A book deal for “Article III Groupie”? “Gawker” has the gossip here.

“Alito Could Swing Death Decisions to the Right”: Brent Kendall had this article Friday in The Daily Journal of California.

“Feinstein Crafts Plan to Scuttle 9th Circuit Split; Judiciary Senators Miffed by House’s Legislative Tactic”: Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California.

Trial court correctly rejected patent infringement challenge to Amazon.com’s “1-click system” for purchasing, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rules: You can access today’s ruling at this link. And the blog “Patently-O: Patent Law Blog” offers a post on the ruling titled “System Claim that Includes a Method Step is Invalid as Indefinite.”

Federal wiretapping statute may make ex-boyfriend liable in damages to his ex-girlfriend for his email distribution of a video he secretly made of them having sex: Seventh Circuit Judge Frank H. Easterbrook issued this opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel. The appellate briefs (appellant; appellee; appellant’s reply) and the appendix are also available online. And the oral argument audio can be downloaded in mp3 format via this link.

Update: On this day when the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has issued a news release commemorating that “Electronic Case Filing in Federal Courts Reaches Milestone,” it is worth pondering who bears responsibility when an electronically-filed document (such as the Brief for Appellant in this case) reveals the identity of the appellant proceeding under a court-approved pseudonym and the document is posted, in unredacted form, online at the federal appellate court’s website. Based on the oral argument audio and today’s Seventh Circuit opinion, neither the appellate court nor counsel for appellant knew of this disclosure, but all that they had to do to discover the fact was look at the Brief for Appellant as posted on the Seventh Circuit’s web site.

In news from Rhode Island: The Providence Journal yesterday contained articles headlined “Judge rails against drug sentencing; Federal sentencing guidelines treat 5 grams of crack as the equivalent of 500 grams of powder cocaine” and “Court upholds convicted drug dealer’s life sentence; Two other men involved in the South Providence crack-house case have been granted resentencing.”

“Sexual predator program under fire by lawmakers; Costly treatment is mandated despite little hope of rehabilitation”: This article appears today in The Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World.

In somewhat related news, The Toronto Globe and Mail reports today that “Handlers shadow pedophiles; Correctional service ‘setting precedents’ in trying new ways to protect B.C. public.”

“Electronic Case Filing in Federal Courts Reaches Milestone”: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts issued this news release today.

At eBay, a Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist bobblehead joins the Justice Antonin Scalia bobblehead now up for auction: Let the spending of obscene amounts of money begin.

Blogging and the First Amendment: David L. Hudson Jr. of the First Amendment Center provides this detailed report, which includes a discussion of “Unmasking anonymous bloggers” and “Losing jobs from blogging.”

“Steroids Probe May Affect Privacy Rights”: Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, “The government’s legal stance in an ongoing investigation of steroid use by Major League Baseball players could put at risk the privacy rights of all Americans who have ever taken a drug test, federal appeals court judges warned last week.” I previously linked here to the oral argument audio.

“Judge Alito & the new First Amendment defenders”: Ronald K.L. Collins has this essay online today at the First Amendment Center.

The Concord (N.H.) Monitor looks at the operation of Minnesota’s parental abortion notification law: Yesterday’s article begins, “When New Hampshire lawmakers wrote their parental notification law two years ago, they nearly copied Minnesota’s, which requires a girl to tell her parents or a judge before she has an abortion. If Minnesota continues to be a model, New Hampshire could face significant challenges should the U.S. Supreme Court uphold its law.”

In news from Kansas: The Lawrence Journal-World today contains an article headlined “Lawrence attorneys to fight death penalty” that begins, “Two lawyers who live in Lawrence will go before the U.S. Supreme Court next month to argue that Kansas’ death-penalty law is unconstitutional.”

And The Associated Press on Friday reported that “Matthew Limon back in court on new charge.” The article begins, “Matthew R. Limon, whose case resulted in the Kansas Supreme Court saying the state can’t punish underage sex more harshly if it involves homosexuals, will be back in court next week on a new charge in the same case.”

“Specter on Judiciary Issues”: Saturday’s installment of C-SPAN‘s “America & the Courts” can be viewed by clicking here (RealPlayer required).

“Governor dreading decision on life or death; Without clemency, Williams’ execution is just weeks away”: This article appears today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

And today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Morning Edition” contained a segment entitled “Facing Execution, Tookie Williams Hopes for Clemency” (RealPlayer required).

“Alito And His Critics: Who Is Outside The Mainstream?” Stuart Taylor Jr. has this essay in today’s edition of National Journal.

“Executed man’s co-defendant says years of guilt have led him to try to clear his friend’s name; Silence vow blamed for ultimate penalty”: This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle.

“And when his superiors learned of his other existence, he was ordered to stop the blogging, for which he had not been given permission. He may even soon be jobless as well as blogless.” The fate of “Article III Groupie” has begun to receive international attention (so perhaps it’s now on the U.S. Supreme Court‘s radar screen). See Marcel Berlins’ essay (second item) today in The Guardian (UK).

“Blawg Review #33”: Available here, at “Overlawyered.”

“The Senate Votes to Curb Habeas Corpus Petitions by Guantanamo Bay Detainees: How the Bill Threatens the ‘Unwritten Constitution.'” FindLaw commentator Michael C. Dorf has this essay today.

“Student blogs spur concern over safety, privacy loss”: This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune.

“In fairness, let’s appoint all judges”: Columnist Kate Riley has this op-ed today in The Seattle Times.

“Wild case interrupts the party; The creator of ‘Girls Gone Wild’ finds himself involved in a legal drama”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Alito Often Ruled for Religious Expression”: Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times, which also contains an article headlined “Nominee’s Fans and Foes Localize the Debate.”

The Baltimore Sun reports today that “Moderates grow in influence; Pressure on GOP makes center crucial.”

The New York Daily News contains an article headlined “Pol shifts, hints Alito filibuster.”

And The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that “Penn, Yale profs give Alito mixed reviews; Professors, scholars call him ‘able but very conservative.’”

In commentary, The Washington Post contains an editorial entitled “Judge Alito on the States.”

And The Palm Beach Post contains an editorial entitled “Judge Alito by his ‘essay.’”

“After Eminent Domain Victory, Disputed Project Goes Nowhere”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “They have still not moved out. Not Susette Kelo. Not the Derys. Not Byron Athenian or Bill Von Winkle or the others. Five months after the United States Supreme Court set off a national debate by ruling that the City of New London could seize their property through eminent domain to make way for new private development, no one has been forced to leave.”

“The journey of Judge Joan Lefkow — Nine months ago, Judge Joan Lefkow discovered her husband and mother murdered in her home: Grief; Guilt; A devastated life; How would she go on?” Mary Schmich had this lengthy special report (single-page version here) yesterday in The Chicago Tribune. And on Friday, that newspaper issued a press release entitled “Judge Joan Lefkow Breaks Her Silence with Chicago Tribune’s Mary Schmich; Story to Appear Sunday, November 20.”