“Will Defense Lawyers Accept Help on High Court Criminal Cases?” Tony Mauro has this quite interesting article online at law.com.

U.S. Senate schedules confirmation vote for Ninth Circuit nominee Milan D. Smith, Jr. for Tuesday, May 16, 2006: Details here.

“John Roberts: The Missing Years; Did the White House steal a document from the Reagan library?” Timothy Noah has this item online at Slate this evening.

Fifth Circuit holds that Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which protects the employment rights of members of the armed forces, does not preclude the enforcement of an individual contract to arbitrate such disputes: You can access today’s ruling of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, written by Chief Judge Edith H. Jones, at this link.

“Ex-Justice Sidesteps Phone Data Questions”: Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor declined to step into the uproar over secret collection of Americans’ phone records, saying a close look at the facts by courts could determine whether the government acted properly.”

“Boyle nomination/Salon.com allegations”: A group of former law clerks to Fourth Circuit nominee Terrence W. Boyle is circulating this document.

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia orders that two Chinese Uighur detainees held by the United States government at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station be allowed to meet with their lawyers as soon as possible: Apparently not all ethnic Uighur Chinese nationals detained at Guantanamo were recently sent to Albania, this ruling issued today by a U.S. Magistrate Judge would seem to suggest.

“New Trial Ordered in Human-Smuggling Case”: The Associated Press provides this report. Additional coverage appears here and here.

“DNA Fingerprinting Criminals’ Kin Could Solve Crimes; Report Raises Complex Civil Liberties Issues”: The Washington Post provides this news update.

“The Battle Over the Soul of Law Professor Blogs”: The text of my “Upon Further Review” column published this Monday in The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia’s daily newspaper for lawyers, can be accessed here. Therein, I propose what is destined to become the most popular entrant in the Law Professor Blogs Network — a law professor blog devoted to the law of sex and pornography.

Divided three-judge Fifth Circuit panel rejects First Amendment challenge to provisions of Louisiana’s Campaign Finance Disclosure Act: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link.

“Senate panel clears way for White House court pick”: Reuters provides this report.

“Ex-Newspaper Owners Seek to Revive Suit”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A lawyer for the former owners of the Salt Lake Tribune asked a federal appeals court Thursday to revive their lawsuit challenging the $355.5 million price set for them to buy the paper back.”

“‘Gang of 14’ seeks more scrutiny of court nominee Boyle”: This article appears today in The Denver Post.

“Kavanaugh Nomination Headed to Senate Vote”: The Associated Press provides this updated report.

“GOP using court nominee to revitalize conservatives”: Yesterday’s issue of Newsday contained this article.

Senate Judiciary Committee recommends Brett M. Kavanaugh for confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by 10-8 party-line vote: According to sources that you can access here and here.

Who was the last federal appellate court nominee to receive a unanimous “Not Qualified” rating from the American Bar Association? Today in The Washington Post, Charles Lane reports that “The last nominee to be rejected unanimously by the ABA was Sherman Unger, who was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1982. His nomination was later withdrawn.”

Some quick research on the internet suggests that Unger died of cancer not long after being nominated to the bench (see here and here [final paragraph]), and thus it is unclear whether his nomination was withdrawn due to the unfavorable ABA rating or due to the requirement that judicial nominees must be among the living in order to be confirmed.

“Top Court Off Hook; FOI Commission Won’t Seek Review Of Controversial Ruling”: Today in The Hartford Courant, Lynne Tuohy has an article that begins, “The Freedom of Information Commission Wednesday voted 3-2 against asking the state Supreme Court to reconsider the controversial ruling that former Chief Justice William J. Sullivan secretly withheld from release to benefit his presumed successor.”

“Short Circuit — Breakdown of Trust Led Judge Luttig To Clash With Bush; After Fight in Terrorism Case, Conservative Star Gives Up Court Seat for Boeing Job; New Task: Appease McCain.” Jess Bravin and J. Lynn Lunsford have this must-read front page article (pass-through link) today in The Wall Street Journal.

That newspaper today also contains an editorial entitled “Luttig’s Legacy” (pass-through link).

“Federal Judge Abandons Bench for Boeing”: On yesterday evening’s broadcast of NPR‘s “All Things Considered,” Nina Totenberg had this audio report (RealPlayer required).

“Reid prepares for next battle on judicial nominees; Two of president’s selections draw criticism”: This article appears today in The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

And The Tennessean today contains an editorial entitled “Congress must avoid another judicial battle; Rhetoric about federal judicial confirmations does not bode well for the process.”

“Kavanaugh Nomination Headed to Senate Vote”: The Associated Press provides this report.

You can access the agenda of today’s executive business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee at this link.

“Luttig quits 4th Circuit bench; Considered a possible Supreme Court choice, he’ll take key Boeing job”: This article appears today in The Times-Dispatch of Richmond, Virginia.

And today in The Chicago Tribune, Ameet Sachdev and Jan Crawford Greenburg report that “Appellate judge joins Boeing as top lawyer.”

“Va. officer is questioned by Muhammad at trial”: The Baltimore Sun contains this article today.

And The Washington Post today reports that “Rush to Assist Youngest Shooting Victim Recalled.”

“Judge in Enron Case Delivers a Serious Blow to the 2 Defendants”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

The Washington Post reports today that “Judge Lets Enron Jurors Consider If Defendants Turned a Blind Eye.”

In The Houston Chronicle, Mary Flood reports that “Judge ready for the final act; Jury will be told to weigh whether Skilling and Lay were ‘deliberately ignorant.’”

And USA Today reports that “For Lay and Skilling, day of judgment near; After 55 witnesses, closing arguments begin Monday.”

“Truck driver faces new trial in 2003 smuggling deaths; Appeals court removes Houston judge from case”: Harvey Rice has this article today in The Houston Chronicle. My earlier coverage is here.

“British Attorney General Says Guantanamo ‘Should Close'”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

“L.A. Psychologist Who Didn’t Get Tote Bag at Mother’s Day Angel Game Files Lawsuit”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“The Case of Roberts’s Missing Papers; Investigators Are Still Unable to Locate File On Affirmative Action”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

“ABA: Wallace unqualified for seat on federal bench; White House continues to support Jackson lawyer for Court of Appeals post.” This article appears today in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi.

Charles Lane of The Washington Post reports today that “Nominee Rated ‘Unqualified’ By ABA Panel.”

And The New York Times reports that “Judicial Nominee Rated Unqualified.”

“What Kind of Justice Will Samuel Alito Be? A Recent Death Penalty Decision Provides Some Insights.” Edward Lazarus has this essay today online at FindLaw.