“Pa. lawmakers have only days to set sentencing guidelines for felony murder cases. Hundreds of cases are on the line. In March, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that judges cannot automatically impose life-without-parole sentences for second-degree murder convictions.” Jillian Kramer and Gillian McGoldrick of The Philadelphia Inquirer have this report.

“How the Right to Trial Became a Legal Fiction; Half a century after approving coercive plea bargaining, the Supreme Court is beginning to recognize its costs”: Jacob Sullum has this post online at Reason.

“The Arts and Crafts Magnate on a Mission From God; A new book by Michael Blanding chronicles the history of Hobby Lobby and its billionaire founder’s campaign to promote conservative Christian values”: Virginia Heffernan has this book review online at The New York Times.

“Blanche to face skeptics in GOP after judge’s scathing criticism; A Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday is expected to turn contentious over the acting attorney general’s role in a deal between the Justice Department and the president over the leak of his tax returns”: Jeremy Roebuck of The Washington Post has this report.

“Lindsey Graham’s Defense of Brett Kavanaugh Told Us Everything; The senator’s infamous cry of rage spoke not only to his cruelty but also to his larger role in changing the court”: Elie Mystal has this essay online at The Nation.

“Two cheers — but not three — for Roberts and Barrett”: Edward Foley has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

“E. Jean Carroll Receives $5.6 Million Payment From Trump in Civil Case; A federal jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming Ms. Carroll. He exhausted his appeals last month, prompting a judge to order that the money be paid”: Ed Shanahan and Jonah E. Bromwich of The New York Times have this report.

“The biggest Supreme Court surprises this term”: Erwin Chemerinsky has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”

“Justice Kagan Tells House Panel That ‘Threats Have Come Very Close’; In her prepared remarks, Justice Elena Kagan said the Supreme Court Police estimated a 38 percent increase in threats this year”: Ann E. Marimow of The New York Times has this report.

Julian Mark of The Washington Post reports that “Supreme Court justices seek security funds in rare congressional appearance; Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testify before lawmakers amid escalating threats against the court.”

And Lydia Wheeler of The Wall Street Journal has a report headlined “Key Moments: Supreme Court Justices Barrett and Kagan Testify Before Congress; The high court sends delegation to present budget request and answer lawmakers’ questions for the first time since 2019.”

“Trump birthright citizenship fight comes roaring back with ‘invaders’ play after Kavanaugh roadmap; Banks uses Wong Kim Ark exceptions to deny birthright citizenship to birth tourists and children of illegal immigrants”: Charles Creitz of Fox News has this report.

“Plenty of Culture War Stuff”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Advisory Opinions” podcast via this link and on YouTube.

“Barrett Details Latest Security Scare, Threats to Supreme Court”: Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“Saving the Court: A Millennial Civics Lesson; At a time when the Supreme Court is caught in a partisan cross-fire, an insider has written an informative and much-needed guide to the Supreme Court — in millennial-ese”: Mark Pulliam has this post at the “Religion & Liberty Online” blog of the Acton Institute.

“Ken Paxton Feuds With the Texas Appeals Court He Helped Create”: Ryan Autullo of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“The Blanche DOJ and the Attack on the Midterm Elections; His role in the Trump attack on the midterms looms large in Blanche’s confirmation hearings”: Bob Bauer has this post at the “Executive Functions” Substack site.

“‘I Am Frustrated’: Emails Show Blanche’s Role in Trump’s Retribution Campaign; The cooperation of Todd Blanche will be a flashpoint in his confirmation hearing to be attorney general on Wednesday.” Glenn Thrush of The New York Times has this report.

“Judge slams Trump’s acting AG in ‘bad faith’ IRS lawsuit; Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche was a willing participant in a scam that President Donald Trump tried to pull in federal court in Florida; He has no one to blame but himself”: Columnist Chris Brennan has this essay online at USA Today.

At the “Intelligencer” blog of New York magazine, Elie Honig has a post titled “Todd Blanche Has Run Wild With DoJ; Now He Must Answer for It.”

And online at Fox News, Mike Davis has an essay titled “Why Senate must ignore Obama judge’s attack on AG nominee Todd Blanche; Judge Kathleen Williams issued the sanctions order two days before Blanche’s confirmation hearing.”

“Justices Kagan and Barrett Testify Before House Subcommittee on Supreme Court’s 2027 Budget Request; U.S. Supreme Court justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testify before a House Appropriations subcommittee on the Court’s 2027 budget request. The last time Supreme Court justices testified before Congress was in 2019”: C-SPAN provides the live video via this link.

“Lindsey Graham and Judicial Nominations”: Michael A. Fragoso has this post at National Review’s “Bench Memos” blog.

