“Man sues over arrest for wearing ‘Occupy’ jacket in Supreme Court”: Terry Baynes of Reuters has an article that begins, “A man who was arrested in the Supreme Court’s museum corridor for wearing a jacket emblazoned with the slogan ‘Occupy Everywhere’ is suing the federal government over the incident.”

“Wash. convictions reversed over PowerPoint show”: The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Washington State issued today. According to The AP report, “During closing arguments, the deputy Pierce County prosecutor presented a slide show with Glasmann’s mug shot and the word ‘guilty’ superimposed in red letters three times across his face. The justices said unanimously Thursday that was improper, because there was no such image admitted as evidence.”

Today’s 5-to-4 decision consists of a lead opinion, an opinion concurring in the judgment, and a dissenting opinion.

“2nd Appeals Court Rules Against Federal Marriage Act”: The New York Times has this news update.

“DOMA’s classification of same-sex spouses was not substantially related to an important government interest. Accordingly, we hold that Section 3 of DOMA violates equal protection and is therefore unconstitutional.” So holds the majority on a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a decision issued today. DOMA, of course, is the acronym for the federal law titled the Defense of Marriage Act.

Second Circuit Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote the majority opinion, in which Circuit Judge Christopher F. Droney joined. Senior Circuit Judge Chester J. Straub dissented on the central issue presented and would have held that “the legislative distinction drawn by DOMA satisfies rational basis review and is therefore constitutional.”

Update: In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “NY appeals court nixes Defense of Marriage Act.”

Terry Baynes and Dan Levine of Reuters report that “Appeals court in NY rules gay marriage law unconstitutional.”

And Bloomberg News reports that “Marriage Act Violates Same-Sex Couple Rights, Court Says.”

“Invitation to Sue?” At Inside Higher Ed, Scott Jaschik has an article that begins, “A sharply divided federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to reconsider a March ruling that revived a lawsuit by a former graduate student against the University of Oregon. And the dissenting judges on the appeals court say that the refusal could endanger academic freedom and leave faculty members vulnerable to litigious graduate students.”

You can access Chief Judge Alex Kozinski‘s dissent from the Ninth Circuit‘s denial of rehearing en banc at this link. A total of seven judges joined in that dissent.

“Chief Justice Roberts: Technology among top issues for court.” Mike Tolson has this article today in The Houston Chronicle.