“Court Reviews Race as Factor in School Plans”: Linda Greenhouse will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times.

And The Washington Post on Tuesday will report that “Justices Weigh Race, School Admissions; Cases Draw Wide Interest, Including Demonstrations.”

“Supreme Court Revisits Race in Public Schools”: This segment (transcript with link to audio) appeared on this evening’s broadcast of the PBS program “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.”

“Competing Models of Judicial Coalition Formation and Case Outcome Determination”: Law Professor Tonja Jacobi has this paper (abstract with links for download) online at SSRN (via “Legal Theory Blog“).

Available online from National Public Radio: This evening’s broadcast of “All Things Considered” contained an audio segment entitled “Supreme Court Hears School Diversity Case” featuring Nina Totenberg.

And today’s broadcast of “Talk of the Nation” contained an audio segment entitled “Supreme Court and School Diversity” featuring David G. Savage.

“DoD Photos of Shackling Jose Padilla”: Cryptome has posted them online at this link, while a PDF copy of the image is here.

As I noted here last night, The New York Times today contains a related article headlined “Video Is a Window Into a Terror Suspect’s Isolation.”

“Court appears likely to bar school ‘racial balancing'”: David G. Savage of The Los Angles Times provides this news update.

And Stephen Henderson of McClatchy Newspapers reports that “Supreme Court weighs school diversity cases.”

“Affirmative Inaction: Anthony Kennedy is sort of horrified by voluntary school desegregation.” Dahlia Lithwick has this Supreme Court dispatch online at Slate.

“With the recent 9th Circuit opinion and one in Pennsylvania, there has been a lot of discussion about what constitutes possession of child pornography in our modern Internet era.” So begins a post at the blog “Sex Crimes” about my “On Appeal” essay headlined “Just Looking: Should Internet Ignorance Be a Defense to Child Porn Charges?” published today at law.com.

And the blog “Esoteric Appeal” discusses my essay in an interesting post titled “Why Tech Law Is Amazing.”

Lots of other interesting comments about the essay have arrived by email, and I hope to have the time to respond to some or all of them soon.

“Balancing the races by racial edicts”: The Christian Science Monitor on Tuesday will contain an editorial that begins, “The Supreme Court Monday heard arguments in a case involving the use of skin color to decide where a student attends school.”

“Supreme Court Could Rule Against Use of Race for Public School Diversity”: law.com’s Tony Mauro provides a news update that begins, “The Supreme Court appeared headed on Monday toward a ruling that will sharply limit, if not eliminate, the use of race as a factor in assigning students to public schools to achieve diversity.”

“Maryland Court Hears Same-Sex Marriage Arguments”: The Washington Post provides this news update.

And The Baltimore Sun provides a news update headlined “Same-sex marriage arguments begin; Case starts in state’s highest court as both sides brace for long battle.”

By clicking here (RealPlayer required), you can watch archived video of today’s oral argument in the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that State’s higest court. The red robes that the court’s judges wear at argument — which are “red”-ily apparent on the video — seem festively appropriate for this holiday season.

Tomorrow’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for judicial nominees has been canceled: The notice of cancellation is at this link.

On today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Day to Day“: The broadcast contained audio segments entitled “Supreme Court Considers Integration in Schools” (featuring Dahlia Lithwick); “Sperm Donor Challenges Parental Rights in Kansas“; and “Video Shows Treatment of Terrorism Suspect Padilla.”

Available online from the First Amendment Center: Two news analysis items from Tony Mauro — the first is headlined “‘Faith-based’ case tests establishment-clause lawsuit standing,” while the second is headlined “Court may untangle student-speech cases with ‘Bong Hits.’”

C-SPAN has posted online for on-demand viewing the audio of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in the race-based school assignment cases: You can view this morning’s oral argument in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District, No. 05-908, by clicking here (RealPlayer required). In addition, the same-day transcript of this argument is available at this link.

And you can view this morning’s oral argument in Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, No. 05-915, by clicking here (RealPlayer required). Update: The same-day transcript of this argument is now available at this link.

“Key U.S. justice opposes use of race in school cases”: James Vicini of Reuters provides this report.

And Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Race-Based School Assignments Questioned by U.S. Supreme Court.”

“Judge Posner’s Seductive Realism and Pragmatic Adjudication–Beware the Pied Piper”: Brian Tamanaha has this post today at “Balkinization.”

“Correcting the Constitution”: Today’s broadcast of the public radio program “On Point” featured a lengthy segment (available in both RealPlayer and Windows Media Player formats) focusing on Law Professor Sanford Levinson‘s new book, “Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It).”

“Truck Driver Convicted in Smuggling Case”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A truck driver was convicted Monday for his role in the nation’s deadliest human smuggling attempt, in which 19 illegal immigrants died from dehydration, overheating and suffocation inside a sweltering tractor-trailer. The trial’s punishment phase was set to begin on Wednesday and was expected to last about a week. Jurors will decide whether the driver, Tyrone Williams, should be sentenced to death or life in prison.”

