Available online from law.com: Emma Schwartz and Tony Mauro have an article headlined “Firms Buying Their Way Into the High Court Club; Once a tiny specialty, Supreme Court work is growing.”

In other news, “Federal Judge: Calif. Billboard Law Limits Free Speech.”

And the brand new installment of my weekly “On Appeal” column is headlined “‘Choose Life’ Tags Appear Headed to Supreme Court.”

This evening’s blogging break was brought to you by the musical “Wicked“: Preceded by a lovely family dinner at Roy’s Restaurant.

In case from Puerto Rico, unanimous three-judge First Circuit panel exercising mandamus jurisdiction orders recusal of federal district judge and termination of investigation into government misconduct in the grand jury proceedings: Today’s per curiam ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit can be accessed here.

Access online today’s order of the U.S. Supreme Court announcing reargument of Kansas v. Marsh, No. 04-1170: The order is available online here.

The case was originally argued on December 7, 2005, while Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was still serving. The transcript of that oral argument is here. This is the second case to be reargued since Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined the Court. The first case, Garcetti v. Ceballos, No. 04-473, was reargued earlier this week.

The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Supreme Court to Rehear Death Penalty Case” and “Federal Judge Appointed to FISA Court.”

“Roberts confirms his preference for cops; The Supreme Court’s new chief justice takes off the kid gloves in defending martial authority over citizens”: The Roanoke Times contains this editorial today.

“All Rise, Rock and Roll; 7 D.C. Judges and a Shrink Court Fun — and a Little Disorder”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.

“Supreme Court Nominations: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer remarks on the Supreme Court and its role in democracy at a Harvard University conference on the role of the press, political parties, public policy, and interest groups.” Beginning at 10:45 a.m. eastern time today, C-SPAN will provide live coverage of an event organized by the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.

The first part of the program is titled “Nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court.” The second part of the program is titled “The Role of the Supreme Court in American Democracy.” And the third and final part of the program being televised is titled “Nominations of Harriet Myers [sic] and Samuel Alito.”

You can view the event live, online by clicking here (RealPlayer required) or here (Windows Media Player required).

“Prosecution Rests at Moussaoui Sentencing Trial”: This segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Morning Edition.”

Instead of living up to the sentiments engraved on a tablet at the base of the Statue of Liberty, “in the halls of our immigration courts today, the sentiments all too often are more like ‘don’t let the door hit you on your way out'”: So writes Sixth Circuit Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr. in a concurring opinion issued today in an immigration appeal decided by a divided three-judge panel of that court.

“After Roe: South Dakota is a preview of what the abortion landscape will look like–eventually.” Jonathan V. Last has this essay online today at The Weekly Standard.

“Uncertain Shield: The U.S. Intelligence System in the Throes of Reform.” Information on Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner‘s latest book is available at this link.

“Bush shuns Patriot Act requirement; In addendum to law, he says oversight rules are not binding”: Charlie Savage has this article today in The Boston Globe.

“Saad withdraws name for judgeship; Sens. Levin, Stabenow blocked confirmation of judge on Mich. Appeals Court to 6th U.S. Circuit”: This article appears today in The Detroit News.

And The Detroit Free Press reports today that “Saad withdraws from U.S. court nomination.”

“Man cleared of Nevada petroglyph theft says ‘my life was trashed'”: The Associated Press provides this report.

“Testimony on Enron Weakened a Day Later”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

And today in The Houston Chronicle, Mary Flood reports that “Defense pecks at Glisan’s story, accuses him of lying.”

The Chicago Tribune is reporting: Today’s newspaper reports that “Ryan juror investigated; Felony DUI discovered by Tribune casts shadow on trial.”

And in other news, “Court blessing of censorship echoes at 2nd Illinois campus.”

The Los Angeles Times is reporting: Today’s newspaper contains an article headlined “For Ex-Governor Who Advocates Right to Die, Political Is Personal; Booth Gardner, a Parkinson’s patient, wants Washington state to adopt a measure more liberal than Oregon’s assisted-suicide law.”

And an article reports that “Ideology, Self-Interest Stand in the Way of Political Compromise on Asbestos Claims.”

“Analyzing a Downfall: Claude Allen Had the Ear of the President; Now He’s Accused of Theft; What Happened?” Columnist Eugene Robinson has this op-ed today in The Washington Post.

“To Some, Need for Third Trial of Ex-Banker Isn’t Evident”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“Secretary of Homeland Insecurity”: The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “Sometimes it’s hard to understand just how Michael Chertoff understands his title, secretary of homeland security.” Chertoff formerly served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Joan Biskupic is reporting: In today’s edition of USA Today, she has articles headlined “Battles escalate over gay marriage; New legal challenges take root in state courts, legislatures” and “Wave of lawsuits targets bans on same-sex marriage; Challenges argue some states’ constitutions include right to gay and lesbian nuptials.”

“After (Billable) Hours: Lawyers hoping to escape drudgery trade one form of verbiage for another.” Lawyers who blog are the subject of this essay (free access) by Cameron Stracher published today in The Wall Street Journal.