Criminal defendant forced to wear leg iron shackles during his trial in Michigan state court is too guilty to succeed in habeas corpus due process challenge to his prison escape-related criminal convictions: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued this ruling today.

“Hawaiian group says court fails in dispute; Hui Malama believes federal judges do not understand traditions and cannot rule fairly”: The Honolulu Star-Bulletin on Saturday contained an article that begins, “A native Hawaiian group decried yesterday that ‘deeply felt cultural issues’ involving 83 artifacts reburied on the Big Island are being decided ‘in a Western court’ that has no understanding of Hawaiian traditions.”

“Leaders in Congress OK Cuts to Budget; Lawmakers agree to slash $41.6 billion and to attach an Arctic drilling measure to a defense bill”: An article in today’s edition of The Los Angeles Times reports that “House and Senate negotiators also rejected an effort to include in the budget-cutting bill a measure to split the San Francisco-based U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals into two benches.”

And in yesterday’s issue of The Orange County Register, Steven Greenhut had an op-ed entitled “Split decision — Some conservatives want to split up the notoriously liberal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, to which we say: Be careful what you wish for.”

“Flaws in the Supreme process”: Bill Constangy has this op-ed today in The Washington Times.

And yesterday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, columnist Cynthia Tucker had an op-ed entitled “Campaign for religious state is no blessing.”

“Wikipedia’s Woes: Tumultuous Weeks for Internet Encyclopedia Bring Furor Over Anonymity, Accountability.” Jason Fry has this Real Time essay (free access) today at The Wall Street Journal Online.

“Man who fought evolution stickers won’t be silent”: This article appears today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In today’s issue of The Los Angeles Times: Ronald Brownstein’s Washington Outlook column is headlined “Redistricting Case Is Court’s Chance to Stop Partisan Excesses.”

And in other news, “Rights Clash in Bias Suit Against UC; A Christian school says admissions policies violate its freedom of speech and religion; The university defends its role in setting standards.”

“DNA Evidence: Man seeks DNA test to clear him in killing.” This article, the second in a three-part series, appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“BlackBerry Picking”: James Surowiecki has this Talk of the Town essay in the December 26, 2005 issue of The New Yorker.