“Supreme Court case could end lawsuits against federal agents like ICE; In recent decades, the high court has severely limited the ability to sue a federal officer for constitutional violations; The justices could completely close the door”: Maureen Groppe of USA Today has this report.

“Democracy Needs Room for Religious Difference”: Law professor Stephen L. Carter has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.

“Trump’s D.C. Construction Blitz May Be About to Get Tougher; The president has bulldozed through obstacles as he has sought to remake the face of Washington; But newly empowered Democrats and angry judges are setting up a high-stakes showdown”: Luke Broadwater and Emily Badger of The New York Times have this report.

“Democratic attorney general wins could reshape US lawsuits on abortion, immigration and more”: Mike Scarcella and Daniel Wiessner of Reuters have this report.

“For Trump and America, a Clear Election Verdict Leaves a Murky Future; As Americans absorb a stunning new political reality, they face a gap between the time they effectively decided to be done with the president and the time he is actually done”: Peter Baker of The New York Times has this news analysis.

“Breaking the Decade-Long Trump Fever; The President’s unique brand of lurid authoritarianism has finally lost appeal, and he has lost the plot”: David Remnick has this essay online at The New Yorker.

“Montana GOP, Conservative Groups Challenge New Dark Money Ban”: Mike Leonard of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“The Texas Supreme Court will have a female majority for the first time; A majority of justices on the Texas Supreme Court will be women for the first time ever, including the chief justice”: Dylan Duke of KERA has this report.

“A ‘reverse-Ginsburg’ scenario could flip the Supreme Court without packing”: Law professor Jonathan Turley has this essay online at The Hill.

“Supreme Court’s trend on church and state is a reminder conservatives have a steady grip on the nation’s laws”: Joan Biskupic of CNN has this news analysis.

“‘Crazy things’: Sotomayor hopes Supreme Court will reverse some of its rulings; Justice Sonia Sotomayor says she hopes the Supreme Court will overturn its 2024 presidential immunity ruling during her lifetime”: Maureen Groppe of USA Today has this report.

And Josh Gerstein of Politico reports that “Sotomayor sees U.S. in ‘rough patch’ for rule of law; The liberal justice says she’d like the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision to be overturned in her lifetime.”

“Mysterious Request Scrambles Major Supreme Court Gun Case; In an unusual move, the lead plaintiff in one of two cases challenging semiautomatic weapons bans has asked to drop out weeks before the cases are heard”: Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this report.

And earlier, John Fritze of CNN reported that “Surprise twist ricochets through Supreme Court case on AR-15 ban.”

You can access the docket for the case at this link.

“The White House is being weird about judicial nominations; An official says two nominees are being ‘actively considered’ even as the Judiciary Committee has already received their paperwork”: Patrick McNeil has this post at his “Nomination Notes” Substack site.

“The Conservative Legal Movement’s Post-Election Crashout Is Here, and It Is Spectacular; ‘The Senate is lost until 2032, so I hope Thomas and Alito got on their treadmills this morning’”: Jay Willis has this post at his “Balls & Strikes” Substack site.

“Feds move to dismiss case over 20,000 California ballots after Supreme Court denied appeal”: Kevin Rector and Brittny Mejia of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

You can access the court filing at this link.

“Prosecutors Vow to Keep Pursuing Death Penalty in California; Unless the next governor, Xavier Becerra, keeps commuting sentences, California’s death row is likely to slowly repopulate in the coming years”: Tim Arango and Laurel Rosenhall of The New York Times have this report.

“A Trump immigration fight progressive groups can get behind; The federal government found itself with unlikely bedfellows as it defended the authority to enforce worker protections for immigrant laborers”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Texas appeals court cancels oral arguments in challenge to state hemp rules; The move clears the way for the three newly elected Democratic justices on the 15th Court of Appeals to hear the cases after they take office”: Zach Leggio of The Texas Tribune has this report.

