“Judge weighs whether Justice Dept. violated statute in charging James Comey; A court hearing Friday centered on whether prosecutors used a valid legal maneuver to charge the former FBI director”: Perry Stein and Salvador Rizzo of The Washington Post have this report.
Devlin Barrett of The New York Times reports that “Prosecutors Suggest They May Seek Additional Comey Charges; At a hearing in federal court, prosecutors defended an unusual, 11th-hour criminal case accusing the former F.B.I. director of leaking classified information a decade ago.”
And Josh Gerstein of Politico reports that “Judge mulls throwing out DOJ’s leak case against James Comey; Comey’s lawyers say the statute of limitations has expired.”
“‘My Body Hurts’: Pike Describes Pain and Isolation After Botched Execution; Christa Pike, who was convicted of a 1995 murder, released her first statement since the failed attempt to execute her last month”: Emily Cochrane of The New York Times has this report.
And Katie Mettler and Maegan Vazquez of The Washington Post report that “Christa Pike said she awoke ‘confused and in pain’ after botched execution; In her first public statement since the failed lethal injection, Pike said she had been ‘prepared to die’ for her role in a brutal killing.”
“Federal judge signals she may halt construction on Trump’s arch; Judge Tanya S. Chutkan was skeptical of the Justice Department’s arguments, including on the project’s urgency; ‘What is the rush?’ she asked”: Dan Diamond of The Washington Post has this report.
And Kyle Cheney of Politico reports that “Judge weighs blocking construction of Trump’s triumphal arch; The judge said a Supreme Court decision on Trump’s ballroom doesn’t necessarily control the fate of his arch, too.”
“Judge Appoints Special Master to Determine if Trump Officials Lied in Golf Course Suit; Judge Ana C. Reyes said an outside investigator would help determine whether parks officials or Justice Department lawyers withheld plans for Washington’s East Potomac Park”: Zach Montague of The New York Times has this report.
Rick Maese of The Washington Post reports that “Judge orders inquiry into whether DOJ lawyers misled court on Trump’s golf plan; U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes opened another heated hearing by reading the D.C. Bar rules about truthfulness in court.”
And Kyle Cheney of Politico reports that “Judge opens misconduct inquiry in Trump golf course case; U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes clashed with a top Justice Department official over the administration’s conflicting statements.”
“Can the feds sue judges? Fourth Circuit wrestles with ‘unprecedented’ lawsuit; The unusual case requires the federal appeals court to decide whether the executive branch can sue the judicial branch”: Joe Dodson of Courthouse News Service has this report.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has posted online the audio of today’s oral argument at this link.
“Appeals court orders new trial to determine damages for NFL overcharging ‘Sunday Ticket’ subscribers”: Harrison Rich of The San Francisco Chronicle has this report.
Saad Yousuf of The Athletic reports that “NFL faces new trial over ‘Sunday Ticket’ damages after court reinstates verdict against league.”
Leah Nylen, Peter Blumberg, and Erika Tulfo of Bloomberg News report that “NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Fight Revived With Billions at Stake.”
And Edvard Pettersson of Courthouse News Service reports that “Ninth Circuit throws flag on NFL win against Sunday Ticket subscribers; The appellate panel sent the case back to the lower court in Los Angeles for a new trial on damages, agreeing that the $4.7 billion the jury awarded two years ago wasn’t supported by the evidence.”
You can access today’s decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.
“10th Circuit gives go-ahead for Kansas restaurant’s cheeseburger mural; The panel ruled that a local ordinance distinguishing murals from commercial signs is not tailored to fit government interest in traffic and pedestrian safety”: Joe Duhownik of Courthouse News Service has this report.
You can access today’s decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link.
“Texas federal judge fails to appear for judicial misconduct investigative hearing”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report.
The Judicial Council of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit posted this order and transcript online today.
