“The Young and the Restless: The conservative legal establishment’s strange youth culture.” Benjamin Wittes has this essay online today at The New Republic.

“Shielding journalists: Reporters, and the country, would benefit from a proposed federal law to protect confidential sources.” The Los Angeles Times contains this editorial today.

“More testimony to condemn Gonzales”: This editorial appears today in The St. Petersburg Times.

And today in The Chicago Tribune, columnist Steve Chapman has an op-ed entitled “Justice by a much lower standard.”

“Thomas remains a puzzle”: Today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, columnist Gregory Stanford has an op-ed that begins, “What if Clarence Thomas had gotten some serious psychotherapy? Would he be less inclined than he is now to vent his pent-up rage on his own race?”

“Cleaning Up the Clean Water Act”: The New York Times today contains an editorial that begins, “A series of murky Supreme Court decisions have left the agencies responsible for enforcing the Clean Water Act in a state of confused paralysis, exposing millions of acres of wetlands and thousands of miles of streams to illegal and destructive development.”

“In Court’s Calculation, What Feeds Lawyers’ Souls Need Not Fatten Their Wallets”: Tomorrow’s installment (TimesSelect temporary pass-through link) of Adam Liptak‘s weekly “Sidebar” column begins, “Last month, the federal appeals court in New York gave the civil rights bar a collective heart attack.” The decision in question can be accessed here, and the web page containing tomorrow’s column contains links to other relevant documents.

“A Devil in the Details, but Not the Constitution”: Linda Greenhouse will have this article Monday in The New York Times.

“Poor have no blanket right to counsel”: Saturday’s edition of The Toronto Globe and Mail contained an article that begins, “The Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not give impoverished litigants a blanket right to obtain legal counsel, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday. By unanimously upholding a B.C. tax on legal services, the court riled critics who had hoped that it would give an important symbolic boost to legal aid programs by removing a bar to those who cannot afford legal services.”

The Toronto Star yesterday contained an article headlined “Mixed signals from courts on openness.”

CBC News reports that “Top court overturns decision to scrap tax on legal fees.”

CanWest News Service reports that “Top court upholds tax on legal services.”

And Bloomberg News reports that “Canadians Don’t Have Entitlement to Legal Services, Court Says.”

You can access Friday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada at this link.

“John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, Addresses Graduates”: The College of the Holy Cross provides this news release, along with a news release entitled “Chief Justice Roberts Responds to Questions Posed by Holy Cross Seniors.”

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette yesterday contained an article headlined “Roberts cites challenges; Chief justice avoids politics,” while today the newspaper reports that “Chief justice’s wife juggles law, 2 children; Jane Roberts visits for Holy Cross commencement.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Chief Justice Roberts urges Holy Cross graduates to ‘be brave.’” Related photos can be accessed via this link.

The Supreme Court of Arkansas proposes to retroactively abolish non-precedential appellate court rulings: The rulings would remain, but now they’d have precedential value. And, in the course of proposing this rule change, the highest court of Arkansas gives voice to a criticism of Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1: “New Rule 32.1 … creates a troublesome gap by forever depriving certain pre-2007 decisions of precedential value. That line may be convenient, but it is unprincipled.”

The discussion of the proposed Arkansas rule amendment begins at page 11 of this PDF file. Thanks to John Wesley Hall, Jr. for drawing this development to my attention.

“Using People’s Summer Reading List Against Them in a Criminal Trial: Not Always a Bad Idea.” Patterico of “Patterico’s Pontifications” has this post about my latest law.com column.

“Pakistani Judge: Courts Must Be Free.” The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The country’s chief justice returned to the Supreme Court Saturday for the first time since being suspended by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, making his way through jubilant crowds before delivering veiled critiques of the military ruler.”

Some photos of Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. speaking at Friday’s graduation ceremony for Seton Hall University School of Law: In addition to a bunch of photos that The Associated Press has posted online (see here, here, here, here, here, and here), the law school itself has posted online a bunch of photos (see here, here, here, here, here, and here).

Yesterday, I linked here to press coverage of Justice Alito’s remarks.

“Bush’s Monica Problem: Gonzales, the president’s lawyer and Texas buddy, is twisting slowly in the wind, facing a vote of no confidence from the Senate.” Michael Isikoff and Evan Thomas will have this article in the June 4, 2007 issue of Newsweek.

“Officials Say Justice Dept. Based Hires on Politics Before Goodling Tenure”: The Washington Post contains this article today.

“SJC won’t intervene in church closing; First Amendment cited in Wellesley parish case”: This article appears today in The Boston Globe.

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

“Libby Prosecutor Asks for No Leniency in Sentence”: Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times.

And The Washington Post reports today that “Special Prosecutor Seeks 30 to 37 Months in Prison for Libby.”

“Alito urges grads to reject intolerance; U.S. top court justice is Seton law keynoter”: This article appears today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger.

And The Associated Press reports that “Alito Speaks to Seton Hall Grads.”

“Fewer candidates apply for positions as U.S. attorneys”: McClatchy Newspapers provide this report.

