“State, anti-abortion groups battle over ‘Choose Life’ plates”: The Business Journal of Phoenix yesterday posted online an article that begins, “Anti-abortion advocates and state attorneys argued before a federal appeals court Monday over Arizona’s rejection of a specialty license plate that says ‘Choose Life.'”

You can download the audio of Monday’s Ninth Circuit oral argument via this link (2.81MB Windows Media audio file).

“Court rules players’ stats are fair game”: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch today contains an article that begins, “The use of professional athletes’ statistics and names is protected by the First Amendment and fair game for companies that run fantasy sports leagues, a federal court ruled Tuesday in St. Louis.”

And USA Today reports today that “Fantasy ruling may result in wide reality check.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Eighth Circuit ruling appears at this link.

Available online from law.com: An article reports that “At Confirmation Hearings, Mukasey Denounces DOJ Memos, Partisan Politics.”

Justin Scheck reports that “Bad Choices Dog Weiss in Milberg Probe; Former partners say decisions made since the ’90s have led to the firm’s decline.”

And in news from Georgia, “Funding Woes Halt Trial of Accused Courthouse Killer; Legislators criticize judge’s handling of defense spending requests.”

On this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered“: The broadcast contained audio segments entitled “Senate Panel Asks Mukasey About Torture, Spying“; “Debate on FISA Expansion Bill Stalls in House“; and “Report Compares Teen Sentencing Around World” (RealPlayer required).

“Nichols jury selection halted, jurors sent home; Judge stops Nichols trial until money issues resolved”: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides this news update.

“Supreme Court Halts Va. Inmate’s Execution; Ruling Could Lead To National Hiatus In Lethal Injections”: Robert Barnes and Jerry Markon will have this front page article Thursday in The Washington Post.

“Both divorced parents must agree to grandparent visits, court rules”: The Detroit Free Press provides a news update that begins, “The right of grandparents to maintain relationships with their grandchildren even after the parents divorce does not extend to cases in which both parents oppose grandparent visitation, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.”

You can access Tuesday’s ruling of the Michigan Court of Appeals at this link.

“Juror pool grows”: The Reno Gazette-Journal today contains an article that begins, “A nuclear scientist, a day-care worker, the manager of a pizza parlor and the pastor of a Christian church were among the eight potential jurors chosen Tuesday among 18 questioned in the murder trial of Reno businessman Darren Mack.”

“Accused Law Firm Continues Giving to Democrats”: Thursday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, “Over the years, as it became Exhibit A for critics of shareholders’ class-action lawsuits, the law firm of Milberg Weiss often enjoyed the support of Democrats who called the suits an invaluable weapon in the universal conflict between big business and the little guy.”

“Mukasey Vows to Keep Politics Away From Justice Dept.” The New York Times provides this news update.

“Rebound Relationship: The Senate runs into the arms of Michael Mukasey.” Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Court Stops Va. Execution”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The Supreme Court on Wednesday halted Virginia’s planned execution of a man who murdered a co-worker. Virginia had prepared to execute Christopher Scott Emmett, 36, even as several other states stopped executions after the high court agreed to review claims that the method of death is unconstitutionally cruel.”

And at “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “A ‘moratorium’ on lethal injection?”

“Attorney general nominee promises change, repudiates torture”: Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers provides this report.

The Washington Post provides a news update headlined “Mukasey Strives for Balance in Confirmation Testimony.”

The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined “Mukasey goes before Senate; The attorney general nominee says in his confirmation hearings that partisan politics has no place in the Justice Department.”

The Associated Press reports that “Mukasey Would End White House Meddling.”

And today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Day to Day” contained an audio segment featuring Dahlia Lithwick entitled “Attorney General Nominee Goes Before the Senate” (RealPlayer required).

Via C-SPAN, you can access today’s hearing online, on-demand in two parts: part one and part two (RealPlayer required).

“‘High-value detainee’ meets with lawyer”: Today in The Miami Herald, Carol Rosenberg has an article that begins, “For the first time, a pair of New York civil liberties lawyers on Tuesday were allowed to meet with a ”high-value detainee” at the prison camps here. That detainee is Baltimore area high school graduate Majid Khan, who in 2003 disappeared into the CIA’s secret prison network until his transfer a year ago to these remote prison camps.”

“This is the latest in a series of appeals in copyright infringement cases arising out of the design and use of the logo for the Baltimore Ravens football team.” So begins a ruling that a unanimous two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued today.

Ninth Circuit grants rehearing en banc in case challenging Forest Service’s approval of the Snowbowl’s use of recycled sewage effluent to make artificial snow on sacred Indian land as a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act: You can access today’s order granting rehearing en banc at this link.

My earlier coverage of the three-judge panel’s ruling in the case appears here and here. And this post of mine reporting on the original Ninth Circuit oral argument contains a link to the federal district court’s ruling.

“Their motion for selection said that they owned 2,663 shares; discovery revealed that they owned only 2.663 shares. (Their lawyer, who has since been indicted for fraud in conducting other class-action suits, called the misrepresentation an ‘administrative error.’)” So writes Chief Judge Frank H. Easterbrook on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel in an interesting decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued today.

Seventh Circuit holds that real estate brokers lack prudential standing to challenge city ordinance that forbids the sale of a house without an inspection to determine whether it’s in compliance with the city’s building and zoning codes: You can access today’s ruling, in which Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner wrote the opinion of the court, at this link.

“Mukasey Disavows Torture Memo”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Attorney General-designate Michael Mukasey said Wednesday the president doesn’t have the authority to use torture techniques against terrorism suspects, a stance not taken by predecessor Alberto Gonzales and considered key to the nominee’s confirmation. Mukasey repudiated a 2002 memo by then-Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee that said the president has the power to issue orders that violate the Geneva Conventions as well as international and U.S. laws prohibiting torture.”

