“In Fractured Decision, CAFC Refuses to Reexamine De Novo Claim Construction”: This post appeared yesterday at “Patently-O: Patent Law Blog.” My earlier coverage is at this link.

“Age of consent to be set at 16”: The Sunday Times of London contains an article that begins, “The Irish government is to reduce the age of consent by a year to 16, in a reform of the law on teenage sexual activity and the protection of children recommended by a parliamentary committee.”

My earlier coverage of this matter, from May 2006, can be accessed here.

“Internet peek at jail life could end soon; Anderson County sheriff says Web cam jeopardizes security”: This article appeared yesterday in The Tennessean.

“No liability found in STD case”: The San Luis Obispo Tribune today contains an article that begins, “A jury decided this week that a former San Luis Obispo County resident did not negligently infect his ex-wife with a sexually transmitted disease, likely the first case in the state to be decided using a California Supreme Court ruling on the issue, legal experts said.”

“Government Urges Supreme Court to Stay Out of Times Case”: This article will appear Sunday in The New York Times.

And The Associated Press reports that “Gov’t Asks Court Not to Block Records.”

“University of Michigan vs. the people”: Thursday in The Chicago Tribune, columnist Steve Chapman had an op-ed that begins, “After the votes were counted on election night, there were lots of gracious concession statements by losing candidates thanking their supporters, offering to work with the winners and paying tribute to the virtues of democracy. Then there was Mary Sue Coleman, who was having none of this. The day after Michigan’s citizens voted to ban the use of racial and gender preferences by public institutions, the president of the University of Michigan gave an embittered speech telling them to take a long walk off a short pier.”

“Case Tests Federal Supremacy Over Banks; Supreme Court to Hear Arguments Next Week in States’ Challenge to ‘Preemption’ of Regulation”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.

“New York Times seeks shield for phone records”: Lyle Denniston has this post online today at “SCOTUSblog.” Lyle’s post links to both the newspaper’s application for a stay and the federal government’s response.

“Climate in the Court: The justices take up global warming.” This editorial will appear Sunday in The Washington Post.

Programming note: Today is day two of my family’s visit to Washington, DC. Additional posts will appear tonight.

“States will tell Supreme Court feds must act on warming; The EPA must address warming, California and others will tell justices”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

And today in The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin has an article (free access) headlined “An Inconvenient Case for Supreme Court” that begins, “Things are bound to heat up at the Supreme Court Wednesday, when justices weigh whether the Clean Air Act requires the Bush administration to do something about global warming.”

“Lawyers learn to share their pain with jurors; They use a technique called psychodrama to connect better by showing vulnerability”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Marriage vote suit delivered to SJC; Romney, 10 others see constitution violation”: The Boston Globe contains this article today.

The Boston Herald today contains an article headlined “Gov to judges: Put gay marriage to a vote.”

And The New York Times reports that “Massachusetts Governor Sues to Compel Vote on Same-Sex Marriage Amendment.”

“Despite a Year of Ire and Angst, Little Has Changed on Wiretaps”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“Times Seeks to Bar Review of Phone Data”: Today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak has an article that begins, “The New York Times asked the Supreme Court yesterday to bar a federal prosecutor from reviewing the phone records of two of its reporters. The records, lawyers for The Times said, would allow the government to learn the identities of many of the reporters’ confidential sources.”