“Another loss for parents of Trolley Square victim; A court denies their appeal relating to a gun dealer”: Pamela Manson of The Salt Lake Tribune has a news update that begins, “An appeals court on Wednesday declined once more to declare that Vanessa Quinn, who was killed in the Trolley Square massacre, was the victim of the illegal sale of a handgun to shooter Sulejman Talovic.”

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

“Despite deadline, Carcieri has not yet selected the next Supreme Court chief justice”: This article appears today in The Providence (R.I.) Journal.

“Supreme Court looks at race factor in hiring and promotions; Justices hear an appeal by white firefighters from Connecticut, who say their promotional exam results were thrown out when officials realized it would mean no black colleagues would be promoted”: David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this news update.

And this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered” contained an audio segment entitled “Justices Weigh Bias In Promotions Test” (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg.

“Abolish the White House Counsel: And the Office of Legal Counsel, too, while we’re at it.” Law professor Bruce Ackerman has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Court divided on reverse discrimination claims”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

Update: You can access the transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 07-1428, by clicking here.

Ninth Circuit Judge Jay S. Bybee decides appeal with a tortuous procedural history: According to his opinion for a unanimous three-judge panel, “The events at issue span twenty years, resulted in congressional hearings, and involve litigation in three circuits. We are not sure if the appropriate literary metaphor belongs to Tolstoy or to Kafka, but we are going to set forth the history of this case in some detail.”

Today’s ruling hands the federal government at least a very small victory in a case where a private claimant had secured an arbitration award against the federal government totaling more than $93 million.

“7th Circuit Nominee To Go Before Senate Judiciary Again”: Keith Perine had this post yesterday afternoon at the “Legal Beat” blog of CQ Politics.

And yesterday afternoon at National Review Online’s “Bench Memos” blog, Ed Whelan had a post titled “The Confirmation Rush Continues.”

Khat’s paw: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued this ruling today.

Access today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in an argued case: The Supreme Court of the United States today issued its ruling in Nken v. Holder, No. 08-681. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justices John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer joined. Justice Kennedy also issued a concurring opinion, in which Justice Scalia joined. And Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Clarence Thomas joined. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Court makes it easier to fight deportation.”

“Court: State must pay Jehovah’s Witness benefits.” The Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune today contains an article that begins, “The widow of a man who died after he refused a blood transfusion for religious reasons is entitled to workers compensation death benefits, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Court orders benefits in Jehovah’s Witness case.”

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

“Lawyer tells court CIA memos undermine case”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “Foreign prisoners who accused a Bay Area company of arranging torture flights for the CIA told a federal appeals court Tuesday that the Obama administration’s disclosure of memos on brutal CIA interrogations undermined its claim that their lawsuit would endanger national secrets.”

“Supreme Court hears arguments in school strip-search case; The justices’ questions suggest they’re reluctant to limit administrators’ ability to look for drugs, even in the case of ibuprofen”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

And in today’s edition of USA Today, Joan Biskupic and Greg Toppo report that “Girl’s strip search argued in court; Justice Roberts questions limits on schools.”

“Different approaches for two men at center of ‘torture memo’ controversy; While John Yoo fiercely defends his legal justification for harsh interrogation tactics before a skeptical crowd in Orange County, federal appeals court Judge Jay Bybee maintains a low profile”: Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. The newspaper also contains articles headlined “Military helped with CIA interrogation tactics, report says; A senator says the report ‘connects the dots’ to show how techniques familiar to military experts found their way into controversial memos by the Justice Department” and “Obama open to inquiry on CIA tactics; The president reaffirms that agents won’t be prosecuted, but says those who shaped the legal arguments might.”

Today’s edition of The New York Times contains articles headlined “In Adopting Harsh Tactics, No Inquiry Into Their Past Use“; “Report Gives New Detail on Approval of Brutal Techniques“; “Banned Techniques Yielded ‘High Value Information,’ Memo Says“; and “Obama Won’t Bar Inquiry, or Penalty, on Interrogations.”

