“‘I keep dissenting’: Justice Sonia Sotomayor talks Supreme Court during OU-Tulsa fireside chat.” Abby Young of OU Daily has this report.

“It’s not personal: US Supreme Court justices focus on law, not politics.” Bryan McKenzie of UVA Today has a report that begins, “Being the final word on law in the United States can lead to strong disagreements with colleagues, but U.S. Supreme Court justices try to keep personal feelings out of their interactions, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett told a University of Virginia audience Thursday.”

“In Memoriam: California Supreme Court Justice Joyce L. Kennard (1941–2026); Joyce L. Kennard, whose perseverance and professional excellence propelled her to become one of the longest-serving justices in the history of the California Supreme Court, has passed away; She was 85.” Merrill Balassone of California Courts Newsroom has written this news release.

“Abortion Rights Activists in Idaho Find Their Pitch: Bring Back the Doctors; Organizers of a referendum to repeal an abortion ban in deep-red Idaho are far more focused on how the ban has broadly affected health care in the state.” Anna Griffin of The New York Times has this report.

“Interstate Handgun Sale Ban Unconstitutional, Fifth Circuit Says”: Ryan Autullo of Bloomberg Law has a report (subscription required for full access) that begins, “A federal firearms ban against direct purchases of handguns across state lines is unconstitutional, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday, creating a split with the Second Circuit.”

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

“Appeals court rejects Trump’s third-country deportation policy; A unanimous three-judge panel ruled that deportees must have ‘a meaningful opportunity to contest’ their deportation”: Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein of Politico have this report.

You can access today’s decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit at this link.

Update: In other coverage, Mattathias Schwartz of The New York Times reports that “Appeals Court Restricts Trump Administration Deportation Effort; The ruling allows migrants to contest deportations to countries other than their place of origin; The case could head to the Supreme Court.”

And David Nakamura of The Washington Post reports that “Appeals court says Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy is unlawful; The decision marks a major setback for the administration, which has removed tens of thousands of unauthorized immigrants to countries where they are not citizens.”

“Second Circuit Rejects Limits on Border Searches of Cell Phones; And why I think they are wrong, and the Supreme Court should step in”: Orin S. Kerr has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns; In a rare interview, Patrick Schiltz, who served as the federal court’s chief judge last winter, called the administration’s actions ‘a grave threat to the rule of law’”: Mattathias Schwartz of The New York Times has this report.

“Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Defends the Power of Dissent in Phila. Bar Remarks; Accepting a Philadelphia Bar Association award Thursday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson praised Justice William J. Brennan Jr.’s commitment to democratic values and said judicial dissents reflect ‘faith in the future’”: Riley Brennan of The Legal Intelligencer has this report.

“The Case for a Shadow Court: Our constitutional system is being torn asunder; Enter an intriguing idea from a great legal mind.” Law professor Garrett Epps has this essay online at Washington Monthly.

“Head of conviction integrity unit in DA’s office steps down after judge points to possible crimes, sources say; ADA Matthew Stiegler stepped down from his supervisory role, but would remain a prosecutor with the office, the sources said”: Ellie Rushing of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report.

And the newspaper has published an editorial titled “Should Larry Krasner still lead the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office? A federal judge has referred the city’s top prosecutor for criminal investigation over his handling of an exoneration case, casting fresh doubt on his ability to administer fair and impartial justice.”

“Montana Ban Would Strike at Political Spending, and the Supreme Court; A measure aimed at stemming the tide of corporate money in politics will be on the November ballot; Opponents say it violates a high court ruling”: Neil Vigdor of The New York Times has this report.

“Ninth Circuit overturns order requiring Oregon to house transgender women in women’s prisons; A three-judge panel made up of Trump appointees scolded a magistrate judge for relying on ‘stale statistics’ and engaging in ‘baseless speculation’”: Hillel Aron of Courthouse News Service has this report.

You can access today’s decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.

“Blanche’s Political Campaigning Breaks an Ethical Norm Going Back to Watergate; The attorney general’s campaign politicking for Republicans adds to the degradation of post-Watergate values at the Justice Department”: Charlie Savage of The New York Times has this news analysis.

“Phone Searches at Border Without Cause Upheld by Circuit Court”: Andrew Kreighbaum of Bloomberg Law has this report (subscription required for full access).

