“Georgia Supreme Court Hears 2 Appeals in Teenage Sex Case”: The New York Times contains this article today.

And The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports today that “Wilson case at high court; Ruling in teen’s case expected in September.”

“Highest Court in New Jersey Censures One of Its Justices”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

The Newark Star-Ledger reports today that “Jersey top court censures Justice Rivera-Soto.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “N.J. court censures a justice; Roberto Rivera-Soto intervened over son.”

“Scalia Will Have Orthodox Jewish Law Clerk In 2008”: The “Religion Clause” blog has this post linking to an item from The Forward that begins, “What’s a nice Jewish boy from Toronto doing working for an Italian Catholic, staunchly conservative, notoriously confrontational judge in Washington? That’s a question for Yaakov Roth, the Harvard Law School grad who was recently hired by Justice Antonin Scalia to work as a Supreme Court law clerk, beginning in July 2008.”

“The Sky’s Still Up There”: ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg, at her blog “Legalities,” has a post that begins, “Kathleen Sullivan, the former dean of Stanford Law School (who would be on any Democratic president’s shortlist for the Supreme Court), said the other day that conservatives should be ‘dancing in the streets’ at the end of the first full term of the Roberts Court.”

Available online from law.com: An article reports that “Playing to a Full House, Ga. Justices Ponder Teen Sex Case; Genarlow Wilson’s lawyer asked court to reverse course from a year ago.”

In other news, “N.J. Supreme Court Censures Justice for Actions on Behalf of Bullied Son.”

And the brand new installment of my weekly “On Appeal” column is headlined “May a Trial Court Force the Parties to Waive Appellate Review?”

“Court Tells U.S. to Reveal Data on Detainees at Guantanamo”: This article will appear Saturday in The New York Times.

The Washington Post will report on Saturday that “Government Must Share All Evidence On Detainees.”

The Associated Press reports that “Judges Seek All Gitmo Detainee Evidence.”

And Reuters reports that “U.S. court grants evidence to Guantanamo lawyers.”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link.

“To leave judges speechless, throttled for publicly addressing abuse of the judicial process by practicing lawyers, ill serves the laudable goal of promoting judicial efficiency and impartiality.” A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, ruling on a state trial court judge’s federal civil rights claim against the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, has today held: “To the extent that the commission censured Judge Jenevein for the content of his speech, shutting down all communication between the Judge and his constituents, we reverse and remand with instructions to expunge that part of the order.” You can access today’s decision at this link.

“[W]hen a district court imposes a below-Guidelines sentence for a crime involving crack, the record must demonstrate that the court focused on individual, case-specific factors[, b]ecause courts may not replace the 100-to-1 ratio with one of their choosing”: So holds a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in an opinion issued today.

“Court Turns Down Qualcomm Appeal”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A federal court on Friday dismissed a request by Qualcomm Inc. to delay an import ban on new cell phones containing the company’s chips, which were were found to infringe patents held by Broadcom Corp. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it did not have jurisdiction to consider Qualcomm’s request, because the import limits are still under review by the Bush administration.”

You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit at this link.

“N.J. Supreme Court justice censured in ‘Do you know who I am’ scandal”: The Philadelphia Inquirer provides this news update.

The Newark Star-Ledger provides a news update headlined “Justice censured for judicial misconduct.”

And The Associated Press reports that “NJ Supreme Court Censures One of Its Own.”

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

“Chief Justice Is Reinstated in Pakistan”: The New York Times provides this news update.

And McClatchy Newspapers report that “Pakistan court rebuffs Musharraf, reinstates chief justice.”

“Bush Alters Rules for Interrogations”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “President Bush signed an executive order Friday prohibiting cruel and inhuman treatment, including humiliation or denigration of religious beliefs, in the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects.” You can view the executive order at this link, while a related White House news release is here.

The New York Times provides a news update headlined “C.I.A. Allowed to Resume Interrogations.”

The Washington Post provides a news update headlined “Bush Order Governs CIA Interrogation Techniques.”

