“The Logic of Empathy: How Obama is like Spock.” John Dickerson has this essay online at Slate.

“Say When: Experts Make Their Predictions.” Amy Harder has this post today at National Journal’s “The Ninth Justice” blog.

“California Supreme Court revives class-action suit against tobacco firms”: Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has a blog post that begins, “The California Supreme Court decided 4-3 today that consumers can file class-action lawsuits against the tobacco industry and other businesses under a law voters limited in 2004, reversing a trend in the lower courts.”

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

At “The UCL Practitioner” blog, Kimberly A. Kralowec has this lengthy post featuring highlights from the ruling.

“High Court Declines to Hear Jefferson Appeal”: The Washington Post has this news update.

“Supreme Court action upholds California’s medical pot law; Justices reject appeals from San Diego and San Bernardino counties seeking to throw out the state marijuana law; Patients likely will be able to seek ID cards showing they’re eligible to use the drug”: David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this news update.

And Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update headlined “U.S. Supreme Court rejects Prop. 215 challenge.”

“Justices Turn Back Ex-Detainee’s Suit Over Prison Abuses”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news update.

Robert Barnes of The Washington Post has a news update headlined “Supreme Court Rules Former Detainee Lawsuit Cannot Proceed.”

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined “Top Bush officials not liable for Muslims’ post-Sept. 11 arrests; The Supreme Court rules that former Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller can’t be sued by more than 700 Muslim men sent to maximum security prison in the wake of the 2001 attacks.”

And at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post titled “Justice Souter’s ‘Little Green Men.’”

“Judge Sotomayor and the First Amendment (And the Pending Case)”: Eric Turkewitz has this post today at his “New York Personal Injury Law Blog.”

Access online today’s opinions in argued cases and Order List of the Supreme Court of the United States: The Court today has issued two opinions in argued cases.

1. Justice David H. Souter delivered the opinion of the Court in AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen, No. 07-543. The Chief Justice and Justices John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined in the opinion of the Court. Justice Stevens also filed a concurring opinion. And Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Stephen G. Breyer joined. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

2. Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, No. 07-1015, a case in which the Court divided 5-4. The Chief Justice and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito joined in the opinion of the Court. Justice Souter issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Stevens, Ginsburg, and Breyer joined. Justice Breyer also issued his own separate dissenting opinion. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

You can access today’s Order List at this link.

The Court today granted review in four cases, including the case of media tycoon Conrad Black. I previously linked here to the certiorari filings in that case. The Court also requested the views of the Solicitor General in one case.

In addition, Justice Alito today issued two dissents from orders granting GVRs in light of the Court’s ruling last month in Arizona v. Gant. You can access Justice Alito’s dissents here and here.

At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has posts titled “No case over post-9/11 roundups” and “Court to rule on Sarbanes-Oxley.”

And in early news coverage, The Associated Press has reports headlined “Court sends Mueller, Ashcroft lawsuit back“; “Court: Old maternity leave doesn’t count“; “Court will review Black’s fraud conviction“; “Court to review anti-fraud law“; “High court to rule in Pennsylvania death case“; “Court turns away appeal over Steinbeck copyrights“; “High court won’t delay trial of ex-Rep. Jefferson“; “Court refuses to hear medical marijuana challenges“; “Court won’t reopen Nazi reparations case“; and “Court allows suit over deadly railroad derailment.”

“Court candidate Granholm to be at White House”: The Associated Press has this report.

“Obama’s Choice”: The New York Times has posted online an essay by H.D.S. Greenway that begins, “With the resignation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, Barack Obama is about to make one of the most import appointments any president can make. For picking a justice for the Supreme Court will have more ramifications for the republic than any cabinet secretary or ambassador.”

“Liberals Fret Over Obama’s Compromises”: Today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal contains an article that begins, “President Barack Obama’s decision to maintain Bush-era military commissions is the latest in a series of compromises and delays that allies on the left see as a disappointing shift away from campaign pledges.”

“Law Students Teach Scalia About Privacy and the Web”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“Prosecutors Block Access to DNA Testing for Inmates”: The New York Times contains this article today.

“Death row’s revolving door: Post-trial evidence in Ga. case resonates.” This article appears today in USA Today.

“The end of civil rights: If we really want to fix inequality, it’s time for a new approach.” Law professor Richard Thompson Ford had this essay yesterday in the Ideas section of The Boston Globe.

“Courts divided on police use of GPS tracking; Two recent, divergent court rulings on warrantless tracking suggest new technologies are straining old privacy standards”: The Christian Science Monitor has this report.

“Complaint seeks disbarment of Bush lawyers”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Two outside groups want Bush administration lawyers linked to memos on harsh interrogation techniques of detainees to lose their licenses to practice law.”

Bloomberg News reports that “Activists Seek Disbarment of Bush Lawyers Over Interrogations.”

And last Friday, The Christian Science Monitor posted online an essay by Bert Brandenburg enttiled “Impeachment is not the answer for Judge Bybee: It’s the atomic bomb of American politics.”

“No More Mr. Nice Guy: The stealth activism of John Roberts.” Jeffrey Toobin has this Annals of Law essay in the May 25, 2009 issue of The New Yorker.