“In Seven States, Atheists Push to End Largely Forgotten Ban”: This article will appear in Sunday’s edition of The New York Times.

“Big Law Fumbles Are Focus at Federal Circuit”: Scott Graham of The Recorder has this report.

You can freely access the full text of the article via Google.

How will West Publishing Co. solve this conundrum? Yesterday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit disposed of an appeal by an unpublished opinion.

In the same case, however, one of the judges on the panel issued a for-publication concurring opinion. I have never before seen a U.S. Court of Appeals issue a decision that was unpublished, accompanied by the separate opinion of a single judge on the panel that was for-publication. If anyone else has previously seen this, please let me know via email.

Eventually, we will learn if the majority opinion will appear in the Federal Appendix and the concurring opinion, alone, will appear in the Federal Reporter, Third Series.

“Gavel Is Passed to Ninth Circuit’s New Chief Judge”: The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today posted online a report that begins, “Herding cats, taming lions and the wide open spaces of Montana all figured into a warm and humor-filled ceremony marking a changing of the guard at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.”

The Ninth Circuit has posted on YouTube at this link the video of yesterday’s gavel-passing ceremony.

“Argument preview: A doctrinal trip back to the 1930s?” Lyle Denniston has this post today at “SCOTUSblog.”

“U.S. Supreme Court to hear mental retardation claim of Baton Rouge convicted killer; Mental retardation, execution eligibility at heart of the matter”: This article appears in today’s edition of The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“Supreme Court to Hear Cases on License Plates and Mentally Disabled Death Row Inmates”: Adam Liptak has this article in today’s edition of The New York Times.

In today’s edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes has an article headlined “Supreme Court to hear Confederate-flag license plate case from Texas.”

David G. Savage reports that “Supreme Court to decide on ‘Confederate’ license plates.”

Richard Wolf of USA Today reports that “Supreme Court to rule on controversial license plates.”

In today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, Brent Kendall reports that “Supreme Court to Hear Free-Speech Case on Specialty License Plates; State of Texas Seeks to Bar Specialty Plate With Confederate Flag.”

Michael Doyle of McClatchy Washington Bureau has a report headlined “Free speech, or a rebel yell? Supreme Court agrees to hear Texas license plate case.”

Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined “Can states refuse to issue Confederate flag license plates?”

The Dallas Morning News reports that “Texas battle over Confederate flag license plate headed to Supreme Court.”

And The Houston Chronicle reports that “U.S. Supreme Court to hear Confederate flag license plate case.”

“Thurgood Marshall Blasted Police for Killing Black Men With Chokeholds; Thirty years before the NYPD and Eric Garner, the Supreme Court justice took on the LAPD”:
Dave Gilson has this essay online Thursday at Mother Jones.

And in today’s edition of The New York Times, law students Shakeer Rahman and Sam Barr have an op-ed titled “Eric Garner and the Legal Rules That Enable Police Violence.”

“Experts See Legal Hazards in States’ Immigration Suit”: Julia Preston has this article in today’s edition of The New York Times.

“The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Taboo: Democrats don’t want to talk about the justice’s age or health.” Burgess Everett of Politico.com has this report.