“Guantanamo Dispatches: Army Doctor Diagnosed USS Cole Bombing Defendant with PTSD and Depression, Found Him Fit for Trial.” Carol Rosenberg has this post at the “Just Security” blog.

“9th Circuit denies feds’ appeal over 20,000 ballots; district court hearing to proceed”: Kevin Rector of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Trump’s California election probe crumbling after latest court loss.”

Zach Montague of The New York Times reports that “Appeals Court Declines to Intervene in California Ballot Lawsuit; By a 2-1 vote, a federal appeals court panel denied the Trump administration’s request that it immediately order the state to set aside 20,000 mail-in ballots.”

Patrick Marley of The Washington Post reports that “California ballots targeted by Trump can be counted for now under court ruling; The ruling is a blow to the Trump administration, which claimed the ballots might have gone to noncitizens and wanted to set them aside.”

Louise Radnofsky and Lydia Wheeler of The Wall Street Journal report that “Court Rejects Trump Administration Bid to Set Aside California Mail-in Ballots; Appeals panel had expressed skepticism of claims of noncitizen voting, in a rare weekend court hearing.”

Kyle Cheney, Josh Gerstein, and Lindsey Holden of Politico report that “Appeals court rejects DOJ’s bid to quickly force California to set aside ballots; A 2-1 ruling from a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the Justice Department improperly circumvented a lower-court judge.”

Erik Larson of Bloomberg News reports that “DOJ Bid for Fast Ruling in California Voting Case Rejected.”

Edvard Pettersson of Courthouse News Service reports that “Ninth Circuit tosses Trump appeal in California election challenge; Two of the three judges, including a Donald Trump appointee, said the appellate court had no jurisdiction to issue an injunction shortly before a trial judge will hear the case.”

And at his “Election Law Blog,” Rick Hasen has a post titled “Ninth Circuit on 2-1 Vote Rejects DOJ’s Attempt to Get an Injunction Pending Appeal for California to Segregate Ballots.”

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

“Justice Dept. Brings More Charges Against Comey, Accusing Him of Leaks; Lawyers for James B. Comey said the case centered on an issue that had already been investigated and had not led to charges, of a purported leak of national security information to The Times in October 2016”: Devlin Barrett of The New York Times has this report.

Perry Stein and Jeremy Roebuck of The Washington Post report that “Justice Dept. charges James Comey, ex-FBI director, for a third time; Prosecutors filed a criminal information, rather than a grand jury indictment, as they ran up against the statute of limitation on the alleged 2016 crimes.”

Sadie Gurman and C. Ryan Barber of The Wall Street Journal report that “Justice Department Charges James Comey Again; In third attempted prosecution, the department alleges the former FBI director leaked national-defense information 10 years ago.”

And Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney of Politico report that “Justice Department charges James Comey with sharing classified information; The case involves allegations that the former FBI director authorized a disclosure of classified information to The New York Times.”

“Eighth Circuit strikes down Federal Reserve’s 21-cent debit card fee cap; While the court found the uniform cap unlawful, it did afford some flexibility for the Fed, admitting ‘perfection’ is unrealistic”: Ryan Luetkemeyer of Courthouse News Service has this report.

Circuit Judge David R. Stras wrote today’s decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

“From Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a deeply felt memoir that is also an ode to America and a solemn reminder of the promises and values on which this country’s greatness resides, spanning from Breyer’s coming of age in an era of post-war idealism, to his appointment to the court during the Clinton years, to his perspective as a retired justice on how the country views the court today.” Simon & Schuster has announced the upcoming publication of Stephen G. Breyer’s newest book, with an on-sale date of March 9, 2027.

“The DOJ is a Corrupt Clown Show”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast via this link and on YouTube.

“Second Amendment fight moves beyond guns with Supreme Court poised for big ruling; Federal judges strike down switchblade and body armor restrictions, fueling optimism ahead of Supreme Court AR-15 fight”: Elaine Mallon of Fox News has this report.

“Republicans claim UNH law school’s event on judicial ethics gives Democrats an ‘in-kind’ boost; A prominent GOP politician is calling on the state attorney general to open a sweeping investigation as questions about three New Hampshire Supreme Court justices linger”: Steven Porter of The Boston Globe has this report.

“Gov. Green’s Mark On Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Set To Grow Even Larger; The governor will soon pick his third justice to the high court, and another vacancy is expected next year”: Chad Blair of Honolulu Civil Beat has this report.

“$800-a-day penalty threatens to bleed reporter dry as explosive legal fight heads to Supreme Court; The former Fox News reporter faces $800-a-day contempt fines for refusing to reveal who exposed alleged China ties”: Morgan Phillips of Fox News has this report.

“Former Hawaiʻi Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald Receives National Judicial College’s Highest Honor”: The Hawaii State Judiciary has issued this news release.

“How the conservative Supreme Court has rewritten the rules for the midterms”: John Fritze of CNN has this report.

“Trump Rushes to Put Imprint on DC — If Lawsuits Don’t Stop Him”: Georgia Fearn of Bloomberg News has this report.

“Bets on Alito Show Supreme Court Tangled in Prediction Markets”: Jordan Fischer of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“In the memoir, Woodward clears up another decades-long mystery: Which Supreme Court justices talked to him for the 1979 bestseller ‘The Brethren’?” So reports Craig Whitlock of The Washington Post in an article headlined “Bob Woodward spills his ‘Secrets’; In a new memoir, the legendary reporter names a parade of confidential sources who enabled monumental scoops in The Washington Post and his blockbuster books.”

