“Nomination of Stevens among Ford’s key decisions”: Joan Biskupic has this article online at USA Today’s web site.

“Delays in terrorism trial a concern, judge asserts”: This article appears today in The Toronto Globe and Mail.

Wonderful news for Duke Law School, but a sad loss of a very talented judge for the federal judiciary: Duke Law School has issued a press release announcing that “Federal Judge David F. Levi selected as Dean of Duke Law School.”

You can access the official federal judicial center biography for Chief Judge David F. Levi of the Eastern District of California at this link. A narrative biography is also available from that court’s web site. Chief Judge Levi currently chairs the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, which sits at the top of the federal judiciary’s rulemaking process.

At WSJ.com’s “Law Blog,” Peter Lattman has a post titled “Duke Law School Selects Judge David Levi as Dean.”

“Judicial Seminars — Dowling Complains; Adler Responds”: Jonathan Adler has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

On rehearing, Sixth Circuit panel adheres to its earlier decision disqualifying appellate counsel after an attorney who once represented a plaintiff-appellee in this very case went to work for the law firm representing the defendants-appellants: Today’s decision on panel rehearing provides new and improved reasons for maintaining the original result.

My coverage of the panel’s initial ruling can be accessed here.

“Debate over death penalty gears up”: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram contains this article today.

“Crash alters meaning of judicial branch; Large tree crushes car belonging to state’s chief justice”: This article appears today in The Salem (Ore.) Statesman Journal. A related photo can be accessed here.

“U.S. Faces Major Hurdles in Prosecuting Padilla”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Morning Edition.” The audio segment begins by noting another change in the way Padilla prefers to have “Padilla” pronounced.

“Court OKs profession as block to jury service”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “Prospective jurors can’t be removed because of their race, religion or sex. But it’s all right to toss a journalist or a teacher. A state appeals court said an Alameda County prosecutor acted for legitimate, nonracial reasons when he challenged a member of the jury pool at a murder trial because she was a member of what he described as ‘two notorious liberal professions,’ teaching and journalism.”

You can access at this link last Friday’s unpublished ruling of the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District, Division One.

“Juneau woman helped pioneer benefits law; After several years of waiting, same-sex partners are eligible”: This article appeared Sunday in The Juneau Empire.

“Testimony of 2 reporters in Army court-martial delayed”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

“The Silent Justice: In a rare interview Justice John Paul Stevens talks about President Ford.” Jan Crawford Greenburg had this video segment on last night’s broadcast of the ABC News program “Nightline.”

“Schwarzenegger’s gay marriage misstep: If he hadn’t vetoed a bill granting marriage rights to all, the governor could have saved the state a court battle.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Even a Supreme Court loss can propel a cause; Activists find success at the state level in battles to curb eminent domain and affirmative action”: Today in The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage has an article that begins, “For activists who seek to change the law, nothing works better sometimes than losing a big case in the Supreme Court. This year saw two small, public-interest law firms convert losses in the high court into wins in the court of public opinion.”

“It’s a battle not written in stone”: The St. Petersburg Times today contains an article that begins, “To government officials, it was a simple request: A local business owner wanted to donate a monument of the Ten Commandments and place it on the steps of the Dixie County Courthouse. The commissioners, all professed Christians, approved the gift and its placement outside the building in the center of town that is home to several government agencies, including the County Commission.”

“Leahy warns Justice over terror policies”: This article appears today in The Washington Times.

“N.J. death penalty on way out; The Legislature is moving to abolish it after a report called it costly and pointless”: The Philadelphia Inquirer contains this article today.

The New York Times reports today that “Panel Seeks End to Death Penalty for New Jersey.”

In The Los Angeles Times, Henry Weinstein reports that “End to death penalty is urged; A New Jersey panel says life in prison costs less and prevents the risk of an innocent person being executed.”

And The Newark Star-Ledger reports that “Panel calls for an end to death penalty; Corzine, top legislators back life without parole.”

You can access the panel’s report at this link (via “Sentencing Law and Policy“).

“FBI Reports Duct-Taping, ‘Baptizing’ at Guantanamo”: This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. My earlier coverage is at this link.

“Truck deaths victims’ families demand justice; The penalty phase resumes in smuggling retrial”: The Houston Chronicle today contains an article that begins, “As relatives took the stand Tuesday, universal body language told the story of their grief while Spanish translators relayed to the jury how life has changed since losing family members in the nation’s deadliest illegal-immigrant smuggling attempt.”

“Same-sex marriage ban advances; Lawmakers OK item for ballot, but hurdle remains”: This article appears today in The Boston Globe. The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “A shameful reversal of rights.” And columnist Eileen McNamara has an op-ed entitled “This battle’s worth a fight.”

The New York Times reports today that “Same-Sex Marriage Setback in Massachusetts.”

The Washington Post reports that “Mass. Gay Marriage Law Contested; Divided Legislature Agrees to Revote Next Year for the 2008 Ballot.”

The Los Angeles Times contains an article headlined “A same-sex marriage setback: Lawmakers allow an initiative banning the unions to go to voters; But the fight isn’t over.”

The Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts reports that “Legislators OK vote on gay spouses.”

The Boston Herald contains articles headlined “Legislators advance bid for gay-wed vote” and “One step remains to put amendment on 2008 ballot.” In addition, an editorial is entitled “Lawmakers get it, Patrick doesn’t.”

And The Washington Times reports that “Same-sex ‘marriage’ measure advances.”

