“Should Sexually Active Minors Have a Right to Privacy? A Kansas Case Reveals the Dark Side of Mandatory Reporting.” FindLaw commentator Sherry F. Colb has this essay today.

“Becoming bin Laden”: In the Sunday Book Review section of this upcoming Sunday’s edition of The New York Times, Law Professor Noah Feldman will have a review (TimesSelect subscription required) of the book “Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden.”

David B. Lat, lately of “Wonkette,” defends his authorship of “Underneath Their Robes” while he was employed at the Newark, New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office: Details here, following the lengthy block-quote. Don’t hold your breath awaiting a response from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Deceased judge casts dispositive vote on divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit: Late yesterday, and earlier today, I linked to coverage justifiably singing the many praises of Senior Third Circuit Judge Max Rosenn, who died yesterday morning at the age of 96.

Today, the Third Circuit issued an opinion written by Judge Rosenn on behalf of the majority on a divided three-judge panel. An asterisk footnote to Judge Rosenn’s name as listed in the coram states:

The Honorable Max Rosenn, Sr. submitted this opinion to the Clerk’s office for processing on February 2, 2006. Prior to the filing of the opinion, Judge Rosenn passed away.

This raises several interesting questions.

I am of course familiar with decisions by unanimous three-judge panels on which the authoring judge has died before the opinion formally issued in which authorship is attributed to the deceased judge, but this is the first opinion that I recall in which the deceased judge’s vote was dispositive to a decision that issued after the judge in question had died. If readers are familiar with any other such federal appellate court rulings, in which the dispositive vote was cast by a judge who had died before the opinion had issued, please send me an email identifying the opinion(s).

Other, related questions, arise. For example, if a U.S. Circuit Judge in regular active service were to cast a vote for rehearing en banc and then die before the voting had closed, would that deceased judge’s vote count or not if the vote was necessary for rehearing en banc to be granted? On a fifteen-judge court, eight votes would be needed to grant rehearing en banc. If the deceased judge had provided the eighth vote, but dies before the voting closed, seven votes would be insufficient to grant rehearing en banc on a court with fourteen active judges remaining.

Similarly, what about the dissenting opinions of judges who have not survived to see the issuance of an opinion? Assume that a lone appellate judge on a three-judge panel writes a dissent but then dies before the decision from which he has dissented issues. Have you ever seen such a dissent published, or would the remaining two judges reconstitute as a quorum and issue the opinion as unanimous, for the two-judge panel, sans dissent.

Obviously, the big question here is whether a judge must be alive on the day on which an opinion issues in order for his or her vote to count. The Third Circuit’s decision issued today suggests not. Is that correct?

“Rare Supreme Court Justice John Roberts Bobblehead”: The eBay auction of this item ends later today. The current high bid is $229.50. And the question remains: what organization, person, or group of people commissioned this bobblehead?

Divided three-judge Ninth Circuit panel affirms Microsoft X-Box-related insider trading conviction: Today’s decision, rejecting an appeal by a former Nvidia Corporation employee, can be accessed at this link.

Programming note: My day job will have me in center city Philadelphia for the early part of this afternoon. More later.

“Breyer Says ‘Zero’ Politics on the Court”: The Associated Press provides this report. Related coverage is available via this earlier post.

Put a cork in it: A long-time reader emails to advise that “Supreme Cork Justices” (subtitle: “Finally, Justices you won’t wine about!”) are available for purchase here at eBay. If you’re sober, the Justices’ heads won’t bobble, but if you first consume enough wine, who knows?

“Under the accrual accounting method used by Chrysler, was the company permitted to deduct anticipated warranty expenses in the year that it sold warranted motor vehicles to its dealers even though warranty claims had not necessarily been made?” Today in Chrysler Corp. v. Commissioner, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit answers “no.”

In today’s edition of The Wichita Eagle: The newspaper contains articles headlined “Who has the power? Doctor: Gender, race influence teen sex” and “Kline’s consultant known for anti-abortion research.”

And columnist Mark McCormick has an op-ed entitled “Kline values girls’ privacy less than boys’.”

“Koso gets prison time”: The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star today contains an article that begins, “A Nebraska judge, unmoved by emotional testimony about a married couple’s love for each other, sentenced the husband Tuesday to 18 to 30 months in prison for having sex with the underage woman.” The newspaper also contains a related article headlined “Now wait begins for teen mother, wife.”

The Omaha World-Herald reports today that “Sex with wife, 14, gets man jail time.”

And The New York Times reports that “Nebraska Man Sentenced for Having Sex With Girl, 13.”

“Former law clerks fondly recall Judge Max Rosenn”: The Citizens’ Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania contains this article today, along with an obituary of Senior Third Circuit Judge Max Rosenn. Today’s newspaper also reports that “WVIA to re-broadcast Rosenn biography tonight” and contains articles that begin, “A bout with pneumonia, failing health and trips in and out of the intensive care unit over the past month did nothing to deter Judge Max Rosenn’s drive” (with quotes from an interview of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.) and “In a 2004 decision that attracted national attention, Judge Max Rosenn locked horns with the Pennsylvania Board of Parole.”

Meanwhile, The Times-Leader of Wilkes-Barry today contains an obituary headlined “Max Rosenn: 1910 – 2006: Farewell, your honor; Longtime judge, civic leader dead at 96.” An article is headlined “Consummate jurist to the end.” And an editorial is entitled “Judge Max Rosenn left indelible mark on Valley.”

“Enron defense turns up errors; Annual report rebuts witness testimony”: This article appears today in USA Today.

