“Previewing the Supreme Court’s New Session”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday.”

“Supreme Court facing a broad array of issues”: David G. Savage will have this article Monday in The Los Angeles Times.

“Black judge: my sex case anger.” Today in The Sunday Times of London, Sarah Baxter has an article that begins, “The Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas has broken a 16-year silence to reveal the bitterness he feels towards the woman who tried to derail his confirmation by accusing him of sexual harassment.”

ABC News has posted online Jan Crawford Greenburg’s eight-part write-up of her interviews with Justice Clarence Thomas in connection with his new book, “My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir.” You can access all eight parts via a web page headlined “Justice Clarence Thomas Speaks Out: Exclusive Analysis, Video Clips and Photos on the Controversial Supreme Court Justice.”

Part one is titled “My Grandfather’s Son” (for single-page print version, click here).

Part two is titled “The Integrator” (for single-page print version, click here).

Part three is titled “Going North” (for single-page print version, click here).

Part four is titled “A Conservative in Washington — And the Personal Struggles” (for single-page print version, click here).

Part five is titled “Finding Peace” (for single-page print version, click here).

Part six is titled “Becoming a Judge — and perhaps a Justice” (for single-page print version, click here).

Part seven is titled “‘Traitorous’ Adversaries: Anita Hill and the Senate Democrats” (for single-page print version, click here).

And part eight is titled “Rebuilding a Life” (for single-page print version, click here).

“Justices Begin Work on a Polarizing New Docket”: In Monday’s edition of The New York Times, Linda Greenhouse will have an article that begins, “The Supreme Court has so many polarizing cases on the docket for its new term that the deep ideological divisions that characterized the last term are all but certain to remain on display after the justices reconvene on Monday.”

Philadelphia Phillies 6, Washington Nationals 1: My son and I were at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia this afternoon to see the Phillies clinch the National League East division title. To win the division title today, the Phillies had to win their game and the Florida Marlins had to defeat the New York Mets. Before the Phillies even took the field at 1:35 p.m. this afternoon, the Marlins had staked themselves to a 7-0 first inning lead. The Marlins recorded the final out of their 8-1 victory over the Mets when the Nationals were batting with none out in the top of the ninth inning, trailing the Phillies 6-1.

The crowd at the Phillies ballpark has never as this loud as it was in the top of the ninth inning today. The Phillies will now host whichever team wins the National League Wild Card spot, to be determined tomorrow in a one-game tiebreaker game between the San Diego Padres at the Colorado Rockies.

It should be a happy first Monday in October tomorrow at the U.S. Supreme Court, as Justice Clarence Thomas’s book officially goes on sale, and as Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.’s Philadelphia Phillies celebrate their first playoff appearance since 1993.

You can access the box score of today’s Phillies game at this link, while wraps are available here and here.

Update: Monday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined “After a 14-Year Absence, Phillies Head to the Playoffs.” The Philadelphia Inquirer provides a news update headlined “We win! Fans erupt in joy.” And Ken Mandel, who has covered the Phillies all season for MLB.com, reports that “Phils relish first NL East title since ’93; Players, coaches, fans celebrate as ‘fairy tale’ continues.” This blog’s occasional Phillies coverage will continue for as long as the team remains in the playoffs, as I have tickets for two games of the Division Series, two games of the League Championship Series, and thus far one game of the World Series.

In video coverage available online from CBSNews.com: “Justice Thomas Writes A Book: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has much to write about in his new autobiography, including his controversial confirmation hearings” and “Steve Kroft’s Reporter’s Notebook.”

On this evening’s broadcast of the CBS News program “60 Minutes,” Kroft will have two interview segments with Justice Thomas in advance of the official release tomorrow of the book “My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir.”

“Federal judge disciplined for sexual harassment”: The Houston Chronicle today contains an article that begins, “A judicial council has reprimanded federal Judge Samuel B. Kent of Galveston after a four-month secret investigation into serious allegations of a pattern of sexual impropriety and abuse of power. In the most recent incident, Kent is accused of harassing and inappropriately touching his 49-year-old case manager in his chambers in March.”

The newspaper also contains an op-ed by columnist Rick Casey headlined “Feds to shred evidence against judge.”

And at “The Volokh Conspiracy,” Ilya Somin has a post titled “The Ethical Cloud Over Judge Samuel B. Kent.”

“Court starts term with half its cases chosen”: Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers provides this report. Doyle also has related articles headlined “Key election cases on Supreme Court docket” and “Crack vs. powder cocaine sentencing gets Supreme Court hearing.”

