“Jury finds heavy smoking to be grounds for eviction; Verdict is said to be one of first in nation”: This article appears today in The Boston Globe.

Access online the agenda for today’s executive business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee: The agenda is available here.

“Divorce Court Shooting Kills Couple and Wounds Lawyer”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

The Hartford Courant today contains articles headlined “A Deadly Ambush; Ex-Trooper Kills Wife, Himself; Injured Lawyer In Stable Condition“; “Divorce Marked By Ugliness, Angry Accusations“; and “Lawyer Known For Her Devotion.”

The Middletown Press contains articles headlined “Deadly day: Former state trooper kills wife, self; injures lawyer“; “Court records show drawn out legal case“; “State’s legal community rocked by news“; “‘It should never come to this’“; and “Divorce can lead to escalating violence.”

Finally, The New Haven Register contains articles headlined “Ex-trooper kills self, wife, wounds lawyer before divorce hearing” and “Emotions run high in family cases, legal experts say.”

The New York Times is reporting: Today’s newspaper contains articles headlined “Lawyers Fought U.S. Move to Curb Tobacco Penalty” and “Lawyer Says Military Tried to Coerce Detainee’s Plea.”

“Justice was blind, and a little sleepy; A juror who noticed a colleague dozing during a murder trial says she hopes the defendant gets a new trial”: This article appears today in The St. Petersburg Times.

“Schiavo Autopsy Says Brain Was Untreatable”: The New York Times contains this article today. The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Autopsy on the Schiavo Tragedy.”

The Washington Post today contains a front page article headlined “Schiavo Autopsy Released; Brain Damage ‘Was Irreversible.’”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Schiavo Was Beyond Saving, Autopsy Finds; A medical examiner says no treatment could have reversed the woman’s persistent vegetative state in her final days, despite contrary claims.”

USA Today contains articles headlined “Schiavo autopsy confirms diagnosis; Brain damage was ‘irreversible,’ examiner finds” and “Schiavo autopsy results reach a divided Congress; Fla. senator says he’s not so sure now about action.”

The St. Petersburg Times contains articles headlined “She never would have recovered; Massive brain damage had left her blind and unresponsive; The autopsy reveals no evidence of abuse; But what caused her heart to stop beating 15 years ago remains a mystery“; “Amid emotion is heard science’s voice“; and “Autopsy report synopsis.”

The Tampa Tribune reports that “Schiavo Autopsy Shows Irreversible Brain Damage” and “Examiner Focused On Thoroughness.”

And The Miami Herald contains articles headlined “Autopsy: Schiavo damage ‘massive’; Terri Schiavo was blind, had massive, irreversible brain damage, and showed no signs of abuse, an autopsy report concluded” and “We’d do it all again, Republicans say; Undaunted by the autopsy report, some Republicans who sought to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo say they would take action again.” The newspaper also contains an op-ed by Jim DeFede entitled “Schiavo autopsy vindicates husband, courts.”

“Critics seek judge’s removal; Embattled Broward Circuit Judge Eileen O’Connor says she has always been truthful, despite allegations that she lied on her judicial application; Critics are calling for her removal”: This article appears today in The Miami Herald.

Available online from law.com: An article is headlined “Who Will Be Brown’s Successor on the Calif. Supreme Court?”

And law.com has posted online for all to access the article I previously noted here headlined “Divorcee’s Appeal Tossed due to ‘Excessive’ Issues.”

Slow news day in Decatur, Alabama: The Decatur Daily today contains an article headlined “Pryor quotes B-52s in decision” that begins, “Fresh from Senate confirmation, U.S. 11th Circuit Court Judge Bill Pryor authored what appears to be the first court decision ever to quote lyrics from The B-52s.”

In actuality, because the ruling issued on the same day that Eleventh Circuit Judge William H. Pryor, Jr. achieved U.S. Senate confirmation, chances are quite good that the decision was written in advance of that day. My earlier coverage of the ruling can be accessed here and here.