McClatchy Newspapers report that “Bush bars CIA from using torture, but details remain cloudy.”

And in related news, The AP reports that “Guantanamo Hunger Strikers Stay Defiant.”

“Ga. top court finishes hearing Wilson’s appeal”: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides a news update that begins, “The Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments Friday morning on a pair of appeals in the closely watched Genarlow Wilson case, though no ruling was expected immediately. The courtroom was packed for the hearing, and arguments were broadcast live over the Internet. The hearing came after justices decided earlier this month to speed up the process in the case of Wilson, the Douglas County man imprisoned for receiving oral sex from a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. Wilson’s attorneys argue his 10-year prison sentence is cruel and unusual punishment.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Ga. Supreme Court Hears Teen Sex Case.”

Via the web site of the Supreme Court of Georgia, you can access the video of today’s oral argument in both RealPlayer and Windows Media Player formats.

Programming note: This afternoon, I am giving a lecture about the U.S. Supreme Court‘s recent punitive damages ruling in Philip Morris USA v. Williams to the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges meeting in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Additional posts will appear here later today.

“Isle memories move justice; Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens talks of his years here and Rice v. Cayetano”: This article appears today in The Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

And The Honolulu Advertiser reports today that “Justice Stevens recalls war years in Honolulu.”

“Vets with Agent Orange leukemia keep benefits; Judge orders U.S. to pay from date claimed was filed”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “An indignant federal appeals court ordered the government Thursday to keep paying benefits to hundreds of Vietnam veterans afflicted with a type of leukemia that has been linked to the defoliant Agent Orange.”

Today in The Los Angeles Times, Henry Weinstein reports that “VA rebuked for balking on Agent Orange care; A court says the agency must provide benefits to Vietnam veterans with a type of leukemia.”

In The Oakland Tribune, Josh Richman reports that “Appeals court orders Agent Orange vet benefits; Judges take VA officials to task on unpaid retroactive claims.”

And The Associated Press provides a report headlined “Court: VA Must Pay Agent Orange Victims.”

Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt issued yesterday’s ruling on behalf of a unanimous three-judge Ninth Circuit panel.

“Cheney Wins Dismissal of Suit Brought by Valerie Wilson”: Neil A. Lewis has this article today in The New York Times.

The Washington Post reports today that “Plame’s Suit Against Top Officials Dismissed.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Plame’s civil suit dismissed; The former CIA operative sought to hold Cheney and others personally responsible for blowing her cover.”

In The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein reports that “Ex-CIA Agent’s Suit Against Top Officials Is Dismissed.”

And The Washington Times reports that “Plame lawsuit against Cheney dismissed.”

“N.H. couple evade death and taxes; The Browns have been holed up, refusing to pay the IRS or go to prison; It’s a battle that might end in bloodshed”: The Los Angeles Times contains this front page article today.

“Cochran’s plea aims to shame Dems who oppose Southwick nomination”: This article appears today in The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi.

And The Washington Times reports today that “GOP fights for stalled judicial nominee.”

“The Genarlow Wilson Case: Courting public opinion; Lawyer walks fine line as she stirs media blitz.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contains this article today.

The Supreme Court of Georgia is schedule to hear oral argument in the Genarlow Wilson case at 10 a.m. eastern time today. As detailed in this post of mine from last night, you can view the oral argument live, online via that court’s web site.

“Trail of an ‘Enemy Combatant’: From Desert to U.S. Heartland; Details Emerge About Marri’s Alleged Role in ‘Second Wave’ of Al-Qaeda Attacks.” This lengthy front page article appears today in The Washington Post.

“Assault on Second Amendment”: Terence P. Jeffrey has this op-ed today in The Washington Times.

“Broader Privilege Claimed In Firings; White House Says Hill Can’t Pursue Contempt Cases”: The Washington Post today contains a front page article that begins, “Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege. The position presents serious legal and political obstacles for congressional Democrats, who have begun laying the groundwork for contempt proceedings against current and former White House officials in order to pry loose information about the dismissals.”

