“Roberts Likely to Stonewall Tough Queries; In 2003, Nominee Offered Little to Judiciary Committee”: Brent Kendall has this interesting article today in The Daily Journal of California.

The Tenth Circuit weighs in on a circuit split over when a copyright registrant becomes entitled to the protections of the Copyright Act of 1976 against copyright infringement: Today’s opinion — by a unanimous three-judge panel — begins:

The Copyright Act of 1976 requires authors to register their works with the federal Copyright Office in order to be entitled to the Act’s protections against copyright infringement. Two conflicting interpretations of the Act’s registration requirement have been upheld by circuit courts: 1) registration occurs when the copyright owner submits an application for registration to the copyright office, or, conversely 2) registration occurs when the copyright office actually approves or rejects the application. We hold that the second interpretation is correct. The Copyright Office must approve or reject the application before registration occurs or a copyright infringement action can be brought.

You can access the complete ruling at this link.

“U.S. Court Upholds Ruling Guarding Fish in Northwest”: Bloomberg News provides this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued today.

And in other coverage, David Kravets of The Associated Press reports that “Appeals court upholds Washington, Oregon dam spills.”

“Documents Show Roberts Aiding O’Connor”: Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report.

Distinguishing between leases and secured loans under the Bankruptcy Code: The United Airlines bankruptcy gives rise to another very interesting opinion from Seventh Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook.

“Senators Battle Over Papers and Politics”: The Los Angeles Times provides a news update that begins, “The White House today released thousands of pages of documents on Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. that nobody on Capitol Hill requested, but declared off limits all materials from the period in Roberts’s government career that would likely be the most revealing about his political views.”

In Wednesday’s issue of The Washington Post: The newspaper will contain a front page article headlined “Papers Show Roberts as Force In Reagan Era; Papers Show Conservative Advocacy.”

And in related news, “Roberts’s Right to Vote Against Roe Is Defended; Gonzales Cites High Court’s Special Role” and “White House To Withhold Nominee’s Tax Returns; Document Release Excludes First Bush Administration.”

In Wednesday’s edition of The New York Times: Tomorrow’s newspaper will contain articles headlined “Files Highlight Legal Stances of a Nominee“; “In Reagan’s White House, a Clever, Sometimes Cocky John Roberts“; and “Timing of Hearings and Vote Stalls Confirmation Talks.”

“Congress aide becomes casualty of controversy; Panel’s attorney exits after lawmaker’s bid to alter drug sentence”: This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune (via “Sentencing Law and Policy“).

“Supreme Court Justices Devour Sandra Day O’Connor In Ancient Ritual”: The Onion provides this report.

Fourth Circuit decides anti-abortion protestor case: You can access today’s ruling by clicking here.

Houston Astros 2, Philadelphia Phillies 1: 33,866 hometown fans left happy tonight as the Astros first baseman hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to break a 1-1 tie. Both teams’ starting pitchers were great, but Roy Oswalt pitched a complete game for the win, while Jon Lieber pitched seven strong innings. Minute Maid Park is a beautiful ballpark, and the roof remained closed (with the air conditioning on) all game. Wraps and box score available here.

The Associated Press is reporting: Jesse J. Holland reports that “GOP Presses for Timetable on Roberts Vote.”

An article headlined “Roberts Writes Disability Ruling” reports on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today.

And an article headlined “Gonzales: Roberts Not Bound by Statement” begins, “If confirmed to the Supreme Court, John Roberts would not be bound by his past statement that the 1973 decision legalizing abortion is settled law, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday.”

“Judge Roberts Could Face Military Recruiting Case”: This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Jeffrey Toobin appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Day to Day.”

In the current issue of The New Yorker, Toobin has an article headlined “Sex and the Supremes: Why the Court’s next big battle may be about gay rights.”

Greetings from Houston, Texas: Where it’s just as hot outside as back home in Philadelphia. I’m staying at a quite lovely hotel just blocks away from Minute Maid Park, where I’ll be tonight hoping that the Phillies can salvage the middle game of a three-game series against the Astros. And I’m just a few blocks away from the headquarters of The Houston Chronicle, which is reporting today that “Woman who cut off ex-lover’s penis gets 8 years in prison; Delmy Ruiz may be deported after her prison term.”

Programming note: I’ll soon be traveling to Houston, Texas for reasons previously noted here. Stay tuned for new posts once I arrive there.

Available from National Review Online: Edward Whelan has an essay entitled “The Ginsburg Record and Standard: Judge Roberts deserves equal treatment.”

And Hadley Arkes has an essay entitled “Decoy Day: Inside the Beltway.”

“Questions over society; The association of John G. Roberts with a staunchly right-wing legal group is at issue”: This article appears today in Newsday.

The San Antonio Express-News reports today that “Court pick, Republicans discount Federalist Society flap.”

In The Boston Globe, Charlie Savage reports that “Conservatives defend Roberts’s link to law group; Call effort to distance nominee ‘a mistake.’” And columnist Peter S. Canellos has an essay entitled “Rehnquist surrendering his golden years to court.”

The Washington Times reports that “Democrats to delay Roberts hearings.” The newspaper also contains an op-ed by John Baden entitled “Character assassination” and an op-ed by Bruce Fein entitled “Impeccable choice.”

The Baltimore Sun reports that “Bush camp looks to Roberts’ Democratic friends for help; Liberals note he’s earned praise but say stances are what matter.”

The Houston Chronicle reports that “Cornyn has high marks for nominee Roberts; Senator calls criticism circling the judge’s link to Federalist Society ‘an overreaction.’”

The San Francisco Chronicle reports today that “Thoughtful Roberts impresses Feinstein; Bush nominee would be unique presence on court, she says” and reported yesterday that “Choice of Roberts avoids showdown; Dems not happy, but at this point, a fight doesn’t seem likely.”

The Hartford Courant reports that “Senators Try To Get To Know Roberts; Different Lawmakers Seek Different Clues To His Ideas.”

The Kansas City Star reports that “Brownback meets with nominee.”

The Wichita Eagle reports that “Brownback withholds judgment on nominee.”

The Dallas Morning News contains an interview with Fifth Circuit Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham headlined “Judges often bring their philosophies to the bench.” And columnist William McKenzie has an op-ed entitled “A religious freedom case could reveal a lot about where Roberts falls.”

“5th Circuit sets aside Dallas man’s conviction”: Today in The Houston Chronicle, Harvey Rice has an article that begins, “After being rebuked twice by the U.S. Supreme Court, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday issued an order overturning a conviction in a Texas death-penalty case. Appeals Judges Edith H. Jones, W. Eugene Davis and Harold R. DeMoss Jr. issued a one-paragraph unpublished opinion setting aside Thomas Joe Miller-El’s 1986 capital murder conviction and ordering him released unless a new trial date is set within 120 days.”

“Unabomber ‘Murderabilia’ for Sale; A court orders his belongings marketed to aid victims, but some are appalled at the idea”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“It Depends on What ‘Member’ Means”: The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “When news organizations reported last week that Judge John Roberts, the Supreme Court nominee, was a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group, the White House forcefully denied it.”

“White House to Release Early Roberts Papers”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.