And Harvey Rice of The Houston Chronicle provides a news update headlined “Truck driver convicted in smuggling deaths case.”

“Judge Forgoes Salary, But May Not Forgo Income”: “TaxProf Blog” has this post concerning the latest report on Pa. Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin‘s efforts to decline Pennsylvania’s controversial judicial pay raise.

Lyle Denniston is reporting: At “SCOTUSblog,” he has posts titled “Schools’ race experiments may be doomed” and “Court puts off school holiday display appeal.”

“Supreme Court Looks at Race and Schools”: The Associated Press provides this updated report.

C-SPAN has just begun its rebroadcast of today’s oral arguments in the race-based school admission cases: You can access C-SPAN live, online using either Real Player or Windows Media Player.

“Supreme Court Lets Stand 55-Year Term”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a mandatory 55-year prison sentence, condemned as excessive by the federal judge who imposed it, for a man convicted of carrying a handgun during three marijuana deals.”

And The AP also reports that “Court Turns Down Sex Survey Case Review.”

Update: Today’s U.S. Supreme Court Order List can be accessed at this link.

View the video of Justice Stephen G. Breyer’s appearance yesterday on FOX News Sunday: You can view the video online by clicking here.

My earlier coverage of Justice Breyer’s television appearance yesterday can be accessed at this link.

“Supreme Court to Weigh Schools’ Racial Plans”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Morning Edition.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Supreme Court Looks at Race and Schools.”

C-SPAN plans to air the same-day oral argument audio in these cases as soon as it becomes available. The broadcast of the audio from this morning’s first oral argument is likely to start at approximately 11:15 a.m. You can access C-SPAN live, online using either Real Player or Windows Media Player.

“Just Looking: Should Internet Ignorance Be a Defense to Child Porn Charges?” The brand new installment of my “On Appeal” column for law.com can be accessed here.

My essay begins, “Two appellate courts recently ruled that an individual who intentionally visited Web sites to view child pornography, but who did not intentionally save those images to his computer’s hard drive, could not be convicted or punished for possessing images that were automatically saved due to the Web browser’s cache functions. These rulings strike me as badly mistaken, for reasons that I explain below.”

“Prosecutor of drug case found killed; Assistant U.S. attorney for Md. discovered shot, beaten and stabbed in Pa.; ‘We will find out who did this’; Authorities retrace Luna’s steps, ask for public’s help”: Three years ago tomorrow, The Baltimore Sun published an article that begins, “A federal prosecutor who disappeared as he was preparing to conclude a drug case against a would-be Baltimore rap artist and another man was found beaten, stabbed and shot in rural Pennsylvania yesterday, and top federal officials vowed to track down his killer.”

Today thus marks the three-year anniversary of the date on which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Luna’s lifeless body was found in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Yesterday, The Sunday News of Lancaster published an article headlined “Luna case takes turns; Book update tells of wounds to back, hands of assistant U.S. attorney found dead in 2003; mortician is source; lawsuit could force an inquest.” And an archive of The Baltimore Sun’s coverage of this still unsolved case can be accessed here.

“Politically correct abortion-speak”: Nat Hentoff has this op-ed in today’s issue of The Washington Times.

“We’re Still Learning From Brown v. Board of Education; As long as we struggle to integrate schools, race-based measures should pass muster”: Andrew J. Pincus has this essay (free access) in today’s issue of Legal Times.

“The mock-amole defense: When a guacamole dip is only 2% avocado, it’s mislabeled, but that’s no reason to seek punitive damages.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Global warming to gay rights: The worldwide trend of recognizing same-sex marriage will likely continue.” Paula L. Ettelbrick has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times.

“As Md. Court Weighs Same-Sex Marriage, Plaintiffs Hear Echoes of Previous Fight”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.

And The Washington Times reports today that “Religious liberty group takes up ‘marriage’ case.”

Today’s oral argument before the Court of Appeals of Maryland — that State’s highest court — in the case of Conway v. Deane presents the question whether Maryland law prohibits the marriage of two persons of the same gender. The court is scheduled to webcast the oral argument live starting at 10 a.m. today. You can access the webcast online via this link. And the briefs filed in the case can be accessed here (link via “The Volokh Conspiracy“).

“Cases retread Brown vs. Board of Education steps; The Supreme Court takes up two school integration disputes that could have far-reaching effects”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports today that “Court to hear unlikely advocate; Lawyer challenges Jefferson desegregation policy.”

In The New York Sun, Joseph Goldstein reports that “Spitzer Argues For Race-Based School Admission.”

The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contains an article headlined “Jersey’s stake in U.S. justices’ integration ruling.”

The Detroit Free Press reports that “Detroit eyes Supreme Court cases; Activists fear return to inequality in schools.”

And The Washington Post today contains an editorial entitled “A Different Race Case: The Supreme Court considers whether race can be used in public school placement.”

“Try bipartisanship on judge nominees; Delay on Iowa judge typifies polarization”: This editorial appears today in The Des Moines Register.