“Armed man asked Capitol police officer for directions to Supreme Court, police say; Officers surrounded the man after he drove up to a Capitol Building barricade with a gun on his lap, police said”: Paul Wagner of Washington, DC’s NBC4 has this report.

“Gov. Kelly chooses Johnson County judge as new Supreme Court justice”: Bryan Richardson of The Topeka Capital-Journal has this report.

And Tim Carpenter of Kansas Reflector reports that “Gov. Laura Kelly selects Johnson County judge to fill vacancy on Kansas Supreme Court; Democratic governor marks fifth appointment to state’s highest court.”

“Lindsey Graham Was Whatever Trump Asked Him to Be; The Supreme Court’s six-justice conservative supermajority probably does not exist without Lindsey Graham, who would say and do anything for an attaboy tweet from the president”: Jay Willis has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“Trump’s attorneys, Justice Dept. leaders misused courts in IRS case, judge says; The president’s lawsuit against the IRS — which resulted in a now-scuttled proposal for a $1.8 billion payout fund — was filed for an ‘improper purpose,’ the judge said”: Jeremy Roebuck and Mark Berman of The Washington Post have this report.

And Richard Rubin and C. Ryan Barber of The Wall Street Journal report that “Judge Says Trump Tried to Manipulate Legal System With IRS Lawsuit; Ruling delivers a scathing rebuke to the president over case that led to the creation of $1.8 billion fund and no-audit pledge.”

“Court Revives Lawsuits Tying Tylenol Use in Pregnancy to Autism and A.D.H.D.; A federal appeals court overruled a district court judge who dismissed the lawsuits, citing unreliable scientific evidence”: Azeen Ghorayshi of The New York Times has this report.

And Erin Mulvaney and Elias Schisgall of The Wall Street Journal report that “Appeals Court Revives Lawsuits Alleging Tylenol Causes Autism and ADHD; Decision puts mass litigation against drugmaker back on course by overturning ruling that the science was unreliable.”

“Prosecutors inundated with Dan Markel case emails. What they reveal.” Jeff Burlew of The Tallahassee Democrat has this report.

“Second Circuit rejects last-ditch bid to pause NYC congestion toll; Two suburban counties sought to stop the $9 commuter toll, which raised $500 million last year for New York City trains and buses”: Erik Uebelacker of Courthouse News Service has this report.

And Alexis Waiss of Bloomberg Law reports that “NYC Congestion Pricing Program Upheld by Second Circuit.”

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

“Our Long Road Out of Autocracy”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast via this link and on YouTube.

“Judge accuses Trump of manipulating courts to justify Anti-Weaponization Fund; She sanctioned two of his lawyers”: Hassan Ali Kanu and Kyle Cheney of Politico have this report.

And at his “All Rise News” Substack site, Adam Klasfeld has a post titled “Judge nullifies Trump v. IRS deal, refers lawyers for discipline; The ‘collusive’ lawsuit was the basis for the $1.776 billion slush fund and tax audit release order.”

“Justices Kagan, Barrett to ask Congress for more security funding”: Maureen Groppe of USA Today has this report.

“Alum who fought Trump in Supreme Court case urges Yale not to settle; A former commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission took her case against the Trump administration to the Supreme Court; Amid settlement talks between University leaders and the federal government, she said Yale has a responsibility to fight back”: Aria Lynn-Sko of The Yale Daily News has this report.

“Judge Denounces I.R.S. Suit as Improper Exercise in Self-Dealing; The decision did not explicitly kill the deal that President Trump had worked out with his own government to receive what amounted to amnesty from investigations into tax returns that he, his family and their businesses have already filed”: Andrew Duehren and Alan Feuer of The New York Times have this report.

Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer of The Associated Press report that “Judge blasts Trump’s IRS lawsuit as filed for ‘improper purpose,’ recommends attorney discipline.”

And Erik Larson and Zoe Tillman of Bloomberg Law report that “Judge Rules That Trump’s IRS Immunity Deal Has No ‘Basis in Law.’”

You can access today’s decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida at this link.

“Justices to Defend Budget as Court, Congress Tensions Simmer”: Suzanne Monyak and Ken Tran of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“Tylenol-Maker Kenvue Must Face Autism Claims, Appeals Court Says”: Sabrina Willmer of Bloomberg News has this report.

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

“The Term the Court Stopped Pretending: SCOTUS hobbles democracy, grabs more power, and doesn’t even bother to cover its tracks.” You can access the new episode of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.

“Blanche Loses Staunch Ally in Graham With AG Nomination Pending”: Celine Castronuovo of Bloomberg Law has this report.