Some things are better left unsaid? The Associated Press reports that “Scalia Says Opponents Are ‘Idiots.’”

“Jilted, then sued over the ring; A precious lesson in Pa. law”: This article appears today in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Immigration judges told: Be respectful; AG orders a Justice Dept. probe on reports of abuse from bench.” The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contains this article today.

“Cappy’s pay raise lobbying ruled OK; Conduct board drops ethics complaint filed against chief justice”: This article appears today in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“Judge delays ruling on privacy of teen sex”: Today’s edition of The Wichita Eagle contains an article that begins, “It will be at least a month before a federal judge rules on a bench trial that ended last week over the sexual privacy of Kansas teenagers.”

“Spotlight falls on Enron’s crash point; Defense attempts to show Lay was kept unaware of mounting losses”: Mary Flood has this article today in The Houston Chronicle.

USA Today reports today that “Enron jury hears 2 hours of conference call tapes; Defense tries to show what CEO Ken Lay was up against.”

And The New York Times contains an article headlined “For Enron, Unwitting Assistance.”

“Killer’s Legal Team Backs Off in Dispute; Lawyers for death row inmate Michael Morales have withdrawn allegedly faked juror statements supporting their clemency bid”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports that “Pro-clemency declarations withdrawn; Prosecutor says action amounts to forgery admission.”

In The San Jose Mercury News, Howard Mintz reports that “Decision nears on clemency bid; Judge asks for lethal injection data.”

And The Sacramento Bee reports that “Case against execution trimmed; Morales’ lawyers concede doubts about juror declarations.”

“Miller, Fitzgerald Face Off Again”: The New York Sun today contains an article that begins, “Journalist Judith Miller and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald squared off in court again yesterday, with a lot less public attention than last year, when the dogged special prosecutor in the Valerie Plame case had the then-New York Times reporter jailed for 85 days to force her to disclose the identity of an anonymous source.”

And today in The New York Times, Adam Liptak reports that “Judges Hear U.S. Bid for Phone Records of 2 Reporters.”

In today’s edition of The Washington Post: The newspaper contains articles headlined “Former Official Backs Lobbyists in Leak Case” and “‘Don’t Ask’ Costs More Than Expected; Military’s Gay Ban Seen in Budget Terms.”

And columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. has an op-ed entitled “Bridging the Divide on Abortion.”

“The Gitmo disgrace”: This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

In today’s edition of The New York Times: The newspaper contains articles headlined “Ohio Expected to Rein In Class Linked to Intelligent Design” and “Sergeant’s Raunchy Comedy Puts Police Career at Risk.”

And an editorial is entitled “Another Obstacle to the Asbestos Bill.”

“Gay marriage case going before NJ’s highest court”: The Associated Press provides this report.

On this date in “How Appealing” history: On February 13, 2003, I had a post titled “Senate Judiciary Committee approves nomination of Jeffrey S. Sutton to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by vote of 11-8.” I also linked here to an article headlined “A Filibuster Resembling Those of Decades Past” published that day in The New York Times.

And on February 13, 2004, I linked here to an article headlined “Search uncovers Luna’s penknife; Federal prosecutor, 38, was likely stabbed with it, investigators believe” published that day in The Baltimore Sun.

Blame the victim: William Douglas of Knight Ridder Newspapers reports that “Cheney’s companion at fault in shooting, White House says.”

Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times will contain articles headlined “No End to Questions on Cheney Hunting Incident” and “Groans at Home Re: (Cheney Joke Here).”

And The Washington Post on Tuesday will contain an article headlined “After Cheney’s Shooting Incident, Time to Unload; Episode Triggers a Fusillade of Wisecracks, And a Withering Blast From White House Press.”

Available online at law.com: In news from Florida, “Padilla Defense Challenges Evidence as Possible Fraud.”

And in news from Texas, “Austin Solo Recovering After Cheney Peppers Him in Hunting Mishap.”

“Government: detainees have no constitutional rights.” Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.” The filing that’s the subject of his post can be accessed here.

