“Case Won on Appeal (to Public)”: In the Week in Review section of today’s issue of The New York Times, Adam Liptak has an article that begins, “IN some ways, it was a modest decision. A year ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a city in Connecticut could use the power of eminent domain to make room for private development. The decision simply applied existing law and deferred to the judgments of local officials. But the outcome was a revolt.”

Op-eds published in today’s edition of The New York Times: Morris B. Hoffman and Stephen J. Morse have an op-ed entitled “The Insanity Defense Goes Back on Trial.”

And Dan Savage has an op-ed entitled “Same-Sex Marriage Wins by Losing.”

“Hint to Mt. Soledad cross’s fate lies in desert; Friends, foes of memorial await result of Mojave case”: This article appeared Thursday in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

“Roberts and Alito Misled Us”: U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) will have this op-ed Sunday in The Washington Post.

“Shut Up, They Explained: The ABA’s latest anti-Bush strike.” Edward Whelan has this essay in the August 7, 2006 issue of The Weekly Standard.

“School funding suit dismissed; Supreme Court says the Legislature complied with previous orders; The decision could eliminate a campaign issue in the primary, only a few days away”: This article appears today in The Kansas City Star.

The Topeka Capital-Journal today contains articles headlined “Relief, concern follow dismissal of school finance case“; “For school districts, ruling enables them to resume work; Educators offer opinions on court ruling and what may lie ahead“; and “Day gives glimpse of court’s work; Curious Kansans who turned out for ruling ‘thrilled’ and ‘disappointed.’”

The Wichita Eagle reports that “Court dismisses school funding lawsuit.”

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that “After 7 years, litigation is dismissed.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Kansas at this link, while a related statement from Chief Justice Kay McFarland can be accessed here.

“Kent school Bible club dispute becomes a federal case; Court fight centers on ‘Christians only’ membership limit”: Yesterday’s edition of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer contained an article that begins, “It seemed a simple idea: two high school girls who wanted to start a Bible club at Kentridge High School. But the once-quiet grumbling over their Christians-only membership plan has now erupted into a full-scale federal case. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, meeting in Seattle, sat rapt as lawyers argued on the one hand for religious freedom and, on the other, against allowing discrimination in a public school district.”

The Ninth Circuit has posted online the oral argument audio at this link (Windows Media format).

“Upholding gay-marriage ban may put new spin on court races”: This article appeared yesterday in The Seattle Times.

“Court urged to reconsider ruling on Nebraska gay marriage ban”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Two advocacy groups asked a federal appeals court Friday to reverse a ruling that reinstated Nebraska’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.”

And the ACLU yesterday issued a press release entitled “ACLU and Lambda Legal Urge Federal Appeals Court to Reconsider Ruling Upholding Nebraska’s Extreme Anti-Gay Family Law.”

You can access here the petition for rehearing en banc filed Thursday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the three-judge panel’s ruling in the case is here, and my earlier coverage of that ruling is here.

“Court denies electric chair appeal”: This article appears today in The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star.

And The Omaha World-Herald reports today that “High court rejects challenge to electric chair.”

My earlier coverage appears at this link.

“Our motto risks becoming ‘Over God we fight'”: Charles C. Haynes has this essay online at the First Amendment Center.

“Abortion-consent stall riles GOP, pro-lifers”: This article appeared yesterday in The Washington Times.

On yesterday evening’s broadcast of NPR‘s “All Things Considered“: The broadcast contained audio segments entitled “IBM Office Accused of Hacking Law Firm” and “Making It on the Outside, After Decades in Solitary” (RealPlayer required).

“Families Challenging Religious Influence in Delaware Schools”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“Judge to Bucs: No more fan patdowns; The team’s security policy of patdown searches for fans at home games is unconstitutional, a federal judge rules”: The St. Petersburg Times today contains an article that begins, “A federal judge has upheld a ban on security patdowns outside Raymond James Stadium before Tampa Bay Buccaneers games, ruling Friday the practice violates the constitutional rights of fans.”

And The Tampa Tribune today contains an article headlined “No Pat-Downs At Bucs Games.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida at this link.

“When the Parents Can’t Know”: Today in The New York Times, Judith Warner has this op-ed (TimesSelect subscription required) on the subject of parental notification laws for girls seeking abortions.

“Jefferson May Review Papers Seized in Raid; The lawmaker can object over documents the FBI took from his Capitol Hill office in a bribery probe, an appeals court ruled”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

The New York Times reports today that “Lawmaker Wins Delay on Review of Evidence.”

The Washington Post reports that “Jefferson Wins A Round in Court; Lawmaker May Review Seized Papers.”

And The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that “Jefferson to get copies of data FBI took; Until judge rules, prosecutors can’t peek.”

“Local scout leaders caught in a dilemma; The group’s policy on gays is at root of Phila. dispute”: The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today.

“Embattled Md. Judge To Retire For Health; Departure Precedes Misconduct Hearing”: This front page article appears today in The Washington Post.

“Private I’s?: Should the law protect us from kiss-and-tell bloggers?” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“The Court Under Siege”: This editorial appears today in The New York Times.