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

“Missouri election map hearing could tee up fresh Supreme Court scrutiny; Justices have already weighed in twice on the fate of the gerrymandered map, which would give Missouri Republicans an edge in seven U.S. House districts, compared to one for Democrats”: Joe Harris of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Barrett Sidesteps Question About Trump Attacks on Supreme Court”: Holly Barker and Jordan Fischer of Bloomberg Law have this report.

“Senate Democrats dodge on SCOTUS strategy in post-midterm majority scenario; Democrats weren’t willing to say whether they would engage in partisan gamesmanship to block a future Trump Supreme Court pick should they retake the Senate this year, following a warning from the party’s outgoing No. 2”: Benjamin S. Weiss of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Are Trump’s Official Papers His Personal Property? The administration argues that presidential papers are like those of Supreme Court justices.” Adam Liptak has this new installment of his “The Docket” newsletter online at The New York Times.

“Looking Ahead to the Supreme Court Term”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Advisory Opinions” podcast via this link and on YouTube.

“Justice Sotomayor concerned Americans may not be able to ‘keep’ republic”: Randy Krehbiel of The Tulsa World has this report.

And Megan Crepeau of Bloomberg Law reports that “Sotomayor Renews Sharp Criticism of Expanding Presidential Power.”

“Trump Makes Fewer Asian American Judicial Picks in Second Term”: Olivia Alafriz of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“Bonus 250: Reining in Military Jurisdiction; A lot of my scholarship, and an increasing amount of my litigation work, has centered on the jurisdiction of military courts — and my (minority?) view that it should be far narrower than it is today.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“A Gender War Explodes in Utah Over the Courts, Abortion and Representation; When Republicans tried to repeal a law that voters passed banning gerrymandering, they found an opposition that flew in the face of Utah women’s ‘tradwives’ imagery”: Kate Zernike of The New York Times has this report.

“Outlet mall owners ask Texas Supreme Court to axe mass shooting lawsuit; In 2023, a mass shooter killed eight people and injured seven others at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas; Victims of the shooting argue the mall’s owners were negligent in failing to adopt appropriate security measures”: Christina van Waasbergen of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Justice Barrett, Explained; How Amy Coney Barrett became the Supreme Court’s unlikely swing vote, without becoming any less conservative”: Noah Feldman has this post at his Substack site.

“Durbin pours cold water on Democratic hopes for SCOTUS hardball; The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said that any future Supreme Court nominees should get a vote, regardless of which party controls Congress”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Philly attorney and TikTok influencer ‘Tommy the Lawyer’ charged with assaulting his girlfriend; Thomas Bosworth has been growing his legal practice, and social media presence, since his 2022 separation from Kline & Specter that sparked a long and ugly court battle”: Abraham Gutman and Vinny Vella of The Philadelphia Inquirer have this report.

“Newman, 99-Year-Old Judge, Could Hear Cases Again Under GOP Bill”: Michael Shapiro of Bloomberg Law has this report.

You can view the text of the bill at this link. And U.S. Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) has issued a news release titled “Rep. Fitzgerald Introduces Landmark Reform of Judicial Conduct and Disability Act.”

“John Roberts’ New Role Model Demonstrates Everything Wrong With the Supreme Court”: Law professors Nikolas Bowie and Daphna Renan have this Jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“High-Profile Phila. Attorney Charged With Assault, Harassment Following Alleged Domestic Altercation; The alleged incident involving attorney Thomas Bosworth occurred Sept. 3 along a walking trail in Bala Cynwyd; Police said a 911 caller reported seeing a man choking a woman and throwing her into bushes beside the trail”: Riley Brennan of The Legal Intelligencer has this report.

“‘The Reality of Forfeiture’: 5th Circuit Split on if ‘My 600-lb Life’ Producer Gave Up Key Argument.” Avalon Zoppo of The National Law Journal has this report.

You can access Monday’s decision of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link. Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan wrote the majority opinion. Circuit Judge James C. Ho issued a concurring opinion. And Circuit Judge Andrew S. Oldham issued a dissenting opinion.

“Mail-In Voting Survives: In an unsigned ruling, the Supreme Court demonstrated that it is willing to limit Donald Trump’s agenda.” Ruth Marcus has this essay online at The New Yorker.

“MOTION by Thomas C. Goldstein to accelerate case processing”: Yesterday, counsel for defendant-appellant filed this motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

“Election watchers brace for Trump’s next move after Supreme Court ruling; The legal whiplash over mail-in ballots has deepened worries about voter confidence and what the administration may do next”: Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney of Politico have this report.