“Search stops at teen’s skull; The bullet in a suspect’s head may link him to a shootout, but Texas police are blocked from retrieving the slug”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Death row inmate’s lawyer says his client was framed; The attorney requests that Kevin Cooper’s case be returned to a lower court for further review”: Today in The Los Angeles Times, Henry Weinstein has this article about a case argued yesterday before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

“Restore workers’ constitutional rights”: This editorial about a case to be argued this morning before the U.S. Supreme Court appears today in The Washington Times.

“Death Penalty Showdown; Killer’s Defense Cleared To Call Prosecutors To Testify In A Legal Test For State’s Law”: The Hartford Courant today contains an article that begins, “Setting the stage for a unique hearing, defense lawyers for a convicted killer have been given approval to call the state’s top prosecutors to the witness stand as part of an effort to show the state’s 34-year-old death penalty law is unconstitutional.”

“[Ana Marie Cox’s] alleged elusiveness has triggered yet another delay in the juicy Washingtonienne court case.” So reports The Washington Post’s Reliable Source column today.

“Benched Nominees: President Bush takes a welcome step back from judicial brinkmanship.” This editorial appears today in The Washington Post.

“Jane Bolin, the Country’s First Black Woman to Become a Judge, Is Dead at 98”: The New York Times contains this obituary today.

“Appeals Court Weighs Padilla Charge”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A federal appellate court is weighing whether to restore the only charge against alleged al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla that carries a sentence of up to life in prison. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals was set to hear arguments Wednesday over the conspiracy charge that was dismissed in August by a judge who ruled it was essentially the same as two other terrorism-support counts against Padilla and two co-defendants.”

“Supreme Court refuses to rule on man’s 47-year sentence for rape”: This article appears today in The Seattle Times.

“Jersey judge up for circuit court post; Hillman is expected to be Bush’s nominee”: The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger yesterday contained an article that begins, “President Bush is expected to nominate Noel Hillman, a longtime prosecutor and a newly appointed federal judge in New Jersey, to an opening on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.” You can access the official Federal Judicial Center biography for U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman at this link.

“High court backs MedImmune; Paying user fees doesn’t bar Md. firm from suing patent holder”: This article appears today in The Baltimore Sun.

“4 white flags fly in courts fight; With the Senate in the hands of Democrats, the most controversial of Bush’s judicial nominees are withdrawn”: David G. Savage and Henry Weinstein have this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

In The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko reports today that “Bush’s 9th Circuit pick withdraws his nomination; But president bypasses opportunity to end Senate impasse over another court opening.”

The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi reports that “Bush selection for federal appeals court post under fire.”

The Sun Herald of Biloxi, Mississippi reports that “Bush nominates 2 in Mississippi for judgeships; Cochran, Lott back nominee.”

The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reports that “Bush drops push for Boyle; No renomination to appeals bench.”

And The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that “Face of U.S. court of appeals may shift.”

“The Harsh Wages of Sin: Why Genarlow Wilson is Languishing in Prison.” Sherry F. Colb has this essay online today at FindLaw.

“Ruling Seen as Giving an Edge to Challengers of Patents”: Linda Greenhouse will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times.

“Bush Drops Plans to Renominate 3 Judges”: Neil A. Lewis will have this article Wednesday in The New York Times.

The Washington Post on Wednesday will report that “4 Nominees To Appeals Courts Are Dropped; 32 Appointments Re-Sent to Senate.”

And McClatchy Newspapers report that “Bush drops 4 embattled judicial nominees.”

“Retiring justice hangs up robe, 18 years experience”: This article appears today in The Reno Gazette-Journal.

“Group sues to get schools more time to implement Proposal 2”: The Detroit Free Press provides a news update that begins, “A group that supports affirmative action asked the U.S. Supreme Court this afternoon for an emergency injunction to give a 6-month reprieve to three state universities to comply with Proposal 2.”

And The Detroit News provides an update headlined “Group will ask high court to allow more time for universities to comply with Proposal 2.”

“I hope that, one day, Vince Smith is on the U.S. Supreme Court; it would not surprise me, and it would thrill me.” So says former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in an article headlined “Huckabee and Hope – a love affair” published today in The Hope Star. The quote refers to Eighth Circuit Judge Lavenski R. Smith.

