Law Professor Eugene Volokh takes a look “Deep Inside the Second Circuit’s First Amendment ‘National Security Letter’ Opinion”: In this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Court upholds decision to keep Columbine depositions sealed”: Felisa Cardona of The Denver Post has a news update that begins, “The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld a decision to keep the depositions of the parents of Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold under seal for 20 years. Circuit judges Paul J. Kelly, Carlos F. Lucero and Harris L. Hartz issued the decision Monday, with Lucero writing a dissenting opinion.”

You can access today’s ruling by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link.

“Ex-Detainees Gain in Plea to Justices”: Adam Liptak will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times.

Tuesday in The Christian Science Monitor, Warren Richey will have an article headlined “Supreme Court reinstates detainee suit against Rumsfeld, others; The move sets the stage for an appeals court to review the rights of Guantanamo prisoners.”

And David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined “Supreme Court revives suit by 4 Guantanamo Bay ex-inmates; U.S. justices tell a federal appeals court to revisit the lawsuit; The British Muslim detainees say they seek to hold Pentagon officials responsible for their torture and abuse at the prison.”

“Light Cigarettes Makers May Be Sued, Court Rules”: Adam Liptak will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times.

In Tuesday’s edition of The Christian Science Monitor, Warren Richey will have an article headlined “Supreme Court rules smokers can sue over ‘light’ cigarette claims; The decision will make it easier for local residents to recover damages from national firms, consumer groups say.”

Robert Barnes and Jerry Markon of The Washington Post have a news update headlined “Court Rules in Favor of Smokers Who Seek to Sue Big Tobacco.”

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has a news update headlined “U.S. Supreme Court allows suits over ‘light’ cigarettes; Smokers say they were deceived into thinking ‘light’ and ‘low tar’ brands were safer; The justices’ action clears the way for class-action lawsuits, which could imperil tobacco companies.”

Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that “Ruling hands big tobacco big setback on state suits.”

And this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered” contained an audio segment entitled “High Court OKs Cigarette Lawsuits” (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg.

“Leahy Agrees to Postpone Holder Hearing by a Week”: This post appears this afternoon at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

In addition, this week’s print edition of Legal Times contains an article headlined “GOP Signals Rough Path to AG Position for Holder.”

Seventh Circuit reverses summary judgment in favor of Foley & Lardner in suit brought by former associate, a Muslim of Indian descent, who claims he was fired after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 because of his religion, race, national origin, and color: You can access today’s ruling of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Hasan v. Foley & Lardner LLP at this link.

James Vicini of Reuters is reporting: He has articles headlined “Court rules against Altria on light cigarettes” and “Supreme Court orders review of Guantanamo torture case.”

“This appeal concerns challenges to the constitutionality of statutes regulating the issuance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of a type of administrative subpoena generally known as a National Security Letter to electronic communication service providers”: So begins a lengthy opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today.

“‘Light’ Cigarette Suits Allowed by U.S. Supreme Court”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.

Access today’s opinion and Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: You can access today’s Order List at this link.

And in argued cases, the Court today issued its opinion in Altria Group, Inc. v. Good, No. 07-562. By a vote of 5-4, the Court has ruled that federal law does not preempt a lawsuit brought by smokers of “light” cigarettes alleging that defendants violated the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act by fraudulently advertising that the cigarettes delivered less tar and nicotine than regular brands. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the majority opinion, in which Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer joined. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the dissenting opinion, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined. This was the first case argued this Term — on the first Monday in October 2008 — and you can revisit the oral argument transcript by clicking here.

At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Court orders new review on torture, allows tobacco lawsuits.” The “new review on torture” occurred by means of a GVR appearing on today’s Order List.

In early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Court allows lawsuits over ‘light’ cigarettes“; “Court revives case of former Gitmo detainees“; “Court sides with NY Times in anthrax libel case“; and “Court won’t review Obama’s eligibility to serve.”

“Nichols friend blames himself; ‘He has scars that run deep,’ childhood buddy says; ‘I know he’s remorseful’; Juror says 3 refused to agree to death penalty from start”: This article appears today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

And as I noted in this post from last night, yesterday’s newspaper contained numerous related articles.

“Prosecutor, DNA at odds; In 3 cases, Lake County prosecutor Michael Mermel is willing to pit other evidence against genetic tests that exclude defendants”: The Chicago Tribune contains this article today.

“A year later, state assesses justice without death penalty”: This article appears today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger.

“Familiar faces revolve through Supreme Court; Elite lawyers with ties to justices make multiple arguments”: Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today.