“Ruling to Shift Abortion Fight; Focus Moves to States As Supreme Court Backs A ‘Partial Birth’ Ban”: Jess Bravin will have this article (pass-through link) Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.

“High Court Upholds Curb on Abortion; 5-4 Vote Affirms Ban on ‘Partial-Birth’ Procedure”: Robert Barnes will have this front page article Thursday in The Washington Post.

And The New York Times on Thursday will report that “Court Ruling Catapults Abortion Back Into ’08 Race.”

“In Reversal, Justices Back Ban on Method of Abortion”: Linda Greenhouse will have this article Thursday in The New York Times.

“Legal victory for abortion opponents”: Patti Waldmeir will have this article Thursday in Financial Times.

“I expect that the Supreme Court will uphold the constitutionality of this federal law by a vote of 5–4, and in the aftermath of such a ruling states too will be free to ban the procedure by enacting similarly worded statutes.” That was the final sentence of my “On Appeal” column headlined “Congress Puts ‘Partial-Birth’ Abortion Back on the Supreme Court’s Agenda,” which law.com posted online on February 27, 2006. I guess this proves that I don’t shy away from predicting the outcomes of cases whose outcomes are easy to predict.

“Gonzales v. Carhart — Three Comments”: At “Balkinization,” Jack M. Balkin has this post. And Michael Stokes Paulsen has a post titled “The Pernicious Doctrine of Stare Decisis.”

At “Dorf on Law,” Michael C. Dorf has a post titled “Supreme Court Partial Birth Abortion Ruling.”

And at “Eminent Domain” you can access a post titled “Why the Concurrence Says More than the Majority.”

“Court Upholds Nationwide Ban of Partial-Birth Abortions; Abortion-Rights Advocates Worry Decision Could Signal Shift in Court’s Support of Roe”: Jan Crawford Greenburg and Ariane deVogue have this written report online at ABCNews.com.

“Father Knows Best: Dr. Kennedy’s magic prescription for indecisive women.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“High court upholds first federal ban on late-term abortions”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle provides this news update.

“Analysis: Kennedy’s Pivotal Vote.” Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report.

“2003 Abortion Law Upheld by Supreme Court”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

“High Court Upholds Ban on Abortion Procedure”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Talk of the Nation.”

“Commentary: Some consequences of Carhart II.” Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog” on what to expect in the aftermath of today’s partial-birth abortion ruling.

Access online the transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Panetti v. Quarterman, No. 06-6407: The transcript can be accessed here.

“Abortion Ruling Will Impact States”: The Associated Press provides this report.

“Microsoft Settles Iowa Lawsuit”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Microsoft Corp. agreed Wednesday to pay Iowans up to $180 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that claimed the company had a monopoly that cost the state’s citizens millions of dollars extra for software products.”

“High Court Upholds Ban On Partial-Birth Abortions”: law.com’s Tony Mauro provides this report.

The “Sentencing Law and Policy” blog examines today’s interesting U.S. Supreme Court ruling in James v. United States, No. 05-9264: Law Professor Doug Berman has posts titled “A few quick reactions to James” and “When Justice Scalia sounds like Justice Brennan.”

Today’s rulings of note from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Are you curious about how the brakes work on amusement park rides such as rollercoasters or drop towers? If so, read this opinion, and you may learn a thing or two.

In a second ruling issued today, a three-judge panel divides over a vexing question that recurs far too frequently: How to distinguish between a litigant who is just crazy enough to proceed without an attorney and a litigant who is too crazy to be allowed to proceed without an attorney.

Proving, once again, that the devil is in the details: If the case settled in the trial court, what is it doing on appeal? As this decision that a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued today demonstrates, sometimes opposing parties agree to settle a litigated matter but then fail to agree over what the written settlement agreement should or should not say. In that event, the litigation over whether a settlement was in fact reached and, if so, what its material terms are can give rise to a dispute as contentious as the original dispute that the settlement was intended to resolve.

“US Supreme Court allows late-term abortion ban; The 5-to-4 ruling reverses a 2000 decision that struck down a ban on so-called ‘partial-birth’ abortion”: Warren Richey will have this article Thursday in The Christian Science Monitor.

And Joan Biskupic of USA Today provides a news update headlined “Court backs abortion ban.”