“Justice Clarence Thomas’ Memoir Unveils Bitterness”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

“The Roberts Court Returns”: This editorial will appear Sunday in The New York Times.

“In New Book, Justice Thomas Weighs In on Former Accuser”: Neil A. Lewis will have this article Sunday in The New York Times.

“High court can regain ground; strike voter ID”: Cynthia Tucker will have this op-ed Sunday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“A Look Inside the Ultimate Lockup; Top-Security Prison Now Home to Terrorists”: The Washington Post on Sunday will contain a front page article that begins, “The most secure federal prison in America has the polished tile corridors of a modern regional high school and the empty stillness of summer break. The marquee inmates — including Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker; ‘shoe bomber’ Richard Reid; Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber; FBI agent turned traitor Robert Hanssen; and Terry Nichols, convicted of the Oklahoma City bombing — wait out their days in cellblocks the warden leads reporters quickly past on the first media tour since the Florence ‘supermax’ opened 13 years ago.”

A couple of weeks ago, I linked here to several similar articles published elsewhere.

“New Court Term Begins Monday”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has a report that begins, “The Supreme Court is set to begin a term that could lead to enhanced rights for terrorism detainees, a ruling against part of a child pornography law and shorter prison terms for crack cocaine dealers. Whatever happened to the court’s march to the right?”

“Supreme Court Heads Into New Term; Some see rightward drift stalled in array of criminal law cases”: law.com’s Tony Mauro provides this report.

“Texas Planning New Execution Despite Ruling”: Ralph Blumenthal and Linda Greenhouse have this article today in The New York Times.

Today in The Austin American-Statesman, Chuck Lindell has articles headlined “Are executions on hold nationwide? Experts weigh implications of Supreme Court’s intervention in Texas” and “5 p.m. closing time at Texas court a factor in execution; Lawyer blames office hours on failure of appeal similar to one that suceeded two days later.”

The Dallas Morning News reports that “Irving killer’s reprieve may slow executions nationwide; But legal experts don’t expect moratorium as lethal injection reviewed.”

And The Houston Chronicle reports that “Texas executions probably on hold until next year; State awaits High Court ruling on lethal injection.”

“Legal Aid Offer for Detainees Is Retracted”: The New York Times today contains an article that begins, “The American Bar Association said this week that it was backing out of an agreement to find lawyers for Guantanamo detainees because it did not want to ‘lend support and credibility’ to what it called inadequate legal protections for the 340 men held there.”

“Clarence Thomas Book Portrays a Tortured Soul”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) featuring Nina Totenberg appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday.”

“US Supreme Court Opens New Term Monday”: Voice of America provides this report.

“Toobin v. Supreme Court”: Today in The Toronto Globe and Mail, Philip Slayton has this review of Jeffrey Toobin’s new book, “The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.”

“Justice Thomas Breaks Silence on Bitter Confirmation Hearings; Thomas Speaks Out in New Autobiography, ‘My Grandfather’s Son'”: Liz Marlantes has this report at ABCNews.com.

And today in The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin reports that “Justices’ Opinions May Compete With a Page-Turner in Bookstores.”

“Judges seek leeway in prison sentences; The Supreme Court will look at strict rules that are a holdover from the 1980s war on drugs and that legal activists say are unfair”: David G. Savage has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

“Judges evaluate an argument on gun access”: At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post that begins, “In a highly unusual order, two judges of the D.C. Circuit Court appeared to have narrowed a major gun control ruling, and in doing so gave their view on a central argument the District of Columbia government has made in its Supreme Court appeal seeking to enforce its flat ban on handguns in Washington, D.C.”

On Thursday, Eugene Volokh had a post at “The Volokh Conspiracy” quoting at length from the D.C. Circuit‘s order. You can view the full text of the order at this link.

“Behind the Black Robes: A new book about the Supreme Court focuses on the private lives of the justices; But should they be treated like Britneys in black?” Adam B. Kushner has this essay online at Newsweek.com.

“Justice Thomas Lashes Out in Memoir; Book Attacks Liberals and the Media, Breaks Near-Silence on Anita Hill”: Saturday in The Washington Post, Robert Barnes, Michael A. Fletcher, and Kevin Merida will have this front page article.

And Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that “Justice Thomas Writes Autobiography.” Sherman’s article begins, “Breaking his 16-year public silence on his bitter confirmation hearings, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says Anita Hill was a mediocre employee who was used by political opponents to make claims she had been sexually harassed.”