“Evangelical Republicans Trust States on Social Issues; Poll Finds Fewer Want Courts’ Say”: Charles Lane will have this article Thursday in The Washington Post. Complete results of this Washington Post-ABC News poll can be accessed here.

“Conservative groups to spend over $20M on Supreme Court”: This article will appear in Thursday’s issue of The Hill.

Coming soon from the Supreme Court of California: The Golden State’s highest court is scheduled to announce rulings in two important punitive damages appeals tomorrow. In addition, the court will announce an opinion in a case presenting the question whether “the operator of an amusement ride that starts and stops at the same place [is] a common carrier and subject to the heightened standard of care set forth in Civil Code sections 2100 and 2101?” Additional details on all three cases can be accessed here. And decisions in all three cases will be available online via that court’s web site at 1 p.m. eastern time tomorrow.

By the way, I hope one or more of my readers is willing and able to let me know when Justice Janice Rogers Brown plans to leave California’s high court to join the D.C. Circuit. If I understand correctly, the D.C. Circuit takes a summer recess similar to that of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the D.C. Circuit stops hearing oral arguments sufficiently in advance of its recess so that all argued cases can be decided before that court heads for the hills. Indeed, the D.C. Circuit’s current oral argument calendar indicates that the court has not heard oral argument since May 10, 2005. If my understanding of how the D.C. Circuit operates during the summer months is correct, Justice Brown could stay with the California Supreme Court for a while longer and still be on the D.C. Circuit when it again begins hearing cases in September.

“Fatal Shooting At Courthouse”: The Hartford Courant provides this news update. And Connecticut attorney-blogger Norm Pattis has a post titled “Casualties at the Courthouse.”

“A powerhouse of the right flexes muscle; Roe v. Wade could be overturned within a decade, says the president of the Family Research Council”: This article will appear Thursday in The Christian Science Monitor.

See a close-up of the Justice Antonin Scalia bobblehead doll (animated, no less!): You can view the doll here, at The Green Bag’s web site. Below the animated photograph, The Green Bag explains that not all of its subscribers as of April 1, 2005 will qualify for a copy of this collector’s item. In particular, those who suggest that the doll does not resemble Justice Scalia won’t be receiving a certificate, so be sure to keep any thoughts along those lines to yourself.

“Democrat joins high court; Napolitano ally creates 3-2 majority among Arizona’s justices”: This article appears today in The Arizona Republic.

“Court backs executive order barring Iran trade”: Reuters provides this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today.

Two other rulings that the Ninth Circuit issued today also merit mention. A unanimous three-judge panel issued a decision holding that citizens and residents of the Philippines could not invoke CERCLA to compel the United States government to clean-up environmental contamination allegedly present at Clark Air Force Base and Subic Naval Base in the Philippines.

And in a separate ruling, the majority on a divided three-judge panel held that a previously deported alien has not committed the federal criminal offense of being “found in” the United States when all the individual did after crossing the border was to go straight to the border station and present himself for entry. The case is made more interesting due to the fact that it involves a border crossing from Canada into Alaska and the majority opinion’s author is the nation’s northernmost federal appellate judge.

“House again defeats medical marijuana use”: Reuters provides this report.

And The Associated Press provides a report headlined “House: Medical Marijuana a Federal Case.”

“Appeals Court Sides With Duke Energy”: The AP provides this coverage of a decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued today.

“Supreme Court’s Image Declines as Nomination Battle Looms; Court Critics Now on Both Left and Right”: The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has issued this news release today. Additional background on this poll can be accessed here and here.

In news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Poll: Public Image of Supreme Court Falls.”

“SmithKline Beecham v. Apotex: A Conclusion?” The blog “Patently-O: Patent Law Blog” reports here on today’s denial of rehearing en banc by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

“Is Staying Home with Children ‘Shirking Work’ For Child Support Purposes? The Wisconsin Supreme Court Says No.” FindLaw yesterday posted online this essay by commentator Joanna Grossman. Oddly, the folks at FindLaw (at least as of this moment) have linked to the wrong ruling (they link to this instead of this).

