“Missouri attorney a focus in firings; Senate bypassed in appointment of Schlozman”: Today in The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage has an article that begins, “Todd Graves brought just four misdemeanor voter fraud indictments during his five years as the US attorney for western Missouri — even though some of his fellow Republicans in the closely divided state wanted stricter oversight of Democratic efforts to sign up new voters.”

“Patently obvious: A Supreme Court ruling with far-reaching consequences for American innovation turns on the definition of a single word.” Drake Bennett has this article today in the Ideas section of The Boston Globe.

“Chief Justice to Retire. Who’s Next?” The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “On June 17, Chief Justice James R. Zazzali of the New Jersey Supreme Court turns 70 and by state law must retire. That opens the way for Gov. Jon S. Corzine to begin putting his stamp on what is considered one of the most influential state courts in the country.”

And a somewhat related editorial is entitled “Shortchanging Judges.”

“Congress considers broadening Justice Department inquiry”: McClatchy Newspapers provide this report.

“Reheating the Cold War: The trial of a suspected terrorist is stoking old passions, from D.C. to Miami to Havana.” This article will appear in the May 14, 2007 issue of U.S. News & World Report.

“Justices gave abortion law extra push; Parental notification got high court prod”: The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, “Illinois Chief Justice Robert Thomas took an active role last year in trying to revive a long-dormant state law that prohibits minors from obtaining abortions without notifying a parent. Now new court filings show that Thomas and his fellow justices have given the controversial issue another nudge.”

“Border crackdown jams US federal courts; Fingerprinting of immigration detainees and prosecution of repeat border-crossers are driving the heavier caseloads”: This article will appear Monday in The Christian Science Monitor.

“Web can ruin reputation with stroke of a key”: The San Francisco Chronicle contains this article today.

Milwaukee Brewers 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 4: Greeting from Milwaukee, where earlier today I saw the Brewers defeat the Pirates thanks to clutch hitting in the bottom of the eighth inning and an amazing game from first baseman Prince Fielder.

Fielder hit line drive home runs in both of his first two appearances at the plate. The first came in the bottom of the second inning with no one on base. The second came in the fourth inning with one man on base. Fielder also made a great defensive play later in the game, leaving his feet to make a diving catch of a sharply hit line drive to his right. He also scored what proved to be the game-winning go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a perfect slide at home plate to avoid the tag on a throw from the centerfielder for the Pirates on a line drive single by Bill Hall. As coincidence would have it, before the game began I purchased a Prince Fielder Brewers T-shirt for my son because, even before today’s game, my son had told me that’s the Brewers player he likes most.

Miller Park is a wonderful facility in which to watch a baseball game. My host for the afternoon and I were seated in section 121, row 14, giving us a great view of the action. A total of 37,761 were in attendance, and the vast majority of them went home happy. There were at least two vociferous Pirates fans in my section who definitely did not go home happy. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps are available here and here.

Five years ago today, this blog came into existence: On May 6. 2002, my very first post appeared at “How Appealing.”

To celebrate this blog’s fifth birthday, I am traveling this morning to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where this afternoon I’ll see the Milwaukee Brewers — the team that as of this moment has the best record in Major League Baseball — host the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park.

On Monday morning, I’ll be speaking on a law bloggers panel at the Judicial Conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. My co-panelists will be Professor Ann Althouse of the “Althouse” blog; Jason Czarnezki of the “Empirical Legal Studies” blog; Richard Garnett of “PrawfsBlog” and “Mirror of Justice“; Christine Hurt of the “Conglomerate” blog; and Eugene Volokh of “The Volokh Conspiracy” blog.

Additional posts will appear here once I reach the hotel following this afternoon’s Brewers game.