Divided three-judge Fourth Circuit panel affirms decision that St. Paul insurance company had no duty to defend CACI International against claims alleging torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib and other prisons in Iraq: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link.

“Chicago’s Best Ideas: Martha Nussbaum and Judge Diane Wood, ‘Constitutions and Capabilities: A Dialogue about Political Philosophy and the Judge’s Role.'” This post appeared a few months ago at “The Faculty Blog” of the University of Chicago Law School.

You can access the video directly by clicking here. Seventh Circuit Judge Diane P. Wood begins her portion of the presentation approximately eleven minutes into the video.

“Supreme Court justice makes Chicago acting debut”: The “Theater Loop” blog of The Chicago Tribune has a post that begins, “Meet the newest Chicago actor: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Breyer will be appearing as the Ghost in ‘Hamlet’ in Hyde Park on Friday, with an encore presentation slated for Saturday.”

In related news, the University of Chicago Law School tomorrow and Saturday is hosting a conference titled “Shakespeare and the Law.”

“FOX News Poll: Pick Supreme Court Justice Based On Experience.” FOX News has this report. You can view the results of the poll by clicking here.

The Hill reports that “Justice Dept. nomination becomes proxy fight for Supreme Court battle.”

law.com reports that “Sotomayor Is Pragmatic, Empathetic Lawyers Say.”

At “The Ninth Justice” blog of National Journal, Amy Harder has a post titled “Online Rumble A Precursor To Offline Battle.”

And Bloomberg News columnist Ann Woolner has an essay entitled “Equal Opportunity Empathizer Sought For High Court.”

“On Abortion, Obama Is Drawn Into Debate He Had Hoped to Avoid”: This article will appear Friday in The New York Times.

“Obama to continue military tribunals; He had promised during the presidential campaign to end the controversial trials of terrorism suspects; But the White House plans to make major changes to the system”: The Los Angeles Times has this news update.

“Wis. high court to review 2006 gay marriage ban”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the state’s 2006 ban on gay marriage was properly put to voters.”

“Judge tosses evidence in remaining Wecht corruption charges”: Jason Cato of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a news update that begins, “A federal judge today crippled the government’s chances of retrying Dr. Cyril H. Wecht on public corruption charges.”

And Paula Reed Ward of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a news update headlined “Judge throws out evidence in Wecht case.”

I have posted online at this link today’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

“The National Twinkie Defense: Sen. Lindsey Graham doesn’t think we need anti-torture laws, just anti-torture niceties.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Holder pledges not to release terrorists into US”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “The Obama administration will not jeopardize Americans’ safety by releasing dangerous Guantanamo prisoners into their communities, Attorney General Eric Holder promised Thursday.”

“Questions, answers on picking high court nominee”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

“At issue is whether the State is required to defend a judge who is alleged to have committed an ethics violation while otherwise within the purview of his or her official duties.” The Supreme Court of Washington State today issued its ruling in the case captioned Honorable Richard B. Sanders, as Justice of the Washington Supreme Court, v. State of Washington.

By a vote of 5-4, the court — consisting entirely of lower court judges sitting by designation after all of the Supreme Court’s justices recused themselves — has ruled that “the State has no duty to defend when a judge knows or should know that the conduct of which he or she is accused is unethical and therefore not an official act.”

Today’s ruling consists of a majority opinion and two dissenting opinions (here and here).

“Senator calls for ‘truth commission’ to probe Bush-era interrogations; Sheldon Whitehouse says officials apparently used twisted interpretations of the law to justify harsh tactics such as waterboarding; A GOP colleague suggests that Democrats are just playing politics”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

The Providence (R.I.) Journal reports today that “Whitehouse conducts Senate hearing on torture.”

The Washington Post reports that “Ex-Official Testifies About Efforts to Halt Harsh Tactics; Partisan Attacks Pepper Senate Hearing.”

Gail Russell Chaddock of The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Congress inches toward ‘truth commission’ for torture probe; Democrats and Republicans are finding little common ground, leading some Senators to say an independent investigator is needed.”

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Senate testimony sheds light on alleged torture.” In addition, Carlos Villarreal and Sharon Adams have an op-ed entitled “State Bar should discipline William J. Haynes,” while William T. Coleman Jr. has an op-ed entitled “Case against William J. Haynes unfounded.”

McClatchy Newspapers report that “FBI interrogator calls harsh techniques ‘ineffective.’”

The Washington Times contains an article headlined “Rice aide: Interrogation methods a mistake; Blames both parties for its use.”

Politico.com reports that “Democrats push back on GOP allegations.”

And in The Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove has an op-ed entitled “Congress and Waterboarding: Nancy Pelosi was an accomplice to ‘torture.’”

You can view yesterday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts — titled “What Went Wrong: Torture and the Office of Legal Counsel in the Bush Administration” — by clicking here (RealPlayer required) or here (via C-SPAN).

“Supreme Court candidate Elena Kagan has admirers left and right; The solicitor general has ties to Obama’s legal circle, and conservatives praise her for bridging the ideological divide; Another contender to succeed Souter: California high court Justice Moreno.” David G. Savage and James Oliphant have this article today in The Los Angeles Times. The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Toward a more civilized Supreme Court nomination process: Four ways to make the Senate confirmation hearings less political and more substantive.”

The New York Times reports today that “As Obama Pares Supreme Court List, Secrecy Is a Priority.” In addition, Timothy Egan has an online-only essay entitled “Souter’s Summits.”

The Wall Street Journal contains articles headlined “White House Accelerates Effort to Fill Justice Slot” and “Court Opening Prompts Question About Whether Gender Matters.”

And Bill Mears of CNN.com has an article headlined “Sources: High court selection process down to finalists.”

“Living Left Of Center: Moderate Specter Adjusts to View From Other Side of Aisle.” This article appears today in The Washington Post.

“Trial Puts Spotlight on Merck”: Today’s edition of The New York Times contains an article that begins, “Australians have been riveted over the last month by a class-action lawsuit that is pulling back the curtain on strategies that the American drug giant Merck used in its international marketing of the painkiller Vioxx.”

“Obama Considers Detaining Terror Suspects Indefinitely”: Evan Perez has this article today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Hawaii high court refuses to reconsider Superferry”: The Associated Press has this report.