“Former NH Supreme Court Justice Hantz Marconi won’t face discipline after settling ethics case; Retired Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi admitted ethics violations tied to inquiries about her husband’s case but will face no discipline under a settlement dated Oct. 28”: Paul Feely of The New Hampshire Union Leader has this report.
And Todd Bookman of New Hampshire Public Radio reports that “Retired Supreme Court Justice Hantz Marconi settles ethics probe; won’t face discipline.”
“Trump Wants to Kick ‘Rogue Activist Judges’ Off Cases. Can He? A Supreme Court decision and ethics opinions give judges room to speak their minds.” Adam Liptak has this new installment of his “On the Docket” newsletter online at The New York Times.
“Appeals Court Denies DOJ Bid to Block 20,000 California Ballots”: Erik Larson of Bloomberg News has this report.
You can access today’s per curiam order of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.
Update: In other coverage, Kevin Rector and Brittny Mejia of The Los Angeles Times report that “9th Circuit again denies Trump administration request to block 20,000 California ballots.”
And Zach Montague of The New York Times reports that “Appeals Court Again Rejects Trump Effort to Impound California Ballots; In a 2-to-1 vote, an appeals court panel declined to order the state to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, calling the notion plainly unconstitutional.”
“If Trump Gets Another Supreme Court Pick, MAGA Wants a Loyalist; For years, Supreme Court aspirants have avoided talking about how they might rule; Trump’s frustrations with his first-term picks could change that”: Mattathias Schwartz of The New York Times has this report.
“Supreme Court isn’t on the ballot. But in campaigns, it is hotly contested. Some Democrats propose to expand the court and impose term limits on justices if they regain control of Congress, although similar proposals have failed in the past.” Bart Jansen of USA Today has this report.
“Trump Erupted After Learning of Alina Habba’s $50 Million Deal; Angry about the scale of a contract signed by one of his former lawyers with the family of a wealthy pardon seeker, the president told allies he wanted some of the money to go to his future presidential library”: Tyler Pager of The New York Times has this report.
“Fourth Circuit considers Second Amendment argument from man arrested near CIA headquarters; A man arrested outside the CIA headquarters in 2025 argues the federal government violated his Second Amendment rights”: Yann Ranaivo of Courthouse News Service has this report.
You can access the audio of yesterday’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link.
“Ninth Circuit panel skeptical of San Diego abortion clinic speech restrictions; A Ninth Circuit panel pressed attorneys on whether San Diego’s restrictions on speech outside abortion clinics are unconstitutionally vague, as an anti-abortion protester seeks to revive his dismissed lawsuit”: Quinn Welsch of Courthouse News Service has this report.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted the video of this oral argument on YouTube.
“Read the (Proposed) Amicus Brief I Filed Supporting the State of Alaska in the Suit Where DOJ Wants to Stop Certification in the U.S. Senate Race”: Rick Hasen has this post at his “Election Law Blog.”
“In this appeal from a direct criminal contempt conviction, we consider whether a courtroom spectator who called a judge a vulgar insult in open court ‘obstruct[ed] the administration of justice’ within the meaning of the Judicial Code. We conclude that he did not. Thus, we reverse.” So begins a decision that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued today. The decision was accompanied by a concurring opinion.
“The Trump Justice Department Has Been Reduced to Lying About a Golf Course Renovation; A fitting end to the first two years of Trump’s second term in office”: Jay Willis has this post at his “Balls & Strikes” Substack site.
“Trump’s North Dakota judicial nominee is unqualified and extreme. That’s why he was nominated. Phil Axt graduated from law school in 2018 and has been working to restrict fundamental rights.” Patrick McNeil has this post at his “Nomination Notes” Substack site.
“Two cheers for ‘insecure originalism’”: Richard Re has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”
“Bringing Charges Against the President’s Political Enemies”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Advisory Opinions” podcast via this link and on YouTube.
“DOJ Faults Judge Who Bashed Trump’s IRS Lawsuit, Settlement”: Erik Larson of Bloomberg News has this report.
