“9th Circuit Panel Reviews Judge’s Role in Murder-for-Hire Trial”: law.com has a report that begins, “Eleven members of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals met this week to review the work of fellow Judge Richard Tallman in a bizarre murder-for-hire trial. He may or may not take it personally, but some of them sure seemed to.”

“State Supreme Court permits ‘Super Lawyers’ advertisements”: The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger has a news update that begins, “The N.J. Supreme Court ruled today lawyers who are named to lists such as ‘Super Lawyers’ or ‘Best Lawyers in America’ should be allowed to include that information in their advertising.”

And The Associated Press reports that “NJ court rules ‘Super Lawyer’ ads are protected.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link.

At his “LawMarketing Blog,” Larry Bodine has a post titled “NJ Supreme Court Allows Advertising in Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers.”

“Illinois Supreme Court rejects Madigan bid to declare Blagojevich ‘unfit'”: The Chicago Tribune has a news update that begins, “The Illinois Supreme Court today rejected Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan’s attempt to have disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared unable to hold the office of Illinois chief executive, court officials said.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Ill. high court rejects challenge to Blagojevich.”

Today’s orders of the Supreme Court of Illinois in this matter can be accessed here, here, and here.

“Justice Kennedy rejects 2 more challenges to Obama”: The Associated Press provides this report.

“This case presents an issue of first impression — whether a party joined as a defendant to a counterclaim may remove the case to federal court solely because the counterclaim satisfies the jurisdictional requirements of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005”: So begins the majority opinion that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued yesterday.

Chief Judge Karen J. Williams wrote the majority opinion, in which Circuit Judge Robert B. King joined. The majority held that removal to federal court could not be accomplished under those circumstances. Circuit Judge Paul V. Niemeyer dissented, explaining that “I conclude that CAFA does indeed authorize AT&T to remove this interstate class action, even though AT&T was sued as a counterclaim defendant, not as an original defendant.”

“N.Y. High Court Upholds Reversal of $20.5 Million Tobacco Verdict”: The New York Law Journal today contains an article that begins, “The New York Court of Appeals, upholding the reversal of a $20.5 million verdict, Monday ruled that the estate of a smoker who died of lung cancer could not assert a negligent product design claim against two cigarette makers based on the availability of a safer ‘light’ cigarette.”

The Associated Press reports that “NY court rejects claim over regular cigarettes.”

And Reuters reports that “Top New York State court rejects cigarette claim.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the New York State Court of Appeals — that State’s highest court — at this link.

“Washington Council Enacts Tough Gun-Control Measure”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “Nearly six months after the Supreme Court put an end to the District of Columbia’s decades-old ban on handgun possession, the City Council here passed a sweeping new ordinance on Tuesday to regulate gun ownership.”

“2 lawmakers team up to oppose new Death Row”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

“Muslim’s scarf leads to arrest at courthouse”: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today contains an article that begins, “A Douglasville woman was jailed Tuesday after a judge found her in contempt of court for refusing to remove her hijab, the head covering worn by Muslim women. Lisa Valentine, also known by her Islamic name, Miedah, 40, was arrested at the Douglasville Municipal Court for violating a court policy of no headgear, said Chris Womack, deputy chief of operations for the Douglasville police. Judge Keith Rollins ordered her held in jail for 10 days, but she was released Tuesday evening. The reason for the early release wasn’t immediately clear.”

“In Georgia, Push to End Unanimity for Execution”: The New York Times contains this article today.

“Is summer vacation the law? N.C. Supreme Court hears Wake suit over mandatory year-round schools.” This article appears today in The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Animal cruelty case pushed to top court”: Today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Paula Reed Ward has an article that begins, “The Department of Justice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up an animal cruelty case, arguing that an appeals court erred in declaring unconstitutional a federal law that bans selling depictions of animals being tortured.”

“Holder’s rise rooted in Pa. courts”: The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains a front page article that begins, “When Eric H. Holder Jr. first joined the U.S. Department of Justice in 1976, he was fresh out of Columbia Law School, assigned to a public-integrity unit and sent to earn his stripes battling corruption. So he came to Pennsylvania. Here, he racked up high-profile convictions – including a Scranton-area mob capo and a bribe-taking Philadelphia judge. Despite making one error that earned him a stern critique from a federal judge, he quickly impressed savvy observers of the state’s legal scene.”

“Candidates queuing up for chief justice post”: The Providence (R.I.) Journal today contains an article that begins, “The process of selecting the next chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court officially kicked off yesterday with a letter from Governor Carcieri to the head of the commission that will select nominees for the high-powered position.”

“Bush-Era Abortion Rules Face Possible Reversal; Obama Team Looks at Regulation Set to Be Finalized This Week Letting Medical Staff Refuse to Take Part in Practices They Oppose”: This article appears today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Court: No obligation for company to give teen drug.” The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A pharmaceutical company does not have to provide an experimental drug to a Minnesota teen who is terminally ill with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in reversing a lower court decision.”

You can access at this link yesterday’s non-precedential ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

“Court won’t disqualify judge in case”: Today in The Boston Globe, Jonathan Saltzman has an article that begins, “A federal appeals court yesterday refused to disqualify a judge from the case of a man suing the Boston Police Department for a wrongful conviction in three rapes even though the city said remarks she made betrayed a ‘deep-seated favoritism and antagonism.'”

“The Unusual Story of Williams v. Philip Morris, and Its Third Trip to the Supreme Court — Including Some Predictions About What the Court Will Do This Time”: Anthony J. Sebok has this essay online at FindLaw.