“Deep Ties Bind Players in Battle for Seat on Court”: This article will appear Monday in The New York Times.

“White House Letter: An inner-circle tilt for a female nominee.” Elisabeth Bumiller has this article in Monday’s edition of The International Herald Tribune.

And Voice of America News offers a report headlined “Next Face of the Supreme Court? Americans Wait to See.”

“The Rights Stuff; ‘Hazzard’ Legal Issues Lead To $17.5 Million Payday; Discovery on a Treadmill”: Friday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal contained an article (pass-through link) that begins, “For the new movie ‘The Dukes of Hazzard,’ the biggest payout didn’t go to the actors or even the movie’s director and producer. It went to clients of Marc Toberoff, an attorney who’s made a reputation suing big studios on behalf of TV-show creators who claim they’re owed money for the movie rights.”

I previously noted this matter last month in a post titled “U.S. District Judge refuses to take judicial notice of Jessica Simpson’s hotness.”

“Specter Says He’d Like Swing-Voter Justice”: The Associated Press provides this report. You can access the transcript of today’s interview of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Fox News Sunday at this link.

“How much should precedent bind judges? A Bush nominee to the Supreme Court may be probed about whether he or she would overturn earlier high-court rulings.” Warren Richey will have this article Monday in The Christian Science Monitor.

Philadelphia Phillies 8, Florida Marlins 4: My son and I have just returned home from watching the Phillies defeat the Marlins this afternoon. Although the game was played in Philadelphia, the weather was reminiscent of South Florida — hot, humid, and alternately rainy and sunny. A two minute rain delay even punctuated the bottom of the sixth inning as the tarp was rolled onto the field as very heavy rain began during a pitching change, only to be rolled off the field minutes later as the rain quickly dissipated. Wraps and the box score are available here.

“From Terrell Hills to a spot on the Supreme Court?” The San Antonio Express-News today contains a quite interesting article that begins, “The buzz about Judge Edith Ann Hollan Jones — that she could be the next Supreme Court justice — excites little more than a shrug in the Terrell Hills home where she was raised.”

The Chicago Tribune reports today that “Religious right wants its due from Bush, GOP; Court opening seen as golden moment.”

The Washington Times reports that “Bush urges quick confirmation to court.”

The Boston Globe reports that “Kennedy opposition carries risks for Supreme Court fight.”

The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star reports that “Judicial fight already heated in Nebraska.”

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that “Pryor’s opinion sought as gauge; Senator quiet on filibuster grounds.”

The Palm Beach Daily News reports that “O’Connor notice sparks debate.”

And The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “Cancer battle gives Specter a ‘sharp focus on mortality’; Illness hasn’t mellowed the senator, who seems even readier to offer blunt opinions – especially on stem-cell research.”

In commentary, The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an editorial entitled “Replacing O’Connor.”

In the July 25, 2005 issue of Newsweek, Anna Quindlen has an essay entitled “Keeping the Robes Clean: The high court has somehow remained a bulwark in a nasty world of inexorable lobbying, anti-intellectualism and self-serving politicking.”

And The Baltimore Sun’s Public Editor, Paul Moore, today has an essay entitled “Supreme Court battle must be kept in perspective.”

“The natural evolution of a high court liberal”: Edward Lazarus today in The Los Angeles Times has this review of Linda Greenhouse’s book, “Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun’s Supreme Court Journey.”

And today in The Louisville Courier-Journal, Stephen R. Reily’s review of the book is headlined “The man who wrote Roe: Blackmun, the ‘outsider,’ left indelible mark on nation and the law.”

“The right conservative”: The Los Angeles Times today contains an editorial that begins, “The decisions made by President Bush and the Senate in the next few weeks as they seek a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor are likely to affect decisions by the court for decades.”

“The Right Kind of Justice”: This editorial appears today in The New York Times.

And Law Professors Judith Resnik and Theodore Ruger today have an op-ed entitled “One Robe, Two Hats.”