“Time for Supreme Court to fix ‘race neutral’ discrimination; Asian American parents challenge policy designed to reduce their children’s enrollment in gifted programs”: Steven D. Anderson has this essay online at Fox News.

“What This Week’s Elections Mean for The Future of Elections: Democrats had a big night on Tuesday; What about democrats?” Jon Allsop has this essay online at The New Yorker.

“U.S. Attorney Who Oversaw Centerpiece of Trump’s Revenge Campaign Resigns; Jason Reding Quiñones joins what is expected to be a succession of departures at the Justice Department after the midterm elections, including that of the leader of the national security division”: Devlin Barrett, Glenn Thrush, and Alan Feuer of The New York Times have this report.

“Republicans rammed through Supreme Court nominees. Now Democrats will have the votes to stop them.” Seung Min Kim, Mary Clare Jalonick, and Lindsay Whitehurst of The Associated Press have this report.

“Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to teach spring seminar”: Ellie Symons of The Daily Texan has an article that begins, “Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will teach a course at UT’s School of Civic Leadership to 17 UT undergraduate students in spring 2027.”

“Senator-Governor Klobuchar and the Problem of the Received Wisdom”: Josh Blackman and Seth Barrett Tillman have this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Texas’ Next Top Justice Wants to Return to ABA Accreditation”: Ryan Autullo of Bloomberg Law has this report.

According to the article, “Ellis also wants to withdraw a recent rule change from the high court allowing judges to publicly refrain from performing a wedding ceremony based upon a sincerely held religious belief without violating the judicial code of conduct.”

“This Trump move may actually help Democrats in their legal fight against him; The president’s proclivity to claim executive privilege could lead to court rulings that reshape the power of the presidency”: Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein of Politico have this report.

Judge Merryday on fonts: At this link, via Court Watch.

“Trump Lawyer Urges Appeals Court to Toss Hush-Money Case”: Patricia Hurtado and David Voreacos of Bloomberg News have this report.

And Erik Uebelacker of Courthouse News Service reports that “NY appellate judges question Trump’s latest bid to toss hush money conviction; ‘How would this go towards enriching the lives of American citizens?’ Justice Troy Webber asked Trump’s defense team, which claimed Trump’s conduct was protected under presidential immunity.”

The New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, First Department, has posted the video of today’s oral argument on YouTube.

“Prominent D.C. litigator dies at 65 while preparing for trial in Arizona; Dane Butswinkas’s career was filled with high-profile cases; He helped thwart Trump’s attempt to crush a prominent U.S. law firm”: Leonard Bernstein of The Washington Post has written this obituary.

“GOP’s losses will raise pressure on conservative Supreme Court justices to retire; The lame-duck session before January will probably be President Donald Trump’s last chance to get a high court nominee confirmed by the Senate”: Justin Jouvenal of The Washington Post has this report.

And Ryan King of The New York Post reports that “GOP Senate ready for lame duck Supreme Court confirmation — if Alito or Thomas change mind.”

“Alito and Thomas Can’t Retire Now; Such a nakedly political move would undercut any effort to preserve the high court’s independence”: Columnist James Taranto has this essay online at The Wall Street Journal.

“Republicans are set to violate more norms in pursuit of confirming Trump’s judicial nominees; Judiciary Committee Republicans are poised to bulldoze longstanding practices before they lose Senate control in January”: Patrick McNeil has this post at his “Nomination Notes” Substack site.

“Trump appears to nominate Justice James Sullivan, defeated in this week’s elections, to the Western District of Texas”: Patrick McNeil has this post at his “Nomination Notes” Substack site.

“Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Announces Passing of Former Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille”: Pennsylvania Chief Justice Debra Todd issued this statement today.

And DaniRae Renno of The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania reports that “Former Pa. Supreme Court chief justice, military veteran dies at 82.”

“The looming constitutional showdowns — Investigations, the electoral college, the Supreme Court and pardons: The GOP collapse brings new volatility.” Columnist Jason Willick has this essay online at The Washington Post.