“State Supreme Court could decide whether John Doe probe proceeds; Groups tied to investigation have donated to 4 of 7 justices”: Patrick Marley of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this report.

Is Springfield, Illinois ordinance prohibiting panhandling in the city’s downtown historic district content-neutral or content-based? Today, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit divided over the answer to that question.

The majority opinion, written by Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbook and joined by Circuit Judge Diane S. Sykes, held that the ordinance was not content-based and therefore affirmed the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction against the ordinance.

Senior Circuit Judge Daniel A. Manion issued a dissenting opinion, explaining that he viewed the ordinance as content-based and therefore would remand with instructions to issue a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of the ordinance.

“2 of 3 judges hearing voting law case are from Carolinas”: The Charlotte Observer has a news update that begins, “With hundreds of campaigns in North Carolina entering their final six weeks, a federal appeals court must now decide what kind of election the state will hold.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has posted the audio of today’s oral argument at this link (mp3 audio file).

“NC teeth-whitening case could have sweeping implications for other states”: The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina has this report.

“Judging Statutes — The Honorable Robert Katzmann Book Party.” Georgetown Law has posted the video online at this link. And a related news release posted online today is titled “Katzmann Book Talk Draws Legal Luminaries.”

And Tony Mauro of The National Law Journal has a “Supreme Court Brief” titled “Countering Scalia on Interpreting Laws, Katzmann’s Book Packs Punch.” You can freely access the full text of the article via Google.

“Glenn Fine: From Cheltenham hoops to the Justice Department.” This article about the former Inspector General of the USDOJ appears in the sports section of today’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

In papers of interest recently posted at SSRN: Law professor Andrew Koppelman has posted a book review titled “Passive Aggressive: Scalia and Garner on Interpretation” (via “Legal Theory Blog“).

And law professor Brian S. Clarke has posted a paper titled “ObamaCourts? The Impact of Judicial Nominations on Court Ideology” (via “Legal Theory Blog“).

“The Heartwrenching Court Cases That Inspired My New Novel: The best legal judgments form a neglected sub-genre of our literature.” Ian McEwan has this essay in the September 29, 2014 issue of The New Republic.

“Eric Holder Steps Down”: Jeffrey Toobin has this post online at The New Yorker.

The magazine also has a post from law professor David Cole titled “No Coward on Race” that begins, “The other day, I attended an investiture ceremony for Robert Wilkins, an African-American judge recently appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.”

“Gay-Marriage Hero David Boies Has an Infuriating New Cause; The Prop. 8 lawyer is helping a former Wall Street CEO sue the U.S., and it’s costing taxpayers a fortune”: Alec MacGillis has this article online at The New Republic.

“Supreme Court Preview of the 2014 Term”: The video of today’s Heritage Foundation event, featuring Michael Carvin and Paul Clement, can be accessed here.

It was a pleasure to get to visit with the speakers, with other guests at the event, and with Michelle Olsen of the Appellate Daily Twitter feed; Robert Barnes of The Washington Post; Mark Walsh of Education Week, ABA Journal magazine, and “SCOTUSblog“; Sahil Kapur of TPM DC; and Jennifer Haberkorn of Politico.com.

“Utah to appeal polygamy ruling in ‘Sister Wives’ case”: Dennis Romboy of The Deseret News has this report.

And The Associated Press reports that “Utah to appeal ruling in ‘Sister Wives’ case.”

“U.S. Appeals Court Orders Disclosure of Secrets in Chevron Oil Pollution Case”: Paul M. Barrett of Bloomberg Businessweek has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued yesterday.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg Would Probably Be Confirmed Today”: Harry Enten has this post today at FiveThirtyEight.

And Jonathan Turley, at his blog, today has this post that criticizes aspects of Justice Ginsburg’s Elle interview.

“Should Obsolete Justifications for a 1952 Law Still Hold Legal Force Today? SCOTUS May Decide.” Damon Root has this post today at Reason.com’s “Hit & Run” blog.

“Texas, Louisiana same-sex marriage cases linked”: At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, “Two conflicting federal trial court rulings on same-sex marriage — one in Texas in favor, one in Louisiana against — will be heard by the same panel of appellate judges, but in separate hearings, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ordered on Thursday.”

“With Holder Leaving, Verrilli Is Back in the Spotlight”: Janet Adamy
and Mark H. Anderson have this post at WSJ.com’s “Washington Wire” blog.

“Justice Anthony Kennedy talks about the Bill of Rights at National Constitution Center”: The “Constitution Daily” blog of the National Constitution Center has this post today.

“Showdown Over Landmark Housing Law Looms at U.S. Supreme Court”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report today.

“Technical glitches contributed to delay in Markel case”: Sean Rossman of The Tallahassee Democrat has this news update.