“Sotomayor disappointed by ‘wise Latina’ souvenirs”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Sonia Sotomayor said Friday that she is touched by the outpouring of public support as the first Hispanic justice on the U.S. Supreme Court but disappointed with the commercialization of her image and, at times, startled by her own celebrity.”

“Death Sentences Dropped, but Executions Rose in ’09”: John Schwartz has this article today in The New York Times.

The Dallas Morning News reports today that “Death sentences in Texas declining along with nationwide trend, anti-capital punishment group says.”

And The Houston Chronicle contains an article headlined “Steep decline in death sentences.”

“Hurry Up and Wait”: Linda Greenhouse has this post at the “Opinionator” blog of The New York Times.

In news from Oklahoma: Today’s edition of The Oklahoman contains an article headlined “Granite monument to go on north side of Oklahoma Capitol” that begins, “A Capitol preservation group has decided to place a Ten Commandments monument on the north side of the state Capitol after a law was passed last legislative session allowing the Judeo-Christian monument to be installed on the grounds.”

CNN.com reports that “Online posting of women’s abortion information challenged in Oklahoma.”

And yesterday evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered” contained an audio segment entitled “Oklahoma Abortion Law ‘Invasive,’ Critics Say.”

“U.S. courts in West to allow video coverage of civil cases; The experiment in California and other states in the 9th Circuit is designed to improve understanding of how the judicial process works”: Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

In today’s edition of The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that “Policy shift could put Prop. 8 suit on TV.”

Greg Moran of The San Diego Union-Tribune has a report headlined “9th Circuit: Cameras OK, sometimes.”

The Honolulu Advertiser reports that “Federal courts to allow news cameras.”

And law.com reports that “9th Circuit Ready for Trial Court Close-ups; Chief judge said the court hopes cameras will lead to enhanced confidence in the rule of law.”

Yesterday, the Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a news release headlined “Ninth Circuit Judicial Council Approves Experimental Use of Cameras in District Courts.”