“Judge Lefkow speaks publicly on loss, security”: The Chicago Tribune provides this news update.

And Thursday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined “From Chicago Judge, a Plea for Safety and Softer Words.”

“Fun With Filibusters: Perverse machinations ahead!” Mickey Kaus offers this analysis at “kausfiles.”

“Court Split Over Death Penalty Method”: Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The Supreme Court’s latest clash over the death penalty involves the lethal chemical cocktail used by many states and whether it is an unnecessarily cruel way to die.”

“Senate battle begins on judicial nomination; Democrat leader throws first monkey wrench to delay business”: Tom Curry, national affairs writer for MSNBC, provides this report.

James Kuhnhenn of Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that “Senate prepares for possible demise of filibuster.”

The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined “Senate Leaders Spar Over Judicial Nominees.”

And Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press reports that “Talks to Head Off Filibuster Showdown Fail.”

“Senate Showdown: The Senate began debate Wednesday over controversial judicial nominee Priscilla Owen, bringing closer the potential showdown over the use of the filibuster.” This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on this evening’s broadcast of the PBS program “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.”

On this evening’s broadcast of NPR‘s “All Things Considered“: The broadcast contained the following segments:

• “‘Nuclear Option’ Overshadows Senate Judicial Nomination Debate“;
• “Arkansas Senator Tries to Pull Together Filibuster Compromise“;
• “Learning From Filibusters Past“;
• “History of the Word Filibuster“; and
• “Senate Looks at Safety of Judges.”

RealPlayer is required to launch these audio clips.

“Nuclear option”-related video available online from C-SPAN: From today’s broadcast of “Washington Journal,” you can access segments featuring Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT); Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Kathy Kiely, Washington Correspondent, USA Today; Michael Carvin, Fmr. Dpty. Asst. Atty. Gen., Reagan Administration; and Sarah Binder, Co-Author, “Politics or Principle?”

And from yesterday, you can view press briefings delivered by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

RealPlayer is required to launch these video segments.

“GOP Inches Closer to Senate ‘Nuclear Option'”: This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Day to Day.”

“Hill Aide Sues Over Sex Blog; Man claims privacy invaded by racy ‘Washingtonienne’ tales”: “The Smoking Gun” web site provides this report, which features an HTML copy of the complaint initiating suit. And “Wonkette,” in a post titled “Washingtonienne Gets All Up in her Torts,” links to a PDF copy of the complaint.

Giving him the finger satisfied $50 debt: Today’s edition of The San Francisco Chronicle contains an article headlined “Worker gave his finger to settle $50 debt; Mother says laborer who provided digit unaware of alleged plot against Wendy’s.”

Dog of a case: Today in The Daily Journal of California, Peter Blumberg has an article headlined “Some Terrier Owners Left In The Doghouse; Club Can Blacklist Members Who Registered With Rival” reporting on yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Perhaps this Vermonter should title his car in Washington State: Over the past several weeks, I have linked to articles published in The Rutland Herald reporting on a Vermont resident’s efforts to obtain a vanity license plate bearing the text “JOHN316.” The articles are headlined “State: Plate no place for religion” and “Ownership at issue in plate flap.”

Today, The News Tribune of Tacoma, Washington contains an article headlined “State says ‘JOHN3:16’ plate’s OK.”

“Heated Senate showdown opens on judges”: Reuters provides this report.

“Are four Justices ready to grant cert. on the constitutionality of lethal injection protocols?” Law Professor Douglas A. Berman has this post online at his “Sentencing Law and Policy” blog.

Reuters is reporting: An article reports that “Judge whose husband was slain urges more security.”

An article headlined “US court overturns patent on an Allergan eye drug” reports on this ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued today.

And an article headlined “Court backs Jack Russell terrier purists” reports on this ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued yesterday.

“Senate row provokes historic vote; A historic confrontation billed as the most important political fight of US President George W Bush’s second term is ready to come to a head”: BBC News provides this report.