And The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Immigration judges lack apt backgrounds; A growing number of the jurists have little or no experience in that area of law; Some have strong Republican resumes.”

“Can What You’re Reading Prove Intent to Commit a Crime?” The new installment of my “On Appeal” column for law.com can be accessed here.

D.C. Circuit grants stay of its mandate in case striking down gun ban under the Second Amendment pending the District of Columbia’s filing of a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court: I have posted a copy of yesterday’s order online at this link.

“Prosecutor Seeks Prison for Libby”: Josh Gerstein of The New York Sun provides this news update.

And The Associated Press provides a report headlined “Prosecutors: Up to 3 Years for Libby.”

The Washington Post has placed the federal government’s sentencing memorandum online at this link.

“The Goodling Girl: How Monica Goodling played the gender card and won.” Emily Bazelon and Dahlia Lithwick have this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

When Formula One racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s better to opt for Bridgestone, instead of Michelin, tires: That’s one lesson to be learned from this ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued today. Another lesson is that if you’re a disappointed racing fan who expected to see 20 cars race instead of only six, resist the urge to make a federal case out of it.

Third Circuit holds that Pennsylvania Family Institute — an organization that seeks to disseminate the views of Pa. judicial candidates on legal and political issues — lacks standing to challenge restrictions on the free speech rights of candidates for state judicial office: You can access today’s unanimous per curiam ruling at this link.

Second Circuit refuses to order U.S. Military Academy at West Point to allow a political demonstration inside its gates during a graduation ceremony at which the Vice President Cheney will deliver the commencement address: You can access today’s ruling at this link.

In earlier coverage, The Associated Press reported on the trial court’s ruling in an article headlined “Anti-war activists to appeal ban on West Point protest.”

Bayer Aktiengesellschaft continues to experience headache in trying to trademark “ASPIRINA”: A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued this ruling yesterday. It is interesting to note the particular reliance placed on internet searches in upholding the denial of the trademark.

“The TTABlog” covers yesterday’s ruling in a post you can access here.

“Senate Panel Plans Increase to Judiciary; Proposal Would Add Judges After Bush Leaves Office”: Today in The Daily Journal of California, Lawrence Hurley has an article that begins, “For the first time in 17 years, Congress is moving to substantially boost the ranks of the federal judiciary, including up to a dozen new district judgeships for California’s overworked courts, a leading senator said Thursday.”

“Book Chronicles Career of Justice Clarence Thomas”: This segment (transcript with links to audio and video) appeared on Wednesday’s broadcast of the PBS program “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.”

“What Happened at the Justice Department?” This audio segment (available in both RealPlayer and Windows Media Player formats) featuring Dahlia Lithwick, David Iglesias, E.J. Dionne, and Mark Tushnet appeared on yesterday’s broadcast of the public radio program “On Point.”

“Senate Dems win delay of Southwick confirmation vote”: The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi today contains an article that begins, “The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a scheduled vote Thursday on the nomination of Leslie Southwick to a seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.”

And The Grand Rapids Press on Wednesday contained an editorial entitled “‘Nuff said on Neff.”

“Dead End for Anna Mae He? Supreme Court Justice Declines to Intervene in Bitter Tennessee Custody Battle.” ABC News provides a written report that begins, “The family that raised 8-year-old Anna Mae He since infancy learned late yesterday that U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has turned down its bid for an emergency stay of the ruling that Anna Mae must be reunited with her biological parents.”

“Governor’s signature bans horse slaughter; Measure to close facility in DeKalb may cost 55 jobs”: The Chicago Tribune today contains an article that begins, “With Gov. Rod Blagojevich signing a bill Thursday prohibiting the slaughter of horses in Illinois for human consumption, the last such slaughterhouse in the country — in DeKalb — effectively was shuttered.”

And The Daily Chronicle of DeKalb, Illinois reports today that “Governor Signs Horse Slaughter Ban.”

“The good, the bad and the prosecuted: The feds swarm in on a Navy lawyer who held them accountable by leaking the identities of Gitmo detainees.” Columnist Rosa Brooks has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Senate gives Gonzales a reprieve until after the break”: The Washington Times contains this article today.

The Los Angeles Times reports today that “Inquiry widens into Justice Department hiring; The move follows testimony by a former Gonzales aide that she had considered politics in screening applicants.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Gonzales’ shaky Justice: Monica Goodling admitted asking department applicants about their political views; The attorney general has his own boundary issues.”

The Boston Globe contains an editorial entitled “At Justice, a whodunit.”

In The Washington Post, columnist Eugene Robinson has an op-ed entitled “The Monica They See.” In addition, Hanna Rosin has an op-ed entitled “The New Establishment: How Evangelicals Became Part of Washington’s Fabric.”

In The Wall Street Journal, Kimberley A. Strassel has an op-ed entitled “Mission: Possible; Sen. Schumer wants to sink what’s left of the Bush presidency” (free access).

And Bloomberg News columnist Margaret Carlson has an essay entitled “Goodling Is Clueless — Except When She’s Not.”