As I had anticipated, both The Washington Post and The Associated Press were able to purchase the book at bookstores that placed it on sale before Monday’s official release date.

“Federal judge disciplined for sexual harassment”: Harvey Rice of The Houston Chronicle provides a news update that begins, “A judicial council today reprimanded and admonished U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent, who presides in Galveston, on allegations that he sexually harassed a court employee.”

The Galveston County Daily News provides an update headlined “Kent reprimanded after harassment complaint.”

And Texas Lawyer provides a news update headlined “5th Circuit Judicial Council Reprimands and Admonishes U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent.”

“U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Admonishes Judge Samuel B. Kent for Sexual Harassment of a Judiciary Employee”: At “The Volokh Conspiracy,” Eugene Volokh has this post linking to an Order of Reprimand and Reasons that the Judicial Council of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today.

“Lethal Injection Under Scrutiny”: The AP provides a report that begins, “Lethal injection was supposed to be the humane, enlightened way to execute inmates and avoid the pain and the gruesome spectacle of firing squads, the electric chair and the noose. But now it, too, is under legal attack as cruel and unusual, with the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing this week to hear arguments that lethal injection can cause excruciating pain.”

And in related coverage, The AP reports that “Hiatus Possible on Texas Executions.”

“Courts a Tough Road to Gay Marriage”: The Associated Press provides this report.

The U.S. Congress considers giving more power to partially-retired, senior status federal judges: Congress is continuing to consider proposed legislation known as the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007. The first four titles of the legislation deal with subjects related to the legislation’s name, but the fifth and final title consists of “Miscellaneous Provisions.”

One of those “Miscellaneous Provisions,” contained in Section 503, provides:

Section 296 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end of the second undesignated paragraph the following new sentence: “However, a judge who has retired from regular active service under section 371(b) of this title, when designated and assigned to the court to which such judge was appointed, shall have all the powers of a judge of that court, including participation in appointment of court officers and magistrate judges, rulemaking, governance, and administrative matters.”

One question that has arisen is whether a law that purports to give a senior circuit judge “all the powers of a judge” on the court on which he or she serves would thereby enable senior circuit judges to cast votes on whether cases should be reheard en banc and/or to participate in deciding the merits of cases that have been granted en banc review even where the senior judges had not served on the original three-judge panel that issued the initial decision in the case. Thus, the proposed legislation’s impact on Sections 46(c) and 294 of Title 28 is apparently of concern to some of the federal appellate judges who have been made aware of this aspect of the proposed legislation.

Whether Section 503 of the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007 would in fact authorize senior appellate judges to vote on whether to rehear cases en banc or to participate in deciding on the merits all cases that have been voted en banc is not immediately clear to me. If readers have views on the subject, feel free to send them along via email. If the concern is a legitimate one, I may write more about this in a future installment of my weekly “On Appeal” column for law.com.

“Justice Thomas Speaks Out”: This morning, ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg has this post at her “Legalities” blog previewing her forthcoming coverage of Justice Clarence Thomas’s new book, “My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir.”

According to Jan’s post, she has conducted “a series of wide-ranging interviews with [Justice Thomas] in several different locations (and states), as well as an extensive interview with his wife, Virginia.” Her post advises us “to be on the lookout Sunday night for my substantial dot com piece, which will be posted in several parts on ABCNEWS.com.”

Jan’s post concludes, “Then, starting Monday morning with Good Morning America, my pieces on Justice Thomas will begin airing on ABC News. We will have a full report on all our platforms: Good Morning America, World News Tonight and a series of lengthy and revealing segments on Nightline, which of course is the perfect place for a closer look at one the most complex, compelling, maligned and misunderstood figures in modern history. I’ve covered the Court and Justice Thomas for 13 years now, and I can tell you this is something you will not, under any circumstances, want to miss…. I also will be blogging on this throughout the weeks to come. Thomas has much to say, and there will be much to discuss.”

“U.S. Supreme Court: A history of the hows and whys.” Today in The Seattle Times, Kevin J. Hamilton has this review of Jeffrey Toobin’s new book, “The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.”

And today in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, columnist Joel Connelly has an essay entitled “High court moderates may leave after Bush, writer says.”

“Inside the Supreme Court: Three new books offer rare insight into the world of the ‘brethren.'” Stephen R. Reily had this book review last Saturday in The Louisville Courier-Journal.

“A new poll tax? Election fraud isn’t a problem, but the Supreme Court may OK an ID law that burdens poor and minority voters.” Law Professor Daniel P. Tokaji has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times.