“Miss. Death Row Appeal Tops Court Agenda”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The death penalty appeal of Bobby Glen Wilcher will be among the first cases the U.S. Supreme Court will discuss when justices return from vacation this fall.”

“Deadlocked Supreme Court: ‘Someone’s Voting Twice.'” The current issue of The Onion contains a news brief that begins, “The Supreme Court’s third 5-5 vote in the past month has some justices wondering whether one of their number is voting twice.”

“Wallace Hearing Postponed”: Ed Whelan has this post at National Review Online’s “Bench Memo” blog. The hearing had been scheduled to occur tomorrow.

The D.C. Circuit’s Division for the Purpose of Appointing Independent Counsels finds largely meritorious a petition seeking reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs incurred during and as a result of the investigation conducted by an Independent Counsel: This has happened so rarely in recent years that today’s ruling seemed noteworthy.

“The District Court’s final order failed to comply with the separate-document requirement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58. Lengthy recitation of facts and procedural history prevents an order from serving as a separate document within the meaning of the Rule.” Fans of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58’s “separate document” requirement are sure to enjoy this decision that a two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued today. I discussed Rule 58’s “separate document” requirement in my “Upon Further Review” column from April 2002 headlined “December 2002 Brings Significant Changes To The Federal Rules Of Appellate Procedure.”

Third Circuit rejects adult cabaret’s constitutional challenge to New Jersey regulation prohibiting “any lewdness or immoral activity” on liquor-licensed premises: Apparently, it is lawful to require an establishment to choose between a liquor license and presenting shows consisting of lewd or immoral acts. You can access today’s ruling of a two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link.

“Breyer, Kozinski Rule: Cabaret’s No Musical.” Justin Scheck has this post at CalLaw.com’s “Legal Pad” blog.

Greetings from Brainerd, Minnesota: The flight into Minneapolis was problem-free and on-time, and the drive up to Brainerd was quite pleasant. And thanks to the reader who emailed that the Brainerd Blue Thunder baseball team is playing at home all week.

Programming note: I’ve been invited to participate as one of the speakers at this week’s “judges-only” Judicial Conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. As a result, I’ll be en route today to Brainerd, Minnesota. The resort that is hosting the conference purportedly features high-speed internet access, so additional posts may appear online this evening. According to the conference’s program, I’m not the only person originating from the Third Circuit who is scheduled to deliver remarks. The distance between Brainerd and Minneapolis, and also between Brainerd and Fargo, makes it unlikely that I will be able to attend any Twins or Redhawks baseball games while I’m there.

“Republicans Will Attempt to Strip ‘Pledge’ Cases from Courts”: Lawrence Hurley has this article today in The Daily Journal of California.

“Impeachment Inquiry of Judge Sought; The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee plans an investigation into the conduct of federal court jurist Manuel L. Real”: Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Skateboard park waiver wipes out in top court; Some see ruling harming sites for youth recreation”: The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins “Parents are asked to sign them all the time — forms allowing their child to go on a class trip, play a sport or participate in an activity such as skateboarding. Some give up the child’s right to sue for injuries. Yesterday, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that commercial recreational facilities cannot use those forms to escape liability for their own carelessness.” You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of New Jersey at this link.

“High court blocks plan for Camden fugitives; The chief justice, citing credibility and safety, won’t let judges take part in a program for criminals to surrender in a church”: The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today.

“E-slacking: It’s laptop over lecture; When classes are less than riveting, graduate students are jumping online to shop and e-mail; But some professors are fighting back.” This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune.

“Hinton confesses to Melendi murder; Emory student raped, strangled, burned in 1994”: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contains this article today.

And The Miami Herald reports today that “Confession no balm for teen’s dad; A killer’s confession about the 1994 abduction, rape and murder of Kendall teen Shannon Melendi did little to comfort her loved ones.”

“FBI sought to win Padilla’s trust; Al-Qaida suspect’s arrest not the aim, agent testifies”: This article appears today in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

“Optimism on Both Sides of Gay-Marriage Debate; State Votes Will Show Whether Bans Are Losing Steam or Gaining Ground”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

“In a Lawsuit Aimed at Iran, Terror Victims Focus on Ancient Artifacts in a Chicago Museum”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“G.O.P. Senator Resisting Bush Over Detainees”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina often plays the contrarian, the conservative Republican willing to poke a stick in the eye of the White House.”