The Houston Chronicle reports today that “Witness admits errors in testimony; Defense takes aim at words, phrases used by the ex-chief of investor relations.”

The Deal reports that “Enron Defense Crosses Koenig.”

And The New York Times reports that “A Dream Comes to Earth in a Houston Courtroom.”

“Groups urge inquiry into high court justice; State jurist ruled in cases of donors”: The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, “Public interest watchdog groups filed a complaint Tuesday with the state board that monitors judicial conduct, alleging that Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier improperly voted on cases involving big corporations that donated extensively to his campaign.”

And The Chicago Sun-Times reports today that “High court justice accused of conflict.”

“Judicial activism unlikely, Breyer says; Supreme Court justice lectures at U. of C.” This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune.

Joan Biskupic is reporting: Today in USA Today, she has articles headlined “Abortion foes gain on new front; State ‘fetal pain’ bills advance” and “Abortion opponents going for ‘fresh angle’; Groups reluctant to attack ‘Roe’ directly — for now.”

“Lawyer of the lost: The US won’t release the Chinese Muslims being held illegally at Guantanamo Bay; Sabin Willett can’t let them go either.” The Boston Globe contains this article today.

“Senate Votes to Debate Bill for Asbestos Victims’ Fund”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

The Washington Post reports today that “Asbestos Settlement Advances; Senate Votes To Permit Debate.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Asbestos Fund Effort Survives in Senate; Lawmakers hope to end years of lawsuits by creating a $140-billion compensation plan for victims of the cancer-causing material.”

And The Washington Times contains an article deceptively headlined “Senate OKs asbestos bill, 98-1.”

Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro has an article headlined “Justice Alito’s Green Day; New justice to wade into Clean Water Act cases.”

Justin Scheck reports that “Bankruptcy Rewrite Predicted to Bring a Flood of Appeals.”

And in news from New York, “NY Chief Judge Proposes Public Official Pay Plan” and “Boies Firm Wins Skirmish Over Adelphia’s Special Examiner Request.”

On this day in “How Appealing” history: On February 7, 2003, as I then noted here, USA Today published an article headlined “The court conservatives hate” profiling the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

“Notes on O’Connor, Mohammed and falling marble”: Bill Mears has this report online at CNN.com.

“Bush-appointed judges most conservative on record, new UH study finds; Lead investigator Robert Carp says slant most evident in civil rights, liberties decisions”: The University of Houston issued this press release yesterday.

“Polish woman refused abortion goes to Europe court”: Reuters provides this report.

“Kline’s investigation of clinics proceeds; This month’s court ruling imposed limits on inquiry”: The Kansas City Star today contains an article that begins, “Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline will continue his inquiry into abortion clinics, despite tight restrictions put on it by the state Supreme Court.”

And The Topeka Capital-Journal today contains an editorial entitled “Court Rebuke — Calm down; Attorney general Phill Kline feels strongly about abortion, but needs to restrain himself.”

“Witness: Teen girls hurt most by sex.” This article appears today in The Wichita Eagle. And a related news update is headlined “Doctor testifies in defense of Kline’s opinion on reporting teen sex.”

“Koso gets prison time”: The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star provides a news update that begins, “A 22-year-old Falls City man has been sentenced to 18 to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to a sexual assault charge filed after he impregnated and then married a 14-year-old girl.”

“Reid Removes Objection to Asbestos Bill”: The AP provides this report.

Some very sad news from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit: The Associated Press reports here that “Senior U.S. Circuit Court Judge Max Rosenn has died at the age of 96. Rosenn died early Tuesday at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, according to Anthony J. Scirica, the 3rd Circuit’s chief judge.”

And The Times-Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania provides a newsbrief headlined “Judge Rosenn dies.”

Max Rosenn joined the Third Circuit in 1970 and took senior status in 1981. What appears to be, according to Westlaw, Judge Rosenn’s final opinion issued on January 27, 2006, demonstrating that he took the idea of life tenure on the federal bench quite seriously. He was a very kind man with a very sharp mind who lived quite a full life, and he will certainly be missed.

Update: Orin Kerr offers additional thoughts at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Reasoning with Solomon”: Today in The Harvard Crimson, Cormac A. Early has an op-ed that begins, “The recent Supreme Court hearings on the Solomon Amendment have thrown the issue of military recruitment back into the limelight at Harvard. With the Court likely to reject the arguments of the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), Harvard will again be forced to choose between $400 million of federal money and the unpleasantness of having discriminatory recruiters on campus.”

“Weapons of Business Destruction: How a tiny little ‘patent troll’ got BlackBerry in a headlock.” Law Professor Tim Wu has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

So very last Term: Oyez now provides access to the oral argument audiotapes of cases argued in the Supreme Court of the United States during the 2004 Term, which began in October 2004 and ended (insofar as oral arguments are concerned) in April 2005. (Via Will Baude).

“Church Sues to Fund ‘Christ-Centered’ State Scholarships”: This segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Day to Day.”

“Study ties toughness of judges to politics; GOP, Democrat jurists vary on type of crime”: The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, “Federal judges appointed by Republicans give tougher sentences on street crime, two Northwestern University legal scholars say, while Democratic appointees take a stricter view of white-collar offenses.” (Via “Sentencing Law and Policy“).

“$990,000 settlement in Hells Angels suit; Santa Clara County ends dispute over raid”: The San Jose Mercury News today contains an article that begins, “Santa Clara County agreed Monday to pay nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit by the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club over a 1998 police raid that resulted in three dead dogs, a torn-up sidewalk and little meaningful evidence. The $990,000 settlement was spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection in December of the county’s argument that sheriff’s deputies were immune from liability.”