The Associated Press is reporting: Mark Sherman has an article headlined “Court considers case on judicial ethics” that begins, “Supreme Court justices regularly confront cases involving companies they own shares in or that employ a family member. The decision is easy – the justices have a conflict of interest that forces them to play no role in the case. But what happens when the issue is less clear and a judge has the appearance of a conflict, but no personal stake in the outcome of a dispute? The court is considering a case that asks whether the Constitution requires judges to step aside in that instance.”

And in other news, “Okla. abortion ultrasound requirement challenged.”

Philadelphia Phillies 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 5: This afternoon, my son and I were at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia to watch game two of the National League Championship Series.

Following last night’s tense, come-from-behind 3-2 Phillies victory, today’s game saw the Phillies prevail by a more comfortable three-run margin, although the home team again had to come from behind to win. Moreover, the Phillies had enjoyed an 8-2 lead for just a few moments before Manny Ramirez hit a three-run line drive homer to left field in the top of the fourth inning. Both teams were held scoreless in their final five half-innings at bat, and as a result the Phillies take a two games to none lead to the west coast, where game three will be played Sunday night.

If the NLCS returns to Philadelphia, my son and I plan to be there, given that we also have tickets to games six and seven of this series. And we are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to actually use our Phillies World Series tickets this year.

You can access the box score of this afternoon’s NLCS game at this link, while wraps are available here and here.

“High Court Grants Gay Marriage Rights”: The Hartford Courant provides a news update that begins, “Same-sex couples won the right to marry in Connecticut in an historic ruling by the Supreme Court today. Citing the equal protection clause of the state constitution, the justices ruled that civil unions were discriminatory. In a 4-3 decision released at 11:30 a.m., the majority wrote that the state’s ‘understanding of marriage must yield to a more contemporary appreciation of the rights entitled to constitutional protection.'”

And The Associated Press reports that “Conn. high court rules same-sex couples can marry.”

Today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Connecticut consists of a majority opinion and three dissenting opinions (here, here, and here).

“[U]nder what circumstances can a Chinese national rely on the birth of more than one child to demonstrate the well-founded fear of persecution necessary to qualify for asylum as a ‘refugee’?” A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has today issued a lengthy opinion addressing that question.

“State Supreme Court To Rule On Gay Marriage Case”: The Hartford Courant provides a news update that begins, “The Connecticut Supreme Court is poised today to rule on a landmark gay marriage case that could fundamentally change the social landscape of the state. The court will decide if the state constitution grants same-sex couples the right to marry, an issue the state legislature has flirted with in recent years after approving civil unions in 2005.”

According to the web site of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, the decision is scheduled to be “Released after 11:30 a.m.”

“Prosecutor’s bid to force recusal of judge rejected; Jurist’s ties to DeLay fail to sway court of appeals”: The Houston Chronicle contains this article today.

“The Terrorists Next Door: Justice Kennedy’s consequences.” This editorial appears today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Bars of trouble: Cell phones in jail.” Today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Torsten Ove has an article that begins, “People in jail aren’t supposed to have cell phones. But across America, one way or another, they’re getting them.”

“Nassau’s ‘Wall of Shame’ defendant sues”: Today’s edition of Newsday contains an article that begins, “One of the defendants on Nassau’s drunken driving Wall of Shame has sued the county, demanding that her name and photograph be removed from the online gallery of defendants because it’s unconstitutional. Attorney Brian Griffin of Garden City says that by posting the names and mug shots of people who are arrested on drunken driving charges, County Executive Thomas Suozzi is punishing people who have not yet been found guilty of a crime.”

“Troopergate findings are due today; Legislative Council will decide on release”: The Anchorage Daily News today contains an article that begins, “The Alaska Supreme Court has cleared for possible release to the public today the Legislature’s highly anticipated investigative report on whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power. The court Thursday rejected an attempt by a group of six Republican legislators to keep the report into the so-called Troopergate affair from being made public.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Alaska Supreme Court order appears at this link.

In the new issue of The Harvard Law Record: The publication contains articles headlined “Justice Scalia defends originalism” and “Kevorkian reconsiders 9th amendment.”

“Remembering Cooper v. Aaron, the Supreme Court Case That Sent the Message that Brown‘s Promise of Desegregation Must Be Kept”: Carl Tobias has this essay online at FindLaw.