“Union fight reaches high court”: The Seattle Times today contains an article that begins, “In an appeal of a Washington state case, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide whether labor unions must get permission before spending nonmembers’ fees on political activities. The case, which is scheduled for oral arguments in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, is the latest clash in a nationwide war between labor unions and anti-union forces.”

“U.S. justices hear bond case”: This article appears in Thursday’s edition of The Pacific Daily News of Guam.

“Four Appeals Court Choices Dropped From Consideration”: Bloomberg News provides this report.

“Supreme Court declines to hear appeal by Fumo”: The Philadelphia Inquirer today contains an article that begins, “The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear an appeal from State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, who sought to remove the judge supervising a grand jury investigating him.”

“Judge OKs VA hospital chaplaincy; 1st Amendment not violated, judge says”: The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin today contains an article that begins, “A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Monday brought by the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which alleged that the Department of Veterans Affairs’ chaplaincy program violates the First Amendment prohibition against government support of religion.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Federal judge clears use of religion in care for veterans.”

“Free-speech dispute over union fees; US Supreme Court to look at how much permission unions need to put nonmembers’ dues toward political causes”: Warren Richey will have this article Wednesday in The Christian Science Monitor.

Reversal’s afoot for model’s drug trafficking conviction: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the drug trafficking conviction of a Swedish foot model, ruling a police officer wrongly searched her rental car after stopping her for a minor traffic violation.”

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

Third time’s the charm? In a second set of judicial nominations issued today, the White House has nominated former Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Leslie H. Southwick to fill the vacancy created when Circuit Judge Charles W. Pickering, Sr. retired before his recess nomination expired. Southwick had previously been nominated to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, but the U.S. Senate did not act on that nomination.

White House renominates various U.S. Court of Appeals nominees: Today’s nominations can be viewed at this link.

“Affirmative action plea to Court”: At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, “Several Michigan groups and individuals who support the use of race and gender as part of public college admissions programs asked a Supreme Court Justice on Tuesday to allow three state universities to continue that practice during the current admissions cycle.”

“High Court Revives MedImmune Patent Suit; Analysts project the ruling does not bode well for KSR International v. Teleflex”: law.com’s Tony Mauro provides this news update.

“Abortion ban’s failure blamed on split; Survey: Most legislators didn’t represent views of their constituents.” This article appears today in The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

“Haynes, Myers, Boyle and Wallace Withdraw”: The organization People For the American Way issued this statement this afternoon.

And Earthjustice has issued a press release entitled “Anti-Environmental Judicial Nominee Myers Withdraws; Bi-partisan Senate action and environmental concerns defeated 9th Circuit nominee.”

You can now access online additional certiorari-stage filings in Fieger v. Michigan Grievance Administrator, No. 06-596 (U.S.): I have posted online both respondent’s Brief in Opposition [large PDF file] and the Reply Brief for Petitioner.

According to the Reply Brief, “If Respondent’s view is correct, a lawyer can be barred from exercising his First Amendment right to ‘castigate courts’ for as many years as it takes to exhaust all possible appeals from the judicial decision the lawyer wishes to castigate.”

I originally provided online access to the cert. petition in this earlier post. Additional background on the case is available via my post titled “High court’s feud erupts over case involving Fieger.”

Now you see it, now you don’t, now you see it once again: Slate has once again posted online Jim Newton’s jurisprudence essay entitled “The Brennan Memos: Brennan on Burger.”

Slate accidentally went live with the essay on Friday, thereby testing whether anyone monitors those pesky RSS feeds. As it turned out, the answer was “yes.”

Access online the transcripts of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments: The transcript of today’s oral argument in Sinochem Int’l Co. v. Malaysia Int’l Shipping Corp., No. 06-102, can be accessed here. Although three attorneys argued to the Court, the entire case was argued in just 38 minutes.

And the transcript of today’s oral argument in Schriro v. Landrigan, No. 05-1575, can be accessed here.

“Ninth Circuit Reconsiders Arizona Voter ID Case on Remand from Supreme Court”: Law Professor Rick Hasen has this post at his “Election Law” blog. As Rick’s post notes, David Kravets of The Associated Press has an article headlined “Judges debate Arizona voter ID rule” reporting on yesterday’s Ninth Circuit oral argument. As of this moment, the oral argument audio is not yet available for download from the Ninth Circuit’s web site.