“Vonage, Facing Customer Ban, Wins Extended Stay”: Bloomberg News provides this report.

The Associated Press reports that “Vonage Injunction Stayed in Patent Case.”

And Reuters provides a report headlined “Vonage says wins court stay in Verizon patent fight.”

“Thomas Recusal Mystery Solved”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post that begins, “For the last two years, Justice Clarence Thomas has consistently recused himself in cases in which Wachovia Bank is a party — most notably the landmark decision last week in Watters v. Wachovia Bank, a win for federal regulation of national bank subsidiaries.”

“High Court Weighs Tax Immunity Question”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Supreme Court justices cast a skeptical eye Tuesday on claims that U.N. diplomats should not pay property taxes to New York City, despite a lawyer’s warning that a ruling for the city could mean higher bills for U.S. sites around the world.”

In today’s mail: A copy of the book “Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas” by Kevin Merida and Michael A. Fletcher. The book officially goes on sale today.

“Anti-affirmative action ballot issue proposed; Measure could be the hot-button issue of ’08 election cycle”: The Rocky Mountain News contains this article today.

The Denver Post reports today that “Race, sex emphasis in Colo. targeted; Vote eyed to quash affirmative action.”

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that “Affirmative action may be bound for ballots.”

And The Washington Times reports that “Colorado takes aim at race, sex preferences.”

“In a hole, still digging: Embattled attorney general did himself no favors with evasive, contradictory testimony to Senate panel.” This editorial appears today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Chicago Tribune today contains an editorial entitled “The man who was not there.” In addition, Law Professor Douglas W. Kmiec has an op-ed entitled “Gonzales case merely a footnote.”

And in The Boston Globe, columnist Peter S. Canellos has an essay entitled “Support of Gonzales affirms power play.”

“SJC sends tobacco-money dispute to arbitration panel; State says it is owed $60 million”: The Boston Globe today contains an article that begins, “The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that a dispute over whether two major tobacco companies have shortchanged Massachusetts by some $60 million in settlement payments over the past two years must be resolved by an arbitration panel, rather than by a state judge.”

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

Available online from the New England Journal of Medicine: R. Alta Charo, J.D. has an essay entitled “The Partial Death of Abortion Rights.”

Michael F. Greene, M.D. has an essay entitled “The Intimidation of American Physicians — Banning Partial-Birth Abortion.”

And Jeffrey M. Drazen, M.D. has an essay entitled “Government in Medicine.”

A bit earlier this morning, I linked here to some press coverage of these essays.

“The Roberts’ Court”: Yesterday’s broadcast of the public radio program “On Point” featured as guests ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg, Law Professor Jeffrey Rosen, and Time magazine national political correspondent Karen Tumulty. You can access the audio online using either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player.

“Vote could end Mexico’s abortion subculture; If lawmakers decide this week to legalize the procedure, it could signal the demise of a thriving herbal, medicinal and surgical black market”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Case against University of Phoenix stands; The Supreme Court refuses to throw out a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging loan fraud”: Henry Weinstein has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Are passengers ‘seized’ during a police stop? Supreme Court to decide; Justices to decide search rights of passengers when a driver is pulled over.” David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Reliability of execution drugs is in question; The faulty administration of two of the three chemicals leaves some inmates suffocating and conscious, a report says”: The Los Angeles Times contains this article today.

“Miers weighed Yang’s firing according to Sen. Feinstein”: This article appears today in The Hill.

The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined “Bush endorses attorney general’s testimony on firings; Gonzales ‘increased my confidence in his ability to do the job,’ president says; But others wonder if the White House fears Rove could be targeted” and “Low-key office launches high-profile inquiry; The Office of Special Counsel will investigate U.S. attorney firings and other political activities led by Karl Rove.”

The Washington Times reports that “Gonzales vows to stay in attorney general job.”

Bloomberg News reports that “Bush’s ‘Confidence’ May Not Equal Job Security for Gonzales.”

And today’s installment of Dana Milbank’s “Washington Sketch” column in The Washington Post is headlined “Identity Theft? Gonzales Might Know Something About That.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Hearing Problem: What will it take for the president to lose faith in Alberto Gonzales?”

“U.S. Supreme Court Abortion Ruling Denounced in Medical Journal”: Bloomberg News provides a report that begins, “The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act was an intrusion by government into the practice of medicine, said doctors writing for the New England Journal of Medicine.”

Reuters provides a report headlined “Supreme Court abortion rule chills doctors: journal.”

And The Washington Post today contains an article headlined “Va. Law to Be Reconsidered In Wake of High Court Ruling; State’s Ban on Procedure Overturned in 2005” that begins, “The Supreme Court decision upholding the federal ban on a controversial abortion procedure started playing out in Virginia yesterday, as the justices ordered a Richmond-based appellate court to reconsider the state law it struck down barring the procedure.”