“The Nixon Doctrine: If the commander in chief does it, it’s not illegal.” Law Professor David Cole has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Report: ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Cost $363M” and “Ken Starr Withdraws Death Row Case Papers.”

“Frist plans June vote on gay marriage; Aides say election-year push for constitutional ban likely to fail”: CNN.com provides this report.

“Citing no reliability, Morales lawyers withdraw juror statements”: David Kravets of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Former Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr and a Los Angeles attorney said Monday they would withdraw unreliable affidavits from jurors submitted to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a bid to spare a murderer and rapist from execution.” My earlier coverage is here.

And Howard Mintz of The San Jose Mercury News has an update headlined “Judge weighs alternatives to execution by lethal injection.”

“Crown seeks delay in tainted blood trial to reassess its case, new evidence”: Canadian Press provides this report.

The Associated Press reports that “Prosecution witness casts doubt on Canadian tainted-blood case.”

Friday’s edition of The Toronto Star reported that “Flip-flop threatens blood trial.”

And The Toronto Sun on Friday contained an article headlined “Report to end tainted blood trial?”

“Blogs to Riches: The Haves and Have-Nots of the Blogging Boom.” This article (with lots more related stuff lurking at its end) appears in the February 20, 2006 issue of New York Magazine.

“The majority’s opinion today greatly increases the power of the federal government to regulate the use of waters on private property.” The scope of the federal Clean Water Act and Congress’s power under the commerce clause are both at issue in a ruling that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit released today. Each judge on the panel issued an opinion.

“Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference to Focus on ‘Seismic Shifts'”: The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this news release today.

“Enron’s defense could be brilliant… or crazy; Lawyers for Lay and Skilling are undertaking a risky defense strategy; Will it pay off?” CNNMoney.com provides this report.

“Judge Blocks Handover of Citizen to Iraq”: The Associated Press provides this report.

“The court took this case en banc to consider whether witness testimony presented on a television monitor at a criminal trial in Montgomery, Alabama, by live, two-way video conference with witnesses in Australia, violated the Defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against them.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit today issued its en banc decision in United States v. Yates, ruling by a margin of 10-3 that the defendants’ confrontation clause rights had been violated.

The original three-judge panel’s opinion in the case, which reached the same result and contained an interesting opinion concurring in the result from the Eleventh Circuit’s Chief Judge, can be accessed here. My earlier coverage of the three-judge panel’s ruling can be accessed at this link.

“Appeals court hears argument on Nebraska’s same-sex marriage ban”: The Associated Press provides this report.

And The Omaha World-Herald provides a news update headlined “Arguments on marriage ban heard.”

The U.S. District Court ruling that was the subject of today’s oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit can be accessed here. Back in May 2005, I linked to press coverage of the ruling here and here. The appellate briefs filed in the case can be accessed via this link. And you can access the audio of today’s oral argument by clicking here (RealPlayer required).

“Alito to have 1 shot at influencing First Amendment this term”: Tony Mauro has this news analysis online today at the First Amendment Center.

“The Bright Lights of Freedom”: This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Yale Law School Dean Harold Hongju Koh appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Morning Edition.”

“Court in the middle of Olympic disputes”: Reuters provides this report.

“Big Impact Seen In Israel Spy Case”: Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, “Lawyers for two former pro-Israel lobbyists under indictment for leaking classified information have denounced the prosecution as an assault on the First Amendment and warned that a vast array of policy advocates and journalists could be in jeopardy if the case goes forward.”

“High court says Utah can’t regulate out-of-state spammers”: Saturday’s edition of The Salt Lake Tribune contained this article reporting on a decision that the Supreme Court of Utah issued last Friday.

“The Worst Judges in Texas: In these courtrooms, justice comes to a screeching halt.” This article appears in the current issue of The Texas Observer.

“Ga. court throws out key part of civil justice bill; Justices rule defendants can’t decide venues of medical malpractice cases”: Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a news update reporting on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Georgia issued today.