FOXNews.com reports that “Debate Starts on Owen Nomination.”

Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press reports that “Senate Takes Up Debate on Bush Judge.”

Bloomberg News reports that “U.S. Senate Begins Countdown on Bush Judicial Choices.”

And National Review Online has posted an editorial entitled “Voting for Democracy.”

The judicial filibuster is anti-dog enthusiast! In a speech currently underway on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) just stated that Fifth Circuit nominee Priscilla R. Owen is a dog enthusiast. Hmm, so was former D.C. Circuit nominee Miguel A. Estrada. Cat enthusiasts, however, are apparently not having their confirmation to judgeships blocked. An equal protection violation to be sure.

Four votes in the U.S. Supreme Court may suffice to grant certiorari but don’t suffice to stay implementation of a death sentence: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today that “Girl’s killer is put to death.” As this order (page 3 of PDF file) that the U.S. Supreme Court issued late last night indicates, four Justices voted to grant a stay of execution.

“Ideology Matters: The Estrada filibuster and the politics of confirmation.” Katherine Marsh had this interesting article in the July|August 2003 issue of Legal Affairs magazine.

“Frist Implodes on Senate Floor”: The blog “Think Progress” has this post on this morning’s “nuclear option” debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate. C-SPAN2 is offering live coverage of the debate online at this link.

“Judges Plead for Improved Judicial Security”: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has issued this news release today.

The news release provides links to the prepared testimony delivered at today’s hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee by U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow of the Northern District of Illinois (here); Third Circuit Judge Jane R. Roth (here); and Chief Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba of the District of Utah (here).

As I noted here earlier this morning, Judge Lefkow’s testimony included the following request:

I urge your support for legislation that prohibits the posting of personal information about judges and other public officials on the Internet without written consent.

To make this proposal more concrete, assume the enactment of a federal law that prohibited the posting online, without a federal judge’s consent, the home address of a federal judge. Would such a law run afoul of the First Amendment?

“Activists Pressure Both Sides in Judge Debate; Conservative and liberal groups frown on efforts to make a deal to avert a filibuster showdown”: This news analysis appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

The Hill today contains articles headlined “Bush, Frist split on judges” and “Texas judge will take precedence.”

And Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has an article headlined “2 women at the heart of debate.”

In commentary, The Denver Post today contains an editorial entitled “Let the cooler heads prevail.”

The Portland (Me.) Press Herald contains an editorial entitled “Judicial nominee standoff a symptom of the problem.”

The Mobile Register contains an editorial entitled “Onus is on Senate Dems.”

The Huntsville Times contains an editorial entitled “Power & moderation” and an op-ed by J. Elbert Peters entitled “An up-or-down vote.”

The Forum of Fargo, North Dakota contains an editorial entitled “Judicial filibuster is an abuse.”

The Decatur (Ala.) Daily contains an editorial entitled “Filibuster rule testing U.S. Senate’s leadership.”

Investor’s Business Daily contains an editorial entitled “Don’t Mess With Texas: The Filibuster Fight.”

The Gainesville Sun contains an editorial entitled “On the abyss.”

The Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News contains an editorial entitled “Gander complains about sauce.”

Yesterday, The Times Argus of Barre, Vermont contains an editorial entitled “Minority musings.”

In The Baltimore Sun today, Law Professor Herman Schwartz has an op-ed entitled “Keep hurdles for judges high.”

In The Washington Times, Steffen N. Johnson has an op-ed entitled “How filibusters drain quality.”

On Monday, The Village Voice posted online an essay by Nat Hentoff entitled “New York Times v. Janice Rogers Brown: Black woman nominated to a high federal appellate court is still scandalized.”

In The Houston Chronicle today, columnist Cragg Hines has an essay entitled “When White House allure outshines everything else.”

