“Reporters Told to Testify in Leak Case”: The AP provides a report that begins, “Five journalists must identify the government officials who leaked them details about a scientist under scrutiny in the 2001 anthrax attacks, a federal judge said Monday. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton ordered the reporters to cooperate with Steven J. Hatfill, who accused the Justice Department and FBI of violating the federal Privacy Act by giving the media information about the FBI’s investigation of him. The reporters named in the opinion are Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman of Newsweek, Allan Lengel of The Washington Post, Toni Locy, formerly of USA Today, and James Stewart, formerly of CBS News.”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia at this link.

“Kennedy Urges Action Against Injustice”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy painted a dismal picture of injustice and lack of opportunity in much of the world, then told lawyers Monday that they must do something.”

“Prosecutor, Chronicle reporter, linked by BALCO, meet at Bar panel”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

“Clash on wiretaps promises to fester; New law pits privacy vs. national security, worries Feingold”: This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“Prosecutors Begin Closing in Padilla Trial”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

In Tuesday’s edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Warren Richey will have an article headlined “US Gov’t broke Padilla through intense isolation, say experts; Despite warnings, officials used 43 months of severe isolation to force Jose Padilla to tell all he knew about Al Qaeda.”

And in other news, “NSA wiretapping trial begins; The federal appeals court in San Francisco holds a hearing Wednesday about a case involving NSA call logs, which were inadvertently provided to lawyers for a Saudi charity.”

“Rare win in gun case for a felon; Law student wins justification defense in conservative 4th Circuit”: Pamela A. MacLean has this article today in The National Law Journal.

My earlier coverage of last week’s Fourth Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“Secrecy May Shield US Wiretap Program”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program has a built-in feature the Justice Department believes may shield it from ever being challenged as unconstitutional: secrecy. The administration has acknowledged it intercepted some U.S. telephone conversations without warrants as it hunted for terrorists. Whose calls? The government isn’t saying. And since only those who were spied on have grounds to sue, it’s almost impossible to mount a successful legal challenge.”

“NASCAR Races Into 11th Circuit; Appellate judges question the need for court to patch up telecom companies’ squabble over AT&T car logo”: This article appeared earlier this month in the Fulton County Daily Report.

And today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a decision holding that “AT&T Mobility lacks standing to challenge NASCAR’s decision” to preclude “display of the AT&T logo on the #31 Car in NASCAR Cup Series races.” You can view the car in question at this link.

The same three-judge panel today also issued an order reminding counsel for AT&T that a petition for rehearing en banc would not be the preferred approach to challenge the panel’s interpretation of Georgia law.

In early coverage of today’s ruling, NASCAR SceneDaily reports that “NASCAR wins in appeals court vs. AT&T.” And The Associated Press reports that “Appeal Favors NASCAR in Burton Dispute.”

The Circuit Executive’s Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has a newly redesigned web site: You can access the web site at this link.

Via that web site, you can learn about that court’s “Media Conference,” forthcoming early next month. Included on the program is a session titled “Bloggers: The New Journalism.”

When may appellate review be obtained of a federal district court’s disparaging remarks about an attorney’s performance? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued this ruling today.

“Judge delays ruling on Noriega extradition”: The Miami Herald provides a news update that begins, “U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler, after hearing arguments Monday on Gen. Manuel Noriega’s request to halt his extradition to France after his release from federal prison on Sept. 9, said he would render a decision by next week. Hoeveler said he wanted more time to study the issue, but promised to render a decision on Aug. 24, four days before the former Panamanian dictator’s extradition hearing before a U.S. magistrate judge.”

“Gov’t Says Padilla ‘Star Recruit'”: The Associated Press provides this report.

And The Miami Herald provides this related news update.

“Noriega to ask judge to block extradition; Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega, set to be released from prison next month, will fight his extradition to France in court today”: Jay Weaver has this article today in The Miami Herald.

And The Associated Press provides a report headlined “Noriega Return? Panamanians Are Rattled.”

“Padilla Case Set for Closing Arguments”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

Yesterday in The Miami Herald, Jay Weaver had a news analysis headlined “Closing arguments Monday in Padilla terror trial; Closing arguments begin Monday in the case of the alleged ‘dirty bomber’ after three months of trial — and lots of attempts to link defendant Jose Padilla to al Qaeda.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Closings Set in Padilla Terror Trial.”

“Ease access to experimental drugs: The Constitution doesn’t guarantee a right to new medicines for the terminally ill, but the FDA could increase availability.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Religion, culture behind Texas execution tally”: Reuters provides this report.

“Federal Case: On Tribal Land, Tragic Arson Leads to a Life Sentence; Justice Can Be Unequal In Reservation Crimes; Prayers at Sweat Lodge.” This front page article appears today in The Wall Street Journal.

“The Supreme Court Wreaks Havoc in the Lower Federal Courts–Again”: Michael C. Dorf has this essay online today at FindLaw.

Available online at Slate: Jack Shafer has a press box essay entitled “The Gas Over Linda Greenhouse: Does a reporter have a duty to appear on C-SPAN?”

And Law Professor Jamin Raskin has a jurisprudence essay entitled “Freer Speech: The lower courts give, as the Supreme Court taketh away.”

“A Case So Shielded One Side Is in the Dark”: Today’s installment (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link) of Adam Liptak‘s “Sidebar” column begins, “Jon B. Eisenberg knows something so secret that the government will let him write it down only in a secure facility. Mr. Eisenberg is suing the government on behalf of clients who say they were illegally wiretapped by the National Security Agency. Yet he was required to write an appellate brief in a government office, supervised by a Justice Department security officer.”

Additional information about the case is available via this web page at Electronic Frontier Foundation and via this post from Orin Kerr at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“US terror interrogation went too far, experts say; Reports find that Jose Padilla’s solitary confinement led to mental problems”: Warren Richey has this article today in The Christian Science Monitor.

Philadelphia Phillies 5, Atlanta Braves 3: The Braves botched a double-play attempt in the bottom of the fifth inning, leading to Phillies runners on first and second base with no outs. That set the table for a three-run Ryan Howard home run to left-center, giving the Phillies the lead at 4-2. A strong outing by the Phillies bullpen, which set down the final eight Braves batters in a row, and an insurance run that resulted from a Jimmy Rollins triple followed by a Pat Burrell sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning after the Braves had narrowed the lead to 4-3, gave the Phillies a 5-3 victory. The game was the twentieth sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park this season, You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here.

With the win, the Phillies again leapfrog the Braves for second place in the National League East. However, they Phillies gained no ground on either the division-leading New York Mets or the wild card-leading San Diego Padres.