“2 of 3 appeals judges question Fumo sentence”: The Philadelphia Inquirer has a news update that begins, “Former Democratic State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo seemed a step closer to a longer prison term after two appellate judges said Wednesday the sentencing of the disgraced politician in 2009 was rife with serious procedural errors.”

From the web site of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, you can download the oral argument audio via this link.

“Goodwin Liu withdraws appeals court nomination after Senate filibuster; The move is a victory for Senate Republicans”: James Oliphant of The Los Angeles Times has this news update.

The Wall Street Journal has a news update headlined “Liu Drops Bid to Be Federal Appeals Judge.”

The Daily Californian has a news update headlined “UC Berkeley professor withdraws nomination.”

Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that “Goodwin Liu withdraws appeals court nomination.”

Politico.com reports that “Goodwin Liu withdraws nomination.”

Online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has a jurisprudence essay entitled “Goodwin Liu Withdraws; President Obama’s nominee to be a federal judge on the 9th Circuit takes himself out of consideration.” The letter requesting withdrawal of the nomination can be accessed here.

And earlier today, TPMDC reported that “Post-Liu Filibuster, California Dems Tell Reid To Break Out The Nuclear Option.”

“Ariz. shooting spree suspect incompetent for trial”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage that wounded U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is mentally incompetent to stand trial, putting the criminal case against him on hold indefinitely.”

The Arizona Republic has a news update headlined “Judge finds Jared Loughner incompetent to stand trial.”

And The Arizona Daily Star has a news update headlined “Loughner found incompetent to stand trial.”

“En banc review has declined during the past decade; Trend has troubling implications, since en banc review is usually only option for reconsidering major circuit panel rulings”: Aaron S. Bayer had this essay in the May 9, 2011 issue of The National Law Journal.

“[W]e hold that the communications filmed for Crude and its outtakes were not covered by the attorney-client privilege when made due to the presence of the filmmakers at the time of the communications”: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has today issued its ruling in the case captioned In re: Application of Chevron Corp.

“Feds: Greed was motive in court bombing.” This article appears today in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Identities revealed of three-judge Eleventh Circuit panel assigned to hear and decide challenge to Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: An anonymous source reports that the three-judge panel will consist of Chief Judge Joel F. Dubina and Circuit Judges Frank M. Hull and Stanley Marcus.

Judges Hull and Marcus were both appointed to the Eleventh Circuit by President Clinton. Chief Judge Dubina was appointed to the Eleventh Circuit by the first President Bush. And don’t let the fact that all three judges have seemingly male first names fool you, because Judge Hull is female.

“Kentucky court says fathers of children conceived during affairs have parental rights”: Today’s edition of The Louisville Courier-Journal contains an article that begins, “Men who father a child during an affair with a married woman have the right to seek a role in the child’s life, the Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled. In an emotionally charged decision that critics say will undermine marriage, the court reversed centuries of common law and its own 2008 ruling that held such children are presumed to be the offspring of the woman and her husband.”

You can access last Thursday’s 4-3 ruling of the Supreme Court of Kentucky at this link.

“Supreme Court ethics: A bill introduced by Rep. Christopher S. Murphy would subject Supreme Court justices to the same ethical rules that govern lower court judges.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Former Kansas AG Steve Six dodges abortion questions at nomination hearings for federal appeals court judgeship”: The Associated Press has this report.

“10th Circuit’s Judge Tacha on Pay, Political Labels and Her Choice to Move On”: Tony Mauro of The National Law Journal has this report.

“Prosecutors to argue for longer Fumo jail term”: In today’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Nathan Gorenstein has an article that begins, “Federal prosecutors will appear before a three-judge panel Wednesday to argue that former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, nearly midway through a 55-month sentence for corruption, should be resentenced to a longer term.”

“Did CA same-sex marriage foes undermine own case?” Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

“Hoax Site Distressing for Victims of Shooting”: According to an article that appears today in The New York Times, “Some conspiracy Web sites are claiming that the shootings that nearly killed Representative Gabrielle Giffords and did end the lives of a federal judge, a 9-year-old girl and four others never actually took place.”

“Records suffice for breath evidence in DUI, court says”: Today’s edition of The Boston Globe contains an article that begins, “The state’s highest court ruled yesterday that prosecutors in drunken driving cases do not have to call a technician to testify that the breath-analysis device used by police worked properly.”

You can access yesterday’s Confrontation Clause-related ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts at this link.

“Was the Court Conned in Citizens United?” Trevor Potter has this op-ed online at Bloomberg News.

“U.S. official cites misconduct in Japanese American internment cases; Acting Solicitor Gen. Neal Katyal says one of his predecessors, Charles Fahy, deliberately hid from the Supreme Court a military report that Japanese Americans were not a threat in World War II”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

And at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Mike Scarcella has a post titled “In DOJ Speech, Katyal Addresses Japanese Internment Cases.”