“Bonus 261: The Midterms and the Courts, Part II; The lower federal courts have spent 21 months fighting a rear-guard action against the Trump administration; The arrival of the cavalry will make that job harder in some ways—but a lot less lonely.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“Megan Cavanagh and Noah Hood re-appointed to Michigan Supreme Court”: Aanya Panyadahundi of The Michigan Daily has this report.

“Democratic Justice Anita Earls wins reelection to the NC Supreme Court; Democrats also appeared to sweep all three seats in the state’s appellate courts”: Trevon Spencer of NC Newsline has this report.

“Utah Supreme Court Justice Jill Pohlman on track to keep her place on the bench; Utahns overwhelmingly vote to retain Pohlman — the only justice on the ballot this year; The vote was a test of whether Republicans’ opposition to the courts’ rulings over redistricting and abortion resonated”: Katie McKellar of Utah News Dispatch has this report.

“Democratic candidates win both Ohio Supreme Court races”: Susan Tebben of Ohio Capital Journal has this report.

“Flathead Judge Amy Eddy Wins Seat on Montana Supreme Court; Eddy defeated her opponent and colleague Judge Dan Wilson with 59% of the vote, leaving her district seat for the governor to fill”: Maggie Dresser of the Flathead Beacon has this report.

Micah Drew of The Daily Montanan reports that “Amy Eddy cruises to victory in Montana Supreme Court race; Eddy defeated GOP-backed opponent to succeed Justice Beth Baker on the state bench.”

And Jacob Olness of Montana Free Press reports that “Amy Eddy defeats Dan Wilson for Montana Supreme Court seat; Eddy’s victory extends a run of wins for women in contested Supreme Court elections since 2016.”

“Texas elects first woman, openly LGBTQ+ person to lead state Supreme Court”: Sierra Rains of Fox 7 in Austin, Texas has this report.

“Washington Lawyers Up; With Democratic majorities in Congress, oversight, and its frustrations, return”: Ruth Marcus has this essay online at The New Yorker.

“The end of Trump’s most potent legacy; Democrats’ romp wiped away the president’s chance at muscling through many more judicial nominees”: Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney of Politico have this report.

And Lawrence Hurley of NBC News reports that “Democratic Senate set to thwart Trump’s Supreme Court and judicial appointments; The White House will struggle to approve new judges over the next two years, including any potential Supreme Court nominee.”

“A Philly man went to jail for cursing at a judge. The Pa. Supreme Court reversed his conviction. ‘Being offended shouldn’t justify a criminal conviction for the rest of your life,’ Aaron Marcus said, the lawyer representing the man who yelled an expletive at a judge.” Abraham Gutman of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report.

My earlier coverage can be accessed here.

“Texas Judicial Power Shifts to Democrats in Massive Blue Wave”: Ryan Autullo of Bloomberg Law has a report that begins, “Four justices on the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court arrived to work Wednesday morning for an oral argument just hours after losing their jobs.”

“Justice Alito Will Not Retire Immediately, Despite Election Outcome; The conservative justice has told friends he does not plan to step down before the end of the court’s term, even as Democrats are set to seize the Senate in January”: Ann E. Marimow of The New York Times has this report.

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Supreme Court’s Alito Repeated He Won’t Step Down Over Election.”

And in commentary, online at The San Francisco Chronicle, law professor Erwin Chemerinsky has an essay titled “Will Alito or Thomas retire to give Trump a lame-duck session Supreme Court pick?“

“What’s next for Trump and the Supreme Court after Democratic blue wave; ‘Alito and Thomas can resign today,’ said one MAGA influencer; ‘Right now, Ram it through the Senate’”: Maureen Groppe of USA Today has this report.

And John Kruzel of Reuters reports that “Conservative US Supreme Court justices Thomas and Alito in spotlight after Democratic landslide.”

“Democrats Need to Talk About Supreme Court Expansion Now; The party already blew one chance to build support for meaningful Supreme Court reform; It cannot afford to make the same mistake again”: Jay Willis has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“Six takeaways for the law from Tuesday’s blue tsunami election; From Trump to local officials across the nation, Tuesday brought a seismic shift in the landscape for the law and how we all interact with it”: Chris Geidner has this post at his Substack site.

By a vote of 9-to-8, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denies initial en banc hearing of claim that federal statute prohibiting the transfer and possession of certain machineguns is invalid as exceeding Congress’s enumerated powers: You can view today’s order, and the dissent therefrom, at this link. The lineup of judges who voted for and against initial en banc review is quite interesting.

You can also access the request for initial en banc review and the federal government’s opposition.

“Alabama Democrat Holds House Seat Despite Republican Redistricting; Representative Shomari Figures won even though a new Republican-drawn map changed his district, a move prompted by the Supreme Court decision weakening the Voting Rights Act”: Emily Cochrane of The New York Times has this report.