“Pakistan Court Reinstates Top Judge”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The Supreme Court on Friday reinstated Pakistan’s top judge, ruling that his suspension by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf was ‘illegal’ and dealing a major blow to Musharraf’s standing.”

There once was a man from Nantucket: The Cap Cod Times reports today that “Nantucket loses eminent domain case.”

And The Associated Press reports that “SJC gives house lot back to Nantucket man; Says town erred when taking land in 1968 case.”

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

“City To Battle at High Court Over Special Education”: Today in The New York Sun, Joseph Goldstein has an article that begins, “The federal government is siding against New York City in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that parents of children with disabilities are watching closely. The case is likely to set standards for when localities must reimburse parents for private school tuition for students with a range of disabilities.”

“Court Ruling Could Impede Seizure of Terror Funds”: Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, “A lawyer for victims of terrorism is decrying a new federal appeals court ruling that could delay or even prevent private litigants from seizing funds belonging to terrorist groups.”

You can access Wednesday’s en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link.

“The Supreme Court’s Problematic Use of Precedent Over the Past Term: Why Overruling or Refashioning May, In Some Cases, Be Better than Selective Interpretation.” Vikram David Amar has this essay online today at FindLaw.

“State high court says trial judges can uphold tough sentences that had been cast in doubt”: Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times provides a news update that begins, “The California Supreme Court today salvaged thousands of tough criminal sentences that had been put in question by a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the state’s sentencing laws were unconstitutional. While the state high court ruled that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of inmates may have their sentences reconsidered, justices said trial courts were free to reinstate them under a new, stopgap sentencing law passed in March to resolve the constitutional flaws. The state court’s action, which came in two separate decisions, removed a pall over thousands of criminal sentences that had been in doubt since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in January that California’s law gave judges too much power to add extra years to a prison sentence.”

And Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has a news update headlined “California Supreme Court upholds tough sentences.”

You can access the Supreme Court of California‘s rulings issued today in these two cases here and here.

“Teen Sex Case Reaches Ga. High Court; Justices who sidestepped Wilson case last year to hear oral arguments today”: law.com provides this report on the oral argument that the Supreme Court of Georgia will hear tomorrow in the Genarlow Wilson case.

That court has issued two media advisories (see here and here) along with a news release explaining that court’s order expediting review.

The oral argument is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. eastern time Friday, and it the Supreme Court of Georgia’s web site will provide a link to a live webcast of the oral argument.

“Anti-Indecency Measure Wins Approval”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A Senate committee on Thursday acted to restore the government’s authority to fine television and radio broadcasters for airing profanities, even if they are fleeting references. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved a bill that would undo an appeals court ruling that invalidated the Federal Communications Commission’s new profanity policy.”

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismisses the claims of Valerie Plame Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson IV against four high-level Executive Branch officials, including the Vice President of the United States and his former Chief of Staff, based on the widely-publicized disclosure of the fact that Mrs. Wilson worked as a covert operative for the Central Intelligence Agency: You can access today’s ruling at this link.

Update: In early coverage, The Associated Press reports that “Valerie Plame’s Lawsuit Dismissed.”

The Washington Post provides a news update headlined “Judge Dismisses Plame Lawsuit.”

Bloomberg News reports that “Cheney, Rove, Libby Win Dismissal of Lawsuit by Valerie Plame.”

Reuters reports that “Judge dismisses civil suit in CIA leak scandal.”

And CNN.com reports that “Judge tosses out ex-spy’s lawsuit against Cheney in CIA leak case.”

“We consider whether a service provider may change the terms of its service contract by merely posting a revised contract on its website.” So begins a per curiam opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued late yesterday in typescript form.

Second Circuit joins the D.C. Circuit in rejecting argument that the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 was enacted in violation of the Bicameralism and Presentment Clause of the U.S. Constitution: You can access today’s Second Circuit ruling at this link.

My earlier coverage of the D.C. Circuit’s similar ruling, from May 2007, can be accessed here.

“Widener won’t wait: Longest-serving judge steps down; hoped for successor since 2001.” This Fourth Circuit-related article appears today in The Daily Record of Baltimore.