“Court: Lawyer in Flatley Case Committed Extortion; An attorney for a woman who had accused the ‘Riverdance’ star of rape threatened to go public with the allegation, justices rule”: Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

law.com reports that “Calif. High Court Slaps Misuse of Anti-SLAPP Laws.”

BBC News reports that “Dancing star sues rape accuser; Former Riverdance star Michael Flatley has won a court ruling allowing him to counter-sue a woman who sued him for allegedly raping her in Las Vegas.”

The Associated Press reports that “Michael Flatley Gets Go-Ahead for Lawsuit.”

And Metropolitan News-Enterprise provides an article headlined “Suit Against Lawyer Alleging Extortion Attempt Not SLAPP–S.C.”

You can access yesterday’s rulings of the Supreme Court of California in these two cases here and here.

The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined “Court Blocks Feds on Congressman’s Files” and “CBS Appeals ‘Wardrobe Malfunction’ Fine.”

Available online from law.com: An article reports that “2nd Circuit Affirms Ebbers Conviction, 25-Year Sentence; Panel calls sentence ‘harsh,’ but ‘not unreasonable.’”

An article is headlined “Save a Cocktail Napkin, Win a Lawsuit; Entertainment lawyers find idea-submission claims worthwhile in the post-‘Grosso’ world.”

And the new installment of my “On Appeal” column is headlined “Could Increased Openness in Judges’ Decision-Making Depoliticize Confirmations?”

Florida Marlins 4, Philadelphia Phillies 1: My son and I attended tonight’s Phillies game, the third of four in a one week period that we will have attended between last Sunday night and this Sunday afternoon. Florida’s starting pitcher carried a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings. The only bright spots for the Phillies were that second baseman Chase Utley extended his hitting streak to 28 games in his final at bat, and Ryan Howard smacked another monster home run in his final at bat. On the ride home, we learned that third baseman David Bell, who never developed much of a fan base here, has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for 22-year-old right-handed pitcher Wilfrido Laureano. You can access the box score of tonight’s game at this link, while wraps are available here and here.

“Klan Leader’s Pipe Bomb Conviction Overturned”: Shannon P. Duffy of The Legal Intelligencer provides a news update (free access) that begins, “A Pittsburgh area Ku Klux Klan imperial wizard who was convicted on multiple weapons charges won a partial victory in his appeal today when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the ‘mere possession’ of a pipe bomb does not qualify as a ‘crime of violence.'”

You can access today’s ruling by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. The dissenting opinion, by Senior U.S. District Judge Harold A. Ackerman (D.N.J.), sitting by designation, concludes: “Today, the Court holds that the ‘mere’ possession of a pipe bomb is not a federal crime of violence. As I read this holding, the ‘mere’ possession of a car bomb, or a landmine, or an explosive vest, or a ‘dirty bomb,’ or even a nuclear bomb, would also not constitute a crime of violence, because there would be no substantial risk that the possessor may use physical force against another in the course of committing the offense of possession.”

“CBS appeals fine for Janet Jackson breast flashing”: Reuters provides this report.

“Appeals Court Upholds Ebbers Conviction”: The Associated Press provides this report.

“An employer of teenagers is not in loco parentis, but he acts at his peril if he fails to warn their parents when he knows or should know that their children are at substantial risk of statutory rape by an older, male shift supervisor in circumstances constituting workplace harassment.” Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued this opinion today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Earlier in the opinion, Judge Posner writes: “Nor are American teenage girls such blushing violets that sexual badinage is harassment per se.” Finally, a search of Westlaw suggests that this may be the first published judicial opinion in the USA to use the phrase “tittie twisters.”

Update: “Daily Developments in EEO Law” discusses today’s ruling here.

“NeXus Journal Blawg Issue”: Denise Howell has this post about the current issue of the Nexus journal from the Chapman University School of Law.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirms criminal convictions of Bernard J. Ebbers, former Chief Executive Officer of WorldCom, Inc.: You can access today’s ruling at this link. The ruling also upholds the 25-year jail sentence imposed on those convictions.

Ninth Circuit grants rehearing en banc in appeal in which a divided three-judge panel ordered a new trial after the defendant was convicted of traveling across state lines with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor and using an interstate facility to attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sex: A central issue in the case was whether the district court erred in admitting into evidence stories extracted from the defendant’s PDA about a father’s having sex with his young daughter and the daughter’s enjoyment of the experience. The three-judge panel’s ruling is available at this link, while my earlier coverage of that ruling is here. Today’s order granting rehearing en banc is at this link.

Available today at National Review Online: Ramesh Ponnuru has an essay entitled “Slate’s Hamdan Hoax: Justice Stevens just can’t be defended.”

Rich Lowry has an essay entitled “Judges in Check — for Now: Is the balance back?”

And an editorial entitled “Signing Off” asserts that “[t]he idea that Bush’s use of signing statements has created a constitutional crisis is impossible to take seriously.”

“Neb. Court Rejects Electric Chair Appeal”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The state Supreme Court on Friday rejected an inmate’s appeal that the electric chair amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, leaving Nebraska as still the only state with electrocution as its sole means of execution.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Nebraska at this link.

“If the Judicial Confirmation Process is Broken, Can a Statute Fix It?” Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl has this essay (abstract with link for download) online at SSRN (via “Legal Theory Blog“).