“An Unsolved Killing: What does the firing of a U.S. Attorney have to do with a murder case?” Jeffrey Toobin has this article about the murder of Seattle-based Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Wales in the August 6, 2007 issue of The New Yorker.

“A Lawyer Who Turned a Judge Into a National Cause”: Saturday’s edition of The New York Times contained an article that begins, “In the hands of a lesser political bloodhound, the matter might have been simply a court case to decide the fate of the chief justice of Pakistan. In the hands of Aitzaz Ahsan, one of the country’s best known lawyer-politicians, the case of the chief justice was rendered a case of justice under military rule.”

“Mr. Gonzales’s Never-Ending Story”: This editorial appears today in The New York Times.

“Sticking to His Story: Republicans don’t believe him; The FBI director contradicted him; How does Gonzales hang on?” Michael Isikoff will have this article in the August 6, 2007 issue of Newsweek.

“Mining of Data Prompted Fight Over U.S. Spying”: The New York Times today contains a front page article that begins, “A 2004 dispute over the National Security Agency’s secret surveillance program that led top Justice Department officials to threaten resignation involved computer searches through massive electronic databases, according to current and former officials briefed on the program.”

Available online at law.com: Tony Mauro reports that “Both Sides Fear Firing Blanks if D.C. Gun Case Reaches High Court.”

An article is headlined “2nd Circuit: No Time Bar for WorldCom Bondholders.” My earlier coverage of the Second Circuit’s ruling appears at this link.

In other news, “Private Communities Can Regulate Residents’ Speech, N.J. High Court Rules.” My earlier coverage of the ruling appears at this link.

An article reports that “Fla. Appeals Panel Finds in Error Judge Who Made Columbine Remarks.”

And the latest installment of my weekly “On Appeal” column is headlined “In Intra-Circuit Splits, Which Decision Governs?”

“A Long Shot”: The Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania today contains an article in which I am quoted that begins, “Speaking optimistically, city attorney Kris Kobach said the decision simply put Hazleton ‘down at halftime.’ Mayor Lou Barletta, meanwhile, termed it ‘a slip, not a fall.’ But if history is any indication, Hazleton’s defeat in district court Thursday was a substantial setback. The city plans a vigorous appeal to the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. The odds of winning there, however, are statistically slim.”

Philadelphia Phillies 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 5: My son and I were back at Citizens Bank Park this evening to see another Phillies victory, which puts the team in sole possession of second place in the National League East, three and one-half games behind the New York Mets, and two and one-half games behind the Wild Card leaders, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After the broken finger that Phillies All Star second baseman Chase Utley sustained on Thursday, the Phillies chances for the playoffs appeared even more doubtful than usual. But after acquiring Tadahito Iguchi from the Chicago White Sox and the return of relief pitchers Brett Myers and Tom Gordon from the ranks of the injured, it now appears that the Phillies may remain in contention.

You can access the box score of tonight’s game at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here.

“Democrat charges U.S. justices ‘duped’ Senate”: Thomas Ferraro of Reuters provides this report.

The Politico reports that “Schumer to fight new Bush high court picks.”

And at “ACSBlog” you can access a post titled “Text of Senator Schumer’s Speech.”

“Fewer See Balance in High Court Decisions; Growing Numbers In Poll Say Bench Is ‘Too Conservative'”: Robert Barnes and Jon Cohen will have this front page article Sunday in The Washington Post.

“Justice Dept. Lawyers Join Chorus Criticizing Gonzales”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

“Appeals court upholds ruling against former Tribune owners”: The Salt Lake Tribune today contains an article that begins, “A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that no separate oral contract exists to guarantee the right of the former owners of The Salt Lake Tribune to repurchase the newspaper from owner MediaNews Group. A trio of judges on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Friday threw out the McCarthey family’s appeal of a lower court, saying their oral contract claims are superseded by written contracts that spelled out how they could regain the paper they sold 10 years ago.”

And The Deseret Morning News reports today that “Ex-Trib owners must rely on written pacts; Judge rules that contracts supersede oral accords.”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Tenth Circuit ruling can be accessed here.

