“Judge Alex Kozinski’s advice for President Trump: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge tells 60 Minutes it’s not the judiciary’s job to be a political counterforce, but to protect against abuses.” Lesley Stahl had this segment (video / transcript) on this evening’s broadcast of the CBS News program “60 Minutes.”

“A popular public school Bible class in West Virginia faces legal challenge”: Joe Heim of The Washington Post has this report.

“Berkeley cell phone warning law upheld by federal appeals court”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this report.

Tom Lochner of The East Bay Times reports that “Judges panel gives ringing boost to Berkeley’s cell phone disclosure ordinance; A federal court panel found that Berkeley’s cellphone disclosure ordinance does not violate the First Amendment.”

And Cyrus Farivar of Ars Technica reports that “Mobile industry loses its bid to stop Berkeley’s cellphone warning law; 9th Circuit: Local law actually ‘complements and reinforces’ federal law, policy.”

You can access Friday’s ruling of a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.

“Suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore to announce plans Wednesday”: Mike Cason of AL.com has a report that begins, “Suspended Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore will announce his future plans on the steps of the State Capitol on Wednesday.”

“The Supreme Court Weighs the Church-State Division”: This editorial appears in today’s edition of The New York Times.

“Crime and Different Punishments”: Ross Douthat has this op-ed in today’s edition of The New York Times.

The op-ed discusses an article titled “Why Prison?: An Economic Critique” by Peter N. Salib, a recent graduate of the University of Chicago Law School who is currently clerking for Seventh Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook.

“John Noonan, Federal Judge Who Served for Three Decades, Dies at 90”: This obituary, written by Sam Roberts, appears in today’s edition of The New York Times.

“Bearing Witness to Executions: Last Breaths and Lasting Impressions.” Alan Blinder and Manny Fernandez of The New York Times have this article.

“Alito Cites GOP Ad to Argue Against Televising Supreme Court Arguments”: Jess Bravin has this post at WSJ.com’s “Washington Wire” blog.

And Friday at that very same blog, Bravin had a post titled “With Court at Full Strength, Alito Foresees Less Conservative Compromise With Liberal Bloc.”

Both posts originate from Bravin’s coverage of Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.’s remarks at a fireside chat Thursday afternoon at the Third Circuit‘s Judicial Conference. As I noted in this post earlier today, I came this close to recognizing Bravin, whom I have never formally met in person, that afternoon while he was sitting at a table in the conference’s main hallway typing his reports on his laptop.

“Trump eyeing second Supreme Court seat”: Lydia Wheeler of The Hill has this report.

“Indiana Supreme Court set to be all-white, all-GOP appointed”: Rick Callahan of The Associated Press has this report.

“With Supreme Court seat filled, GOP looks to lower courts”: Mary Clare Jalonick of The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Republicans have put President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee on the bench, and they’re now in a position to fill dozens more federal judgeships — and reshape some of the nation’s highest courts. Democrats have few ways to stop them.”

Some highlights from last week’s Judicial Conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit: Finally had the pleasure of meeting in person Senior U.S. District Judge Mark W. Bennett (N.D. Iowa), whose writings and accomplishments I have long admired. Plus, narrowly avoided having to say that this guy was the first federal judge I ever met with his own publicly accessible Twitter account.

Finally got to meet in person fellow Third Circuit Bar Association board member Matthew Stiegler, author of the “CA3 Blog,” with whom I previously co-authored an article criticizing an opinion written by the most recent SCOTUS nomination runner-up.

Had lunch with the always fascinating law professor, law blogger, Twitter superstar, and former law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy Orin Kerr and got to discuss lots of really interesting stuff with him.

Got to say “hey” and share an electrical outlet with Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal without even realizing it until a day later. Next time I’m at a judicial conference and see a Jess Bravin look-alike, I will explore further.

Received a shout-out from Justice Alito during his fireside chat, as noted here and here. According to a longtime Third Circuit judge in attendance at the conference, Justice Alito has been a loyal reader of “How Appealing” almost since this blog’s creation nearly 15 years ago, and early on sent around an email to his Third Circuit colleagues suggesting that they too might enjoy reading the site.

Met the two most recent Third Circuit appointees, neither of whom I have yet had the privilege of appearing before in person.

Received an invite from a Third Circuit judge to speak at an event in Pittsburgh on Halloween. Sounds like a solid strategy to avoid consuming too much leftover candy at home.

Saw lots of old friends and met many new ones; realized I can enjoy attending a federal appellate court’s judicial conference even if I’m not among the speakers/panelists.