Online at Mother Jones, Ira Chernus has an essay entitled “If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Nuke ‘Em; The public knows how much is at stake in the filibuster fight, which is one reason the nuclear metaphor won’t go away.”

Finally for now, in The Stanford Daily, columnist Nick Fram has an essay entitled “The Democrats and the filibuster.”

From today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Morning Edition“: This morning’s broadcast contained segments entitled “Senate Showdown on Judicial Filibuster Set to Begin” and “Uncertain ‘Nuclear’ Reality.” RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.

“State Supreme Court debates sperm donor’s support obligation”: The Associated Press provides a report from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that begins, “A sperm donor who has been paying court-ordered child support for twin boys asked the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to enforce a promise the mother made that he would not have to be involved in their lives.”

Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Senate Debates Bush’s Judicial Nominee” and “Senate Asked to Condemn Jurist Disrespect.”

At today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Protecting the Judiciary at Home and in the Courthouse,” U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow spoke powerfully about the tragedy her family suffered and improvements needed to better protect the security of federal judges. As The AP’s report notes, in her testimony Judge Lefkow stated that she “also wants legislation to ban putting personal information about judges and other government officials on the Internet without their permission.” I wonder whether such legislation could withstand challenge under the First Amendment.

And so it begins: To view today’s U.S. Senate debate on the so-called “nuclear option” in the context of the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, simply click here (RealPlayer required, via C-SPAN2).

On the agenda: At 8:30 a.m. eastern time today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing titled “Protecting the Judiciary at Home and in the Courthouse.” Last night, I previewed this hearing in a post you can access here. C-SPAN2 is expected to carry the hearing live, and the committee plans to stream the hearing live over the web at this link (RealPlayer required).

Meanwhile, at 9:30 a.m. today, the full U.S. Senate is scheduled to proceed to Executive Session to begin consideration of the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. C-SPAN2 will provide live coverage. An actual vote on the so-called “nuclear option” is not expected for several days, but the debate surely will focus not only on Justice Owen but also on the effort to eliminate judicial filibusters.

“Bush demands vote on judges; Bipartisan group works on Senate filibuster deal”: CNN.com provides this report.

“Moderates Fail to Avert Senate Fight; A deal uniting six senators from each side appears to make no progress as GOP leaders plan to open debate today on Priscilla Owen”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times. The newspaper today also contains an article headlined “MoveOn.org promotes filibusters with ‘Force’; Political action group compares fight over judge confirmations to ‘Star Wars’ battles in TV ad campaign.”

The Houston Chronicle reports that “Owen nomination heads to Senate floor today; Republicans look to take first step toward ending the Dems’ filibusters.”

The Chicago Tribune contains articles headlined “Fuse lit on Senate’s judicial fight; Clash on changing filibuster rules seen as having wider implications” and “And let me say this about that….”

The St. Petersburg Times reports that “Judicial showdown finally begins today; Much is at stake as formal debate starts on two nominees to federal appeals courts.”

The San Francisco Chronicle contains an article headlined “Showdown in Senate on judicial filibusters; Republicans want to change the rules, ban tactic used to stall vote on nominees.”

The Baltimore Sun reports that “Frist driving toward Senate rules showdown; Centrists might hold key to compromise in judicial fight.”

The Washington Times contains articles headlined “Nominees head to Senate” and “Memos reveal strategy behind judge filibusters.”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains articles headlined “Senate moderates seek deal on filibuster conflict“; “Fallout unclear over Senate move to curb debate on judges“; and “Judges whom Democrats could support, oppose.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that “Some senators seek peace, others a fight on judges; Debate expected to start today on nominee blocked by filibuster.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that “Senators press to find judicial compromise.”

The Boston Globe reports that “Filibuster compromise talks appear to fail; Proposal would allow use under ‘extreme circumstances’ only.”

The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star reports that “Nelson not giving up on Senate proposal.”

The Anchorage Daily News reports that “Murkowski keeps mum; Filibuster: She still hopes for compromise, won’t reveal vote.”