“In Novel-Like Scene, Two Milberg Partners Plead Not Guilty”: Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun.

The New York Times reports today that “Law Firm and 4 Figures in Payments Case Enter Pleas.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Milberg Weiss Pleads Not Guilty; Prosecutors say more indictments could come in the case alleging that the law firm paid illegal kickbacks to plaintiffs.”

And The Associated Press reports that “L.A. Law Firm Pleads Not Guilty to Charges.”

The Supreme Court of the United States posts online its October Term 2006 calendar: You can view the calendar online at this link. It appears that my birthday will occur on a Saturday this year.

American Bar Association downgrades its rating for Fourth Circuit nominee Terrence W. Boyle from unanimously well qualified to qualified (substantial majority), well qualified (minority): You can access the new rating at this link.

Denise Howell 4.0: The law blogger who inspired me to start “How Appealing” discusses her plans for the future.

“Childers Appeal Reaches The [Florida] Supreme Court”: The blog “Abstract Appeal” provides this post today. My earlier coverage of the case appears here.

City of Las Cruces, New Mexico defends federal lawsuit challenging the crosses in its logo: The Las Cruces Sun-News reported yesterday that “Federal court date set for three crosses’ lawsuit” (via “Religion Clause“). Of course, in English, Las Cruces means “the crosses.” You can view the city’s current logo via this post at the “Logo Design” blog.

“Anti-Smoking Group Wins Legal Victory”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “An anti-smoking group known for its edgy ads featuring teenagers has won a legal victory over No. 3 cigarette maker Lorillard Tobacco Co. The Delaware Supreme Court ruled Monday that the ads created by the Washington-based American Legacy Foundation did not violate a 1998 agreement between the tobacco industry and the states.” As of this moment, the opinion does not appear to be available online at the Supreme Court of Delaware’s web site.

“Detain Game: How Congress can make Guantanamo even worse.” Law Professor Bruce Ackerman has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Hinton admits to Melendi murder; Emory University student raped, killed in 1994”: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides this news update. Last month, I had this post reporting on the Supreme Court of Georgia‘s decision affirming that murder conviction, which, according to The Associated Press, was “the first in Georgia where authorities could find neither a body nor a definitive crime scene.”

“Trust Busters on the Supreme Court”: The Cato Institute has today posted online at this link an op-ed from Law Professor Richard A. Epstein that originally appeared last Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal. The op-ed begins, “A huge chunk of the Supreme Court’s work lies in interpreting the statutes and regulations that govern every nook of American life. In reading statutes, the justices oscillate uneasily between two inconsistent approaches.”

“Widow of Late Justice Blackmun Dies”: The Associated Press provides this report.

“Courts and the Law: Better Late Than Never.” Columnist Kenneth Jost has this essay in today’s issue of CQ Weekly.

“Conservative Court eager to make its mark”: James B. Staab has this op-ed today in The Kansas City Star.

“Sedley Alley’s Last-Minute Stay”: At “The Volokh Conspiracy,” Jonathan Adler has a post that begins, “The state of Tennessee executed Sedley Alley in the early morning of June 28 after a series of last-ditch appeals, an unusual 11th hour stay of execution, and a strongly worded order vacating the stay from a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Given the Sixth Circuit’s public dissension in recent years, including several sharply worded opinions and allegations of improprieties in death penalty cases, I suspect this case would have received more attention had it not been overshadowed by the close of the Supreme Court’s term and several high-profile decisions.”

Available online from The Nation: In the July 31, 2006 issue of the magazine, Law Professor David Cole will have an essay entitled “The ‘Kennedy Court.’” And Mickey Edwards will have an essay entitled “Lawyers Challenge Bush.”

Meanwhile, available online only, Aziz Huq has an essay entitled “Hamdan v Rumsfeld: Guidepost or Relic?”

“Barring Faith: A federal judge strikes down prison ministries.” Robert P. George and Gerald V. Bradley have this essay in the current issue of The Weekly Standard.