You can access the brief that the U.S. Department of Justice filed yesterday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit at this link.
“Seventh Circuit hears challenge to Illinois firearm suppressor ban; Illinois gun advocates maintained that regulating firearm suppressors runs afoul to their right to bear arms”: Caitlyn Rosen of Courthouse News Service has this report.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has posted the audio of yesterday’s oral argument on YouTube.
“Amy Coney Barrett’s Sex Equality Constitution: The View from United States v. Skrmetti.” Law professor Marc Spindelman has posted this paper online at SSRN.
“Thinking Clearly About January 6; Crooks, suckers, and real revolutionaries”: Hamilton Nolan has this post at his “How Things Work” Substack site.
“Midterm Elections and Judicial Confirmations; What four Senate flips since 1986 show about what’s at stake in 2026”: Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.
“Bonus 259: City of Baltimore v. Texas; Federal courts aren’t supposed to rubber-stamp suits between parties (especially government parties) who aren’t actually adverse; On Tuesday, the justices let one stand without a word.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.
“You Should See the Other Guy”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Divided Argument” podcast via this link.
“Federal District Court Denies DOJ’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order in California Ballot Case; What’s Next?” Rick Hasen has this post at his “Election Law Blog.”
You can access today’s decision of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California at this link.
In other coverage, Kevin Rector and Brittny Mejia of The Los Angeles Times report that “Judge denies feds’ request to block 20,000 California ballots in blistering opinion.”
Shawn Hubler of The New York Times reports that “Judge Rejects Trump Officials’ Bid to Set Aside California Ballots; The judge ruled that no immediate action was necessary, dealing another setback to the administration as it moves to target voting by noncitizens.”
Patrick Marley of The Washington Post reports that “Judge rejects Justice Department bid to set aside California ballots; U.S. District Judge David O. Carter cites ‘longstanding constitutional principles’ in refusing DOJ request to set aside ballots from what it suspects are noncitizens.”
And Edvard Pettersson of Courthouse News Service reports that “Judge rejects Trump bid to sequester votes by ’noncitizens’ in California; The Trump administration has frequently claimed without evidence that California allows noncitizens to register to vote — and that they do so.”
“Carol Rosenberg on the Past and Future of Guantanamo’s Military Courts”: Just Security has posted this video on YouTube.
“The Trump DOJ’s Latest Absurd Charge Against Comey; For the judge in the case, this is not a hard one”: Andrew C. McCarthy has this essay online at National Review.
“Parents of Sandy Hook victims ask Supreme Court to uphold assault-rifle ban; The friend-of-the-court brief comes ahead of a major case that will test the constitutionality of state laws barring the sale of the popular rifle that has also been used in many mass shootings”: Justin Jouvenal of The Washington Post has this report.
You can access the amicus brief at this link.
“Justice Department Push Against Trump’s Foes Reaches Higher Gear; Prosecutors have been feeling pressure to make progress on president’s priorities before Election Day”: Sadie Gurman, Dave Michaels, and C. Ryan Barber of The Wall Street Journal have this report.
Perry Stein and Jeremy Roebuck of The Washington Post report that “Comey, Hutchinson and more Trump foes are in Justice Dept.’s pre-election sights; Todd Blanche has had some of his busiest weeks as attorney general ahead of the election, cannonballing into politically fraught cases as the president cheers him on.”
And Devlin Barrett of The New York Times has an article headlined “Here Are the U.S. Attorneys Who Are Carrying Out Trump’s Grievance Agenda; Together, they have pursued cases against the president’s enemies and protesters and amplified false claims of widespread election fraud, often citing thin evidence.”
“Doctor argues North Carolina overshoots federal medication abortion rules; The preemption case — how far states can go in regulating certain medications without trampling on FDA authority — could have far-reaching impacts on high-risk drugs”: Sydney Haulenbeek of Courthouse News Service has this report.
You can access the oral argument audio on YouTube.