“Judge tosses contempt request against JCPS; Court offers hearing on any ‘valid’ motions”: The Louisville Courier-Journal today contains an article that begins, “A federal judge yesterday abruptly dismissed a Louisville lawyer’s demand that Jefferson County Public Schools leaders be held in contempt and jailed unless they could prove students weren’t still being denied a school choice because of race. In a sharply worded ruling, Chief U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II chastised attorney Teddy Gordon, who successfully challenged Jefferson County’s student-assignment policy.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Ky. Schools Contempt Request Denied.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky at this link.

“Congress Moves to Rewrite Patent Laws”: The Associated Press provides this report.

Tenth Circuit decides appeal relating to ownership battle over The Salt Lake Tribune: You can access today’s ruling at this link.

In today’s mail: Thanks to PG of the “De Novo” blog, volume three of “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law” on DVD.

“Court: Felons can’t vote until fines paid.” The Seattle Times today contains an article that begins, “The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that felons who haven’t paid their fines and court costs aren’t entitled to vote. But for 16 months they could, and now the state has no way of knowing how many might be on the rolls or how to keep them from casting ballots.”

And The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports today that “Court upholds state’s felon voter rule; Fines must be paid first to regain right.”

Yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Washington State consists of an opinion announcing the judgment of the court; two concurring opinions (here and here); and two dissenting opinions (here and here).

“Oral surgeon gets last laugh over boar-tusk prank”: This article appears today in The Seattle Times.

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Washington State can be accessed here.

“White House Tackles AG’s Contradictions”: The Associated Press provides this report.

By a vote of 2-2, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denies rehearing en banc in federal death penalty appeal of Gary Lee Sampson: You can view today’s order denying rehearing en banc, and the two dissents therefrom, at this link.

My earlier coverage of the First Circuit’s three-judge panel ruling in this case can be accessed here.

“Dismissed charges upheld in grave case; Appeals court agrees with Iowa County judge that state statute does not criminalize sex with a corpse”: The Telegraph Herald of Dubuque, Iowa today contains an article that begins, “Three Iowa County men can’t be prosecuted for attempted sexual assault of a deceased woman they tried to dig up in a Cassville cemetery in September, a state appeals court ruled Thursday. In upholding Grant County Circuit Judge George Curry’s decision, the District 4 Court of Appeals concluded that the state’s statute on third-degree sexual assault doesn’t criminalize necrophilia.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District IV, at this link.

“This Judge Needs a Jury: Sen. Patrick Leahy has asked the attorney general to investigate whether a judge on the D.C. Circuit told a falsehood during his confirmation hearing; There’s a better way to proceed.” Dirk Olin has this essay online at Newsweek.

“Former Qwest Boss Ordered to Pay $52M”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A federal judge ordered former Qwest Communications chief executive Joe Nacchio, convicted of insider trading, to forfeit $52 million in assets he gained in illegal stock sales. The order on Friday came at the start of a sentencing hearing for Nacchio, convicted in April of making $52 million in stock sales at a time when he knew Qwest faced financial risk but didn’t tell investors.”

On Monday, The Denver Post contained an article headlined “New Nacchio lawyer a master of the appeal; Maureen Mahoney has argued 18 cases before the Supreme Court – and has lost only two of them.”

And on Tuesday, The Rocky Mountain News contained an article headlined “No jail during ex-CEO’s appeal, motion asks.”

“Panel suspends Halverson; Judge will continue to draw pay”: This article appeared Thursday in The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

And today’s newspaper contains an article headlined “Judge’s prospects evaluated; Conversation at courthouse focuses on Halverson’s future” and an editorial entitled “Judge Halverson suspended with pay: Commission on Judicial Discipline reacts with relative urgency.”

The Final Order of Interim Suspension can be accessed here, while the order of the Supreme Court of Nevada unsealing the interim suspension decision can be viewed at this link.

“The fight’s not over: Appeals expected in Hazleton case after judge strikes down law regulating illegal immigrants.” The Allentown Morning Call contains this article today, along with an article headlined “‘Gracias a Dios! We won!’”

The Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania today contains articles headlined “Polarizing law tossed“; “Barletta pledges to continue fight“; “Hazleton residents remain divided“; and “Judge’s ruling means hectic times for Barletta.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer contains articles headlined “Court voids Hazleton law” and “Chatter but no sense of closure.”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “Hazleton loses bid to evict illegal workers.”

The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports that “Immigrant law ruling splits Hazleton.”