The Oregonian reports that “Political groups seek to sway Smith vote; Despite protests, Oregon’s junior senator says he’ll vote with the GOP to prevent filibusters over judicial appointments.”

The Indianapolis Star reports that “Bayh, Lugar no strangers to filibusters; Indiana’s senators likely will disagree in vote on whether to ban method for judicial nominations.”

In The Philadelphia Inquirer, political analyst Dick Polman has an article headlined “Filibuster fight goes to core of the Senate.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Church Teacher at Center of Senate Fight.”

In commentary, The New York Times contains an editorial entitled “Senator Frist Approaches the Brink.”

The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled “Nuclear Disarmament.”

The Los Angeles Times contains an editorial entitled “Nuke It, Already,” while columnist Patt Morrison has an op-ed entitled “A Mushroom Cloud Hovers Over a Bush Judicial Nominee.”

And finally for now, The Washington Times contains an editorial entitled “Confirm Justice Brown.”

U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow, whose husband and mother were killed inside her home by a disgruntled pro se litigant, will testify tomorrow morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the subject of security for judges: Tomorrow morning’s hearing, scheduled to get underway at 8:30 a.m., is titled “Protecting the Judiciary at Home and in the Courthouse.” C-SPAN2 plans to broadcast the hearing live once it gets underway, and a live webcast link may also be available at this page.

The Chicago Tribune reports today that “Federal judges feel left in dark over safety; Lefkow slayings spur plea for security help.”

And in The Chicago Sun-Times today, Washington bureau chief Lynn Sweet has an essay headlined “Maybe Lefkow’s story will teach lawmakers.”

In Wednesday’s edition of The Washington Post: Tomorrow’s newspaper will contain front page articles headlined “Senate Talks Continue As Fight on Judges Nears” and “A Likely Script for The ‘Nuclear Option.’”

“Beer case may come to a head; Ruling on wine sales is similar to alcohol distribution lawsuit”: This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

While I consider whether to do a mega-post linking to press coverage of yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in the wine shipment cases, I’m pleased to advise that “SCOTUSblog” collects many news reports at this link.

For now, I will note that the case achieved the relatively rare Savage trifecta. Charlie Savage of The Boston Globe reports today that “Court allows direct out-of-state wine sales; Laws in 24 states affected by ruling.” His wife, Luiza Ch. Savage, reports today in The New York Sun that “Supreme Court Ruling Levels the Wine Field.” And in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage and Jerry Hirsch report that “Wine Sale Curbs Lifted; The Supreme Court strikes down laws that bar direct shipping to out-of-state consumers; It’s a victory for California vintners.”

Finally for now, fans of The Chicago Tribune‘s Jan Crawford Greenburg can view her appearance yesterday on PBS‘s “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” in a segment entitled “Supreme Court on Wine Shipments” via this link (transcript with links to audio and video).

In Wednesday’s edition of The New York Times: Tomorrow’s newspaper will contain an article headlined “In Senate, Heated Efforts to Avoid Filibuster Clash.”

And Neil A. Lewis will have an article headlined “In Appeals Court Nominee, Parallels to a Justice Whose Confirmation Stirred Emotions.”

“Justices to Decide if Disabled Inmates May Sue States for Damages”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“Judges’ opinions reveal supporters and critics overstate their cases”: James Kuhnhenn of Knight Ridder Newspapers provides this report.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday will report that “Some senators work for compromise on judges; others gird for fight.”

Wednesday’s edition of The Chicago Tribune will contain articles headlined “Minority party’s rights, future of high court among issues at stake” and “Filibuster concept dates to Congress’ beginning.”

The Los Angeles Times provides a news update headlined “Attempts to Compromise on Filibusters Thwarted.”

And Jesse J. Holland of The Associated Press reports that “Judges lobby at White House, Capitol on eve of filibuster battle.”