Who says that the Fourth Amendment is toothless in the war against drugs? A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, consisting of three rather conservative judges, today overturned a criminal defendant’s convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, and using and carrying a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking offense upon concluding that the police officers’ community caretaking responsibilities did not under the circumstances presented permit them to enter the defendant’s apartment without a warrant and without his consent. You can access today’s ruling at this link.

“N.Y. Court Slashes Award in Def Jam Case”: The Associated Press provides this report. You can access yesterday’s Ja Rule-related ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link.

“Schiavo autopsy shows massive brain damage”: The Associated Press provides this report. You can access the autopsy at this link.

“One Shot to Death Outside Conn. Courthouse”: The Associated Press provides this report.

First rock, then governorship? The Boston Globe yesterday contained an article headlined “Conservative’s popularity may be problem for GOP; Ex-Alabama judge eyes governorship.”

“A shorter list”: Terence Jeffrey looks at who may be on the U.S. Supreme Court “short list” in this essay today at Townhall.com.

“Vacancy Fight Could Be Swift”: Roll Call today contains an article (paid subscription required) that begins, “Girding for an imminent Supreme Court vacancy, some Senate Republicans are pushing to move the nominee through the Judiciary Committee in a matter of weeks rather than allowing more time for liberal opposition to mount throughout the summer. And in one of the most intriguing twists, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a key member of Judiciary, said Tuesday that the White House is considering putting off announcing who the nominee is – if there’s an opening – until later in the summer to delay the amount of time liberal activists would have to attack the nomination.”

Just in time for summer: Today a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a federal district court’s injunction prohibiting the City of Athens, Ohio from installing barricades that restricted access to a Dairy Queen located there. You can access today’s major appellate court victory for ice cream lovers at this link.

“Court Lets Law Graduate Sue GMU Over F”: Jerry Markon has this article today in The Washington Post.

And Inside Higher Ed reports that “Appeals Court Revives Disability Lawsuit.”

My earlier coverage of this interesting ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit can be accessed here and here.

“Commercial use of Michigan groundwater at stake in suit”: The Detroit Free Press today contains an article that begins, “Who owns the rights to Michigan’s water is at the crux of a case argued before the state Court of Appeals in Lansing on Tuesday by lawyers for a bottling company and a citizens group.”

In Sixth Circuit-related news: The home page of that court’s web site notes that “David W. McKeague was sworn in June 13, 2005 as a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge.”

The Associated Press reports that “Bush has chance to name at least five federal judges in Michigan.”

And The Cincinnati Post yesterday contained an editorial entitled “Breaking the logjam” that begins, “Regardless of what you think about their politics, the arrival of two new judges to the shorthanded 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a welcome development that will speed justice in the four states it serves.”

In largely unrelated news, I am gaining admission to the bar of the Sixth Circuit in connection with a Brief for Appellants that I’m filing in that court today. That leaves the Second, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits as the only federal appellate courts before which I have yet to be admitted to practice (although I have worked behind the scenes on appeals pending in all but the Tenth Circuit).

“SMU professor gets probation, $1,000 fine for hitting cyclist; Prosecutor, man who was struck call decision appropriate”: The Dallas Morning News today contains an article that begins, “Jurors handed down the lightest possible punishment Tuesday to a Southern Methodist University professor who they convicted a day earlier for using her car to intentionally run down a bicyclist at White Rock Lake.” As a result, this law professor defendant will not have to serve any time in jail.

The article concludes: “As a convicted felon, Ms. Dolkart could face professional punishment. She is a member of the Washington D.C. bar association, and an investigation is open into the incident. The bar association could suspend or revoke her license, Mr. Gibson said. She remains a tenured professor at SMU, although she’s currently teaching law as a visiting professor at American University in Washington, D.C. SMU officials said that they will conduct their own inquiry into the charge.”

“Laying Down a Challenge”: The Los Angeles Times today contains an editorial that begins, “On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court did the right thing in overturning the murder convictions of black defendants in California and Texas after determining that, in both cases, racial discrimination played a role in jury selection.”