“High Court Upholds Ban on Abortion Procedure”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Dahlia Lithwick appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Day to Day.”

“High Court Blocks State Power Over Some Lenders”: Jess Bravin has this article (pass-through link) today in The Wall Street Journal.

Access online the transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. v. Brentwood Academy, No. 06-427: The transcript can be accessed here.

In coverage of the oral argument, The Associated Press reports that “Court Considers Football Recruiting Case.”

“Abortion ruling marks a 1st for high court”: David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times provides this news update.

William Branigin and Robert Barnes of The Washington Post provide a news update headlined “Court Backs Ban on Abortion Procedure.”

Bill Mears of CNN.com reports that “Justices uphold ban on abortion procedure.”

And The Associated Press reports that “GOP Candidates Praise Abortion Ruling.”

“High Court Upholds Partial Birth Abortion Act”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Court OKs ‘Seven Aphorisms’ in park; Summum faith can erect monuments in Pleasant Grove and Duchesne”: The Salt Lake Tribune today contains an article that begins, “A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that followers of the Summum faith can display their Seven Aphorisms in Duchesne and Pleasant Grove city parks, which already hold monuments of the Ten Commandments. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted that the parks are public forums, and restrictions on speech based solely on its content are forbidden except in narrow circumstances. The two decisions overturned rulings by U.S. District Judge Dee Benson that blocked Summum’s proposed monuments. In the Pleasant Grove case, the court said requiring the city to permit display of Summum’s tenets will further free speech.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Tenth Circuit rulings, including links to both rulings, can be accessed here.

“Two women convicted of murdering husbands could be freed”: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch today contains an article that begins, “After 29 years behind bars for the murder of her husband, Shirley Lute will be a free woman soon. And Lynda Branch, an inmate for the murder of her husband in 1986, might follow her out the prison doors. That’s the effect of a decision Tuesday by the Missouri Supreme Court that seeks to resolve a conflict between the powers of the governor and the independent Missouri Board of Probation and Parole.”

And The Columbia Missourian reports today that “Court rules in favor of inmates; Women convicted of murdering their abusive husbands get parole hearings.”

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

“Supreme Court upholds law banning some abortions”: James Vicini of Reuters provides this report.

And Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “‘Partial Birth’ Abortion Ban Upheld by Top U.S. Court.”

“Enlightened Despot: Israel’s leading jurist gives new meaning to ‘activist judge.'” Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner has this interesting review (pass-through link) of the book “The Judge in a Democracy” by Aharon Barak in the April 23, 2007 issue of The New Republic.

“Harriet Miers to Return to Locke Liddell & Sapp”: Texas Lawyer today contains an article that begins, “Former White House Counsel Harriet Miers will return to Locke Liddell & Sapp, the firm she formerly co-managed, on May 1 as a partner.”

Access online today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the partial-birth abortion ban cases: You can access the decision at this link. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined. Justice Thomas also filed a concurring opinion in which Justice Scalia joined. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote a dissenting opinion, in which Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, and Stephen G. Breyer joined.

Although the cases were argued separately (access the oral argument transcripts here and here), the Court disposed of the cases by means of a single opinion.

In his concurrence, Justice Thomas states: “I write separately to reiterate my view that the Court’s abortion jurisprudence, including Casey and Roe v. Wade, 410 U. S. 113 (1973), has no basis in the Constitution.” It is worth noting that the Court’s two newest Justices — the Chief Justice and Justice Alito — did not join in Justice Thomas’s concurring opinion.

Access online today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in James v. United States, No. 05-9264: The Court has posted the decision online at this link.

And in early news coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Court Says Burglary Extends Sentence.”

BREAKING NEWS — “Supreme Court OKs Abortion Procedure Ban”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on a disputed abortion procedure Wednesday, handing abortion opponents the long-awaited victory they expected from a more conservative bench.”

“Court upholds federal abortion ban”: At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, “Dividing 5-4, the Supreme Court on Wednesday gave a sweeping victory to the federal government and to other opponents of abortion, upholding the 1993 law that banned what are often called ‘partial-birth abortions.’ Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority in the first-ever decision by the Court to uphold a total ban on a specific abortion procedure.”

In addition, the Court also announced its ruling in James v. United States, No. 05-9264. You can access the oral argument transcript at this link.