Notorious B.I.G. and the Ohio Players, on appeal: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has issued this copyright infringement ruling today.

En banc Sixth Circuit tackles question of antitrust standing: You can access today’s ruling in NicSand, Inc. v. 3M Co. at this link.

“Mukasey Confirmation for Attorney General to Start”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

C-SPAN3 will broadcast today’s Senate Judiciary Committee Confirmation Hearing live. You can view the hearing online using either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player.

“Scalia opines on faith and justice; ‘There is no such thing as a “Catholic judge,”‘ the jurist declared”: This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Impeachment: Cumbersome, but it’s doable.” The Galveston County Daily News today contains an article that begins, “Impeachment is an unwieldy club to use against misbehaving federal judges. But some legal experts believe it might be the only constitutional way to discipline them.”

According to the article, “Impeachment and its mechanics are in the news because of U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent, who sits in Galveston. Late last month, the judicial council of the 5th Circuit reprimanded Kent after his case manager made a sexual harassment complaint against him. The complaint involved unwanted physical contact, said the lawyer for the woman who complained. The judicial council cited other, unspecified complaints by court employees against the judge.”

Available online from law.com: Shannon P. Duffy reports that “3rd Circuit Upholds FCC’s Deregulation of High-Speed Internet Access; Federal appeals court decision is a victory for big telephone companies.” My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Third Circuit ruling appears at this link.

An article reports that “Mindful of ‘Booker,’ 2nd Circuit Revises Sentencing Opinion.” My earlier coverage of last week’s Second Circuit ruling can be accessed at this link.

In news from New Jersey, “Punitives Mulled for Lawyer for Pressing Widow to Revise Will.”

And an article reports that “Right to Arbitrate Survives Participation in Litigation.” You can access yesterday’s ruling of the New York State Court of Appeals at this link.

“Inmate faces death tonight or 2nd delay”: Today’s edition of The Richmond Times-Dispatch contains an article that begins, “Christopher Scott Emmett may escape execution tonight because the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider the constitutionality of lethal injection. Or Emmett, 36, who beat a co-worker to death for money to buy drugs, could be the 99th person executed in Virginia since the death penalty was allowed to resume in 1976.”

And The Washington Post reports today that “Attorneys Seek to Halt Execution Tonight.”

“White House to Give Senate Panel Surveillance Program Documents”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.

And USA Today reports today that “Sen. Specter says he won’t support telecom immunity in FISA bill until he gets answers.”

“House Passes Bill to Protect Confidentiality of Reporters’ Sources”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

The Los Angeles Times reports today that “House extends federal shield law for reporters; The legislation to protect journalists and their confidential sources garners enough bipartisan support to override Bush’s promised veto.”

And The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “House OKs bill to protect reporters in U.S. courts by wide margin.”

“Democrats to Press Justice Department Pick on Independence”: This article appears today in The New York Times. The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Pressing Mr. Mukasey” and an op-ed from various contributors entitled “Questions of Justice.”

The Washington Post today contains a front page article headlined “Justice Dept.’s Focus Has Shifted; Terror, Immigration Are Current Priorities.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “The Mukasey Hearing: Maybe senators will have better luck getting answers than they did from his predecessor.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Restoring morale a crucial test for Mukasey; The attorney general nominee is seen as well-qualified; Still, he will face tough questions on how he intends to mend the Justice Department.” In addition, the newspaper contains an editorial entitled “Two questions for Mukasey: What the Senate Judiciary Committee should be sure to ask the attorney general nominee.”

In The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley has an article headlined “Not the Social Conservative Some Wanted: AG Nominee and National-Security Expert Defended in an Obscenity Case.”

McClatchy Newspapers report that “Lawmakers demand AG nominee review border agents’ prosecution.”

Bloomberg News reports that “Mukasey Has Senate Mission to Restore Justice Department Esteem.”

In The Wall Street Journal, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) has an op-ed entitled “A Question for Mr. Mukasey.”

And at FindLaw, Carl Tobias has an essay entitled “Five Key Questions for President Bush’s New Attorney General Nominee, Michael Mukasey.”

“After Guantanamo, An Empty Freedom; Ethnic Uighurs Frustrated in Albania”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

“Court Stays Execution in Nevada”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

This post of mine from yesterday links to additional, related press coverage.

“Hofstra Polite as Lawyer Guilty in Terror Case Talks on Ethics”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “One student walked out in protest, but the reception for Lynne F. Stewart, the radical lawyer convicted on charges of smuggling messages out of prison for a terrorist client, was generally courteous here on Tuesday as she addressed a Hofstra University Law School conference on legal ethics.”

And Monday’s issue of Newsday reported that “Hofstra speaking engagement spurs controversy.”

“Temping at the Justice Department”: This post appears at “The Board,” a new blog written by The New York Times editorial board.

“Lifers as Teenagers, Now Seeking Second Chance”: Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak has an article that begins, “In December, the United Nations took up a resolution calling for the abolition of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for children and young teenagers. The vote was 185 to 1, with the United States the lone dissenter. Indeed, the United States stands alone in the world in convicting young adolescents as adults and sentencing them to live out their lives in prison. According to a new report, there are 73 Americans serving such sentences for crimes they committed at 13 or 14.”

“Are All Those Who Author Creative Works Created Equal? How Much Congress Can Constitutionally Revise Copyright Law.” Julie Hilden has this essay, the second of a two-part series, today at FindLaw. Part one can be accessed here.