“Countries Seek Immunity From NYC Lawsuit”: The Associated Press reports here that “The Supreme Court was to hear arguments Tuesday from lawyers representing India and Mongolia, which are fighting New York’s effort to collect property taxes from nations that operate diplomatic offices and house their employees in the same buildings.”

“Equality’s Defeat: How Abortion Disserves Equality; Abortion Puts the Burden on Women to Satisfy Corporate America When It Should be the Reverse”: Law Professor Douglas W. Kmiec has this interesting post at NPR’s “Justice Talking” blog.

“At Trial, Pain Has a Witness”: Today in The New York Times, John Tierney has an article that begins, “William E. Hurwitz, the prominent doctor on trial here for drug trafficking, spent more than two days on the witness stand last week telling a jury why he had prescribed painkillers to patients who turned out to be drug dealers and addicts. But the clearest explanation of his actions — and of the problem facing patients who are in pain — came earlier in the trial.”

“Jury Selection Is Slow Going in Padilla Terrorism Trial”: The New York Times contains this article today.

“Ground zero on abortion; Four decades ago, Colorado became first state in the nation to liberalize law”: This article appears today in The Rocky Mountain News.

The New York Times reports today that “Breast Cancer Not Linked to Abortion, Study Says.”

The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Abortion doesn’t boost breast cancer risk, large study finds; The research lasted a decade and involved more than 100,000 women.”

And The Chicago Tribune contains an article headlined “Study: No abortion, breast cancer link.”

You can access a summary of the study’s results at this link.

“Court allows reneged bargain; Prosecutors changed deal with Jamal T. Norris after they decided it was too lenient”: The Kansas City Star contains this article today.

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s en banc Eighth Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“Use of Wiccan Symbol on Veterans’ Headstones Is Approved”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

The Washington Post reports today that “Administration Yields on Wiccan Symbol; Pentacle to Be Permitted on Tombstones in U.S. Military Burial Grounds.”

In The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein reports that “Feds Okay Pentagrams for Veterans’ Graves.”

And The Washington Times reports that “U.S. to allow Wiccan symbols on military graves.”

“‘Issue Ads’ Case May Set Limits of Public Discourse in 2008”: Today in The New York Sun, Joseph Goldstein has an article that begins, “Congress’s effort to curtail the rights of private organizations to pay for political advertisements near Election Day will come under challenge tomorrow before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that may set the boundaries for public participation in the 2008 electoral cycle.”

“Pair admit to sex in courthouse; Judge, prosecutor face discipline up to disbarment”: This article appears today in The Rocky Mountain News.

“Drugs Used in Executions May Cause Paralysis, Pain for Conscious Inmates”: The Washington Post on Tuesday will contain an article that begins, “The cocktail of drugs used for lethal injections is unreliable and could render inmates paralyzed but not unconscious, unable to cry out as they experience excruciating pain and eventually suffocate, according to a new scientific analysis.”

“Cheesy Judges”: Saturday in The Wall Street Journal, John Fund had an op-ed (pass-through link via “Confirm Them“) that begins, “Last year, candidates for state supreme court seats spent a combined $40 million nationwide. Earlier this month, a whopping $6 million was spent to win a single vacant seat on Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court. It seems voters are growing discontented with their judges and increasingly willing to engage in partisan battles over who should sit on the bench.”

Available online from law.com: An article reports that “DOJ Defections Grow as Prosecutor Firings Controversy Builds; Several key attorneys have left the Department of Justice in the last month alone.”

In other news, “Case Before 11th Circuit Will Test Student Threats, Free Speech; Federal appeals court judges to hear of high school student suspended for story about shooting a teacher.”

And in news from Florida, “Defense Bar Protests Removal of Plea Deals From U.S. Web Site.”

“Doctors, Activists Weigh Abortion Ruling”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Talk of the Nation.”

“Faith-Based Justices”: ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg has this post today at her “Legalities” blog.

“Court Weighs Rights of Passengers When Police Stop Cars”: Linda Greenhouse will have this article Tuesday in The New York Times.

And Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers reports that “Supreme Court considers case involving searches of car passengers.”

“Gonzales’s Testimony Satisfied at Least One Person, His Boss”: This article will appear Tuesday in The New York Times.

And The Washington Post on Tuesday will report that “Bush Asserts Increased Confidence in Gonzales.”

“The Face-Off Over Partial-Birth Abortion: Judicial restraint and ‘facial’ challenges.” Edward Whelan has this essay today at National Review Online.

“Abortion Complaint Against Judge Dropped”: In news from Topeka, Kansas, The AP provides a report that begins, “A state panel has dismissed an ethics complaint that abortion opponents filed against a judge who threw out a criminal case against the state’s best-known abortion provider.”

“Passenger Rights Pondered by Court”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Is a passenger in a car stopped by police free to get out and walk away? Most Supreme Court justices didn’t seem to think so as they took up a case Monday dealing with passengers’ rights.”

Access the transcript of today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Hinck v. United States, No. 06-376: The transcript is at this link.