The New York Times reports that “Judge Voids Ordinance on Illegal Immigrants.”

In The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage and Nicole Gaouette report that “Hazleton immigration law is rejected; A city cannot take such a national issue into its own hands, a judge rules in Pennsylvania.”

And in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein reports that “Judge Rules Against Pa. City on Immigrants.”

You can access my earlier coverage of yesterday’s lengthy ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania at this link.

“State high court limits seizure of cars of prostitution and drug suspects; Justices toss out a Stockton ordinance that allowed confiscation upon arrest in such cases; L.A.’s city attorney was among the parties supporting such police powers”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times.

In The Oakland Tribune, Josh Richman reports that “High court nixes car-seizure laws; Cities can’t be tougher than state on crimes committed with vehicles, justices say.”

And The Stockton Record reports that “Cities can’t seize cars; State’s high court says Stockton can’t sell vehicles taken during drug, prostitution busts.”

You can access yesterday’s 4-3 ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link.

“Beneath Contempt: The U.S. attorneys controversy is about politics, not the law.” Kimberley A. Strassel has this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Critic and Ex-Boss Testify on Guantanamo Hearings”: The New York Times contains this article today.

“FBI Chief Disputes Gonzales On Spying; Mueller Describes Internal Debate”: This front page article appears today in The Washington Post. In addition, columnist Eugene Robinson has an op-ed entitled “Bedtime for Gonzo.”

The New York Times reports today that “F.B.I. Chief Gives Account at Odds With Gonzales’s.” A related article is headlined “Chatty Senator on Air Force One Pushes the Rules, and Buttons.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “FBI chief seems to contradict Gonzales; Robert Mueller tells a House panel that he had had reservations about a wiretapping program, undercutting the attorney general’s testimony.”

And USA Today contains a front page article headlined “Conflict builds as Gonzales targeted; Senate Dems subpoena Rove.”

Available online from law.com: Pamela MacLean reports that “9th Circuit Judges Still Wary of Splitting Court; Judges remain concerned over Supreme Court’s position and persistent claims about ‘extreme’ rulings.”

In other news, “Former Judge Wins Partial First Amendment Victory at 5th Circuit.” My earlier coverage of last Friday’s Fifth Circuit ruling appears at this link.

Marcia Coyle reports that “‘Hamdan’ Lawyer to Head International Humanitarian Law Clinic.”

In news from Pennsylvania, “Retrial Ordered in Nine-Figure Fraud Case.” You can access the July 18, 2007 ruling of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania at this link.

And an article reports that “Upset of Few Attorney Advertising Rules Could Signal Return of ‘Heavy Hitters.’”

“Modest Improvements Cannot Save an Inherently Flawed Process at Guantanamo”: Jonathan Hafetz has this essay online today at FindLaw.

“Court Upholds Curbs on Signs in New Jersey”: The New York Times on Friday will contain an article that begins, “In a ruling that could have implications far beyond New Jersey, the State Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the right of homeowners’ associations to restrict the posting of political signs and other forms of constitutionally protected speech, as long as the restrictions are not ‘unreasonable or oppressive.'”

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

“Justices rule in favor of jokester dentist”: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer provides a news update that begins, “There was a time when a good practical joke involved fake barf, and the state Supreme Court took on legal issues that could lull even the most eager of law students to sleep. So wait ’til you hear this one. An Auburn dentist waited until his assistant was sedated for oral surgery and then put fake boar tusks in her mouth. Her eyes were pried open. Pictures were taken. And oh, was it funny — until the woman found out what happened. The legal question was almost as odd as the joke: Should the dentist’s insurance company have defended him when his assistant sued?”

And The Seattle Times provides a news update headlined “Court awards oral surgeon $750,000 in boar-tusk case.”

Today’s 5-4 ruling of the Supreme Court of Washington State consists of a majority opinion and two dissenting opinions (here and here).

“Jury convicts Broward inmate of indecent exposure in his cell”: This article appears today in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

And The Miami Herald reports today that “Sex act costs inmate 60 more days; An armed robber got a 60-day jail sentence for doing something people do in private.”

“Noriega loses round in extradition fight”: Jay Weaver of The Miami Herald provides this news update.

And The Associated Press reports that “Noriega Appears in Court on Extradition.”