“This Is the Last Chance to Confirm Originalist Judges; Mitch McConnell played hardball during the 2020 lame-duck session; This time it will be even harder”: Michael A. Fragoso has this essay online at The Wall Street Journal.

“What the 2026 Senate Midterms Mean for Judicial Confirmations; Ten quick points”: Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.

“A Lawsuit Says the McRib Is Lacking Something You Might Expect It to Have; A judge in Chicago ruled that the class-action lawsuit could proceed”: Victor Mather of The New York Times, a fellow Class of ’82 Penn Charter lifer, has this report.

“Trump Has Been Thumped. That Doesn’t Make Him Any Less Dangerous.” Columnist Jamelle Bouie has this essay online at The New York Times.

“261. The Midterms and the Courts, Part I: John Roberts is now in a similar position to the one in which Owen Roberts found himself in December 1936; Whether he’ll react the same way could say a lot about the Supreme Court’s future.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“Trump Power to Shape Supreme Court Doused by Democratic Rout”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.

“Texas Democrats break Republican hold on statewide courts; The GOP will still have a 5-4 advantage on the Supreme Court and was trending toward a 6-3 lead on the Court of Criminal Appeals”: Alex Nguyen of The Texas Tribune has this report.

“Democrats sweep court races as Anita Earls wins reelection to NC Supreme Court”: Kyle Ingram and Faith Wardwell of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina have this report.

“John Eastman’s Most Dangerous Supreme Court Case Yet”: Scott Cummings has this post at the “Just Security” blog.

“Voters back abortion rights and reject Trump’s redistricting in state ballot measures”: David A. Lieb of The Associated Press has this report.

“Democrats Gain Power to Probe Trump Big Law Deals in Election”: Ryan Tarinelli of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“Montana favoring initiative seeking to limit ‘dark money’; I-194 appeared destined to pass following early returns on Tuesday night”: Jordan Hansen of the Daily Montanan has this report.

You can access the current election results via this link.

“Democrats Sweep Statewide Judicial Races; All ten statewide judicial elections were won by Democrats as part of Tuesday’s blue wave”: Travis Morgan of Texas Scorecard has this report.

And at “The Volokh Conspiracy,” Josh Blackman has a post titled “Choosin’ Texas I Can Tell.”

“In Election-Related Lawsuits, the Trump Administration Has Faced Skepticism; The administration has ramped up its efforts in the courts to push claims of voter fraud but has been rejected by judges at all levels”: Abbie VanSickle, Zach Montague, and Ann E. Marimow of The New York Times have this report.

“DC Circuit signals ICE ban on surprise lawmaker oversight visits unlawful; U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins said the policy could hypothetically be compared to government officials barring lawmakers from the Senate chambers, as oversight and voting are part of lawmakers’ official duties”: Ryan Knappenberger of Courthouse News Service has this report.

You can access the audio of today’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link.

“Justices Seem Likely to Side With Colorado Catholic Schools Seeking Public Money; The Supreme Court considered whether Catholic preschools in Colorado that decline to enroll families with gay and transgender parents can participate in a state program”: Ann E. Marimow of The New York Times has this report.

Julian Mark of The Washington Post reports that “Justices seem inclined to side with Catholic preschool that excludes kids of gay parents; The case is the latest test of how far the high court will go in remaking the wall between church and state.”

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that “Supreme Court considers whether a state’s preschool funding rules are discriminatory.”

James Romoser of The Wall Street Journal reports that “Supreme Court Shows Sympathy for Catholic Schools in Case on LGBTQ Protections; Conservative justices suggest that Catholic preschools should be eligible for taxpayer funds without complying with a nondiscrimination rule.”

Mark Walsh of Education Week has an article headlined “Can This Religious Preschool Exclude LGBTQ Families and Still Get State Funding?”

And Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service reports that “Conservative justices likely to endorse Catholic preschool exclusion of LGBTQ families; Colorado looked headed towards its fourth loss in row in Supreme Court matchups over LGBTQ rights and religious beliefs.”

“Guantanamo Dispatches: Jury Selection Is Underway in the USS Cole Bombing Case, First Capital Case at Guantanamo Bay.” Carol Rosenberg has this post at the “Just Security” blog.

“Appeals Court Lifts Election Limits on Trump Administration”: Zoe Tillman of Bloomberg News has this report.

And at his “Election Law Blog,” Rick Hasen has a post titled “Divided En Banc Ninth Circuit Panel (Again) Blocks District Court Order That Would Have Prevented DOJ from Demanding That California Officials Segregate Ballots from Alleged Noncitizens.”

You can access today’s 6-to-5 en banc order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the opinions accompanying it, at this link.