The Washington Post contains articles headlined “Obama Open to Prosecuting Bush Officials Over Abuse; President Talks of Independent Panel on Interrogation Policy“; “Harsh Tactics Readied Before Their Approval; Senate Report Describes Secret Memos“; and “Intelligence Chief Says Methods Hurt U.S.”

Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal reports that “Interrogation Views Spread With Help of Bush Aides.” The newspaper also contains an article headlined “Probes of Bush Officials Loom; Obama Opens Door to Prosecuting Interrogation Architects; Republicans Rip Comments” and an editorial entitled “Obama and the CIA: A President can’t placate the left and keep America safe.”

USA Today reports that “Obama open to probe into interrogations; Says legal action up to AG Holder.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Memos confirm torture, but what was the yield? Actions undercut U.S. standing; panel could point way forward” and an op-ed by Marc A. Thiessen entitled “Interrogation methods work: Release of memos aids al-Qaeda, confirms program’s effectiveness.”

Gail Russell Chaddock of The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Obama says CIA memos could yet lead to charges; Those who wrote the memos are not in the clear, he says, but any investigation must be above partisanship.”

In The Boston Globe, columnist Jeff Jacoby has an op-ed entitled “A tortured debate over the ‘torture memos.’”

The Associated Press reports that “3 lawyers face scrutiny for torture advice.”

And from National Public Radio, today’s broadcast of “Morning Edition” contained an audio segment entitled “Democrats Push For Memo Writers’ Prosecution.” Yesterday evening’s broadcast of “All Things Considered” contained audio segments entitled “Interrogation Policymakers Might Still Face Charges” and “Psychologists Dispute Claim in Interrogation Memos.” And yesterday’s broadcast of “Morning Edition” contained audio segments entitled “Obama Defends Releasing Interrogation Memos” and “Conservatives Upset By Release Of Memos.”

“Supreme Court Cuts Back Officers’ Searches of Vehicles”: Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times.

Today in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports that “Supreme Court Limits Warrantless Car Searches.”

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that “Supreme Court scales back police right to search cars; The ruling limits searches to cases when there may be a weapon within the suspect’s reach or evidence related to the arrest; The decision sets aside broader powers granted by the court in 1981.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Supreme Court puts brakes on car searches; The justices not only clarified the rules on police searches of vehicles, they showed that the desire to hold officers accountable to the Constitution crosses ideological lines.”

Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal reports that “High Court Curbs Power of Police to Search Cars.”

And in The Arizona Daily Star, Howard Fischer reports that “US justices limit vehicle searches.”

“Review of Governor’s Conviction Sought”: Today in The New York Times, John Schwartz and Charlie Savage have an article that begins, “Less than a month after the Justice Department asked a judge to drop the case against former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska because of prosecutorial misconduct, 75 former state attorneys general from both parties have urged Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to conduct a similar investigation of the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, who was convicted nearly three years ago on bribery and corruption charges.”

The newspaper has posted online at this link the letter requesting review.

“2nd Circuit Reverses Reprimand of Dorsey & Whitney; But panel finds ‘abundant’ proof for sanctions against ex-partner”: law.com has this report.

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

“U.S. Supreme Court To Hear New Haven Fire Fighters Reverse Discrimination Case”: This article appears today in The Hartford Courant.

Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that “High court hears reverse discrimination arguments.”

On today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Nina Totenberg had an audio segment entitled “Supreme Court Hears Firefighter Promotion Case” (RealPlayer required).

The New York Times today contains an editorial entitled “A Bad Test.”

The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled “Trouble in the Firehouse: Firefighters, civil rights law and the politics of race collide at the Supreme Court.”

And The Wall Street Journal contains an editorial entitled “Race in the Workplace: New haven firemen passed their test, but lost a promotion.” In addition, Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom have an op-ed entitled “New Haven’s Racial Test: Merit doesn’t matter for city firefighters.”