sniff test'”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that police must get a warrant before they can do a ‘sniff test’ by a drug-detection dog at the front door of a home.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Florida at this link.

“B.C. judge’s plagiarism results in $5-million judgment thrown out”: The Vancouver Sun has a news update that begins, “A new trial has been ordered and a $5-million judgment thrown out because B.C. Supreme Court Justice Joel Groves plagiarized most of his ruling. In a staggering decision involving an expensive 30-day trial about a brain-damaged baby, the B.C. Court of Appeal said it is only the fourth time in Canadian history a judge has substantially reproduced all of the submissions of a participating party in a lawsuit as reasons for judgment.”

And CBC News reports that “Plagiarized B.C. judgment prompts new trial.”

You can access today’s ruling of the British Columbia Court of Appeal at this link.

“Top court allows prostitution appeal”: The Vancouver Sun has a news update that begins, “The Supreme Court of Canada decided Thursday to allow an appeal involving a legal challenge of prostitution laws by a group of sex trade workers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.”

“Gay adoptive dads lose birth-certificate appeal; Court says state may name just 1 on form”: The Washington Times has this news update.

My earlier coverage of the Fifth Circuit’s en banc ruling appears at this link.

“Tainting Justice With Politics”: Today’s edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, “The furiously contested election of a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice shows, once again, how politics and money can debase the law.”

“Letter by Vaughn Walker in response to Motion for Order Compelling Return of Trial Recordings”: This letter was filed today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in response to Appellants’ Motion for Order Compelling Return of Trial Recordings.

Earlier, in today’s edition of The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article headlined “Prop. 8 trial video clip illegal, critics claim.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Prop. 8 judge challenged anew.”

“Health care law gets day in court”: Joan Biskupic of USA Today has this report.

“Breyer, Kennedy Testify on Budget, Tweeting, and the Supreme Court’s Front Door”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

At WSJ.com’s “Washington Wire” blog, Jess Bravin has a post titled “Justices Kennedy and Breyer Charm Lawmakers.”

Brent Kendall of Dow Jones Newswires reports that “Justices, Lawmakers Talk Tweets At Hearing On Supreme Court Funding.”

And at ABCNews.com, Ariane deVogue reports that “Justices Kennedy and Breyer Testify at House Appropriations Hearing; Justices Defend Supreme Court Budget, Chat About Twitter and Softball.”

“Court dismisses suit over National Day of Prayer”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court has thrown out a ruling that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional and ordered that the lawsuit against it be dismissed.”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit at this link. Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook wrote the majority opinion. You can access a recording of the audio of the appellate oral argument via this link (9.67MB mp3 audio file).

C-SPAN will provide live video stream of Justices testifying on SCOTUS budget Thursday 10 a.m. eastern time: Scheduled to testify at today’s hearing are Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Stephen G. Breyer. You can view C-SPAN live, online by clicking here.