“Courts Gets Case Of Grandparental Visitation Rights”: Today in The New York Sun, Joseph Goldstein has an article that begins, “The state’s highest court is set to hear a case today about grandparent visitation rights, an issue so constitutionally troublesome that the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 issued six conflicting opinions on the topic in a single case.” The article mentions the petition for writ of certiorari filed last month in the U.S. Supreme Court on this subject.

“Dramatic drop in Supreme Court rulings fuels questions”: The Toronto Globe and Mail on Saturday published an article that begins, “A steady drop in the number of judgments produced by the Supreme Court of Canada hit a striking new low in 2006, with the court rendering just 59 decisions. Statistics compiled by The Globe and Mail show a total that is dramatically lower than years such as 1990, when the court rendered 144 rulings, and 1993, when it handed down 138 rulings. Even measured against its declining output over the past decade, the court still managed an average output in the range of 85 to 90 judgments.”

“FBI Details Possible Detainee Abuse”: The Associated Press provides this report.

And CNN.com provides a report headlined “FBI: Workers saw prisoner abuse at Guantanamo.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “Guantanamo Bay Inquiry” can be accessed here.

On this evening’s broadcast of NPR‘s “All Things Considered“: The broadcast contained audio segments entitled “Bush May Have Lost Chance to Tailor Bugging Law” and “Mass. Votes to Allow Gay-Marriage Ban Proposal.” RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.

“Ayotte asks judge to keep notification”: Saturday’s edition of The Concord (N.H.) Monitor contained an article that begins, “In the coming months, lawmakers will consider repealing the state’s 2003 parental-notification law that requires a minor to tell a parent or judge before having an abortion. In the meantime, however, the court battle over the law’s legality continues.”

“Justice Appointed by Ford, Remembers Late President; Exclusive Interview: John Paul Stevens Recalls Ford’s Selection Over Conservative Favorite.” Jan Crawford Greenburg has this written report at ABCNews.com.

Justice John Paul Stevens interviewed today by ABC News reporter Jan Crawford Greenburg: A producer for the ABC News program “Nightline” sends along the following via email:

Don’t know if you’d heard, but Jan Crawford Greenburg had an exclusive, 20-minute sit down on-camera interview this afternoon with Justice John Paul Stevens in which Stevens talked about his memories of Jerry Ford and his judicial philosophy. It was Stevens first and only network television interview. Stevens told Greenburg that when he met Ford, just days before he nominated him to the Court, “my two very firm impressions from that meeting were, one, he was a fine lawyer; and two, he was the kind of person I would really like to have as a friend, because you like him right away.” In regard to his judicial philosophy, Greenburg noted that when he nominated him, Ford believed Stevens was “a moderate conservative” and she asked him, “How do you see yourself now.” “As a moderate conservative,” he replied. “I don’t really think I’ve changed. I think there have been a lot of changes in the court.”

Portions of the interview are scheduled to appear on this evening’s broadcasts of ABC World News Tonight and Nightline.

“Web error reveals censure of U.S. judge; In a rare move only inadvertently made public, action is urged against Manuel L. Real of L.A. for misconduct”: Back on December 23, 2006, Henry Weinstein had this article in The Los Angeles Times.

My post that day noting The LATimes article concluded, “I am attempting to obtain a copy of the decision so that I can post it online at ‘How Appealing.'”

More recently, on Wednesday, December 27, 2006, The Daily Journal of California published an article by Drew Combs headlined “Confidential Opinion Gets Onto Web Site; Panel’s Decision to Sanction Judge Real Was Pending Appeal.”

The place where the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in In re Complaint of Judicial Misconduct, No. 05-89097 (Nov. 16, 2006), appeared online for more than a week was Westlaw, at the citation 2006 WL 3478274. A Westlaw search for that citation now returns no result. I have succeeded in obtaining a copy of the ruling in the form of a Westlaw printout made when the decision was freely available online for anyone with a Westlaw account to access.

The copy of the ruling that I have obtained is not of high visual quality. It appears to have been faxed more than once, and I have scanned it into a PDF file, which may have further diminished its visual clarity. In addition, the copy of the ruling includes some underlining, all of which was added by someone other than me. Finally, my copy of the document is currently missing page 9 of the Westlaw printout. I am in the process of seeking to obtain that missing page, and if I succeed in doing so I will promptly post it online. You can access all but page 9 of the Westlaw printout of the ruling by clicking here.

“Wisconsin’s Judicial Speech Restrictions Challenged”: The James Madison Center for Free Speech has posted online a press release (currently second item) that begins, “Several Plaintiffs including Wisconsin Right to Life filed suit Friday in federal court seeking to enjoin Wisconsin’s canons that forbid state court judicial candidates from responding to a questionnaire asking their views on legal and political issues.”

You can also access online the federal court complaint and plaintiffs’ memorandum of law in support of their motion for a preliminary injunction.

“Mass. Lawmakers Vote on Gay Marriage”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Lawmakers in Massachusetts, the only state where gay marriage is legal, voted Tuesday to allow a proposed constitutional amendment to move forward that would effectively ban it.”

What’s new in Kalamazoo? The Kalamazoo Gazette reported on Saturday that “Officials expected to resume work to fill federal, circuit court openings.”

“Mass. Gov-Elect Urges No Marriage Vote”: The Associated Press provides this report.

“Law professor battles ALS”: The Tallahassee Democrat last week published an article that begins, “A law professor who has proven himself brilliant at defending the constitutional right of free speech soon will be deprived of his ability to speak.”

“The Unpersuasive Chief: Are judges undercompensated? Maybe, but Chief Justice Roberts doesn’t make the case.” Matthew J. Franck has this essay today at National Review Online.

“Old notes detail judge’s thoughts”: This article appears today in The Concord (N.H.) Monitor.