“Supreme Court Justices Grouse About Job as Divisions Take Toll”: Justin Wise of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“How the Supreme Court Is Shaping the Midterm Elections; Recent rulings have affected the ads voters see and the candidates on their ballots”: James Romoser and Neil Mehta of The Wall Street Journal have this report.

“The State Officials Defending the Midterms from the President; Donald Trump has tried to purge voter rolls nationwide; Deidre Henderson, the Republican lieutenant governor of Utah, is among the chief election officers standing in his way”: Barton Gellman has this “The Political Scene” article in the November 2, 2026 issue of The New Yorker.

“259. DOJ’s Preemptive Election Interference: Two new lawsuits by the Trump administration — in California and Alaska — are almost certain losers; But it’ll be hard to remedy the further distrust in election results that they seem intended to sow.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“How to Straddle the MAGA Divide; Beth Wilkinson is a Washington lawyer who has thrived representing the Trump administration’s enemies and allies alike; Does she represent a vanishing type?” Noam Scheiber of The New York Times has this report.

“Impeach Trump Y/N? Impeachment scholar Frank Bowman has a warning for Democrats dabbling in magical removal thinking.” You can access the new installment of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.

“Judicial Notice (10.25.26): ‘A Botch Job’; A benchslap for the ages, a $50 million pay package for Alina Habba, the latest in ‘As the Weil Turns,’ and a new SCOTUS case about race in school admissions.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

“9th Circuit panel questions basis for feds’ request to block 20,000 California ballots”: Kevin Rector of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

Zach Montague of The New York Times reports that “Appeals Court Appears to Doubt Justice Dept. Claims in California Ballot Case; A federal appeals court panel seemed disinclined to order the state to set aside as many as 20,000 mail-in ballots the Trump administration claimed were sent to noncitizens.”

Josh Gerstein, Kyle Cheney, and Lindsey Holden of Politico report that “Justice Department faces skeptical appeals court panel in California ballot fight; All three judges voiced concerns that the DOJ rushed too quickly to the appeals court while a lower-court judge was still weighing the matter.”

And at his “Election Law Blog,” Rick Hasen has a post titled “Ninth Circuit Panel Seems Skeptical of DOJ’s Attempt to Force California to Segregate Ballots from Purported Noncitizens.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted the video of today’s oral argument on YouTube.

In posts of interest at the “Election Law Blog”: Rick Hasen has posts titled “Timing Issues Alone (Laches and the Purcell Principle) Should Doom DOJ’s Attempt to Get California Election Officials to Pull Out Ballots from Purported Possible Noncitizens” and “The Major Questions Doctrine Alone Should Doom DOJ’s Lawsuits in Both Alaska and California: Congress Would Not Hide Broad Federal Powers over State Elections in A Law Making Noncitizen Voting a Misdemeanor or in General Language in a Voter Registration Statute’s Preamble.”

And Justin Levitt has a post titled “The Lack of Any Cause of Action Alone Should Doom DOJ’s Lawsuits in Both Alaska and California: DOJ Needs Actual Statutory Authority to Sue.”

“In Second Term, Trump’s Justice Dept. Submits to His Election Demands; With moves in Alaska and California, the department has stepped up interventions in the midterm elections as the president’s instrument of unmediated executive power”: Glenn Thrush, Katie Rogers, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs of The New York Times have this report.

“Hegseth Barred Trans Troops. Military Boards Are Rejecting Those Orders. The service members at Navy and Marine Corps hearings are finding ways to keep trans troops in uniform.” Dave Philipps of The New York Times has this report.

“Dewey Won’t Defeat Trump; My grandfather Earl Warren wanted to campaign vigorously in 1948; He was overruled”: Jeffrey Earl Warren has this essay online at The Wall Street Journal.

“Dan Abrams Defends CBS Reporter After Controversial El-Sayed Post”: Dan Abrams has posted this video on YouTube.

“Pa. Supreme Court denies request to intervene in questioned capital punishment cases; Defenders asked the justices to bar Washington County prosecutors from seeking death sentences”: Peter Hall of Pennsylvania Capital-Star has this report.

“Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Inspires University of New Haven Volleyball Players Through Career Advice and Mentorship”: Hannah Adderly and Zaira Kearns have this post at “The Charger Blog” of the University of New Haven.

“Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Law Library Celebrates 175 Years of Service”: The Hawaii State Judiciary has issued this news release.

“Why Would Trump Make A Deal With A Judge Who Ruled Illegal Aliens Have A Right To ‘Locomotion’ In The United States? And does Todd Butler agree with Judge Southwick that denying a bond hearing to illegal aliens is an affront to freedom ‘at its most basic’?” Josh Blackman has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Dick Durbin Sends His Filibuster Regrets; As he leaves office, he rues Harry Reid’s Senate arson of 2013”: The Wall Street Journal has published this editorial.

“ICE agents’ smartphone searches trash privacy rights; In a possible Supreme Court case, border guards’ invasions of privacy collide with the Fourth Amendment”: Columnist George F. Will has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“Appeals court considers Trump’s power to fire court-appointed federal prosecutors; The arguments came in a case challenging Trump’s removal of the court-appointed U.S. attorney in Seattle”: Erica Orden of Politico has this report.

And Monique Merrill of Courthouse News Service reports that “Feds fight to keep US attorney fired; The fired U.S. attorney argued Trump lacks the authority to fire court-appointed attorneys.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted the video of the oral argument on YouTube.